Democrats are not “good” on environmental issues…
In an earlier post Jeff Pruitt and I argued about whether or not Republicans are against the environment and whether or not Democrats are in favor of the environment.
Jeff feels that Republicans are terrible on “environmental” issues and that Democrats are significantly better; at least in the last seven years.
In my opinion neither Party has been particularly good on environmental issues over the last forty years.
The American nuclear power industry has been destroyed by ”fringe environmentalists” and Democrats, especially when Jimmy Carter was President. Jimmy Carter was a naval officer in the nuclear power plant of a submarine. He really should have known better; however, he wanted to please “fringe environmentalists” and he helped destroy the American nuclear power industry. We have not built a new nuclear power plant in decades… In fact the last nuclear power plant built was ordered in 1974; thirty four year ago.
In my opinion there has been a tendency for Democrats to vote to curtail nuclear power and for Republicans to support nuclear power.
Also in my opinion (And I worked in nuclear power for eight years) nuclear power is much better for the environment then coal plants.
As far as nuclear power goes; the Republicans have made the “environmentally friendly” choice.
Mike Sylvester
Another Conflict Of Interest In Local Government
A county board on Wednesday opened the door to a massive new housing development near Cedar Creek in northern Allen County and, in doing so, to a potential conflict of interest.
The owner of the land, which covers almost a quarter-square-mile in a part of Perry Township renowned for preserved natural areas, is Charles Bodenhafer, president of the Allen County Plan Commission. The commission is set to review the proposal next month.
Will Bodenhafer actually vote on a project that puts money in his pocket? Could there be a more blatant conflict of interest? It never ceases to amaze me what kind of shady dealings are going on around here.
On a related note commissioner Nelson Peters told me that the county plan commission will need to fill a spot with a Democratic member. So if you’re a Democrat reading this and you want to put an end to these shenanigans then call commissioner Peters and request to be put on the commission. Then again if you’re reading FWP and want to draw a line in the sand on this kind of nonsense then you have no chance in hell of actually being selected…
Matt Kelty & The Plight Of The Amish
Are these two somehow connected? Well I certainly wouldn’t have thought so but a guest column in the NS argues otherwise:
Here were good, decent, hard-working people whose only desire was to be left alone to work their farms and raise their families in accordance with their religious beliefs. Yet they were being forced to sell off their belongings in a desperate attempt to save their way of life.
I was convinced that we had found a person who may yet save the Amish and the other rural residents from a punishing tax burden that was none of their creating. Over the next month, my husband and I worked on the Kelty campaign, and to our delight, he was elected the Republican candidate for mayor.
Matt Kelty - Amish Hero? But seriously the letter is an interesting read, I suppose, in that oddball news story sort of way. Let’s follow the author as she continues her journey into the revisionist-history abyss:
A GOP State Delegate wants to save gas
Any delegate who is driving to Indy on Monday AM - returning on Monday afternoon or evening who would like a fellow delegate to buy the gasoline, please contact me. I would rather ride than drive. Just reply to this post or e-mail me at john.kalb@verizon.net. Thanks John B. Kalb
Our local Politicians & Manufacturing
There is no indication that anyone in our present city or county government has been saying anything of merit about manufacturing and/or technology. If they happen to mention either, it’s only to view them as money trees to be shaken and used, not activities to be understood or considered especially valuable.
The facts remain —
Manufacturing is still 12% of the US economy and 10% of the jobs in America are in this sector.
Manufacturing accounts for over two-thirds of our nations exports and that makes the USA the world’s top manufacturing exporter. (largely due to aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, et al)
In the midwest, especially in Northeastern Indiana, we have almost 50% of our jobs in manufacturing and technology. So shouldn’t we see more discussion and action on retaining and building these kinds of jobs rather than trying to attract the jobs that fall into the “liberal arts” category?
Somehow, our politicians have got to understand that technology and manufacturing MUST be valued, sought and respected, not treated as as mere implements manipulated by “nerds”!
Our biggest, most valuable asset is our trained manufacturing and technological workforce and that should be our MAJOR sales point - not the tax abatements and TIF funding “mickey -mouse” - everyone can (and does) offer these. Let’s use our unique abilities to sell our area for expansion and not rely on downtown ballpark gimmicks!
Our loss of Don Schmidt (who admitted to being included in the “nerds” of our time) on our city common council left a hole which I believe has been plugged by the likes of Karen Goldner (who may not admit it, but is thinking like a “nerd” in her deliberations).
With a nod to Brian Hogan, editor of Manufacturing Engineering magazine, April, 2008 issue for the idea for this post.
The (Sad) State of FWCS Facilities Plan
The News Sentinel recently ran a 3-part series on the state of FWCS facilities problems and there were several parts that left me shaking my head after reading it. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise that I feel the board and the administration have failed in their duties. I think the board requires wholesale change to become functional and aligned with the public will.
Note that when I say “board” I’m typically referring to everyone except Jon Olinger who I feel has done a standup job balancing the educational and financial demands of the community. Kevin Brown has also impressed me at times and yes even Mark GiaQuinta manages a nugget of truth worth contemplating every once in a while. So with those caveats let’s delve into the NS articles.
City Utilities Should Look At The Save Maumee Organization For Rain Garden Development
I think today’s JG editorial about the rework needed for city utilities’ rain garden program was right on the money:
A contract that would put more gardens in the ground and fewer public dollars in consultants’ pockets should be the goal.
If city utilities would only look to an organization in their own backyard then they might actually find a solution everyone can live with. Derek Reuter, coordinator of the Save Maumee Grassroots Organization, has offered up their services in developing the rain garden program. The other coordinator from the group, Abigail Frost, has received high praise for her previous efforts to clean up the rivers.
Reuter’s proposal would include partnering with other local organizations to try and leverage the city’s money across the county and possibly receive federal grant dollars. From Reuter’s original comment here at FWP:
Save Maumee Grassroots Organization is perfect for the job, with our large volunteer force and being charitable, should be able to stretch that dollar out the most. At minimal we should be able to put in place at least 200 rain gardens along with having a good education and outreach program to educated the public to help propel understanding and the green paradigm. We would supply and hire locally, get citizen involvement at all levels. We could even possibly work this into a 319(h) grant from IDEM “A large grant system put in place by the Clean Water Act and funded by federal legislation,” and get a 60% match for the 420,000 the City throws at us putting it at 1 million going into rain gardens here locally, 60% of it coming from the fed which is in sense an economy boost.
I know councilwoman Liz Brown had suggested a similar approach of sharing resources across local organizations so Save Maumee should contact Liz Brown and the other councilmembers immediately…
The GOP’s Environmental Backlash
A couple of weeks ago councilman Mitch Harper sent out a press release about “Ride to Council Day” and rode his bicycle to and from the city council meeting. I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while but in a broader context that encapsulates part of why the Republican party is on the outs with the electorate. Harper’s environmentally conscience approach to government is praiseworthy but also atypical of many elected Republicans.
For many years the far-right of the Republican party have chastised those on the left that pushed environmental issues labeling them “tree hughers”, “environmental wackos” and “granola eaters”. Obviously there have been Luddites, anti-corporate protesters and others who did push environmentalism to the fringes of society, but many Republicans seemed to object to responsible environmentalism and policies that supported clean air and water, recycling programs and clean energy initiatives. And in their efforts to paint all the environmentally conscience with the same broad brush they have begun to experience an environmental backlash from the electorate.
Voters, especially young voters, see the environment and its resources as something we should strive to care for and not simply exploit. I recently returned from the Republican-heavy state of Utah, and what I saw there was a body of people that cared deeply about the environment. They want to be able to hunt, fish, hike and camp without having to deal with the nasty side effects of industrial and individual pollution. And it was during this trip that I realized how out-of-touch the anti-environment wing of the Republican party has become - they no longer speak for their own base.
The vast majority of people in this country care about their environment and will vote to defend it. Unless the Republican party begins to follow the example set by Harper and others like him they will soon start to find their numbers diminishing in even Western parts of the United States. States like Colorado, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico and yes even Utah will continue to elect more and more Democrats to state and national positions…
Polling data on this topic can be found at PollingReport.com
Allen County Democratic Party amends campaign finance report, almost assuredly due to my written complaint
As has been discussed on this blog repeatedly I feel that the Allen County Democratic Party violated campaign finance law with their most recent campaign finance filing.
Kevin Knuth and I had a long exchange on this blog where he kept re-iterating that I could not PROVE that the Allen County Democratic Party violated Indiana Campaign Finance law by not properly reporting their debts as required.
Over the last 16 months on this blog and my previous blog I have repeatedly stated that Indiana Campaign Finance law is vague and open to interpretation. I feel that this is wrong and that the Indiana Campaign Finance Laws need to defined such that they are not open to interpretation.
I can promise you that I can audit the campaign finance reports of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents and find numerous campaign finance report violations with little effort. I feel that this is a problem that needs to be resolved.
About four weeks ago the Political Notebook section of the JG reported on my complaint and their report is worth a read:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/LOCAL0202/804270440
I find the following quote from Andy Downs (Democratic member of Allen County Election Board particularly encouraging in regards to my complaint:
Insulting Potential Buyers Is A Hell Of A Way To Sell Condos
Ben Lanka has a story on the lack on condominium sales at The Harrison. It’s worth reading but the quote that caught my eye came from Bill Martin who’s in charge of selling the units. In the JG story he points to change being the culprit for the slower sales.
Martin said the condominium project represents a new product in the Fort Wayne market, and sometimes people are hesitant to change.
“You can’t force them to sign a contract,” he told the council. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to get this to happen.”
He actually went even further in describing the problem of change and in my opinion insulted the entire city of Fort Wayne - watch for yourself.
Instead of insulting the citizens of Fort Wayne perhaps the brains behind The Harrison should look in the mirror since they seem to have priced themselves out of the market…
