Hoosier lore

The Maranatha Chapel Full Gospel caused a stir in Harlan this week with a question on the message board outside the church: Do you want a Muslim for your president? WANE TV did a story and sort of hinted at what the controversy might be -- you know, something to do with the McCain-Obama presidential race. The Journal Gazette was more explicit about what the fuss might be about:

For years, Hoosiers suffered the ignominy of being associated with Earl Landgrebe, who said, as the last defender of Richard Nixon, "I have my mind made up -- don't confuse me with the facts." Perhaps now we can have our release from shame. Alaska Rep. Don Young, defending Sen. Ted Stevens, gets a little carried away:

The Richmond Palladium-Item jumps on the statewide smoking BANdwagon:

But as much as this newspaper traditionally champions local government and home rule decision-making on most issues, some issues simply command a wider, more uniform standard. Legislators have, for example, already said the time of day is one of those, weighing in mercifully a few years back to remove the state from a crazy-quilt pattern of time zones to embrace uniform, statewide daylight-saving time.

So a teenager without a license or insurance rams into the back of a guy's car. The teenager starts to flee the scene, and the guy takes his gun (fully permitted, and he'd been carrying for 28 years) and fires one shot into the air. The teen stops, and the guy holds him there until police arrive. Police don't arrest the teen -- they arrest the guy, for "pointing a firearm," a Class D felony. Ten months later, a jury acquits the guy, and, under state law, he was supposed to get his gun and license back. But the state won't give him either.

Cowards:

The Indianapolis Star, Indiana's largest newspaper, has opted not to endorse a candidate for president in an election year that's seen the state become a presidential battleground state for the first time in decades.

I guess this is supposed to be reassuring for parents:

Paroled sex offenders in the Evansville area - and across Indiana - will be required to attend a meeting during trick-or-treat hours on Halloween.

Dubbed Operation Safe Halloween, the Indiana Department of Correction is requiring sex offenders to attend the meeting to "remove them from the community streets during this traditional children's activity," according to a news release.

Those evil, clever religionists have found a diabolic way around the ACLU's heroic efforts to keep us safe from God's destructive influence:

Joining four other towns in Madison County, Pendleton now has a Ten Commandments monument on display.

The 7-foot long, 4-foot tall monument was unveiled Sunday near the intersection of East Water Street and Indiana 37, near the Falls Park Plaza shopping center, on land donated by Chuck Clevenger.

Too much attention is focused on voting becoming harder: Indiana's photo ID requirement, it is said, is meant to discourage Democratic voters. Attempts to block early-voting centers in northwest Indiana are called "disenfranchisement." The truth is, voting is getting easier and easier:

TERRE HAUTE —

Are these Indianapolis supporters of mass transit living a pipe dream and trying to drum up support for something that will never happen?

 A new poll has found nearly three-quarters of people surveyed would support using taxpayer money for mass transportation, a critical question for proponents of a light-rail line for which funding has yet to be found.

Things get tricky when politics and public education collide:

College professors have to walk a fine line when showing support for a political candidate or party at Indiana University and other college campuses.