Bypass

India's Drivers Often Put Off Learning How- Does this story have anything to do with the recurring vehicular atrocities seen regularly on roads near the Metro Park train station in Edison, NJ? The headline was changed to "Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants" in the on-line Times, a bow to political correctness that a comedy blog must ignore. To be fair, just this once, it is not just Indians who forget the rules of the road near Metro Park, the passing trains generate a powerful electromagnetic force that causes a high percentage of drivers in the vicinity to forget anything they may once have known about safety, courtesy and common sense. The total lack of traffic planning as this area kept its quaint rural roads while developing into a commercial center and transportation hub has created an every man for himself ethos that will be hard to cure, even if a series of bypass construction projects finally reduces some of the congestion.

Hanging and Amputation Find Favor in Iran Courts - This is an obvious and desperate ploy by Iran to bypass the US State Department and curry favor directly with America's right wing evangelicals during the primary season. The ever popular right hand - left foot double amputation makes sure that the convicted thief will never pick another pocket, or walk, again, even with a cane. Meanwhile sissy lawyers in the US argue over whether execution with a three drug cocktail is cruel and unusual punishment because we can't be sure the paralyzed convict is not suffering during execution. Nice try Iran, but appeal to that well known American love of nostalgia is just not going to turn US foreign policy around.

Escapes runs two ski features just as As Good As News Readers have reached the saturation point. Read on without fear - we will be brief.

When The Family Ski Trip Is What Brings You Together -Massive kudos to David G. Allan, who captures the intimacy of the ski vacation (although I freely admit that I am no "Ski Dad" - I can't bypass that no whining commandment). Note the resorts mentioned in this piece - Heavenly, Breckenridge, Stratton - all fantastic places that I can personally recommend. Heavenly provided the best snow and best views I have ever experienced. Breck had Rasta Pasta, snowmobiling across the continental divide and, right, some skiing too. Just last weekend, Stratton came through with great snow and the ever popular fake village.

Overlooked - Equally massive kudonts to Bill Pennington and his paean to the 44 underrated ski resorts of NY State. Why would anyone go to Windham, Gore, Plattekill, Whiteface or any other NY mountain? Take it from me, as one who has spent dozens of miserable days skiing these NY hills, there is absolutely no reason to go there. No reason to fly down Lies at Gore, No reason to take advantage of the snow that's always waiting at Windham, no reason to challenge the ungroomed steeps at Plattekill. No reason to jump from the gondola straight onto Skyward (pictured) at Whiteface. Continue to bypass NY on your way to Vermont, or Colorado. I will monitor these slopes on a very regular basis and let you know if any aspect of the situation changes. Mr. Pennington - please consider the well known Yogism - "It's so crowded no one goes there anymore".