Local Tax Payers Get Sold Down the River or EDIT in a Dingy

New Albany has a new boat and you can't play the slots on it. According to the CJ, the New Albany Fire Department has purchased an aluminum fire boat for the river. Cost to you? A measly $100,00. In a time when the budget is tight and communication between the mayor and council is loose, was this a wise purchase? To add a little excitement to the argument, the money was pulled from the FDNA pension fund. It was dollars set aside to encourage members to retire from the department. Now what? A majority of council members have said they would have not voted for this "capital project."

The chief said the current boat is not suitable for the river because it was designed for lake use. They plan to sell that craft to offset the 100K bill on the new one. If your town is on a major river, why would you ever buy a boat for a lake? An even better question - if you are a citizen of New Albany, why would you expect any different?

Question of the Day...

According to the Jerusalem Post, 78% of Jews voted for Barack Obama in this election. The question is why would Jews vote for someone so closely affiliated with Islamic states?

Hamas to Send Congratulatory Letter to Obama - What Did You Expect?

Ahmed Yousef, the political advisor of the terrorist group Hamas, said today that Barack Obama's victory was historic and he is drafting a letter praising Obama. He said the letter will be sent directly to him, presumably as all the letters from past months have been. In case you are not familiar with Hamas, they are the group responsible for scores of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, shootings and cross-border raids. Its official charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of Israel. Hamas' maps do not even show Israel on them. Just today, Hamas members took responsibility for launching dozens of rockets from Gaza aimed at Jewish civilian population centers. Several Israelis were injured in the attacks.

We want to be one of the first to congratulate him," Yousef said.
"This is an historic day, a turning point. I think this is the very first time in history that one country's election concerned everyone everywhere all over [the] world," said Yousef. "Everybody is looking forward to Obama's change, for a change in the U.S. policy, particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian equation, which is the mother of all conflicts."

No word yet on when Mr. Obama plans to sit down unconditionally with Hamas.

Where Do We Go From Here?

It was a thorough defeat, and we deserved it. We drifted so far from what this movement was founded on. We had our chance and we blew it. I fear now we will spend years in the wilderness, wandering aimlessly and waiting for someone to show us the way. Who will lead the Republican party forward? Will the party return to its roots or move to the center? How long will it take to get us there? These are the questions I pondered as I drifted off to sleep while Barack Obama spoke to thousands in Grant Park and millions around the world.

Who will lead us? The obvious names pop into my mind. Mitch McConnell escaped to remain minority leader in the senate. Sarah Palin surely has loftier goals ahead. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee could take the lead. Or we can look to someone younger, more dynamic. Someone like Bobby Jindal or Michael Steele. Or maybe it will be someone we haven't heard of yet. Someone like the man Obama was just a few short years ago as a state senator.

Will the party return to its roots or move to the center? There was a lot of talk in this cycle when John McCain grabbed the nomination of the party splitting and a new "conservative" party being formed. Let me strongly state that I believe this would be devastating. This party is still the big tent party. There is plenty of room for everyone here. I believe movement to the right on the size and scope of government is the key. George W. did a lousy job in this area. He presided over the growth of government, not the reduction. I believe abortion is still a valid argument for conservatives. It is likely now to never be overturned because of the Supreme Court Justices that will be appointed by Obama. That doesn't mean we forget the issue. We need to educate people on the trauma that is inflicted on the unborn as well as the mother and the father. We need to focus on helping those facing this decision and reduce abortions from the grassroots level instead of the executive level. It is time to cut loose the Bush presidency and return to fiscal responsibility. The budget deficit is a disgrace and spending is out of control. Republicans had nothing to say to the American people. They had nothing new under the sun to run on. We have many good ideas in this party. We need to articulate them and help the public to understand them.

How long will it take? That is up to us. Will we mope and complain about this administration or will we get off our cans and fight for it. If the tax increases go into effect sooner rather than later, we could gain seats in the house in two years. Or we could be out for ten. It is our choice. We need to rally around new leadership, embrace the values and positions that swept the Republicans into power in 1994 in the House of Representatives and we need to do it soon. Ronald Reagan is still the model we strive to emulate.

I want to congratulate Mitch Daniels, Tony Bennett and especially Ed Clere for their victories. Ed, you have ousted one of the strongholds of the Democratic Party in this state. You did it in short order and with positions that were clear and understandable. We need more of that in Southern Indiana. I look forward to speaking with you soon. As for now, we have a lot of work to do.

My Creed.....No Matter Who Wins

I do not choose to be a common man.

It is my right to be uncommon - if I can.

I seek opportunity, not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen,

humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk;

to dream and to build,

to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.

I prefer the challenges of life

to the guaranteed existence;

the thrill of fulfillment

to the still calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence

nor my dignity for a handout.

I will never cower before any master

nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid;

to think and act for myself,

enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly

and say, this I have done.

My Creed by Dean Alfange

The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of ’22. Hamilton offers the “Dean Alfange Essay Prizes” established by Dean Alfange and awarded to the students who write the best and second-best essays on a feature or an issue of American constitutional government.

Alfange was the American Labor candidate for governor of New York and a founder of the Liberal Party of New York.

According to One "Economist," the Threshold Will be Much Lower

I want to thank Dave for sending along an opinion piece from the WSJ by an economics professor named Adam Lerrick. In the article, Mr. Lerrick explains how the tax burden for the socialist programs (my phrase) will be shifted to those in the $75,000 range. The number of those paying no tax at all will increase by 9%. You can have all the endorsements you want from a publication called "The Economist," but the numbers don't add up. Educated, small business owner....you might want to check your earnings in November to see if you need to take the month of December off. We wouldn't want to be productive, now would we?

Check out the article : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122463231048556587.html

Obama Promises to Bankrupt Coal Industry

A report released just this weekend of a January, 2008 interview with the San Fransisco Chronicle quotes Senator Obama on his plans for the coal industry. “… if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” Obama told the Chronicle in January. “It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted." For those that are not aware, coal is the most abundant natural resource in the United States. America's coal has been compared to Saudi Arabia's oil. We will have to wait and see how this affects some major swing states in this election. West Virginia, Ohio, Colorado and especially Pennsylvania are the states in play that have thousands of jobs in the coal industry. Obama also explained his energy policy as being no "booster" of coal and that he will use "price signals" to control America's energy use. Read that as you paying a lot more for the energy you use. Senator McCain tried to capitalize on the remarks yesterday, but many republican strategists feel that it came to light too late in the campaign to make much of a difference.