Bud Bernitt, who is running for Congress in the Eighth District, issued the following press release yesterday:

Roads bring jobs, and that is why I am challenging my Democratic opponent to sign a pledge to support the extension of Interstate 69 from Evansville to Indianapolis. Voters have made it clear to me: Build Interstate 69. Now.

The economy is performing poorly and unemployment in the United States is 9.7%. The right medicine for the Eighth is I-69, and that is why I plan to talk up Interstate 69 throughout this entire race and right on through November.

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In the fall of 2006, Herald-Times columnist Mike Leonard admitted that he fabricated a Congressional vote that never took place in order to take a partisan shot at incumbent Congressman Mike Sodrel. On February 28, Mike Leonard lied about funding for Ivy Tech, attempting to lead readers to believe that Ivy Tech’s operating budget is funded by property taxes. On March 7, Leonard hit another low.

In a column about a dispute between Union Board and Young Americans for Liberty at IU, Leonard asserted that YAL was denied funding for a speaker not because of bias, but because YAL did not follow the proper procedure and allow UB to help with planning the event.

Of course, Leonard contradicted himself by saying that UB “got the ‘cuckoo-cuckoo’ whistle” from faculty and rejected the request because the proposed speaker did not have “sufficient academic credibility.” So which is it, Mike? Was it bias against the speaker himself or was it because YAL did not follow procedure? You cannot have it both ways.

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I believe the Constitution means what it says in the Second Amendment, which states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The framers intended the Bill of Rights to be a list of “negative” rights, meaning it is a list of things the government may not do to infringe on the rights that they assumed free men automatically have. It is not meant to be a list of what private citizens and businesses may or may not do.

While I am an avid supporter of Second Amendment rights, and I have been critical of the National Rifle Association for a lack of commitment to the Second Amendment, I am opposed to House Bill 1065. This bill passed by a huge margin in both chambers of the Indiana state legislature, passing by 74-20 in the House and 41-9 in the Senate. HB 1065 would make it illegal for employers to prohibit employees from taking a gun to work and leaving it in a locked vehicle out of plain sight. Some employers, such as schools, are exempt from this law.

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Herald-Times columnist Mike Leonard has done it again. As you may recall, Leonard committed a serious breach of journalistic ethics in 2006 by fabricating a Congressional vote that never took place and attacking Mike Sodrel based on that fabrication. Now, he is lying about Governor Mitch Daniels.

On February 28, Leonard wrote:

Daniels has stayed consistent in his drive to write property tax caps into the state constitution. Even though the caps already are state law.

We’ve seen the wisdom of that philosophy already. Public education is getting slammed, higher education is taking hard hits — especially at Ivy Tech.

There is a major problem with Leonard’s argument. Ivy Tech is not funded by property taxes. Leonard is attempting to lead H-T readers into believing that Ivy Tech’s operating budget is funded by property taxes, and their operating budget has suffered as property taxes have gone down since the reforms implemented a few years ago.

That is not true. It is a lie. That means Mike Leonard is a liar.

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I’ve made no secret of my frustration with the big-government policies of the Republican Party under George W. Bush. Congressional candidate Todd Young has taken to pointing out this irresponsibility, telling the Herald-Times that the “Republican Congress was the most fiscally irresponsible Congress in American history – until this present Congress.” While it’s good to see a Republican not be shackled by partisanship and willing to criticize his own party for bad policy, it is important to add the perspective that was missing in Young’s remarks about the Republican Congress.

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“What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of person and what kind of a society will we have twenty years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system and our mind set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth” – Jesse Jackson

When Bloomington celebrated Martin Luther King Day, we honored a man who gave his life to defending the oppressed against the injustice of racial discrimination. Dr. King dedicated his life to opposing injustice, and his courage changed the course of history and inspired many to carry on his torch. In the 1970’s, Jesse Jackson understood that defending the oppressed meant defending the life of the unborn, before he sold his soul for political expediency.

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“The extremes of both parties have to be willing to accept compromises.” Congress should make changes “so that sensible people can get the job done.” Those were two of the statements that Evan Bayh made when he announced he will not run for another term in 2010. It is all bunk.

I could blog about the political ramifications of Bayh dropping out and the timing of his announcement, but that has been beaten to death. I’m not going to say anything that has not already been said hundreds of times all over the blogosphere. What is worth addressing, though, is the content-free populist rhetoric Bayh used to justify his decision not to defend his endangered seat.

Arguably the most intensely partisan battle over public policy has been on health care. What, exactly, does Bayh view as a “compromise” that Republicans should accept? As usual, populist rhetoric about “getting things done” is long on generalities and short on specifics.

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In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, feminist groups became increasingly hysterical with a planned advertisement by Focus on the Family, which featured Pam Tebow and her son Tim. Mrs. Tebow was advised to abort her pregnancy due to health complications, but decided to proceed and her son became a Heisman trophy winner. The Feminist Majority urged their e-mail list to contact CBS and demand the ad be pulled, with hysterical claims such as:

This is an opportunity to bring people together and should not be used to tear them apart. Especially at this time, with the trial of Dr. George Tiller’s murderer fresh in everyone’s mind, airing an anti-abortion advertisement to a massive audience is both unwise and potentially dangerous.

Think about that for a minute. The FM is actually claiming that the Tebow ad could encourage anti-abortion terrorism and invokes the murder of infamous abortionist George Tiller last summer.

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That’s it? That’s all? This is the ad that the National Organization for Women and the Feminist Majority have been screeching about? This is the ad that the Feminist Majority has said will inspire terrorism? Are you kidding me here?

A critical vote takes place today in Massachusetts, where Republican candidate Scott Brown has surprised everyone by coming close in the polls and actually has a chance of winning the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. Republicans are excited about this race and it has drawn national attention. A number of my friends have signed on as supporters of Brown on Facebook, which is what prompted me to take a look at his web site. I was disappointed (though not at all surprised) by what I found on the page stating his position on various issues.

While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion. I also believe there are people of good will on both sides of the issue and we ought to work together to support and promote adoption as an alternative to abortion.

Ugh.

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This evening, Jesse Jackson will speak in downtown Bloomington, giving the keynote address for today’s Martin Luther King Day celebrations. But Jesse Jackson abandoned Dr. King’s dream of protection for all when he abandoned his opposition to abortion for political convenience. Read what the “reverend” had to say before he sold his soul:

“What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? … It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system and our mindset with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth.” – Jesse Jackson

(Thanks to Jill Stanek for the quote.)