The 8th District’s Representative Hostettler has successfully attached an amendment to H.R. 2862 which prohibits federal money from funding marshals in any effort to enforce the order of Judge Richard L. Young of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in the ten commandments case of Russelburg v. Gibson County, decided January 31, 2005. (PDF document)

According to an AP story in the Indianapolis Star, even the defendants, the Gibson County officials, are distancing themselves from Rep. Hostettler (a/k/a “the Gunslinger”).

Back in February, Hostettler sent George Bush a letter urging Bush not to enforce the court’s order because the order, while consistent with past jurisprudence, “is inconsistent with both the clear intent of the Framers and the Christian heritage of the United States.” Hostettler argues that Presidents can order the U.S. Marshals office not to enforce court orders if the President happens to disagree with the court’s opinion.

The court describes the monument (pdf document) at issue and the grounds of the Gibson County court house as follows:

The Defendant, Gibson County, Indiana has its County Courthouse in Princeton, Indiana. Courts and the offices of many of Gibson County’s elected officials are housed in the Gibson County Courthouse. Located on the courthouse grounds is a monument given to Gibson County by local Lodge 361 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It was presented to the county in 1956. The monument is four feet in height and two feet in width. It is a cleft shaped stone monument and is inscribed with the following version of the Ten Commandments:

The Ten Commandments
I am the Lord thy God
I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
II. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
III. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
IV. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
V. Thou shalt not kill.
VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VII. Thou shalt not steal.
VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

At the bottom of the Ten Commandments, located in the center of the monument, is the letter X superimposed upon the letter P which is Christ’s monogram, forming the first two Greek letters of Jesus name. Below the Ten Commandments text, on either side of the monument, is a Star of David, a well known symbol of the Jewish religion. The text at the bottom of the monument discloses that it was presented to Gibson County by the Princeton Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. At the top of the monument is a triangle with an eye within it, much like that which is depicted on the one dollar bill. Immediately below the triangle, directly above the text of the Ten Commandments, there is carved into the monument an eagle clutching the American flag in its talons. The County Courthouse is located in a square formed by North Main Street to the east, North Hart Street to the west, State Street to the north and Broadway to the south.

Outside the Courthouse there are grounds bounded by sidewalks bordering the four streets with street lights evenly distributed to illuminate the square and the sidewalk, and there  are a number of monuments of different shapes and sizes in addition to the monument which is the subject of this case. On the grounds on the south side of the courthouse there are separate memorials to fallen officers, Revolutionary War Veterans buried in Gibson County, veterans of World War I and II, and veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. On the south-east corner of Broadway and Main Street there is a Civil War Monument, as well as a Memorial to Desert Storm and Desert Shield. There are no monuments on the east side of the Courthouse. On the corner of Main and State Streets, on the north-east side of the courthouse, sits the stone monument containing the Ten Commandments (“the monument”) . It sits below a light fixture and is flanked by bushes.

The jist of the opinion in the Gibson County Ten Commandments case is this:

while a large majority of those that pass by the monument in Princeton may find its inscription to be consistent with their intentions and beliefs, Plaintiffs and perhaps numerous others do not share that same feeling. Our forefathers strived to craft a Constitution and Bill of Rights which took into account the need for government to be “of all the people,” no matter what religious beliefs they hold or choose not to hold. It is the considered opinion of those that interpret the law in this circuit that the display of a Ten Commandments monument, such as is at issue here, on the lawn of the seat of local government is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which dictates that our government not appear to promote, discourage or endorse any particular religious beliefs.

Consequently, Judge Young ordered the monument removed. It is this court order that Representative Hostettler seeks to defy.

Taking Down Words and In the Agora both have commentary on Rep. Hostettler.

The Toledo Blade seems to be gunning for another Pulitzer. Tonight’s chunk out of Ohio Governor Taft’s hide: the Blade produced an e-mail that seems to contradict Taft’s assertion that he didn’t know about the $200+ MILLION Worker’s Comp Fund loss until last week. The e-mail to the governor’s office is dated from October. Taft says he wasn’t told by his staff. The staff member, James Samuel, the governor’s executive assistant for business and industry didn’t remember the e-mail until confronted with it. Oopsie.

As close as the national election was, that cover up probably made the difference. Let’s say that the Ohio GOP comes clean about a $200+ MILLION loss on October 26, 2004. You think Bush and the GOP still carry Ohio a week later? But, I’m probably just skeptical. Surely that didn’t play into anyone’s considerations.

The latest in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette series is an article entitled Enacted legislation, everyday lives Pharmacist hopes to counter methamphetamine abuse.

The law is SEA 444. The law:

Prohibits a retailer from selling a drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine: (1) to a person less than 18 years of age; and (2) in a quantity greater than three grams in one transaction. Requires a retailer to store drugs containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine: (1) behind a counter or in a locked case that makes the drugs unavailable to customers without the assistance of a store employee; or (2) directly in front of the pharmacy counter, in the line of sight of an employee behind the pharmacy counter, and in an area under constant video monitoring, if the retail establishment in which the drugs are sold is a pharmacy or contains a pharmacy that is open for business. Requires a retailer to record certain information concerning a person who purchases a drug containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine by requiring the purchaser to present identification and record certain information in a log that may be made available to law enforcement officers in accordance with state or federal law.

The law is designed to keep drugs containing the precursors of methamphetamine out of the hands of folks operating meth labs.

The Journal Gazette interviews pharmacist W. Howard Bell. He has already moved his store’s stock of cold medicine out of his customer’s reach. Bell is of the opinion that it’s good to keep it out of the hands of the wrong people. He doesn’t seem to think this will be that big a problem for his small pharmacy. He says that the Wal-marts and the K-marts are where people would go to steal 15 boxes.

SEA 444 prohibits purchasing the cold medicine without showing a state or federal identification. A cold medicine purchaser has to complete a form indicating the person’s name, address, and driver’s license or other identification number. (So, if you’re homeless or don’t have your ID documents, prepare to endure the sniffles.)

The Lafayette Journal & Courier has a story on the end of the legislative session. Unfortunately, it starts with an error:

The Indiana General Assembly ends its session April 29, and lawmakers at the Statehouse are concentrating their efforts on one last push to pass their favored bills.

State law requires that the elected representatives do only one thing this year: pass a budget that plans spending for the next two years.

There is actually no specific requirement that the General Assembly pass a budget. It’s a darn good idea that they do so, and legislators are frequently quoted saying that the only thing they’re required to do is pass a budget. But, The Indiana Law Blog has had some pretty good examination of the question over the past few months, and despite legislators’ impression to the contrary, there is no mandate that they pass a budget.

The rest of the article is well done though. It mentions that a lot of important issues loom such as funding for education and medicaid, but the real hot-button issue seems to be daylight saving time. It’s an easily understood bill that is almost purely emotional — there isn’t a lot of logic behind preferring one system to the other. On the one hand, doing what the rest of the country does, simply because the rest of the country does it has some advantages. Proponents have loudly proclaimed the economic and business advantages of being on DST. But, despite the proclamations, there doesn’t seem to be a lot data supporting this proposition. For the most part from what I’ve heard, it seems like business leaders get teased by their colleagues in other states, and that has as much to do with it as the cost of revamping business systems. (After all, if this passes, thousands of Indiana businesses will have to revamp their systems, and the legislature doesn’t seem to be giving that expense, which they would be mandating, a second thought.)

On the other hand, staying on Hoosier Standard Time doesn’t necessarily have a lot of logical reasons recommending it. Geographically, we seem to be a little too far west for Eastern Daylight Time and a little too far east for Central Standard Time. So, Eastern Standard Time probably is the best fit. But, truthfully, an hour one way or the other for 6 months out of the year doesn’t make a great deal of difference. Primarily, there is a feeling that leaving well enough alone is good sense. And, there is Hoosier pride. Telling a Hoosier that they ought to do what everyone else is doing, just because everyone else is doing it, is going to get their hackles up. Hoosiers are a prideful bunch and telling them to switch to DST is like telling them you are ashamed of where you are from and prefer the other states to Indiana.

In any event, I’m going to get back to my vacation, where, honestly, I don’t care what time it is anywhere. I’ll get up when I wake up, go to the beach when it’s warm, eat when I’m hungry, and generally ignore my watch.

The Monticello Herald Journal has some coverage on Daylight Saving Time. Normally, coverage from this fine (I’m a subscriber) but small paper would not strike me as particularly significant. However, it is the paper of record for White County Indiana and all 3 Republicans, Representatives Lehe, Gutwein, and McClain, who switched their vote on DST serve parts of White County.

According to the Herald Journal:

Lehe, although the deciding factor, was not alone in the switch. Rep. Rich McClain (R-Logansport) and Rep. Eric Gutwein (R-Rensselaer) switched sides to bring about a 51-47 vote that will send the bill back to the Senate and likely to a conference committee to work out differences between the chambers.

All three had commented in the past they would not vote for the time change. For Lehe the latest comment was made last Saturday at a final Third House session in Carroll County.

The paper also captured White County reaction to DST. According to the paper, it ranges from “unconcerned” to “adamant about leaving time alone.” Not exactly something that suggests the voters will react happily to a pro-DST vote. (I’ve omitted the last names).

Some quotes:

[Vicki (local computer store employee)]:
“But in my opinion, leave it alone, I don’t want to change. What’s the point? I know Dave, my boss, isn’t happy with it either, and I think they should just leave it alone.”
. . .
For Eddie of Chalmers, in one way the time doesn’t matter.

“It doesn’t make any difference, I don’t work, I’m retired,” said Johnson. In another way he said his opinion doesn’t count.
“They’re going to do whatever the heck they want to do anyway, poor people don’t have any say, you know that.”
. . .

Some White County residents — although preferring to remain nameless, like several workers and customers at Excel Coop in Reynolds Tuesday — are adamantly opposed to a time change.

“For my own opinion, I like the time we’re on because it stays the same,” said one worker during a lunch break.

“Leave the (expletive) thing alone, they’ve got more important things to do than mess around with this time (expletive),” said another.

Well said, sir. Leave the (expletive) thing alone, indeed.

Senate Bill 0483 requiring Hoosiers to produce state or federally issued photo ID before being permitted to exercise their right to vote passed Second Reading in the House. The House Republicans voted against:

Senate Bill 0327 Passed 48 – 0. (I’m not even pretending to analyze this one.)

Delays the next general reassessment of real property by two years and requires general reassessments every five years thereafter. Delays until 2006 implementation of annual adjustments of real property tax assessments. Amends the factors to be included in the annual adjustment rule of the department of local government finance (DLGF). Allows assessors to employ professional appraisers to assist with annual adjustments. Requires the DLGF to: (1) review and certify annual adjustments; (2) establish local deadlines in the determination of annual adjustments; (3) provide training to assessors and county auditors in the verification of sales; (4) approve a determination by assessors to not employ a professional appraiser for a general reassessment; and (5) adopt rules for the establishment of a statewide integrated property tax management system. Allows the DLGF to take over local assessment, reassessment, or annual adjustment activities if it determines that the activities are not being performed properly. Allows the filing of an assessment registration notice with the county assessor or the area plan commission. Renames the assessment training fund as the assessment training and administration fund, extends for four years the $10 sales disclosure form filing fee, requires deposit of 40% of the revenue from the fee in that fund instead of the state general fund, and allows the Indiana board of tax review to use money in the fund to conduct appeal activities. Eliminates the county property tax reassessment fund and provides for funding of assessment activities through the general fund. Directs the department of state revenue to withhold state property tax replacement fund distributions to counties for various reasons. Prohibits an appraiser or a technical advisor that serves a township or county from representing taxpayers in the county. Authorizes a refund of property taxes paid by an exempt sorority that meets certain criteria.

House Bill 1320 Requires public hearings before certain hospital and ambulatory outpatient surgical center construction projects may begin. Passed 65-30. I have no idea what the significance of this bill is. Whenever I see “ambulatory outpatient” and don’t understand the bill, I immediately think it has something to do with abortion. But, I can’t see where this is abortion related. In any event, there were 30 votes against this thing. So, either it’s seen as unnecessary government meddling (not entirely likely, given the nitpicky bills that have already passed unopposed) or something else is going on.

House Bill 1590 “Replaces references to “blighted area” in various redevelopments laws with “area needing redevelopment” or “redevelopment project area”.” I don’t know if this serves any useful function or is just being done to spare the feelings of residents of blighted areas. Anyway, it passed the House 92-1.

House Bill 1004 the Tax Amnesty Bill (or Cheater’s Rights Bill) allowing payment of overdue taxes without penalties or interest passed the House 61-36. on January 11, 2005.