Last week I was struck by how empty downtown Indy is. Courts and the people, in various jobs & in whatever offices, that are part of that system, moved a couple of miles away to the “new” Justice Center on Southeastern Avenue. Businesses cannot survive without customers. 1/5

City-County Council throws $$$ at developers to go along w/land also gifted. The “mixed use” buildings (usually apartments over a floor of whatever businesses can be lured downtown) go up. I point out absence…

Years ago, “A” described her fundamentalist church. Me: “1st Amendment protects your religious beliefs.” A: “That’s not my religion. I believe in ‘God.’” [FN1] Hoosiers seem ignorant of others’ beliefs. A’s church is not an outlier. Evangelicals hacked the GOP in pursuit of power. 1/10

Sean Feucht was in Indy last year [FN2] & says the USA should be governed “for the benefit of believers [T]hat’s why we get called Christian nationalists.” [FN3] No, dumbass, you call yourselves…

Elections are determined by the voters. Legitimacy of elections can be called into question when outcomes are determined by other factors. Marion County began early voting on April 9 for the May 7 primary election. [FN1] No system built by humans is perfect, but 1/6

ExpressVote, Marion County’s, addresses vulnerabilitie/reduces risks. Here are measures a voter (“V” for brevity) encounters:

1) Voter can vote, s/he/they must be eligible & registered. 2/6

2) At first stop…

Micah Beckwith [FN1] gave us a preview of what to expect if he gets his way and (1) is the GOP nominee for Lt Gov & (2) the GOP ticket wins. On 9/8/22 he was appointed to HEPL’s board of trustees. [FN2] He had a quick, nasty reply to some who questioned his vague goals. 1/8

“You want smut on the shelves!?” When he was part of a 4-3 majority on HEPL’s board, he was able to push a policy that pulled books from the “young adult” for review. Beckwith didn’t have specifics for whether…

This GOP has impaired our federal gov’t on orders from trump. Example: trump directed GOP members of Congress to stop bipartisan immigration reform. trump needs fear [FN1] to campaign on. Micah Beckwith [FN2] wants to be IN Lt Gov, but voters don’t like him. In 2020, he 1/7

lost a GOP primary for INCD5. [FN3] A 2022 end run on voters put him on the HEPL board. His bone-headed policy pulled books fr a “young adult” section, wasted $, got bad press & pissed off voters. Beckwith quit…

Indiana’s Court of Appeals got it right on Friday {FN1] & affirmed preliminary injunctive relief to stay enforcement of I.C. §16-34-2-1, Indiana’s version of the maga-driven anti-abortion law. [FN1] The decision is based on I.C. §34-13-9-1, et seq, Religious Freedom Restoration Act. 1/3

The decision was unanimous. Plaintiffs argued that their religious beliefs are violated when they are denied access to abortion. The decision, and a very strong concurring opinion, run 76 pages. I…

A far right person can’t claim s/he “own the libs” [FN1] when s/he runs away from a challenge to debate. Micah Beckwith [FN2] wants to be the GOP’s nominee for IN Lt Gov. That nomination is determined by the GOP State convention. Beckwith can dodge pesky questions. Such as... 1/7

If Beckwith believes “The Lord” spoke to him [FN3] about Jan 6, Beckwith’s lack of concern for people charged & convicted is cold. Making things up is colder to a lot more people. Mencken said no one ever…

If “A” claims to talk to “God,” [FN1] A’s right is protected by the First Amendment, and validity of A’s belief is irrelevant. [FN2] The matter is different when the person seeks political office & claims to talk with “God” about political issues. Micah Beckwith is such a person. [FN3]

Micah Beckwith wants to be the GOP’s candidate for Lt Governor of Indiana. On 1/07/2021, he posted a selfie video to Facebook saying the “Lord” said to him: “Micah, I sent those riots to Washington.…

On “Mouthwash” [FN1] 4/2/24, the central topic was debate in 2024's campaigns. To intro my 2-minute spot [FN2], John said I want to debate Micah Beckwith. [FN3] A real-time comment: “Micah would destroy Mark in a debate.” Beckwith, “Merde de Poulet,” will not debate me. 1/12

In poker, opponents’ words (e.g., cards to draw, bets) are important, but experienced players look for “tells.” [FN4] In 2020 I ran pro-choice & environment, anti-gun in INCD5's GOP primary. [FN5] On 2/1/20,…

This iteration of the GOP wants power & would place a dictator in The Oval Office. Every vote is important. A right-wing voice sounded an alarm: “Nebraskans should [] demand their state stop pointlessly giving strength to their political enemies.” [FN1] .Nebraska’s electors? 1/11

Are not assigned to candidate for POTUS [FN2] based on winner-take-all. [FN3] Of Nebraska’s 5 electors [FN4] 2 go to the winner of the popular vote State-wide. The other 3 go to the winner of each…

A woman testified before a House committee how Florida law forced her to carry a “baby until 37 weeks with no amniotic fluid and a certainty that he would not survive.” [FN1] A GOP House member said Jan 6 insurrectionists behaved “in an orderly fashion.” [FN2] 1/7

In 3-card monte, the dealer uses sleight of hand and misdirection to win. [FN3] This iteration of the GOP has 2024's elections awash in absurdities. Pandering to a contracting base might be only a stall. Some profess love…

Steve Bannon says opponents of trump will be imprisoned once trump returns to the Oval Office. [FN1] trump stokes anger at rallies w/threats of violence. Election workers are threatened as DOJ is “investigating dozens of threats” and has charged 20 individuals so far.” [FN2] 1/10

Those who claim to “own the libs” don’t understand a lot of things. One: threats can’t be walked back w/a lame “nuh-uh.” That didn’t work w/mama & it only makes you look like merde de poulet. Two:…

In 2017, I blogged about the 2016 election. Several threads made little sense, ate up my time, and always were rude. They were trolls: person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages for the troll's amusement, or to [cause] harm to other people. [FN1] 1/11

In 2016 Russian trolls tilted to trump, according to a Columbia University study. [FN2] On Facebook yesterday, a post expressed relief that trump was not in office for the bridge collapse in Baltimore. “Ted Fine” had…

As trump hawked bibles [FN1] he posted, “Let’s Make America Pray Again.” Some, who claim to be devout Christians, claim to be persecuted by separation of church and State, i.e., if their god can’t run the lives of everyone, they are the ones who are (somehow) “victims.” 1/8

trump’s post is another reason to fear his return to power & anyone taking power who advances this belief. 1) We should take seriously that he & others will “make” us pray. In this context, the verb “make”…

Shame & revulsion are positive if they spark change and the change is positive. This time of year, the two major political parties celebrate presidents each claims as its own. In 2016, the Indiana Democratic Party dropped the moniker “Jefferson-Jackson dinner.” [FN1] 1/9

Jefferson, 3rd POTUS, wrote a 1st draft of The Declaration of Independence, [FN2] but claimed to own human beings, whose numbers moved “above and below 200.” [FN3] Andrew Jackson had > 200 slaves & oversaw…

Amongst replies on FB to a Far Side cartoon of “Aerobics in hell,” one [FN1] was serious: “They got two things wrong in this cartoon 1. the devil does not look like that. 2. in Hell you are utterly alone!!!!” In exchanges of posts, I tried for humor.[FN2] He didn’t. [FN3] [FN4] 1/13

November might see our last election if trump retakes The Oval Office. Threats of violence, explicit [FN5] and implicit [FN6], from the far right are a constant. Whether “born again,” “fundamentalist” or…

Maybe it’d be fun to call Micah Beckwith [FN1] a gussied-up name, [FN2] but he doesn’t seem to read. As an HEPL board member, he did not seem to have read books in that library. Now he appears not to have read a description of an office, Lt Gov, he seeks via end run. 1/10

Beckwith’s “action plan for serving” as Lt Gov is redolent of a 1924 minority that ruled Indiana from offices on the Circle. The head of IN’s KKK, D.C. Stephenson, ran the State, but could not, as a candidate, win an…

The last war [FN1] this country fought ended 9/2/45 with Japan’s surrender [FN2], longer than any time in our history without war. Elected political officials have found circumvention of formal declarations of war as convenient as the use of war as metaphor for anything else.1/9

Eric Doden is a candidate for IN Governor in this iteration of the GOP. He lays claim to being an “outsider.” [FN3] That’s not true. His GOP primary loss in a 2011 run for Mayor of Ft Wayne [FN4] is not the…

After the shootings in Broad Ripple around 1:20 a.m. on 3/16, in which one person was killed and several wounded, I blogged about the absurdity of circumstances that give rise to death tolls from our gun culture. Police weren’t called to the scene, but were working near the bar. 1/8

The officers ” heard multiple shots go off inside” the bar, [FN1] a bar catering to a younger set. [FN2] Officers were steps taken in June 2023 to address gun violence. [FN3] “The wild west” is movie…

Russia still has a hand in our elections. Paul Manafort chaired the GOP presidential campaign in 2016. He later admitted he lied to investigators & under oath “about his contact with a Russian associate during the 2016 campaign.” [FN1] Manafort was pardoned by trump. 1/5

Some of the information was “internal polling data” and was shared with Konstantin Kilimnik, a “Russian and Ukrainian political consultant” and that “Russia could have exploited such inside information to target…