Politics and other nightmares

So, pennies are a waste and a nuisance, and we shoulbut put out a new one that has some Indiana connection, and it creates traffic jams in Lincoln County as nearly 3,000 people line up to get one.

It's probably too soon to make a big deal over what might be a statistical burp, but this is at least interesting. With the president -- and therefore the poltical establishment -- going one way on abortion, the country seems to be going the other way:

Our stimulus dollars at work:

A U.S. says she has received federal funding to study how children perceive various varieties of foreign-accented English.

Indiana University Assistant Professor Tessa Bent says the funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help her and her colleagues determine how such accents might influence speech development in children.

A brave public servant stands up for his oppressed constituents who are being crushed by the forces of tyranny:

Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson United School Corp. Board member Greg Waltz doesn't like the referendum process.

“You're putting neighbors against neighbors, community members against community members,” he said. “For the state of Indiana to do this to these communities, it's just terrible.”

Poor Hoosier atheist activists can't get a break. First, Bloomington refused to let its buses carry the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign's signs proclaiming that "You can be good without God," ruling the message too controversial. Then, the Mishawaka and South Bend bus people, because of the Bloomington flap, decided to seek board approval for putting the signs on its buses.

I wonder if Gov. Daniels will face any criticism over this for showing anti-democratic instincts:

Gov. Mitch Daniels has vetoed a bill that would have moved St. Joseph County Superior Court judges to nonpartisan elections.

In a veto notice on the state of Indiana's Web site, Daniels said St. Joseph County's model of selecting judges is "to be emulated, not discarded. It is not broken; it requires no repair."

Rep. Mark Souder is both a Notre Dame graduate and a strong pro-lifer, but he is among those who worry that the extreme protesters of President Obama's commencement speech will hurt more than help the pro-life cause:

“I understand the passion of those like myself who want to protect innocent babies from being killed,” Souder told WSBT News. “But the key thing here is to persuade those in the middle who don't agree with us.”

Outgoing EACS Superintendent Kay Novotny has recommending closing Harding High school and putting those students in New Haven High School for the sensible reason that "it is an aging building in a township that needs only one high school." The suggestion has drawn the ire of some constituents, mostly Harding parents:

No active discussion has been had about whether closing Harding is even an option, and many in the community feel they have been left in the dark because of that.

Passing a new budget was the only thing Indiana legislators had to get done, and they failed to do it. At least now they can use the special session their failure brought about to concentrate on the budget and nothing else.

The Indiana Bankers Association met in Indianapolis recently and offered The New York Times a glimpse of a world it and the people who read it may have forgotten: