Indiana

Girl Scouts 'Radicalized Organization' Promoting 'Homosexual Lifestyles', Says Indiana Republican

Jillian Rayfield | February 21, 2012, 10:06AM

Next time you buy a box of Tagalongs, you might be helping to fund an abortion.

Or, at least, that's what one Republican lawmaker in Indiana might have you believe. State Rep. Bob Morris (R) wants to kill a resolution honoring the Girl Scouts because they are a "radicalized organization" that promotes "homosexual lifestyles" and funds Planned Parenthood.

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Utah

Utah Newest Front In GOP Battle Against Unions

Nick R. Martin | February 9, 2012, 6:07AM

The Utah State House of Representatives, January 2012

Republicans in Utah have opened up the next front in a battle against public unions being waged in statehouses throughout the nation.

A bill introduced last week in the Utah legislature would ban government employees from collectively bargaining on any issue except for wages and health benefits. The proposal would bar unions from having a say in things like training, equipment and disciplinary procedures.

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White Supremacist Groups

After Bombing Sting, Hate Leader Warns Followers To Beware A Woman's Charm

Nick R. Martin | January 11, 2012, 5:39AM

Accused bombers Daniel (left) and Dennis Mahon (right), and notorious white supremacist leader Tom Metzger (center).

One of the leading white supremacists in the nation wants his followers to be wary of the women in their lives after an attractive female informant infiltrated the ranks of his associates.

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White Supremacist Groups

How The Feds Brought Down Arizona's Suspected White Supremacist 'Serial' Bombing Brothers

Nick R. Martin | January 10, 2012, 5:25AM

In a small trailer park in Catoosa, Okla., in 2005, an aging white supremacist made a startling claim to a woman he had met only earlier that day.

He told her he was a serial bomber.

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Phillip Hinkle

IN GOPer: I Just Talked About Baseball With The Young Man I Solicited On Craigslist

Jillian Rayfield | August 25, 2011, 1:23PM

Rep. Phillip Hinkle (R-IN)

State Rep. Phillip Hinkle, the anti-gay marriage Indiana Republican accused of offering to pay a young man he met over Craigslist for "a good time," admits that he paid the man but contends that they didn't do anything illicit -- they just talked about "baseball and the view."

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Phillip Hinkle

Indiana GOPer: 'Self-Destruction' Of Soliciting Young Man On Craigslist Won't Make Me Resign

Jillian Rayfield | August 23, 2011, 5:33PM

Rep. Phillip Hinkle (R-IN)

State Rep. Phillip Hinkle, an Indiana Republican who was accused of offering a young man money in exchange "for a really good time," will not resign but says he won't seek re-election next term.

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Phillip Hinkle

Anti-Gay Marriage State Rep. Accused Of Offering Young Male Money 'For A Really Good Time'

Jillian Rayfield | August 12, 2011, 11:21AM

Rep. Phillip Hinkle (R-IN)

An Indiana state Representative, who recently voted for a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, has been accused of using Craigslist to offer an 18-year old male $80 for "a couple hours of your time tonight" plus a tip "for a really good time."

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Indiana

Federal Judge Rules Indiana Can't Block Planned Parenthood Funding

Jillian Rayfield | June 27, 2011, 10:47AM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

A federal judge has granted Planned Parenthood a temporary injunction against an Indiana law that stripped it of all federal funding in the state.

"If dogma trumps pragmatism and neither side budges, Indiana's most vulnerable citizens could end up paying the price as the collateral damage of a partisan battle," U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt wrote in her decision.

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Indiana

Indiana And Planned Parenthood Take Defunding Battle To Federal Court

Jillian Rayfield | June 6, 2011, 12:24PM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

A District Court judge in Indiana is now considering whether to grant a preliminary injunction against a new law that strips Indiana Planned Parenthood of all of its federal funding.

Planned Parenthood has requested a preliminary injunction against the law, arguing that without it the state will stop receiving about $1.4 million in Medicaid funding on June 20, and would cut health care services for more than 9,000 people.

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Planned Parenthood

Judge Refuses To Block Bill Defunding Indiana Planned Parenthood

Melissa Jeltsen | May 11, 2011, 3:35PM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Indiana women on Medicaid who rely on Planned Parenthood for medical care might want to start looking elsewhere.

On Tuesday, a federal judge denied Planned Parenthood of Indiana's request for a temporary restraining order that would have stopped HEA 1210 -- a controversial measure that cuts off all federal funding to the state's largest reproductive health care organization -- from going into effect.

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Planned Parenthood

Indiana Planned Parenthood Seeking Injunction To Save Federal Funding

Melissa Jeltsen | May 10, 2011, 5:21PM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Planned Parenthood of Indiana says it will file a temporary restraining order and injunction to keep HEA 1210 -- the controversial measure that would cut off all federal funding to the organization in the state -- from going into effect, calling the bill unconstitutional and in violation of federal law.

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Fox News

Police: Fox News Flubbed 'Granny Terrorist' Story

Ryan J. Reilly | December 30, 2010, 3:48PM

FoxNews.com reporter Jana Winter published a story last week claiming that Fox News had "learned" of a federal investigation into the alleged terrorist ties of Kathie Smith, a "46-year-old, blue-eyed grandmother and U.S. citizen from Indiana." The story was quickly pulled down and scrubbed from the website, but not before TPM grabbed a copy.

FoxNews.com posted a revised version of the story on Tuesday. Fox's story glosses over the role that its own reporter had in alerting Indiana authorities to Smith and what can only be called her unique brand of "jihadism."

As for the investigation, it's unclear if the feds are probing Smith, and the Indiana State Police -- the recipient of Fox's tip -- tells TPM they have no active investigation.

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Indiana

Indiana DMV Chief Arrested For Public Exposure Resigns

Rachel Slajda | October 8, 2010, 12:31PM

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Andrew J. Miller

The commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles was arrested on Wednesday for public indecency after he solicited sex from an undercover police officer in a public restroom. On Thursday, he resigned.

Indianapolis Police say the commissioner, Andrew Miller, exposed himself to an officer during an undercover sting of the men's room in Claypool Court, a downtown hotel. The restroom, a popular spot among men soliciting sex, has been the site of 116 public indecency arrests in the last 10 years.

He was arrested, taken to jail and later released on a $150 bond. The Indianapolis Star reports that prosecutors are deciding whether to press charges.

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Charlie White

Republican Candidate In Indiana Probed For Possible Voter Fraud

Jillian Rayfield | October 6, 2010, 8:44AM

Charlie White (R), candidate for Secretary of State in Indiana.

The Republican nominee for the top job overseeing Indiana's elections has a bit of a voting problem himself.

For one thing, Republican Secretary of State nominee Charlie White moved out of Fishers, Indiana, six months before stepping down from his post on the town council there. The town attorney has ruled that White's disputed town council votes from that interim period will still stand.

But according to the Indianapolis Star, White's troubles don't end there. He is reportedly being probed for committing voter fraud because he registered to vote with his old address, and voted in the primary in his old district.

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Mark Souder

Souder: Regular Prayers And Hymns Failed To Stop Affair

Justin Elliott | June 16, 2010, 10:30AM

Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

If only Mark Souder had listened to Dan Quayle, everything would have turned out better.

Souder, the Indiana Republican congressman who resigned last month after admitting to an affair with a staffer, is still giving interviews. In the latest, with the Christian WORLD magazine, Souder says that when he was first elected to Congress in 1994, Quayle called and advised him to move his family to Washington. Souder now regrets not taking the advice.

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Hutaree

Prosecutors: 46 Guns Found In Home Of Alleged Hutaree Member

Justin Elliott | April 1, 2010, 9:18AM

Members of the Hutaree militia: Joshua Stone, Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr. (left-right, top row); Michael Meeks, David Stone, Sr., Joshua Clough (second row); Kristopher Sickles, Jacob Ward, Thomas Piatek (bottom row).

FBI agents found 46 guns and 13,000 rounds of ammunition in the Indiana home of one of the nine alleged members of the Hutaree Christian militia, prosecutors said at a hearing Wednesday.

That man, Thomas Piatek, was ordered held without bond and will face charges with the other charged Hutaree members in Detroit.

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Frontier Foundation

About Face: Buyer Admits Ties To Questionable Foundation, Posh Golf Junkets

Justin Elliott | October 19, 2009, 3:52PM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) golfing in 2006

Last we checked, Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) was maintaining that he had nothing more than a casual connection to the Frontier Foundation, which has collected lots of money from industry groups seeking to curry favor with Buyer, spent a lot on travel, meals, and salary, but given out nothing for its stated purpose of helping students get through college.

Now, after several media outlets questioned the legitimacy of the setup, Buyer is pushing back and he has a totally new story: the foundation is his, after all, and his selfless efforts to help poor Indiana children are now the focus of "vicious and ugly" attacks.

Oh yeah, and even though everything is on the up-and-up, Buyer has decided to review the foundation's activities and potentially change how it operates.

But wait, there's more!

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