Some politicians choose to focus on poverty or drop-out rates or foster care or government spending.

But in Idaho, Rep. Linden Bateman is on a different sort of crusade: protecting cursive. According to the Spokesman-Review, he introduced a resolution this morning to make instruction of cursive part of the Idaho Common Core. He's even been visiting with reporters in Boise to show off his penmanship.

As a retired history teacher, he worries that if kids lose their ability to write all swoopy-like, the distance between the past and present will grow even further.

But it may be too late. We're already there. Have you ever sat down with the Declaration of Independence lately? It's entirely illegible. The s's look like f's, making things even more infcrutable. The shapes of letters have changed, and the art of calligraphy has become the province of wedding invitations, not correspondence.

We wrote this article on this exact phenomenon two years ago. Bad cursive is worse than no cursive.

Expect this trend to continue: As iPads and smart boards become increasingly ubiquitous, cursive still will be taught. But as an elective taken by artists, designers, and history majors.

Baby, it's cold outside. But what does is mean to be cold in Spokane? From a Spokane Police Department email: 

Maybe there's a jobs fix here. We can pay people to sit in our cars as they warm up. Sort of like how there's a culture of doormen in New York City. We could have Anti-Thief Car Warmers. Think about it, Mayor Condon. Spokane needs jobs. And its cars.

For more City Hall Eyeball, hotwire this.

HERE

Cops are trying to make peace after a recent wave of shootings. (KXLY)

A missing University of Idaho student has been found dead. (Spokesman)

A CDA chef won a big contest to get his own restaurant. (KREM)

OUT THERE

Seattle is getting its NBA team back, it looks like. I just hope that the new owners have actually met these "Sacramento Kings" in person and this isn't a Te'o-esque hoax. (Seattle Times)

Was Beyonce lip synching the national anthem at the inauguration yesterday? And do we care? (USA Today)

A professor at Harvard is asking if any ladies out there want to give birth to a neanderthal baby, Like...an actual cloned neanderthal. (Discovery)

And if you didn't see it on the blog yesterday, here's the most awkward date ever.

Blue and white signs supporting the Spokane Public Library's tax levy for the February 12 special election are popping up all across town. It's part of a well-organized effort to raise money for the city libraries, which are facing cuts. Library supporters aren't just throwing up a couple dozen signs, either.

"Seven hundred and fifty yard signs, a mailer that goes out to 24,000 people, [and] we started phone banking" last week, says Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. "We're on track to dial 20,000 numbers."

That's an intense campaign for a election that happens on Feb. 12, in just three weeks. Will the anti-library crowd push back in like fashion? Remains to be seen. 

For more City Hall Eyeball, head here.

Holy crap. It actually happened. The two most awkward people in the universe actually went out on a date. Yeah, yeah, I know — they're actors and not real-life weirdos — but it's still delightfully hilarious.

We first posted Aaron Fink's offer to take someone on a date to the Northtown Mall. Then, local model/actress Rachel Cox out-weirded Fink with her response.

Now, the two finally came together in this pile of mall awkwardness. If you listen carefully near the end, it seems like they're actually getting kicked out of the mall — for real.

Time for another GOOD READS blog. Each week, Inlander staffers share five-ish of our favorite stories in hopes you'll love them too. Bookmark them for your morning coffee over the weekend. Then let us know what you think. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Read anything great lately? 

1. "Manti Te'o's Dead Girlfriend …. Is A Hoax" (Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey//Deadspin)

One of the most told and re-told sports stories of the season appears to be based on a lie. We're going to go ahead and guess you've seen this, but if not, take a read. (While you're at it, check out this response from Malcolm Gladwell and Chuck Klosterman on Grantland.)

2. "Statistical Abstract for My Home of Spokane, Washington" (Jess Walter//Byliner)

Walter is a fiction guy, so it's likely this isn't strictly factual, but it's an honest, and at times heartbreaking, look at the place we call home.

3. "300 Cats, Yes. Craziness, No." (Anne Raver//New York Times)

There's a plenty of talk about "crazy cat ladies" these days, but this is a beautiful story about what companionship can mean.

4. "Moby-Duck" (Donovan Hohn//Harper's)

In search of the nearly 30,000 plastic animals that went adrift in the North Pacific in the '90s.

VIDEO "The Long Wait" (Jason Dasilva//New York Times)

Something a little different: A mini documentary about the challenges of navigating public transportation in New York City with a disability.

More good stuff over here.