Politics and other nightmares

Mother Jones is downright ecstatic about BHO's speech last night:

The speech—a State of the Union stand-in—presented a clear, mostly left-of-center agenda for his presidency and a series of forceful rationales for his proposed actions.

[. . .]

If you're a little ticked over the idea that responsible home owners are being treated like suckers while the irresponsibile ones get bailed out, you'll love this:

Mayor Bill White yanked a controversial plan Tuesday that called for the city to use taxpayer funds to pay off some personal debts for first-time homebuyers, following a flood of outrage and criticism from across the city and beyond.

Apparently, "separation of church and state" does not reach to presidential appearances. Ryan Culp of Elkhart agreed to open President Obama's town halll meeting with a prayer, even though he's a conservative Republican. He even agreed to have the prayer "vetted" by White House officials to make sure there was nothing in it that would offend anyone. This seems to be standard for Obama -- both the prayers and the vetting:

Thank goodness. Wouldn't want anybody left out:

A bill originally intended to give Michigan City's Blue Chip Casino a financial leg up in its fight against the nearby Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., was expanded by the state House of Representatives Tuesday to include all Indiana casinos.

Can't have any of those places going under. If we have any money left after the government gets through saving us, we need to have lots of options when it comes to investing it wisely.

The way the system works today:

OLYMPIA, Wash.

Oh, get serious:

Maybe we need full-time legislators here. While our part-time lawmakers are fooling around with silly things like a two-year budget, the wise men and women in the Illinois legislature are dealing with truly cosmic issues:

SPRINGFIELD - Like some sort of rulers of the universe, state lawmakers are considering restoring little Pluto's planetary status, casting aside the scientific community's 2006 decision downgrading the distant ice ball.

I've written before (can't remember if it was here or in the paper) about the disappearance of barber shops and my ongoing struggles to keep a barber. Every time I find one, he's already semi-retired and down to one chair. In some states, this is a result of the regulatory state, not just an unfortunate byproduct of changing times:

Sometimes I regret that my job prevents me from also serving on public boards. I have to miss out on all sorts of fun things, like being lectured by sex offenders:

A registered sex offender cautioned the Vigo County School Board about going too far with a policy aimed at keeping such offenders out of schools and off school property.

Looks like the long crusade to bring red-light cameras to Indiana might be on the verge of succeeding. A bill to authorize the cameras passed the Senate and now moves to the House. A survey by the AAA Hoosier Motor Club found that 94 percent of the respondents support the cameras, and even the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana says the practice is constitutional. Supporters (including many cities in Indiana, including Fort Wayne) say it's all about safety, not revenue, but consider: