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Politics and other nightmares

Out of the cabinet

"The Daily Show" had a parody piece on open carry, with a guest appearance by our own Paul Helmke, now with the Brady anti-gun organization. A lot of gun-rights people seem upset with the bit, but it made me laugh, and the Brady group doesn't come off looking that good, either.

Paul: "Anyone who's carrying a Colt .45 on their hip constantly in public is not a normal human being" and,   "People who carry guns around in public are living in some fantasy world."

What's

My first thought on seeing in the headline that a city council is going to tackle the deer problem, was, hmmm, good! Bet a lot of people will be enjoying venison on the grill. But this is Bloomington, after all. As the deer population has increased in the city, there are more conflicts between animals and humans. Residents are said to be worried about "deer-vehicle collisions, tick-borne illnesses and damage to gardens and safety." But heaven forbid they cause the deer any problems:

Life lesson

I'm not quite with former President George W. Bush on the topic of his speech in Indianapolis Thursday: 

Bush's Thursday night speech at Conseco Fieldhouse will be hosted by Life Centers, a nonprofit Christian ministry that helps women in unplanned pregnancies.

Life Centers' president and CEO Brian Boone says Bush's speech "will demonstrate his belief that every life counts."

Cheaters

The Indiana Supreme Court is now considering the case of the man kicked out of a casino for card counting. The casino says common law allows it to refuse anyone entrance, as long as it's not for "a bad rason." The man's attorney counters that gaming is "a statutory creature" that didn't exist in common-law times. Justice Frank Sullivan Jr.'s comments make sense:

Pedagagagogy

Well, duh:

A new state-commissioned review of the lowest-performing schools in Indianapolis Public Schools paints a devastating portrait of unprepared teachers, overwhelmed and distracted principals and meddling central office edicts.

The most basic finding, though, was that at most of the schools many teachers either couldn't or didn't teach.

Skew you

A new survey shows folks in South Bend are just oozing optimism (so the headline says), with 70 percent of the people saying they are hopeful about the future. The city hired a firm from Alabama (what, no Hoosier pollsters available?) to "measure the effectiveness of South Bend Redevelopment Commission's contract with a firm hired to help promote Ignition Park and Innovation Park." That just sounds like a big waste of money, doesn't it?

Border patrol

Yes, but . . .

World leaders are heading for Washington to discuss what Barack Obama has described as "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security" - the risk that terrorists could acquire a nuclear bomb.

. . . that makes border security even more important, doesn't it?

Sen. Jon Kyl on ABC's "This Week" yesterday:

Hello, good Bayh?

No, no, don't think so:

Evan Bayh in February threw Hoosiers a curve ball, announcing plans to vacate his U.S. Senate seat.

But if you believe some Internet chatter, we may see him make another big splash in 2012, running for his old job as governor.

[. . .]

Time warp

The news moves so quickly today it can be hard to keep up:

None of this public vacillating can be good news for the White House. The longer Stevens ponders his departure, the more time opponents of his yet-to-be-named successor have to gear up.

Hill of beans

Can a member of Congress really be this clueless?

Rep. Baron Hill is making no apologies for giving his staff members tens of thousands of dollars in year-end bonuses, despite the tough economic times.

6News' Kara Kenney reported last month that Indiana congressmen doled out more than $600,000 in bonuses from 2006 to 2008.

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