Politics and other nightmares

I talked with Jill Long Thompson a few times when she was our state representative and liked her. She would be a spirited and engaging challenger against Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. I know hardly anything about her Democratic primary opponent in the governor's race, Indianapolis businessman Jim Schellinger. Apparently, I'm not alone, as Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully reports:

No souls were harmed when the Indiana Senate session opened Tuesday:

Sen. Patricia L. Miller, R-Indianapolis, opened the Senate's proceedings Tuesday with a nonsectarian prayer, following threats last month of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

The prayer lasted about a minute and did not mention Jesus Christ or any other deity by name.

Justice Anthony Kennedy can usually be counted on to be the swing vote when it looks like a case is going to a 4-4 tie. But in the Indiana voter-ID case, it might be someone else:

The political pundits I've been watching on TV lately have been trying out a new word (the way it usually works is that George Will does it first, then everybody else jumps on the verbal bandwagon): dispositive, as in, "Well, the results of the voting tonight were certainly interesting, but probably not dispositive." I think that's their way of acknowledging they've been talking through their hats in hopes that we won't notice that they're still going to be talking through their hats.

The Indianapolis Star reports that legislators are coming back in grand style --

A "welcome back party" is being hosted Tuesday evening by the Bose Public Affairs Group, a top lobbying firm, preceded by a late-afternoon reception by the Government Affairs Society of Indiana, the lobbying group for lobbyists.

OK, we know why Indiana insists that the names on our divers licenses be the same as the ones on our Social Security records. With legitimate concerns about terrorism and illegal immigration, such a precaution seems only prudent. Still, this seems like bureaucratic insensitivity of the highest order:

LAKE STATION (AP) — A retired steelworker and longtime Indiana resident must change his name if he wants a driver's license, the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles says.

Given my center-right world view, I should be able to find a Republican presidential candidate who suits me. But it's been difficult. There are various problems, remarked on by pundits everywhere, with all the candidates. So I shouldn't go on at great length in taking on the critics of the GOP field.

Officials in Michigan are shocked -- shocked, I say -- that giving law-abiding citizens the right to carry guns did not result in a bloodbath, though that outcome is consistent with common sense and most observable experience:

John Lott, a visiting professor at the University of Maryland who has done extensive research on the role of firearms in American society, said the results in Michigan since the law changed don't surprise him.

As recently as last year, the conventional wisdom was that a statewide smoking ban would never fly in Indiana. But I think the mood of the legislature has shifted -- if a ban isn't taken up this year, the only reason will be that it's a short sesssion and property taxes are such a pressing concern. And there is this, House Bill 1056:

Other states have tried to get ahead of New Hamsphire's first-ever primary, but New Hamsphire just keeps setting an earlier date in order to remain first. But Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has a way to get around that: