To help you get over your case of the Mondays. Not a lot of humor, just a few interesting tidbits scoured from social media in the past few days. I swear Monday Morning Humor will make a return.

“I found an interesting quote someone posted on the Channel 6 story about my new proposal. I won’t be using it in committee but thought it was funny. “A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity” – Sigmund Freud” – Libertarian Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ed Coleman, posted to his Facebook

“You know that it’s time for the Grammy’s to go when Weird Al is still getting nominated for awards” – Mike O’Brien, on Twitter

“Y’all come out to Papa Roux™. A little bit of Football™ this Sunday™, with a whole heapin’ mess of All-You-Can-Eat Po-Boys™ and Zeafood Gumbo™ on the side” – Art “Papa Roux” Bouvier. Obviously a little upset over the NFL putting the legal smackdown on folks using the phrase “Who Dat” without paying the NFL their alleged due. Thing is, it’s a New Orleans phrase that long predates the Saints franchise.

“Just saw an Attaboy plumbing truck 82nd and Bash. No, Richard Behney was not driving” – Me, on Twitter

As seen on Facebook:

President B. Hussein Obama bows to the Mayor of Tampa. Methinks he was checking out her …. blouse!!

Speaking of elected officials on Twitter -
““What do you think Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels should send us when the Saints take down the Colts in the Super Bowl? http://twurl.cc/24to” – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Getting a little cocky ahead of the big game, aren’t you?

And finally – the campaign kickoff for Indiana’s next Congresswoman from the 2nd Congressional District

And Speaking of the Grammys:

The Taylor Swift Po-Boy

Our friends at Indiana State Government passed along this little note:

IN.gov will be temporarily unavailable on Sunday, October 18th between the hours of 6:00am – 10:00am. This is due to scheduled maintenance on the IN.gov website. All websites and online services will be unavailable during this scheduled maintenance timeframe.

Fox News still dominates the Cable News Race!

CABLE NEWS RACE
MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2009

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,440,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,937,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,810,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,450,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,066,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,860,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,114,000
CNN KING 1,063,000
MSNBC MADDOW 885,000
CNN COOPER 827,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 640,000

I have often criticized abuse of power by law enforcement, specifically the mentality that places getting convictions over seeking justice, the alarming overuse of paramilitary strike forces (SWAT teams) and the lack of respect for civil liberties. I was concerned when the federal government passed the so-called “Patriot Act” in 2001 in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and I have been critical of the Patriot Act and similar policies for the last eight years.

I have since come to realize that the abuses of power in the “War on Drugs” and the “War on Crime” laid the foundation for the expansion of government power we have seen in the War on Terror. We have seen our civil liberties eroded as politicians implement sometimes draconian policies to avoid the dreaded accusation that they are “soft on crime.” Furthermore, some are far too quick to give the benefit of the doubt to police when controversy arises over appropriate exercise of authority. While I respect those in uniform and appreciate their service, I maintain that there must be a reasonable and healthy skepticism of law enforcement in order to preserve liberty.

This leads me to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. for disorderly conduct after police investigated a suspected burglary at his home. (Charges have been dropped.) When police arrived and asked to speak with Gates, he asked “Why, because I’m a black man in America?”

(Read more after the leap)

Judge David F. Hamilton

By: Brian Sikma

Without a doubt one of the most contentious issues of President Bush’s two terms in office was his appointment of various individuals to serve in the federal judiciary. In Article 2 Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States, the President is awarded the power to appoint judges to the federal judiciary. When this power is viewed in light of the doctrine of judicial review, the reasoning that justifies the power of the courts to overturn laws passed by Congress and regulations imposed by the Executive Branch if they are found to be un-constitutional, the power of judicial appointment is understood to be one of the more important roles that a President fills.

Since the inception of the federal judiciary, federal judges and justices have had to wrestle with a number of disputes over the meaning, purpose, and intent of the Constitution, various federal laws, government regulations, and treaties that have been ratified by the United States. Their job has not always been a high-profile one, but perhaps since the uproar over President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “court packing” scheme in the 1930s, their time in the limelight has grown. This increased attention has also come about as a result of some of the more activist decisions that have been handed down in opinions since the middle of the 20th Century.

Because a judge on the federal bench today will probably at some point hear crucial cases relating to abortion, same sex marriage, 2nd Amendment rights, interstate commerce, religious liberty, and even property rights (recall the Kelo v. City of New London decision that touched off a firestorm of controversy over eminent domain), and because judges are appointed for life, their nomination has become a rigorously public and political affair.

President Bush frequently chose to nominate individuals to the federal judiciary who embraced an originalist interpretation of the Constitution and who viewed their prospective role as one in which they should enforce the law and uphold the Constitution, not twist it to fit a convoluted yet politically correct way of interpretation. The vast majority of them believed that, whatever their personal political preferences, it was the job of legislators, executives and citizens to work together to change the law. They did not find rights to abortion, same-sex marriage, unrestrained eminent domain, or affirmative action in the Constitution.

Yet it was often because of these beliefs in a restrained and limited judiciary that led liberal groups and liberal senators, including the current President, to vehemently oppose the nomination of judges like Charles Pickering (who went unconfirmed), John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Janice Rogers Brown. These individuals were viewed as “dangerous” and a “menace” to the Constitution and to the freedom that we enjoy because they were not active enough to legislate from the bench. It is odd when those who refuse to distort the power of their office are deemed dangerous, but those who stop at nothing and from time to time use international law as a justification for superseding the plain meaning of our Constitution are hailed as champions of liberty.

(Read More Below the Fold)

Often the best gauge of how effective you are in a public policy battle is what your opponent has to say about your work.  Here is the opening paragraph from an e-mail sent out by MoveOn.org to supporters (and interested members of the opposition like myself):

President Obama’s economic stimulus plan is in trouble. Conservative talking points are dominating the media’s coverage and there’s lots of misinformation around.

The conservative response as articulated by Mike Pence, Eric Cantor, and dozens of other House Republicans, conservative activists, and bloggers, is working.  The American people will respond to the right message and the presentation of truth when there is a courage behind that message to back it up with action.

No, I’m not talking about the $825 billion monster bailout proposal being debated in Washington (though who could resist a slice of that pie?  Free money!).  I’m talking about actual pie and the entity distributing the pie is the Indiana State Senate (via staffers, not senators, of course).  I had occasion to be down at the Statehouse yesterday and much to my surprise I learned that the resolution honoring sugar cream pie as the official state pie would be accompanied not by mere words and speeches but also by actions.

Legislators, lobbyists, and average citizens who were present yesterday afternoon outside of the State Senate chambers got a slice of sugar cream pie in honor of the Senate’s resolution honoring the pie as the Hoosier pie.  We always knew that lobbyists wanted a slice of the pie, but yesterday that was really what was going on.

Do I like the idea of the Senate taking time to consider and pass this resolution?  Not particularly, I think they could spend time on other more important things, though I acknowledge that the time spent on it was relatively short.  But, my views on the propriety of this action did not take precedent over my enjoyment of pie and I, like many others, sampled a piece of sugar cream pie.

Indy Star has the story here, and if you want to order some pies exactly like the ones being served-up yesterday, go to Wick’s Pies, Inc.

Now it’s time for the General Assembly to get down to business.

Got a chance to catch the second half of the Governor’s State of the State Speech kicking off the 2009 legislative season.

Let’s boil it down:

• Tough times call for innovative choices
• It’s time to cut the budget, if we use up the rainy day fund, we could be in trouble in the future
• Stop whining, and start winning
• Just think California’s deficit is three times larger than our entire budget … I guess it’s awful nice to be here and not there

Democrat responses on AM 1430 after speech

• Mitch didn’t talk enough about jobs or job creation
• Mitch isn’t giving enough money to schools in his budget
• Mitch was overly positive in the fall just to get elected
• Mitch spent too much time on class room discipline
• He avoided the tough issues

For some great commentary from the speech go to Hoosier Access chat.

Basically, the democrats wants to spend the rainy day fund and Mitch won’t let them.

I just got back from watching Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The short review is: this is an incredible movie. It is very well-made and it makes a point about freedom that must be made. Everyone should take the opportunity to watch.

The longer review below the fold

An important movie is going to be released this Friday—Expelled, the Movie. This is a movie by Ben Stein that confronts the widespread hostility in academia to any scientific inquiry that opposes Darwinism. I haven’t seen the movie, but I have read some of the stories of people that Stein talks with in the movie.

The specific theory that is being suppressed is Intelligent Design. Some out there will support ID and some will not. The point of the movie is not that ID is fact. Rather the point is that it is a scientific theory that attempts to deal with significant gaps in Darwinian Theory and the academic/scientific community is not allowing it to be discussed. Stein may deal with the issue of being able to mention the theory in classes, but even that is not the real issue. Scientific papers on ID are not published in peer-reviewed scientific journals—not because of the merits of the research, but because the subject matter is not acceptable. Scientists are losing their jobs or having their careers cut short for even supporting the idea of discussing ID.

(Read more after the leap)

Just as we celebrate the sometimes rocky career of Coach Bob Knight for all of the right reasons – graduating players, no recruiting violations and overall winning without sacrificing the character of his programs – we learn that our Hoosiers are in deep trouble with the NCAA. ESPN is reporting “Indiana Faces Major Violations Over Calls” stemming from illegal recruiting phone calls made by IU Coach Kelvin Sampson. This type of behavior is unacceptable at IU, even in the midst of one of the best IU Basketball seasons of my lifetime. Contact the Trustees at IU today and tell them to do the right thing.

Also, check out this website -www.FireCoachSampson.com

UPDATE: The Indy Star has released a profile of the actual violations from the NCAA with more information about Sampson’s lies and false statements to the NCAA investigators. Also, stay tuned at IU Basketball’s best blog here – Inside the Hall – for updates throughout the day. No one covers IU Basketball better than these guys.

UPDATE 2: If any elected officials or candidates would like to comment on this subject, please pass your comments on to me at jim@wabashconsultants.com and I will post them at www.HoosierAccess.com. I do see this as an important political issue with huge implications to the state of Indiana and its taxpayers.

First, the afternoon newspaper disappeared in favor of television news leaving morning newspapers standing. Now, bloggers such as us and higher profile ones like RedState and Politico are leaving newspapers in the dust.

Now, the same newspaper that was left with its lower jaw on the floor after Mayor Greg Ballard won the election is now reprinting the previous day’s stories in the Sunday paper because of a “massive computer glitch“.

Dennis Ryerson’s rag is becoming more and more irrelevant all the time.