"Indiana could have avoided HIV outbreak," but Mike Pence was busy being all fundamentalist and shiz.

As an opening aside, best wishes to Lexy Gross as she decamps for law school. She's been doing a fine job covering our area for the C-J.

In this, one of her last dispatches, we are reminded that Mike Pence enjoyed governing from the pages of his Old Testament, and it took sensible members of his own party -- our own Ed Clere -- to treat matters of public health as ... exactly what they are.

Clere and Zoeller instrumental in Pence's needle exchange turnaround.

Which reminds me: I need to get to work on that endorsement of Clere for re-election.

Indiana could have avoided HIV outbreak, study shows, by Lexy Gross (C-J)

Not only was the nationally publicized HIV crisis in rural Indiana last year preventable, but other U.S. communities are at high risk for nearly identical outbreaks, according to a recently released study from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

The study also reveals contradictions between what Indiana public health officials think is best for the state and the policies currently in place.

And:

(Indiana Governor Mike) Pence signed an executive order in March 2015 that allowed Scott County to implement an emergency needle exchange for 30 days, although he still expressed his opposition of the programs. In May of that year, Indiana Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, wrote legislation ending Indiana's ban of syringe exchanges while chairman of the House public health committee. Counties can apply to start a needle exchange program after declaring a public health emergency due to rising HIV or hepatitis C cases.

Clere and Zoeller instrumental in Pence's needle exchange turnaround.

I never hesitate to lob grenades when the GOP goes off the rails (see "Pence, Mike"), so lest we forget, two prominent Indiana Republicans from right here in Floyd County were instrumental in doing the right thing in Scott County.

HAYDEN: Conservatives changed Pence’s mind on needle exchange, by Maureen Hayden (CNHI)

 ... Back in early March, as HIV numbers spiked in Scott County, Pence stopped state health officials from distributing “harm reduction” kits stocked with needle-cleaning supplies such as bleach, cotton, and alcohol wipes.

By the end of the month, conservative Republicans from communities near the HIV epicenter had convinced him that the situation was dire enough to set aside ideology.

They pushed him to take a first step — declaring a 30-day emergency that cleared the way for a limited exchange in Scott County wherein health officials could get clean needles into the hands of HIV-infected drug users.

Pence resisted.

House Public Health Committee Chairman Ed Clere, R-New Albany, wanted more. He filed a measure to let local health officials expand needle exchanges to other communities where IV drug use is fueling a fast rise in Hepatitis C — a blood-borne disease that often accompanies HIV.

Pence continued to resist.

To counter Pence’s argument that needle exchanges enable drug users — an argument echoed by prosecutors — Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller went public with his support.

“I’m not going to have anybody put to death with HIV just because they’ve broken the law,” said Zoeller. By the time he made that statement, he had been lobbying both lawmakers and the governor’s staff to support Clere’s needle exchange bill.

Politically, Pence is a waste of human flesh. Kudos to Clere and Zoeller for being human. Every little bit helps, doesn't it?

Mayoral paperwork filed, Zurschmiede suddenly becomes aware of human trafficking.

Of course, it is disturbing that Indiana's attorney general must acknowledge the prevailing Hoosier theocracy by expressing opposition to human trafficking through the safe haven of religious organizations (it's a faith issue, not an enforcement issue -- right, Greg?), but still, as an unexpected means of exposing spa landlord Kevin Zurschmiede's ongoing ethical confusion (see photo above), the article is quite simply priceless.

Zoeller urges unity against human trafficking (N and T)

INDIANAPOLIS — Religious organizations in Indiana and across the globe will recognize Sunday, Feb. 8, as the first-ever International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking ...

... (Indiana Attorney General Greg) Zoeller said Indiana communities are not immune to human trafficking. State, federal and nonprofit agencies investigated more than 100 human trafficking tips in Indiana last year. The average age at which children in the United States first become victims of sex trafficking is 12 to 14, and 83 percent of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. are U.S. citizens.

“For too long these horrific crimes flourished largely unnoticed by the public, and thankfully that is starting to change,” Zoeller said in the release. “We now know that human trafficking is happening right here at home, and its victims are our most vulnerable citizens. Being aware of these crimes, knowing the warning signs and refusing to tolerate the commercial sex industry that fuels trafficking are all critical to this fight.

Zurschmiede's hypocrisy was considered at length earlier this week in two NAC postings:

ON THE AVENUES: Got spa? Time for CM Zurschmiede to reel in the years.

Amanda Beam's column about human trafficking and the sex trade, and Kevin Zurschmiede's spa denial.

Pence takes to his bunker as Indiana's gay marriage ban is ruled to be unconstitutional.

Meanwhile last evening, the N and T reported that the home county of Indiana's attorney general would grudgingly accede to modernity.

Duh -- of course Greg Zoeller will argue against it. That's what he's paid to do, but what's worth remembering that he's in the employ of a dullard governor who represents the narrow interests of the GOP fundamentalist cabal. Zoeller's merely a hired hand in this instance, although there is a precedent of sorts for principle over ideology. Anyone remember Indianapolis native William Ruckelshaus?

Weddings begin as judge throws out Indiana's same-sex marriage ban, by Jill Disis and Cara Anthony (Indy Star)

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Indiana's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, immediately allowing same-sex couples across the state to receive marriage licenses.

U.S. District Judge Richard Young did not issue a stay on his ruling. However, a spokesman for Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose office represented the state, said they "will quickly ask for a stay of today's ruling pending appeal."

Today's Tribune column: "Mother, is the battle over?"

If you have it, play Bob Dylan's "Idiot Wind" and imagine a montage of Steve Price snarling "no" over, and over, and over again.

BAYLOR: Mother, is the battle over?

... Indeed, war is hell, and so are most of the first Mondays and third Thursdays of the month, not because the ideal textbook definition of city council suggests the aspect of primal entertainment, Three Stooges style, but owing to our dogged insistence as voters in electing unprepared, undereducated, caterwauling ward heelers to their positions. Recalling Mencken, we get exactly what we vote for — good and hard.

Note: My mistake in the original text -- they're Thursdays, not Fridays. Corrected in the excerpt above.