IS IT TRUE November 7, 2013
IS IT TRUE that the possible candidacy of highly respected political activist Bruce Ungenthiem against the assumed candidate Marsha Abell drew some high levels of interest in yesterday’s calls and emails to the City County Observer?…the question that was drawing the most interest is the question of whether Mr. Ungenthiem would be better off running as a Democrat despite his Republican leanings so that he could take Ms. Abell on in the general election instead of a primary?…if Ungenthiem decided to take on Ms. Abell in the Republican primary he would need to count on the established power group of the Republican Party including Wayne Parke and Mayor Winnecke to let the primary unfold between the candidates as opposed to supporting Ms. Abell both financially and with their words during the primary?…most of our Moles tell us that is not  going to happen and that the Republican central control would take sides with Commissioner Abell for her support of consolidation of city and county government and the $37.5 Million downtown convention hotel proposal?…that being the case Mr. Ungenthiem may be better served by making friends with the Vanderburgh County Democrat Party and taking the John Friend approach to getting elected?…the John Friend approach is to be a Republican at heart but a Democrat on the ballot?…in a town full of yellow dog Democrats as Evansville most certainly is the path for the red wolves to be elected is to join the party of the true blue yellow dogs? …either way the chances of Mr. Ungenthiem defeating Abell in either the Republican primary and/or the General election as a Democrat are very good?  …we hear that Mr. Ungenthiem shall make his mind up to run against Abell by Thanksgivings?
IS IT TRUE the Evansville Parks and Recreation Department has floated the idea of raising the green fees at municipal golf courses?…for some time the municipal courses in Evansville have been among the least expensive golf courses in America?…to be fair the green fees should be sufficient in any given year to cover the costs of maintaining the courses?…we do not know what the fair price is but it should be easy to calculate?…the sustainable price to play golf on a municipal course should be established by taking the entire budget for the courses, dividing that by the number of rounds paid for in the previous year, and adding about 20% to that number to establish a rainy day fund?…we don’t know whether that will yield a green fee of $15 or $95 but whatever that calculation yields should be the green fee for 2014?…the Parks Department is right in reassessing the green fees annually?
IS IT TRUE that the Wall Street Journal published yesterday that for the first time in over 20 years graduates from the business schools of elite universities are choosing to start their careers in technology companies instead of financial service companies?…the CCO sees this as a good thing since it is product development that creates wealth and jobs for America out of the thin air of ideas as opposed to manipulating numbers on a spreadsheet to move existing wealth around?…the very idea of having MIT, Harvard, and Stanford graduates with technical expertise spending their lives on Wall Street where wealth is managed as opposed to created sort of flies in the face of practicality?…the starting salary for these newly minted MBA’s from Stanford this year is a paltry $152,000 plus benefits and often stock options?…that is not bad for a 23 year old and poses a real challenge to the parts of the country that do not have the presence of mind to hire the best and brightest who aspire to create the future?
IS IT TRUE another 1.4 Million people reportedly received health insurance cancellation notices yesterday that were predicated on the rules of ObamaCare?…this writer who still gets insurance from and employer has been notified that the employee contribution will be increasing by 40% on January 1st?…that amount will be coming straight out of the discretionary spending budget and will actually help destroy jobs by contracting consumer spending that is 70% of the US economy?…Blue Cross Blue Shield of California injected a touch of short term sanity into the rapidly imploding system yesterday by announcing they will allow their customers to keep their policies through March 31, 2014 to coincide with the most recent deadline of the Obama Administration?…in the meantime economic indicators show that growth was higher than expected for Q3 but that it was fueled by companies adding to inventory for the Christmas season?…other indicators are not so positive but did not make the headlines?…those are that hiring is flat, raises are lower than the official inflation rate, and more and more people are exiting the workforce by stopping their job search?…tossing things like 40% premium increases into the mix does not make for a rosy Christmas shopping season or a growing economy in 2014?…we do remember when then President Reagan talked about putting “the inflation monster†out of commission?…fifteen Democrat Senators held an impromptu meeting with President Obama yesterday to voice their needs to “put the ObamaCare genie†back in the Pandora’s box from which it came?…they did this because they fear the wrath of an electorate that sees the President as a liar and have less money to live their day to day lives?…all of these Senators supported ObamaCare and are now afraid of facing the music for their choices?
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, November 06, 2013
Nathan Cardwell                Operating a Motor Vehicle after Forfeiture of License for Life-
Class C Felony
Possession of Methamphetamine-Class D Felony
Tarone Johnson                           Strangulation-Class D Felony
Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury-Class A Misdemeanor
Austin Kirkwood                         Robbery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury-Class A Felony
Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury-Class C Felony
Dealing in a Synthetic Drug or Synthetic Lookalike Substance-
Class D Felony
Bradley Bowling                        Possession of Methamphetamine-Class D Felony
Jennifer Garvey                           Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon-Class C Felony
John Taylor Jr                               Possession of Cocaine-Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana-Class A Misdemeanor
Possession of Paraphernalia-Class A Misdemeanor
Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Ever Receiving a License-
Class C Misdemeanor
For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Kyle Phernetton at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at KPhernetton@vanderburghgov.org
Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Thanksgiving Holiday Patrols
In an effort to make the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday travel period safer, the Indiana State Police will be joining approximately 250 other law enforcement agencies statewide in participating in the annual Safe Family Travel campaign. Beginning Friday, November 8th and running through Sunday, November December 1 the Indiana State Police will be conducting high visibility enforcement efforts including sobriety check points and saturation patrols targeting impaired drivers and unrestrained motorists.
In 2012, alcohol-impaired driving in Indiana was linked to 150 fatalities (increase from 140 fatalities in 2011) and 2,112 injuries. Alcohol-impaired collisions were less than 3 percent of all Indiana crashes, but accounted for 20.3 percent of Indiana 779 traffic fatalities in 2012.
Roughly six out of ten fatalities in alcohol-impaired collisions were the impaired driver from 2008 to 2012. Approximately 80 percent of serious fatal and incapacitating injuries from alcohol-impaired collisions occurring during the 2008-2012 period were suffered by impaired drivers and their passengers.
Please help do you part to make the Thanksgiving Holiday travel period safe by observing the following safety rules:
 If you are planning to travel make sure you are well rested, a fatigued driver is a dangerous driver
 Avoid tailgating; remember the two-second rule
 Make sure everyone is buckled up
 Put down the electronic devices and drive
 DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
 MOVE OVER< SLOW DOWN for emergency and highway service vehicles
Don’t Succumb to Cyberchondria. Be Wary of Internet Self-Diagnosis
By
Roy M. Arnold MD
Is that headache a brain tumor? Are those muscle twitches Lou Gehrig’s disease? Is your thinning hair due to an over-active gland? Ask Dr. Google! Â
Don’t get me wrong, I believe the internet is a marvelous thing. I use it daily to aid in my practice. Many persons who are experiencing unusual symptoms or feelings may use the internet to aid in self-diagnosis. Bear in mind that an internet search often may bring up the worst case scenario first. Take for example brain tumors. These are rare, occurring in about 1 out of 50,000 people. Yet research has shown that an internet search for “headache†brings up brain tumor 25% of the time. Motor Neuron Disease like Lou Gehrig’s disease occurs in 1 out of 14,000 people but a search for muscle twitching brings up numerous websites that list it as a major cause of twitching. Part of the problem is author bias. No one wants to write about caffeine withdrawal as a cause of headaches. Another part of the problem is the willingness of internet users to equate search rankings with likelihood.
An article published in 2008 by Eric Horvitz and Ryen White was the first systematic review of information about illnesses obtained from the internet. Subsequently the same authors have published 2 additional articles confirming that individuals who search the internet for medical information often don’t understand probability and the biases inherent in reporting on symptoms and construction of medical information.
Even more frustrating are those individuals who place greater weight on information obtained from a website than they do on advice from a health care professional. After all, “They can’t put anything on the internet if it isn’t true. Right?â€
Most medical practitioners are open to discussing a patient’s research from reliable websites. This often leads to meaningful communication between patients and their practitioners. The information gathered from the internet can be discussed openly and be tempered by the practitioner’s knowledge and experience. It is vitally important that patients understand the two-way communication that must take place.
So if you are using the internet to research your medical condition, here are a few important tips:
- Search engine ranking has nothing to do with likelihood of you having a certain disease.
- Websites sponsored by well-known Centers of Excellence like the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic or M.D. Anderson Cancer center are usually very reliable.
- Internet sites affiliated with Medical specialty societies like the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Neurology or the American College of Ob-Gyn are usually very reliable.
- Websites affiliated with national advocacy groups like the American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association or the Alzheimer’s Association are likely to contain more accurate information than those associated with less well known advocacy groups or with personal blogs.
- Websites associated with medical practitioners who also have their own television shows are often much less reliable.
- Websites sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers or other manufacturers of medical products are often biased in favor of that company’s products or the diseases their products treat.
- Individual blogs about certain conditions are often heavily biased and often filled with misinformation.
- News outlets such as newspapers, television or news compilation sites tend to sensationalize research results at the expense of providing meaningful information. Just how many things do brown vinegar or acai berries cure anyway?
Finally, maintain a healthy level of skepticism for anything portrayed as a “breakthrough,†“miracle cure,†or “weird trick.†They are invariably trying to sell you something.
If you are experiencing worrisome symptoms, by all means discuss them with your personal health provider and don’t hesitate to ask for a second opinion if you have doubts.
Let’s Get Digital!
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Courts Get 1.6 Million New Cases In 2012
 report
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The state’s trial courts received 1.6 million new cases and held 1,338 civil and criminal jury trials last year, according to a new annual report.
The 2012 Indiana Judicial Service and Probation Report also found that more than 300,000 cases last year involved an individual who went to court without an attorney.
The courts release the document annually, along with the Supreme Court Annual Report. The courts also unveiled a new website Monday that allows users to compare data among counties and years.
“There are multiple volumes with more than 1,800 pages of information,†Justice Brent Dickson said in a statement about the reports. “We have printed a limited number of hard copies and made all of the information available on our website.â€
The reports provide details about court operations at the county and appellate level. Among the stats included:
- The Supreme Court was asked to review 1,012 cases during fiscal year 2012-2013
- 235 murder cases were filed in trial courts
- 33,876 mortgage foreclosures were filed in the state
- 11,325 Child In Need of Services – also called CHINS – cases were filed
- An interpreter was used in 11,564 trial court cases
- 5,900 cases statewide were referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution
- 124,322 adults were under supervision by court probation departments
The report also found that cities, towns, townships, counties and the state spent $386 million to operate the various levels of courts. Filing fees, court costs, user fees, and fines generated $205 million in revenue for the courts.
“We created the first report in 1976 with handwritten charts,†said Lilia Judson, executive director of Supreme Court’s Division of State Court Administration. “Today, we gather the information electronically and publish it online. This year, a new website allows users to compare data easily such as caseloads between counties.â€
The website is https://publicaccess.courts.in.gov/ICOR/report/index.
Commentary: Christie’s approach earns votes on Election Day
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Chris Christie’s landslide re-election victory Tuesday in New Jersey should tell both Democrats and Republicans a few things.
Christie, a Republican, trounced his Democratic opponent with 60 percent of the vote in a generally blue state. Just last year, for example, President Obama, a Democrat, won New Jersey by 17 points – his largest margin of victory in any state in the country.
That’s impressive as it is, but it’s the way that Christie won that drives home the point. Poll after poll made clear that most of New Jersey’s citizens don’t agree with him on issues important to him.
Christie opposes same-sex marriage. Most of the people in New Jersey support the idea.
Christie opposes abortion. Most residents in New Jersey favor reproductive rights.
Nor does Christie hide these views. He waged a high-profile and high-energy campaign to oppose same-sex unions in the state and dropped a legal appeal only after the New Jersey Supreme Court indicated that he was wasting his time.
Why, then, did Christie win and win big? Why did so many New Jersey voters cast their ballots for a leader who stands for many things they oppose?
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared at a rally last year in Indianapolis to stump for GOP women running for office. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener
Well, maybe it’s because Christie is focused on getting things done – not stopping others from getting anything done. He took a lot of heat from his fellow Republicans and conservatives last year for working closely and effectively with President Obama after Hurricane Sandy pummeled New Jersey, shattering communities and leaving much of the New Jersey shore looking like a holocaust had happened.
Christie’s response to his critics was refreshing in its maturity.
In effect, he said: This is too important for political games. My state’s hurting. My people are suffering. I’m going to do my job and do what I can and what I have to in order to help them. I’ll worry about politics after my state and the people I serve are safe and healthy again.
There was a time that responses like that were called leadership.
And showing leadership, the New Jersey election results demonstrate, turns out to be pretty good politics.
Christie’s approach to governance stands in sharp contrast to that of another Republican who covets a national profile, Texas’s Sen. Ted Cruz, a darling of the tea party movement and other our-way-or-the-highway conservatives.
Following his doomed attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act – doomed because, even if by some miracle, Cruz had gotten Congress to vote for such a thing, Obama would have vetoed it and Cruz didn’t have the votes for an override – the Texas senator drove a federal government shutdown that cost the country $24 billion and slowed job growth.
That might have chastened some people, but not Cruz. On the stump, he’s been taking shots at big-tent Republicans such as Christie by saying that the secret to success for the GOP is insisting on more intransigence and ideological purity. Cruz calls that giving people something to vote for.
Christie, not surprisingly, scoffs at such notions.
Without mentioning Cruz or any other ideologue by name, Christie says that they misunderstand why people vote the way they do. He argues that while voters care about issues, their reasons for voting are much more complicated than any ideological litmus test would indicate.
Voters, Christie says, don’t go down a checklist and say that they’re going to vote for this candidate or that candidate because he or she agrees with me on every issue. Instead, voters look at whom they can trust, who they think can get things done and who they believe has their interests at heart even when the candidate doesn’t agree with them on some issues.
Christie says voting is “visceral,†a relationship built on a faith that the leader will work to serve the community, not shatter it. He says that working with people with whom one disagrees in order to get important things done – such as working with a Democratic president to save the lives and homes of New Jersey citizens – isn’t a betrayal of principle but an affirmation of responsibility, which is supposed to be a conservative value.
In this hyper-partisan era, such thinking is considered revolutionary.
Once upon a time, we just called it being a grown-up.
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits†WFYI 90.1 FM Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Wabash, DePauw join fight against marriage amendment
November 4, 2013  |   Filed under: Social issues,Top stories  |   Posted by: Lesley Weidenbener
By Jesse Wilson
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Wabash College and DePauw University announced Monday that the schools are joining a coalition working to defeat a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union of one main and one woman.
The colleges – which are athletic rivals and scheduled to meet Saturday for the annual Monon Bell football game – issued a statement jointly, saying that a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage would make it tougher to attract high-quality faculty to Indiana.
“We are also engaged in the enterprise of fostering ideas and innovation, a mission which inherently depends on an environment of openness and inclusion that would be compromised should this amendment be enacted,†DePauw President Brian Casey and Wabash President Gregory Hess said in the statement.
But Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, who supports the amendment, dismissed the latest announcement.
“Its no surprise as college campuses are usually far more liberal than the general populace,†Clark said. “But the future of marriage and the importance of a mom and a dad belongs in the hands of Hoosier voters, not the board rooms of college trustees.â€
The colleges’ statement comes just a week after Indiana University made a similar announcement. Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has said his school won’t weigh in.
The schools have joined Freedom Indiana, a group of businesses, organizations and individuals that oppose the amendment. The Republican-controlled General Assembly has approved the amendment once but it must pass a second time before it can go on the ballot for ratification by voters. If that second approval doesn’t come in 2014 – or if the proposed amendment’s language is changed – the multi-year approval process starts over.
A number of conservative lawmakers and organizations support the amendment and say protecting the institution of marriage from changes is important. But the proposed amendment goes farther and would ban civil unions as well.
Earlier this year, legislative leaders said they expected the proposed amendment to pass the General Assembly in 2014 but they’ve been fairly silent on the issue in recent months. During that time, an increasing number of companies – including Eli Lilly & Co. and Cummins Inc. – and organizations – including the Indy Chamber – have said publicly they will oppose the amendment.
In their joint statement, Casey and Hess said their students “come from around the country and around the world, and our fundamental goal is to educate them to think critically, exercise responsible leadership, communicate effectively, and tackle complex problems.
“This depends on attracting talented faculty and staff, a task that is made more difficult by the passage of this amendment,†the pair said.
Freedom Indiana campaign manager Megan Robertson said Monday that the colleges are “sending the message that Indiana is a place that welcomes everyone, not a place where we remove protections for certain Hoosiers from our constitution.â€
Jesse Wilson is a reporter for TheStatehouseFIle.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.Â