THE U.S.S.R. REVISITED

GAVEL GAMUT By Jim Redwine

DECEMBER 8, 2022

In Batumi, Georgia there are many Ukrainian flags flying and the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine are displayed in shops, on cars, and even on whole sides of buildings. Georgians relate to, understand and support Ukraine which has a border along the Black Sea as do Georgia and Russia.

The Black Sea is an important shipping water and leads ultimately to the Mediterranean Sea and therefore the whole world economy. Just as the Black Sea port of Odesa is critical for Ukraine to access the Black Sea, directly across the Black Sea is the equally vital port city of Batumi, Georgia where Peg and I are living. We look out from our apartment’s balcony across the Black Sea and often wonder if Russia will invade Georgia as it has before. In fact, Russia’s military currently occupies 20% of Georgia.

Peg and I drove within a few kilometers of part of the Georgian territory claimed by Russia when we traveled from the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, to our judicial duty station in Batumi. We were warned not to try to get near the Russian military installation as Russia considers it a part of Russia, much like Ukraine’s Crimean area. And with our American passports, we might become fair game for a Gulag. Just ask Brittney Griner.

As I am writing this column on Sunday morning, December 04 (our son’s birthday, by the way) I am looking out our 17th floor window at merchant ships on the Black Sea. One of the ships has two large metal tanks that occupy almost the entire length of the ship and appear to be equipped to haul natural gas. Many of the ships that go by us are loaded with semi-trailers. Batumi has little in the way of exports except for wine; Georgia claims to be the 8,000-year-old birthplace of wine. However, as this is both a port city and a warm water tourist destination, a great deal of grain and manufactured materials are imported to Batumi. The concern, of course, is that Georgia with its 37,000-man military would be a mere nuisance if Russia and its million-man army decided this port is an attractive excuse to re-claim all of Georgia as part of historical Russia. After all, Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia, and even attended the Tbilisi Spiritual Seminary. Since Stalin was history’s greatest butcher of human beings and presided over the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) for over 25 years, the concerns of Georgians do not seem unreasonable.

Speaking of the U.S.S.R., the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, I am currently reading a book that cites stories from Georgian persons who lived under the Soviet Union. The book contains 70 stories, one for each of the 70 years the U.S.S.R. existed, and was compiled by editor Buba Kudava. In his forward to the book, Kudava addresses the U.S.S.R. name:

“Until only recently, Georgia was part of a country whose falsity began with its very name. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, as it was called in full. Four assertions and all four of them lie!

How, after all, could the term “union” be applied to a group of territories brought together without their consent, through fear and violence, and held together through force of arms? How could the descriptor “soviet” be used when no true “councils” were consulted and no true counsel sought? How could rampant totalitarianism be described as “socialist”? And how could any of the “union’s” 15 shams “republics” be deemed worthy of that name, with all of its associated high ideals?

Four assertions, and the same number of falsehoods.”

Life in Soviet Georgia, ISBN 978-9941-487-64-4 (2021), p. 7

Literature often tells us more than news reports about what actually happened to people and how it felt to those affected by the events. The stories from this book strike me as valid observations of where Russia truly stands when it comes to Ukraine and Georgia and maybe the other thirteen “Republics” of the old U.S.S.R. I understand why Georgians stand with Ukrainians.

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STATEHOUSE  – More than $1.6 million is headed to local communities to accelerate road and bridge improvements, according to area legislators.

State Rep. Tim O’Brien (R-Evansville) said the local funding from the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program is for road and bridge preservation, road reconstruction, intersection improvements, guardrail replacements and signage, and can cover material costs for chip sealing and crack filling operations. In total, 230 towns, cities and counties will receive over $119 million in state matching grants.

“These grants are a fiscally responsible way to ensure our area is able to maintain and improve our roads and bridges,” O’Brien said. “Partnerships between state and local governments are unique, and Indiana’s road funding program has proven to be successful and Hoosiers are seeing results.”

Area grant recipients include Evansville ($987,405) and Vanderburgh County ($657,378).

State Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) said smaller municipalities provide a 25 percent match in local funds, while large communities provide a 50 percent match. State law requires 50 percent of the available matching funds be awarded annually to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer. To date, Hoosier communities are on the receiving end of more than $1 billion in Community Crossings Matching Grants, established in 2016 and expanded through laws supported by McNamara.

“Making ongoing investments in our local infrastructure ensures important upgrades are made to our roadways, while boosting our economy and improving quality of life,” McNamara said. “Hoosiers depend on local roads and with Community Crossings Matching Grants, we have a dedicated funding source to maintain them for years to come.”

“This partnership between the state and locals has really helped our communities complete much-needed projects,” said State Rep. Matt Hostettler (R-Pakota). “Whether it’s roads in our small towns or larger cities, this program continues to make a positive difference.”

According to the Indiana Department of Transportation, which oversees and awards the grants, the next call for projects is expected in January. Awards are released two times a year. More information can be found at in.gov/indot/communitycrossings or by emailing LPAQuestions@indot.in.gov.

Attorney General Todd Rokita this week announced two separate lawsuits against TikTok — both related to false claims made by the company about its video-sharing app of the same name.

“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Attorney General Rokita said. “With this pair of lawsuits, we hope to force TikTok to stop its false, deceptive and misleading practices, which violate Indiana law.”

The first lawsuit alleges that TikTok has lured children onto the platform through a variety of misleading representations indicating that the app contains only “infrequent/mild” sexual content, profanity, or drug references — when in reality the app is rife with extreme examples of such material. An essential part of TikTok’s business model is presenting the application as safe and appropriate for children ages 13 to 17.

The second lawsuit asserts that TikTok has reams of highly sensitive data and personal information about Indiana consumers and has deceived those consumers to believe that this information is protected from the Chinese government and Communist Party.

“In multiple ways, TikTok represents a clear and present danger to Hoosiers that is hiding in plain sight in their own pockets,” Attorney General Rokita said. “At the very least, the company owes consumers the truth about the age-appropriateness of its content and the insecurity of the data it collects on users. We hope these lawsuits force TikTok to come clean and change its ways.”

Attorney General Rokita is seeking emergency injunctive relief and civil penalties against the company.