Hoosier lore

If I get the gist of this guy's argument, it's that gambling that merely cannibalizes what local residents already spend doesn't add much to the state's economy. To be a successful economic development strategy, gambling has to attract a lot of out-of-state gamblers:

My editorial yesterday was on Indiana's status as one of the "nightmare states" for third-party candidates because of its unreasonable ballot-access rules designed to keep the two major parties dominant. Mitch Harper at Fort Wayne Observed linked to it and also to an earlier essay he'd written on "Low voter turnout and the legitimacy of government":

You know how some room deodorizers don't get rid of the odor, they just mask it? "Hmmmn, lovely, lilacs and fish." Hope this works out a lot better:

West Lafayette officials have bought a device they hope will mask the stench from the city's wastewater treatment plant during Saturday's Taste of Tippecanoe festival.

The festival takes place along the Wabash River, not far from the plant.

What do you think? Is Indiana really going to be in play?

Shannon Gilson, a spokeswoman for Obama's campaign, said the campaign feels so strongly about its chances in Indiana that it has assigned Emily Parcell, who was political director for Obama in the crucial first-caucus state of Iowa, to be state director in Indiana.

"She's one of our most valued (staff members)," Gilson said. "We wouldn't put Emily in a state we weren't taking very seriously."

Finally:

Comcast Corporation and the Big Ten Network announced today that they have reached a long-term multimedia agreement for Comcast to carry Big Ten Network programming across television, broadband and video-on-demand in time for the 2008 college football season.

Happy birthday to my favorite Hoosier:

Stick some candles in the lasagna; it's Garfield's 30th birthday!

Former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith at National Review Online:

When we failed to find WMD stockpiles [in Iraq], there was a stunning shift in the President's rhetoric from discussing the threats the Saddam regime had posed to discussing only the promotion of democracy.  I think there were some terrible consequences that flowed from that shift in rhetoric.

Don't let 'em get your goat. Oops, too late:

Fortville » The Town Council has given a local couple 15 days to get rid of two goats they keep as pets in their backyard.

[. . .]

"I just believe liberty and freedom are no longer part of life in Fortville if the police can come and take away pets not prohibited by law," Sarah Brown said. "If there's no law, where do they get the authority?"

The State Board of Accounts, the Indiana Supreme Court and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles all want to see a copy of Hammond's red-light-camera ordinance, and they're all concerned about the same provision:

Tickets will be issued through the mail by the private company operating the system after a review by police. By ordinance, fines of $100 will be assessed and treated like parking tickets unless contested, when they become moving violations.

Good lord -- I can't leave those people in Michigan City alone for five minutes:

Allegations that a white firefighter held a noose over a black co-worker should be taken seriously, even if the action was a joke, the Michigan City mayor said Tuesday.

"Whether it was a prank or not, it's stupid and there's no room for it,'' Mayor Chuck Oberlie said.