Countdown: 6 days to go

For those keeping track of the race to new leadership in Porter County, at least in the Republican Party this is T-minus 6 days.

Facts:

• David Bengs and Joyce Webster are officially announced for chair
• Valerie Kubacki (Republicans Rock here on this site) has announced for vice chair
• Ken Williams has announced for Treasurer
• Haven't heard anything official on Secretary
• Thursday night's meeting to get all Republicans together to meet the candidates is set, here's the facebook event announcement
• That same event has also been rebranded the Chuck's going away party, which is a great reason to come and raise a toast too
• There is plenty of time until the 72 hour window for more people to announce their intentions to run.
  

Rumors:

• Another name has been rumored for vice chair, a male I believe who would be eligible if Joyce were to win, remember the ridiculous gender rule from the 1700's? Too bad we tied our own hands from voting for the the best candidates available.
  
• Portage precinct chairs met and seem to be doing the obvious in backing Joyce Webster
• John Evans, highest ranking county Republican elected official, appears to be backing Trustee Webster
• On the Attorney Bengs many of the Valparaiso precincts are surely backing the active Center township attorney, haven't heard of any endorsements from Mayor Costas or Councilman Conover or Treasurer Murphy. Yet! Chairman Williams has maintained a neutral stance as promised.
  
• Chuck Conover, Center Township Trustee, may be working against Ms. Webster in retribution for backing up Governor Mitch Daniels' efforts to re-organize township government. I know he was not in favor of that proposal by the Governor.
  
• GROW - our women's group, appears to be working against the woman running for chair, can't say that one makes sense ... but also for Valerie for vice.
  
• And where oh where will south county fall?
  

Thanks to all the big wigs who have sent me notes and emails asking that I tone things down, I appreciate your concern. But, this is no time for shadows or toning down. This is a time for Republicans to decide what they really are, and who they want to be. 6 days will be a good chance to purify and ask some real solid questions of ourselves. The four years will be trying, and winning elections in a blue state and blue county even tougher.

County leadership lacking

I know that at least two members of the county council, Democrats of course because for some reason our elected Republicans are still pretending the "internets" doesn't exist, read here on occasion. So, I'll say in advance, I'm sorry that this one might sting a bit. I quite often quote from the Times and the Post, but these days frankly the Chesterton Tribune is doing a better job reporting the details of county meetings, even though I often disagree with their spin.

See the Tribune on county council meeting, and some editorial comments

Look at bottom couple paragraphs, where Rita votes against Bucko for Redevelopment and Whitten takes a shot at all "regionalism" ... the battle lines are being drawn. Anything "regional" is going to be fought, any restructuring or efficiency will be fought, Harper even demasculated the redevelopment commission by making it only advisory and not allowing any TIF. These guys want Porter County to slide back to the 19th Century because frankly they are scared of the future. They saw what their own party did to Lake County, and since they don't trust themselves they are staunchly defending status quo.

The real question going forward is will conservatives be able to crawl out of their own lethargy and worn out slogans and see job creation, growth, opportunity, redevelopment, efficiency, and reorganization as their winning ideas ... or will we retreat to small minded malaise and be forced further into a "they really don't matter" corner. The entire business community is restructuring, will conservatives become the unwitting accomplices of liberals and no-growthers and let government miss this opportunity?

Notice the word conservative, because there are some conservative elected Democrats who aren't anti-growth, anti-job, anti-efficiency. There are also a lot of Republicans wasting their time on tired slogans and campaigns. If you want jobs, then work on job creation which should include the entire county not just the mills. If you want government to cost less and deliver better services, then be brave and re-organize, take a political risk before it's too late and we become Lake County.

Mike Bucko has taken some risks and for some reason is getting shot by his own party far too often. If the jobs of Treasurer, Auditor, and Assessor are combined (and they should be) then Mike is probably the guy that will hold that new Chief Financial Officer job first. What's wrong with Rita, who is she parading for?

Activitists and Taxpayer groups go on offensive

It's been a pretty interesting 120 days since the election of our new President. A huge loss in many eyes, but frankly activists and taxpayer groups seem to have seen a dramatic resurgence of activity. In 2008 all the debate seemed to be on who could run the quickest to the middle of the political spectrum. In one of my only positive comments on Ron Paul, he seemed to be the only one yelling from the corner "government is the problem not the solution."

MEDIA ADVISORY: REVOLT AT THE STATE HOUSE

from TEAM HAMMOND TAXPAYERS' GROUP

For Immediate Release
Contact: Paul K. Ogden
February 25, 2009
Revolt at the statehouse

Indianapolis – Attorney Paul Ogden, 47, today announced plans to hold a taxpayer rally at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The rally, which is called “Revolt at the State House,” is supported by several local political blogs including “Ogden on Politics” and “Hoosiers for Fair Taxation” and various taxpayer groups not only in Indianapolis but all across the state.The rally will focus chiefly on issues relating to corporate welfare, Indiana style “pay to play” politics, property tax reform, and the need for transparency and ethics reform. Particular topics are likely to include: “The Colts, Pacers & the Capital Improvement Board, “Pay to Play Politics, Indiana Style: Campaign Contributions & Government Contracts,” “The Executive and Legislative Revolving Door,” “Corporate Welfare – How Politicians Have Used Our Tax Money to Make the Rich Richer.”

Speakers, which will include Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians, will be announced at a later date.

Quite a few cities will also feature Tea Parties tomorrow, for those that may have missed it, Rick Santelli from CNBC on a rant against the stimulus bill called for a Chicago Tea Party and the idea went viral. Here's the facebook page with location and details for tomorrow in Chicago at Daley Plaza at 11 a.m.

Northwest Indiana Tourism Strategy

Even though much of the debate on this site over the next 10 days will be focused on party politics and leadership elections, I thought it would be nice to also look at an issue brewing out there: The Lake County Tourism Board has been talking about a possible merger with Porter County and LaPorte County.

Since I'm no politician, it's easy for me to be honest and take a position. I'm for it. I've been told that almost all of the budget in Porter County at least is spent on overhead, with very little going to actual promotion of our county. A merger would allow all these dollars to be used more efficiently to promote all of Northwest Indiana. Seriously, does anyone really choose one county over the other? No

I see that the county dems have already voted against even thinking about it, classic for the current administration's thoughts on anything that resembles change, progress, or growth. I know a couple democrats, people I respect, I'd love to see them speak up and not let one man speak for the entire county.

I know though that the same people who decried the RDA, now headed by our own Bill Hanna, will be against anything that smacks of helping Lake County fix it's problems. And I will easily acknowledge that Spiros is his own worst enemy at times, at times visionary and others aggravating. Go ahead tell me I'm wrong, I can handle it, but be willing to put some meat behind your thoughts and take me on.

Republicans will have a contested chair election

We have confirmation that there are at least two candidates for the chair position of the Republican party.

David Bengs, Valparaiso attorney

Joyce Webster, Portage Township Trustee

I have sent emails to both candidates asking for bio information and ideas on why they should be elected chair. Hopefully we'll get those responses tonite so I can post them. Both are very viable candidates and if there are any others please contact us so we can include in these interviews and posts.

Party to elect new chair

Obviously my contacts with the Porter County Democrats aren't as dialed in, as those with the Republicans, so if someone has information on the Democrat side please leave in comments or email me and I'll add.

On the Republican side, there will be a caucus on March 7th at the Porter County Government Center in downtown Valparaiso to choose the new chair. Rumors are swirling, and may come to a rest later today or tomorrow that this will be a contested election. That should make things fun. Current Chairman Chuck Williams is not running for re-election. Watch here later today and for more details on the caucus, the candidates (we'll try to get interviews before the press does) and any related events for next week.

For those that complained the party was out of sync with the grass roots, this would be an opportunity to get engaged, to talk to the candidates, and to help choose both new leadership and strategy.

Stop Crying WOLF!

Barack Obama’s presidency is twenty nine days young. Though his Administration has made quite the controversial splash in its first month, its “gaffes” highlighted by conservative media have been dramatically overstated. To some, this seems like what the loyal opposition’s mission has always been, and therefore, what we should do as the minority voice in Washington. I sharply disagree.

What has been going on even before the 44th President’s inauguration has been a tit-for-tat, micro-targeted game of superficial and uncoordinated potshots at the Obama Administration by conservative pundits. If you were to regularly tune into the major cable networks, you would hear a series of stretched, out-of-context sound bites suggesting that Barack Obama is sympathetic to terrorists, a socialist at heart, or that he is to be feared by the mainstream. These chaotic attacks have lacked coordination and appeal, and will undermine Republican efforts going into the 2010 Midterm elections.

The most recent criticism of “Porkulus”, the recently passed $800 Billion Stimulus Bill, is an example of this. Believe it or not, congressional conservatives actually proposed an intelligent alternative to dramatically increasing the size of government to remedy the current economic recession. Sadly, this proposal was lost amidst the white noise of potshots and empty criticism. With the Democrat mandate in both houses, this proposal will not receive a single reading on the floor, or make it into a single committee meeting.

While this is discouraging, much hay could be made out of this idea if we were to talk constructively. The proposal consisted of targeted long term tax cuts to businesses and consumers that many learned economists touted as a more reasonable solution than a massive federalization. Not only would this conservative alternative save our dollars the wasteful trip to and from Washington, it would remove the Federal Government from the decision making process and circumvent the need to simply print more currency to solve the problem. But instead of selling our fresh alternative, we have once again relied on our old adages of fear and division.

Somehow the conservative media care little that the politics of fear, partisanship, and division have lead conservatives to overwhelming defeats. I believe our Party’s image suffers from a perception of an overt gamesmanship by the American public. Our strategies have lost their finesse largely because our ideas have become exaggerated, gratuitously negative, and repetitive. I think the blame for this rests largely on so called “conservative” media and its repetitious cries. What conservatives need to keep in mind is that the agenda of even the most conservative media runs contrary to our own—of rebuilding a coherent Republican Party. Obviously, absent frequent controversy, these networks would suffer from low viewership. Daily controversy, while it may appeal to pundits, is not good for conservatism. While small political battles are fought each and every day, they force us to lose sight of the real issues. Worthwhile controversy is drowned in the white noise of the daily tit-for-tat of the cable media, and it dramatically distorts the bigger picture, and erodes the little rare trust conservatives have with the American people.

To be clear, I am not advocating that conservatives should give Barack Obama a free pass, or even a honeymoon period. In fact, I believe that if we could avoid being driven by the daily media’s need for constant controversy, we could better coordinate our criticisms of Obama’s liberal agenda. In addition, I think it would benefit conservatives to market positive proposals of our own as alternatives to the alarming initiatives of the far left. We need to keep in mind that the political struggle that we are engaged in will endure at least four years; each day’s battle is not necessarily always worth winning. As an effective loyal opposition, let’s pick and choose those that are actually most important and show the American public that we are deserving of winning them.

Bill Hanna to head RDA into regional future

In one of the biggest stories we've reported here on our site, Valparaiso City Administrator Bill Hanna has been chosen to head up the RDA. Congratulations Bill, welcome to regional leadership, a well deserved promotion. Valparaiso will miss his abilities, and I know Mayor Costas is already looking for a person to try their hand at filling his very capable shoes.

From the Times

"The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority named Valparaiso's city administrator as the organization's new executive director at a special meeting Friday.

William Hanna, 35, is set to leave his city post and take the RDA helm April 1.

He replaces Tim Sanders, who resigned recently to become associate vice president for governmental relations at Purdue University Calumet.

RDA Chairman Leigh Morris said nearly 300 people applied for the executive director's post from across the country and abroad.

"Bill Hanna is the best fit for this organization," Morris said immediately after the meeting that approved Hanna's appointment. "Bill brings a wealth of experience in planning, economic development and operations. He knows and understands the needs and concerns of local government, and he has great insights into the opportunities our region has to grow and prosper."

I personally talked to Bill yesterday after the announcement to congratulate he and his family. From my perspective the search could have interviewed 1,000 candidates and they weren't going to get a guy that would work as hard for NW Indiana as Bill.

Higher Education needs a huge cut

Sorry, I know this post won't make a lot of people happy, I ran my initial thoughts by a member of the Higher Education Commission and it didn't seem too famous. How dare one question the cost of Higher Education these days, it's just widely known that it goes up at an rate about twice as much as inflation every year right?

Question - what is it about higher education that costs so much money?

I'm going to run through some "guesses" since I'm no expert, feel free to dig in and tell me where my guesses are wrong:

Cost of an annual education at Wabash $40,000
Cost of an annual education at Indiana University $20,000

Now, I'll stop here first, can one assume this means that the state is delivering education more efficiently ... or that we the taxpayers are picking up another $20,000 to send each instate student to school? I'm thinking it's the latter. So is educating an undergrad really costing us $40,000 per student in Indiana?

Rent for small apartment $500 per month, 8 months $4,000.00
Cost of 250 days of food 3 meals per day $5 per meal $3,750.00
I guess I could make a case that room and board and this astronomical level of rent payment would equate to $7,750.00 for a year. I'm thinking this is astronomically high.

Avg #students in a class - 40
Avg teacher pay - $100,000 including benefits
Number of classes in a year (2 semesters) 12
Number of classes taught by a teacher - 3
Number of students per $100,000 administrator - 100
Number of students per $40,000 support staff - 50
Cost of building - assuming 6 classrooms, library, student union, some greenspace
... This is the toughest to guess but probably

So, on a bunch of rough guesses looks like well paid teacher should cost about $833.33 per class or $10,000 per year. Rough guesses on Admin would be $2,000 per student per year and now I'm way out there with another $1,000 per student per year for buildings.

All told, I'm finding less than $20,000 a year in real expenses and I think we're charging more than that and asking the state government for another $20,000 per student. Go ahead tell me all my guesses are wrong, I'd love to debate this one.

"This is America" - Rick Santelli on CNBC

House Dems want state to fund Gary shortfalls

In the category of "you've got to be kidding" ... the Post reports that House Democrats have decided play some additional politics with the state budget.

"The city of Gary could qualify for a multimillion-dollar state bailout under provisions of a budget proposal House Democrats unveiled Tuesday.

The budget would create a "circuit breaker replacement grant fund," which Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. William Crawford said would promise state funding to provide basic services in civil taxing units which lose more than 20 percent of their budgets to the tax caps."

I can't wait to see Buzz and Fat Pete and our Liberty caucus readers weigh in on this one!

Traffic spike on twitter list

Yesterday we posted a list spotlighting the twitter profiles for Indiana politicians. Our traffic jumped back to election cycle levels for the first time since November. Now, it does take a little more work than it did in October and November:

• We cross posted to Hoosier Access, Red County and Active Rain
• We posted to twitter using the automatic feeds, and since I used #indiana in the title it was picked up immediately in that twitter stream which is now getting pretty active

It takes a little bit of social media SEO work but it's worth it.

#indiana Politicians joining twitter

During the last campaign cycle Indiana politicians were seen to be using a little bit of social media, a blog here and there, and I think a few of them even played around with twitter. Over the last month I've noticed that a few more have migrated to twitter, so I went on a hunt this morning for twitter profiles for politicians. If you have more that I've missed, please submit in comments and I'll update.

• Governor Mitch Daniels

• Lt. Governor Becky Skillman

• Secretary of State Todd Rokita

• Attorney General Greg Zoeller

• Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett
  

• US Representative Mike Pence

• US Representative Dan Burton actually two Dan Burton - not sure which is official one

• US Senator Richard Lugar

• US Senator Evan Bayh - can't verify authenticity yet, and hasn't been updated since August

• Indianapolis Mayor Ballard - mostly third person, probably staffer

• State Representative Jackie Walorski

• Mayor of Valparaiso Jon Costas

• Fort Wayne City Councilman Mitch Harper

• Whitley County County Councilman Jim Banks

• Judge Michael Kramer in Noble County

• Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold

I'll do a separate post on party officials on twitter, yes both parties.

Alright Indiana tweeps, I'm sure I am missing some, or maybe this post will get some of the existing political crop to at least hold their own names so squatters don't grab them.

Many politicians start out assigning their social media work to a staffer, and although this may work on facebook and blogs, twitter really demands a little bit of personality. Staffer generated tweets are pretty quickly dismissed as broadcast media and not worth engaging. A word of recommendation, if you are an elected official at any level in Indiana and see the potential to engage your constituents on twitter, do so yourself. Even one personal tweet a day and you'll be amazed the following.

You may think you're busy, but last I checked Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove are both personally tweeting from their blackberries, you aren't more busy than they are.

Sen. Landske not backing governor?

Sorry to ask the question, but what group is Senator Sue Landske protecting when she lets Lake County once again skate from reforms intended to clean up messes like ... Lake County.

In this current cycle she is working to exempt Lake County from the need to eliminate elected county officials who for the most part we have all seen to be lacking in both ability and fiscal restraint. If any county in Indiana needs total reformation and reorganization it is Lake County. But once again to gain votes, the legislature is looking to exempt Lake County from restructuring laws.

Unless I'm mistaken, and feel free to set me straight, Senator Sue Landske is right in the center of this idea. In an effort to appeal to south Lake County Republicans who are fearful of a north Lake County County Executive getting elected and appointing a bunch of cronies ... I believe she is pushing to exempt Lake County, perhaps the most corrupt and embarassing county in Indiana from re-organization and restructuring. Sorry to speak so bluntly, but she is also the GOP's District Board member. Sounds like time for CHANGE.

Perhaps she needs to hear from you about your thoughts on restructuring county government to save money and reduce or eliminate corruption in all of our counties.

What will you do with your $13?

So as I look at the fact that they have passed this TRILLION dollar "stimulus" package. I think wow what will I do with that 13 dollars a week? Oh wait I will have to make sure that I don't get used to the whole $13 because in January it will go down to $8.
Now if I don't work I would be in a much better position because of the increase in the unearned income credit. Now let's figure out how backwards that is, we want to stimulate the economy but if you do not work we will pay you more. I had volunteered last year to help low income people with their taxes and I have to say I CHOSE not to do that this year. I was so depressed by the time I finished their taxes it made me sick literally. I won't go into how much I have to pay a year but let me just say that these people that were "part time" workers with 3 or 4 w-2's. They paid anywhere from 100-300 dollars in, which was taken out of their check over the year and got back between 5000-6000 dollars. Here is the funny part when I said wow what are you going to do with all that money the responses ranged from a new big screen to video games to new clothes. Some of them wanted to know why it was less than last year. I had to tell them they had more income than last year and of course the usual response was "well I won't let that happen again". Let me tell you I am not heartless I feel really bad for those that struggle to pay their bills. I think if one of those people had told me that they were taking that money and either paying bills or going to pay tuition at a community college I would still be helping this year.

So what will you do with your $13?

Porter County News and Views

Well tax bills are reportedly headed to the printer, from the Times, "Bills could start showing up in local mailboxes by the end of next week, with payments due by March 13.

Those who want to get an earlier look at their bills or make an online payment will be able to do so starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at porterco.org/taxes. ... Only six of the state's 92 counties failed to get tax bills out the door by the end of 2008, and only five have yet to get the job done, the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance reported."

Projects added to Porkulus Spending Bill - Porter County Communities submitted lists of projects that are shovel ready, From Chesterton Tribune

The following are the Porter County projects that are on the INDOT list so far. Other communities, such as Burns Harbor, are expected to submit additional projects. The full list is available online at www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/LPASection/stimulusPackage

Chesterton: paving projects on Wabash Avenue from Calumet to Waverly Road, $150,000; Woodlawn from Waverly to Ottawa, $130,000; Porter Avenue from 15th to 23rd street, $112,600; CR 1050N, from 11th to 100E, $166,000; and the Prairie Duneland Trail from Jackson Boulevard to the town of Porter, $63,000.

Porter: five undesignated projects at the street department; $1.9 million for the Porter Brickyard Trail; Tremont Road, $20,000; Oak Hill Road, $200,000; Waverly Road, $300,000; Wagner Road, $200,000; Woodlawn Road, $150,000; Wood Street, $60,000; Old Porter Road, $200,000; Beam Street, $100,000; Porter Cove, two projects totaling $170,000; Wagner Hills, $10,000; Hunters Glen, $30,000; Wagner Hills, two projects totaling $80,000; Franklin Street, $150,000; and $78,000 for projects throughout town.

Portage: Eleven projects, the largest ones of which are $10.3 million paving of Central Avenue from Willowcreek to County Line Road and $9.1 million paving of Stone Avenue from Willowcreek to County Line Road.

Porter County: Thirteen projects for bridges and roads in unincorporated Porter County, including the Ind. 149 extension and $1.5 million for the bridge on CR 500E over the Kankakee River.

Valparaiso: Six projects, the largest of which are $695,000 for the Campbell Street Pathway from Harrrison to Jefferson street and $300,000 for the new downtown park.

Governor Daniels reminded communities, like Gary, that this stimulus bill is not going to be a bunch of new cash to plug budget holes. The tax caps passed last year in HEA 1001 are firmly in place and moving toward constitutional amendment strength. Watch for the Governor to stipulate really firm positions on who will get construction money ... and who won't get it.

More Democrat Corruption?: Visclosky Tied to Earmark Contributor FBI Raids; Murtha Connection Revealed

From the Friday the 13th Gary post-Tribune:

Visclosky defends role with lobbyist PMA Group

February 13, 2009; By Jon Seidel, Post-Tribune staff writer

U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky said Thursday he was disappointed to learn of last fall's FBI raid at the offices of The PMA Group, his top campaign contributor, but no one has suggested that agents will be knocking on his door next. "I don't deal with people who do not deal with me in an honorable and honest fashion," Visclosky, D-Merrillville, said.

Donors with ties to The PMA Group have given $196,950 to Visclosky during his career, more than any other firm, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Now, national news agencies are reporting that The PMA Group's offices in Virginia were raided by federal investigators in November.

Visclosky said he has known Paul Magliocchetti, PMA's founder, for years and the two maintained a "good and professional" relationship. Magliocchetti is a former aide to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who sits on the House Appropriations Committee with Visclosky.

Murtha's involvement is a red flag for me here. The former marine called for the convictions of the Haditha Marines before they were even tried, as I've documented before HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Later, as Visclosky's seniority and influence grew, firms like The PMA Group, which represents defense firms, sought him out to lobby on their clients' behalf. In 2004, Magliocchetti's firm became Visclosky's top donor, and it has topped that list every year since.

Not that there was ever any quid-pro-quo for thaose constriubtions. Heaven Forbid, no!

National news reports suggest prosecutors are especially interested in campaign contributions made by The PMA Group to congressmen who secured millions in congressional earmarks for its clients. A Post-Tribune analysis last year of Visclosky's 2008 congressional earmark requests showed Visclosky secured more than $20 million in contracts for PMA clients, representing a quarter of the solo earmarks he obtained. Several PMA clients, including NuVant Systems, ProLogic Inc., Sierra Nevada and 21st Century Systems, became tenants at the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana. They were referred to the center by Visclosky, who also landed the federal cash that built it.

Only a quarter of the earmarks?

Another connection between Visclosky and PMA is Rich Kaelin, who served as Visclosky's chief of staff for nine months in 2003 but later became a PMA lobbyist. Congressional ethics rules prohibited any contact between Kaelin and Visclosky's staff for the first year after his departure. "I haven't talked to Rich for some years," Visclosky said.

No, no -- I barely know these people. The fact that my former Chief of staff -- whom I still refer to by his first name -- sho was the man I most depended on for assistance as a legislator -- is now working for them is entirely incidental.

Uh-HUH.

When news of the raid broke, Visclosky promised through a spokesman to take "appropriate and responsible action, including returning contributions" if the federal investigation uncovers proof of wrongdoing.

Boy, I'd sure like to see Rep. Visclosky return $196,950.00. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

It also means there's hope for the 2010 election races. If something further comes up that a direct link can be demonstrated between Visclosky and PMA, it's a wedge that can be used to unseat him from his iron grip on Northwest Indiana's Congessional seat.

I don't think we've seen the last of this story by a longshot. If nothing else, the Post-Tribune has been making inquiries.

~~JD~~

Cross-Posted at Alamo City Pundit

Other impressions from township battle

From Capitol Watchblog:

"What really appalled me was when reformers were challenged twice for violating the rule about disparaging elected officials when they recited some of the misdeeds of township officials. I always thought that rule applied only to disparaging other senators during floor debate. But it apparently applies to anyone criticizing anybody who’s managed to elevate himself about the rest of us mere mortals by winning a public office.

Well, I’m sorry. But when somebody steals hundreds of thousands of dollars by illegally padding his salary and diverting public money for vacations and home improvements, as a township trustee in Southwest Indiana did, WHY CAN’T YOU CALL THAT PERSON A CROOK?

A reform-minded township trustee from Porter County was also chastised for referring to her predecessors as “good old boys” who filled the office with their relatives. If they did that, what’s wrong with saying it? There’s a reason private business doesn’t let you hire your relatives, but government leaders have never gotten that.

My own experience with township offices has made me sympathetic with reformers’ complaints that township offices are rife with nepotism and incompetence and that the people they’re supposed to serve often can’t even find these officials or call them on the telephone. But, please, let’s not talk about that."

See Township elimination divided opinions
Should Indiana elminate township government?
What Should We Do With Township Gov’t?

Township elimination divided opinions

With Portage Township Trustee Joyce Webster suggesting that it's time for Change ... and lots of other sitting trustees saying the exact opposite. Senator Landske from Lake County has even pushed a modification to allow Lake County once again to be exempted if this bill passes. This one has me floored since she's the GOP District board member and is going against Governor Daniels' stated intentions to change the way we do government in Indiana.

Democrats so far seem to be on the sidelines, watching Republicans fight over changes to government structure, which for the most part would in Porter County at least would eliminate 10 Republican trustees and give the responsibility for poor relief and fire protection over time to Democrat controlled county building.

Remember Auditor, Commissioners, Treasurer, Assessor, and Council are all Democrat controlled now, and they're pretty swamped working on 2007 taxes, payable 2008, and not quite billed yet.

Should Indiana elminate township government?

I'd sure like to get some engaged debate on this issue over the next couple days. The General Assembly is currently looking at proposed legislation to eliminate township trustees and township boards. I am actually in Indianapolis today to watch the hearings myself, and get a better feel for what the options really are. Like anyone else, I'd like to see the cost of governing reduced as much as possible ... but frankly here in Porter County 10 of the 12 trustees are Republicans and rolling all their duties to the county building will pronounce a large change in control to Democrats.

Some links though if you need to get an idea to engage in this issue with us here:

The latest post on the General Assembly website for Senate bill 512. This version would set January of 2013 as the date to implement the proposed re-organization desired by Governor Daniels.

Advance Indiana in a strongly opinionated post today shows that townships are sitting on $200 million in cash, and refers to at least one situation where a township has maxed out their tax levies each year while maintaining enough cash to pay the entire budget for 10 years.

CPA from Indiana Township Association says the cost savings promised are suspect, and even takes the opportunity to suggest that Uni-Gov in Indy isn't all that great either.

And of course My Smart Gov tells a completely different story in their run down of savings and crazy statistics of unaccountable costs and power bases.

Who should provide fire service for Porter County residents not in a town or city?
Who should provide poor relief

#NY20 campaign to get exciting tomorrow

For those just starting to get wind of the excitement in New York, when the Governor pulled the representative holding the 20th district to fill Hillary Clinton's seat ... he did so at the potential peril of holding the seat. From what I understand the district is very conservative and more importantly winnable!

Jim Tedisco, currently the Republican leader of the New York State Assembly, is running against a Democrat venture capitalist ... a guy who will probably raise a ton of money for this short campaign.

Some bullet points:
* Jim Tedisco led the fight against Eliot Spitzer's unlawful plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens and helped save the Schenectady Free Health Clinic after Spitzer tried to block its funding as political retaliation against Tedisco.
* Jim Tedisco was the first Republican Leader in New York to call for Spitzer's resignation, after it was revealed Spitzer had disgraced himself and his office.

Check back in tomorrow for breaking opportunities to get involved and help out.

Indiana back in the spotlight this week

With President Obama planning to visit Elkhart to push for passage of his Stimulus Bill, Indiana finds itself right back in the spotlight.

Senator Lugar turned down a chance to ride on the brand new Air Force One with the President on the way to this little trip. Of course Evan Bayh had no such problem and quickly agreed to the free tax payer paid trip to sell a political idea.

Mike Pence took it to Barney Frank by explaining that government spending typically isn't the best way to create jobs, when interupted he then snapped at Congressman Frank with "you're misrepresenting my point." Good job to a man that could be the Speaker of the House in 2012, Rep. Mike Pence.

The Mayor of Carmel Indiana, Brainard, conducted an interview with CNN suggesting that mayors would be better suited to using stimulus money. So while Governor Daniels is being very cautious about potential infrastructure projects and reminding schools and communities that they cannot use the money to balance their budgets, Mayor Brainard is getting in line to suggest "just give us a bunch of cash." I've met Mayor Brainard and I think he has his eyes on higher office, possibly even a run for governor in 2012.

When the government begins handing out cash, the are suggesting the handouts will include some strings on how the cash is used by corporations. Is this legal?

Jim Tedisco for #ny20 VIDEO

Gary (Indiana) Police Fall Down on the Job; Dishonor Fallen Soldier As Chief Has Hissy Fit

Ever wonder why the city of Gary Indiana (the frequent murder capital of the world) is so screwed up?

This frosts me. I'm a veteran of almost fifteen years service, and There is absolutely no excuse for THIS:

Gary police not 'invited' to soldier's return

February 8, 2009;By Lori Caldwell,Post-Tribune staff writer

GARY -- Dignity and protocol surrounded the arrival last month of Hammond native Cpl. Joseph M. Hernandez, the first fallen soldier to land at the Gary/Chicago International Airport in many years. Behind the scenes, a Munster funeral director and a sergeant in the U.S. Army devoted hours of planning before the plane landed, dealing with the family's wishes and offers from the area groups wishing to show their respect.

"A lot of local organizations want to be involved, the American Legion and VFW, Patriot Guard. When a serviceman dies, a lot of people want to help," Kevin Kish of Kish Funeral Home in Munster said last week.

Police from "Lake County, Hammond, Munster, several local law enforcement agencies provided an escort to and from the airport," Kish said.

But Gary police were absent. No Gary squad cars were on hand to stop traffic on U.S. 12 at the airport entrance or any other intersections along the route.

Chief Reggie Harris said his department wasn't formally invited to participate and "because the soldier was not a Gary resident and the funeral home was not in Gary, Gary (police) would have to be asked to assist."

A soldier who assisted in the funeral arrangements said Gary officials should have sent someone to the airport. "The National Guard spent $50 million on a new facility there. We pour all this money in, but then they don't make a showing when a soldier is killed," the soldier, who asked not to be identified, said Friday.

Harris said he learned of the landing from a patrol officer on Jan. 15, the day Hernandez's body was scheduled to arrive. Patrolman Joseph Hamer "came upstairs and said the funeral home contacted him," Harris said. Hamer, a member of the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police critical incident team, has assisted with funeral services for fallen officers throughout the state.

The chief said anyone requesting help with the procession should have called his office.

Harris said he was respecting the privacy of the soldier's family and did not want to intrude on their grief.

Harris and Cmdr. Richard Allen said the department would have been pleased to send squad cars if they had been asked.

"We plan to meet with the National Guard at the airport in the future to find out what we need to do," Allen said.

I'm sorry, Chief Harris, but exactly which part of your grossly rotund anatomy were we supposed to kiss before you acknowledged our presence, let alone the family's need?

And please - make up better lies next time. Your department was contacted by both the funeral home as well as a representative of the Indiana FOP. Were you really so concerned for the family's privacy, or were you just pissed off that they didn't call your office specifically?

Pick One and stick with that.

Your lack of assistance to a fallen member of the military is reprehensible -- Reprehensible. Escorts and traffic detail for funerals is a readily-recognized courtesy done even for civilians - let alone the military. Off-duty officers from "Lake County, Hammond, Munster, several local law enforcement agencies" managed to get to this escort duty on their off-time. How did THEY know about the soldier arriving?

They probably read about it in the newspaper, Chief. You can't pick up a paper? It was a HUGE story in the Post Tribune for a week before he arrived home!

Feel free to resign immediately. If something as simple, as basic, as elementary as funeral escorts escapes you, one has to wonder what else you're screwing up.

~~JD~~

Cross Posted at Alamo City Pundit.

Rep. Ed Soliday in middle of NW Indiana issues

Have you noticed how many issues affecting Northwest Indiana involve and quote second term state representative Ed Soliday?

Today's would be a fight over unlocking "emergency" money from Major Moves, a move by Democrats in the house to get an extra $500 million sent to local communities for construction projects.

This all results from the clammoring for $5 billion that is supposed to come to Indiana from the Stimulus Bill, that many are calling the Pork Bill. As much as $500 million is now slated to come to NW Indiana communities. What are your thoughts? Do we need to create construction jobs?

Micheal Steele on Stimulus Bill

3 Republicans jump ship to vote for PORK

I know I haven't posted much lately, but tonite it looks like President Obama goes down in history as the largest spending President ever. He will get his stimulus, PORK, package and three Republican senators will go along with it.

Three names worth remembering when it's time to clean house: Snowe, Specter, and Collins

Mark this date, the date on which we allowed emotions to guide us and forgot our traditions of free market capitalism and freedom. Oh sure, we're already lining up to spend the 5 billion that will come to Indiana on streets and bridges under the guise of creating more jobs. But frankly if we wanted to spend pork money in Porter County, we have $260 million in the bank right now and could create a lot more jobs ... did you know that the best estimates show that it is going to cost $260,000 per job in this package ... ridiculous.

If we want government to create jobs then use local money and let's not spend our grandkids' wealth and opportunities. Nuff said, it looks to be a done deal. Now it's time to get rid of the whole lot of them. Democrats and Republicans who would cross 65% of the American public and vote for this foolish bill.

Welcome to The Revolution; Time To Raise Some Cain

If the last few days have shown us anything, they've shown us that not only isn't the nascent Obama Administration invulnerable; they're also uncoordinated, inept, corrupt, and clueless. We Conservatives have been wringing out hands and moaning about everything the left would ram through Congress, not needing Republican votes to pass their pork and waste.

Much to everyone's surprise (and largely due to the uncoordination, ineptitude, corruption, and cluelessness) the Obama-ites suddenly *DO* need Republicans, simply because their own corruption and pork projects are turning off other Democrats in disgust. The sheer size of the "Stimulus" project threatens to bring hyper-inflation and crushing taxes for the forseeable future. Just how big is this "Stimulus" bill?

If you started right now and spent a million dollars every day until you had spent the principle amount of the Stimulus Bill ($825 billion) today, you would spend your last penny on June 17, 4395. Well, you wouldn't. Your descendants 82 generations from now would. If someone had started spending a million dollars a day starting on January 1, 1 AD, they would still have over $138 billion dollars left and a little over 380 more years to go.

It's an unprecedented amount of money. It's the largest government program -- ever. No question; nothing even close. It's patently ridiculous. Michelle Malkin has a rdiciulously long list HERE; including such gems as the "A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film," and "$248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters." (Why? Where are they headquartered now? Holiday Inn?)

The #TCOT Report (Top Conservatives On Twitter) has a message for Republicans in the Senate:


This is ridiculous, and we can make a difference here. We need to call, phone, fax, e-mail our Senators. NOW -- and often, until they're sick of it:

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
DC Phone: (202) 224-5623 Fax: (202) 228-1377
Indianapolis Ph: (317) 554-0750 Fax: (317) 554-0760
Evansville Ph: (812) 465-6500 Fax: (812) 465-6503
Ft. Wayne Ph: (260) 426-3151 Fax: (260) 420-0060
Jeffersonville Ph: (812) 218-2317 Fax: (812) 218-2370
Hammond Ph: (219) 852-2763 Fax: (219) 852-2787
South Bend Ph: (574) 236-8302 Fax: (574) 236-8319
http://bayh.senate.gov/LegForm.htm

Lugar, Richard G. (R-IN)
DC Phone: (202) 224-4814 Fax: (202) 228-0360
Indianapolis Ph: (317) 226-5555 Fax: (317) 226-5508
Jeffersonville Ph: (812) 288-3377 Fax: (812) 358-3339
Ft. Wayne Ph: (260) 422-1505 Fax: (260) 424-1342
Valparaiso Ph: (219) 548-8035 Fax: (219) 548-7506
Evansville Ph: (812) 465-6313 Fax: (812) 421-1883
senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov

By the way, did you notice the Republican - Lugar - has a direct e-mail address, while the Demoocrat - Bayh - has a "Leg Form" that dumps e-mails in a system for review by some office bureacrat? Guess which one is more accessible?

Let Senator Bayh know that we know he's reasonably conservative - he did re-autorize the Patriot Act, after all- but that he needs to show his Indiana Conservatism and vote against the Stimulus.

(And if he doesn't, he's up for re-election in 2010.)

Go, call now. Operators are standing by.

~~JD~~

Been pretty quiet here lately

Let me add some stories for fodder, to see who wants to debate a little:

Charlie White becomes first official 2010 candidate, in this case for Indiana Secretary of State. Todd Rokita cannot run again and this opens up a chance for Democrats to take a state-wide race, or Republicans to seat an up and comer statewide. Who do you want to see run?

In continuing efforts to confront Indiana welfare efforts:

That same group whose volunteers were caught in almost every battleground state this past fall, including Indiana, submitting fraudulent voter registration applications, plans to sue the State of Indiana because its welfare offices aren't doing enough to register to vote low-income persons applying for financial aid. Under the federal Motor Voter Law, state welfare offices and license branch offices are required to provide voter registration services to their clients, in addition to their primary functions.

ACORN may be the wrong water carrier for this effort.

The next big election will be the special election in New York's 20th District, to fill the seat now open due to Democrats moving up a Representative to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. The race will feature Democrat Scott Murphy a venture capitalist with ties to affordable housing against New York Assembly Minority leader Jim Tedisco. Watch for millions to be poured into this race, and as is normal for special elections only the activists and political devotees will turnout. I'll try and get campaign site links and post here later tonite.