IS IT TRUE April 22, 2014

1. Can I believe my eyes that CCO used a “C&P” article as their main IIT for April 22? Is C&P not a four letter word on this site anymore?

   Could this IIT be tied to Mondays IIT? Which Evansville do these articles refer to. The Mayor’s Evansville that’s within a 5 minute walk of the Ford Center, or resident’s Evansville that land mass is only 17% of this whole county of Vanderburgh?

   For the ones that read Sunday’s C&P, what’s your thoughts on the Abel/Unegethiem article?

   • I don’t have a problem with the CCO referencing a 25 year old C&P article. Perhaps back then the C&P was a much different news outlet but that’s just speculation on my part as I gave them no mind even then.

   • Bruce had some interesting and refreshing views on the subject questions; a new look to the political scene. Marsha’s answers were boiler-plate politician answers, answering the way the public wants to hear, then when in office, do as you please. Bruce gets my vote.

2. With this administration I have some doubt the vote will happen. Yes it is said the vote is on the next agenda but don’t be surprised if some arcane procedural error, doubt on the counsel voters part or some last minute piece of information arises giving the counsel pause. So expect the vote to be postponed.

   But my guess of the day? If the vote does happen, I predict the vote to be by one to not rescind. I honestly do not think the people in this administration (most of them and especially the counsel) has the guts to admit they were hornswoggled.

   • Understood and in part you make my point. I doubt the five members have the balls to admit via a rescind vote they were duped. If it is rescinded by less than a unanimous vote it will be interesting to see the hold outs.

3. Poverty and crime are positively correlated. It’s been right about 25 years since Reagan left office. His war on the middle class sure did take its toll on this country.

   • Ghost, give it a rest. This piece is about Evansville Crime,–you dolt! I’m beginning to believe that Reagan must have stolen your Teddy bear at some point.
     Piece of advice , Don’t stand in front of a fan, when your posting, the “hot Air” your producing stinks and you maybe overcome, and hit your head again.

   • One thing you are correct about is that since Reagan left office the USA has gone to hell in a hand basket. That would lead clear minds to conclude that Reagan was doing a great job and that those who have come behind him have destroyed his work. You need to think about what you said Ghost.

     • I’m not going to change your mind but I will say this. I voted for Reagan twice and its probably the biggest regret of my life.

       • Why? I voted for him twice and still believe he set the policies into place that led to the prosperous 90’s. I think a young Reagan could fix the broken America we have now. Why? Because Reagan more than any president in my life made us believe in our country and to look forward to a better future. I am not a rich person but I would give every thing I have to feel like I did about America when Reagan was president. He did some bad things with Iran-Contra but overall it was a good time to be an American. It has never been the same.

       • I confess that I voted for him the first time, and I carry guilt for that. You have my sympathy, BB. I’m sure you do regret it deeply.
         Reagan’s “Welfare Queen” fantasy and the Iran Contra mess are the biggest, most harmful lies to come from any president up to Dick and Dubya coming up with the “WMD” tale, and the story about how much torturing detainees has kept us safe.

       • BB – Please elaborate on your view of how Reagan hurt the country. What choices did he make that damaged us so much?

         • His race baiting, the demonization of the poor, the embrace of anti-intellectualism, the belittling of government workers and the demonization of and demogoguery of government in general.

           The breaking up of unions and the middle class.
           In 1984 30% of American’s owned 70% of the wealth and this was considered scandalous. Today less than 1% own 40% of all of America’s wealth.

           The empty patriotic gestures while he and his buddies pickpocketed the poor and the middle class.

           He said Medicare would destroy all our freedoms, another in a long, long line of “If white christian males don’t get to make the rules it will destroy the country HORSESH!T” In other words he started the fear mongering and the scare tactics too.

           And all this sh!t continues today with the narrative that if we just reduce government and cut off the poor all the RW 1% wannabes will have their financial dreams come true, their sex lives will be fantastic, and their kids will be great at aports and be on the homor roll.

           Watch this if you can without vomiting.

           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imjL8dfJVkA

           • In 1965 the top 1% had 34.4% of the wealth of America and the other 99% had the balance. In 2007 the top 1% had 34.6% of the wealth while the other 99% had the balance. That was from a quick we search. This is a remarkably stable number to have been through Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II over a span of 42 years. If the 1% have gone from 34.6% to 40% under your boy Barack what does that tell you about his performance?

             • “So now we know why the Democrats are adopting economic inequality as their central issue: because their constituents, the people who live under policies crafted by the left, are the ones who experience the highest degree of income inequality in their own lives. That’s the upshot of a recent study of income inequality organized by congressional district: “Across the country, inequality is lower in Republican districts than in Democratic ones” and is “highest in the New York City district of Representative Jerry Nadler, a liberal Democrat.” Who has the congressional district with the least income inequality? That would be Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, who represents suburban Minneapolis.” The Democrats are the party of inequality. Everywhere they rule, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. From Manhattan to the large urban cities Democrat policies permanently impoverish the poor while paying off their rich cronies. Most of the poor a so mired up in survival that they keep voting for the hand that feeds them without a clue that they are being enslaved by their Democrat masters. It is pathetic. I wonder who the safe house residents and contractors vote for?

               http://thefederalist.com/2014/04/21/why-democrats-are-the-party-of-inequality/

         • Now from a different perspective.

           A conservative’s view of President Reagan October 1988:

           http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=488

       • AhHa!

         The best definition I have heard yet for being an Independent.

         Like, WTF is left, right?

         left, right -get it?

   • Reagan’s administration set in motion a continual cycle of middle class repression, both mentally and financially, from which they will never recover.

   • When Reagan took office we had hostages in Iran, the interest rate on a home was over 15% and patco was trying to bring the airlines to their knees. In short order the hostages came home, the interest came down and so did patco. Reagan needed to be in office just a few more years to finish off the unions and stop them from running the jobs out of this country. The 59 union workers who just lost their jobs are an example of the tornado effect of unions, they wipe things out.

     • What’s sad pov, is 6.9 percent of private sector employees in the State of Indiana are union today.

       40% of them vote Republican because of guns and abortion and gays. You know, all those things that progress our society, and their prosperity, so dramatically.

       Since 70% of our economy is generated by ordinary people like them, and you, I feel when the unions are completely obliterated and are no longer in existence, those 6.9 percent will end up working for a cup of coffee and begging for a donut as you do now.

       Hope I’m wrong for your sake cause I have a weakness in my heart for poor people like yourself who have a never ending sense of guilt of the advantage they are taking from the more advantaged.

       I have nothing against rich people, some of my best friends are rich. But if totally destroying unions is your goal, (which is what you have always advocated,) I have a sneaking feeling you are going to feel it worse than the union members are.

       Later

       • He and Yoda would give the 1% their entire net worth if they would just throw a flag waving parade for America and have St. Ronnie come to speak and tell everybody how exceptional America is and its the moochers and the goverments fault that they’re not rich, famous and adored.

         Since Ronnie isn’t available Silly Sara will have to do.

         BTW Is it true the US’s middle class is being passed up by Canada and all those evil Western European countries?

         • I repeat my facts and my question from yesterday. Under whose watch has the middle class slipped the most?

           In 1965 the top 1% had 34.4% of the wealth of America and the other 99% had the balance. In 2007 the top 1% had 34.6% of the wealth while the other 99% had the balance. That was from a quick we search. This is a remarkably stable number to have been through Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II over a span of 42 years. If the 1% have gone from 34.6% to 40% under your boy Barack what does that tell you about his performance?

         • Not me BB. I do not advocate taking anything from anybody for the purpose of giving it to another. What I did say was that I would give all that I have to feel about America the way I did when Reagan was president.

           Who was in charge when Canada and Western Europe passed America’s middle class, if indeed they have done so at all?

   • Thanks to our annihilation of all competition in WWII, we enjoyed a strong middle class for over 30 years. I don’t think Reagan was responsible for the recovery of other countries who would learn how to compete and in some markets surpass us.

     • Only bats and vampires come out this time of night.

       Just sayin………….

     • After getting your satisfaction out of the C&P threads, you come over here.

       I always thought you could go both ways………….

       Later

4. CCO: Does this mean that the EPD’s take-home vehicle program, in which the citizens also pay for officers’ personal l gas usage, has officially failed ??

   • Yeah and they drive them around drunk too. Good time to be a cop post 9/11.

5. Is it also true that the Courier has a lead story today on how the administration is “playing down” the idea that the LST may be on it’s way downstream? CCO must have stirred a hornet’s nest to get that response!

   • IIT that is said to be right and that the article calls negotiations ‘negations’ at least twice. Freud would be proud. Also, the guy doing the talking for the boat isn’t returning the CP’s phone calls.

     That boat is a nice thing to have but we haven’t done a thing with it. I wouldn’t blame it a bit for trying someplace else.

6. Violent crime in Evansville is largely of the ‘dirtbag vs. dirtbag’ variety. A person who does not hang out with drug dealers, petty thieves, or previous violent offenders has very little chance of being a victim of violent crime. Those who choose that lifestyle? Well, if you play stupid games, you sometimes win stupid prizes.

   I completely buy that property crimes are higher than average, and would also be interested to know what % of THEM are dirtbag on dirtbag property crimes (e.g., the druggie you just met who is crashing on your couch steals your Xbox). I suspect it is pretty high. I also suspect it correlates with the littering problem, to be honest. Both show a distressing disregard for other people’s property.

   FWIW, if you keep your car locked, it will almost certainly not be stolen. Most property crimes are a crime of opportunity. Lock your doors, don’t leave valuables in plain sight. Etc. FWIW, many (most?) cars reported ‘stolen’ are actually taken by acquaintances. A dirtbag lets another dirtbag borrow their car, or an ex takes it without the owners permission, and it gets reported as ‘stolen’.

   • If you are right, and I have no reason to disagree then the “dirtbags” are taking over Evansville. How did we go from one of the safest places i America to worse than 94% of the country in 25 years? That number came from going to the neighborhood scout website that the article mentioned.

     • Good question. Drive large sections of the city and you can easily see vast tracts of dirtbag housing. Don’t confuse it with ‘poor’ housing, because there is a difference. Poor does not = dirtbag. The 0-1100 block of anywhere in the center city or southside is a good place to start, but there are large islands of dirtbaggedness throughout. That’s one of the more frustrating things about living in Evansville. With few exceptions, there are no areas that are consistently decent. Dirtbag rentals and apartment complexes are scattered seemingly at random.

       As far as how we got here? Loss of many manufacturing jobs didn’t help. Proliferation of poorly maintained rental properties adds to mix. A seemingly endemic drug and alcohol problem among a broad swath of our citizens. Out of control entitlement programs rife with abuse. ‘One strike’ rules at public housing, which means the dirtbags get kicked out and have to move somewhere else (much to the joy of the absentee landlord who has a lovely Section 8 house that he is happy to rent out…), thus spreading their dirtbaggery. Dunno exactly what proportion each of the above played, but that’s my take on the basics.

       I genuinely think that the new IU medical center might save this town. I hope so.

       • How will a medical school solve the dirtbag problem? Most everyone who is going to be there is already at one of the other schools. They are already renting apartments and living their lives. This med school will only dilute the dirtbag pool by 25 or 30 people. How much would USI adding 30 students help the dirtbag problem. That is how much of a difference the med school will make. I doubt if it will get rid of even one dirtbag. It won’t even move them around as it is going where a car lot and a radio station are now.

         • I don’t think it will ‘solve’ the problem, but I personally think the presence of the medical school will directly lead to gentrification in the area surrounding it as well as an influx of new business into the immediate area. That’s a good thing.

           I also think a proliferation of jobs associated directly with the medical center and with affiliated businesses will perhaps enhance the employment chances for people in Evansville. We will still have dirtbags, but folks teetering on the edge might have more options, which might slow the growth.

           I understand there is a great deal of hostility towards the medical center on the CCO (for whatever reason) and that I might be in the minority in my thinking, but I truly believe that it will transform the medical community in the area, which is already one of the largest employers, IIRC.

           • For the record, the CCO is not hostile toward the medical school. We are disappointed that it is being portrayed as bringing 2,000 new students to town when the reality is more like 100 or so. We are also frustrated that the economic impact numbers continue to treat moving existing things from one side of town to the other as though they were new. It reminds us of when Weinzapfel claimed the Ford Center was creating 200 or so jobs when the reality was that they just moved from Boeke Road to Main St. We support the IU Medical School in full and believe it is positive in downtown or anywhere else it could have gone. We do not support the political sideshow that is being made of a serious entity.

         • Thanks for the clarification, Editor. I’m far from a fan of the Weinzapfel administration, but don’t think a comparison between the Ford Center and the IU Medical Center is particularly apropos. Reasonable folks, though, can come to different conclusions about the same subject.

           Many posters on The CCO are infected with the same virus which caused ‘Bush derangement syndrome’ or causes ‘Obama derangement syndrome’. It is very difficult for those infected to give any credit for anything to the folks they don’t like. Any positive is immediately discounted with negatives. That’s neither here nor there, it just is. That said, there is certainly plenty to despise about our local politics and local politicians.

           • It is not so much comparing an arena to a college. It is the practice of moving cash (or jobs) from one pocket to the other and claiming to have found some new money (or created new jobs). It is a dishonest practice that nearly all politicians seem to do. We call them out in hopes that the people of this city will see through the bullcrap and understand reality.

       • I really don’t see how a hundred new students and a few new faculty and staff will lead to “gentrification” of the downtown area. I don’t think an addition of 10,000 new staff, faculty, and students would help revitalize downtown one iota. Just look at the “Trader Joe’s” conversation!

     • White flight is how. The ones with choice leave, making a choice and following through takes money. White flight has left Evansville with 10,000 abandoned houses. Children are addicted to the streets by 12-15 years of age. It’s almost impossible to pull them back. We have an awful lot of liberals complain that only a community pulling together can solve this problem. At the end of the day these liberals get in their little cars and drive out to their little burbs. They come into this community make their little paychecks and act like they have the answers, not. Evansville has lost it’s sense of community and that’s why crime is so high. The real problem started with Clinton and the community re investment act.

   • Delta,

     Can we require the ‘dirtbags’ to wear a wrist bracelet so we can spot them ?

     I hear Lance Armstrong may have a few of those ‘Live Strong’ yellow ones laying around . . .

     • Many of our local ‘bags’ already wear wrist bracelets. They are easily identified because their bracelets pinion their arms in a caudal position.

       • Nice! An alternative marker can also sometimes be found on their lower extremities, generally circled around the talus bone…

   • Most crime, most places, is what you so eloquently describe as “dirtbag vs dirtbag.” That doesn’t guarantee the safety of those who are not directly involved in unsavory activities.
     As we all know, Evansville has a nasty Meth problem, and we have plenty of other drugs floating around, too. Some of them are in nice, quiet middle-class neighborhoods. Maybe we need to start treating addicts like human beings with a serious illness instead of labelling them “dirtbags” and throwing them to the wolves.

     • I’m all about getting treatment for addicts. You surely understand, though, it usually fails. Current treatments for drug and alcohol addiction have a very low success rate, for whatever reason.

       FWIW, dirtbags are not generally ‘thrown to the wolves’. A shocking amount of societal resources get directed at them, in the form of free medical care, free housing, increased use of the courts (dirtbags love to go to court for the real and perceived slights put upon them by other dirtbags), free food, and myriad other entitlements.

       And make no mistake, these folks ARE dirtbags. They are spouse, child, and animal abusers, petty thiefs, drug dealers and fraudsters. The folks who stack junked cars up outside their shitty rental house, and who throw litter from their uninsured car (which they are driving unlicensed). They are the folks getting in shouting matches with their ex at the neighborhood Wal-Mart while their dirty-faced toddler watches and slurps Mt. Dew from their sippy cup. They’re dirtbags. I would caution against giving them undeserved sympathy or dignity. At some point you make the bed you lie in and have to be held responsible for it’s condition.

       • You’re absolutely right about the final decision being the addicted person’s. But when they have virtually no chance at employment, or even a decent place to live, that tends to discourage them from fighting such a terrible fight.

       • Some do get Medicaid, and some even get free or very cheap rent. But there are also plenty of people who work hard for low wages, keep their dangerously located apartments clean, and try to take the best care of their children that they know how. All of those “societal resources” you’re talking about amount to a very thin sliver of our national spending.
         Granted, the poor kid with the Mt. Dew-filled sippy cup isn’t getting much of a start in life, but refusing food and shelter to that child isn’t going to accomplish anything.
         It would make sense to limit the kinds of food that can be purchased with SNAP benefits, but “big agriculture” won’t hear of that. Sugar growers and junk food manufacturers would get the Cliven Bundy backers out to “protect” them from doing anything moral or decent, like they are now doing for the rich, commie “cattleman”.
         The very rich and politically connected slumlords wouldn’t like the idea of truly “scattering” low-income housing. It would ruin the way they buy up decent property in some troubled neighborhoods very cheaply, and let the blight spread and force the prices down more and destroy what should have been the best investment a lot of property-owners ever made.
         We do have laws on the books that would seriously curtail the uninsured, illegal driving if they were enforced. That would hurt business in the “buy-here, pay-here” and high-interest junk vehicle business. They probably would have to cut back on their political contributions. If course, METS “can’t afford” seven-day service, so that cuts down on the number of jobs that the least-employable among us can take. (Btw, a friend who lives at Bryce called a few minutes ago. The police are surrounding a bus at the Lawndale transfer location. May be some “breaking news” there.)
         My theory on those good, generous people is that many have left E-town for better, thriving places to live.

         • I don’t disagree with most of your reply, but I do think you’re falling into the trap of thinking that ‘the noble poor’ make up the preponderance of those receiving our societal aid.

           Both my jobs have me in close, frequent contact with the very low income and the dispossessed. It has been my experience that the ‘noble poor’ you speak of make up only the smallest fraction of these folks. Yes, I will occasionally run into a household that is poor but clean, where the mother or father (or both, which is even more shocking) are doing their level best to overcome bad odds and take care of their kids, and where the societal benefits provided by other citizens are appreciated and carefully spent. This situation is incredibly infrequent – – the situation I described in my previous post is more common by orders of magnitude.

           I’m not against a societal safety net. Far from it. But at some point we’ve got to stop blaming the ills of our poor on Big Agra, or the junk car industrial complex, or whatever. Millions and millions of dollars were poured into the former Safe House located on N. 3rd Avenue to turn it into low-income housing. I took a fire safety tour of it prior to it being opened to residents. Honest to God, the units could have been mistaken for higher rent condos – – I’ve never lived in an apartment that new or nice.

           It’s been open to residents for around a year or so. If you get a chance, poke your head in and look around. We practically have to delouse our gear when we make one of our (frequent) medical runs or malicious false alarm runs there now. THIS is the rule, not the exception. Denying it or being upset about it doesn’t make it not true.

7. In my view, the crime we are seeing is the result of a ‘hollowed out’ city. All of the money gets sucked up in large infrastructure projects (i.e., the Fraud Center didn’t produce jobs for the perps in question). No jobs leads to drugs. Drugs leads to theft of property.

   The large infrastructure projects lead to campaign contributions by the contractors and engineers, which keeps the elected officials– who don’t know how to manage or create opportunities– in power; and the same cycle gets repeated again, again, again.

   Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

   • No correction, just an addition. “No jobs and genetics lead to to drugs.” There was a time that this area was one of the kindest, most generous places in the US. That seems to have been replaced by “judgemental and greedy”. The community was willing to reach into its pockets and help those who needed it. Now, we won’t even fund a dental clinic that would in the long term save money, as well as undeserved misery. Fancy streetlights for downtown are a bigger priority for the “Downtown in-crowd”.

     • I’ll proffer the thought over time those kind and generous folks you mention have realized that no matter how much help in the form of programs, money, assistance etal was on the whole for naught. Those folks realized such things are on the whole a waste when the person “needing” the help can only do so when they decide to change.

     • Oh come on Linda, those First Street residents deserve something for the property taxes they pay. After all they’re not getting any of the “entitlements” that the rest of the residents of their voting ward are receiving.

     • I’ve lived in Evansville for eight years now and see the people here as some of the most generous, caring folks in the country. I’ve been impressed on how churches, civic organizations, businesses and individuals all join forces to see that needs are met. Don’t write off this community, it seems to find a way to make things happen.

8. HOW TO MAKE A DIRTY MARTINI

   Pour Vectren’s stranglehold on Evansville; skyrocketing water/sewer/trash rates combined with nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer debt; add a long list of self-serving politicos who cycle our scarce taxpayer resources though a small group of insider or connected recipients and the ingredients are complete.

   Dump these into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 2 olives.

   (Dirty Martini leads to a struggling Citizenry and High Crime Hangover.) …

   • You are spot on, Sir !

9. The ‘NeighborhoodScout’ site has issued yet another Haney alert. He’s circling again. He’s said to have shed his loan closing suit for the blue shirt of a city policeman and the tan pants of a deputy sheriff. The Reynolds Wrap badge is blinding. He has radioed down that his new company, IDon’tCare LLC, has a crime control plan for us, one he thinks we’ll be interested in. One that will make us safer.

   Let’s send Dewey to meet with him, maybe in Hawaii or Vegas for a week or two. Don’t let him put down at Tri-State Aero until Debbie says it’s really ok this time. Use the LST’s guns if necessary. Let her lay those wise eyes on the plan and see what she thinks of it. One of his least trustworthy and most talkative lieutenants, the one who sometimes doubles as a ‘point-to’ banker, says it mostly involves taking 1.5 liter Mountain Dew bottles off Thornton’s shelves, thereby cutting our arson rate so low it can hardly be measured.

   I’d say if it looks alright we should move quickly, he’s offered his plan to other cities. He’s done leaflet drops detailing his crime control (the best kind in his view) expertise to communities he can’t actually show up at in person.

   • Bandana; Global innovation? Actually it is Earth Day,think about it everything in the planets balance has always been there,however we just keep changing the balance of its geophysical state .
     Whats human now could have been something else 250 million years ago,or, you just paid close to four bucks to put in your tank so this guy seez he can make a diamond outta it. 😉

     http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=4&from=en-us_msnhp#/video/6d69c449-6ecc-9c62-5560-b2c62ef9b0b6

     http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=4&from=en-us_msnhp#/video/f9e5c28b-f174-29ed-0a16-f41b66e9e279

     Here BandDana: Another Dooeee turbo for Eville: http://www.kulfoto.com/funny-pictures/23512/turbo-toilet-for-kids

     After reading the comments today we had to agree with the statements about ole Reagan’s years,I admit I voted for’em,as well.
     Different times,however we think we’ve found the damn teddy bear Crash referred to, The one Reagan must of stole from Ghost.

     http://imagesyoulike.com/images/aleksey2/32×24/h0430.jpg

   • One can still get moderation….left one for ya Bandana…

     • I passed up my opportunities to vote for Reagan and am glad I did. In retrospect I think even less of his tenure as president than I did in the early ’80s. His denunciation of war protesters as California governor, ‘if it takes a bloodbath…’ , suddenly became a ‘figure of speech’ when the Kent State killings occurred a few days later. His criticism of student demonstrators was scathing and vitriolic. His presidencies were about on par with his acting ability. The attempts to make him a conservative icon/ideal seem to have fallen flat. Don’t hear much about that anymore. I will give him posthumous credit for perfecting deniability. http://s26.postimg.org/l8jiiteux/Heads_Up.jpg

       He was affable enough but I question how engaged he really was, especially in his second term. I don’t really think much of any of ’em.

       I’ve been in several bars that could have benefited from that jumbo smoke eater that guy wants to try out on the Chinamen. I don’t think any diamonds he manages to coax out of that project will be ‘a girl’s best friend’, as Marilyn put it. Maybe some industrial use (the man-made diamonds, not Marilyn) but that’d even be a stretch.

   • Earth day today folks!,How lucky is the life on planet earth?
     Something evolved for the good, from those cold war days.

     http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/big-bangs-asteroids-strike-earth-more-often-we-think-n86281

   • Sounds good to me! We definitely need a comprehensive, professional plan that we paid so much for that we can’t do anything to deal with the problem. Who would be better than Haney?

10. Society has changed so much in the past 25 years & it’s a shame because those causing most of the trouble are the right age to be the children of my generation.

    They have guns but no brains. Money but no employment (on tax rolls) & no fear of anything – except work.

    Why have so many people my age failed at raising their kids to be responsible adults? Probably because so many dropped out themselves.

    We called them druggies back-in-the-day & as it turns out many males must have decided to neglect to raise their own children so we get kids of all races raised with no real father figure, no discipline and certainly zero work ethic.

    They always find money for their bad habits but too often crime is involved.

    Directly related is we have too many pregnant women using drugs even after they find out they are carrying a child so now we must require drug testing of every pregnant woman & if positive put her in jail to protect the unborn child. Another cost to society because people are ignorant & weak.

    Most people my age have a license to carry because of all the crime statics. It’s a shame we had to go to such lengths to protect ourselves, loved ones and property from thugs of all races that are takers & not makers.

    We need to put an end to generations on welfare, insist “fathers” act accordingly and increase high school graduation rates. Not at the expense of doing away with the tests but actually teaching the kids what they need to know to succeed in life. Many would soar with the right atmosphere & peer pressure. This is not a knock on teachers as it is the family who needs to get their kids in school, listening & not acting up and graduating. Teachers are fed up enough dealing with the many monsters still in school causing havoc.

    It all goes back to the home environment, doesn’t it?

    • http://img.izifunny.com/pics/2013/20130215/640/funny-captions-30-pics_16.jpg

    • “Most people my age have a license to carry because of all the crime statics.”

      You really believe that, don’t you? Do you have any reliable stats to back that up?

      “Directly related is we have too many pregnant women using drugs even after they find out they are carrying a child so now we must require drug testing of every pregnant woman & if positive put her in jail to protect the unborn child. Another cost to society because people are ignorant & weak.”

      Good luck with your cure for what ails society, especially all of that “insisting” you plan to do? At least you got the “ignorant” part right.

      • EKB, Heads-up
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        26.71 +0.12 +0.45

        • Solar City looks GREAT, both financially and environmentally.

        • The company has been in business since 2006 and has ($202MM) of retained earnings indicating this company has not been historically profitable by any streatch. It has debt to equity ratio of 3.5x with LTD being amortized over 12 years, which way to long given its EBITDA and profitability. ITs 2013 net loss was $56 million and it had negative EBITDA which means it had to either pay its current LTD payments by either liqudiating cash, refinancing LTD, or streatching payables, as it had no cash flow to pay its current LTD during 2013.

          This makes Earthscare and Herbalife look like a good deal. Sell on rumor and buy on fact. Pump and dump rope a dope by Obama’s friends at Goldman Sucks.

          • The could have also sold stock to cover the negative EBITDA..I would rather lend to the downtown hotel!!

          • Nice analysis cdad. Far to many become blinded when green is associated with its product.

        • If the fossil fuel barrons, who comprise a large part of the 1% of the 1%, can just find a way to purchase a controlling interest in the sun we’ll be well on our way to stopping climate change. They would gladly hang coal miners and oil field workers out to dry of they didn’t have to deal with them.

          • Solar stocks are among the biggest winners (TAN +5.2%) on a good day for momentum stocks.
            SunEdison (SUNE +11.6%) is leading the pack after David Einhorn disclosed he has added to the position he started in Q4, and predicted lower solar costs and rising electricity prices should make the company a “winner.” Einhorn is less crazy about tech momentum plays in general.
            Meanwhile, Canadian Solar is benefiting from a Japanese module deal, and SunPower (SPWR +6.5%) and SolarCity (SCTY +6.4%) are getting a lift from a Goldman note calling the companies its two best solar ideas. SunPower reports on Thursday.
            Other notable gainers: YGE +7.9%. DQ +9.2%. JKS +7.4%. SOL +6.8%. HSOL +6.7%. ENPH +6.2%. JASO +4.5%.

            +SUNE SunEdison
            +SPWR SunPower Corporation
            +YGE Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited
            +DQ DAQO New Energy Corp.
            +JKS JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.
            +SOL ReneSola Ltd.
            +HSOL Hanwha SolarOne Co Ltd
            +ENPH Enphase Energy Inc.
            +JASO JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd.

            Press Releases on SCTY
            SolarCity Announces Pricing of Second Securitization (GlobeNewswire)
            SolarCity Enters Into Largest Rooftop Solar Aggregation Facility (GlobeNewswire)
            SolarCity Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2013 Financial Results (GlobeNewswire)

11. I am hopeful that Al Lindsey will call a vote to rescind the EarthCare loan. It is just the common sense thing to do.

12. Ran out of “replies” to Delta Bravo:DeltaBravo
    April 22, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    “I don’t disagree with most of your reply, but I do think you’re falling into the trap of thinking that ‘the noble poor’ make up the preponderance of those receiving our societal aid.

    Both my jobs have me in close, frequent contact with the very low income and the dispossessed. It has been my experience that the ‘noble poor’ you speak of make up only the smallest fraction of these folks. Yes, I will occasionally run into a household that is poor but clean, where the mother or father (or both, which is even more shocking) are doing their level best to overcome bad odds and take care of their kids, and where the societal benefits provided by other citizens are appreciated and carefully spent. This situation is incredibly infrequent – – the situation I described in my previous post is more common by orders of magnitude.

    I’m not against a societal safety net. Far from it. But at some point we’ve got to stop blaming the ills of our poor on Big Agra, or the junk car industrial complex, or whatever. Millions and millions of dollars were poured into the former Safe House located on N. 3rd Avenue to turn it into low-income housing. I took a fire safety tour of it prior to it being opened to residents. Honest to God, the units could have been mistaken for higher rent condos – – I’ve never lived in an apartment that new or nice.

    It’s been open to residents for around a year or so. If you get a chance, poke your head in and look around. We practically have to delouse our gear when we make one of our (frequent) medical runs or malicious false alarm runs there now. THIS is the rule, not the exception. Denying it or being upset about it doesn’t make it not true.”

    You’re talking to somebody who spent forty years in social services. I have no illusions about the “noble poor”, but I also have no illusions that “nobility” makes anyone less human, either. My guess is that you don’t decide who is “worth” saving and who isn’t, that you just wade in and try to help. Nor am I “blaming” the well-to-do dirtbags who make big profits off the poor, no matter how they choose to live.
    I am pointing out that it is a vicious cycle that gets harder to break each generation that it continues. If we don’t start now, and recognize that it is going to cost more the longer we wait, it is going to be entirely too late in another couple of generations. We also have to realize that we will never completely win this battle, but it’s still worth fighting.
    Btw, the example of the former Safe House shines especially bright in the firmament of profits made by the politically connected. It is a shame that it is being so badly managed, but I’d guess that it is probably being done by some of the hangers-on, as well.
    Not all dirtbags are direct recipients of public assistance. There are plenty of well-heeled dirtbags profiting off of the direct recipients of public money, as well. Just because their kids and grandkids don’t drink Mt. Dew from a sippy cup doesn’t mean they are any better than those who are.

    • We reported on the cost of refurbishing that Safe House. It was about $240,000 per apartment in a town where apartment buildings are routinely purchased for $35,000 per unit. To hear from Delta Bravo that the place is already a pig pen is not surprising and no more disturbing as it has been to go into nearly any government housing project after a month or two has passed from the ribbon cutting ceremony. LKB is correct that the contractors and politicians who smile for the camera while looting the public treasury are just as guilty as the so called “dirtbags” who trash the place. The reality of the situation is that roughly $8 Million of our tax dollars were spent on something that would not sell for more than $1 Million on the open market. That is just $7 Million more dollars down a rat hole without improving the circumstances of the residents one darn bit. The whole circle of entitlement from the government to their crony contractors to the DeltaBravo “dirtbags” who always seem to be drawn to such places are a disgusting drain on the working people of this country. This applies to the poorest of self sufficient taxpayers to the richest of the rich. We are all getting screwed by the circle of entitlement.

      • I remember the reporting. I would say that the rapid decline in the building public areas and units has been shocking, but I would be lying. It would have been far more shocking for them to remain neat and tidy.

        The staff members and facility managers are always very friendly and helpful when we have to go there, for what it’s worth. I don’t doubt that it’s next to impossible to keep a facility nice when the residents and their cohorts are hell-bent on trashing it.

        LKB, I appreciate the replies.

        • My wife has some of the same sort of contact with the same sort of people as you’ve described. She’s about as good hearted a person as there is but reports the same stuff to me fairly regularly.

          It gets to her after a while. She signs off on the paper that keeps them fed, housed and going and, I hate to generalize on this too much, they just generally don’t care. After a while the only ones she goes any distance at all for are the ones with kids that could still be saved.

          • I can sympathize with your wife. Many years of hearing “hard luck stories” makes it rough to remember that there are helpless children involved, and some of the sad stories are real.
            I was the intensive caseworker in Indy for an apartment building that was rumored all over town to be an operating brothel. It was never “busted” because of who the owners of the building were, but that was hard to stomach. It was one of the reasons that one day, I just typed out my resignation at lunch and handed it in that afternoon. My supervisor was surprised. She commented that I hadn’t indicated any plan to leave that morning in the staff meeting. I told her that I wasn’t totally “fed up” then, but I had finally reached my limit.

        • I really appreciate respectful discussion. That’s the reason I’m “sold” on CCO.
          It doesn’t surprise me at all that the staff is friendly and courteous, especially to “outsiders.” They may even be that way with the residents, as well. The problem is that they probably haven’t the right training and they may not get “back up” from their superiors, who probably don’t care if the place is trashed. If it is, they can write off a lot in taxes and then get more public money to do it all again.

13. Wake up America

    April 22, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    “So now we know why the Democrats are adopting economic inequality as their central issue: because their constituents, the people who live under policies crafted by the left, are the ones who experience the highest degree of income inequality in their own lives. That’s the upshot of a recent study of income inequality organized by congressional district: “Across the country, inequality is lower in Republican districts than in Democratic ones” and is “highest in the New York City district of Representative Jerry Nadler, a liberal Democrat.” Who has the congressional district with the least income inequality? That would be Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, who represents suburban Minneapolis.” The Democrats are the party of inequality. Everywhere they rule, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. From Manhattan to the large urban cities Democrat policies permanently impoverish the poor while paying off their rich cronies. Most of the poor a so mired up in survival that they keep voting for the hand that feeds them without a clue that they are being enslaved by their Democrat masters. It is pathetic. I wonder who the safe house residents and contractors vote for?

    http://thefederalist.com/2014/04/21/why-democrats-are-the-party-of-inequality/
    =================================================

    Yes the Democrats will campaign on income/wealth inequality because their constituents suffer from income inequality because Democrats favor policies that perpetuate income and wealth inequality so they can prey on the grievance of inquality for votes each election.

    Chuck Lumley: You thought that up all by yourself didn’t you Bill.

    Bill Blazejowski: Yep. That’s cuz I’m an idea man Chuck.

    • And it’s true. There’d be no Democrat party without victims.

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