Politics and other nightmares

It's hard to disagree with either side in the 2-1 ruling by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which held that a casino wasn't obligated to protect a problem gambler who lost $125,000 in a single night. The judges in the majority noted that the gambler, Jenny Kephart, had not asked the casino to bar her, as she could have done:

I hate to bring up pigs again -- remember the whole pit bull vs. hockey mom and "lipstick on a pig" fiasco? -- but an old saying needs repeating: Never wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty, but the pig likes it. A variation might be: Don't try to tell jokes with a comedian. You both might get laughs while lapsing into bad taste, but only the comedian will get away with it. That's about all there really is to say about President Obama's Special Olympics joke on The Tonight Show.

Fort Wayne is apparently joining the long list of cities having TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Parties:

This event will be held on April 18, 2009 downtown at the Court House Square along the sidewalks. The time would be 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

What? The federal government loses track of the money it dispenses? No one in Washington realized that? Must have been an, um, oversight:

Tracking the spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus package is proving difficult because of shortcomings in the available data, the chairman of the stimulus act oversight board said today.

Don't go getting your bongs from under the basement stairs just yet, but . . .

Attorney General Eric Holder has signaled a change in policy on medical marijuana.

There is a lot of talk these days about Evan Bayh's "moderation" and "centrism," sure signs for those who forgot it that he is up for re-election next year:

Bayh's middle of the road approach is in character for the Indiana Democrat who has built a political career on being a voice of moderation.

[. . .]

We all know that the embassies of other countries are considered sovereign territory, where the laws of the other country rather than U.S. laws apply. Apparenly, some think that's true for county-operated space as well:

About 10 complaints have been made relating to smoking inside offices at the Clark County Government Building over the last several months, according to Andi Hannah, coordinator for the Clark County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition.

It's hard to overstate how important the GI Bill was after World War II, not just to a generation of young Americans but to the whole country. It changed whom we considered college appropriate for and even our whole notion of what college should be. And except for the way the war started bringing women into the work force, the burgeoning middle class thus created was probably the most lasting effect of that era.

Rules? There are rules for spending $787 billion?

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama wants governors to hurry up and begin building bridges and schools to revive the economy. His administration is learning that spending $787 billion as quickly and transparently as promised is no easy task.

There are a million people who want to come here from just one country.

Sorry, can't assimilate that many.

But they're escaping terrible hardships.

Not the same as political persecution, is it?

What about all that "give us your tired, your poor" stuff?

But these people are tired and poor and not like us. They're uneducated, and they talk funny. What can they add to our society?

Just a reminder that in some ways history doesn't change much: