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Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ Senate Bill 621
Commentary: Why Senate Bill 621 does and doesn’t matter
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org One of the biggest laments that I will hear from lawmakers outside of Indianapolis is how they don’t like dealing with what they label “Marion County” legislation. This session there were three major bills that fit that category, mass transit, financial assistance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Senate Bill [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ column \ commentary \ Otis Bowen \ property taxes \ taxes
Commentary: Bowen was the grandfather of today’s property tax caps
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org As I sat down and did my research on the late Gov. Otis “Doc” Bowen, two things really fascinated me about his time in public service. One was his frankness about sex when he was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the mid-1980s. The other, which I would argue [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ column \ commentary \ guns \ privacy
Commentary: You’ve already waived your right to privacy
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org In the debate over guns, I have become somewhat amused and befuddled over the chatter regarding background checks. As you are probably aware, the U.S. Senate last week failed to pass a measure that would have expanded universal background checks for Internet and certain gun show purchases. Some Second Amendment advocates [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ budget \ Mike Pence
Commentary: Hoosiers likely to get half-billion dollar tax cut
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org Unless something changes between now and April 29, Hoosiers can expect to see close to half a billion dollars put back into the Indiana economy over the next two years. As the State Budget Committee learned that revenues are expected to increase by $290 million over the biennium, that became the [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ column \ commentary \ Joe Donnelly \ U.S. Senate
Commentary: Donnelly shows good government equals good politics
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org Last week, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly demonstrated a concept I have come to label as “enlightened self-interest.” That means you do the right thing not only because it is the right thing to do, but you also get a benefit out of it. In Donnelly’s case it was coming out (pardon [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ Joe Donnelly \ same sex marriage
Commentary: Donnelly shows good government equals good politics
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org Last week, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., demonstrated a concept I have come to label as “enlightened self-interest.” That means you do the right thing not only because it is the right thing to do, but you also get a benefit out of it. In Donnelly’s case, it was coming out [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ agriculture \ column \ commentary \ farms \ First Amendment
Commentary: Farms and the First Amendment
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org Whenever the government tries to do anything that looks like it might tread into First Amendment territory, I tend to get a little concerned. As someone who talks and writes for a living, that whole free speech concept is pretty important to me. So my eyebrows arched a little when I [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ casinos \ column \ commentary \ gambling
Commentary: Indiana needs to go all in on gaming
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org INDIANAPOLIS – I’ve recently been trying to get my arms around gaming here in Indiana. After Nevada and New Jersey, Indiana is one of biggest gaming states in the country. According to some of the most recent data for 2012, Indiana casinos took in more than $2.7 billion in gaming revenue, sent [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ column \ commentary \ common core \ education \ schools
Commentary: The case for Common Core
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPolitics.Org For the most part I have been agnostic about whether Indiana should stay in or opt out of Common Core. For those of you who don’t wear tinfoil hats or are waiting for the black helicopters to come by your house or for that matter just have a life, Common Core [...]
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz \ alcohol \ beer \ column \ courts \ lawsuit
Commentary: The cold beer controversy
By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz IndyPoltics.Org As a regular consumer of adult beverages you would think nothing would surprise me when it comes to the silliness and inconsistency of Indiana’s alcohol laws, which at times can border on the sublime, to the ridiculous. However, I was reminded last week that Indiana’s alcohol laws cannot not only run [...]