Niki Kelly, writing for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, has an article entitled Resolved: Let people feel good. The article discusses the legislative resolution, a document voted on by the House and/or the Senate that doesn’t have the force of law. (The article isn’t talking about the Joint Resolution, the vehicle by which Constitutional Amendments are proposed.) A lot of times, they’ll honor a local sports team or a more or less notable achievement of somebody’s constituent.
These things are something of a waste of time, but, for the most part, they’re also harmless and make people feel good. I figure that if legislators are tied up with these nice gestures, it sort of limits their ability to pass harmful legislation. And, I simply cannot begrudge the process that generated this:
[Jerry Denbo] also laughs while recalling other memorable resolutions he has filed over the years, including one that sought to prohibit NCAA official Ted Valentine from participating in Big Ten games after he ejected coach Bob Knight from a game at Indiana University in 1998.
Hoosier basketball fans will also remember Valentine as the referee that was part of the abominable officiating team in the 1992 Duke-Indiana semi-final game.
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