The Government has decided that once again it has nothing else better to do but make it a crime to sell violent video games to minors. The Senate Economic and Technology Committee passed a bill 5-2 that would make it a crime to sell or rent a violent video game to a minor. A retailer could be fined up to $1000 for renting or selling a game with an “M” or “AO” rating to a minor.

Once again, I shake my head in disbelief. You would think lawmakers, who are mostly good and reasonable men and women, would have something better to do. This bill ranks right up there with making it a crime to have sex with a chicken.

The only way most of these kids are going to get these games is if the parents give them the money! How about we fine the parents. What a concept!

It would be one thing if this was a new concept, but the courts have already said such laws are unconstitutional. So if this bill goes forward then lawmakers will have successfully wasted everyone’s time.

Great going guys. How about we put ratings labels on legislative proposals? Say “W” for waste of time!

I just got back into town tonight after spending the past few days with my son who is still in the hospital. As I mentioned in my last post, he had surgery on Thursday. The doctors removed a growth about the size of a softball which was adjacent to his right lung. Unfortunately the only way to get it out was to take out nearly half of my son’s lung. He’s recovering, but he’s been in a lot of pain. He still manages to stay in good spirits, although he can be a little grouchy when his meds start to wear off. I really don’t blame him though. We’ll know in a few days whether the growth is cancerous. Early tests look good, though. He has been a real trooper in all this.

While our family waits to hear the results, I wanted to take a second to thank all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. It says something when bloggers from the left and right (who have no use for each other personally) have all wished my son well. I’ve also received e-mails and one loyal listener to the radio show sent flowers wishing my son a speedy recovery. It will take a while for him to get back on his feet. What complicates matters is he is a singer/dancer/actor and lung capacity is a big deal when performing. So that is another issue we’ll have to face.

But for now we can hopefully start recovery. We’ll know more late next week but keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, I like to think, has made a difference. Thank you, again, from the bottom of our hearts.

For the past several weeks I have been under the most stress I have ever experienced in my entire life. You may not have noticed in my words or voice, but it’s been pretty tough. Last month my son was hospitalized for pneumonia. During that time the doctors found a spot on his lung. At first we thought it was scar tissue from a previous illness a few years ago, but it turned out to something different.

It turns out he had a growth on his lung, and what scared me was the fact it was the size of a softball and we had no idea what it was. His doctors told it could be anything from an abnormal growth to cancer. That is something no parent wants to hear. We went through more tests and a he had surgery this morning. They removed the growth and are running some final tests to make sure it’s not cancerous. He’s resting, but is in a lot of pain. If all goes well though, he should be back up and at full speed in 3 months.

As you can probably tell, this was not easy. I kept a lot of this to myself for the longest time and only told a handful of close friends a few days ago. I also found myself really not caring about a lot things, my jobs, politics, going out or anything. I’ve never dealt well with things I have no control over or can’t use my schmooze power to fix. I also learned that keeping all this stuff in never helps either. So I guess that’s why I decided to post this. It’s been tough, but it looks like the worst part is over for now. Have a good weekend.

State Senator Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) is getting ready to unveil his Lottery privatization plan. Under his proposal, which will be formally announced tomorrow, it would dedicate $600 Million to a life science fund that could be used at all Indiana public and private colleges. That fund would be overseen by the Indiana Department of Economic Development. The other $400 million would go towards awarding 1000 merit–ased scholarships with a minimum of one scholarship to every high school per year in the state. The funds would available to students in both public and private schools and dedicated toward “critical need” professions such as nursing and math and science. Students who get the scholarship would have to agree to stay in Indiana for three years or pay the money back. The scholarships would also be merit-based so a student in need who is not getting a scholarship would be a prime candidate.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson is smiling today. Seven Republicans joined the House Democrats and voted for Indy Works, Part III; Fire Consolidation. The measure got out of the House by a vote of 58-39. The bill goes over to the Senate where James Merritt is reported to be the sponsor. This is the Mayor’s third attempt at this and I will give him credit. If you can’t beat ’em, wear them down. A win by attrition is still a win. Now it will be interesting to see if members of his own party, who control six of the nine townships in Marion County will be willing to give up some of that power. With Washington Township notwithstanding, anyone want to guess what that likely answer will be?

The Honeymoon between Republicans and Democrats officially ended the day before Valentine’s Day when Democrats blamed Republicans for failing to pass their own version of property tax relief. The measure failed 49-48. Although the bill wasn’t defeated and can still be reconsidered (it takes 51 votes to do that), Democrats blamed Republicans, although two of their own voted no. The measure would have raised income taxes, but 60-percent of the increase would have gone to property tax relief and the rest to public safety. What’s ironic about this is Democrats voted down all Republican amendments to the property tax bill. Luckily for all parties involved, the real property tax measure won’t come until mid-April, so there is plenty of room to posture.

With it being Valentine’s Day, I figured what better way to celebrate than by sending hearts or arrows to my favorite political figures. Hearts, we really like you. Arrows, you need to get it together.

Hearts – Emergency road crews.
Arrows – Anyone who drove yesterday who should have stayed at home.

Hearts – Mike O’Connor and Tom John. Both men are sharp, bright and what their respective parties need at this time.
Arrows – A good chunk of the Black Democrats in Marion County and Township Old Guard Republicans. The list is too long to go on with what’s wrong these guys, but fundamentally, they just don’t get it.

Hearts – School teachers.
Arrow – School administrators.

Hearts – Those lawmakers who voted against SJR-7.
Arrows – Those lawmakers who voted for SJR-7.

Hearts – The Governor for wanting to get the state out of the Property Tax replacement credit business.
Arrows – The Legislature, for not wanting to get out of the Property Tax replacement credit business.

Hearts – Barak Obama and Rudy Guliani.
Arrows – Sam Brownback and Hilary Clinton.

Hearts – The Indianapolis Colts. Need I say more?
Arrows – The Indiana Pacers. Need I say more?

Hearts – Anyone who listens to Newstalk 1430, WXNT. I really appreciate it. Happy Valentine’s Day.

We’re all keeping eye on the weather today as things could get a little hairy. In the meanwhile there are a couple issues out there worth keeping an eye on.

Indiana lawmakers may take up the cigarette tax today to pay for health care. The amount I hear is 60 cents per pack. The measure will come up in the House Ways and Means Committee.

City-County Council President Monroe Gray may face a challenger in this year’s municipal election. His challenge isn’t coming from the Republicans but the Libertarians. Libertarian Mark Rutherford is interested in running against Gray. Rutherford hasn’t made a formal decision, but thinks Gray has been a embarrassment to the District on the city’s near north side.

And speaking of elections, Marion County Republicans did not slate a candidate for Mayor this weekend. They’re waiting, in part, to see if Bart Peterson is really going to run again. We’ll know this Saturday as Marion County Democrats have their slating convention in Indianapolis.

What started out as a raid at a local pea shake house on Indianapolis’ west side could actually be the tip of the iceberg. Although officials will not confirm, reliable sources are saying that several Federal law enforcement agencies are looking at the city’s pea shake houses for possible federal racketeering charges because of possible ties to organized crime.

Sources say the Government has identified nearly a dozen pea shake houses with net profits of more than $29 million, after payouts. And that is a conservative estimate. There is also reason for the federal government to believe that in addition to those profits, millions more have been funneled into financing drugs, prostitution and loan sharking. Money may have also been funneled into financing legitimate businesses in Indianapolis.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department would neither confirm nor deny the investigation; however she did say that this type of scenario would fall under the purview of the federal government because such matters would be prosecuted under the RICO statutes.

Sources say this investigation has been taking place for the past three years and has managed to gather extensive information from video surveillance, wire taps, e-mail, cell phone conversations and bank records. It is not clear if the investigation includes any elected or appointed officials in Marion County. What is clear is that things in this county could get real interesting, real soon.

This will be quick. Marion County Republicans elected local attorney Tom John as their new County Chairman. John got 65 percent of the vote in a four-way race. What was most notable though in the whole election was defeated candidate Bob Croddy’s speech to his fellow Republicans. It was really bad. How bad was it? Let me put it this way, it would have sounded better in the original German. Enjoy your day.