Politics and other nightmares

I agree with Mike Pence on a lot of issues. This isn't one of them:

Maryland is worried that its state song, written during the Civil War when people were kind of riled up, might be a little rough by today's standards, and there is some thought of softening it up:

The song begins with a hostile reference to President Abraham Lincoln, who brought troops through Baltimore en route to protect Washington: "The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland! His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland!"

Well, President Obama did promise to end the war:

The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase "global war on terror," a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor.

All those who've talked about "downtown development" have stressed the importance of reaching some magic tipping point where there are enough people to make attractions worthwhile and enough attractions to draw the people. No one ever seems sure about how to get to that point -- people first or attractions first or a little of this, a little of that? -- but the condo part of Harrison Square was at least meant to address the people part of the equation.

Here's a solution that is far worse than the problem:

Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday.

I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like the Journal Gazette's editorial called "A community's loss" right from the opening, when it quoted FDR's admonition for everybody to "remember always that all of use . . . are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." What else could this be but another JG effort to urge disobeying the law if it involves illegal immigrants? Sure enough -- this is the first paragraph:

This ban would cross the line, wouldn't it?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Monroe County Board of Health is considering a proposal to prohibit smoking in vehicles carrying children.

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Caudill says children are a "vulnerable population" who may not be able to avoid secondhand smoke.

Mississippi, smarter than Indiana?

Among the bills signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Friday is House Bill 1568, which bans the use of cameras to catch motorists running red lights.

Sounds good to me:

You wouldn't know it from the headlines, but it's crunch time on health-care reform. In a series of high-level meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill, critical decisions are being made that will help decide whether the comprehensive health reform that has eluded policymakers for decades finally comes to fruition -- and what the system will look like for decades.

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Politicians are so seldom guided by common sense that it's worth calling attention to when it happens. Because of community opposition, among other reasons, Fort Wayne officials have withdrawn their support for the $9-million rent-to-own project at Renaissance Pointe: