Hoosier lore

I know I've remarked more that once that this is the stupidest thing in Indiana law (since the repeal of the provision making us promise to use our fireworks out of state, anyway), but it's worth noting that the stupidity is apparently spreading:

On the day after gasoline shot up to $4.25 a gallon in Indiana, this is heartening news:

Petrotyrants: If there was any doubt the U.S. shale revolution is breaking the dominance of unsavory energy producers on global oil supplies, look no further than last week's OPEC meeting, where the alarm bells were going off.

News you can use:

Don't know that I'd recommend Texas Gov. Rick Perry as a role model for all gubernatorial behavior, but Gov. Mike Pence could certainly do worse than emulating this particular Perry approach:

Gov. Rick Perry’s high-profile efforts to lure jobs to Texas from other states may be good business and smart politics back home, but they’re infuriating to prominent Democrats around the country.

Some changes in urban living are obvious -- the declining risk of dangerous fires as building materials have changed and safety precautions increased, for example. But some aren't as immediately noticeable:

Hooray for Texas:

Despite having lost his bid for the presidency, Texas Governor Rick Perry now finds himself again in a position of (potential) national leadership. On the way to his desk is a bill that would put Texas far ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to protecting consumers' electronic privacy.

An interesting question:

Indiana is the only state that gives liquor stores a monopoly on retail cold beer sales. And with liquor stores closed on Sundays, people who want cold beer need to plan ahead or slip across the state line.

Good to see Hoosiers aren't being left out of the fun for a change:

The Indiana Tea Party was among the numerous conservative groups unfairly targeted by the IRS over the past three years, that according to the group’s president.

Whoops. Guess we have a little work to do:

Indiana didn’t just get an F in a state-by-state comparison of laws requiring outside groups to report their campaign spending.

The state got a zero.

Why don't they just go ahead and make it .00 -- that's what they'd really like to do:

WASHINGTON (AP) — States should cut their threshold for drunken driving by nearly half— from .08 blood alcohol level to .05_matching a standard that has substantially reduced highway deaths in other countries, a federal safety board recommended Tuesday. That's about one drink for a woman weighing less than 120 pounds, two for a 160-pound man.