Hoosier lore

Apparently, "separation of church and state" does not reach to presidential appearances. Ryan Culp of Elkhart agreed to open President Obama's town halll meeting with a prayer, even though he's a conservative Republican. He even agreed to have the prayer "vetted" by White House officials to make sure there was nothing in it that would offend anyone. This seems to be standard for Obama -- both the prayers and the vetting:

The Muncie Star Press, quick to pick up on a trend, wants to know how much its readers still use "snail mail." But don't go looking for those stamps to send in your answers:

Thank goodness. Wouldn't want anybody left out:

A bill originally intended to give Michigan City's Blue Chip Casino a financial leg up in its fight against the nearby Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., was expanded by the state House of Representatives Tuesday to include all Indiana casinos.

Can't have any of those places going under. If we have any money left after the government gets through saving us, we need to have lots of options when it comes to investing it wisely.

I've written before (can't remember if it was here or in the paper) about the disappearance of barber shops and my ongoing struggles to keep a barber. Every time I find one, he's already semi-retired and down to one chair. In some states, this is a result of the regulatory state, not just an unfortunate byproduct of changing times:

Sometimes I regret that my job prevents me from also serving on public boards. I have to miss out on all sorts of fun things, like being lectured by sex offenders:

A registered sex offender cautioned the Vigo County School Board about going too far with a policy aimed at keeping such offenders out of schools and off school property.

Looks like the long crusade to bring red-light cameras to Indiana might be on the verge of succeeding. A bill to authorize the cameras passed the Senate and now moves to the House. A survey by the AAA Hoosier Motor Club found that 94 percent of the respondents support the cameras, and even the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana says the practice is constitutional. Supporters (including many cities in Indiana, including Fort Wayne) say it's all about safety, not revenue, but consider:

Gov. Daniels isn't going to follow the example of some Republican governors and simply refuse at least part of the federal stimulus package:

Daniels went on to say that he didn't want to get wrapped up in the partisan bashing of the $787 billion package, saying his job simply was to find ways to best use the money to benefit the state. Still, he said he understood the critics' positions.

For the well, duh file:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The nation's deepening recession has boosted business at Indiana's pawn shops as people shed possessions -- particularly electronics -- for cash to pay bills.

Ace Pawn Shop manager Chris Banul said business is up and he's seeing more high-end items brought to the Bloomington shop for collateral, or sold outright, as the economy has worsened.

If you're really, really bored, and want to do something useful, you can go to Bloomington, where you will get on a bus and be transported to Washington, D.C., for the express purpose of committing civil disobedience and getting arrested to save the environment!

The target of the Capitol Climate Action is the Capitol Power Plant, a government-owned coal-fired plant that produces the electricity for the Capitol, which is the home of Congress, and surrounding buildings.

We can't let Illinois politicians have all the headline-grabbing fun: