Archive for December, 2007

Abdul is reporting this morning the “inner circle” of members of Mayor-Elect Greg Ballard’s team.

Paul Okeson - Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff
Chris Cotterill - Corporation Counsel
Carolin Requiz Smith - Director of Latino Affairs
John Cochran - Special Counsel to the Mayor
Greg Wilson - Director of Minority Business Development
Marcus Barlow - Press Secretary

Mayor-Elect Ballard already announced Olgen Williams as Deputy Mayor for Neighborhoods. It appears the 3rd Deputy Mayor slot under outgoing Mayor Bart Peterson, Deputy Mayor for Community Affairs, will disappear in the new administration.

That’s what some LaPorte County residents are saying today as they learn that their county court house will be undergoing extensive renovation. Recently the outside of the old court house was cleaned up but there was very little, if any, warning that the interior of the building would be undergoing serious multi-floor work.

While I’m not here to debate the merits of the renovation, I don’t know enough about the structural integrity of the building to judge that, it is a little surprising that even county employees were unaware of such a project until it was announced by a county commissioner on the radio this morning. Where did the county get the money for this project? Who signed off on the project? And why was there word that the decision was made just last night? These are just some questions that need to be answered. In the end, it may be that there are plausible and justifiable answers to each of these questions, but a little more transparency in dealing with large projects like this may be a good idea in the future.

Update on SB 158 From Jim Tomes at the 2nd Amendment Patriots:

Sadly, for most the 26th of December marks the end of Christmas. For the rest of us, it is just the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas.

Our dear friend and loyal guardian of gun rights in Indiana, Senator Johnny Nugent, will be introducing SB 158.

I received a copy of this bill in the mail and the good Senator and I had a phone discussion last Saturday about the importance of this proposal.

When it comes to gun rights we want it all, as we should! I want it all. Senator Nugent wants it all. You want it all. If you don’t, you should.

If it were up to me I’d repeal ALL gun laws and just use a few rules, very few because they would be more than sufficient.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where logic dominates so we have to be pragmatic. SB 158 is a practical bill that will provide carry on campus.

For those who have never witnessed the process of moving a bill through the legislature from the drawing board to a governor’s desk it may not be clear why we can’t get it all at once.

The lifetime handgun license was the product of more than three years in the making. It was the result of some crafty maneuvering in the final months of the session that brought it to life.

It’s going to take the same application to make carry on campus a reality. Since the make up of our legislature has changed, our work is more complicated.

SB 158 reads like this:

Possession of firearms at state universities. Prohibits a state college or university from regulating in any manner the ownership, possession, sale, transfer, or transportation of firearms or ammunition.

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Merry Christmas to all!

Hoosier Access will be undergoing some site upgrades over the next 24 hours. We hope it will not take too long and the site interruptions will be minimal.

Thanks for your continued support!

Those who would prefer to track The Jolly Old Elf himself can go to NORAD Santa Claus Tracking and download a Google Earth template.

… and to all, a good night.

Ever the vigilant budget hawk, Congressman John Campbell (R-CA), has a post on his Green Eyeshade blog noting that, among other things, Highland Indiana received $400,000 from the Federal Government for all important national priority bike trails. Campbell barrows a graphic from the Heritage Foundation that shows a small sampling of attractions around the nation paid for by taxpayers.

“Provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare.” Some how I can’t imagine the founders actually supporting the idea that bike trails are a good use of federal taxpayer dollars. Using the national public treasury for such projects is a little reminiscent of the Roman custom of appropriating public funds for popular uses. Bike trails are good, but if you’re going to build them use local tax dollars and funds and not national funds.

This is published in the Indianapolis Star:

“Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan during the service echoed earlier calls for Andre Carson, Julia Carson’s grandson, to succeed her in Washington.

“She lives in the spiritual sense,” he said. “She lives in those whom she touched. She lives in Andre. She wants him to succeed her in service to the people. She wants him to be a good servant.”

So the leader of the NoI has given his endorsement for one of his alleged followers, Andre Carson, to replace the Congresswoman in Washington, DC. This is about on par with sending someone like David Duke or - closer to Indiana history - D.C. Stephenson to Congress.

Maybe the 7th District should consider someone a bit more moderate instead of the the constant left turns we’ve had for the past 30+ years.

Sad, but that’s the only title I could think of for this post. (Bonus points for whoever can name the band who sang that song…think back to the late 70’s to early 80’s.)

Anyway, back to the post. Sir Hailstone of the the Digital Farmer’s Blog is reporting that the list in the rumor mill for those running in the 7th Congressional just got a bit smaller.

IMPD Sergeant and recent City-County Council District 1 candidate Bruce Henry has stated that he is not pursuing a run for Congress for the 7th District. Mr. Henry was contemplating a run to challenge State Representative Jon Elrod (R-97) for the nomination. Mr. Henry states he has “new opportunities coming his way” which will preclude his candidacy for the United States Congress.

It appears as if the field for the Republicans is starting to coalesce around Jon Elrod. That should benefit the party heading into the caucus, whereas the Democrats will have an all out war in their caucus to find their nominee. Kudos to the Republicans for avoiding such a bitter battle.

This is one of the moving pictures taken of the memorial for Congresswoman Carson at the State House.  I wish I had been in Indy to pay my respects, but I am currently out of town.  My love and respect go to the Carson family in this their hour of need.

See more of the photos at the Indy Star’s picture gallery.

So now the question is raging. Is Jon Elrod a fake Republican, commonly called a RINO, or is he just different? At this point, I’m willing to find out and am withholding judgment. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jon on a couple of occasions and I genuinely like him. It’s hard not to. But as a voter, I don’t base my vote on if I like the guy or not, but where he stands on the issues. The problem for voters in the 7th, is that this race will not come down to (nor has it ever, really) to issues. If it did, Jon might be able to easily handle this race.

The problem that some find with him though, is where he does stand on some issues of social importance and voters in the primary, and to a degree in the general will base whether they vote for him or not on that alone.

As is reported in his interview with Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana, Jon comes across as liberal on issues of the marriage amendment. Could I forgive Jon on that? My stance is that marriage is an institution of the Church and not the state and that the state should get out the business of marriage. Does that jive with Jon? Apparently so. But that seems to be where it ends in regards to that issue.

Jon is very supportive of second amendment rights. Do Jon and I agree on that issue? Yes we do. Jon is very supportive of a limited and much smaller government. Do Jon and I agree on that? Yes we do. Does his lack of support for SJR-7 then rob him of conservative or Republican status? At this point I’m not convinced.

While I respect my fellow Director’s very passionate opinion (he’s more than welcomed to it, thank you 1st amendment), we may actually disagree on this (that’s to be determined however). But then again, I also realize that Jon is the only electable Republican candidate running in the 7th and Republicans are experiencing a real resurgence in Marion County. It will be interesting to see where this race goes.

Jon has defied odds in the past. I’m interested to see if he can do it again. But here’s a tip Jon; how about actually listing where you stand on issues on your website. Also remember, that you need the base to come out and support you if want to win. I know that you have a solid team around you and that they will know how to reach out to them. We’re not a bunch of bigots and extremists that some groups like to paint us as. We’re just people who are just as passionate about particular issues, the same way that those who may disagree with us are. That makes us no different than them.

By: Brian Sikma

Jon Elrod is the leading contender to be the Republican candidate in the 7th District special election to replace the late Rep. Julia Carson (D). According to one website, Elrod is a Fake Republican.

A Republican state representative from Indianapolis, Elrod represents a heavily Democrat district. Elected in 2006, he ran without the support of the pro-family, pro-traditional values groups that normally help Republicans win in tough races.

Elrod’s candidacy raises some concerns. His positions on judicial and social issues are to the left of even some Democrat members of the Indiana General Assembly. In an interview with the pro-gay rights blog Advance Indiana, Elrod’s position on hate crimes legislation was cited as being in favor of such politically correct, community divisive, and judicially discriminatory legislation. A fundamental principle of good government is that the government is to govern actions, and not thoughts. Thomas Jefferson summed up the role of government well when he said that “The legislative powers of government reach to actions only, not to opinions.”

On the subject of marriage Jon Elrod has said that he will not support any amendment to the Indiana Constitution declaring marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. According to Elrod, the separation of church and state negate any influence that the state should have on the definition of marriage. That reasoning has some problems since it holds that the state may never act in the same arena as the church and that religious beliefs should not influence the state. It’s similar to the old “you can’t legislate morality argument” when instead the argument should be “whose morality are we legislating?”

For those who raise the point that Elrod is pro-life and an advocate for fiscal responsibility, that may be the case, but we don’t know if that is the case because Elrod is still very early in his political career and is untested on these issues. Elrod had to be a nice guy to win his House seat, but being a nice guy doesn’t mean you have the experience or the positions that a proven conservative would have.

What does all of this mean? It means that a known conservative candidate needs to jump into this historic race. With the election of Greg Ballard, this district just may be winnable by a Republican. But that Republican will have to be proven and clear on where he or she stands on the issues.

When you want people to vote Republican, you’ve got to run a true Republican. If there is a conservative Republican considering jumping into this drama, I say: “do it, we need someone who represents the core values our Party to run.”

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The Democrat Congress has been in business for 12 months. After those 12 months the NRCC decided to do a review of how some members of the new Democrat majority are doing. For your reading pleasure and for your information when you go into the voting booth next November, please see the below performance report issued for Indiana’s own Baron Hill.

(Click on the image to see a larger version)