No souls were harmed when the Indiana Senate session opened Tuesday:
Sen. Patricia L. Miller, R-Indianapolis, opened the Senate's proceedings Tuesday with a nonsectarian prayer, following threats last month of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
The prayer lasted about a minute and did not mention Jesus Christ or any other deity by name.
Justice Anthony Kennedy can usually be counted on to be the swing vote when it looks like a case is going to a 4-4 tie. But in the Indiana voter-ID case, it might be someone else:
"Banishment" is generally thought of as an inappropriate punishment from our less-enlightened past, but that doesn't mean it isn't being tried here and there:
Though Georgia's judges are technically outlawed from banishing offenders, some have skirted the rule by restricting them from all but one of the state's 159 counties. Now, one convict is challenging the practice, claiming it is unconstitutional.
The Indianapolis Star reports that legislators are coming back in grand style --
A "welcome back party" is being hosted Tuesday evening by the Bose Public Affairs Group, a top lobbying firm, preceded by a late-afternoon reception by the Government Affairs Society of Indiana, the lobbying group for lobbyists.
OK, we know why Indiana insists that the names on our divers licenses be the same as the ones on our Social Security records. With legitimate concerns about terrorism and illegal immigration, such a precaution seems only prudent. Still, this seems like bureaucratic insensitivity of the highest order:
LAKE STATION (AP) — A retired steelworker and longtime Indiana resident must change his name if he wants a driver's license, the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles says.
As recently as last year, the conventional wisdom was that a statewide smoking ban would never fly in Indiana. But I think the mood of the legislature has shifted -- if a ban isn't taken up this year, the only reason will be that it's a short sesssion and property taxes are such a pressing concern. And there is this, House Bill 1056:
Other states have tried to get ahead of New Hamsphire's first-ever primary, but New Hamsphire just keeps setting an earlier date in order to remain first. But Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has a way to get around that:
Here's one that can keep gun proponents and opponents arguing for hours:
A 51-year-old man stopped a masked man from robbing a Southside grocery store and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.
I went to Ball State, so I never got into the Indiana-Purdue rivalry, though I had a wife and a brother-in-law on opposite sides of that debate, and they were always trying to recruit me. Now, however, I find myself with empathy for some Purdue students:
Purdue University students are making some extra cash through a project that might turn some of their classmates' stomachs — by sniffing livestock excrement.
David Letterman and Jay Leno are back, and everybody is happy, though the writers' strike goes on. Letterman is back with his writers, through a special deal, so he and his Top 10 list should be as funny as ever. Leno is back without writers, so his fans will get to see how good he really is on his own.
