We've gone and wasted all that time, effort and money on complicated approaches like border fences and stepped-up law enforcement and employer sanctions and moral arguments, and it turns out all we had to do to solve the problem of illegal immigration was wreck the economy a littler:
The number of illegal immigrants living in the United States dropped by 1 million people in two years, according to new estimates by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Buncha wusses in Washington. Least little bit of snow that wouldn't even faze a Hoosier, and they get all end-of-the world panicky, trying to outdo each other in naming the storms. Snowmageddon. Snowzilla. Snowpocalypse. Snowgasm.
It's official. Dan Coats is in the race against Evan Bayh:
"I'm going to put my heart and soul into this, because I don't think Hoosiers are supporting what's going on in Washington," Coats told the Indiana radio station WOWO. "I think they need an alternative and that's why I'm here."
Those mean old taxpayers just don't understand that we need their money to do good things for them. But if that's what they want, sniffle, sniffle, well, all right, guess we won't fight it. Boy are they gonna miss us when we're gone:
State legislators didn't waste much time this year before deciding to put Indiana's property tax caps on the November ballot.
This Indiana University professor doesn't think much of the democratic process:
"No matter how often President Obama pleads for it, bipartisanship has become a joke. So, while the two sides continue this ridiculous game, Rome -- read: the planet -- is burning."
The prospect of Dan Coats running against Evan Bayh is getting predictable hoots of derision from the lefty blogosphere. But there are some grumblings on the right, too, as in this post from redstate.com:
If the best the Republican Party of Indiana can do is retread old horses who put themselves out to the pasture to begin with, we're screwed.
Sometimes when I get mired in the relatively boring politics of northeast Indiana, I miss the gleeful graft and corruption practiced routinely in The Region. The latest case is from East Chicago, where Mayor George Pabey is accused of getting a little extra out of city employees:
Not so fast there, Mr. fast-taliking, this-is-one-in-a-million-animal pet salesman. I want to know where that dog has been:
Indiana lawmakers set their sights on puppy mills, with a new bill that would let you see what you're getting when you buy a pet. The Indiana House has approved the bill that would require retail pet stores to give the customer information about a pet's background before selling a dog or cat.
The statewide smoking ban won't pass this year. It got through the House, but the leader of the Senate says we're not ready for it yet:
But Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Wednesday he expects the state will eventually adopt a ban.
“As you see more and more counties and cities passing smoking bans, the opportunity for a statewide ban increases and will gain momentum,” Long said.
The announcement that Dan Coats might take on Evan Bayh in U.S. Senate race is further evidence of the Scott Brown effect -- voter dissatisfaction with the Obama agenda re-energizing the Republican Party -- and it has conservatives in the state in a pretty good mood. As the Indianapolis Star notes, the mere announcement shifted the political landscape, with handicappers moving Bayh's race from a safe bet to "one to wach,"
But Coats has his baggage:
