Hoosier lore

I hate to come back with collectivism in education so soon, but it's making inroads in Indiana:

If they ever have a contest for the stupidest criminal in America, the winner will probably be one of these guys:

FISHERS, Ind. -- An Indianapolis man was arrested last week on suspicion of soliciting sex from someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl on the Internet.

It's nice to occasionally have a bad neighbor, the kind who, just being there, guarantees you'll never have the worst-looking house or yard. Illinois performs that service for Indiana:

And does it make sense to talk about relative crookedness of states, how Illinois is slimier than Minnesota?

Oddly enough, the governmental honesty of different states can be measured and compared -- sort of.

Another WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! update:

The Associated Press uses the story of the new Ball State campus police officer who shot and killed a student as an example in its story on states that allow police officers to hit the streets with little or no training. Indiana is one of at least 30 states to fall into that category. The Indiana portion of the story:

Al Gore is going to visit Indianapolis to try to win more converts to his global-warming religion. Wonder if Indy residents are prepared for the Gore Effect?

The phenomenon that leads to unseasonably cold temperatures, driving rain, hail, or snow whenever Al Gore visits an area to discuss global warming. Hence, the Gore Effect.

Another daylight-saving time update (It's coming! It's almost here! Panic!). One of the arguments against it by national groups such as the PTA has always been that it endangers children who will have to walk to school in the dark. But:

The PTA acknowledged, however, it has no statistics that confirm this.

In fact, said the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, studies show that there is no increase in children's deaths when they go to school in morning darkness.

A Jeffersonville resident unloads in a venemous letter to the editor:

This might seem premature, but I wanted to be the first to warn you. A week from Sunday, we must be prepared for daylight-saving time, and you and I both know WE'RE NOT READY. So let's PANIC early and often. We have to either remember to set the clocks ahead before going to bed and realize when we get up that THINGS ARE DIFFERENT or remember to set the clocks ahead when we get up.

They flinched: