Another installment in the continuing series of "things that bug me."

+The Paula Jones case. President Clinton denies doing anything wrong and says he doesn't even remember the incident. He's the only one who doesn't. The troopers remember Clinton telling them to summon Jones. Jones' co-worker remembers Jones telling her about the encounter shortly afterward. Nobody - except Clinton - disputes that he was alone with her in the motel room. I guess everybody's lying but Bill. And they said Ronald Reagan had selective memory.

The other night I was watching "Primetime Live." They were showing a taped segment from 1994 where Sam Donaldson was interviewing Paula Jones. A taped segment on Primetime Live? Oh well, that's showbiz.

Anyway, Donaldson asked Jones to tell him what happened in the hotel room. She did. And then Donaldson asked, "Why didn't you just leave?"

Whoa there, Sam. Hold on a minute. You mean it was her fault?

I can't believe that the National Organization of Women and feminists all over America didn't jump on that one.

It's the classic sexist remark. It implies that Jones did something wrong. All she had to do was leave if she didn't like it.

Same with women in abusive relationships all over the country, right? Why don't they just leave? Must be their fault.

When in doubt, blame the victim, eh, Sam?

+Republican Congresswoman Susan Molinari, who quit to take a job with CBS News. What a slap in the face to her constituents. "Thanks a lot for electing me guys! See ya!"

+The rampant lack of customer service these days. Has anyone else noticed this? From the clerk at the fast-food restaurant to the customer service manager. There are exceptions, but the rule is service with a shrug. Here we are, poised to spend thousands of dollars with this computer company. We are forced to play phone tag for days just to get to talk to somebody.

+The availability of get-out-of-jail-free cards in our county. Now before members of the local judicial system get all out of whack, let me say I realize this is an oversimplification of a complex issue.

But really, if you get sentenced to 30 years in prison, logic would dictate that you should serve more than eight months. If not, there must have been something wrong with the sentence in the first place. Something is amiss somewhere.

Here's a reason why this is not a good thing.

Say you're an undercover cop. You're talking to a confidential informant. You're trying to convince him to give you information on a suspected drug dealer. You tell him that if the drug dealer is convicted, he will go away for a long time.

So the informant gives you the info. You bust the dealer. He gets sentenced. In less than a year, the guy's back out on the street.

Think the informant will ever talk to a cop again?

Jurors are another reason. You have to take a few days off work and interrupt your life to do your civic duty. You hear the evidence in a trial. You realize, based on the severity of the offense - A felony, B felony, whatever - what sentence the suspect is likely to receive. He gets a long prison term, just as you expected.

Then, a few months later, he's released. Wouldn't you feel as if you have wasted your time?

+Northern Lakes Skaters may lose their rink. It seems that either the park board or the town council in Winona Lake may boot the skating group out of the quonset building in Winona Lake Park.

Somebody on the park board wants to put some kind of indoor soccer league in there.

The town is considering using it for a police department. Either way, it looks as if the skaters may be out of a rink. Both entities are well within their rights. After all, it is the park department's building.

But the skating group has a lot of sweat equity in that place. Over the last two skating seasons, the Northern Lakes Skaters have put hundreds of hours and considerable dollars into that building.

The building has no heat. Perfect for a skating rink. It would seem there are plenty of places for a soccer league to play where it's warm inside - schools, for example.

The skating rink was great. I skated there a few times. I brought my son. They had hockey nights, kids nights and family nights. Church groups rented it. It was one of those wholesome things. Everybody always says we need more of these things.

I'd hate to see it go away.

I know the rink didn't make the town any money, but it broke even. Why does everything have to be about money, anyway?

Nothing is decided yet, so if you have an opinion, it might not be a bad idea to voice it.

+Blowers. You know, the things in public restrooms where you push the button and a blast of warm air is supposed to dry your hands.

First of all, they never get your hands fully dry no matter how long you stand there. You end up finishing the job on your pants. You walk out of the bathroom looking as if you have wet yourself.

Second, they're supposed to be antiseptically superior to paper towels. How can that be? When I pull a paper towel out of a dispenser I am the only human to have ever touched it. I like that.

The blower in the men's room, on the other hand, has been touched by thousands of guys who hastily rinsed their hands after handling their, well, you get the picture.

Solution? I turn the blower on with my foot. [[In-content Ad]]