Hoosier lore

The gun-control crowd is being predicably opportunistic in seizing on the news that Indiana is now one of 10 states in which gun deaths outpace motor vehicle deaths -- 735 vs. 715, in 2009, the most recent year for which state-by-state information is available. Not that I blame them -- milestones are great pegs on which to hang your messages.

An Indianapolis TV station conducted a survey with a disturbing result that cheating by teachers on standardized tests mmight be more common that previoulsy realized. It didn't take long for an apologist to speak up:

Teachers' anxiety over their students' performance on the tests may play a role, an Indiana State Teachers Association official told WTHR.

State budget cuts have ended a program at my alma mater:

The Indiana Department of Correction has no firm plans yet to address budget cuts to correctional education.

The state Legislature last year cut off Frank O'Bannon grants to offenders attending college in state prisons, including about 1,000 enrolled at Ball State University.

The fact that both Republican Mike Pence and Democrat John Gregg picked female running mates in their gubernatorial matchup drew this odd sex- and race-conscious paragraph out of The Associated Press:

The blogosphere is buzzing about Penn Gillette's smackdown  of admitted pot smoker Barack Obama's hypocrisy in now seeking to crack down on the buying and selling of medical marijuana:

Do we believe, even for a second, that if Obama had been busted for marijuana -- under the laws that he condones -- would his life have been better?"

Hey, kids, breaking news:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Mike Pence has picked first-term state Rep. Sue Ellspermann as his running mate in his campaign to become Indiana’s next governor.

Good story in the Indianapolis Star giving both sides of a difficult situation:

After her boyfriend beat her and threatened to kill her in October, Kristianne Rouster was issued a protective order that prohibited him from contacting her in person, on the phone or by text.

Because such orders routinely include the workplace, Rouster told her employer, Pitney Bowes.

If  "Who is going to push for more government and who is going to push for less government?" is important to you, this should be a big help in deciding your choice in the governor's race:

Richard Lugar, victim of Incumbent Entitlement Syndrome:

Lugar did not lose because the Tea Party targeted him. He lost because he was no longer representing the people of Indiana. In theory and practice he has truly become a United States senator.

Five Clayton, Ind., high school students have been suspended and a janitor fired after a senior prank in which they decorated the school with more than 10,000 Post-It notes:

The kids say a school board member gave them a key to get into the school after hours and the head custodian helped them coordinate the time to go in.