Politics and other nightmares

Doesn't the First Amendment already do that?

A proposal in the Indiana Statehouse would stop homeowners' associations from banning political signs in members' yards and windows near elections.

A lot of ranting and raving about the imminent collapse of Gary. Some residents say just go ahead and let the "tainted brand" declare bankruptcy so it can be started over with a clean slate. Some say the property tax caps will be the death of the city, but Sen. Luke Kenley wonders about the millions in casino dollars that have already flowed through there. A lot of residents want the state to give Gary a bunch of breaks to allow the "economic development seeds" that have been planted to grow. Rep.

Is she trying to scare me, or what?

The Muncie Star Press says Mike Pence is a nice conservative lad who should be careful about reaching beyond his grasp:

Could Pence be a strong candidate? We think it's possible, but history is not on his side.

Many have run for president while serving in the House, but the chances of winning are not good.

The proposal to end the ban on Sunday liquor sales is likely to come before the General Assembly again this year. And die again this year. Even in normal times, it's hard to get legislators to consider such a radical idea, and these aren't normal times. In the economic downturn, the legislature is going to have enough to do just to keep the state solvent.

But perhaps we could take one small step:

The Indiana General Assembly is considering a bill that would lift the ban on the sale of motorcycles on Sundays.

What's that old quip, "With friends like that, you don't need enemies"?

Police were called to the home of Robert Crow, 38, at 116 E. Willow St. around 8:20 p.m. When officers arrived, they found Jaime Gasso, 43, dead from a single gunshot wound.

Crow made the 911 call, and was arrested for assisting in a suicide. That is a Class C felony. Thursday the Dekalb County coroner confirmed Gasso's death was a suicide.

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The campaign to save Mother Earth by ridding her of all those pesky, polluting people achieves a modest but notable success:

A huge swath of the country is getting snow and it's raised an unusual and potentially dangerous problem for motorists.

Now we know who in the General Assembly are not tough:

There was plenty of tongue-in-cheek name-calling directed Thursday at members of the Indiana Senate, which canceled its scheduled business because of snow.

[. . .]

A day later, their snow day was the running joke around the Statehouse, where the Indiana House -- and the vast majority of Central Indiana schools -- carried on business as usual.

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If you think the government interferes too much in our private lives here, just be thankful you don't live in France. A bill being pushed by Nicolas Sarkozy's government would make "psychological violence" between married and cohabiting couples "a matter for state intervention." And just what is that, exactly?

Now, this is really interesting. The debate about poverty in general and "homelessness" in particular is usually between liberals who say we have to show compassion for those less fortunate and conservatives who say we have to be careful not to make economic deprivation so comfortable that people don't seek to escape from it. But in this case, it is the advocates for the homeless who are taking the tough-love approach: