Indiana

Madame President, No More?

Posted on May 18, 2013
  Is Indianapolis City-County Council President Maggie Lewis calling it quits?  Find out in this edition of ?The Cheat Sheet?. Here?s what else is in this week?s edition? Playing with Federal Prosecutors Indy?s Smoking Ban Could Go Up in Flames Fishers Fishes for a Food & Beverage Tax SB 621 Almost Got Deep-Sixed And more...

We?re Joining the WIBC-FM Team

Posted on May 14, 2013
We?re joining the WIBC-FM family starting June 1.  Details to follow.  We hope you will tune in.

Pence Signs Marion County Government Reorganization Legislation

Posted on May 11, 2013
Governor pence signs legislation reforming marion county government from Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

Why Non-Indy Folks Should and Should Not Care About SB 621

Posted on May 09, 2013
One of the biggest laments that I will hear from lawmakers outside of Indianapolis is how they don?t like dealing with what they label ?Marion County? legislation.  This session there were three major bills that fit that category, mass transit, financial assistance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Senate Bill 621 ? known by supporters [...

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The Grandfather of Indiana?s Property Tax Reform

Posted on May 05, 2013
As I sat down and did my research on the late Governor Otis ?Doc? Bowen, two things really fascinated me about his time in public service.  One was his frankness about sex when he was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the mid-1980s.  The other, which I would argue had just as much [...

By Losing a Little, Everyone Won Big This Session

Posted on April 29, 2013
It is customary at the end of the legislative session to do a postmortem  and talk about how lawmakers did, or in some cases, didn?t do.  So as I join the list of political prognosticators, allow me to offer my opinion.  In this case, everyone won big, ironically by losing a little...

If I Were A Marion County Democrat, I?d Ask for My Money Back

Posted on April 25, 2013

Mass Transit Advocates Pull Out All the Stops

Posted on April 23, 2013
Indy connect now open letter to members of the indiana general assembly from Abdul-Hakim Shabazz

Layton Loses Fellow Democrats

Posted on April 23, 2013
When it comes to SB 621, Marion County Sheriff John Layton may have saved his own skin by cutting a deal with Republicans at the expense of his fellow Marion County Democrats. You can get that, and more in the latest daily installment of my political gossip column, the Cheat Sheet...

Why Ballard Needs More Budget Authority

Posted on April 21, 2013
Although a lot of the focus in Senate Bill 621, the Marion County Government/Power Grab reform bill, has been on whether to eliminate the at-large City-County Council seats, the legislation includes much more substantive, far-reaching provisions that are, in my opinion, far more important than whether four politicians keep their part-time jobs...

The Great Debate

Posted on April 18, 2013
Be sure to tune in on-line Monday, April 22 at 9 p.m. (EDT) on the Indiana Talks Radio Network as Indy Democrat blogger Jon Easter and I debate the merits of SB 621. the Marion County Government reorganization bill. Easter calls it a power grab by Mayor Greg Ballard...

Talking Terrorism with Troy Riggs

Posted on April 16, 2013
The Public Safety Director for the city of Indianapolis says that it does make a difference whether Monday’s explosions at the Boston Marathon were the results of domestic or foreign terrorism. So far, three people were killed and nearly 200 injured in two explosions at the Boston Marathon...

Duh!!!

Posted on April 14, 2013

Donnelly Weds Good Government & Good Politics

Posted on April 14, 2013
Last week, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly demonstrated a concept I have come to label as ?enlightened self-interest.? That means you do the right thing not only because it is the right thing to do, but you also get a benefit out of it. In Donnelly?s case it was coming out (pardon the pun) in favor [...

Democrats Put Self-Interests Above Public Interest

Posted on April 12, 2013
As someone who writes frequently about events over at the Indiana General Assembly, it is not uncommon to be in a situation where you have multiple events taking place at the same time and you are running back and forth between the two.  I found myself in that situation recently while trying to keep tabs [...

Sheriff Tries to Save His Skin

Posted on April 11, 2013
Although his office has overspent his budget by more than $20 million over the past three years, Sheriff John Layton is doing his best to save his skin and avoid any fiscal oversight as called for in SB 621.   The embedded file below is a list of e-mails he has been sending out to department [...

The Empire Strikes Out

Posted on April 09, 2013
If Marion County Democrats are hoping to change minds and influence the Legislature with this video regarding SB 621, then Indiana really should look at decriminalizing marijuana because apparently somebody was using a lot of it when they put this together.

Out of Work, You Might Be Partially to Blame

Posted on April 07, 2013
We recently received data on Indiana’s unemployment rate. And, from what I can tell, the last person you want to be in the Hoosier state is a high school dropout who lives in Vermillion County. Here’s why. The overall data shows that the state’s unemployment rate inched up a bit from 8...

Senate Panel Gives Pence Smaller Tax Cut

Posted on April 04, 2013
Indiana Senate Republicans this morning unveiled a budget plan that gives Governor Mike Pence a 3% tax cut, instead of the 10% cut he wanted. Republican State Senator Luke Kenley says the proposal gives Hoosiers the tax relief the Governor wanted but also provides dollars for schools, infrastructure and keeps money in the bank in [...

Farms and the 1st Amendment

Posted on April 03, 2013
Whenever the government tries to do anything that looks like it might tread into First Amendment territory, I tend to get a little concerned.  As someone who talks and writes for a living, that whole free speech concept is pretty important to me.  So my eyebrows arched a little when I started turning my attention [...

Indianapolis, You Have a Problem

Posted on April 03, 2013
It speaks for itself.

The Joy of Faux Outrage

Posted on March 31, 2013
One of my favorite films is Casablanca.   And while you would think my favorite character would be Humphrey Bogart’s  Rick Blaine (totally understandable), it is actually Claude Raine’s character Capt. Louis Renault, particularly the scene above when he tells Rick he is closing down the Club because he is  “shocked to find that there is [...

Democrats Hurt By Their Own Overreaction

Posted on March 29, 2013
In my bi-weekly column in the Indianapolis Star I write the reaction by the Marion  County Democrats to SB 621 (Marion County Government Reorganization) is doing their cause more harm than good. Click here to read more.  

A Little More Blogging

Posted on March 28, 2013
I got an  e-mail the other day from someone asking why I don’t blog as much on Indiana Barrister.  Two reasons, time and money. As you all know I write Indy Politics,  and I also write for the Indianapolis Star, the Statehouse File, NUVO and the Indianapolis Recorder...

House Republicans Push Back

Posted on March 28, 2013
Indiana House Republicans unveiled a You Tube ad this week that pushes back against accusations by Americans for Prosperity that they are big spenders by pointing what they say is proven record of fiscal management and tax cuts.

The Case for Common Core

Posted on March 19, 2013
For the most part I have been agnostic about whether Indiana should stay in or opt out of Common Core.  For those of you who don?t wear tinfoil hats or are waiting for the black helicopters to come by your house or for that matter just have a life, Common Core is a set of [...

War of Words?

Posted on March 08, 2013
In response to pressure by the Governor’s office to push a 10-percent income tax cut, House Speaker Brian Bosma penned a letter last month to all 92 Republican County Chairmen in Indiana explaining his hesitancy to adopt the measure.   A copy of the letter is below...

Balance Has Been Restored to the Force

Posted on February 24, 2013
Back in August 2011, I wrote a blog post about my departure from what was then Newstalk 1430, WXNT.   Like I said then it wasn’t a local decision, but a corporate one.   Well, literally a year and a half later we are back on the air on terrestrial radio here in Indianapolis, and in the [...

So What?s the Big Budget Deal?

Posted on February 17, 2013
I think it?s interesting the political class in the great Hoosier state is all abuzz over the ?budget battle? between Governor Mike Pence and Indiana House Republicans over the fact that the House Rs did not include Pence?s 10-percent income tax in their initial budget...

Are We There Yet?

Posted on February 11, 2013
I never thought I would live to see the day that I would have to reference an Ice Cube film in order to make my point that folks need to chill out when it comes to criticism that Governor Mike Pence isn’t moving fast enough. For those of you over 40 and melanin-challenged, Ice Cube [...

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