Nothing like a fake hate crime to say "Happy Mother's Day"!
PORTAGE -- A local resident says he was trying to scare his mother when he set her bedroom on fire while she was sleeping, according to police reports.
And the racial slur against white people was intended to make people think it was a hate crime by blacks.
Wonder what "slur" he used? Hoosier Redneck Moron?
First, it was $4 gasoline that threatened Indiana's many local festivals. Now, it's the overall economy. Some communities are rethinking things:
The lingering recession is forcing the organizers of some of Indiana's festivals to scale back their events or move them to more affordable venues before the state's festival season gets under way.
No conclusion offered, except what you might infer from the fact I'm putting both these stories in the same post. First up:
A 52-year-old Swedish woman has been left out of pocket after she was lured into handing over her cash to secure an imaginary lottery win.
At least one good thing came out of state legislators' incompetence in failing to pass a new state budget in the waning days of this General Assembly session. It took so much energy to fail there that they didn't even get around to a measure to give Indianapolis revenue options for the money-hemorrhaging Capital Improvements Board, which will now have to call an emergency meeting:
With swine H1NI flu sucking up all the news space, let's not forget to pause and observe another newsorthy event -- a milestone, even -- from this week:
Congress signed off on President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget largely along party lines Wednesday night, handing him a legislative victory that paves the way for a health care overhaul.
A student athlete learns that being talented does not always mean bad behavior will be forgiven:
In the end, Kellen Lewis never figured it out. He never met the leadership burden that comes with being a quarterback and Indiana's best football player. The result — his Hoosier career is over.
Supreme Court nomination hearings are fascinating looks at how the judiciary (often the most important force in our lives) is shaped. And the hearings for whomever President Obama selects to replace David Souter should even be fun, since they won't really matter. Souter is a liberal justice, and Obama will try to replace him with a liberal justice.
Justice Antonin Scalia recently made some remarks that seemed to indicate a less-than-concered attitude about privacy and its possible invasion:
Every single datum about my life is private? That's silly," Scalia [said]. . . .
Scalia said he was largely untroubled by such Internet tracking. "I don't find that particularly offensive," he said. "I don't find it a secret what I buy, unless it's shameful."
I know that if I were running the Republican Party, the editorial page of The Journal Gazette is the first place I'd go to for advice. So let's see what the editors have to say under the heading, "Specter's defection shows need for less GOP conservatism."
Specter was a Republican long known as an independent-minded moderate. He is pro-gun and pro-choice. Indeed, he is conservative on many issues
Nerds of America, come out Mom's basement and unite! A frightened world needs you!
Cincinnati police have a new ally in their fight against crime, whether they want it or not.
He calls himself Shadowhare, and he wears a mask and a cape to conceal his true identity. He's Cincinnati's own version of a superhero fighting crime and injustice where he finds it.
[. . .]
Food Network Magazine recently hit the road in search of the best 50 burgers in the nation -- one for every state. This is the one it picked in Indiana, the "Lugar Burger," of all things, from Bloomington:
Indiana has had its first case of swine flu confirmed. so, naturally, drastic action is called for. The state has now activated its Emergency Operations Center.
I guess those who claim I'm hopelessly old-fashioned have a point. I'd argue that, when there is a law against something, the sensible thing to do is to enforce that law. But the Dutch have a much more practical idea:
A park near Amsterdam has unveiled information signs pointing out spots where officials say gay men are known to have sex, so visitors are not taken by surprise.
Republicans in a funk because of the defection of Arlen Specter should take heart from a lesson of history -- the last time either party had such a wide Senate margin was during the first two years of Jimmy Carter's term:
Some will be pleased and some horrified that the Supreme Court let stand the Federal Communications Commission's change of rules on bad language -- especially but not confined to the "f" word and the "s" word. Even if their use on radio or TV is fleeting and unanticipated, the FCC can still levy heavy fines not just on the program where the offense originated but on all affiliates that carry the offending program.
Washington Post and syndicated columnist Richard Cohen has an interesting take on torture and expresses a view that needs to be heard more often in the debate that too often focuses on utilitarianism -- let's not torture anybody, but let's not pretend that such restraint will somehow makes America safer:
In assessing President Obama's first 100 days, I think this writer strains mightily to make a distinction that doesn't really exist:
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that the new president is broadly popular and seems to have produced an upswing in national confidence -- but also reveals that a growing number of Americans describe him as "very liberal," which surely isn't what the White House wants.
Can someone explain this to me?
Preparations are underway for the Vera Bradley outlet sale at the Coliseum.
The sale starts tomorrow morning at 8 am.
33,000 people from across the country have already registered for the event.
This is the first year tickets aren't required, but shoppers will need to register once they get there.
And I thought Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard was a sensible Republican with good conservative instincts:
Recycling is one of Mayor Greg Ballard's top priorities, and he wants to give more homeowners an incentive to reduce waste and preserve resources, Ballard spokesman Robert Vane said.
One of his goals . . . is to get curbside recycling at a drastically reduced rate as a way to promote participation in the program," Vane said.
If you strongly favor a state law that would right some wrong you think still exists, and the legislative process results in a bill so watered down it's barely recognizable, do you, A) support it anyway on the theory that you'll take what you can get now and work for more later or, B) withdraw your support because a bad bill would be worse than no bill at all? The Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air takes the latter view, withdrawing its support for a statewide smoking ban:
