Indiana’s Shadow Government; Holcomb’s flights worrisome; and INDEMS

Law would prevent animal abusers from owning pets
The Indiana House and the Senate each have passed Senate Bill 474, which would prevent convicted animal abusers from owning, keeping or training animals while they are on parole or probation.  (Indystar)

Holcomb’s flights more worrisome than they appear
I find the incident it discusses deeply troubling. And while I share the editorial’s concerns about the unseemly appearance of the private flights a casino magnate offered and Gov. Eric Holcomb accepted, I do not agree with the editorial’s premise that no laws were broken. In my opinion, Holcomb’s acceptance of these flights was contrary not only to the spirit but the letter of the Indiana law that strictly prohibits persons or corporations with gaming interests from making campaign contributions to officeholders. (Journal Gazette)

LISTEN: Indiana Democratic Party 4-6-19 Weekly Radio Address Podcast
Republican lawmakers are refusing to acknowledge the need and Holcomb has broken the public’s trust to rightfully get this done. He has chosen to cut corners rather than take a stand. This is unacceptable and sends a message that Indiana is not a welcoming state—when the goal was to avoid a RFRA 2.0. (Indiana Talks Network)

Commentary: A State For Slow Learners
Well, Indiana has a kind of shadow government of unelected leaders. Those leaders are Eric Miller of Advance America, Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana and Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute. Devout social conservatives, they somehow have found in the Gospels encouragement to disparage and persecute people who are gay or transgender. (Statehouse Files)

Hoosiers lose direct say over state school chief
House Bill 1005 was signed by the Indiana Senate president pro tem on April Fool’s Day and quickly moved to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk. With his signature Wednesday, the governor claimed appointment authority for the state superintendent of public instruction. (Journal Gazette)

Bernie Sanders Isn’t Scared of Fox News. Why Is the Democratic Party?
Last month, the Democrats said they wouldn’t invite the network to host any of the party’s upcoming primary debates. But one Democratic candidate is willing to dance with the devil: Bernie Sanders. Fox News announced on Wednesday that Baier and MacCallum will host a town hall with the Vermont senator on April 15 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (New Republic)

3 Black Churches Have Burned in 10 Days in a Single Louisiana Parish
Three historically black churches have burned in less than two weeks in one south Louisiana parish, where officials said they had found “suspicious elements” in each case. The officials have not ruled out the possibility of arson, or the possibility that the fires are related. (New York Times)

Trump skipping ‘negative’ White House correspondents dinner for a rally (Again)
President Trump says he’ll skip the annual White House correspondents dinner, which he described as “negative and boring”, to hold a rally with supporters. (MSNBC)

Equality comments by Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw’s go viral on social media
McGraw’s comments had her trending on Twitter. Former President Barack Obama weighed in with a tweet saying McGraw was “a voice everybody should hear.” South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a potential presidential candidate for 2020, also took to Twitter to applaud McGraw, calling it “a powerful statement from a leader I admire.” (South Bend Tribune)

Congress Waits as Barr Blacks Out Parts of Mueller Report
Investigators for the special counsel spent months trying to get answers from President Trump: what he knew about a meeting between senior campaign aides and Russians; about changes to the Republican Party platform making it more Russia-friendly; about his associates’ outreach to WikiLeaks as it prepared to publish Democratic emails stolen by Russian hackers. (New York Times)

Trump Takes Credit for Obama’s Border Wall
Except, wait: That particular section of wall was actually just a replacement of fence that had been there for decades. And the refurbishment was approved during the Barack Obama administration in 2009. The funding for Trump’s border wall, meanwhile, is still tied up in Congress. (Rolling Stone)

Hard-line aide has Trump’s ear as border tactics flounder
Trump, who campaigned on a promise to secure the border, has thrown virtually every option his aides have been able to think of at the problem, to little avail. He has sent out the military, signed an emergency declaration to fund a border wall and threatened to completely seal the southern border. (Journal Gazette)

Someone Is Always Trying to Kill You’
The United States cannot erect a wall and expect women to resign themselves to being slaughtered. (New York Times)