The world can sometimes be a very amazing place. Here's some stuff that I find just amazing:

I am amazed that Milwaukee Public Schools doesn’t see the writing on the wall and create some programs to keep families with young children from moving out of the city and into the suburbs. The overwhelming reason for this exodus is the quality of the schooling. Nobody is going to ask those couples to suck it up and stay in the city. But these people, by and large, would be valuable assets for MPS. Why won’t MPS develop highly excellent programs that would make these families want to stay in the city? As far as I know, MPS has never made a concerted effort to keep people.

I’m amazed at the attention going to Hank the Dog. Don’t get me wrong. I love dogs and have had one or two at a time since I was a kid. But all the attention being paid to Hank seems kind of off-kilter when more attention should be paid to who’s going to play first base. But perhaps this is a strategy for the Milwaukee Brewers. The more time we spend paying attention to racing links of meat and a scruffy stray and a mascot with a mustache, the less time we spend wondering why this team just can’t seem to get it right.

I’m semi-amazed that the UWM basketball team doesn’t have any fans. For example, the number of UWM alumni in Milwaukee dwarfs the number of Marquette alumni. Is there something shameful that people feel about a degree from UWM? Is it the simple fact that most of them didn’t live on campus during their college career? This team, and others, have been pretty good. And it’s the only major sport at UWM. If Marquette were playing in Buffalo, the airlines would have to allocate another plane. Is Al McGuire really such a big difference?

I am totally amazed that there isn’t some huge public outcry over Sheriff David Clarke and what a shameful example he is to our county. Clarke reminds me of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, without the drugs or booze. Both of them are guilty of incredibly stupid or outlandish or absurd statements. The people in Toronto are one voice in their vociferous ridicule of Ford. Where is that sound in Milwaukee County?

I am amazed that the federal government is keeping former Ald. Willie Hines from taking over as associate director of the Milwaukee Housing Authority. Hines, a former common council president and chair of the board of the authority, is obviously overqualified for the job. But some federal bureaucrat says there are arcane rules that keep him from taking his position until at least May. "I’m from the government and I’m here to help." Yeah, right.

I am amazed that Milwaukee Magazine still exists. At one point this was a pretty interesting publication. Hell, at one point my daughter and I were on the cover. But this magazine has only a nodding acquaintance to relevance. Online publications are better, smarter, faster and far less ponderous and boring. Say what you will, the daily newspaper still does serious investigative journalism, although their daily coverage is only a mere shadow of its former self. There is nothing left for Milwaukee Magazine to do except be a place for glossy ads for places nobody goes and things nobody buys.

I amazed that Sentry hasn’t opened a grocery store Downtown. With a burgeoning population, it seems like a natural idea. Sentry runs great stores and doesn’t come with all the folderol of these high-priced boutique grocers. It seems like a natural marriage to me and the area sure needs a top-flight grocery store. Somebody call that guy who runs the Sentry store on State Street in Wauwatosa.

I am not at all amazed at the talkbackers who are going to write in and say they are amazed that Dave Begel still has a job.