Beggars invade Fort Wayne
I have previously posted about beggars I have seen in Fort Wayne.
I have seen several well dressed beggars who appear able to work and in good health begging in the last couple of months. Some of these beggars I have seen on and off for the last three months.
I have seen several people stop and give these beggars money.
I have seen more beggars in Fort Wayne in the last six months that I saw in Fort Wayne in the prior eleven years…
Maybe Tom Henry and Paula Hughes should stop spending hundreds of thousand dollars lying about each other and give their money to these beggars?
Mike
Rothschild Pavilion and Occupy Fort Wayne
I wrote about this yesterday in another post. This post will just serve as an update to my earlier, more detailed post…
The Fort Wayne Public Information Officer (Frank Suarez) did return my call after about 24 hours. We talked and then he went to do some research and quickly called me back. Mr. Suarez was very professional and answered my questions quickly and promptly. Mr. Suarez did a good job!
According to Mr. Suarez Headwaters Park is a City Park. He further said that the management of the park is leased to the Headwaters Park Alliance.
Mr. Suarez told me on the phone that City Code allows the Mayor power over the Rothschild Pavilion. He said that back in the 90’s City Council inserted a provision to give the Mayor some leeway involving the operation of Headwaters Park. I will likely go and read this section of City Code and put a post up about it.
I asked Mr. Suarez what would happen if a protester broke their arm this winter; whose insurance would cover this? He then told me that Headwaters Park and the Rothschild Pavilion are a City Park and so would be covered by city insurance…
I pointed out that in order to use Headwaters Park you have to get one million in liability insurance. He pointed out that was a rule put into place by The Headwaters Park Alliance and that you can rent and use other pavillions in other City Parks without insurance.
So this begs the question:
Why does the Headwaters Park Alliance REQUIRE people who use the Pavilion to get one million dollars of private insurance in order to hold an event at the Pavilion? Is it because there is sometimes alcohol involved?
I emailed some questions to Mr. Paddock a few minutes ago. After I read through his answers I will put a 3rd post up; likely tomorrow if he gets back to me today or tomorrow.
Mike Sylvester
Occupy Fort Wayne
Kevin Leininger has an article you really should read in its entirety. It discusses how the City of Fort Wayne is bending over backwards to help the Occupy Fort Wayne movement. I spent some time on the phone today with Geoff Paddock because I wanted to confirm Kevin Leininger’s article. I also left a message for Frank Suarez the Fort Wayne Public Information Officer at noon today. I let him know that I might rent the Rothschild Pavilion myself for a tax protest in the next week or two. In my message I mentioned I might like to hold a protest for the 53% of Americans who pay Federal Income taxes…… So far he has not taken the time to call me back… If I do not hear from him tomorrow I will get back on the phone…
Geoff Paddock was very helpful and professional in our conversation; he provided me with all of the information I asked for in a timely manner. In short, I was impressed with Mr. Paddock.
I went down to the Rothschild Pavilion around lunch time today. I spent some time talking to two of the “Occupiers.” I have absolutely no problem with people who peacefully protest and who follow the rules. To date I certainly feel that Occupy Fort Wayne has done both and should be allowed to continue their peaceful protest; just not from the Rothschild Pavilion. I will put up another post about Occupy Fort Wayne in the near future. While I was down at the Pavilion City Employees were winterizing the bathrooms…
I have several thoughts about the mistakes the Henry Administration has made by allowing the Occupy Fort Wayne Protesters to “Occupy” the Rothschild Pavilion:
- First off the Pavilion is in Headwaters Park. Headwaters Park is run by the Headwaters Park Alliance. This is a not for profit group that raised private and public money to accomplish their goals. This not for profit is controlled by a Board of Directors and Geoff Paddock is the Executive Director. Mayor Henry has no authority over The Headwaters Park Alliance to my knowledge. I am not sure if it was legal for him to impose his new rules on the Rothschild Pavilion.
- The Board of Headwaters Park Alliance and its Executive Director should make all decisions regarding their property; not the Fort Wayne Mayor.
- There is a set of written rules that apply to all events at the Rothschild Pavilion. The list is specific and posted. Mayor Henry has arbitrarily decided that the Occupy Fort Wayne protesters can ignore all of the rules including: The $500 per day fee that has been charged to all other groups, the fact that overnight camping is not allowed at the Pavilion, the fact that the other groups using the Pavilion have all been required to carry one million dollars of liability insurance, and the fact that the other groups using the Pavilion have had to pay for their own utilities. Mayor Henry has arbitrarily created a new set of rules that seem to apply only to this one special group.
- I think Mayor Henry has put the taxpayers at risk. What will happen if this winter one of the “occupiers” falls down on the ice and breaks their leg? I would expect them to potentially sue The Headwaters Park Alliance, its Board of Directors, Mayor Henry, and the City of Fort Wayne. Was the City Attorney consulted on this matter?
- I think Mayor Henry has set an awful precedent. I think that ANY peaceful protest group can at this point use the Pavilion for free as well. Further I do not think they will need insurance or to pay for utilities and they should also be allowed to camp overnight. Maybe the pro life movement would like to stage a protest there? Maybe the pro choice movement would like to stage a protest there? Maybe the American Nazi Party would like to stage a protest there?
- My kids are both in scouting. What will happen if the boy scouts or girl scouts want to hold a camp out in Headwaters Park? Should they not be allowed to camp there overnight? Should it not be free for them? Should they not be required to have insurance?
- The City employees were winterizing the bathrooms at the Pavilion today. They are turning off the water which renders the public bathrooms inoperable for the winter. I think they will likely be locking the doors as well since they do not want anyone to use the bathrooms with the water off. So now the Occupy Fort Wayne people will not have access to a bathroom. Will they bring in a portable bathroom? Who will pay for it? Who will clean it? How many will they need? Will people decide to “pee in the park?”
- If the protesters do spend the winter in the Pavilion is there any doubt that Headwaters Park will sustain some damage over a several month time period? Will the park smell due to the sanitation facilities?
- What do the people who paid the fees, obtained the insurance, and followed the rules think of this? Should they all get their money back? Will this make it harder to rent the facilities in the future?
- I wonder what our current nine members of city Council think about this?
US involvement in Libya
For the last 30-40 years Presidents have been abusing their power and have sent the US military overseas into various conflicts without the proper Congressional approval. Both Parties are too blame for this and neither Party in Congress seems to have any problem with it.
There is no doubt that President Obama should have obtained Congressional approval in order to use US Military forces in a civil war in a country that the Obama Administration specifically says is not important to the security interests of the United States. There is no doubt the Republican House and Democratic Senate allowed him to abuse his power with barely a whimper.
Anyone who believes that NATO and the United States were merely enforcing a no fly zone to protect civilians needs to “have their head examined.” NATO and the US have been using air power to specifically target and destroy the forces loyal to the forces in the civil war that we wanted defeated. Heck yesterday NATO launched numerous airstrikes on loyalist forces who were trying to escape from the one part of the country they could still operate in. These airstrikes in no way protected ANY civilians.
President Obama should be forced to return his Nobel Peace Prize. He is just as much of a war monger as President Bush…
I have some predictions to make concerning Libya:
- On March 18th President Obama told members of Congress we would be in Libya for days not weeks. He absolutely lied because we were dropping bombs on Libya through at least October 21st, 2011…
- The rebels have almost certainly already committed atrocities against loyalist forces. I predict that these will continue and there will be International outrage about the crimes the rebels commit against innocent civilians who supported the Loyalist forces. NATO and President Obama will play dumb and express outrage and shock about these atrocities…
- The United States will be involved in Libya for years, not days like the President promised.
Mike Sylvester
Who I am voting for, Fort Wayne City Clerk
In a previous post I discussed the Mayor’s race and the fact that I am voting against Paula Hughes; which means I am voting for Tom Henry.
In the City Clerk’s race I have been planning on voting for Zachary Bonahoom in his race to unseat Sandra Kennedy. Mr. Bonahoom has made a couple of ill advised comments on Twitter and has shown a fair amount of immaturity in this regard. I will be voting for Zachary Bonahoom in the City Clerk’s race; however, the truth of the matter is I am voting against Sandra Kennedy.
Sandra Kennedy needs to be replaced for several reasons:
- The first reason is that she has served as the City Clerk for 28 years. It is absurd to have the same person fill this elected position for so long.
- The second reason is that she is extremely adverse to any change in her office. She does not seem to understand the new technology that is available and this causes her office to waste taxpayer money.
- The third reason is that she has a reputation for being difficult to deal with. Over the years several people have told me stories about how difficult she is to deal with.
I will be voting for Zachary Bonahoom for City Clerk.
Mike Sylvester
President Obama and his “supposed” jobs bill
President Obama proposed a large plan that was a combination of tax cuts and stimulus spending. He knew his plan could never pass; however, he proposed the plan as part of his re-election campaign. The original plan had some good ideas and some bad ideas; however, it was not relevant because it could not pass. It was a plan I certainly opposed because the Federal Government is broke and needs to stop borrowing money from China to pay for current spending.
Now the Democrats plan on breaking this large and unaffordable plan into much smaller pieces and then trying to pass those smaller plans. This is a much better strategy for the Democrats and I like smaller bills that we can understand.
For the last several years the Democrats have wanted to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 per year. In a BRILLIANT political move the Democrats (Harry Reid actually) have changed this plan and now they only plan on increasing taxes if you make MORE than a million dollars a year. In fact the additional taxes would be paid ONLY on ones annual income over one million dollars.
This is a winning issue for the Democrats and will put the Republicans in a very tough spot. This tax increase would only effect maybe 1 out of every 200 tax returns filed. It is roughly hitting those with incomes in the top one half of one percent.
So now the smaller pieces of the bill will be proposed. The first one up in the Senate is S1723. This bill proposes that the Federal Government give the states $35 billion. Further the bill does its best to ensure that the states turn around and spend $5 billion on first responders and the balance on teachers and education K-12. Further the bill TRIES to force the states to spend the money quickly to hire or retain teachers and 1st responders.
The bill has not been fully analyzed by the JCT or CBO; however, by some estimates this bill might allow states to employ 400,000 teachers and first responders over a one year time period. I imagine these estimates are too high because you have to understand that the fifty states have budget problems and they will do their best to take this Federal money and spend it on other things. For example maybe a state will take the Federal money and then turn around and allot less of its own tax dollars to education… This happens all of the time and happened in the last big stimulus bill in 2009.
If these estimates are true then this bill would require the Federal Government to borrow 35 billion dollars it does not have and then turn around and give it to the states. Federal taxpayers would have to pay this 35 billion back with interest. If these estimates are right then it will cost the Federal Government $87,500 per job to create or retain 400,000 jobs for ONE year.
The 35 billion is not fully paid for. Instead a new “sur tax” will be levied on those who make over a million dollars. This tax will only effect the income over one million dollars and the tax is .5%. So a person making two million dollars would pay an extra $5000 in taxes due to this “sur tax.” The new tax would start on January 1st, 2013. After ten years this tax would generate enough tax dollars to pay back the 35 billion plus interest. So the spending all happens now and the taxes to pay for it would be collected from 1/1/13 - 12/31/22. I am not sure if the tax would remain in place (I assume so) after 12/31/22.
This bill is a brilliant move by the Democrats from a political standpoint. It is brilliant because most Americans do not make more than a million dollars per year and it will be easy for the Democrats to sell this plan to the public.
Even though I acknowledge this bill is a brilliant political move by the Democrats I oppose the bill for three reasons:
- The fifty states are each responsible to hire and pay for their own teachers and first responders. The Federal Government has no business doing this.
- These jobs would be for just one year. Once the 35 billion is spent then the states will have to lay off all of these people OR they will have to find the funds to pay their new salaries and benefits. So these jobs are temporary and just intended to help President Obama get re-elected.
- The Federal Government has no business borrowing more money. So far in 2011 we have already spent 5% more money than we had spent to this point in 2010. The Federal Government just grows and grows with no end in sight.
Mike
So many lies, so little time to debunk them
In this post I am going to debunk some lies. I am sick and tired of the politicians lying like crazy and the media allowing them to do it…
Lie #1. The House Republicans keep talking about how have cut or will cut spending.
Investors Business Daily has an interesting piece you should read. Basically in the first 9 months of 2011 total state and Federal spending is up 5% over the first 9 months of 2010. Considering how many state legislatures the Republicans gained the majority in and how many seat they gained in Congress this statistic is discouraging to say the least.
Lie #2. President Obama and many Democrats are saying that the austerity the Republicans have imposed on the Government is hurting the economy. In fact they are now accusing the Republicans of wanting our water to be unclean and other similar fabrications.
See the answer to lie #1 above. That answer debunks this lie as well. We do NOT have austerity. We are spending even more this year than last year and last year we spent way too much money…
Interestingly enough BOTH parties are lying about spending levels and the media is, as usual asleep at the switch…
Good grief…
Mike Sylvester
Who I am voting for, Mayor of Fort Wayne 2011
Many people vote early. I am generally not one of them. I generally vote on election day.
The top of the ticket race is Mayor. There are three candidates this year:
- Paula Hughes, Republican
- Tom Henry, Democrat (Incumbent)
- D Haley Ahrendt, Independent
- I do not care for her negative campaigning
- She is a large Government Republican who supports all of the failed downtown projects
- I do not think her campaign has been honest
- She helped defeat Jon Olinger for School Board and replaced a good small government type with big government liberal Becky Hill
- Henry 52%
- Hughes 47%
- Ahrendt 1%
Another mailer attacking Mayor Tom Henry
I just got another mailer from the Indiana State Committee attacking Mayor Tom Henry. It is the third I have received…
Basically the mailer makes six points (My thoughts in bold):
- “Tom Henry’s nasty campaign can’t cover up his record of failure.” It is hard to believe ANYONE supporting Paula Hughes can accuse Tom Henry of running a nasty campaign. This point is absurd…
- “Tom Henry has lost thousands of jobs.” I am not sure how many jobs have been lost in Fort Wayne, however, the economic downturn has certainly caused many jobs to be lost here n Fort Wayne. This is mostly fair.
- “Tom Henry has grown our city debt to half a billion dollars.” The exact amount of debt accumulated is debatable; however, there is no doubt the Henry Administration with the backing of our Republican City Council has created too much debt.
- “Tom Henry raised our taxes and want to raise more.” This is true.
- “Tom Henry pays himself more than the Governor.” This is true.
- “Tom Henry wastes tax money on Chicago and Indianapolis consultants.” This is very true as well.
President Obama really reminds me of President Bush at times
The United States Government purposefully killed an American citizen named Anwar Awkali. His death was approved by the Obama Administration and he was killed with a pair of hellfire missiles delivered from an unmanned drone in the country of Yemen.
Can you imagine the whining we would have heard from the liberals in this Country is President Bush had done this?
I remember all of the energy the Democrats spent accusing President Bush of abusing his power while pursuing the supposed war on terror.
There are a FEW Democrats who are unhappy with the killing of Anwar Awkali; however, the vast majority of Democrats are absolute hypocrites on this issue.
I am sick and tired of the supposed “War on Terror.”
I think the last several Presidents we have had have abused their power and Congress has allowed them to do it.
So much for President Obama and his “Hope and Change” theme. It turns out he is abusing his power at least as much as his predecessor did…
President Obama will be defeated next November in a landslide. He is utterly clueless…
Mike
