Indiana is one of only 10 states that takes away people's voting rights if they're jailed even for misdemeanors. Whether that goes too far depends on how the Indiana Supreme Court interprets the term "infamous crime" in the state constitution:
Indiana is one of only 10 states that takes away people's voting rights if they're jailed even for misdemeanors. Whether that goes too far depends on how the Indiana Supreme Court interprets the term "infamous crime" in the state constitution:
The Good Old Boys don't like it when some upstart comes knocking at the clubhouse door:
Senate GOP leaders are backing Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana against his 2012 primary challenger, helping him raise significantly more campaign funds than state Treasurer Richard Mourdock this year.
The nearly $1 million that Lugar raised in the first three months of 2011 was six times what Mourdock has collected since announcing his campaign in late February with the backing of many county GOP leaders.
We're almost in the era of "culture on demand" -- everything available all the time. Bill Wyman at Slate:
When does "sticking up for working people and the middle class" seem a lot like being a bought-and-paid-for tool of the unions? Maybe when the unions, including out-of-state ones, pay your hotel bill during your desertion to Illinois? Indiana GOP Chairman Eric Holcomb:
Democrats continue to fight for narrow special interests clamoring for the status quo. A finance report filed last week shows the entire Urbana hotel bill was footed by unions - many of them out-of-state.
Yeah, that darn freedom of speech is so dangerous when you allow too much of it:
Meanwhile, Facebook is talking with potential Chinese partners about entering the huge China market, where the government has been cracking down on dissidents. That crackdown has come in response to the uprisings shaking authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes, movements that have used U.S.-based social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter as organizing tools.
If there even is an NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts won't have it easy:
The Colts' schedule ranks fifth-toughest according to opponents' composite record (133-123) and includes long-time AFC rivals New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati.
The road schedule looks particularly daunting, with trips to Tampa Bay and New Orleans, as well as New England.
The swindling swine have hit the renege reset button:
A state budget proposal before the Indiana Senate could snuff out the state's top anti-tobacco agency.
The two-year, $28 billion spending plan that would take effect July 1 calls for the abolishment of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency and places tobacco-cessation efforts under control of the state Department of Health.
Even if you buy into the Americans With Disabilities Act requirement that employers make "reasonable accommodations" for those with disabilities, shouldn't the definition of reasonable be, well, reasonable? If a job requires vision, for example, should companies have to find a way to hire the blind? If a job requires a certain level of physical stamina, should companies have to keep the infirm on the payroll? Apparently so:
Despite growing concerns about the country's long-term fiscal problems and an intensifying debate in Washington about how to deal with them, Americans strongly oppose some of the major remedies under consideration, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Florida officials are investigating an unemployment agency that spent public money to give 6,000 superhero capes to the jobless.
Workforce Central Florida spent more than $14,000 on the red capes as part of its "Cape-A-Bility Challenge" public relations campaign. The campaign featured a cartoon character, "Dr. Evil Unemployment," who needs to be vanquished.
The Muncie Star Press trots out the worst argument there is for mandatory motorcycle helmets:
It's a safety issue that supersedes personal freedom. An unhelmeted rider is likely to suffer a serious head injury, and those medical expenses contribute to soaring health premiums, which we all pay, and adds to Medicare. Often, those who suffer head injuries never fully recover.
Scott Priest, president of the Richmond Education Association, says teachers "were blindsided" by Richmond Community Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff's testimony before the Indiana Senate in support of legislation limiting collective bargaining to wages and benefits. Because:
Indiana Senate. Dominated by Republicans. Taxpayer friendly. Not.
The Indiana Senate has turned down a proposal from Governor Daniels to have automatic tax refunds when the economy is in good shape.
[. . .]
The provision was taken out of the state budget yesterday, with senators calling it a waste of money.
Seriously? Reporting was that bad last year?
The earthquake in Haiti and Gulf oil spill were among the most intensely covered stories of 2010, but none of that coverage was deemed worthy of a Pulitzer Prize for reporting. Journalism's most prestigious awards went to the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, among others, but the awards were notable for the one prize no one won - basic breaking news.
Charles Manson finally opens his mouth after 20 years of silence, and what does he say?
The infamous killer, who started championing environmental causes from behind bars, bemoaned the 'bad things' being done to environment in a rambling phone interview from his Californian jail cell.
If Atlas shrugs sooner rather than later, we can thank politics-of-envy columnists like E.J. Dionne:
The mother of all conspiracy theories:
An uncovered letter written by John F Kennedy to the head of the CIA shows that the president demanded to be shown highly confidential documents about UFOs 10 days before his assassination.
[. . .]
This shouldn't be any big !*&!@# surprise:
Scientists from Keele University found that letting forth a volley of foul language can have a powerful painkilling effect, especially for people who do not normally use expletives.
A letter to the editor in the South Bend Tribune asks council members to do the impossible:
LOS ANGELES — Singles Web site Match.com said Sunday that it will begin screening its users against the national sex offender registry after a woman filed a lawsuit against the company saying she had been assaulted by someone she met through the dating service.
