I will freely admit to not being the biggest Michael Jackson fan in the world while he was alive,  but I had a ton of respect for him as a performer.  His life story was tragic, and you have to wonder how it would have turned out if he was allowed to have a normal […]

In response to Governor Mitch Daniels statement yesterday that he will not be “blackmailed into bankruptcy” by House Democrats when it comes to the budget  the State Democratic Party put out the following news release this afternoon. INDIANAPOLIS — This afternoon, Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker released the following statement in response to Governor […]

Here we go again! Conservative Politician A, with Presidential aspirations and who loves to preach family values, gets caught with his hands, or other parts of his anatomy, in somebody’s cookie jar. When will these people learn? Whether it’s South Carolina Governor Mark Sandford, John Ensign, John Edwards, Elliot Spitzer, the list goes on, it […]

Will someone please tell me if the Indianapolis Public School system is worth shutting down the government of Indiana? At the end of the day, this is what this budget deadlock is coming down to.  Some folks in the legislature want to protect the state’s largest school system; and I would argue to the detriment […]

I did a quick sprint through the Statehouse yesterday as lawmakers were about to enter into the home strech of the current budget phase.  I spoke to several of them both on and off the record.  The on the record interviews are below.  Off the record many lawmakers think that this has gone beyond disagreements […]

I will freely admit to not spending as much time at the Legislature during this special session as I thought I would have.  I’ve still managed to keep tabs on everything via watching lawmakers on the Internet, a few phone calls and some text messaging.  And surprisingly enough, even though I’m not there, I have […]

Although many legal scholars are paying attention to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Voting Rights Act, there was another opinion today that could have a big impact on Indiana’s largest school district. From the SCOTUS blog… The U.S. Supreme Court today by a 6-3 vote ruled that parents of a disabled child, who […]

Rep. Dan Burton: trying to keep Congress safe? Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) seems afraid of being on the House floor. Burton offered an amendment to H.R. 2918 that said the following: “Would require the Comptroller General to submit a report to the Committee on House Administration within 6 months of enactment analyzing the security arrangements […]

House Democratic Leader Pat Bauer was one of the speakers at Saturday night’s Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Indianapolis. The speaker went after the Governor on schools, the budget and accused him of engaging in a “hostile takeover” of state government during the special session.  He also encouraged Democrats to circumvent the news media and “twitter” […]

I’m at the Indiana Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner.  I’ll be live blogging tonight.  You can see my remarks at my Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, here’s some audio from a few lawmakers I’ve run  into this evening. Andre Carson opening welcome remarks State Rep John  Barnes on charter schools. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay on a casino […]