The law and the jungle

As a public service, this blog is issuing a travel advisory: Stay away from Huntington if you value your life. This might seem surprising, since that city has just had its first homicide of the year. But Huntington's estimated population (as of 2008) is 16,151, so that's, well, one homicide for every 16,151residents.

You can either credit state Sen. Mike Delph with being persistent and having the courage of his convictions, or condemn him as a stubborn jackass who won't give up on a lost cause. Spurred by Arizona's recent enactment of a tough state immigration law, he's considering his fourth try at legislation here:

If what you've been doing hasn't been working:

After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread.

Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn't worked.

Then by all means find a way to do it even more:

Looks like our state is going to lose some revenue, if the Michigan Senate goes along with the House and the governor agrees:

It's no theory: The big bang may be coming to Michigan -- legally and possibly in time for July 4th.

In case you thought you'd heard of every crime in the book:

The owners of a Henryville funeral home are accused of selling a family phony ashes, telling them they were of their dead pet.

State police had been investigating Richard D. Pyke, 42, and his son, Richard "Bradley" Pyke, 19, in connection with suspected illegal activity at the R.D. Pyke Funeral Home, and had seized the bodies of several pets awaiting cremation on Tuesday.

Grammy's mad, and she's packin' heat:

A 66-year-old Greenfield woman was detained at Indianapolis International Airport for carrying a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at a security checkpoint.

Judy Muenster told airport police that she always carried the gun with her and "did not know what the problem was," according to a police report.

[. . .]

Apparently, "meth trash" doesn't refer to the slimeballs who make the stuff:

But this Spring Indiana State Police want you to keep an extra eye on that bag of trash. There may be hidden dangers inside.

Smith says "Some of this stuff, like anhydrous that is used [in making Methamphetamine], if there was any of that left in the bottle or container and someone inhaled that, it could almost kill you instantly."

[. . .]

One of President Obama's remarks on nominating Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court reminds me of a line you hear in a Western movie now and then -- "Why, we're not hastyhere. We're gonna give him a fair trial before we hang him":

Are those of us on the right lucky? We don't even have to decide how to oppose Eleana Kagan for the Supreme Court -- we have a Washington Post expert telling us what we're going to do:

Is that your big baton, or are you just glad to see me?

A Miami International Airport federal security screener has been arrested for allegedly using an expandable police baton to beat up a co-worker.

The source of their conflict, police say: daily ribbing about the size of the screener's genitalia.