Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News”

The Circus Returns To Washinton, D.C.

By Dannie McIntire

If you watched the spectacle of Representative Kevin McCarthy finally ascending to the role of Speaker of the House after 15 rounds of voting then you are well aware that the circus is back in Washington.

As a Republican, I was dismayed to witness the dysfunction within the Republican Party that was in full view in front of the American public. After the recent election, I would have hoped the Republican Party could take control of the House as a unified party. 

Well at the moment it doesn’t appear that will happen. To obtain the House leadership role Kevin McCarthy had to surrender too many demands of the extreme right faction of the Republican Party.  

One procedural rule change he had to agree to in order to secure the support of the extreme right of the party was to allow anyone House member to make a motion to elect a new speaker.  The old procedure required a minimum of five House members to file a motion to elect a new speaker.

The old five-member rule was reasonable. Now you will have the one-member rule and you can expect to have constant motions from both sides of the aisle to elect a new speaker.  If you thought the House was dysfunctional before I believe instead of getting down to work for the American people much time will be spent on frivolous motions to elect a new speaker. 

Another concession by Kevin McCarthy was to agree to bring to a vote on term limits. Many people are for term limits while many are against having a limitation on terms. The downside to having a term limit is “retiring” a member who may be an effective and fair lawmaker. In my opinion, a term limit already exists, it’s called elections. The “people” just have to have the collective will to vote the bad apples out of office.

However, in my opinion, not all the concessions Kevin McCarthy had to make were bad concessions.

I was happy to see that the right wing of the Republican Party stood firm or a promised that no bill would be brought to the floor for a vote until 72 hours had passed. That gives lawmakers time to read the proposed bill to know what’s actually in it.  No more “Pelosi” you have to pass it to know what’s in it.

I also like that the speaker-elect had to agree to try and adopt a budget resolution that would balance the budget in ten years and a cap on the fiscal year 2024 spending that would not exceed the 2022 level.

Our national debt is out of control and needs to be lassoed and brought back into the “sensible corral”. Our current national debt stands at 31 trillion dollars;’ that’s a debt of $94,257 per U. S. citizen.  Our government operates on borrowing and that needs to be controlled.  The current rate of excessive government spending is saddling our future generations with unsustainable debt.  

One thing is certain; you can look for the 118th Congress to be another year of “welcome to the circus”.   

  

Braun, Ackerman Named 2023 Business Hall of Fame Laureates

Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana and Dentons Bingham Greenebaum announced Mike Braun and the late Raphael Ackerman as the 2023 JA Dubois County Business Hall of Fame Laureates at a press conference Thursday. Laureates will be inducted into the JA Dubois County Business Hall of Fame at 7:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at The Huntingburg Event Center.

The announcement was made by Assistant Vice President and Campus Dean of VUJC Christian Blome. “Mike Braun and Raphael Ackerman are the kinds of role models we need for our young people and for the area’s future business leaders,” he said. “These laureates live out the promise of a servant leadership that creates opportunity, fosters creativity, and not only creates success but, more importantly, builds a community that flourishes.”

The JA Dubois County Business Hall of Fame honors members of the Dubois Business Community who exhibit strong vision, innovation, and inspiring leadership and who are visionaries within their respective industries. A crystal eagle symbolizing the spirit of free enterprise is presented to each laureate. A monument with a citation and image of each laureate will also be displayed at the

Dubois County Museum.

The annual breakfast event raises funds for the Dubois County Junior Achievement program and increases awareness of the program.

Laureate committee member Al Mihajlovitz commented that they are only scratching the surface on the depth of potential Dubois County laureates with their eighth annual selection announcement. He pointed to the many successful entrepreneurs that turn that success into support for their communities and other up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

“Dubois County is a unique county,” he said.

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Mike Braun is an entrepreneur with great vision. He started working at Meyer Body Company in 1981, bought half interest in 1986, and became sole owner in 1994 with only 15 employees, in Haysville, Indiana, with about 21,000 square feet of warehouse space and an office in a mobile home. Now there are over 1400 employees, in 48 states, and in Canada, with over 4 million square feet of warehouse and office space in 89 locations across the country. Over 25% of the space is in Jasper, employing about 450 locally.

He is also owner of Meyer Logistics, a sister company that services all Meyer customers plus third-party warehouse and transportation needs, owning their own fleet. Their sales increase averaged 20% a year since 1981. Challenging times were in the 80s with high-interest rates and the 90s with a very competitive market, and Mike made sound financial decisions with a diversified business plan. In 2008-2010 when many competitors closed their doors, Mike’s vision for Meyer Distributing enabled them to diversify, acquire, and expand, positioning them as one of the top distributors in the nation. They received the coveted SEMA “Distributor of the Year Award” in 2010, 2015, and 2017 as well as many nominations and industry awards from various manufacturers.

Mike was courageous to self-insure his employees in order to reduce their health care costs. Meyer has not had a premium increase for their employees in the last 15 years. He has shared this success with anyone who will listen. He built the family business, treating employees as family. Mike would say a major accomplishment is that three of his four children will continue the family business, and its future is in good hands.

Mike graduated from Wabash College in 1976 summa cum laude in Economics and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was the first class of entrepreneurship offered at Harvard Business School, where he graduated in 1978 with an MBA. This class and business degree gave him the courage to think and act differently from his peers, moving back to his hometown to start his own business, a very unusual move.

Mike’s hobby of forest management has also turned into a business. He buys timber ground for investment. This includes tree planting, and timber stand improvement, along with hunting and fishing on these properties. He and a friend were awarded the Charles Deam and Pioneer Forestry awards for woodland management. Mike is a member of the Nature Conservancy, Indiana Woodland Owners Association and Quail & Upland Game Alliance. In 1979, Mike co-founded Crystal Farms, Inc. which expanded over the years to become one of the largest turkey operations in the tri-state.

Mike is a mentor to many who want to start their own business, are in a financial bind, need succession planning, or want to know about Meyer’s health plan. He takes the time to meet and discuss as a confidante. He has inspired leaders in the community with his common sense and fiscal approach. He has inspired youth, having coached youth baseball, basketball and soccer.

Mike’s community service includes Jasper, Dubois County, the State of Indiana and our country. He served on the Greater Jasper Consolidated School Board for 10 years. He was elected State Representative for District 63 from 2014-2018. Mike is now serving as a US Senator. He overcame huge odds in beating two US Congressmen to win the primary and then win the election over an incumbent, where incumbents win 85% of the time. He serves on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Agriculture, Budget, and Appropriations & Aging Committees. Mike has the honor of being elected the first US Senator from Dubois County and in 2021, had the most bills passed of any US Senator.

Mike was recognized as an outstanding JHS alumnus in 2008 for his leadership and involvement. He received the Dubois Strong Entrepreneur Award. He was an Eagle Scout, president of his high school class, and president of the Student Body at Wabash College. He is on the Conexus Indiana Logistics Council Southwest, and the Mid-State Corridor Development Corp. Mike is a member of the Knights of Columbus and St. Joseph Parish. Mike is married to Maureen and they have four adult children and six grandchildren.

FOOTNOTE: January 14, 2014Read the full article in the Dubois County Free Press

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

GAVEL GAMUT By Jim Redwine

Peg and I have been away from our U.S.A. home for almost 5 months now and we are each missing some of what makes our cabin on the Oklahoma prairie so special. Peg is nostalgic for kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, siblings, and friends, you know, Gentle Reader, the things most people get misty-eyed over. I feel her pain but, frankly, I find that what our current home in the old Soviet Union country of Georgia really needs to join the family of democratic nations is a good bowl of chili and some hand-rubbed and torturously slow smoked Oklahoma beef brisket accompanied by a few years of southern Indiana sweet corn.

And while Georgia claims to be the 8,000-year-old birthplace of wine, a theory which Peg and I have certainly tested, I thirst for a cold Corona with salt and lime. One cannot truly swig a real draught of room temperature red wine as you can a long swallow of cold beer to follow the piquant spice of garlic and cayenne pepper. Tell me, is it any wonder these Georgians worry about some crazy Russian neighbor on their northern border wanting to once again invade them and take their most valuable natural resource, their wine? Russia has no chili, no brisket, and nothing but vodka to drown their sorrows about pesky Ukraine; of course, Russia is a concern.

I have written several columns about how America could better address Russian aggression than by throwing forty billion dollars worth of military assets into the same type of winter Napoleon and Hitler did. Russian generals January, February and March may not know much about military strategy, but they sure know plenty about the logistics of winter warfare.

Why hasn’t Commander-in-Chief Biden read my columns and called to ask my advice? I would tell the President the same thing I would tell the Georgian McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken stores just two blocks from our Batumi, Georgia apartment that put out poor imitations of Georgian food disguised as quasi-American cuisine; they could make billions with a good bowl of real chili and a beef brisket sandwich. These Georgian people are smart and their traditional Georgian food is both tasty and interesting. This is probably due to thousands of years of mixed cultures from both Europe and Asia. But if we could just introduce them to what truly makes America so strong, Russia would not stand a chance.

I confess it is not just the war effort that moves me. If we don’t get some fine southwestern chili and bar-b-q and succulent southern Indiana sweet corn soon, Peg and I are going to have to fly home and rely upon friends and family for sustenance.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

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The event will begin today, Saturday, January 14 at 10 a.m. in the CK Newsome Center lobby, 100 East Walnut Street, and will continue until noon.

Participants will be able to speak one-on-one with CenterPoint Energy and Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) customer service representatives about their accounts.

Representatives from local assistance agencies and township trustee offices will also be present.

Tomorrow morning’s event was scheduled to draw in those who have been unable to attend during weeknights.

We’re hosting two additional events on the following dates:

• Thursday, February 9, 2023, from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 5 to 7 p.m.

METS & SWIRCA Announce Partnership

Beginning January 1, 2023, and continuing through June 30th, 2023, the Metropolitan Evansville Transit System (METS), in partnership with SWIRCA & More, will provide free bus rides to disabled persons and seniors 65 years and older who reside in the City of Evansville. All of this was made possible through generous community support and grant funding received by SWIRCA & More to help fulfill its mission in serving older adults and individuals with disabilities.

To qualify for a free ride, eligible riders will simply need to provide their current state-issued photo ID showing proof of age, if 65 and older. For those under the age of 65, riders will need to go to METS with their Medicare card and current state-issued photo ID and get a free METS Discount Card. Individuals can contact SWIRCA at 812-464-7800 or METS at (812) 435-6166 for additional information.