Hoosier lore

So the kid leaves Indiana for the big city, makes a name for himself in comedy, then comes back to be the star at his high school's 50th anniversary celebration. You can guess the rest. His big joke is run by the administration, which says, "You can't say that here," and he ends up not appearing after all. This is, of course, proof that out here in the sticks we are still stuck in the 1970s, just don't get it, have paranoid, pathetic, educators, blah, blah, blah.

A not-very-flattering take on Evan Bayh, who "has yet to prove himself a real contender -- and he may not be a real centrist, either."

This is how government grows. The secret to why there is so much regulation, of everybody from real-estate agents to hairdressers and hypnotists, is that many of these groups want state regulation. It's a way to keep out the riff-raff, be able to charge dues and fees, feel professional, keep the price up. Latest example: Massage therapists are begging for state control:

Could it possibly be true that some of the female acquaintances of men in jail might be lacking in decorum?

Revealing tops are out and bras are now a must for women visiting prisoners at the Vanderburgh County Jail.

Jail officials imposed a new dress code policy after several incidents in which women visiting the jail exposed themselves to male prisoners.

Headline of the day: "Indiana colleges to observe responsible drinking this week." But next week, watch out! It's back to drunken debauchery.

With the election so close, I just know you're all waiting for the newspaper endorsements to help you make up your minds. (That was sarcasm, for the humor-challenged.). Here comes the Indianapolis Star's call on the Indiana congressional races.

So, Eric Gordon Jr. has gone back on his "oral commitment" to Illinois and will play basketball for IU. This was either an agonizing decision, finally made by the young man for a number of reasons,

If things are getting too dull in the General Assembly, we can always count on state Sen Tom Wyss to propose something new to get people arguing:

"If you're talking about the age group between 16 and 20, the greatest single cause of death in that age group is auto crashes," said Indiana State Senator Tom Wyss.  "Regardless if the numbers are one or 100, it's a tremendous tragedy to lose someone at that age just because they didn't have the driving skills necessary."

The Washington Post says the "most obvious winner" in Mark Warner dropping out of the presidential race is Indiana's Evan Bayh, since the two share "much of the same ideological territory." But:

Bayh still has a number of challenges to overcome if he hopes to ascend to the top tier of the presidential field -- most notably his perceived charisma problem . . .

Who knew? Has anyone told Richard Lugar that Bayh is the one with the charisma problem?

So there you are, just minding your own business, growing a little pot in your cornfield, videotaping an unsuspecting naked woman once in a while, just for recreation -- you're not a pervert or anything. Then along comes this busybody cop, who was off-duty and should have been minding his own business: