IS IT TRUE May 5, 2014

79
Mole #??
Mole #??

 

IS IT TRUE that the delay in releasing the 2012 audit of the City of Evansville and the Water & Sewer Utility for an unreasonable amount of time is beginning to have the smell of politics written all over it?…the audits that high level sources tell the CCO are both ADVERSE OPINIONS could easily be exploited by opponents of “machine” candidates in the primary as evidence that the good ship Evansville and its minions are floundering at sea without at captain?…the City County Observer calls on the Indiana State Board of Accounts and the politically appointed Indiana Auditor Suzanne Crouch to release these audits before noon today so the people of Vanderburgh County can have this information available to consider as they make their choices for whom they will cast ballots?…anything less puts the SBOA’s judgement in question and their supposed neutrality at risk?

IS IT TRUE it is being reported that yet another of the beautiful old historic homes has had the brakes put onto it’s restoration because it is not perceived to be a worthwhile investment?…this is what happens when values are not even sufficient to cover the cost of repairs as has been the case in Evansville’s historic district for many years?…older homes with this kind of character are very expensive to refurbish so irregardless of how cheap one may be investors looking for a return will not do quality refurbishments of these homes?…the great ladies of Evansville are at the mercy of Victorian home lovers with the means to spend up to a million dollars to refurbish a home that has a market value of less than half of that?…as long as that is the case investors will continue to do minimal repairs and break these great homes into multiple rental units blunting the Historic districts transformation from modern day flop houses intermixed with very well refurbished examples of period architecture?

IS IT TRUE the City County Observer is flattered to have some of the Mole Nation telling us that the Abell for Commissioner team is preemptively blaming the CCO as responsible IF Commissioner Abell loses her bid for the Republican nomination tomorrow?…the CCO has not even made any endorsement in that race?…if Commissioner Abell’s opponent Bruce Ungenthiem can get enough juice from running a single banner ad in the CCO to take out a long established politician in a primary then we are way more influential than we ever imagined?

IS IT TRUE the forces who are incensed over income inequality in America have taken a step that is unheard of in a New York Times article titled “College, the Great Unequalizer”?…in this article Russ Douthat opines that FLAGSHIP STATE UNIVERSITIES (like IU, Purdue, UK, etc.) are nothing more than places for the children of the elite class to party and establish social connections?…these are of course represented as social connections that make their life better than even the non-elite class people who attend these FLAGSHIP STATE UNIVERSITIES and never fit into the Muffy and Chip filled fraternities and sororities?…we guess the next logical step in this war on inequality will be for someone to decide that since educations fuel prosperity that we all need to be forbidden from seeking educations so that we can all be equally uneducated?…this is a step too far in the efforts to move toward income equality?…President Reagan wrongly attributed the following statement to President Abraham Lincoln but there is much wisdom held in the following CANNOTITUDES that should be ingrained in the minds of Americans seeking to climb the ladder of success without trying to do so by destroying the people who have climbed that ladder before them?

You cannot bring prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

You cannot further brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.

You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

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79 COMMENTS

  1. That’s hilarious….the Abell/Ungenthiem denials here are like “No. I’m not going to be disrespectful of my opponent and talk about his being a wife-beater.”

    For the record…Abell’s tenure as a Commissioner needs to end.

  2. The Ever Present Class Warfare espoused by the Left, has me asking this question: As family and friends seek marketable skill by climbing the ladder of opportunity that is–Education. At what Income Level, likely tied to their success in their goal setting, does their hard work move them into “the Enemy” column in the Liberal mind?

  3. …in fact, Abell’s effort to maintain ongoing tenure as a Commissioner,

    and the way Abell has procured so many power and establishment political donors,

    and the dismissive way Abell treats any conversation about opposing her…

    combined with the way she presented herself in the Brad Byrd interview…

    …I thought, “Whoa! Abell’s trying to throw in this “Dare oppose me, I’m Boss Tweed!,” type of political brand.

    • IMHO..politicians whose middle name is “Arrogance” need to go…for instances, the former 9th District Congressman, Barron Hill, was full of himself…you all know what is meant…Ms Abell’s surely knows her middle name!

  4. Ponder
    these if you will !!!

    The definition of the word
    Conundrum is: something that is puzzling
    or
    confusing.

    Here are six Conundrums of socialism in the
    United States of America:

    1. America is capitalist and greedy
    – yet half of the population is
    subsidized.

    2. Half of
    the population is subsidized – yet they think they are
    victims.

    3. They think they are victims – yet their
    representatives run the
    government.

    4. Their
    representatives run the government – yet the poor keep getting

    poorer.

    5. The poor keep getting poorer – yet they have
    things that people in
    other countries only dream about.

    6.
    They have things that people in other countries only dream about
    –
    yet they want America to be more like those other
    countries.

    Think about it! And that, my friends, pretty much
    sums up the USA in
    the 21st Century.

    Makes you wonder who
    is doing the math.

    These three, short sentences tell you a
    lot about the direction of our
    current government and cultural
    environment:

    1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by
    the actions of a few
    lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL
    gun owners by the actions
    of a few lunatics. Funny how that
    works.

    And here’s another one worth considering…

    2.
    Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to
    run
    out of money. How come we never hear about welfare or food
    stamps
    running out of money? What’s interesting is the first
    group “worked
    for” their money, but the second didn’t. Think
    about it…..

    and Last but not least,

    3. Why are we
    cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our
    military
    and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but
    we
    are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal
    aliens.

    Am I the only one missing
    something?

    Just Sayin

    • Sir you bring up many questions that have to make anyone with any common sense go ,,,,,hhhhmmmmmmm.

      Be careful with your declarations. A lot of liberal/leftist/democrat folks on here don’t like it when people present ideas that make sense and make one think. They will be calling you a racist and other names to try and bring you down to their level.

      • …in fact, I think the Tea Party Rancher types don’t need ANY help showing off and displaying their racism. They do it themselves better than any Democrat.

  5. Oh come on. I’m voting for Ungentheim but don’t act like you haven’t endorsed him. You havent formally said so but it’s obvious. Give me a break.

    • I think its more like Parke and Abell providing more than enough ammo to shoot herself in the foot than the CCO endorsing Bruce. But I get your point.

  6. Thanks CCO for posting the the above statement that President Reagan brought to our attention all of it is so true…..Is it true CCO posted the beautiful statement on the same day that obamas hero and the man obama gets his ideology from karl marx was born on????????

    • .

      Mr. A-Sharpie…the Tea Party would BURN President Reagan in effigy as a liberal if he were alive today.

      • You are blessed!

        To have the ability to form thoughts that you are convinced have merit and so quickly!

        Truly cut from the same cloth as the great thinkers (Sarcasm implied) in todays society

    • The goal of economic policy ought to be to make as many Americans as possible better off, not to punish one class for the benefit of another. The former is a recipe for growth; the latter for social discord and stagnation. Why elected democrats can’t understand this concept is mind boggling. The problem is that they know this is true and that growth is the sustainable solution but freely choose the path of spreading envy and social discord.

      • ……to be fair, you can’t wholesale dismiss the nature of Capital vs Labor. It is as old as time. To insist there is NO impact on the efficiency or ability of one class to move up economically is flat out wrong as capital has extraordinary advantages over labor.

        I’m an Adam Smith free markets guy, but it is an imperfect system. The best we have available? Yes. But totally unfettered, it DOES lead to an eventual revolt because of class inequality. This is why, in order to help maintain a more stable society, America has a tradition of offering some minimum levels of support.

        You should at least acknowledge that.

        • Okay, I acknowledge the need for a safety net but stand beside my assertion that growth is a sustainable plan and that sowing the seeds of envy and discourse is not. The details and balances are of course fluid. America has worked best when growth was dominant. That would be from the early 1950’s to the late 1960’s and then again from about 1984 – 2000. It was for different reasons. The 1950’s experienced growth because the competitors for making goods had been bombed to the point they had to concentrate on infrastructure replacement. The 80’s and 90’s was about leveraging personal computers and all of the associated things that came with them. During GWB’s terms America was all about holding on to what we had. With the election of Obama came the obsession with redistribution of a shrinking pie. That has indeed led to stagnation and a smaller pie. The prospects for a sustainable future without internal conflict could not be worse. America from an economic and mental state perspective has not been this rotten since the days before the Civil War.

          • You have good points. I have some complaints about your arguments though:

            1. You didn’t say, “Well, I’m for the good ole red, white and blue! The complainers hate America,”…but you might as well have. OF COURSE growth is good.

            2. You live in a Democracy. Political discourse is part of the recipe, unless you want to change it, then you can’t expect to use the argument, “Well, the other guy is sowing the seeds of discourse and envy”…and expect that to give you license to get more tax breaks in the effort to spur growth. Tax breaks are no different than welfare. “Well, but tax breaks help make some richer, and if they are richer, then they are willing to maybe invest in growth more!” Just cop to it…tax breaks are welfare. And they benefit the upper income constituency.

            3. Unregulated markets, the kinds of things that allow insider trading and banks that are too big to fail, is wholesale missing from your accusations and arguments.

            They are FLAT OUT components of the advantages of Capital….and they eliminate competition….a component critical to free market competition that is the foundation of your entire argument. Yet…you are effectively pretending those things did-not/are-not happening…AND are a problem that unfairly benefits the upper class.

            • Tax cuts are very different than welfare. In order to benefit from a tax cut you have to have tax liabilities. A taxpayer that gets a tax cut to say put in an energy efficient appliance is still a taxpayer and getting a bit of a break on an ecologically responsible purchase. These kinds of tax breaks are usually associated with early adopters who always pay more to get the ball rolling. Tax cut beneficiaries are by definition net contributors. Welfare recipients by definition are net takers. On this basis I think you are very wrong in referring to tax cuts as welfare. The are incentives to behave in a certain way and can only benefit taxpayers.

              We do not live in a democracy. We live in a republic. It is a good thing too because if we ever become a democracy it will be mob rule and our honest discussion about how best to govern capital and labor will be meaningless. The mob will vote for equal distribution and the best of us will cease to function. Democracy = disaster even when choosing a prom queen. Democracy is the enemy of merit. A republic is a close to fairness as we are ever going to get but sometimes it fails too.

          • Greenspan:

            Man. You’ve redefined welfare.

            It is government assistance.

            One you like, granted, but then those getting unemployment assistance like theirs too. I don’t see any other distinctions.

            Otherwise, it’s true on your points about Democracy.

          • Greenspan:

            My bad. I meant to say “You have redefined tax cuts.”

            They are still, and always will be, government assistance with tangible dollar values no different than the tangible dollar values of unemployment assistance.

        • Minimal levels of support? You can’t be serious. I have an autistic, mentally handicapped adult daughter and the benefits she receives are constantly being cut. Programs for “the least of these”, those people that CANNOT take care of themselves, are the first to get the axe because they are not a voting block. In the meantime, programs for able bodied, and minded, people that choose not to work are expanding at a pace that cannot be sustained. The message to these people is, “Vote for me and you’ll never have to worry about a thing. You really can’t take care of yourself so we’ll do it for you. Vote early and vote often”. Granted our president was re-elected but I wonder what percentage of his voters actually pay taxes.

          • “Granted our president was re-elected but I wonder what percentage of his voters actually pay taxes.”

            If they are citizens who are eligible to vote, what difference does it make? You may want to read the 15th and 24th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, or maybe you have and just don’t like them.

          • Ellen,

            Wait a minute.

            You are discussing two different issues.

            1. Healthcare.

            2. The other is economic daily life assistance, let’s just call it unemployment.

            And you are lashing out at unemployment assistance because your daughter requires healthcare?

            And….you appear to be saying those needing some government assistance in their lives…..(I think you said you receive benefits for care for your daughter – I’m sure totally needed)…….are somehow hi-jacking the process because they vote.

            You vote too, I take it?

          • Excuse my “typo”. That should read “the 14th” Amendment, but from the subliminal messages I get from your posts, maybe you should go over the 15th, as well.

          • I do vote and I work, therefore I pay income taxes. I simply do not appreciate the way in which our government disperses our tax dollars. There is a massive entitlement culture in this country and because those in our government want to maintain their positions of power, they give benefits to those that will vote to keep them there. So many of these voters have absolutely no skin in the game so they don’t care about bad policies as long as they are taken care of. They’ve been told long enough that they can’t take care of themselves that I think they believe it and pass it on to their children and grandchildren. My daughter will be taken care of as long as my husband and I are alive; that’s a given, but it’s frustrating to see so much going to those who take no responsibility for themselves or their children. But then, where is their incentive to do so?

  7. Does the State Auditor’s office have oversight of the State Board of Accounts ?

    i.e., does Suzanne Crouch have any direct line authority over instructing the SBOA to delay the release of an audit (if she did actually do that ) ?

    If these allegations are true, this is a huge story . . .

    • My sources are telling me that what has happened is that the State Board folks on the audit were not CPA’s and extremely incompetent. 3 of the 4 workers were rookies, and the lead auditor and supervisor are not CPA’s. Since the exit conference, they have appointed a CPA to take over as field supervisor and it appears that he’s questioning their work. General Sherman is what they call him. A northerner and who Russ and some of his people say is out to torch the “South” like his name sake.

      I also hear that like last year, Russ called Pence to get the audit delayed/changed for his liking. That is what the true hold-up is. It is not political. Pence doesn’t care about a local race! You’d be very arrogant to think that.

      • Hans, no, I’m not arrogant–the notion that one poster suggested (audits being held pending primary tomorrow) seemed really far fetched to me.

        However, that being said, and no offense to you–the idea that AFTER the Exit Conference they appoint a new Field Supervisor, who opens the can of worms up and finds that all of the State Auditors were incompetent–I find that equally far fetched !

      • Er what? Wait. Are you telling me Indiana is so incompetent the State Auditor allowed non-CPAs to do or lead the process?

        • Oh, it’s really bad. There are only two State Board people in town that have a CPA. They were the same ones who did the 2011 audit and gave them the disclaimer. If you don’t believe me, look up these State Board people at http://www.in.gov/pla You’ll not find a single person from the 2012 audit!

          • sorry, I don’t think it matters. If you have a bunch of first timers on the Audit, that means the supervisors and managers up the food chain have to spend even MORE time making sure that nothing was overlooked or misinterpreted.

            I would go so far as to say that having more rookie auditors ensures that the most senior people will be reviewing their workpapers carefully, whereas a seasoned auditor might not have his/her work reviewed by a supervisor because of the senior auditor’s experience or ‘street cred’.

            0 % chance that “General Sherman” rode into town and found after that the auditors screwed up.

          • All that I know is this. 2011 audit. Two CPA’s on the job. Audit takes two months. Disclaimer. 2012 audit. Four non-CPA’s on the job. Audit has been going on for nine plus months. Probably getting a slap on the wrist too.

  10. I certainly hope the audit is released today. There can be no reason why this audit fiondings are not released, unless the the CCO is spot on. Go get ’em CCO.

  11. The SBOA seems to be yet another political arm of the Pence machine. If it’s not a full fledged member yet, it’s sure acting like it. I’d say our current state government is about as honest as our city government. Both need federal oversight.

    Why did the CCO wait until the day before the primary to ‘call for’ the release of those audit findings? I realize they have been rightfully grousing about the very suspicious non-release for a while. Makes good copy. Generates clicks. A tepid ‘call for’ the day before primary voting ends is weak. Following such a hollow call with a paragraph trumpeting how influential the CCO might be is unseemly.

    As Dutch Reagan would say…Zzzzzz.

    • We were hoping they would do the right thing without an “in your face” demand. Now we hope that works but are not holding our breath. Vanderburgh County politics has not exactly been interested in transparency and doing the right thing for years.

      • How does this primary vote tomorrow, which is county government, and not a odd year “city government” with its “bad books”, being lumped together? Granted there are the same players in both city and county government, but none up for this election should had direct involvement with those city books!

        Vanderbugh County politics, both city/county, being painted with a “wide” paint brush?
        Or was it directed towards the city?

    • Yeah, Oversight, you can say that again. Didn’t ONB get swatted with some big ole fine lately?

      With all this stuff going on in you’re town as iffy as it is, its a wonder they didn’t get bum rushed this morning with investors bailing from the left and the right and every other bent foreseeable. The ticker shows
      ‘um down again but so are some others as well So.

      However with all the stuff hanging loose from one end of you’re downtown to the other I’m still kinda surprised the rush isn’t on yet.

      • I have to hand it to the management of ONB for their political wiles, though. They are on top of things well enough to know that things could go so severely south here that a Republican can not get re-elected. The recent addition of a popular Democrat to their stable is a wise insurance policy for them to maintain their control of local government. The recent acquisition of Eric Williams solidifies their position with having an “alternative”, as well as being able to use him as a threat to their current puppets, should one try to get out of line.
        Could it be that Williams will find his way back into the political arena sooner, rather than later, in the event that Marsha loses tomorrow?

  12. Does the CCO deny that institutional racism exists?
    Does the CCO deny that most of this institutional racism and preferences begins college?

    Does the CCO realize the Ginni index is at an all-time high, even greater than right before the Great Depression?

    Does the CCO realize Americans VASTLY underestimate how much wealth and income inequality there is in their own country?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that it is virtually unanimous among economists that this massive income and wealth inequality, as measured by the Ginni index, makes our recessions last longer, makes them more severe and that it stunts our recoveries and contributes to the lousy labor market the CCO likes to complain about?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that this massive inequality hurts the editors, its readership and the inovators and entrepreneurs the editors like to encourage?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that up until 1980 productivity gains were basically shared between maangagment and labor but after that all of the productivity gains of the hard working American people (including republicans and libertarians) were filched by the oligarchs?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that this is the real class warfare being waged by the oligarchs

    Does the CCO acknowledge that based upon productivity gains the American worker has not had a real income(after inlfation) raise since 1980 and that includes the editors and its readers?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that 95% of the Bush tax cuts capital gains preferential treatment goes to those making over $200,000/ year.

    Does the CCO acknowledge that those countries where income and wealth inequality is not as severe the citizens live longer, happier lives and that this has been a fact for many years?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that massive wealth inequality leads to, massive money in politics, which leads to returns on investment being more attractive in buying the favors of polticians, mostly republican and this leads to public policies that rig the system toward the rich and connected, the very kind of bad public policty the CCO editors like to rail about?

    Does the CCO acknowledge that it would be better to have capital invested in start ups than going to PAC’s and polticians?

    • Racial bias is prevalent everywhere in various degrees including the NBA and college admission. It is however more prevalent in elite pre-schools in New York City than in any place that is subject to Equal Opportunity laws.

      Gini index was 38 at the end of WWII and was pretty flat into the late 80’s. It has been on a steady rise to today’s number of 42 which incidentally is equal to China’s. The world as a whole looks to be higher.

      I do not have the time to acknowledge or argue with your litany of assertions that are all carefully crafted to support your own agenda.

      I do realize that the average worker is not earning what they were in the 70’s in terms of goods and services. Most of those losses have come in recent history. The unspoken truth though is that the average worker today has less skill than and average worker in the 70’s so part of the inequality driver is getting less for doing lesser tasks.

      Is politics corrupted by money? Of course it is. But at the end of the day it is votes that put people into office so it is more accurate to say that voters are corrupted (or tricked) by the advertising that money buys. Both parties are guilty and all politicians need money. It is a sad state of affairs.

      We do in closing acknowledge that it is better when capital is invested in emerging growth businesses that into PACs and politicians. All sizes of businesses can be emerging but start-ups and ramp-ups are indeed the fastest creators of both jobs and wealth. That is the balance we seek.

      • Could the skill levels be tied to work availability? Back when we produced what we used instead of buying what someone else produced by pennies on a dollar and sold full price here!

        • Could be, but this did not happen overnight. It was a slow degradation and did not apply equally to different geographies. Some locations are operating on a higher plane than back then and some are lower.

          • Everything I have read on the subject indicates that there has been a lessening of demand in the mid-level skills, and growth in demand on the high and low ends of the skill scale.

      • “carefully crafted statementss designed to support my own agenda!?”

        Sounds like I’m ready for the Supreme Court!!!

        Especially after today’s ruling.

        I can’t think of a worse reason to support an argument than “tradition” which Kennedy cited.

        “Tradition” the trademark of cowards, bigots, and facists.

      • Gee editor, you have stirred up the hornet’s nest. Anytime someone in a controlling position disagrees with the left/liberal policies, the crying begins. Be careful as they will start calling you a racist, a bigot etc… and son they will start bad mouthing your site. Just because you dare to present the actual, unadulterated facts.

        • ….Brandon, how freakin insecure are you? Or is it paranoia?

          This is the THIRD comment today where you express fear of being identified as a racist.

          You’re either protesting too much…

          …or going out of your way to preempt racist criticism of you.

          (Paranoia may be it though Brandon. What with your bong and all, paranoia is common among pot smokers.)

          • Whiney-westside: There is no paranoia or insecurity here little man. The racism issue is mentioned because that is the flavor of the day for the libbies. You jump from bigot to racist to sexist to woman hater to whatever victimization category you can to paint a view of folks that do not agree with your failing views.

            I know you all are working towards calling people sexists too, once Hilarious starts running for office again.

            It is great to know that you read my posts though. I am glad it allows you to get your jollies off by insulting someone and trying to pathetically categorize me in certain ways, when you have no clue about me or my life.

  13. “…we guess the next logical step in this war on inequality will be for someone to decide that since educations fuel prosperity that we all need to be forbidden from seeking educations so that we can all be equally uneducated…”

    IIT that the above is a ridiculously inane statement that is an insult to the intelligence of CCO readers, particularly those with liberal leanings?

    IIT that this is the second time in a week that the CCO has acted in such a way as to place its credibility as an unbiased vehicle for the exchange of ideas among its readers?

    I do not believe that such biased statements should be presented as “fact” , but should be printed as an editorial. The “class warfare” fantasy has served the far right well, as a way to spread fear and hate among the rank-and-file righties (aka. “The little people”). It is also serving to destroy mainstream conservatism by giving “ammunition” to the Tea Party.
    The Right is its own worst enemy, and watching its self-destruction as a national political party is fascinating.

  14. DEPARTMENT OF RIGHT-WING DECEPTION. The three biggest Republican lies about widening inequality:

    (1) The rich and CEOs are America’s job creators. Wrong. The middle class and poor are the job-creators, through their purchases of goods and services. If they don’t have enough purchasing power because they’re not paid enough, companies won’t create more jobs and the economy won’t grow.

    (2) People are paid what they’re worth in the market. Bunk. CEOs who got 30 times the pay of typical workers forty years ago now get 300 times the pay because they control their compensation committees and their stock options have ballooned. Meanwhile, typical workers who earned more forty years ago than they do now (adjusted for inflation) had strong unions bargaining for them then, but don’t any longer (now, fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers are unionized).

    (3) Anyone can make it in America with enough guts, gumption, and intelligence. Baloney. We’ve turned our backs on poor kids, 42 percent of whom will still be in poverty as adults – a higher percent than in any other advanced nation.

    Widening inequality can be reversed, but it will require America knows the truth and takes bold political steps: at the very least, higher taxes on the rich to pay for better education for the poor and middle, strengthened labor unions, and a living wage.

    • The Horatio Alger Myth lives strong in the American psyche.

      Every act of deception includes misdirection.

      Which is basically “hey look over there it’s a welfare queen!” while the mark is looking the oligarchs pick their pockets clean.

      • All very true. I’d take small exception to the ‘Every act of deception includes misdirection’ part. I think the slime who manage to get themselves elected and reelected ad nauseam have such contempt for the electorate that after a short while little or no misdirection is necessary. They’ll do it right before your eyes, and get away with it. Misdirection is for magicians, we own the city. And they do. Often what passes for misdirection is simply another scandal percolating up. Nice little cycle they’ve got going.

        The populace has self-blinded and readily opens its empty wallet. ‘Hon, should we send it in to this Teabagger’s campaign or buy little Jimmy some new school shoes?’ The income disparity in America should wake up the dead. It is not due to anything in the usual Republican recitation of causes, ie: workers lazier, less skilled or educated than in the past, etc. It is due to, despite the ineffective window dressing designed to cast America as a beacon of egalitarianism, unfettered greed. Capitalism run amok.

        The men are on the chessboard and Bob Jones is moving them around. Let’s give Niel Ellerbrook another community award because…he just deserves it.

        • You said it all, Bandana! I’m really amused by the righties expounding on what liberals believe. They don’t have a clue.

          • Dveatch

            Due to time limits let’s start with the strawmen that Democrats are communists who want government bureaucrats to decree how many loaves of bread the bread makers should make or that we only see businesses are a place reach our hands into and “steal” money via taxes to give to “the undeserving” or that we’re jealous of successful people or business people.

            No we only want safe work places so people don’t get killed or injured and we don’t want our coastlines ruined for decades if not longer and we want a fair, open system for all to participate in not a rigged system with the wealthy and the connected get ahead because they are putting their legislative thumb on the scale to bilk us all.

            Let’s start with that.

          • First off talk is cheap. So people have to go by the actions of the left. And those actions fuel the believed mind set of the dems.

            Why don’t you enlighten us on how you all think. But you have to do it with out playing the victim, with out name calling, with out using the the race card and without using false facts and arguments.

          • @ dveatch:

            Brains did a good job of covering the main points, but I will add this:
            I do not endorse a “welfare state” but do recognize that we will always have inequalities among people, but that no one in a society as wealthy as this should go without food, shelter, their voice in government, and the basics of life. The Right twists that into the lies of “Class warfare”, “Plantation mentality”, etc..
            In short, no one deserves to be punished because of the circumstances of their birth. We have to strive to better those circumstances if we are to be a strong, productive society.

            • Wasn’t it the plantation that did make sure everyone had food, shelter, and the basics of life? I understand your sentiments but when you guarantee all that is needed for survival, you encourage people not to work. A great many of our people will choose a life of poverty with food, shelter, and basics over a better life of education, skill, and work. It is playing out right now with the shrinking number of workforce participation. Do you realize that if the participation rate is 62% that means that 38% of the population that is able to work is choosing not to participate. That is not sustainable and everyone with two brain cells knows it. Where does the system break down? Does it break down at 50% participation, 45%, or even lower? One thing I am sure of and that is work should always pay more than doing nothing. If is doesn’t why will the low skill people even bother to work?

          • @ Uncle Cracker:

            You’ve seen too many civil war movies. No, plantations, more often than not, were where adequate food was furnished so the slaves could work, but beatings were administered and families were torn apart when it came time to sell one of them.
            Did it ever occur to you that seeing to it that people are healthy and safe will enable them to learn, work, and improve their lot? Those who are scrambling everyday for survival aren’t usually able to focus on bettering themselves. If you don’t know where you are going to sleep or where your next meal is coming from, it makes it pretty hard to focus on anything else.

    • Exactly! That’s why I get so mad when people say it was gates or Jobs that gave us the created milions of jobs, made people wealthy over night and gave us computer age. It was the middle class that gave us the computer age! Gates and Jobs stole billions from the middle class.

      BTW, my vet has a vaccine that will cure rabies.

      • ….

        Free, open and competitive markets are the impetus behind creativity, innovation, business and employment growth. Freedom too.

        …..

        I-E, you need to go back to social issues so I can start disagreeing w/ you again.

  15. Lets see. Marsha has been in elected office for about 30 years. If people don’t know what she is all about by now they never will. It’s my strong opinion that all the money she has been spending on advertising is a waste because either people like her or not by now. If she loses the mayor and GOP Chairman Wayne Parke shall sustain major negative political fall out.

    My sources tell me that Marsha better have at least a 1,700 vote lead from the city voters before she go into the county or its over for her.

    As a county resident me, my family and neighbors can’t wait to vote for Bruce Ungethiem tomorrow. When she tried force us to be incorporated in the city and met behind close doors with the Mayor to take away our tax credit that did it for me.

    Please join me, my family members and neighbors and vote for a new direction in county government and vote for Bruce Ungethiem!

    • Don’t wait, vote today! My family and I account for about 10 votes for Mr. U, and we all live INSIDE the city.

      • EKB: News14 reports you all can go on Vacation to a “nice interesting” area hub soon,as well.

        http://www.charlottesgotalot.com/

        New connection at you’re EVV {temporary} short one runway field. Not a bad connection. Wonder which one A/A will drop the feeder steerage to now to balance the cost sustainability?

  16. Great post freedom. Every thing you posted about Abell is spot on. Me, my family and friends shall be joining the crusaded tomorrow to vote Marsha Abell out of office. It is really time for change. Oh, did I say I’m from the Westside, Bruce Ungethiem territory.

  17. As a true Republican I shall be casting my vote for another true Republican Bruce Ungethiem on election day. I’m very upset that Abell accepted thousands of dollars from state and local labor unions. How two face can a she be as a self proclaimed “TRUE REPUBLICAN”? It’s time to get of “RINO” Marsha Abell.

  18. Why is it that progressives always want to change the narrative by asserting we live in a Democracy when in fact we live in a Representative Constitutional Republic?

    I can only speculate that a Representative Constitutional Republic, by its very nature, erects an almost insurmountable barrier to the conversion of a capitalist society to that of a socialist bent.

  19. My personal acquaintance with Marsha Abell is only on a most casual basis.

    Sometimes her comments are not artfully spoken, but they are surely incredibly distorted against her by her opponents and ignorant writers in general who take out of context pieces of what she astutely says. My present subjects of controversy are her comments on (my phrasing) “the economic development value, or not, of Hi-Tech persons” and the “worthlessness of retired people”; the “mindless gifting of economic financial incentives to anyone”; and “City-County Consolidation”.

    On (1) “old people not paying enough taxes: and (2) “Evansville can’t survive with just retired people living here” and (3) that “Hi Tech Computer People don’t produce one dime” among opinions allegedly expressed by Abell which also includes (4) her dismay for [….rampant TIF incentive development funding (without discretion of purpose and benefit)]. She is 100% correct even if the news reporting systems distort what she says out of context to make her appear stupid (especially Courier & Press; and while I think CCO is a great deliverer of thought not otherwise available from C&P, it too is often distorting). She is also a realistic supporter of the need for city-county consolidation.
    With respect to her remarks on old and retired people, she was not saying they should pay more taxes; rather she was saying that without economic growth in the market that continually attracts and supports a younger work force population of an actively productive age, there will not be economic support for, nor reason by which, Evansville can be what it otherwise might much more positively be as a place to work and live and attract. That is right and common sense as what she really said. … And the whole Evansville regional population should buy into that foresight and efforts of the kind that she advocates.
    As to the limited benefits of Hi-Tech computer people, she is really only saying that there have to be jobs available before those high tech people assets can be attracted and retained and utilized.
    They themselves don’t directly provide a payoff; she is saying let’s work together to build job creations so we can attract and retain these valuable HI Tech people assets and provide economic growth for our market.
    As for blatant TIF incentives, without discriminating as to purpose, benefit and need, she essentially says let’s use financial incentives where there is a need to incentivize to get what we want for metropolitan development and for which we can reasonable envision benefits that will not otherwise be realized. Not every hand holding out needs incentives.
    As for city–county consolidation, it is economically and developmentally irrational for our community and market that obstacles are raised to prevent that consolidation.
    At the very least Marsha speaks her analytic and insightful mind about issues. She certainly does not follow the normal political train of buying support with ‘good ole boy (or girl)” agreement with no substance.
    I hardly know Marsh, but I am fed up with how people in Evansville who are trying to be constructive get butchered, and remove themselves as assets from the process.

  21. Hmmm, seems the CCO has been deleting some posts in this thread. I know for a fact I and several others responded to Mr. Brill’s lengthy positive respin of Abells audio recording. Or is the missing posts just part of the sites recent “growing pains”.

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