Free Republic

Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said on Tuesday he would not run for Indiana Senate, clearing the path for Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) to become the frontrunner to replace the outgoing Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN). “After what I hope was adequate reflection, I’ve decided not to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate,” Daniels explained in a statement to Politico. “With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude that it’s just not the job for me, not the town for me, and not the life I want to live at this point.”...

Vice President Mike Pence's brother Greg was elected to the US Congress. "Congrats to my brother Greg Pence on being elected to serve in the US Congress," tweeted the vice president. "Greg served our country admirably in uniform & will do the same in Washington DC. I am so proud ...

A contestant named Julian from Indiana University must be feeling pretty stupid right about now. And Hoosiers can't be feeling too proud. Julian had the chance to win $1 million Friday night, had the puzzle fully solved, and then lost because he pronounced Achilles like “A-chill-us.” Because of that mistake, the show decided not to give him the victory and instead, one of the other contestants who know the “mythological hero” got the chance to steal and did. (To win the full $1 million he would have had to overcome some other hurdles as well.) But alas, poor Julian' disastrous...

by John HillStand With ArizonaIndiana is sick and tired of illegal aliens, and sicker still of the Federal failure to do something about them.Last year they passed their own version of Arizona's immigration law - which included mandatory E-Verify for all businesses, with penalties, verification of immigration status when passing out state welfare benefits, and a ban on the acceptance of Mexico's fraud-friendly "Matricula Consular" card. Part of the law was blocked by a Federal judge, but the bulk remains in effect. Part of that law also requires the state to calculate the annual cost of illegal aliens to the state - and...

"Without raising taxes and by carefully watching spending, Indiana state government has continued to live within its means," Berry said. "For those who believe that raising taxes is the only way out of a fiscal crisis, I say take a look at the Hoosier state."

Colts don't make playoffs?...................

June 10 will be a silent anniversary, but one worth noting by those alarmed at the past year's assault on free institutions. It was last June 10 when the federal government tossed aside the option of proven, workable bankruptcy procedures in order to nationalize Chrysler on behalf of its union allies.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tuesday's political shocker in Massachusetts is bringing harsh criticism from Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who some say is now vulnerable. Republicans picked up the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, with Scott Brown defeating Martha Coakley in a close, bitter race. The loss of such a solidly Democratic seat has prompted Bayh, who faces re-election this year, to severely criticize the party's strategy and approach. "If you lose Massachusetts, if it's not a wake-up call, there's no hope of waking up," he said Wednesday. Brown's successful campaign against Coakley was based largely on his opposition to President...

Please excuse the Vanity post - I am desperate! I have a new PC with Windows 7. At odd times I loose the Internet connection. I know cable internet signal is coming through the router as other PCs in the system have connections. At first the lost connection was happening each time I would reboot. Now it happens at seemingly "random" times .... I realize it's probly not random, but I can't see a correlation yet ... and the connection usually comes back when I reboot again. The Dell tech support wants me to reinstall the windows software. That would...

When Sen. Barack Obama laced up his basketball shoes Friday evening for a three-on-three game with some players half his age, he was doing something that could prove important should he become the Democratic nominee: looking young and healthy. In a rare move by his presidential campaign, network news cameras were allowed to record Obama, 46, moving up and down the court, playing a game that is almost a religion in this state. Though his relative lack of Washington experience has been repeatedly used against him, Obama's youth and athleticism could offer a dramatic general election contrast with Sen. John...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana's May primary will have meaning in the race for president. Both democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have scheduled stops in the Hoosier state. It all starts on Saturday when Barack Obama holds a town hall meeting at Plainfield High School. "We're very excited. Senator Obama will...be in Plainfield tomorrow bringing his message of hope and change to the voters of Indiana because Indiana, for the first time in my adult life, is going to matter in the presidential primary season," said Obama campaign chairman Kip Tew. Indiana has 72 delegates up for grabs and...

A Marine is in the brig awaiting court-martial on a charge of killing an Iraqi soldier with his bayonet while the two were assigned to a nighttime sentry post at Camp Fallujah. Marine Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, 21, says he acted in self-defense when he thought the Iraqi, who was wearing a ski mask, smoking and talking on a cell phone, might have been signaling to an insurgent sniper. Three days earlier, in a different location in Fallujah, three Marines in Holmes' battalion were killed in a sniper attack.... Holmes' civilian defense counsel, former federal prosecutor Stephen Cook, said the...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Marine reservist from Indiana has been charged with murdering an Iraqi army soldier in Fallujah, an attorney said Tuesday. Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, 21, of Indianapolis, is accused of stabbing Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin to death as the two men stood watch at a security post on Dec. 31, 2006, Holmes' lawyer said. The struggle began in the pre-dawn darkness after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone then lit a cigarette at the post, attorney Steve Cook said. The men were not supposed to display any illuminated objects because of the threat of sniper fire, and Holmes...

ndianapolis - A recent visitor to Indianapolis says police are crossing a fine line when it comes to tourists and suspected terrorists. The criticism comes after a camera confrontation outside a major city landmark. Last Sunday, Walter Miller wanted lasting images to take back with him to Houston. He got them. To cap off his first F-1 race experience, he and his lens headed downtown. He had just snapped a photo of the Julian Opie Signs exhibit when signs of trouble converged. "Two police cars came up," Miller said by phone Friday. "One on the side of me and one...

The biggest idiot. The largest doofus. The numbnut that can't be ignored. The goofball that performs beyond anyone's imagination...My nominee - someone who constantly reminds us all just how corrupt the impeached *Crinton administration was, is, and continues to be... Berger Is Fined For Smuggling Classified PapersWahington Post Online Friday, September 9, 2005 By Carol D. Leonnig A federal judge yesterday ordered former national security adviser Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger to pay a $50,000 fine and give up his security clearance for three years as the penalty for smuggling classified terrorism documents out of the National Archives in 2003. The...

Knight's Chair Toss Still Leaves a Mark By MICHAEL MAROT > AP Sports Writer > BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Those closest to Steve Reid know him as president of a trucking company, a former teammate, and a dad. Some even remember him as a color commentator on Purdue basketball broadcasts. However, most others know Reid as the answer to a trivia question. For 20 years, his life has been defined by one enduring image — Bob Knight hurling a red, plastic chair across the basketball court as the 5-foot-9 Reid stood at the free throw line for Purdue. "There are times...

Rate in Indiana is the second-highest in the nation. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Nearly one in 15 Indiana adults have gun permits, second only to New York in the number per 1,000 residents, a survey by The Indianapolis Star showed. About 300,000 Hoosiers have the permits, which are available to people over the age of 18. The Indiana State Police -- and sometimes local departments -- check the backgrounds of applicants for criminal convictions that would disqualify them. Last year, about 76,000 permits were issued, and 2,360 were denied. So far this year, about 35,000 have been handed out, and 2,126...

<p>GOP blocked in wish to debate constitutional gay-marriage ban.</p> <p>With a few final words, House Republican leader Brian Bosma halted work in the Indiana House on Thursday and reignited a political stalemate expected to continue into the final week of this year's legislative session.</p>

As same-sex couples tied the knot in San Francisco, "My first reaction was they have lost their minds," the Palmdale Republican said. City officials in San Francisco started marrying same-sex couples Thursday at the behest of Mayor Gavin Newsom, and the civil unions were expected to continue throughout the weekend as lines formed outside City Hall. Calling the unions a "sideshow," Knight said he only hopes the same-sex couples realize that their marriages are not legal. "It's absolutely illegal. Those departments do not have the authority to change California law," he said. In March 2000, two-thirds of California voters passed...

John Mellencamp describes his 21st album as "a small record," something he did more as a labor of love than as what he calls "chest-thumping arena-rock." But "Trouble No More," released Tuesday, is one of the strongest efforts in the career of rock fans' favorite Hoosier--a soulful collection of blues and folk standards that attempt to make sense of turbulent times, from his reworking of the anti-war anthem "To Washington," to his reading of "The End of the World," popularized by Skeeter Davis, which takes on new meaning 40 years after it first hit the pop charts ("Why does the...