Politics and other nightmares

Joe Lieberman sort of gives the game away:

Boy, do I feel silly. Yesterday, I did a post about the suit against Indiana's "In God We Trust" license plates being tossed. I said it didn't seem like a big deal to me, and in the discussion thread I went back and forth with Doug and Alex, essentially putting myself out on a limb defending the state, a dangerous position to find oneself in. Now the state has gone and sawed that limb off:

Remember Greg Townsend, the Decatur hothead who flew the American flag upside down outside his tire shop in protest of Barack Obama's win? He has come to the attention of James Taranto, who compiles Best of the Web for The Wall Street Journal. Tranto is not persuaded by Townsend's argument that he was flying a "distress signal" as described in statutes governing the flag:

Gary's police department is having budget problems and can't keep the same size force. So officers are turning on each other.

A group of city dwellers who filed a lawsuit demanding termination for all nonresidents will argue their case before Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo next month.

"It is a fact that Gary City Ordinance 5881 ... requires police officers to live within the corporate boundaries of the City of Gary or lose their employment," a court document states.

You may now keep God with you on your car trips, which, considering the skill and attentiveness level of Indiana drivers, is probably a good thing:

Hoosier drivers don't have to pay extra to sport In God We Trust license plates, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Those of us inclined to see ominous portents in vague phrasing are a little worried about the meeting between President-elect Obama and the vanquished McCain:

. . . the two men issued a joint statement saying that they agreed “that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time.”

[. . .]

You think times are tough for City Hall in Fort Wayne? Just imagine how they felt in LaPorte, which is so economically stressed that the city decided it couldn't hang Chrismas lights downtown this year. But then:

The mayor says local contractors Monday morning offered to fix the electrical receptacles for free and have been repairing the 30 to 40 that need to be repaired.

[. . .]

You'll be glad to know Indiana isn't being left behind in the great cultural battle of the moment:

SOUTH BEND — Every time a car honked, they cheered. A group of about 20 people stood at the corner of Main Street and Jefferson Boulevard in downtown South Bend on Saturday, waving signs in support of same-sex marriage.

Wow, 20 people -- that's some rally. Honk if you love gays, then let's go burn a Mormon church!

It's said that all Ronald Reagan had to do was convince the American people he was someone who could be trusted with the power of the presidency. Once he did that in the debate with Jimmy Carter, the election was over. Barack Obama obviously overcame that hurdle, too, or he wouldn't have won by nearly 7 percent. But his "ordinariness" especially came through during the "60 Minutes" interview. I saw last night what all those who voted for him saw.

Boy, couldn't see this one coming, huh?

Bankruptcy. Red ink. Painful shakeout.

Those terms, normally associated with old-line manufacturing, now are popping up to describe what was seen just three years ago as a sure bet for Indiana: high-tech ethanol plants.