Hoosier lore

Mitch Daniels on the five books that most influenced his political thinking: F.A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom," "Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose," Charles Murray's "What it Means to be a Libertarian," Mancur Olson's "The Rise and Decline of Nations" and Virginia Postrel's "The Future and its Enemies."

Mixed-feelings time:

An Indianapolis museum and Fort Harrison State Park in the capital are teaming up for a Vietnam Experience Re-enactment on July 17 and 18.

The program co-sponsored by the Museum of 20th Century Warfare will recreate American units opposing Vietcong forces in a public battle. Hobbyist re-enactors will be dressed in authentic or recreated uniforms and use Vietnam-era equipment and weapons to drill, exercise and simulate combat.

Every time somebody writes about Gov. Mitch Daniels and the 2012 presidential race, he seems closer to getting in:

He did say no at first, making jokes and scoffing at reporters who asked repeatedly about the possibility. He even told Republicans at their state convention in June that he has "never once looked in a bathroom mirror and seen the president of the United States looking back."

Defense lawyers say they merely represent the client because the client deserves representation and that it should not be presumed therefore that they believe in the client's innocence. GOP Senate candidate Dan Coats makes lobbyists sound like that -- just because we work for the client, that doesn't mean we agree with his agenda -- bue Democrats aren't buying it:

Oh, swell:

INDIANAPOLIS — State officials expect more backyard fireworks shows this year because budget problems have forced many municipalities to cancel large professional fireworks displays.

The Indiana State Fire Marshal's office says it's issued nearly 200 fewer fireworks permits this year compared to last year.

The Indiana Department of Labor is taking up the case of a whistleblower who revealed safety issues and unreported overflows at the Michigan City Sanitary District:

The suit, filed in LaPorte Circuit Court on Tuesday, alleges that Ron Meer was unlawfully fired on March 31 by the Sanitary District as retaliation for his complaints to the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

So, Mr. smartypants libertarian who would like to eliminate a lot of laws, is there a new law you could support? Actually, something to regulate mo-peds would be worth discussing:

In just over a month, three area residents have suffered serious injuries in a wave of mo-ped crashes in Greater Lafayette.

A  fourth suffered minor injuries when her mo-ped was struck by a truck.

Things are tough all over:

The recession has directly hit more than half of the nation's working adults, pushing them into unemployment, pay cuts, reduced hours at work or part-time jobs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Indiana's biggest newpaper seems mostly unimpressed with the Supreme Court's pro-Second Amendment decision in the Chicago case. It will barely affect us here, since, you know, this is such a gun-nut-friendly state anyway:

In Indiana, much of the pro-gun work already has been done. Indeed, the state has been a counter-example of virtually every gun-restriction measure even the conservative Supreme Court approves.

It will cost Porter County $168,703.60, which it takes from the county's casino fund, to pay for this year's "longevity fund" for county government employees: