A Call to Arms

This is my call to arms message. I've heard in the past local Democrats and other people ask, "why there is not a strong presence of the Democratic party here in Logansport?"

The answers are multi-fold. Here are my perceptions. First, the stronger, older Democrats are dying off, and the younger Democrats are choosing not to return to our city because of lack of high-paying jobs, primarily.

Another variable that must be factored in is the absence of the unions and their power that have slowly been bled away through anti-union laws, closing down and re-opening factories as non-union (meaning lower wages), and exportation of factories to other countries. Anyone left in this town, is apt to be a business-owner who is more likely to be Republican in favor of their company's interests (which is a fallacy for smaller business owners, by the way) or apt to be an employee of a business which more than likely doesn't pay a sole "livable" wage in comparison to surrounding areas and bigger cities. So this leaves us with a predominantly poorer group of Democrats who are unable to give the energy, time, and money towards a more active local Democratic party. Of course, we Democrats do have a few lawyers, farmers, and other miscellaneous professionals scattered about but they are also very busy people in practice.

There was also an article in the local paper discussing how people no longer attend meetings or participate in groups anymore as in the past and the reasons why. I believe this is also another factor.

Many in the Republican party tend to be business owners who are able to make time to attend meetings and can work their schedules around such activities if they choose. They are also more able to donate large sums of money to their party AND on a regular basis.

So my proposition to members of this local Democratic party is "to be the change you wish to see in the world". Nothing will happen if you don't participate. If your values and interests are THAT important to you, then we need the manpower. Right now, there maybe be more, but I've only seen a handful of people doing whatever it is they can do. Sure, I have many ideas and plans but I can't carry them out all by myself. Ask yourself, "what do I value and how can I demonstrate that value through my local party?" "What can I do for my community in the name of my Democratic party that would show what I value and have it reflect onto the party?" I have ideas for developing all kinds of groups and activities that would demonstrate Democratic party values but I have no volunteers willing to step up to the plate. I know you are out there. I've heard you speak.

Sometimes, it takes personal sacrifice in order to achieve a reality. There is something for even the most disabled in our party to do. The slate is open. You can do everything from stuffing envelopes, to phone calls, to leading a sub-group, to precinct chairman, to fundraising, to communications, to organizing, to poll-workers, to registering people, to booth-working, to running for an office, etc.

A handful of people cannot do all of this. Take the initiative and step forward unless your values are not that important to you.

Where have we heard this one before?

As the public's support for the war in Iraq continues to drop we again have the claim that Iraq was involved in 9/11. The twist this time is courtesy of North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes:

"Told no investigation had ever found evidence to link Saddam and 9/11, Hayes responded, "I'm sorry, but you must have looked in the wrong places." Hayes, the vice chairman of the House subcommittee on terrorism, said legislators have access to evidence others do not."

You know who does have access to that evidence? That's right, Arizona Senator John McCain. Lets see what Sen. McCain has to say:

"I haven't seen compelling evidence of that," McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN."

So as support for the was wanes we have Karl Rove falsely accuse Democrats of not having supported the military action in Afghanistan (which again is unrelated to Iraq,) and now a US Representative claim Iraq was involved in 9/11 based on evidence that apparently only he has seen. And we trust these guys to lead the War on Terror?

An interesting take on the "Downing Street Memo"

Actually I like this article not so much for Molly Ivins' take on the DSM, but rather her rebuke of Thomas Friedman.

"Here are some aggravating factors. Thomas Friedman, columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote that "liberals" no longer want to talk about the war because we were against it to start with and probably hope it ends in disaster. Good Lord, who does he think we are? Does this man actually think we are out here cheering every time another American is killed?
Mr. Friedman, real, actual, honest-to-God American liberals are out here in the heartland, and we know the kids who are dying in Iraq. They are from our hometowns. We know their parents. That's why we hate this war. That's why we tried to tell everybody else it was a ghastly idea."

The only thing I would add is that some of these kids dying in Iraq are American liberals. But then Friedman, or Karl Rove for that matter, wouldn't know anything about that.

Sen. Bayh on the Energy Bill

It's nice to see that Sen. Bayh understands that MTBEs are a big problem for local communities with contaminated ground water.

"...MTBE is a fuel additive that has found its way into the ground water in 36 states, polluting the water supply for over 45 million people. Courtesy of Tom Delay, we have a provision in the energy bill that would allow the polluters to get off scot-free, while sticking the victims of the pollution – communities like South Bend, Indiana, -- with the tab for the clean-up. "

Too bad that Rep. Chocola (R-himself) doesn't get it. But then again he owns a large amount of stock in two MTBE pollutors, so maybe he does get it, and doesn't care.

As for Chocola's buddy Tom DeLay:

"...And Tom Delay has already indicated that if he doesn’t get his MTBE provision, we won’t get an energy bill at all. That’s not leadership."

A message for Rep Hostettler

So Rep Hostettler thinks Democrats hate Christians? He must not have heard that the world's most famous evangelist is a Democrat:

"It was at that point that Reverend Graham finally confirmed for fact a legend that had been passed down by Democrats in evangelical circles for generations -- that the good reverend himself was one of us. "Well, I've been a Democrat all of my life. So, I can identify with those in the blue states. But, they'll come out of this eventually," said Reverend Graham soothing the hurt felt by many of his blue brethren."

So it bears asking: Why does Rep. Hostettler think Billy Graham hates Christians?

Has Karl Rove ever actually told the truth?

So given the recent disappointing polling on Iraq the White House is trying a little revisionist history.

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." -Karl Rove

If you click on the link you will go to a website of liberal vets and active service members. Many of them are irate with Karl Rove. Don't buy Karl's lie, in addition to the many liberals who are fighting the war of terror, not lying about it, there is also the polling from 2001 that show that Democrats did in fact support going to war, including this little gem:

Should U.S. Take Military Action Against Those Responsible?

___All GOP Dem Ind

Yes 85% 93% 86% 76%

Has he meet his constituents?

It takes a lot to be the most embarrassing Congressman from Indiana, when you're competing with being Tom DeLay's buddy and the fathering a child out of wedlock and denying his existence, but Rep. John Hostettler (R-Not even God knows) takes the trophy with this one:


"Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., criticized Obey and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who offered a similar condemnation of academy officials earlier this year on another bill.
"Like a moth to a flame, Democrats can't help themselves when it comes to denigrating and demonizing Christians," Hostettler said."

I'm serious has Hostettler been to southern Indiana? I know there are Democrats there. And I know darn well that their are Christian Democrats there, has Rep. Hostettler met any of them? Can he seriously say that that the Christian liberals he represents hate themselves? If Howard Dean was out of line for saying Republicans are overwhelmingly Christian, then what are we to make of Hostettler saying that Democrats hate Christians?

The Last Throes?

Now even Secretary Rumsfeld is disagreeing with Vice President Cheney's assertion that the Iraqi insurgency is winding down.

"I would anticipate you're going to see an escalation of violence between now and the December elections," the Pentagon chief told NBC's "Meet the Press." And after then, it will take a long time to drive out insurgents.

"Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years," Rumsfeld said on "Fox News Sunday."

I think it is again worth noting that Al Qaeda didn't have a foothold in Iraq until after the invasion. I also think it is again worth noting that we still have found Bin Laden.

Lower Everyday Values

So we all know what great fans the GOP is of cutting people from the welfare rolls. Too bad they aren't such fans of cutting corporations from the welfare rolls, or more precisely abusing the welfare system.

"In introducing the Health Care Accountability Act, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) said they are concerned that large employers such as Wal-Mart are transferring responsibility for health care to government-funded programs such as Medicaid."

Think they're just picking on Wal-Mart because of their status at the largest retailer in America?

"Some of the uninsured "may turn to state Medicaid programs which were designed to provide medical coverage at very low cost to relatively low-income residents, at better premiums and related costs than even Wal-Mart can negotiate," Wal-Mart spokesman Nate Hurst said."

The cost to the average Hoosier for coverage of Medicaid is $373 for a single payer and $953 a family (source: FamiliesUSA Foundation 2005.) That's the cost to you. So Wal-Mart is passing off the cost of insuring their employees to state and in return to the public.

What are the Republicans going to do about it? Probably do everything they can to prevent this bill from becoming law.

Ethanol in North Dakota

With the addition of a tax break on E-85 fuel (85% ethanol, 15% gas) ethanol fuel will be nearly 70 cents a gallon cheaper in North Dakota. Think about it, cheap fuel, better prices for farmer's crop, and less dependence on foreign oil. Sounds almost like a dream, but for the owners of North Dakota's 14,000 flex-fuel vehicles it will be reality starting next week. Something that really needs to be considered here isn't it?

Dave vs. Goliath

Pharos Tribune

"Dave Orsik is not a grain farmer. He just thinks it would be a good idea if Cass County officials thought about using the fuel that will be produced in mass quantities in their community if all goes as planned in the next two years.

The Logansport man asked the Cass County Council Friday to think ahead to the day when ethanol will be produced locally and he asked Cass County Council members if any thought had been given to burning ethanol in county-owned vehicles.

Council President Steve Sims said the county is under contract with a gasoline provider.

Orsik said it might be a good idea to use the fuel, or convert vehicles so renewable resource fuels such as soybean-based biodiesel can burn in them.

Orsik made his comment publicly after the council agreed to have a special meeting July 1 to consider designation of an Economic Revitalization Area. The designation, which was recommended unanimously by the Cass County Planning Commission Monday night, would clear the way for tax abatement for a new ethanol plant The Andersons is planning to build north of Ind. 25 in Clymers. The plant would produce an estimated 55 million gallons annually, with the capability of expanding to 110 million gallons."

Thanks to our own Dave Oresik for bringing up using biodiesel or ethanol for our county and city vehicles! Good job!

How China's Demand for Oil Affects the US

As if dealing with the Middle East wasn't enough reason to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, it turns out that China's demand for oil is what has been driving the cost oil sky high. Now as China is needing less oil experts are expecting a cooling off of oil prices.

Do we really want oil and gas prices in this country tied to China? We have a choice, we can find alternatives, that will create new jobs, and potentially new industries, as well as make the US securer (bringing more of our energy creation inside our borders make them safer from attack, as well making us less dependent on other countries.) Or we can continue to allow China and the Middle East to control our economy through the price of crude oil.

I'm speechless

A conservative minister from Kansas will be protesting at military funerals.

"Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime," Phelps said."

I really don't know what to say. I'd hope that we'll see conservatives come out and denounce this guy, but they don't tend to eat their own.

Howard Dean speaks for me

I like Howard Dean, I really do, I think his energy and willingness to take the fight to the GOP is a great asset. And while I like his street fighter mentality, he does need to learn when to pull his punches, this last week has been a display of that. That said I still like out chances with Dr. Dean calling the shots, and this petition is a way that we can express our support for him. I'm as guilty as anybody of no showing him the proper support, I wrongly came down against a post here I didn't' agree with. So I would like to take this opportunity to say that Howard Dean speaks for me.

Ethics are for Others: Top Gun Edition

An update on the article the other day about Rep. Cunningham selling his house for an inflated fee to a defense contractor who Cunningham helped win contracts. It turns out that the realtor who set the price is a Cunningham contributor. She also closed the deal on his new 2.5 million dollar home, and as well sold the home for the defense contractor who ultimately sold the house for a $700,000 loss.

"Said San Diego Realtor Christian Peter: "In November 2003, property values increased approximately 20 percent on a year-to-year basis in San Diego County. A $700,000 loss would be unheard of, and anyone who bought property in 2003 and held onto it for any period of time should have made a significant amount of profit."

Of course due to DeLay's ethics issues the GOP has the House ethics committee tied up right now, so there isn't much chance of this being investigated. Convenient isn't it?

We're Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore

Anyone ever heard of Garrison Keillor who was famous for his radio show "The Prairie Home Companion"? Read this. It's a funny synopsis on how much the Republican party has changed over the years.

Former Enron Executives Slated to Receive Taxpayer Handouts for New Project

WASHINGTON DC -- Buried in the 700-plus page energy bill currently under debate in the U.S. Senate is a provision that provides hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal loan guarantees for a power project apparently to be built by four former Enron executives. One of the former executives is Thomas White, former head of Enron’s retail and energy trading in California during the energy crisis who later served as President Bush's Secretary of the Army....more here

Okay. Hmm. That's just about sums it all up for the energy bill that's trying to pass. Need I say anymore? Maybe to contact your congresspeople, that's all!

Ethanol plant in Cass County now close to reality

Pharos Tribune

I must give credit where credit is due. Although I haven't been particularly happy with Sen. Weatherwax lately regarding property taxes, he is doing something very good for Logansport by helping to bring this ethanol plant here. We will be one step closer to becoming more self-sustainable as a local community. The plant also has the potential of making soy diesel. If this becomes a reality, I may just buy that Jeep Liberty from Donato's that runs on 3-5% soy diesel! I could stay local with my vehicle purchase if I could use soy diesel in my vehicle in the future. An ethanol/soy diesel plant only makes sense for us since we are surrounded by corn and soy!

No More NPR or PBS? (But plenty of Fox for everyone)

To add to Cassdems post a few days ago, I think this needs some attention unless we want to continue to dumb down the masses and continue mass media consolidation. In my opinion, Democrats are most generally at less of an advantage and non-corporate people for the most part. The backbone of the party comes from past old union/labor families, minorities, and immigrants who were quite conservative in nature. How in the world are these descendents, who might also be less fortunate than the upper-class and corporations who get tax write-offs for their contributions, going to have a crack at privately funding news and entertainment sources that contain a balanced and objective report? As the media is ever-consolidating, privately-owned, and most likely to be of the neoconservative ideology of late, how will the public ever receive any other views other than the view of the Republican party line and know nothing else? I know what many Republicans say: tough luck. Go for the money and then you can influence with your views. "Free market". That's what capitalism is made of. Social Darwinism at it's finest. In other words, only the strong survive (especially on the global level!). Again, this is an unsaid moral value of the Republican party. Is this how it's going to be? It's not the America I grew up in then.

This is from an e-mail I received from MoveOn:

"A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years.1 In particular, the loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Sesame Street," "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur" and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

This shameful vote is only the latest partisan assault on public TV and radio. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which exists to shield public TV and radio from political pressure, is now chaired by Kenneth Tomlinson, a staunch Republican close to the White House. Tomlinson has already forced one-sided conservative programs on the air, even though Tomlinson's own surveys show that most people consider NPR "fair and balanced" and they actually trust public broadcasting more than commercial network news.

Tomlinson also spent taxpayer dollars on a witch hunt to root out "liberal bias," including a secret investigation of Bill Moyers and PBS' popular investigative show, "NOW." Even though the public paid for the investigation, Tomlinson has refused to release the findings.3

The lawmakers who proposed the cuts aren't just trying to save money in the budget—they're trying to decimate any news outlets who question those in power. This is an ideological attack on our free press.

Talk about bad timing. Every day brings another story about media consolidation. Radio, TV stations and newspapers are increasingly controlled by a few massive corporate conglomerates trying to maximize profits at the expense of quality journalism. Now more than ever, we need publicly funded media who will ask hard questions and focus on stories that affect real people, instead of Michael Jackson and the runaway bride.

As the House and Senate consider this frightening effort to kill public broadcasting, they need to hear from its owners—you.

Sources:

1. "Public Broadcasting Targeted By House," Washington Post, June 10, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745

2. "CPB's 'Secrets and Lies': Why the CPB Board Hid its Polls Revealing Broad Public Support for PBS and NPR," Center for Digital Democracy, April 27, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=746

3. "Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases," New York Times, May 2, 2005
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0502-01.htm......."

Please, either go to the MoveOn website or contact your congresspeople directly. I listen to NPR everyday on AM920 out of Purdue, West Lafayette. As my child may possibly be going to Purdue next year, it has been nice to keep up on all the things going on in Lafayette and on the Purdue campus. I hear all kinds of different views and stories than what I don't hear on mainstream radio & TV news. It also beats the heck out of having to listen to Rush Limbaugh everyday on our local station. Air America cannot even be picked up in this area. The closest pick-up on the airways begins around the Kokomo/Marion areas coming from Ohio. Regarding NPR, it would be very sad if this branch of education for the masses was stopped because it couldn't keep up with funding. This is like killing the symphony and the ballet. Believe it or not, some of us still prefer the "symphony and the ballet" over reality TV and Elimi-date. On PBS, we would miss out on shows like NOVA (my favorite) and many Indiana-based political talk shows that keep me up-to-date on regional issues.

***Note: This may not reflect the views of all others within the party. This is my opinion only as most of my posts will be. The Democratic party tends to be a free-thinking party with diverse views and we do not all tow the party line if we think it's wrong.

High Speed Interurban Trolleys

HIGH SPEED INTERURBAN TROLLEYS

Interurban trolleys were used widely a long time ago here in Indiana. When I wrote up a column about energy depletion in the Pharos Tribune, I mentioned bringing back some form of the interurban or trolleys fueled by biodiesel. I think it would be forward-thinking and a great historical tourism spectacle for Logansport on first investment! A lot of younger people probably aren't even aware that Logansport had an interurban and a trolley system. You can still see the old track lines through the pavement down our main street. The only way I know of these old transportation systems is through my 96-year-old grandfather who is still alert and cognitive enough to tell me all kinds of stories about the old days.

On this website, it shows this picture of a terminal that was located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Wow! We were booming back then weren't we?! In 1904, Indianapolis' interurban terminal was the biggest in the world!


interurban terminal, Indianapolis, Indiana 

Ethics are for Others: Congressional Edition

So apparently you can lose money in real estate. Defense contractor MZM bought Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham (yeah the guy who says "Top Gun" was based on him) San Diego home for $1.6 million dollars. A few months later MZM decided to resale the house without ever using it, the catch is they could only get $900,000 for it. So MZM took a $700,000 loss in the matter of a few months.

Why should you care? At the same time Cunningham was helping MZM procure tens of millions in defense contracts. Illegal? We'll see, but certainly helping somebody you have personal business relationships with (MZM is also Cunningham's third largest contributor) to win federal contracts is a breach of ethics.

Just another case of the GOP's disdane for ethics and values. Just another case of the GOP's disdane for the public.

The Real Cost of Pension defaults

This is a story that for some reason isn't gaining the attention it should. People have paid into these funds for years, and now due to poor corporate governance (and in the case of Enron outright criminal activity,) companies are shedding the responsibility in bankruptcy hearings. And while there is a federal fund to cover the bankruptcies, it doesn't always pay the full amount, and due to the sudden surge of companies walking away from this responsibility it is struggling.

"In e-mails to Miller that his staff is posting online, and in interviews, United retirees recounted stories of job-hunting in their sixties and seventies, facing medical costs they no longer can afford, uprooting families to move to lower-cost communities, selling dream retirement homes and losing money they had counted on to support elderly parents."

In other words we end up adding people to an already strained Medicare system. But this ends up costing us many times over, money that could be spent on education has to now cover the pension costs that these companies shrugged off. Money that could have been spent on disease research now has to be spent on Medicare coverage for the pensioners. Factor in the decreased spending power of the pensioners, and this has a very real economic impact on everybody.

But more important is that its just plain wrong. And its about time we see some real corporate reform in this country, a return to accountability to the public, and for executives to acknowledge their responsibilities to their employees, not just their shareholders. Over the years since Enron the GOP has blocked every sweeping effort at reform, electing to only allow very limited laws to pass. Its wrong, and it needs to stop. And if the GOP doesn't want to do anything about it, then we need to elect leaders who will.

Paul Krugman: Losing our Country

Baby boomers like me grew up in a relatively equal society. In the 1960's America was a place in which very few people were extremely wealthy, many blue-collar workers earned wages that placed them comfortably in the middle class, and working families could expect steadily rising living standards and a reasonable degree of economic security.

But as The Times's series on class in America reminds us, that was another country. The middle-class society I grew up in no longer exists. Working families have seen little if any progress over the past 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the income of the median family doubled between 1947 and 1973. But it rose only 22 percent from 1973 to 2003, and much of that gain was the result of wives' entering the paid labor force or working longer hours, not rising wages.

Meanwhile, economic security is a thing of the past: year-to-year fluctuations in the incomes of working families are far larger than they were a generation ago. All it takes is a bit of bad luck in employment or health to plunge a family that seems solidly middle-class into poverty.

But the wealthy have done very well indeed. Since 1973 the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled, and the income of the top 0.1 percent has tripled.

Why is this happening? I'll have more to say on that another day, but for now let me just point out that middle-class America didn't emerge by accident. It was created by what has been called the Great Compression of incomes that took place during World War II, and sustained for a generation by social norms that favored equality, strong labor unions and progressive taxation. Since the 1970's, all of those sustaining forces have lost their power.

Since 1980 in particular, U.S. government policies have consistently favored the wealthy at the expense of working families - and under the current administration, that favoritism has become extreme and relentless. From tax cuts that favor the rich to bankruptcy "reform" that punishes the unlucky, almost every domestic policy seems intended to accelerate our march back to the robber baron era.

It's not a pretty picture - which is why right-wing partisans try so hard to discredit anyone who tries to explain to the public what's going on.
These partisans rely in part on obfuscation: shaping, slicing and selectively presenting data in an attempt to mislead. For example, it's a plain fact that the Bush tax cuts heavily favor the rich, especially those who derive most of their income from inherited wealth. Yet this year's Economic Report of the President, in a bravura demonstration of how to lie with statistics, claimed that the cuts "increased the overall progressivity of the federal tax system."

The partisans also rely in part on scare tactics, insisting that any attempt to limit inequality would undermine economic incentives and reduce all of us to shared misery. That claim ignores the fact of U.S. economic success after World War II. It also ignores the lesson we should have learned from recent corporate scandals: sometimes the prospect of great wealth for those who succeed provides an incentive not for high performance, but for fraud.

Above all, the partisans engage in name-calling. To suggest that sustaining programs like Social Security, which protects working Americans from economic risk, should have priority over tax cuts for the rich is to practice "class warfare." To show concern over the growing inequality is to engage in the "politics of envy."

But the real reasons to worry about the explosion of inequality since the 1970's have nothing to do with envy. The fact is that working families aren't sharing in the economy's growth, and face growing economic insecurity. And there's good reason to believe that a society in which most people can reasonably be considered middle class is a better society - and more likely to be a functioning democracy - than one in which there are great extremes of wealth and poverty.

Reversing the rise in inequality and economic insecurity won't be easy: the middle-class society we have lost emerged only after the country was shaken by depression and war. But we can make a start by calling attention to the politicians who systematically make things worse in catering to their contributors. Never mind that straw man, the politics of envy. Let's try to do something about the politics of greed.

Community Internet: Broadband as a public utility

Free Press : Community Internet

What was that about Logansport and Mayor Fincher trying to get wireless broadband for the community or something? I wasn't paying quite that much attention because I didn't really understand what it was--if it was only for the city offices or the community?

In any case, it looks like the major cable and phone companies are lobbying to stop community broadband internet access in local communities. Apparently, a state bill preventing community-based municipal broadband was killed in Indiana Legislature on Feb. 16 (click on Indiana link on the site) but now there is another push at the federal level to make the law national. Link on the above to see for yourself.......

Big Bird sleeps with the fishes?

Apparently every 10 years the GOP has to take a stab at killing PBS. Enraged by all of the unbiased reporting and counter culture fair like Sesame Street, a House committee passed a plan that would eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS's parent) within two years. Hopefully the results will be the same as 10 years ago, PBS survives and the Congressmen who try to take Big Bird off the air are defeated.

There is a New Yorker article that provides a great deal of background on the issue http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040607fa_fact2 including the following passage:

"After all, Pressler lost his Senate seat in 1996, and so did other Republicans who had tried to make an issue of public broadcasting. “They came out with a frontal attack, and what happened?” Mitchell said. “Many”—she thinks nineteen—“didn’t get reëlected.”

So it should be interesting to see where Rep. Chocola (R-himself) lands on the issues of pro or anti Big Bird. I'm guessing he'll be a good little GOP'er and vote anti-Big Bird.

Money before values?

Okay, I could really care less about Mary Carey's political aspirations or her current line of work, but then I'm a Democrat. The GOP is the party of hardline values, and porn certainly violates many of those values that Republicans live for. So it is a little surprising that two prominent figures in the porn industry are attending a GOP fund raiser, or at least it is until you read the following quote:

"Carl Forti, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is co-hosting the dinner, had no qualms about Carey and her boss, adult film executive Mark Kulkis, attending.
"Their money was donated to the NRCC. The NRCC's job is to elect Republicans. We'll take that money and use it to elect more Republicans," Forti said."

So I ask how can the GOP turn a blind eye? Is it purely the money? Doesn't this mean that these values that the GOP holds so dear are for sale?

Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana to Use B20 Biodiesel in Public Vehicles

Green Car Congress

Look! If Bloomington and Monroe County can do it, Logansport can, too! I wrote an article about resource depletion in the Pharos Tribune a few months ago that nobody noticed, and I mentioned the idea of having our local city and county vehicles run on biodiesel. It could save taxpayer money AND support our local soybean growers. School buses could also run on it and save in the educational sector. It would also help lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It's the patriotic thing to do! Let's do it!

Roemer '06?

According to this report Tim Roemer, the former 2nd CD congressman, is considering a run against Lugar next year. This would be an interesting matchup, like Lugar, Roemer has made his name on Foreign affairs issues, specifically his role on the 9/11 Commission. Also like Lugar Roemer is a thoughtful moderate (words you'll never hear connected to Chocola's name) who can work across party lines.

There is a very early poll that shows Roemer trailing within the margin of error at 41%-39%. Given that Roemer is cut from much of the same cloth as Bayh, he would seem like a very serious challenger to Lugar. And there is a history of Hoosiers dumping long term Senators, Vance Hartke and Birch Bayh being two examples, but right now he faces what must be a fundraising deficit of Everest proportions. The likelihood of Roemer even entering this race let alone having any chance of winning will be tied to his ability to catch up.

Good Info Retrieving forum for Indiana Dems

If anyone is interested, this is a link to the DemocraticUnderground. It has a wide array of Dems and some 3rd party people, too. The specific link is to the Indiana part of the forum and they post updates on events and things concerning Indiana, mostly in and around South Bend and alot in Bloomington and Indy. There's also a strong group around the Tere Haute/Evansville area. Alot of college kids, too.

Here's the link: DemocraticUnderground-Indiana

I'll leave it to Cass Dems to make a permanent link for it.

The Downing Street Memo, and Conyer's Petition

Uncommon Thought Journal

The only reason Conyers hasn't stepped forward is because the members who want this investigation are still in a minority but they're are several that are stepping up silently on-by-one. To date, there are now approximately 88 congresspeople who are with him on this. Conyers is also asking for signatures to a petition he will present when the time comes also. I felt this was important for people to know about.

Bill Moyers: The Mugging of the American Dream

This is an edited transcript of Bill Moyer's speech, delivered June 3 at the Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C.

And George Soros also kidnapped the Lindbergh baby

Moveon.org has begun running ads in South Bend calling out Chocola (R-himself) for taking money from DeLay among other things. His response? It all an evil plot by George Soros.

"According to Chocola, Soros has contributed "tens of millions of dollars" to MoveOn and is "kind of the major guy for them."

And what about moveon.org?

"He also was critical of MoveOn.org, saying, "You won't find a more partisan organization than MoveOn."

Two thoughts, first has Chocola ever heard of the Swift Boat vets? And second, so what? Partisan doesn't equal untruthful, and there is nothing sinister about pointing out that Chocola took $3o,ooo from DeLay, or that in November of 2000, Chocola told the South Bend Tribune that he supported privatizing 100% of Social Security.

The Truth about Malpractice Reform

There is no doubt that greed is behind the ever rising cost of malpractice insurance for doctors, its just not patients winning huge settlements. This Dartmouth study shows that the rate of increase has more to do with failing investments then with "out of control" jury awards. So one has to ask why the GOP continues to press for legal reform instead of insurance reform?

Site requires a login, username: boston123@globe.com, password boston321.

Fair and Balanced

I realize that a great deal of Cass County gets it's news from Fox, if not from FNC, then from the national feed that is ran on the local radio station, all with the tag "We report you decide." Fox loves to claim neutrality, Fair and Balanced, right? Of course not, anybody reading this post knows better then that, but for the first time somebody at Fox is actually admitting it. Scott Norvell, the London bureau chief for Fox wrote an op-ed in the European edition of the Wall Street Journal taking the BBC to task for it's liberal bias, and was probably a little more truthful then his bosses would have liked:

"Even we at Fox News manage to get some lefties on the air occasionally, and often let them finish their sentences before we club them to death and feed the scraps to Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly. And those who hate us can take solace in the fact that they aren't subsidizing Bill's bombast; we payers of the BBC license fee don't enjoy that peace of mind.
Fox News is, after all, a private channel and our presenters are quite open about where they stand on particular stories. That's our appeal. People watch us because they know what they are getting. The Beeb's institutionalized leftism would be easier to tolerate if the corporation was a little more honest about it."

Interesting how he brought Rove into this. O'Reilly, the giant and useless tool that he is, is an employee of FNC, but Karl Rove is in no way associated with Fox. Right? To me this is the astonishing part, not admitting the bias, but admitting that there is coordination with Rove.