Tom Henry doesn't have any "serious" competition -- neither Frederick Steinke nor Tom Cook Jr. are really campaigning and should have no expectation of getting more than a handful of votes. But at least Steinke showed up for an endorsement interview, so you get to see him answering the same questions as Henry (see video here). Consider it a preview of the fall, when you will see a lot more of Henry as he takes on either Matt Kelty or Nelson Peters.
The Republican mayoral primary may be the most important contest, but the 4th District Democratic one is arguably the most interesting. The seat is now occupied by a Democrat, Dr. Tom Hayhurst, who isn't seeking another term. Whichever Democrat wins will face Mitch Harper, well-known Republican lawyer and former member of the Indiana House.
Today's sign in need of a proofreader. I have nothing against "galgas," but what's wrong with "man gas"? Don't answer that. If I'm reading the sign right, that would be 2 free ounces of coffee. Wow. Or maybe it's 20 z's of coffee. Anyone have a clue about what "owsol" refers to?
The first two videos are for the City Council district races in which an incumbent faces a challenge from a newcomer, not that common in primaries.
If blogging is a little light this week, it's because I'm editing video I took of the primary candidates when they came in for their endorsement interviews. There will be a short video for each of the contested races, and as they get done and put on our Web site, I'll link to them here, too. I asked all the candidates the same five questions:
1. What do you think of the Harrison Square project?
2. Would you keep the smoking ban scheduled for June as is or modify it in some way?
Everybody's beating up on Newt Gingrich because of his appearance on ABC's "This Week," in which he said, A) Somebody with a concealed weapon could have stopped the Virginia Tech killer earlier in his rampage and, B) It's all the fault of liberals and "elites" for creating the culture we have. On the second point, there are certainly things wrong with our violent and permissive culture -- including many of the things he indentied.
Millennials — also known as Gen Y — are typically described as those born since the early 80s. And the signposts on this generation's road to maturity have been a somber directory of tragedy shared. The Oklahoma City bombing. Columbine. September 11. The space shuttle disasters. Hurricane Katrina. And now Virginia Tech.
Well, it appears I was wrong, or at least in the minority. Americans would rather have a president who knows the price of milk than one who can lead us through the coming perilous years:
Only 23 years late, 1984 is finally here:
"Talking" CCTV cameras that tell off people dropping litter or committing anti-social behaviour are to be extended to 20 areas across England.
They are already used in Middlesbrough where people seen misbehaving can be told to stop via a loudspeaker, controlled by control centre staff.
[. . .]
Bringing it all back home -- the Virginia Tech story meets the Don Imus story:
Those who may want to help police bring criminals to justice will run into a conflict with rapper Cam'ron.
The Diplomats leader, who will be featured on this week's edition of 60 Minutes, tells Anderson Cooper that helping the authorities would not only hurt sales of his, but also violate his "code of ethics."
Let us now praise moderation. First up is Jim Webber, a gardener who finally decided to retire at the age of 94:
He puts his longevity down to having "plenty to do and being interested in it" - as well as a bit of his "medicine" - whisky.
And we have Deana Jarrett, an unhappy record holder and a former police officer:
One value of the death penalty is that it lets society say what it will not tolerate. Like this:
AUSTIN - Backers of a Senate bill to toughen punishment for child-sex offenders said they've reached a deal that would permit the death penalty for offenders who repeatedly prey on children.
The blame game has shifted from "Why didn't officials at Virginia Tech lock the campus down after the first incident?" to "Why weren't the clear warning signs in Cho Seung-Hui's behavior heeded?"
Partial-birth abortion seems pretty much indefensible to me. But those seeking a "reasonable solution" to our abortion agonies have to contend with those who do defend it, quite passionately. Here is one of the justices who dissented from the 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on the procedure:
Poor Todd Rokita. The Indiana secretary of state is engaged in a probably futile attempt to extricate himself from his Imus moment:
This would be easy to make fun of, but I'd glad somebody is thinking about such things, and it's kinda cool that it's happening in Indiana:
INDIANAPOLIS - A major training exercise designed to simulate the response to a nuclear detonation is planned next month at a southern Indiana military training center - a site getting a $100 million renovation to help soldiers prepare for urban warfare and disasters.
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If this isn't a cautionary tale, I don't know what is. Be careful about where you do what you do:
John Edwards can spend his money any way he wants to, but doesn't this make him at least as out of touch with "ordinary people" as Rudy Giuliani supposedly is for not knowing the cost of milk and bread?
As they sometimes do, Indiana legislators are stumbling to the end of a session with much major legislation still unresolved. A lot of things will be done in the last few days. Legislators in the past have passed complicated bills it is later clear they haven't completely absorbed. Think they might do it again? Consider the example from New Jersey:
