My partner in political crime reports this morning that Mayor Greg Ballard will reimburse taxpayers for the cost of his wife’s flight to accompany him on an Asian trade mission this week.

That’s a good, if belated, step in the right direction, but I still haven’t heard any good explanation for why we should be footing the bill for any part of her trip. (Also, is the First Couple flying first class? What’s their itinerary? When will this information be disclosed?)

Winnie Ballard is a native of the Philippines who moved to the United States almost four decades ago when she was, by my calculation, about 20 years old. How many college-age kids do you know who have an intimate knowledge of corporate culture? By her own admission, the Missus doesn’t miss her native land one bit, and she’s kept up with her roots solely in the kitchen.

Now, let’s talk geography: Do you know how far it is from the Manila to Shanghai? Almost 1,150 miles. Manila to Tokyo? Close to 1,900 miles.

But here’s the Much Bigger Point: There’s a vast chasm between Chinese and Japanese culture, and aside from a general lumping in under the header of “Asia,” my guess is there are plenty of differences between Filipino culture and Chinese and Japanese cultures.

I’m sure to be treading on some thin ice here, but isn’t it racially insensitive to assert that someone who emigrated from a country 36 years ago has so much in common with the entire region from which she emigrated merely because she was born there?

I can trace my roots back to Scotland, Germany and, um, Kentucky, but that doesn’t mean I should be sent to those places as an ambassador of good will who is intimately acquainted with the goings-on there.

Moreover, I thought we were trying to move beyond a society where we pigeonhole people based on the color of their skin or the ancestry of their last names.

If someone could tell me one deliverable Winnie Ballard actually brings to this trade mission (or to the 25th floor, where she hangs out all day), I’ll hush my mouth, but if Hizzoner is simply going to trot out her Asian heritage to justify taking her on a taxpayer-funded vacation, forgive me, but I’m outraged.

This is public service, not Club Med.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is leading a delegation to China and Japan in hopes to increase foreign investment in the city.  

While that’s nothing out of the ordinary, there’s a question as to whether the Mayor should be taking his wife along on the junket at the taxpayers’ expense, although he is reimbursing the taxpayers for her flight.

It is a fair question.  Times are tight, so we should all ask how taxpayer dollars are being spent, but I don’t think the Mayor is off-base by taking his wife on this particular trip.  

After all, she is from that part of the world and can offer insight on Asian culture, that if done right can be indispensable.

It would be one thing if this were Brazil or Australia, but this is China and Japan, so why not take someone along who can offer expertise?  

Now if the couple starts globetrotting, then we may need have a talk, probably in several languages.

But until then if Mrs. Ballard can help bring jobs to the city by reminding the delegation of cultural norms and practices, then go for it.

As you guys know I’m Islamic and don’t really celebrate Christmas.  Well actually Islamic-lite, I love bacon, drink Scotch and smoke cigars.

But I really have to wonder what’s going through people’s heads when a Wal-Mart greeter is trampled to death and two people are  shot dead at a mall on what’s supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the year.

I don’t think the Son of Man would appreciate people acting like this as they get ready to celebrate his birthday, which by the way was nowhere near December 25.

Time for some post-Thanksgiving education. Do you know where the term “Black Friday” came from?

Me neither.

So I looked on the Internets, and apparently it’s traceable back to Philly in the 1960s, when the police there compared the massive traffic jams created by shoppers to the chaos surrounding “Black Tuesday”, the day of the 1929 stock market crash.

Don’t buy that?

Retailers and the rest of us prefer to be “in the black” in accounting terms. “Black Friday” — at least before the bottom fell out of our economy — was a big money day for stores across the nation, having been the unofficial kickoff of the Christmas season for decades before anyone gave it a stupid name.

So, there’s your history lesson for this Friday morning.

I can assure you I won’t be going anywhere near a shopping mall today, even though I am finally, at long last, eligible to upgrade from a BlackBerry to an iPhone. Fate, you are indeed a cruel mistress, but I’ve waited this long, and I can wait one more day.

UPDATE: Still thankful, but Paul Poteet totally rocked the Drumstick Dash this morning. I can at least say, however, that I beat some of the other media types who ran.

As we get ready to head to Broad Ripple to run the Drumstick Dash (a fun, 4.5-mile run benefiting the Wheeler Mission), I’m thinking of all the things for which I’m thankful today.

Okay, that’s not entirely true.

I’m actually thinking about whether or not I can log a better time than Paul Poteet in today’s race.

Right, now I’m thinking of thankful stuff: my parents, my husband, our beautiful daughter, friends, the opportunity to opine about politics in this space and on WRTV, Barack Obama, different viewpoints, turkey, football, cold winter nights, a good book, comfort food and the prospect of peace on earth.

Lots of other things, too, but that’s all I have time for.

Whether you spend today with annoying relatives, with close friends or on your own, I think we’ve all got one thing to be thankful for: We live in the greatest country in the world, and even in these tough times, we have our freedom.

Happy Thanksgiving!