Illinois has banned the death penalty, and it wasn't about morality:
Inmates like the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, whose guilt was never in question, were put to death and caused little controversy. But when a miscarriage of justice was discovered and a death row inmate was set free, the police and prosecutors contended that it was an isolated incident, an anomaly. They got little argument.
The " Rally for Hoosiers" is hoping for 25,000 people to descend on the capitol. Like their protests inside the Statehouse for the past few weeks, many say they will continue to demand union rights and protection for the middle class.
[. . .]
Belaboring the obvious:
Though there is little to be offended by in most of NPR's programming, public radio and television cater almost exclusively to the sensibilities of the urban liberal. Not that there's anything wrong with being an urban liberal, of course. But this demographic also happens to be blessed with the financial means to ensure that NPR remains a vibrant source of news.
Rationalization of the day:
There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," said Gingrich during an interview with CBN's David Brody.
The $61 billion in House-approved budget cuts represent less than 2 percent of the budget, less than 4 percent of the deficit and less than 5 percent of discretionary spending.
Yeah, well, an NPR executive said bad things about conservatives and Republicans and the Tea Party, and went off on white, middle-class, gun-totin' xenophobes. Stop the presses.
But this was the most interesting part:
Planned Parenthood supporters and abortion opponents had dueling rallies in Indy this week. A couple of points:
1. Legislatures are on shaky moral ground when they order people to lie:
Turner's measure also would require abortion providers to tell patients that abortion carries risks, including the possibility of breast cancer -- a claim disputed by the American Cancer Society . . .
I have a country boy's love of downtowns, so I like to see vibrant ones. But the people who want to keep funneling time, effort and, especially, money downtown need a reality check:
What happened to "everybody should share in the pain"?
Republicans would prefer to tackle the politically sensitive issue next year when the 2007 farm bill expires, requiring negotiations and passage of a replacement. Many Republicans in the lower chamber, though committed budget cutters, hale from farm states where subsidy cuts would not be appreciated.
This is moderately amusing:
