That's the way we've always done it.

Sorry, no pictures - I just need to vent a little.

The official Nebraska motto is "That's the way we've always done it."

This week the Lincoln city council voted to keep their tradition of allowing council members to have business contracts with the city. Their reasoning: "That's the way we've always done it." The news girl covering the story kept talking about it as if it was an issue of fairness, not ethics.

Our cub scout cubmaster has his own goofy way of choosing which dens do what during the monthly pack meetings. This entire year, the tiger cubs (1st graders) have done everything while the older, more capable boys have done nothing. The tiger cubs can barely read, much less do skits and group demonstrations. When I suggested that perhaps the older kids should be doing the more age-appropriate activities, I got "That's the way we've always done it."

This is the land of the eternal comfort zone. If change scares the pants off you, come to Nebraska where you can stay the same forever and ever.