Yep, Kruse (mind) Kontrol again: "Creationism would be taught in Indiana public schools, indoctrinating students with biblical literalism, if Senate Bill 373 becomes law."

The giant anus to which Dan refers:

The sponsor of the bill, Dennis Kruse (R-District 14), has a long history of sponsoring anti-evolution legislation.

Ah, the joys of Hoosierness.

---

INDIANA ANTI-EVOLUTION BILL WOULD INDOCTRINATE STUDENTS IN CREATIONISM (Center for Inquiry)

Creationism would be taught in Indiana public schools, indoctrinating students with biblical literalism, if Senate Bill 373 becomes law. The Center for Inquiry (CFI)—which advocates for reason, science, and secularism—has promised to take all necessary legal measures to oppose the bill’s passage or implementation.

Senate Bill 373 would permit Indiana public schools to teach “creation science” as an alternative to the scientific theory of evolution. Creation science is a purely religious teaching that is unsupported by actual science. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard that the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause protects public school students from indoctrination in religious ideas such as creation science.

“The children of Indiana deserve a high-quality science education. It is their right to be properly taught the fundamentals of biology,” said Bertha Vazquez, director of CFI’s Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. “How else will they be able to compete in an increasingly competitive college entrance process and the national job market? The parents of Indiana should be outraged that their own children will be subjected to the willful ignorance of a few legislators.”

SB 373 also requires public schools to display a poster stating “In God We Trust” in each classroom and library.

This is similar to model legislation promoted by the Christian nationalist Project Blitz, an effort by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to impose Christianity on Americans through operation of law. The Project Blitz manual encourages religious Right lobbyists to advocate for Christian nationalist legislation in their home states beginning with symbolic “In God We Trust” bills. Additional legislative initiatives would allow religious discrimination against women seeking reproductive health care, same-sex couples, transgender people, and other marginalized groups. CFI stands with our secular and interfaith partners who oppose the goals and methods of Project Blitz. We see it as a full-on assault on one of the nation’s founding principles: that religion and government shall be separate.

“Secular education promotes critical thinking and religious freedom,” said Robyn Blumner, CFI’s president and CEO. “Students deserve instruction in real science, without taxpayer money being used to proselytize a narrow version of Christianity that subscribes to unscientific notions of how the universe came to be. If parents want to give their children this type of religious instruction, they are certainly free to do so, but they need to do it on their own time and their own dime, not paid for from the public purse.”

The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a nonprofit educational, advocacy, and research organization headquartered in Amherst, New York, with executive offices in Washington, D.C. It is also home to the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and the Council for Secular Humanism. The Center for Inquiry strives to foster a secular society based on reason, science, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. Visit CFI on the web at centerforinquiry.org.

Grooms versus Murray for State Senate.

For my scant money, this race is one of two genuinely compelling ones during the current election cycle (the other is Liz Watson and the filthy rich Tennessean for Congress).

In Depompei's preview, Grooms isn't shy about the notion of car-centrism as an inevitable pillar of regional economic development. Conversely, while referencing her opponent's traditionalism in the final paragraph, Murray has nothing to say about alternative, multi-modal transportation options.

As such, both candidates are conceding the daily absenteeism of One Southern Indiana as it pertains to taking for granted a future of single-occupant cars fighting for space on ever-widening roads, and encouraging the ensuing mayhem.

By not talking about cars, we continue to miss the boat. 

Opposites vie for Indiana Senate District 46, by Elizabeth Depompei (Chronicle of Tom May)

 ... To Grooms, the biggest difference between himself and Murray comes down to one word: experience.

"Experience and understanding and knowing the community. No comparison," he said.

He points to his involvement in issues like the opioid crisis (he authored the state's first pill mill bill) and education (increasing tuition support across schools in his district). It also helps, he said, to be a part of the supermajority held by his fellow Republicans in the Senate, "... which allows me to serve the constituents of my district much better, because I can get a bill heard in committee. I can be on the forefront of discussion," he said.

Murray said her experience as a lawyer has prepared her to work across the aisle.

"I'm used to negotiations and I know how negotiations work," she said.

She embraces her inexperience in political office, saying she offers a new perspective.

"He [Grooms] is still embracing policies that have been around for quite some time and in my opinion policies that have gotten us to the place we're at in terms of our statistics and our quality of life and our health and our general wellbeing of our population," she said. "We are failing."

Selective ethics violations: Dickety Dickety Dock, hypocrisy stills the clock.

When you see an advertisement like this one in the News and Tribune, does it occur to you that when the mayor's face and name are sized larger than every other design element and font, perhaps this arrangement strongly suggests a de facto campaign ad, on an everyday basis, at taxpayer expense?

It should. To be sure, there is nothing innately unethical about this practice, and Jeff Gahan's certainly not the only elected official in irony-free America to use quasi-franking privileges for the advancement of his own personal brand, rather than that of the city.

Granted, we know by now that Gahan views these two brands as one and the same. He believes he personifies the city, or at least those components capable of being grasped without the corporate attorney explaining them to him. Consequently, in seven years at the helm, Gahan's team has failed to so much as attempt to produce a consistent, coherent brand for the city itself.

Just his face, again and again, like the framed portraits of the current Communist Party leader inevitably gracing the indoor spaces of Warsaw Pact satellite countries during the Cold War.

Meanwhile, there's the local Democratic Party, currently outraged by State Senator Ron Grooms' purported use of an improper campaign business card -- so much so that Adam Dickey has filed a formal ethics complaint.

That's just precious.

Recalling the Floyd County Democratic party's delirious, full-throated support of Gahan's hostile public housing takeover, which has in effect been one continuous ethics violation lasting over a year and a half, while impacting hundreds of human lives and rendering null and void the local party's allegedly fundamental commitment to the advancement of society's most vulnerable people ... where was I, exactly?

Wait, I remember.

Adam is upset about a business card.

Let that sink in, then consider this: the newspaper devoted several hundred words to this item.

How do any of them sleep at night?

Floyd County Dems file ethics complaint over Sen. Grooms social media posts

SOUTHERN INDIANA — A state legislator up for re-election is denying he used his government-provided email address for campaign purposes, which is being alleged in an ethics complaint filed by the Floyd County Democratic Party.

In a letter dated Oct. 1 to the Senate Legislative Ethics Committee, Floyd County Democratic Party chair Adam Dickey complains that state Sen. Ron Grooms, R-Jeffersonville, committed a violation of ethics after two social media posts contained a photograph of Grooms' campaign business card, which lists his Senate email address, in addition to his personal email address.

Spare us: Both Grooms and Gahan, putting themselves and corporate interests ahead of Hoosier Families.

There assuredly are a few local Democrats who can write, but unfortunately, they're not writing on the DemoDisneyDixiecratic Party's website or social media pages.

Rather, we get by-the-numbers political template drivel, which might have been composed by a DNC Bot rather than a human being, such is the sad absence of a pulse.

Still, let's take a look at two sentences, beginning with the header.

Grooms out of touch as he seeks third term

Fair enough. It's true that Ron Grooms' record is dismal. He's never met an oligarch he wouldn't fluff, or a theocrat he'd fail to enable. Local, state and national chambers of commerce undoubtedly will see to it that Grooms never pays, ever again, for his annual suite in Branson.

It's the subheading that matters.

Record reflects putting himself and corporate interests ahead of Hoosier Families

Remember this sentence should Jeff Gahan reverse course and decide to challenge Grooms.

Also remember it if Gahan chooses to run for a third term as mayor.

Has any local politician in recent decades been more aptly summarized by party scribe Dickey's "putting himself ahead" than Gahan? Grooms may be a corporate shill, but so is Gahan, and at least Grooms doesn't have his portrait in every barber shop.

The chairman's batting below the Mendoza line. Doesn't this mean it's time to be called up to the big leagues as shoeshine contractor for Tom Perez?

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Tea leaves say Grooms will run again in 2018, dooming NA to a third Gahan mayoral bid in 2019.

Never forget.

The Green Mouse has learned that regional oligarchs are breathing easier. Barring the unexpected, Indiana State Senator Ron "RFRA and Toll Highways" Grooms -- who never met a monied interest he didn't fervently embrace -- will seek a third term in 2018.

If true, Grooms' decision to extend a political career than began way back in 1984 effectively rules out a challenge by Mayor Jeff "Dear Leader" Gahan, who would have sought a promotion to state office only if the seat opened.

For all his self-eroticization by sycophantic press clipping, Gahan knows he cannot beat Grooms head to head. Reality is reality, even when one's head has swelled to the size of Kerry Stemler's empathy gap.

So, now what?

Gahan's massive campaign finance war chest will be withheld until 2019, and his now inevitable bid for a third term as mayor. Ambitious bootlickers like Bob Caesar simply must swallow their medicine and continue coddling the mayor's lunch pail.

In 2018, Adam Dickey can resolutely bound from the trench of delusions and walk across no man's land toward incumbent Ed Clere's electoral machine gun nest, all the while spouting gibberish from the DNC's Clintonesque text.

And local Democrats in Floyd and Clark counties must find a candidate to take one for the team in opposition to Grooms.

Hmm. David "Dugout" Duggins could do that, couldn't he?

After all, he can run for State Senate without pretending to care enough about Floyd County to move here -- and his handlers are dressing him so very nicely here lately.

The Green Mouse drinks a lot, but he never misses those sartorial hints.

Taxpayers foot the bill as this Gahan for State Senate video features the mayor talking about his lofty Summit Springs achievements.

Gahan's cult of personality is taking on hitherto elusive grandiosity as political decision time draws near.

He's giving us a shining city on a hill -- well, a summit at least -- and preparing a successor if the occasion arises.

Is it Beer Thirty yet?

DNA always knows best: Now it's "Mayor Jeff M. Gahan's Bicentennial Park Summer Concert Series."

I'm so old, I can remember when the mayor settled for presenting it -- and if we're to excavate all the way down to the nitty-gritty, they're actually Production Simple's shows.

But wait -- it's almost time for Deaf to make his intentions clear with respect to next year's State Senate race, and if you thought the personality cult was bad before ...

As an addendum, NAC has been unable to confirm whether New Albany Mayor Jeff M. Gahan or anyone working in the city's administration is under federal investigation or indictment for corruption, bribery or racketeering. It is standard policy of the U.S. Justice Department to refuse to confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of investigations or subjects of investigations. A similar policy exists at the F.B.I.

Civil rights and LGBT? Indiana Republicans vow to keep us barefoot, stupid and mean-spirited.

Fundamental change, just so long as nothing fundamentally changes. It sounds almost like a Gahan campaign promise.

Indiana legislators foreshadow LGBT rights battle, by Maureen Hayden (CNHI via N & T)

INDIANAPOLIS — Any speculation that state lawmakers would wait until after the November election to debate civil rights for lesbian, gay and transgender Hoosiers is gone.

On Monday, state Senate President David Long, Fort Wayne, said legislators will soon see what he called a “comprehensive” bill that may extend anti-discrimination protections while allowing people to also claim religious freedom to deny those protections ... Long, a Republican, refused to give details of the proposed measure that will be filed when lawmakers return to the Statehouse for their short, 10-week session in January.

Even the Chamber of Commerce is urging the GOP to be rational. The House Speaker apparently sees bigotry as the state's biggest growth industry, with final word reserved for the Minority Leader.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, meanwhile, said the Legislature won’t be “bullied, badgered or blackmailed” into passing a measure that isn’t supported by most Hoosiers.

At the chamber’s legislative preview Monday, Bosma promised a civil debate would ensue, but he admitted it could be difficult.

“This is clearly the toughest issue of the session,” he said, "maybe the toughest issue of our [legislative] careers.”

That’s not how his Democratic counterpart sees it. House Minority Leader Scott Pelath said legislators could simply pass a bill that adds four words: “sexual orientation, gender identity” to the state’s civil rights law. And then move on to other pressing issues like road funding.

“My advice,” he said, “is to get it over with.”

Ron Grooms touts his tenure, forgets to take credit for his vote against same-sex marriage.

Chuck Freiberger for State Senate.

I've known of Chuck Freiberger since elementary school basketball. Once we were at Floyd Central, we were teammates in baseball and basketball all the way through, from grades 7 through 12. He then played baseball at IU Southeast, and while I did not follow suit, I tried to do my own small part by drinking oceans of beer with a handful of his teammates. He became a teacher, coach, parent and politician. Nothing wrong with any of that, is there?

We're friends, Chuck and me -- not particularly close, but friends. Obviously he's a local Democratic Party stalwart, and I have my disagreements with that particular entity. There's simply no way that Chuck could be as pinko-lefty as me and survive politically. However, his fundamental instincts are sound, as when he attended NABC's health department board meeting last year and expressed support for our appeal. There isn't much he can do about the two-versus-one Falangist imbalance among the county commissioners; no matter, because perhaps he'll be moving on to bigger things.

Earlier today, Silent Ron Grooms voted in support of HJR-3. Having done so, it now is guaranteed: Grooms cannot receive my vote in his re-election campaign this fall.

You may say: But Roger, you wouldn't have voted for him, anyway, irrespective of his view on HJR-3 (known as the Hoosier Stain). I can't deny that. The difference is that the sheer embarrassment of Grooms's stance, and the lengthy silence preceding it -- almost surely a reticence borne of utter terror -- compels me to be more pro-active than might otherwise have been the case.

I'll be donating to Chuck's campaign, and if he pleases, I'll try to devise a way to raise additional money for it. I'll enthusiastically vote for Chuck, and I'll urge my friends and neighbors to do so, too.

If you believe in human rights and freedoms, in the promise of equality in America, and in basic notions of fairness and compassion, Ron Grooms left you today. He may yet try to explain it, but he cannot. It's over, and Ron Grooms must go.

Please join me in supporting Chuck Freiberger for State Senate (46).

HJR-3: Silent Ron must vote as early as next Monday.

(3:45 p.m. update -- apologies; I got my committees/full Senate mixed up. I've amended the header. The measure will go up for a vote without the civil union clause restored)

As today's 1:30 p.m. appointment with HJR-3 voting destiny approaches, State Senator Ron Grooms is terrified, even as the inexorably marginalized bigots take yet another one on the chin in Kentucky.

Kentucky Gay Marriage Ban 'Practically' Over, Says Congressman John Yarmuth, by Phillip Bailey (WFPL)

Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth is predicting the end of Kentucky's gay marriage ban now that a federal judge has ruled a key provision unconstitutional.

Might as well send Silent Ron another e-mail. I'm pulling for him to reach down deep and do the right thing, but he probably needs as much help as he can get.

It's not every day you wake up knowing that you can change the course of history. Today is one of those days.

The Senate will vote on HJR-3 at 1:30. By tonight, we'll know if we've stopped the amendment from going to the ballot in November.

Your Senators is considering, right now, how they'll vote today. Click here to urge them to vote NO on HJR-3 -- this could be your last shot:




http://freedomIN.org/LetsMakeHistory
The next time you hear from us today, I'm hoping we'll be sharing some great news -- that we succeeded in blocking a divisive ballot campaign in the fall.

Let's do this,

Megan Robertson 
Freedom Indiana

Indiana legislative hijinks: HJR-3 goes to the Senate, and Mike Pence explores evasiveness.

By a vote of 8-4, the Senate Rules Committee advanced the House's amended version of HJR-3 to the full Senate.

You can read all about it in the IndyStar.

Among noteworthy aspects of this development are a continuing GOP disconnect about what it means to support a good business climate, the ongoing willingness of African-American preachers to shoot themselves in the foot, and the everlasting reticence of Silent Ron Grooms to engage his constituents in dialogue about these issues.

Meanwhile, speaking of disconnection, self-harm and intellectual cluelessness, here comes HJR-3 advocate Mike Pence to loot local government finance sans substantive explanation ... all in the name of a good business climate. Today's word, second only to barnacle: Putz.

What does 'unduly harm' mean to Gov. Pence?, by Tony Cook (IndyStar)

... Consider this exchange on Thursday when a group of reporters all sought Gov. Mike Pence's take on the estimated $1 billion hit that local governments, schools and libraries could face if his plan to phase out Indiana's tax on businesses equipment comes to pass.

Pence has a penchant for saying that he doesn't want the phaseout to "unduly harm" local government. Here's how reporters tried – and tried – to pin him down on what precisely "unduly harm" means.

"How We Will Defeat HJR-3 in the Indiana Senate."

Verbatim from Freedom Indiana. Does Silent Ron have heartburn yet? It's okay. He's a pharmacist.

My guess is that Silent Ron will NOT appreciate the rally in New Albany planned for Wednesday, February 5:

Join us at our Community Meeting in New Albany this Wednesday. This is the final push to stop HJR-3 in the General Assembly.

After Grooms votes in favor of this abomination, let's just hope that Chuck Freiberger is paying attention.

---

It's been a pretty intense couple of weeks in our campaign to stop the anti-freedom HJR-3.

So much has happened. And together, we've made A TON of progress in defending liberty for all Hoosiers.

But as HJR-3 moves to the Senate, we have our work cut out for us if we're going to defeat this amendment once and for all.

Check out our new graphic to see our latest progress and what lies ahead as we work to stop HJR-3:

There's no doubt about it: amending HJR-3 to remove the second sentence was a historic step -- one that many thought we could never accomplish.

Still, HJR-3 is alive, and in the coming days, our opponents in the Senate will try as hard as they can to reinsert the hostile second sentence that would permanently ban all protections for same-sex couples ...

 ... Share our latest graphic on Facebook and Twitter to explain what's next in our campaign and ask your friends to join the movement to stop HJR-3.

http://FreedomIN.org/infographic/

The only reason we are closer to keeping this amendment off the ballot in November is because Hoosiers like you have spoken out, shared your stories and made an unbelievable impact.

Onward to the Senate,

Megan Robertson
Campaign Manager, Freedom Indiana

Excuse me, says Stemler, as amended HJR-3 moves to Silent Ron Grooms's desk.

I was told yesterday that Steve Stemler is a kind and wonderful man, who might have voted "yes" or "no" to HJR-3, but decided to opt out, because of, er, well ...

Stemler now can be defined by an inability to participate in a measure he once deigned to co-author. Would he have opted for neutrality in WWII? Is his brain hurting?

At any rate, the House has spoken, sending HJR-3 to the Senate, where we now have the great pleasure of watching Silent Ron squirm. Yesterday, every "yes" vote was a Republican.

Indiana House passes HJR-3 with changes, sends measure to Senate (Dan Spehler at Fox59)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The Indiana House passed the amended version of HJR-3 Tuesday afternoon.

The bill passed the full house by a vote of 57-40. The measure will now be sent to the Senate.

On Monday, lawmakers dropped HJR3′s controversial 2nd sentence.

Indiana State Sen. Jim Banks gets it right about craft beer.

Wine (left) and beer (right) at this year's Indiana State Fair.

In this clear and concise explanation of why Hoosier brewing is good for Indiana, Sen. Banks makes a solid economic development argument. Our Rep. Ed Clere, like Banks a Republican, led last year's artisan distilling effort in the House. It is my hope that the stalled farmers market bill gets some traction this time around.

In its entirety ...

---

GUEST COLUMN: “Hopping” the Red Tape for Craft Beer, by State Sen. Jim Banks (R-Columbia City)(In.gov)

As a legislator, I know from experience that some policy topics are more fun to discuss than others. I’ve served a variety of roles in the Senate, and all of them have had their own share of debate and consideration. But no matter how divisive the committee discussions get, we can all agree on our love for Hoosier-grown businesses and products. For me, that includes craft beer.

In 2012, 409 craft breweries opened in the U.S. That’s been reported as the largest increase in brewery openings since the 1880s. As the number of breweries grew, so did the number of job opportunities. Currently, small brewing companies employ over 100,000 people across the country. With these advancements, craft breweries have captured a 10.2 percent share of beer sales.

Indiana isn’t left out of these trends. Our state currently has 68 craft breweries, ranking 14th in the nation. Last year, Hoosier craft brewers produced enough beer to generate a 27 percent growth rate – the 19th-highest in the country. We’re also home to one of the nation’s fastest growing breweries: Sun King Brewing Company. As more brewers seek to open shop, these numbers will only continue to improve.

It’s clear that consumers’ tastes are changing. Beer lovers are now turning toward unique, complex flavors over the traditional manufactured types. That places Indiana in a prime position to continue to profit from these ongoing advancements.

But this issue is more than just connecting consumers to beer makers. It’s about supporting homegrown businesses and, in turn, our economy as a whole. Buying local returns three times the revenue to communities compared to purchasing products from national chains. If we keep that money flowing through local economies, it will ultimately preserve market health and help it prosper.

Farmers’ markets are one popular avenue for buying local goods. Every Saturday, the Whitley County Courthouse Square bustles with farmers selling meat and produce and artisans displaying their handmade merchandise. Now imagine local brewers joining these vendors, sharing their own craft with hundreds of customers every week.

Currently, farm wineries are allowed to sell their products at these markets and trade shows, but craft brewers are still restricted from doing so. In the 2013 legislative session, I introduced two bills that would have made this possible, but they did not gain enough support. For now, it’s an outlet these brewers cannot access.

Indiana has made significant gains in supporting local brewers, which is evident in the high rate of growth this industry has experienced. However, there is still more we can do to help these businesses establish themselves in our state.

Oftentimes, brewers are held back by archaic, Prohibition-era restrictions that limit their ability to share their trade. For example, in Indiana, we have caps in place to restrict how much a brewery may sell and distribute to customers. This puts these businesses at a disadvantage, holding back Hoosier companies from competing in their own state.

Indiana has set itself apart as a business-friendly state, and we can continue that by improving opportunities for our craft brewers. I’m hopeful these discussions will be a focal point of future legislative sessions.

In the meantime, I look forward to discovering new favorites around our great state to fill my growler for the weekend. As they say, “Think globally. Drink locally.”

Legislative libations 1: Matters of distilling and brewing.

In Indiana legislative news, HB 1293 (creation of artisanal distilling permits) will be heard in committee this very morning. As currently written, it would broaden the scope of distilling permits for existing small wineries wishing to enter or expand distilling, and enable existing small breweries to obtain permits on what amounts to a leveled regulatory playing field.

Our own representative Ed Clere is carrying the ball for this bill, and he is joined as sponsor by Rep. Rhonda Rhoads from the adjacent District 70. I support this measure sans self-interest, seeing as though NABC has no immediate plans to get into distilling, and I'd like to publicly thank Ed Clere (sans irony) for seeing the merit of enabling craft distilling in Indiana.

The other two items of interest to the Brewers of Indiana Guild, of which I'm a director, both originate in the Senate and are explained below in excerpts from a mailing by the guild's executive director. SB 0401 would rationalize the paperwork for small breweries to legally pour samples at fests and events. SB 0100 would allow us to sell pre-sealed bottles and growlers at farmers' markets. Needless to say, I'm in favor of these measures, as well.

We have filed three bills: SB 0100 (to permit brewers to sell product at farmers markets), SB 0401 (to create a streamlined process for serving at festivals and special events) and HB 1293 (to create an artisan distiller permit) ...

 ... There will be other hearings and opportunities to support all of our bills. In order to become law, a bill must have a committee hearing and vote, debate and vote on second reading, and debate and vote on third reading. The bill then goes "across the hall" (from Senate to House, or House to Senate) where the entire process repeats. In reality, only a fraction of bills make it to the governor's desk, and those that do are rarely in the same form as they started (because of amendments).

Orwell doing graveside hand stands as Sen. Kruse pursues "truth" in creationist indoctr ... er, education.

Last year Senator Dennis Kruse, an auctioneer by trade, pushed for overt creationism in the public schools, and presumably had the Florida-bound Tony Bennett spit shining his shoes just prior to seeing the effort ditched owing to pesky, minor problems like constitutionality.

Now Kruse is back, and Rick Howlett's coverage (below) at 89.3 FM simply doesn't do justice to the sheer grandeur of this session's Kruse class project, dubiously entitled "truth in education."

For added detail we turn to Dan Carden at NWI Politics.

Kruse said he's "working on a different approach to the subject" focused on "truth in education."

Specifically, Kruse wants to empower students to challenge their teachers "to make sure what is being taught is true."

"If a student thinks something isn't true then they could question the teacher, and the teacher would have to come up with some better research to support what they're teaching is true or not true," said Kruse, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Kruse said under his plan, each school corporation would be allowed to determine the topics of questions students could ask and the types of evidence considered truth.

"It's going to be written in a kind of a broad way," Kruse said.

Yes, this guy has a college degree and was once a licensed teacher.

No, you weren't drugged and transported to the Middle Ages via the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

It's still 2012 ... in most of the state.

Indiana Lawmaker Proposes "Truth In Education" Measure

Share

Tweet

E-mail

0 Comments

Print

By RICK HOWLETT AND ASSOCIATED PRESS

Enlarge image

The lead sponsor of last year's effort to allow the teaching of creationism in Indiana schools is altering his efforts this year in favor of a so-called "truth in education" measure.

Senate Education Committee chairman Dennis Kruse says the proposal would encourage students to question a broad range of topics in the classroom. Lawmakers approved such a measure over the governor's objections in Tennessee, where that has translated into questioning evolution.

Kruse led an effort during the 2012 session to allow teaching of creationism in Indiana's public schools.

The Ayatollah Kruse on creationism -- at Facebook.

At Facebook, there's a spirited discussion underway about State Senator Kruse's "my personal belief as school curriculum" approach to legislation. Come join the fun:

According to Dennis Kruse, the Indiana state senator sponsoring creationism in schools, "I believe in creation, and I believe it deserves to be taught in our public schools." Well, I believe in sado-masochism. Shall we teach it, too? But wait -- I'm in no position to force my beliefs on schoolchildren. Those "believing" like Sen. Kruse have turned Indiana into a Danielstock.

Amy Huffman-Branham jeers the GOP on Planned Parenthood vote.

Kudos to this powerful statement of principle by the News and Tribune's Amy Huffman-Branham. She can rest assured that Ron "Tell me how to vote, St. Daniels" Grooms stopped reading after the word "Senate", and of course we all understand that depriving women of health services has everything to do with the Republican Party's ideological leanings toward theocratic fascism and nothing whatever to do with any real concern for the health of women.

JEERS

... to the Indiana Senate, which voted Monday to prohibit state contracts or grants with Planned Parenthood or other organizations that provide abortions.

It is disappointing that state legislators would make a decision that effectively takes away women’s access to health services — which extend far beyond providing abortions.

At a time when millions of Americans live without health insurance, it’s hard to understand how legislators think this is a justifiable move. Thousands of low-income women rely on Planned Parenthood and similar organizations for birth control, pelvic and breast exams and other health services.

The passage of the bill Monday comes on the heels of the passage of legislation last week that adds other restrictions to the state’s abortion laws, giving Indiana some of the tightest restrictions in the nation.

If the concern among legislators is to reduce the number of abortions, it hardly makes sense to pass a law that will make it harder for Hoosier women to get birth control. And it is appalling that lawmakers continue to encourage and support legislation that sacrifices women’s health and restricts their right to make decisions for themselves.

— Amy Huffman-Branham, assistant editor

Growlers on Sunday? SB 75 up for Senate vote today.

Afternoon update: SB 75 has passed through the Indiana Senate by a tally of 41-9. It's on to House committee)

The Indiana Senate will vote some time this afternoon on SB 75:

"Sunday carryout by microbreweries. Allows a microbrewery to sell the brewery's beer for carryout on Sunday at the address for which the brewer's permit was issued."

I'm pleased to note that on Tuesday, New Albany's Sen. Connie Sipes was added to the bill as co-author. She has indicated support. If we make it through today's vote, the process begins anew in the House.

I've been dropping lines to the three senators closest to us here in Southern Indiana. Their e-mail links are below if you'd like to do the same. "Please vote yes on SB 75" is sufficient as a message.

District 45 - points north and east: James Lewis
District 46 - New Albany and Floyd County: Connie Sipes
District 47 - points west: Richard Young

I'll return later today and update this post with the results.