Hoosier lore

Indiana's constitution requires the legislature to provide "a uniform system of public education," which has come to mean "free public education." What that means exactly has been a matter of debate, and now the issue is likely to heat up.

On a strict, if temporary diet:

Interfaith and anti-hunger advocates across Indiana are feeding themselves on the average food stamp benefit of $31.50 for one week.

[. . .]

A developing trend?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world's largest retailer, is selectively trimming 24-hour service at stores, closing them from midnight to 6 a.m., the Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.

A judge makes a common-sense ruling in a case that should never have been brought:

A judge found a Martinsville man not guilty of littering after he left a copy of a Ku Klux Klan newspaper at a local business.

The Indianapolis Star's Matthew Tully takes a break from politics and lists 10 good things about the Colts' dismal season so far, including:

This bother anyone else, or am I just being a knee-jerk libertarian extremist?

This seems like another one of those "let's do a study because we can get the money" studies:

How do Americans read the Bible? Scholars in Indianapolis have received a $500,000 grant to figure that out.

Never mind that the Canada-to-Gulf Coast pipeline might create jobs for more than 100 Indiana companies. Never mind that it would reduce dependence of oil from the Mideast and lessen the need for tankers that could go aground. Never mind all the impact poltically and economicall from 700,000 barrels of oil a day that would be carried the 1,700 miles. There could be a leak, which would be an "ecological disaster!"

It's baaaaack!

INDIANAPOLIS — A controversial “right to work” measure now appears set to dominate much of the Indiana General Assembly's 2012 legislative session.

I suppose this would annoy me, too. Early morning noise is not something I want to experience before I even have my first cup of coffee. (It's a "major turnoff," as the playmates say in their centerfold interviews.)

The Greenwood High School marching band has long celebrated wins with an early-morning performance on the band director's lawn.