Indiana

When Political Ads Attack

Posted on October 15, 2010
Mark Massa’s campaign is stepping up its efforts in the race for County Prosecutor. It’s unveiling a new television ad today going after Democrat Terry Curry and his record on sex offenders. It’s pretty heavy hitting. It will be interesting to see how the Curry camp responds.

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money

Posted on October 15, 2010
The campaign finance reports for the latest filing periods are up.  Here’s how the candidates are doing and what they’ve got left to spend for the last two weeks of the 2010 campaign. The Dan Coats campaign tells me they raised more than $2 million in the third quarter and have more than $1...

Thursday?s Thoughts

Posted on October 14, 2010
Wow, there’s nothing like two weeks before an election to have multiple story lines pop up all over the place.  So let’s get started. Indiana Democrats continue to accuse Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Coats of lying about when he began to pursue his lobbying career...

Terry TV

Posted on October 13, 2010
Democratic candidate for Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry has unveiled an ad that is slated to hit the airwaves later this week.  I have it below.   It’s not as hard hitting as I thought it would be, but it gets his name out, which is most important...

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Another Day, Another Political Attack

Posted on October 13, 2010
When you see an opening, no matter how small, take advantage of it.   I am sure that slogan is on the wall right now over at Indiana Democratic State Headquarters.  For months Democrats have been pushing the issue of Republican Dan Coats’ ties as a former lobbyist...

That Didn?t Impress Me Much

Posted on October 12, 2010
Dan Coats was a lobbyist.  Brad Ellsworth supports the Obama-Pelosi agenda.  We need smaller government. If you missed Monday night’s debate from the IUPUI Campus I just told you in 15 words virtually everything that you missed.   I was expecting more from 8th District Congressman Brad Ellsworth, former U...

Layton?s Law

Posted on October 12, 2010
I just got a look at John Layton’s newest ad for Marion County Sheriff.  Seems typical, except there are uniformed deputies in it as well as Marion County Sheriff squad cars.  I’ll have to do some checking but I think that may run contrary to Indiana law...

What Voters?

Posted on October 11, 2010
In the great debate on early satellite voting, I was pretty much agnostic on the whole matter.   While Democrats and Republicans argued over procedures and protocols, I personally thought the effort should have been put on Election Day vote centers.   So on Election Day, you can vote anywhere in the county and not just in [...

21 Days and Counting

Posted on October 10, 2010
With three weeks to go until Election Day, I’ve decided to use Sunday mornings as a time to do a bit of prospective analysis on this year’s upcoming contests.  While there’s no doubt there is a Republican wave coming, the big question is whether it will hit shore?    I’m sure it will, I’m just not [...

IPS? Year-Round Problem

Posted on October 08, 2010
I know when you see a blog post by me regarding the state’s largest public school district, you know it probably isn’t going to be flattering.   Well, you’re right.  The good news is though at the rate Indianapolis Public Schools keep losing students they won’t be the largest school district for very long...

Bisard Speaks

Posted on October 07, 2010
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer accused of  killing one motorist and injuring two others in a traffic accident, is maintaining he is innocent. David Bisard was involved in a crash on August 6th on the city’s northeast side.  He tested positive for being under the influence of alcohol, however those tests were thrown out because [...

Demographics and Demagogues

Posted on October 06, 2010
Anyone who reads this blog knows I am a big believer in government consolidation, particularly when it comes to public safety.   I have supported fire consolidation when Bart Peterson was Mayor of Indianapolis,  I support it now that Greg Ballard is Mayor and I will support it regardless of who the next mayor is...

A Curse on Me

Posted on October 05, 2010
When I went to the City County building Monday night to cover the usual city hall stuff I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to write about.  I had a number of things on the agenda to pick from: police department reforms, the merger with the Lawrence Fire Department, the ban on the sale [...

30 Days Out

Posted on October 04, 2010
With the election about a month away, I figured now would be as good a time as any to blog about the political lay of the land and what the world may look like on November 3. These assessments are made on a number of factors (conversations with politicos from across the state, campaign people, [...

Rest In Peace

Posted on October 01, 2010
Normally I’d have a blog post today and tomorrow, but Indiana Barrister has to go dark for a couple days.  This may sound odd, but my wife’s dog, a Yorkie Terrier,  which she has had since 1993, died this Friday. It’s been really rough on her and as the good husband, my job is to [...

My Three Candidates

Posted on September 30, 2010
Sorry to post so late in the day, but I got tied up with a few things this morning.  Here’s the latest gossip, rumor and innuendo.  As always, take it for what it’s worth. Good News and Bad news The National Rifle Association has endorsed Democrat Brad Ellsworth in the race for the United States [...

A Point of Personal Privilege

Posted on September 29, 2010
I got some flack Tuesday for a blog post I wrote regarding the rocket scientists over at the GM stamping plant who voted themselves out of a job.  I had a number of people ask me what would I do if my employer wanted me to take a 50-percent wage cut? I can answer that [...

White Fight

Posted on September 28, 2010
I’ve got teaching obligations this afternoon, so I’ll make this quick.  Indiana Democrats are calling for the Secretary of State to investigate what they claim is voter fraud on behalf of Republican candidate Charlie White.  I’ve pasted their news release in this blog post...

Idiocracy, Thy Name is UAW Local 23

Posted on September 28, 2010
I can’t think of a more appropriate blog title for the decision by an overwhelmingly majority of local union workers to literally put themselves out of a job. You know the story, Illinois-based J.D. Norman Industries wanted to come in an buy the GM stamping plant in Indianapolis...

Is Indy Sitting on Untapped Millions?

Posted on September 27, 2010
As the city of  Indianapolis looks deals with budget shortfalls,  a few million dollars could be just a couple of clicks away.  A number of municipalities have filed suit against on-line hotel booking companies for failure to pay the correct amount of taxes and have come up successful...

White Out

Posted on September 27, 2010
Indiana Democrats have called a news conference for Tuesday morning regarding Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White.  The release reads as follows… In response to recent revelations concerning discrepancies in Secretary of State candidate Charlie White’s voter registration, residency in Fishers and service on the Fishers Town Council, Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker will [...

On the Air

Posted on September 25, 2010
A couple more candidates have hit the airwaves.  Republican State Senators Mike Delph and Jim Merritt have cut commercials.  Word on the street is Frank Anderson, Merritt’s opponent, is planning a TV buy.  No word yet on whether Delph’s opponent Robin Shackleford will do the same...

Sorry, Charlie

Posted on September 24, 2010
The Democrats are abuzz in the blogosphere over the recent revelation that Republican Secretary of State candidate Charlie White did not reside in his Fishers Town Council District and had to resign the post.   The information is politically embarrassing to White who is not only a candidate for the top election officer in the state, [...

40 Days & 40 Nights

Posted on September 23, 2010
I’ve got quite a bit of teaching work to catch up on today, so I am opening up the blog to your political predictions.  With 40 days to go until Election Day, what are your top three predictions?  They can be state, local or federal.  The winner gets bragging rights...

Practice What You Screach

Posted on September 22, 2010
I frankly don’t know which is scarier this video message or the fact that 1st District Republican Congressional candidate Mark Leyva calls himself a Tea Party candidate and he’s filed for bankruptcy. Just for the record Leyva, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy about a month before the primaries...

The Life of Brian

Posted on September 21, 2010
I have been  covering the Indianapolis City-County Council for six years now.  I have seen the Council do some really smart things, and have some not so brilliant moments.  For the most part, I tend to respect the lot of them, even the ones I don’t agree with...

While I Was Out

Posted on September 20, 2010
It’s amazing what happens when you take a few days off.  I was going to try to blog about a couple recent news items, but the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz only allowed me to have twitter and Facebook privileges.  But I did make it a point to keep up on the news and here are my [...

Taking a Break, Well Sort Of

Posted on September 15, 2010
The lovely Mrs. Shabazz and I are packing up today and hitting the road for parts somewhat unknown.  It’s part honeymoon/road trip/family member’s wedding.  And although I promised to be a good husband, my wife promised to let me do one of my jobs while I am away...

A Reasonable Alternative

Posted on September 14, 2010
Although support for the Mayor’s current plan to privatize parking in downtown Indianapolis has hit a stumbling block, I think there is a viable alternative to moving forward which would accomplish the main goals of modernizing parking and building infrastructure...

A Post 9-11 Thought or Two

Posted on September 13, 2010
I have always believed the anniversary of 9-11 can bring out the best in people and the absolute worst.   This year I got to personally experience some of the worst.  During a Twitter exchange I had someone tell me that the United States should round up all Muslims and send them back to their [...

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