Indiana

Thought for the Week

Posted on February 20, 2011
I’ve decided to try something new on Sundays; a thought for the week.   It will be a quick, short statement about a topic designed to stimulate discussion and hopefully, intelligent debate.   If the first one goes well, I may try and do it again...

On Richard, Republicans & Rupert?

Posted on February 19, 2011
The bad thing about nice weather is you have no desire to stay indoors and blog about the news of the day.  Luckily, it’s a little cooler outside this morning so I can scribble down a few thoughts before the lovely Mrs. Shabazz and I go spend the day just hanging out and enjoying each [...

Thursday?s Thoughts

Posted on February 17, 2011
Once again, I have a lot of little things to report on that worth a mention or two so here they are. Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock is formally announcing next week he’s going to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Dick Lugar.   Mourdock was reportedly at C-PAC making the rounds and made a lot of contacts [...

How I Would Run IPS

Posted on February 16, 2011
I had someone contact me yesterday with what I thought was a legitimate criticism.  They asked me that if were in charge of Indianapolis Public Schools, what would I do to make them better, provided I had the same power as Dr. Eugene White.  I thought it was a fair question...

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I?m The Bad Guy?

Posted on February 15, 2011
I was recently featured in a story in the Indianapolis Business Journal about what I do for a living, which I still can’t figure out.   As part of the story the reporter asked IPS Spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley what she thought about some of my comments regarding the state’s largest school district...

Give This A Read

Posted on February 14, 2011
I received this e-mail from a friend a couple days ago.  I think it makes for interesting reading as well move forward with the debate on school reform.  I left their name out to protect their privacy. Abdul, Today, I received a call on my personal cell phone, from the teacher’s union presumably, from a young [...

Happy Valentine?s Day

Posted on February 14, 2011
Hope you have a good Valentine’s Day.   Spend the day with someone you love, which for some of you means hanging out by yourself.  Me, I’ll take the lovely Mrs. Shabazz.

Slating Day

Posted on February 13, 2011
When making a decision to attend a political party slating convention, the big thing I ask myself is which one will be more interesting.   This year the winner was the Marion County Democrats.  They had four contested races which in turn led to a lot more drama...

Meet the Slate

Posted on February 12, 2011
Here’s who got slated today.  I’ll have some perspective tomorrow. Republicans Mayor: Greg Ballard City-County Council At-Large: Jackie Cissell At-Large: Mike Kalscheur At-Large: Barb Malone At-Large: Angel RiveraDistrict 1: Susan Blair District 3: Ryan Vaughn District 4: Christine Scales District 5: Ginny Cain District 6: Janice McHenry District 8: Stu Rhodes District 12: Mike McQuillen [...

Sam, I Am

Posted on February 11, 2011
Sam Carson, the son of the late Julia Carson, told me Thursday morning that he is running for Mayor of Indianapolis.  Shortly after formally announcing, Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy put out this statement. “The entry into the mayor?s race of the unemployed Sam Carson brings an interesting development ? a candidate with neither [...

Thursday?s Political Thoughts

Posted on February 10, 2011
I’m doing the morning show live from the Indiana General Assembly today, so this will be short and to the point. Politico is reporting that Governor Mitch Daniels will announce later this Spring whether he will run for President.  The article is pretty interesting...

Talk to the Teachers

Posted on February 09, 2011
I attended the Statehouse teacher (union) rally Tuesday afternoon and stayed for the subsequent charter school vote in the House.  The measure passed 59-37. What was most interesting was the reaction of the teachers.   I have honestly never seen so many people so angry and afraid like that in a while...

Clam Up and Charter Up

Posted on February 08, 2011
In today?s episode of the battle over education reform, two of the state?s biggest teachers unions have scheduled rallies in Indianapolis, Anderson and East Chicago to protest what Indiana lawmakers are doing at the statehouse. I think it?s rather ironic the Indiana Federation of Teachers and the State Teachers Association chose two school districts that [...

Same-Sex Silliness

Posted on February 07, 2011
There?s a joke I tell in my comedy routine about same-sex marriage.  Once you get married, the sex is always the same!  (Rimshot here)  Now I make it a point not to tell that bit with my lovely wife in the audience, otherwise sex won’t even be a question when we get back to the [...

Sunday Morning Post

Posted on February 06, 2011
Since today is Super Bowl Sunday and politics is probably the last thing on your mind, I?ll try to be as brief as possible while talking the latest gossip, rumor and blatant innuendo. Mark February 22 on your calendar at Republican State party headquarters in downtown Indianapolis...

Snow Job

Posted on February 04, 2011
I always say this kind of weather brings out some bizarre behavior in people, particularly some of my Democratic friends. Over at Indy Democrat, Jon Easter bemoans the fact that the Superintendent of  Public Instruction, Dr. Tony Bennett, is not granting waivers for schools that were closed due to the weather...

Who Declared War on Education?

Posted on February 03, 2011
In the debate over education reform in Indiana schools, it took a little while to figure out exactly how the opponents of education reform would try to frame the debate, but they have finally tipped their hand.  They are calling it a ?war on public education and a war against teachers?...

Moore Like David

Posted on February 02, 2011
Although I had some legal work to do Tuesday, I did watch the funeral for Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore.   Moore was killed last Sunday in while conducting a traffic stop.  Thomas Hardy has been charged in the murder.  And as I watched the funeral, one thought kept coming back to me...

Point of Personal Privilege

Posted on February 02, 2011
Hey folks.  Normally I don’t delete comments from my blog because I believe in free speech and open dialogue.  However, I don’t believe in abuse.  Therefore, the poster heretofore known as “dirty blues” is banned from Indiana Barrister...

Programming Note

Posted on February 01, 2011
With today being the funeral of David Moore, Indiana Barrister will be silent.  You can stream the funeral services here courtesy of RTV 6 at 10 a.m.  We will return tomorrow.

Indiana Week in Preview

Posted on January 31, 2011
A lot of us will be focusing on the funeral of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore this week; however there are some other items on the radar screen that will be worth paying attention to.   I’ll likely blog more about them on Wednesday, but here’s a quick preview...

Teaching Talking Points

Posted on January 29, 2011
As education reform moves through the Indiana General Assembly, I managed to obtain a copy of the State Teacher’s Union (ISTA) talking points on various school reform proposals.  It’s a pretty interesting read, to say the least.  Here are some of the highlights… The proposal would give Dr...

Read and Weep

Posted on January 28, 2011
I know there were a lot of political happenings Thursday but they will take a back seat today.  I’ve embedded the probable cause affidavit regarding the Thomas Hardy case.  Hardy has formally  been charged with the murder of David Moore.  I thought it was important to post it today...

The Last King of I.P.S.

Posted on January 27, 2011
I went back and forth before deciding whether to use the above phrase as the title for this blog post.  But the more I thought about it, the more fitting I thought it would be.  I am talking about Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of the school district that hopefully will one day formerly be known [...

R.I.P. David Moore

Posted on January 26, 2011
David Moore was pronounced dead this morning at 6:18.  Our prayers are with his family.

A Thought on Death

Posted on January 26, 2011
I used to be in favor of the death penalty but over time my opinion changed.  Not because I didn’t think some people weren’t bad actors, but simply because I did not think it was a deterrent to crime.  However, in the wake of what happened to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore, I am [...

What Kind of ?Community? Is This?

Posted on January 25, 2011
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about two incidents this past weekend in Indianapolis, the shooting of Officer David Moore and the two teens shot near Circle Center Mall.   I’ve been asking myself why these types of events happen?  The easy answer of course is that there are bad people in this world [...

To Serve and Protect

Posted on January 24, 2011
Despite the controversies regarding the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department this past year, the shooting of 29-year old Officer David Moore should remind of us of two things.  First, police work is very dangerous business and officers literally put their lives on the line everyday...

Tea Talk

Posted on January 24, 2011
Here’s the interview from Saturday’s Tea Party rally with organizers Monca Boyer and Greg Fettig.  It’s about 10 minutes long. Tea Party By the way, my sources tell me that FreedomWorks wants to help the Indiana Tea Party groups defeat Richard Lugar but has some serious concerns about their organizational ability.

Time To Tea Off

Posted on January 23, 2011
On a very cold and bitter Saturday morning, about 150 people who are mad at Dick Lugar about something, gathered just north of Tipton, Indiana to begin to plot his political demise.   They represented the various factions of the tea party movement across Indiana and they claim to represent nearly 350,000 Hoosiers...

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