Every day there are hundreds of things that happen that are buried in the avalanche of big news stories like the economy, Lindsay Lohan and President Obama's birth certificate. The little stories that people should read and know about.

So, as a public service, in case you didn't notice ...

1. Ignorance is Temporary, but Stupid is Forever. Eric Hovde is a guy from Washington D. C., who is running for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. He looks like a perfect candidate: good looking, trim, a granite jaw. The problem is that the granite jaw doesn't stop there, it goes to the rest of his head, too. This guy urged reporters to stop writing "sob stories" about people who were out of work or poor or were underemployed. Then he blamed the "liberal elite media" for the quote, even though he actually said it. If this guy gets more than one vote in the primary someone should call for a recount. That would mean there is at least one fool left in our state who can't tell fact from fiction.

2. He Needs a Leash and a Bowl of Food. A 22-year-old man who lives in Milwaukee saw his family's pet dachshund in his kennel. So he set the kennel on fire. He burned 25% of the dog's body. Police were called and they arrested the guy on suspicion of animal cruelty. How in the world do you think of an appropriate punishment for something like this? Maybe release him to the custody of PETA for 6 months to do with as they will. The dog survived.

3. Armpit Smelling is Coming to Milwaukee. It didn't take long for ping-pong bars to move from both coasts to Milwaukee with the opening of Spin in the Third Ward. Well, if you assume that the fads from each coast make their way here, it won't be long before we start smelling used T-Shirts. They're called Pheromone Parties, a twist on the dating game. Singles put a T-Shirt they slept in for three nights into a plastic bag and take it to a bar where they meet other singles. You sniff the shirt and then if you like the scent you can meet the person to whom it belongs. I have never been happier that I'm not single.

4. You've Got to Love This Guy, In an Odd Way. His name is Kenneth Shong and he's 46 years old. He was in prison in Racine after being convicted of mail fraud. But he didn't let a little thing like prison get in his way. He convinced some of his fellow inmates to pay him so that they could get a college degree, based on their life experience, from Carlingford University in the United Kingdom. The degrees would be issued through the London campus of Carlingford. But, wait a minute. There is no London campus. As a matter of fact there is no Carlingford University. Two things: First, those inmates really need a college degree and two, Shong, who is going on trial this week, needs to have a movie made about him.

5. And This Month's Jerry Sandusky Award Goes To ... A 51-year-old man who loved the Big Brothers Big Sisters program has been arrested in Lake Geneva charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy. Police say the assaults took place at the man's home and at the local YMCA. He's been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child. He's free on bond and is restricted from having any contact with any YMCA, the victim or the victim's family. There's not much that disgusts me more than this kind of crap.

6. They Spend How Much? A recently released survey shows that the Milwaukee Public Schools spends over $14,000 per student. That was fourth highest among the 50 largest districts in the country in 2009-10, behind New York and two other East Coast Districts. There is lots of grumbling about this, and MPS, in typical bureaucratic fashion, is trying to cast doubt on the statistics and doing all kinds of weaving and dodging. I've worked in both New York and Milwaukee school systems. My advice, for what it's worth? If that's what it costs to do the job the way it should be done, then that's what it costs. Stand up for the way you do things. Show courage. Your students will learn important lessons from it.