Partial birth abortions wrong, but not a reason to murder...

Those of us that are pro-life know who Tiller the baby killer was, but for those of you who don't know, here's what Wikipedia has on him: George Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009)[1][2] was a doctor specializing in late-term abortions in Wichita, Kansas in the United States. He was the medical director of an abortion clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which would provide these controversial procedures.[

One of the reasons that I HATE Wikipedia is that it typically downplays things such as late term abortions (8 MONTHS). There is no excuse for late term abortions unless the mothers life in in danger. This isn't like first trimester abortions, where you can make arguments about it not being a "baby". This is infanticide. This is disgusting. However, it doesn't mean he should have been murdered.

Pro-lifers out there that participate in this sort of crap give people like me a bad name, and I hope the man that shot him (he is in custody) goes to jail.

On another note, President Barack Obama said he was "shocked and outraged" by the murder. "However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence," he said. I agree, however I DO find it ironic that he said that "issues such as abortion...cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence". Besides the fact that late-term abortions ARE HEINOUS ACTS OF VIOLENCE, Obama also is the most pro-death to babies President we've ever had. Here is a post on partial birth abortion that I had put up on my website (obviously it's a little old since my wife is no longer pregnant) that has the actual bill that Obama voted on in it as well as how they actually kill the child.

When you think of abortion, do you begin to get hungry? Apparently some people do. My wife is, as I've said on here before, six months pregnant. The thought of partial birth abortions is enough to make me sick, and especially when you look at the beautiful belly and feel the baby kick out at your hand. Nothing in this world is more special than having a child, and I look forward to meeting my son, Gage Lee Gearhart, around the middle of May. Now, with that said, lets throw some facts out there about Obama. If you'd like to look this up yourself, this is taken directly from the Transcript of the Illinois 92nd General Assembly, March 30th, 2001. The vote was along these lines: during failed saline abortions (basically the child is born, whoops!) a law was presented that stated that doctors would be required to care for the child, or the "failed abortion". There was only one man that not only voted against this bill, HE STOOD UP AND GAVE A SPEECH TRYING TO TALK OTHERS INTO VOTING AGAINST IT. Have you guessed who this is yet? I'll give you a minute. Got it yet? Yep. OBAMA. Now, let me ask you this, America. Why? Why would you not care for that child? Why let it die? The argument for abortion is that the mother shouldn't be forced to go through the pain of labor, yadda yadda yadda, but at this point the child is BORN. If you really don't want the baby after that, just put it up for adoption! That isn't an abortion at that point, it is infanticide plain and simple. Others that I have talked to about this, liberal others, make the argument, "Well it's still the mothers choice." What choice is left!? My wife recently posted a blog on our own personal myspace account about this, and one certain response is what inspired me to post this "Update". The response was around these lines (my wife deleted it already so unfortunately I can't quote it verbatim) "Well, I can have breakfast for dinner and maybe you don't agree with it, but what makes my decision wrong and yours right?" This was from a man that just recently HAD A CHILD. Now I'm by no means saying he doesn't love his child. I know for a fact he does and the child is a beautiful little girl, and I do have respect for this man. He's a good man, really he is and I hope I don't upset him by using his statement, but what the hell does that statement have to do with partial birth abortion? Having breakfast for dinner isn't equatable to killing your unborn child. Now, I'm not focusing on abortion laws as far as the first three month rule where it isn't considered a "child" (however I don't agree with that either), I'm talking about PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS. You know, where they basically deliver all of the baby (oh I'm sorry fetus, is that detachable enough?) except the head. The doctor inserts a pair of surgical scissors into the base of the skull and sucks the child's brains out, obviously killing him. That is, pardon my French, f*&^ up. Period. Just take a look at the picture above and tell me if you feel like eating breakfast for dinner. I surely hope you don't.

Daniels Gives GOP Address; Refutes Dems Cap-n-Trade With Own Co2 Figures

Governor Mitch Daniels, already gaining a national reputation as a Governor with a plan who doesn't suffer fools lightly, gave today's Republican Address in response to the Presidential Radio Address.

And while the Governor was polite, he did not suffer the President lightly, either. The Associated Press has the story:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, in the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, said the House's climate bill was "a classic example of unwise government." The address culminated a week of coordinated Republican attacks on the Democratic proposal, which would require the first nationwide reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The proposal to cap greenhouse emissions "will cost us dearly in jobs and income and it stands no chance of achieving its objective of a cooler earth" because other nation's such as China and India will not have to follow, Daniels said.

"The cost for all American taxpayers will be certain, huge, and immediate. Any benefits are extremely uncertain, minuscule, and decades distant," he contended.

"The national energy tax imposed by Speaker Pelosi's climate change bill would double electric bills here in Indiana, working a severe hardship on low income families, but that's only where the damage starts," Daniels said. "In a state where we like to make things, like steel and autos and RVs, it would cost us countless jobs. ... Our farmers and livestock producers would see their costs skyrocket. and our coal miners would be looking for new work."

The Youtube video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vDktew1-s4V0

And the transcript can be seen HERE at the Indianapolis Star.

My favorite quote wasn't excerpted by the Associated Press:

Even if one believes the Administration's own computer models, which they claim can predict temperatures fifty years away, the CO2 reductions from their bill will not budge the world thermometer by a tenth of a degree.

Good Point Governor. Go Get 'em!

Gateway Pundit also has an excellent rundown on the speech, as does Real Clear Politics and FOX News.

(Cross Posted At Alamo City Pundit)

~~ACP~~

Governor Daniels - national conservative leader

Polite-itics

The "conversation" between ex-Presidents Bush and Clinton was...interesting, to say the least. Kind of like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type situation, I had conflicting views about the debate.

First, there was the hardcore conservative part of me, fuming at the news, watching protesters yell "Arrest George Bush" while holding signs reading "War Criminal". I wanted Bush to take hold of the crowd and DESTROY Clinton in heated debate. While many people believe Bush to be "stupid" or "dim-witted", nobody can argue that when the gloves come off, Bush can debate with some of the best (I only wish he defended himself more as President, but I guess that's a part of his character). I wanted Bush to slam Clinton on Rwanda (which although was mentioned, Bush didn't go for blood), and Lewinsky, and aspirin factory bombings, and Clinton's passing up on assassinating Osama Bin Laden...the list goes on and on. INSTEAD what I got to hear/read (since the "conversation" wasn't televised) was basically two ex-Presidents talking about the common bond that they shared, and calling each other brothers.

And that brought out the second side, that part that SHOULD have emerged first: the AMERICAN side. However much I despised Clinton's policies (and lets be frank, a good chunk of Bush's), at the end of each persons respectable eight year run as President all that's left (for each of them) is a man who loved his country enough to sacrifice everything for. No President can guarantee that they will do everything right. Every man makes mistakes, liberal and conservative, and quite frankly it was refreshing to see them as humans instead of what we commonly portray politicians as: either superheros or despots. I could only imagine the stress and worry of making decisions that literally affect MILLIONS of people, worrying about my family or myself being assassinated, and at end of the day I crack open a beer and turn on the TV to watch talking heads tear me a new one, regardless of what my decisions were. It makes you think for a moment about the humanity of these people and the Hell of being the most powerful man on the planet.

So politics aside for a moment, and a salute to ALL the Presidents with these last words: Better you than me.

Playing the race card, with an Ace up the sleeve

Sonia Sotomayor, Obamas pick for the Supreme Court, is playing the race card and playing it well. Her comments in 2001 about how a Latina woman would make better decisions than a white man was unacceptable, and I agree with Newt on this one, she shouldn't accept the nomination. Now, that sounds great, but here in the real world, that's not going to happen, and here's why: Democrats engage in race baiting every chance they can get. We watched Obama do it during the campaign, we watched Clinton do it in the 90's (you know, the FIRST black President), and we are watching it now. From the beginning everybody knew that he would pick a minority/woman/both to fill the position. It was common knowledge amongst us conservatives, and as conservatives, we know that we are not racists. The color of a persons skin means nothing to me. What matters to me is the ability to do the job and to be the best at that position, not to mention substance of character and morals. Now, Judge Sotomayor making those comments by themselves would have been bad enough, but then she rules in a case that had to do with firefighters taking an exam for promotion and ruled that they couldn't be promoted because no black guys scored high enough?! This baffles me, and it shows Obamas "audacity"(yes, I'm sure it's overplayed by now...but not for me) and sheer ignorance towards the American way of life. And you know what? It's brilliant. THIS is why we can not fall into this bear trap.

Obama has purposefully picked a racist minority Latina candidate for two reasons: to appease the left and to stir emotion in conservatives that believe in equal rights for EVERYBODY, not just minorities. Now, as far as the rulings, she has ruled pretty much right on with the code of law (except that firefighter case, of course) and has even ruled conservative on matters of abortion. So while I agree she should not be let on with out some stern words about fairness and upholding the law, I think this is a "pick your battles" type situation. Obama could have picked an even more extreme leftist, and we can bet that he will in the future. His administration will use Sotomayor against us if we cause Hell right now, and so far the slogan of the party of "No" seems to catching on amongst liberals without common sense (or a brain). We need to save up for the judge that will be an extremist, because he/she is coming.

Indiana Rep. Visclosky - Fed Grand Jury

As has been reported on the Times and the Post-Tribune and Politico this morning ...

"U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's Congressional office, campaign committees and certain employees have been sent grand jury subpoenas requesting documents relating to The PMA Group, the congressman said Friday.

Visclosky said he was surprised by the subpoenas, which he said were issued earlier this month and earlier this week, adding that he has conducted himself "with the highest degree of integrity." The Merrillville Democrat said he would "make sure every request is fully complied with under the law." (Via the Times of Northwest Indiana)

I have been saying for quite some time that Rep. Visclosky may be vulnerable if his ties to this lobbying group show that he directed business from the federal government directly to contractors who gave money to this firm. Remember that investigators may also want him to open up and talk, giving them testimony to go after Rep. Murtha (D-PA)

The 1st District in Indiana has been long considered a stronghold for Democrats, with Republicans running very weak opponents in the past. Mr. Visclosky has also amassed a warchest of considerable size. If a strong Republican with the ability to raise millions from individual donors would jump into this race (can you say Dan Dumezich?) 2010 could be just the year for this kind of upset.

Torture? We shall see...

For about a month now I have talked about my willingness to be water boarded and the planning process that has taken longer than I would have liked. I've called in on www.offthehandleradio.com and talked on my own little show, www.mattersofopinion.net, about it to some degree, but I felt the need to reiterate my feelings and reasons behind why I feel I need to go through this process.

I don't cover foreign policy very much, for two simple reasons: I don't know very much about it and it doesn't interest me very much. I generally give whatever President the benefit of the doubt that they are making what they feel to be the right decisions when it comes to my family's safety. I gave Bush the benefit of the doubt about Iraq and Afghanistan, and now I'm giving Obama the benefit of the doubt that something will be done about North Korea, whether it's bolstering of US troops in certain strategic areas around the globe or hiring some Chinese mercenary to pick off Kim Jong Il from a few miles away. Either way, until something substantial happens, I'll keep my opinions on what I'D do to myself. Because let's face it: nobody reading this right now knows for sure what the Hells going on. All we can do is speculate and examine the facts. Fact: Clinton neutered the CIA which could have helped stop 9/11 , theoretically. Fact: Bush ignored warnings that planes COULD be used as projectiles. Fact: After that dreadful day, the Bush administration chose not to take anything for granted, and at times felt the need to use water boarding as a way to obtain information to save lives, and so far has been successful.

The fact that water boarding isn't going to be used during this administration doesn't bother me, it's the politics that are being used concerning this technique that does, and if you want to read more on that part of it scroll on down to me post titled Half man, half machine.

As far as whether or not water boarding is torture, well...I just don't know. Some say it is, some say it isn't, and of course the sides are split among parties. So I want to go through with this to form an actual opinion on it. I'm sure it's going to suck. Suck hard. But I feel the need to experience the technique myself. So to those who write and comment that perhaps I have chickened out, please realize that with the birth of my first child and being called back to work after being laid off, time to do it was the major issue. But this Tues. I will be doing it, and expect a video and commentary on it posted shortly after.

Bonner Center in Portage now safer

The Times took the high road yesterday and featured a story on Trustee Joyce Webster's grand opening - ribbon cutting for the Bonner Senior Center without making any mention of the political grandstanding that has also been the backdrop.

I won't be quite as apolitical, let's review a few details:

• Republican Joyce Webster beat a multi-term Democrat in Portage township, a community most known for 100% Democrat representation and largely Democrat voters.
  
• Trustee Webster backed Governor Daniels in his calls for elimination of township government and consolidation of many of the services. This action not only raise the ire of democrats, but hundreds of Republican trustees who wanted to hold on to their jobs too.
• Due to problems with the Indiana Gaming Board and a suspect organizational structure, trustee Webster took over the Bonner Center, which is owned by the townships but had been managed by a not for profit, to get the books and costs and safety issues handled.
• Senator Tallian (D) has attacked Trustee Webster in the paper for taking these actions, and is also representing as an attorney in lawsuits and actions against the trustee's office ... class act there.
  
• If I recall one of the unions also complained that this remodel didn't feature enough brick or some kind of ridiculous attack.
  

So, contrary to the nice story by the Times, and although this renovation was needed and sounds like it was built efficiently, there are many political intrigues going on behind the scenes in Portage township.

Here come the anti-everything groups (CAVE)

I love the term because it so aptly applies right now in Porter County, Citizens Against Virtually Everything (CAVE). Well they better warm up the pitchforks and torches, because there's another job creating, positive growth for our county opportunity coming up ... just perfect for their talents.

Remember that citizens of Porter County over the last 10 years, with the leadership of anti-growth Commissioner Bob Harper, have campaigned against residential developments ... any form of dump for their trash ... a new highway to route traffic away from Chicago ... casinos ... parks on the lakeshore ... rebuilding County Road 1oo South ... expansions to schools .... use of TIF funds and redevelopment districts ... The RDA ... regional cooperation ... and of all things "the Oz Fest"

Now comes the next big opportunity there is a large wind farm developer attemtping to buy up large farms in Porter and LaPorte counties for a huge wind farm. This is exactly what the CAVE types need to rally the troops against growth, job creation, and progress.

Sorry if I got the acronym wrong, but once they go public with their new "group" I'll be glad to come back and revise this post. I may be writing with tongue in cheek, but seriously what kind of vision and progress is good enough for those that want to keep Porter County like it was in 1950 for ever?

Update: CAVE celebrations for lowest growth in two decades for Porter County
The campaign to convince citizens that builders and developers are evil worked magnificently! Well done. We may have lost 15,000 jobs in construction, but we stopped those evil builders.

More proof that people aren't willing to help themselves

In the Post-Tribune this past Thursday, there was an article by Diane Krieger Spivak titled "Habitat looking for humanity to go into homes". "Northwest Indiana Habitat for Humanity has a few hundred volunteers ready to swing a hammer, but the...housing agency can't find any takers for it's houses." The article goes on to talk about the problems that the "not-for profit Christian housing agency" are having with filling these homes."There's a misconception that the homes are free" says Klein, executive director, "They're not." To sum up what happens: the group finds the cheapest land that they can find and put up houses for people who are struggling to find an affordable home or are just starting out. The houses have a zero-percent interest monthly monthly mortgage of $600, including taxes and insurance, and many times the taxes are abated for five to ten years. Now, sounds like a good deal, right? All you have to do to qualify is have a credit score of at least 500 (and if you don't they offer credit counseling to help you get there) and the starting low-end income for two to three people needs to be at least $27,650. Also, you have to volunteer 300 hours to help build another house. The problem? A lot of people apply under the impression that it's free housing, however when the group explains the (very generous) terms, they say "Nah. Never mind."(my quote not theirs). To me this shows a problem both generationaly and locally. So many "kids" in my age group, 18-24, want a free ride and aren't willing to work for anything anymore. They want universal health care, multiple social programs, and assistance with college from the government, yet when you ask why they think they deserve these things all they can say is "Well, it makes sense. It's the right thing to do." NO, IT'S NOT! The right thing to do is to work hard for what you want and be able to keep what you earn! Otherwise, why would ANYONE bother working? Hell, if that were the case I could quite right now and live pretty comfortably off of food stamps and welfare checks. And why would I be able to do that? Because the government has made it so you CAN live off of those things. The government has made people lazy and unwilling to do work for what they want, and if things don't start turning around we're going to be a "womb to tomb" nation. As far as proof that a good portion of the poor are only poor because they CHOOSE to be poor, look up the above mentioned article and tell me why more low-income families wouldn't sign up for this program, aside from the fact that it isn't a no-strings-attached deal.

Marion County Coroner: Transporting Corpses is Such a Drag . . .

Truth In Disclosure: My best friend growing up in Valparaiso Indiana was Richie Lucht. Richie grew up and became a doctor, and after several years was elected Coroner of Indianapolis Indiana and Marion County. He later moved to Cincinatti where he now has a thriving practice.

So when I saw this article, I wondered what Richie would've thought about this:

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County Coroner's Office has come under fire after it was revealed that an obese woman was dragged from her home and hauled away on a trailer in front of family members following her death. Teresa Smith, 48, who weighed 750 pounds, died Tuesday in her apartment on Indianapolis' northeast side.

Officials at the scene told 6News' Jack Rinehart that the deputy coroner made the decision to call a towing service to remove the body from the home.

"We debated for quite a while about how we were going to get her out of there and so we finally decided, since we didn't have a van that was large enough to carry her, it was decided between (the police) department and the coroner's office to use (the truck)," said Detective Marcus Kennedy.

Smith's boyfriend and the couple's 13-year-old son, along with several neighbors, watched as Smith's body, still on her mattress, was dragged across the courtyard of the apartment complex, strapped down on the wrecker and covered with a piece of carpet.

"I think they should have handled it differently, putting her on a flatbed like they did. That was like putting a cow up there," said Smith's boyfriend, David Johnson.

Neighbors said they were also disturbed by the ordeal. "What really got me is when they took her off onto the flatbed, they threw this dirty, dirty carpet on top of her, and I just thought that was so disrespectful," said a neighbor, who did not want to be identified. "I would have never let them throw that on my loved one."

Once on the truck, Smith's body was escorted by police downtown to the coroner's office.

Former Chief Deputy Coroner John Linehan said he was shocked and dismayed that appropriate steps weren't taken to remove the woman from her home. He said that fire and medical personnel have equipment available for handling patients up to 1,000 pounds and that moving obese individuals is not all that rare of an occurrence.

"When they scoop up dead dogs off of the street they don't treat them that way," he said. "It's just not the way to treat a human being."

Chief Deputy Coroner Alfarena Ballew told Rinehart by phone Wednesday that a flatbed truck has been used in other occasions to move obese individuals. She said the office is now looking for a way to transport Smith's body from the morgue to the funeral home.

I told one of my co-workers about this story, and he pointed out that when someone gets to be 750 pound they have a lot of trouble walking -- which means somebody had to bringing vast quantities of food to this morbidly obese woman.

Boyfriend? 13-year-old son? Be as outraged as you want, but make sure your hands are clean, first.


(Cross-posted at Alamo City Pundit and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.)

~~ACP~~

Half man, half machine

Today, as I'm sure many of you know, Dick Cheney gave a public speech weeks in the making about GITMO, water boarding, and all in all national security. Obama also gave a speech, however I'll let other talking heads tackle that one, as my overall opinion is that it sounds like more campaign rhetoric than a President addressing the nation.

Wikipedia gives a brief and direct history of Dick Cheney's Republican career: " A conservative Republican, he served (1970–73) in various White House posts during the Nixon administration and as President Gerald Ford's deputy assistant (1974–75) and de facto chief of staff (1975–77). Elected to the House of Representatives from Wyoming in 1978 and reelected four times, he became House minority whip in 1988. Cheney remained in Congress until 1989, when President George H. W. Bush appointed him secretary of defense, a post he held until 1993. Cheney played an important role in the strategic planning of the Persian Gulf War (1991). In 1995 he became the CEO of the Dallas-based Halliburton Company.
Five years later Cheney was picked by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to be his vice-presidential running mate..."

As you can see the man has a long career and a lot of experience, especially being the secretary of defense, and the planning of the (successful) Persian Gulf War. Now, whether you agree with water boarding or don't isn't really the point of this post. Whether you like Dick Cheney or you don't, isn't the point of this post. The point of this post is that THIS MAN KNOWS WHAT THE HELL HE'S TALKING ABOUT! Everybody nods their head and murmurs "Mmhmm...yeah..." as Obama talks about the "mess" the Bush administration made of foreign affairs, yet they forget the President we have now has ALMOST NO EXPERIENCE in that department. To be fair, he did keep on board Gates and several others that were experienced and did good work. But besides that, all he does is give lofty rhetoric about closing GITMO (even though Congress didn't give him the money to do so because he doesn't have a plan to do it) and about water boarding being "unacceptable" (which as I've said on my show and also last night on www.offthehandleradio.com , my concern isn't whether he does it or not. New administration, new policies, ok. I understand. But to demonize the Bush administration by releasing the quote unquote torture memos, and then to NOT release the information that was achieved by these methods when Cheney publicly asks for it? I think those actions speak for themselves.)

As far as everybody talking about "Why won't he just disappear? He's not the VP anymore, why does he care?" Well I DON'T BLAME HIM for doing what he's doing. His policies are under attack and with the DECADES of experience he has, I'd choose the Terminator, I mean Dick Cheney, over Obama any day. I mean lets face it, the man CAN'T DIE! He shot a guy in the face and the next day the guy made an apology to Cheney for getting in the way of his gun. Some people look at the above statements as reasons to hate Dick Cheney, I happen to like him more because of it. Hell, I'd like to have him over for a glass of scotch and a stogie and talk politics with him...as long as he doesn't suggest we go hunting together.

Richard Mourdock takes on Obama Manipulation

Our own state treasurer calls out Federal government manipulation of corporations as "risky" and ill advised for investors. Good job!

From Howey Politics

MOURDOCK CHANGES INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock announced effective immediately that no portfolios under his control will make additional investments in secured corporate debt of businesses that are receiving infusions of federal funds (Howey Politics Indiana). In addition, Treasurer Mourdock is communicating his message to Hoosier fiduciaries of public monies who might otherwise make investments in securities that can be devalued due to the unilateral action of the federal government. “I serve as the Trustee of the Indiana State Police Pension Fund and am responsible for investing the Major Moves Construction Fund. Both of those funds suffered losses when the Obama administration overturned some two-hundred years of established law by redefining ‘secured creditors’ to mean something less,” explained Treasurer Mourdock. “In the past, to be ‘secured’ meant an investor was ‘first in line’ in the event of a bankruptcy and ‘non-secured’ creditors would receive value after secured-creditors were paid. In the Chrysler bankruptcy, however, secured creditors received $.29 on the dollar even as non-secured creditors received higher values and ended up with a 55% ownership of the new company, which is fundamentally wrong and a dangerous precedent to the capital markets. Indiana’s pensioners should not be punished as a result of investment managers making historically sound decisions. The managers did nothing wrong, but the portfolios have been victimized due to the actions of the federal government in the Chrysler bankruptcy. Losses have happened once, due to the action of the feds, and as fiduciaries, we must be certain Indiana pensioners and portfolios are not victimized again. Henceforth, we will not add to the portfolios ‘secured’ debt from companies such as General Motors, other manufacturing companies, or those insurance companies who have or will be receiving bailout funds. Given the recent actions of the federal government, the risk is too great for any prudent investor to accept.”

Governor Daniels Draws A Line In The Sand On Cap -n- Trade; "No, Thanks!"

Governor Mitch Daniels in The Wall Street Journal has had a good look at the Waxman/Markey "Cap and Trade" legislation that started debate today in the Senate, and he doesn't like what he sees:

Quite simply, it looks like imperialism. This bill would impose enormous taxes and restrictions on free commerce by wealthy but faltering powers -- California, Massachusetts and New York -- seeking to exploit politically weaker colonies in order to prop up their own decaying economies. Because proceeds from their new taxes, levied mostly on us, will be spent on their social programs while negatively impacting our economy, we Hoosiers decline to submit meekly.

The Waxman-Markey legislation would more than double electricity bills in Indiana. Years of reform in taxation, regulation and infrastructure-building would be largely erased at a stroke. In recent years, Indiana has led the nation in capturing international investment, repatriating dollars spent on foreign goods or oil and employing Americans with them. Waxman-Markey seems designed to reverse that flow. "Closed: Gone to China" signs would cover Indiana's stores and factories.

And he's not just arguing against the Waxman-Markey legislation. He's arguing for a lot more "change" than Waxman-Markey would ever provide (and you gotta love any politician with his own Harley):

No one in Indiana is arguing for the status quo: Hoosiers have been eager to pursue a new energy future. We rocketed from nowhere to national leadership in biofuels production in the last four years. We were the No. 1 state in the growth of wind power in 2008. And we have embarked on an aggressive energy-conservation program, indubitably the most cost-effective means of limiting CO2. Most importantly, we are out to be the world leader in making clean coal -- including the potential for carbon capture and sequestration. The world's first commercial-scale clean coal power plant is under construction in our state, and the first modern coal-to-natural gas plant is coming right behind it.

Knock me over with a feather. Apparently Mitch has been a busy guy since I left the state 7 years ago; and is setting the standard nationally.

As opposed to Waxman and Markey, who seem stuck in the same old tax-and-spend crap.

Have you called your Senator and Representative today?


(Cross-posted at Alamo City Pundit and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.)

~~ACP~~

Abortion Still A Hot Button Issue

Well, President Obama spoke at Notre Dame today. I didn't watch all of it, but I read enough/saw enough clips to make me a little disappointed. Now, make no mistake about it, I am pro-life. However with that said, I wasn't happy about all of the rudeness and rallying outside of the commencement ceremonies. Obama didn't FORCE Notre Dame to invite him to speak. Notre Dame did that on their own. Rallying outside and getting arrested proved nothing to nobody and made conservatives like me look like an a**hole. I laugh at organizations like Code Pink and PETA that do outlandish things in order to try and get a little bit of press coverage! All that those people managed to do was to damage the pro-life movement by resorting to the same tactics that a majority of the population snicker at. It was tacky and degenerative to the cause.

I've talked about this on my show to some length about the negative effects of running a strictly pro-life platform on social conservatism without any real substance or solutions to problems except for turning over Roe vs. Wade. In order to understand what needs to happen to push any comprehensive pro-life laws what-so-ever, all you have to do is steal a page out of the Democratic handbook. The Democrats don't go after the prize at the end of the rainbow, the big fish, the big Lebowski, no no. The Dems methodically and persistently pick away until they achieve what it is they really want. Rarely does an opportunity like Roe vs. Wade come around, and the outcome in that case was more luck than anything for them. But back to the main point. The Dems push for little laws that move towards their goal. We'll use gun rights as an example. It starts with banning explosives. I mean come on! Who needs rocket launchers, right? Then automatic rifles. Then semi-automatic. Then clips that are only allowed to carry so many bullets, and so on and so forth until guns are banned. It is malicious, it is underhanded...and it is genius. I'm not going to suggest that we start using this strategy for everything, however I think with abortion it would work a lot better than just going after Roe vs. Wade.

First, what needs to happen, is that the grass-roots of the party in their respective states push to have a bill be put on the ballet. Kind of like how California did with gay marriage, but with abortion. And you don't start with strictly outlawing abortion. Push for a strict 1st trimester rule with little wiggle room. A great majority of the states would pass those laws with an overwhelmingly high percentage. And they would also be STATE laws. The federal government wouldn't be able to mess with them (in theory) without looking like fascists. Then continue the process until abortion is (basically) illegal again. I know it sounds like an evil plot to dupe America, but if you look at the recent Gallup polls that were released today, over half the population is pro-life, and many of the rest won't admit to being pro-life just because they disagree with it in theory.

What it comes down to is instead of taking a strict religious approach and trying to overturn a years old case with a party that already has an image problem, take it to the people. People are typically very conservative and the last poll I saw was that 80% were God fearing. However even when somebody is a christian of some sort, whether it be Catholic, Protestant, etc., few people like to feel like they are being preached to (unless you're a preacher...then I got nothing). Quite telling people how horrible abortion is! Plop it on a ballot, publicize the hell out of it, and watch the states drop abortion one by one. I was at a young Republicans call out the other day, and had a very good time. However one girl there, during the period where we were talking about different ways of recruiting members and getting the Republican brand out there, spoke up and asked (this isn't an exact quote) "Is this what were here to do? Try and publicize our self?" And I said: "Heck yeah! The Republican name isn't doing to hot right now, and we need to repackage (in some cases re find, but that's an entirely different subject) our conservative brand and show why it's better for our country and our people than the liberal one." And I think especially with a President who was the only person in the Senate (ONLY PERSON) who voted against a bill that would require doctors to care for a child born during a failed saline abortion. OH?! You didn't hear about the Great One's ultra liberal voting record? I'm shocked. Really. See how shocked I am?

Valparaiso City Gov't Joins The Twitterverse!

From the City of Valparaiso Press Office (my little city is getting quite large, isn't it?) yesterday:

City of Valpo Adds Twitter to Media Tool Kit

The city of Valparaiso now has one more way to keep the community informed:
Twitter.

“We’re always willing to try new ways to keep the community informed and Twitter is a new opportunity,” said Mayor Jon Costas. Twitter is a free social messaging utility that allows users to send and receive text or e-mail messages (up to 140 characters) within a network of people or organizations that they choose themselves.

“We’ve seen figures that say that many people will be receive a majority of their news through networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook in the near future,” said Craig Phillips, Valpo’s City Planner. “People who ‘follow’ the city on Twitter can receive immediate real-time news,” he said. Already the city is using Twitter to invite people to apply for positions and submit quotations for upcoming projects.

Twitter users can find the city by searching @valpocity from twitter.com or use the link from the city’s web site at www.valpo.us. 

Or they can click on the hyperlink I installed in this post to go directly to the @Valpocity Twitter site.

(Note to Valpo City Government: If you want more people to follow your site, you might want to give thought to Following back more people than just Sarah Palin.  Hint, Hint.)

~~ACP~~

Playing it all Out

So the Republican's are a mess? As we spend all of our time trying to "regroup" and "renew" the Democrats laugh all the way to the polls. The media is spending so much time playing up the "in-fighting" and "disorganization" that they are ignoring the real facts. The are ignoring the fact that the Democrats are pushing through more and more future threats to our stability. They are ignoring that my children's children will not be able to live because of the taxes that will be bestown upon them before they even get a career started.

When do we stop playing to the media and allowing them to ignore the real issues and I can tell you right now it's not whether this side is too conservative or that side is moderate. Stop letting the media run the party and make them start digging around for their stories I guarantee they will start going after the Dem's when we stop giving them news.

Think about it have you ever seen a president before point out someone like Rush? Why? Because then the Republicans are the news and not the garbage that the Dem's are pulling.

IT IS TIME TO FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND! That's right its time to work behind the scenes not out in the limelight.

Dick Morris Gets It Right; It's The Conservatism, Stupid!

I've been following the #TCOT stream on The #TCOT Report (and if you're not on Twitter or a member of #TCOT, why the heck not? Go HERE to start the process!) and I keep seeing stories about Republicans jockeying for position for the 2012 Elections.

And looking really stupid doing it.

Just today I saw stories on Mitt Romney criticizes Michael Steele over comments on his Mormonism, while Mike Huckabee criticized Steele last week on his pro-choice comments. Last week it was everybody piling on Sarah Palin and how "not ready" she will be in 2012.

Gentlemen, gentlemen; please!

You want to know why Sarah Palin has such a strong following for such an inexperienced politician? You want to know why none of you are leading the pack in the polls? You want to know what you can do to improve your chances for 2012, let alone 2010?

Dick Morris has the answer HERE; "It's the Conservatism, Stupid!"

This is a time for the party to stand firm on its principles until this nation again comes around to the GOP's way of thinking. This process will be driven by the consequences of President Obama's program.

All America will be watching the Obama fallout, and Republicans must be seen as a clear alternative — a strong voice for reversal of the harm the president will have inflicted — if they are to benefit from this catastrophe.

This process — polarization, debate, synthesis and action — is how America has always moved ahead. We are not Japan; we use the debate to see the options. And we are not Italy or France; we come to conclusions and act upon them, eventually leaving the debate far behind.

But now is the time for clear alternatives and sharp disagreement. Only later can we hope to extract America from the leftist clutches into which it has fallen.

Clear alternatives. Not fifty variations of the same crap that Obama et al. are peddling in Washington. This is what made Ronald Reagan great. When Jimmy Carter had shredded the economy and the 1980 primaries were trying to sort out who would oppose him, the Bushes, Doles, Kemps, and others all had their variations of the same. Only Reagan peddled pure, unadulterated Conservative Theory -- which, as he said, "works every time it's tried."

And it did. "Trickle-Down" economics restored a badly savaged economy. Just the thought of a man who kept his word and talked tough got the Iranian Hostages released on Inauguration Day. Reagan's uncompromising stance ended the Cold War - and brought down the Berlin Wall.

He meant what he said. And he kept his promises -- which were rooted in Conservative thought.
We don't need to b rallying behind personalities right now -- that approach didn't get us anywhere in the last election. When it's about a personality, the party fractures into splinters.

When it's about conservatism, the party rallies around the best candidate.

Which is how is should be, right?

~~ACP~~

(Cross-posted at Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)

Conservatives tend to argue

Sorry but it's true. I was asked yesterday if I could sum up the events from election day to now, wherein massive numbers of conservatives and activists have been collaborating on tea parties and social media ... but sadly have been arguing far too much to really get some things done.

Here's my attempt at a short history - which I'm sure will be severely attacked by anyone with a different opinion, but it's my perspective at least:

• On November 4th, we lost! In a very dramatic win, President Barack Obama won in a sweeping landslide that included our own State of Indiana in the Democrat column for the first time in decades. Americans from all walks and in huge numbers turned out for the vapid and empty slogan "CHANGE"
  
• Conservatives (in this term I include the various niches including Republicans and Libertarians and Liberty groups) noticed loud and clear that old methods of communicating and getting out the vote were beaten, were trounced, were shown to be washed up. Many elected officials and party insiders though may still have missed this lesson.
  
• Twitter was beginning to gain steam during the election, and some conservative were finding each other. But the big break late in the year was the announcement of a twitter list of conservatives, which started I think with just 100 names. Michael Leahy from Tennessee formed a blogspot site and began collecting names. I'm sure it jumped pretty quickly to over a 1,000 and I remember discussions that it may surpass 5,000 names by the end of the year alone.
• The blogspot site quickly morphed into a better site, and some structure was provided for mentoring new twitter users, signing up more people to the list, and action projects to begin collaboration on major projects. #tcot (the hashtag for Top Conservatives on Twitter) was for weeks the highest trending topic, although now twitter has removed it on the trending list since it would still be dominant every day.
• Another surge occured with the formation of Rebuild the Party, a group of technologically savvy Republicans demanding that the Republican Party change its ways. Some leaders listened but many did not. During the run up to the RNC chair vote, many of the candidates waited until the last minute even to engage online, only doing so when cajoled by Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis.
  
• The next big surge of activity followed the now famous rant by CNBC anchor Rick Santelli. When asked about TARP and the Stimulus Bill, on February 19th he went on a tirade against government bailouts of homeowners and called for a Tea Party in Chicago to remind government leaders that they were out of line.
• During March there were some smaller tea parties actually staged, as members of #tcot and a multitude of conservative groups began to work together to use the opportunity to unite. A call went out in March for a Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th. Although very little time to organize, and mostly using online resources, there were roughly 900 tea parties in the United States on tax day and some counts with as many as 1 million participants. The coalition that worked together to provide tools and resources included #dontgo, #tcot, American Solutions, Smart Girl Politics, Tea Party Patriots , Pajamas Media and hundreds of other similar groups.
• What next? Why of course independent minded conservatives, who just don't naturally collaborate ... have a series of arguments over who's in leadership. Bummer
• Right now the tea party movement is splintering into six or seven different groups all providing tools and resources to planned events on July 4th, and marches on Washington in September, a tea party tour across America, and literally hundreds of social network groups. I will try to update the links, but man do I wish they would work together so that regular Americans could find the information and ways to get involved more easily.
  
• Oh yeah, and #tcot is also running into some issues, with founder Michael Leahy being told by some that he's too pushy in taking credit and driving planning on projects like TCOT Report, and TCOT Projects ... so his technology parter Rob Neppell has suggested turning over the #tcot platform to a third party so the personalities can be taken out. Maybe a good idea but frankly why were they able to work together for a few months and then can't do so?
  

I'm not airing all this dirty laundry for gossip's sake, but to make a point, one that I've made numerous times before. Namely, conservatives aren't real good at collaboration. In our desire to make a profit, our rugged individualism, our self-reliance and our general desire not to be told what to do ... we argue and fight all too often. At the national level this is easy to see, at the state level as well, but don't think it doesn't exist even here at the local level.

Our own local tea party was totally disregarded by many normally conservative groups in Northwest Indiana. Although 300 may have attended from a relatively small community, many hundreds more should have been there and supported.

I see great potential for the majority of Americans who believe in a government too small to run our businesses, a government held accountable to its citizens, and individual rights over the twin ills of socialism and government largess. November 4th may have been the beginning to the next great conservative revolution to push back government growth, reduce taxes, regain our rights, and supercharge our economy for prosperity.

But it's time we begin to work together to these ends. Arguing about who came up with the idea, or trying to dictate to a thousand grass root groups what they will do, or even personality clashes over media attention are hindering our progress in raising awareness that our government has reached too far. Indeed, pretending that social media and online activists don't matter is one of the greatest errors being made by elected officials right now.

Build Indiana Conference Thoughts

Yesterday I attended the Build Indiana Conference some thoughts:

• General feeling was much better than last year, with a lot more proposed and possible projects in planning
• SB 448 legislation allowing local communities to exempt all personal property taxes for technology companies, albeit with major investments, especially data centers will have a pretty quick impact. Expect to see a couple test cases right away.
• In private conversations some talk that residential has already begun to rebound and inventories are dropping quickly.
• General economic development opportunities are available, but hard work to get in the game when competing with other states ... need better information to show to prospects that we are better priced and lower taxes

Cinco de Mayo

I'm running hard today to get a bunch done in the morning and then help out with final details at the Porter County Lincoln Day featuring Lt. Governor Becky Skillman tonite.

Some articles I noticed worth checking out:

Jerry Davich suggests that the distrust between Lake and Porter County is the root of the problem facing the council's desire to get out of the RDA. Thoughts?

The Times has completed a study and poll regarding last year's sub-prime mortgage mess. Although they recommend more regulations and laws, it's my strong opinion that laws and regulations will do nothing more than make it more expensive for all the other homebuyers and homeowners. If a homeowner wants to pay off their credit cards and/or their car with a second mortgage, and then run out and fill those credit cards back up, there isn't a law out there that will keep them from doing so.

What stories are you watching today? Swine flu seems to have been over-dramatized, perhaps to get a bunch more cash for the CDC. The stock and bond markets are regrouping even in the face of massive government borrowing now and in the future, I only hope we don't see the inflation that seems eminent.

State DUB to rule on Gary May 20

From the Times

"The Distressed Unit Appeals Board will meet at 1 p.m. May 20 on the ninth floor conference room of 1 N. Capitol in Indianapolis. The panel heard Gary's initial plea during a Jan. 5 hearing that spanned more than six hours.

A city consultant estimated earlier that City Hall, the Gary airport, sanitary and stormwater districts, and public bus agency collectively stand to lose $36 million this year to the new state tax caps. Other estimates have suggested smaller losses."

Frankly, the Distressed Unit Board should have ruled a month or more ago. This process has stretched far too long into 2009 and now I'm sure Gary will ask that any cuts be pro-rated since we're so far into the year. Another classic example of a good idea that goes awry. Remember this is the first ever DUB filing and ruling for the State of Indiana ... hopefully in the future the board will gather information quickly and rule quickly.

Prosecutorial Pissing-Contest Party After Presiding Potentate Poo-Poohs Plea Deal!

The Northwest Indiana Vidette-Times has the story I have trouble believing -- where a Prosecutorial Pissing-Contest Ensued When a Judge Poo-Poohed a Plea Bargain!:

Prosecutors dismiss felony plea after judge rejects agreement

LAPORTE | A LaPorte man walked out of court Wednesday a free man despite a long record of driver's license suspensions and drunk driving.

Robert Walden, 60, appeared in LaPorte Circuit Court after submitting a guilty plea as a habitual traffic violator, a Class D felony.

Feeling harsher punishment was in order, Judge Tom Alevizos rejected the plea saying thee other counts pending against Walden would have been dismissed. In each county Alevizos said Walden posted bond, then again got arrested. Two of those arrests while out on bond were charges including operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana, according to court documents.

After Alevizos rejected the plea, LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor David Bishop dismissed all of the charges.

"So, that's the message the state of Indiana wants to send to the people of LaPorte County. So, HTV means nothing. Having 20 drunk driving arrests means nothing," Alevizos said.

Bishop said he felt the court should have been satisfied with a three-year sentence for Walden whose convictions involving operating while intoxicated date back to at least 1980.

No word on whether the trial looked something like this:



So, in short, the Assistant Prosecutor, David David Bishop (who usually handles Traffic, Misdemeanors, and Class D Felonies) presented a plea bargain which would get Mr. Walden out of several pending charges (operating while intoxicated and possession of marijuana) -- both of which are higher than Class D Felonies, I'm pretty sure. Judge Alevizos, smart cookie that he is, said "No Way". Prosecutor Bishop, being the whiny pissant he is, then dismissed the pending charges of "Habitual Traffic Offender. Had the plea been accepted, it's almost certain he would have been convicted of the DWI charge (at least).

Mr. Walden still faces the DWI and possession charges in other counties, though; those are still to be determined.

Un-freaking-believable.

I have to give props to Judge Alevizos for holding the line and not letting this drunk driver slide again. But Asst. Prosecutor Bishop? Of all the childish, unprofessional, b.s. moves -- this is an attorney desperately in need of a new job.

Let's be clear here -- because i don't think there's any arguing about it. This is an attorney who approves -- and, in fact, enables -- drunk drivers. In fact, he's an attorney desperately in need of a disbarment -- let alone a career change.

The phone numbers to the prosecutor's department are 219-873-7014 or 219-326-6808. His boss' name is Robert J. Beckman, Prosecuting Attorney for LaPorte County. Feel free to tell them "the famous Alamo City Pundit" sent you.

~~JD~~

(Heh. "The famous." Heh-heh.)

Cross-Posted at Alamo City Pundit

Indiana moves to recruit IT companies

While much of the political banter and even flat out name calling yesterday surrounded the Indiana budget, much less fanfare went with an important bill that was passed:

IT INCENTIVES: Lawmakers sent the governor legislation designed to help Indiana compete for large-scale information technology investments.

Senate Bill 448, sponsored by Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, would allow counties and municipalities to waive property taxes on computers, fiber optic cable and other costly high-tech equipment. To qualify, a firm would have to invest at least $10 million and agree to pay an average wage at least 25 percent greater the average wage for the county.

The Northwest Indiana Forum lobbied for the proposal.

This completed a well coordinated effort by the Indiana Economic Development Association, The Northwest Indiana Forum, NIPSCO, and research by Cender and Company to allow local communities the option to exempt personal property taxes in an effort to recruit data centers or similar new employers. Let's hope this "tax reduction" effort will show quick results and remind everyone that we need jobs, and stimulus doesn't have to be in the form of pork.