Archive for December, 2007

From Mitch Harper at Fort Wayne Observed:

Click here to listen to the second part of Don Clemmer’s story on the Fort Wayne blogosphere which was first broadcast on Northeast Indiana Public Radio.

From NIPR’s introduction:

In part one of our two part series exploring Fort Wayne’s blogosphere we learned that Fort Wayne actually has one of the strongest blogospheres in the country. In part two, local bloggers discuss blog behavior, politics and the media.

New Generation Radio’s Don Clemmer reports for Northeast Indiana Public Radio.

Way to go Fort Wayne!

Poor Lonnell “King Ro” Conley. He just can’t catch a break. After garnering the fewest amount of votes between the Republican and Democrat At-Large Candidates for the Indianapolis City-County Council as an incumbent in the recent municipal election, his own Democrat party gives him the shaft and denies him the opportunity to take over the State Representative seat left open by the retirement of Mae Dickinson.

According to Abdul:

Labor leader John Bartlett will take over the Indiana House seat being vacated by Mae Dickinson. Dickinson resigned on December 7, saying she wants to spend more time with her family. She had been in the legislature since 1991. Bartlett overwhelmingly beat outgoing City-Council member “King Ro” Conley. According to party insiders, many of the precinct committeemen wanted someone other than Conley saying it was time for the party to go forward.

Don’t worry King Ro, there’s always that open congressional seat you could go for.

Democrats on the Indianapolis City-County Council failed to pass two controversial pieces of legislation designed to put incoming Republican majority in a fiscal bind heading into next year.

According to the Star:

The City-County Council on Monday rejected a resolution to rescind an income tax increase it passed this summer and another prohibiting labor-led work stoppages at a Downtown hotel project.

With several Democrats absent from the meeting, neither measure garnered the 15 votes necessary to pass. Failed resolutions do not carry over to the next meeting.

Of course, Democrats couldn’t easily hide their disdain for being kicked out of control and were actively seeking to take it out on those who opposed the tax hike:

Councilwoman Jackie Nytes, a Democrat, said the measure is meant to “put the burden back on those so quick to criticize earlier.”

In the end though, both measures failed and the Monroe Grey era of leadership goes out with a whimper.

To read more about the lackluster conclusion of the Democrats brief four year control of the council, check out Abdul’s blog for full coverage.

Say it ain’t so! This from Micah Clark’s American Family Association of Indiana E-newsletter today:

Coming to a Northeastern Hoosier City Near You

One of the few areas of the state that the predatory gambling industry has not yet invaded is Northeast Indiana. That may change with the 2008 legislative session. According to recent news reports, Senator Robert Meeks from LaGrange is going to file a bill that would allow a Gary casino to move from Lake Michigan to a lake in northeastern Indiana’s Steuben County. Meeks was approached by Don Barden, who owns two side-by-side Majestic Star casinos in Gary, about the possibility of relocating one of his licenses. We will let you know when the bill is filed and assigned to a committee.

You can reach State Senator Robert Meeks at 317.232.9400.

Update:  More from the Indy Star here. 

That seems to be the thinking coming from some in LaPorte County government. I dropped into a LaPorte County Council meeting last night and was intrigued when I saw that an emergency appropriation request came up toward the end of the meeting. Apparently a county computer that handles county “business cards and speeding tickets” had broken down. The office was seeking to buy another computer but needed an appropriation of $3,700.00 in order to by a new Apple Mac computer to do the job.

Only one councilman sought to learn more about the situation. He raised the question of whether or not the old computer could be repaired and was told that it could not be. That may be the case, and maybe they even need an Apple to do the job right, but for that size of an appropriation you would think there should be some requirement that the office present in person its need to the council and be open to taking any questions from the councilmen regarding such a relatively large appropriation outside the office’s annual budget.

According the NWI Times, Rep. Visclosky is shooting to get $58 million for his district.  Seeing that House Democrats and Senate Democrats aren’t working very well these days* and that the President isn’t bending over backwards to accommodate the Democratic leadership’s spending habits, we’ll see how much actually gets to The Region.

*According to the Wall Street Journal, House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-WI) has said “I can tell you when bills move and you can tell me when the Senate will sell us out.”   The Farm Bill and AMT relief are two issues that split Senate Democrats from House Democrats.

While this had nothing to do with politics, some of us around here are sports fans. I thought I would pass this bit of information along to those of you who are in the 1070 WIBC listening area. Many of you may know that WIBC is now moving to 93.1FM, and the new ESPN 1070-The Fan will take to the airwaves in early January. While, I don’t believe this is public information via WIBC’s website just yet- via another source (below the fold) one of their afternoon local sports shows will feature Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz and Eddie White.

 This will definitely make for some interesting radio.

(more…)

By: Brian Sikma

We’re all used to the government reminding us of things. The speeding ticket reminds us that we shouldn’t go so fast (of course, you can legally bribe the government by entering Indiana’s “Infraction Deferral Program” and making a bet that you won’t get another ticket in the next 12 months), the tax bill reminds us that we must pay taxes, for business-owners the paperwork never stops as the government sends you notices of the need to file this with this agency and that with that agency. In the midst of all of this a question can-or at least should-be asked. Who reminds the government?

What, you say, do we need to remind the government of? Well, we need to remind our elected and appointed officials that they to have some regulations to follow. This past Saturday most folks probably thought about one thing: In eleven days it will be Christmas and I’m not done buying gifts, wrapping gifts, baking etc. However, one group remembered that that December 15th is Bill of Rights day. Yes, on December 15th, 1791 the Bill of Rights become the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Ever the advocate of limited government, Andy Horning had scheduled a press conference at the Indiana State House to remind the public and the government that there is a check on government power. Unfortunately, although there is a check on government power there is no law that puts a check on the weather and Mr. Horning and Co. were unable to make the event. However, Andy was able to post his letter to Governor Daniels online and post a few other observations here.

Now, after making that plug for Andy let me be quick to say that I don’t endorse every policy position that libertarians hold to nor do I support Ron Paul for president. That aside, I do believe in limited government that lets the people control their lives and only intervenes when the rights of others are interfered with when private entities refuse to control themselves.

Eric Dickerson will not be pursing the 7th congressional seat in 2008. Sources close to Dickerson tell me that he will not be running and that he is taking a prominent public relations job with Allison Transmission.

Dickerson, the 2006 Republican candidate in the 7th Congressional, came closer than any previous challenger to defeating Congresswoman Julia Carson but ended up losing by a few percentage points. Dickerson ran a strong grassroots campaign and many had hoped he would run again so he could take advantage of his loyal organization of volunteers who were able to help drive his message to the voters.

As we head into the caucus, Republicans are still left with only two candidates, State Representative Jon Elrod and probation officer Wayne Harmon. Elrod, at this point, has to be considered the clear favorite to be the nominee for the Republicans heading into the caucus.

More on this as it develops.

For years people in or from “the Region” have called Pete Visclosky a crook. Fortunately, he came out of this unharmed, but maybe this will open his eyes a bit.

(From the Indy Star)

Rep. Visclosky robbed in Merrillville
Associated Press
December 16, 2007

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — Police were seeking a man suspected of robbing U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky outside a Merrillville supermarket.

The 12-term congressman from northwest Indiana was robbed about 9 p.m. Friday as he was walking alone with groceries to his car.

“I was putting my grocery bag on the back seat when I was grabbed from behind. I never saw it coming,” Visclosky said Saturday.

The man demanded his wallet and keys. He escaped with about $10 in cash and Visclosky’s credit cards. The credit cards have since been canceled.

Visclosky did not think the robber realized who he was. But he described the experience, which lasted less than a minute, as “terrifying.”

The man fled around the north side of the building. Police used a dog to try to track the suspect.

“It’s an unfortunate situation that happens about this time of year because of the holiday,” said Merrillville Town Council President Sean Pettit.

Today, Sylvia Smith’s (the new president of the National Press Club) article on the Bayh’s came out.  Oh sure, there aren’t any ethical violations between the Senator and Mrs. Bayh here…

(Some tidbits from today’s Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette’s article on the Bayh’s and their apparent ethical lapses)

Since leaving Indiana as a first lady, Susan Bayh has become a professional board member, earning more than $1 million a year in director fees for advice she gives to companies that make pharmaceuticals, operate radio stations, sell health insurance policies, offer online banking and distribute ingredients to fast-food restaurants.

In the past four years, Bayh collected more than $1.7 million in pre-tax income when she exercised stock options from two of the corporations. Her actual income from exercising stock options is higher, but the details of one transaction were not publicly reported.

During the same time, her husband, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., cast more than 3,000 votes, including some on issues of keen interest to the pharmaceutical, broadcast, insurance, food-distribution and finance industries.

Oh, it only get’s more interesting….

Sloan insists that there’s no way a married couple can truly wall off their professional lives from each other. Even though Senate rules do not prohibit a spouse from sitting on a corporate board, she said, “there is at least an appearance issue that a member (of Congress) may be making a decision beneficial to the corporation the spouse basically works for.”

Bayh said he and his wife don’t discuss her business interests, and he rarely talks about legislation the Senate is considering.

“The reality is I don’t even know the people who run the vast majority of her companies. I’ve never even spoken to them,” Bayh said. “The reality is, we don’t talk about stuff that she’s involved with.”

You’re telling me, that this power couple never discusses work at the dinner table? Never?!

(Read more below the fold) (more…)

Mourners are still be feeling the loss of Congresswoman Carson, but it would be foolish to think that the individual Marion County parties didn’t start preparing for a special election as soon as they got the news, if not before. Plenty will be written here about the political bloodshed that will occur within the Democrat party to replace Julia, but what about the Republicans?

First we need to understand the process and how it impacts potential candidates. In addition to Governor Daniels having to set a date for a special election, we have to understand that the candidate is chosen by a caucus. According to rule #82 of the Republican state committee rules:

Rule 82. When, for any reason, there is no Republican candidate for a circuit (located entirely in one county), county, township, or city office at a general, municipal, or special election, the vacancy shall be filled by the majority vote of the eligible precinct committeemen casting a vote for a candidate (as required under Indiana Code 3-13-1-11). Caucus rules, stating how a tie would be broken, must be adopted prior to the taking of the vote. The County Chairman, who shall preside at this meeting, must follow the adopted caucus rules.

As we all probably know, there are plenty of precinct committeemen positions open in Marion County, specifically in the 7th Congressional. Since both county chairman were preparing for a possible special election, they have been hastily filling the open spots.

How that pans out for the Democrats is where the real theater will take place. For the Republicans, State Representative Jon Elrod, who announced his candidacy in November, is the early favorite, and not just because the Marion County party has been actively fundraising on his behalf (If there is information to counter to this claim I’m open to hearing it). Elrod’s only challenger at this point is probation officer Wayne Harmon. My gut tells me that won’t be the only person facing Elrod before the caucus. So who does a special election open a door for?

(Read more below the fold to find out) (more…)