IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer article about the poor planning that led the City of Louisville to have to embark upon a $2 Million upgrade to assure that the new arena is capable of supporting the demand for cellular phone service during events has struck a sore nerve among our readers?….that several readers have let us know that during the world famous Westside Nut Club Fall Festival that it is near impossible to place calls or send text messages in a timely manner?…that on any given night the number of people attending the Fall Festival is roughly equivalent to the number of seats in the new Evansville Arena?…that during normal times that the cellular service along Franklin Street is better than the cellular service along Main Street?…that one reader also pointed out that Roberts Stadium did some retrofitting several years ago to correct a problem with limited cell phone service in the stadium?….that at least Roberts has the excuse that there were no cell phones when it was built and that cell phones were limited in use during the major remodeling?

IS IT TRUE that unless special provisions are already in the works to accommodate the simultaneous access to the internet and/or the cellular network for 10,000 fans, that Evansville is headed for a cost overrun and a cell phone limited venue?…that one of our readers called this yet another example of READY, FIRE, AIM?….that the City County Observer truly hopes that our reader that made that comment is wrong and that the design of the new Evansville Arena already has accounted for the 200 or so antennas and the bandwidth that will be required to enhance that arena experience with timely text messaging and handheld access?…that there will be no acceptable excuse if our reader is right about this one as nearly everyone has handheld devices now?

IS IT TRUE that the recent financial disclosure statement filed by the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee has local Democrats scratching their heads in confusion?…that of the $367,930 that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee spent a whopping $194,214 (53% of all expenses) was turned over via contribution to the Indiana State Democratic Central Committee that is located in Indianapolis?….that another $23,250 was destined for the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus that is also in Indianapolis?…that an eye popping $217,464 of the $367,930 spent under the guise of running for Mayor of Evansville ended up in the coffers of Indianapolis based Democratic political entities?

IS IT TRUE that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee did make some contributions to local candidates for office in 2010?….that the financial disclosure reports that 17 candidates received a total of $12,200 (3.32% of the total spent) from the Committee?…that the Vanderburgh Country Democratic Party was graced with a total contribution of $6,200 (1.69% of total spent) from the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee?…that candidates for office that are in other parts of Indiana received contributions totaling $6,250 from the same committee?

IS IT TRUE that local Democratic candidates were challenged to raise contributions in 2010?…that it is difficult for a local candidate with a limited budget to compete for funds when one big solicitor is taking nearly all of the political contribution chips off of the table with a perpetual fundraising machine?…that the hard working loyal volunteers for the Democratic Party in Vanderburgh County are now without a place to volunteer?…that the party headquarters is now as deserted as the shell of the Executive Inn still standing across the street awaiting the wrecking ball?…that the foundation of the party is expressing confusion over the fund allocations of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee?… that some are expressing disbelief?…that some are beginning to express anger and ire?….that this sounds like a classic recovery process that will ultimately end with acceptance and moving on?…that the local Democratic Party is slowly but deliberately moving on into the arms of the campaign of Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis as he seeks his party’s nomination for Mayor of Evansville?…that the lopsided contribution pattern of the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee has really let local Democrats know where his allegiance is?…that would be where the money went?…that is Indianapolis?

Evansville and Vanderburgh have made Progress but are still not a Smokefree Workplace City and County

This year Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency (ITPC) celebrates its tenth anniversary of fighting back against the number one preventable cause of disease and death—tobacco use. Over the last ten years Indiana has moved a long way toward becoming a tobacco-free state. The success of the program is due to the first-rate tobacco control program and trained tobacco control professionals that work at the community-level, including Evansville-based Smokefree Communities and the Empty Pack Coalition.

Indiana’s tobacco control program has seen tremendous progress in reducing the toll of tobacco use on Hoosiers. In light of the tenth anniversary here is an overview of some of the successes:
• Smoking rates for high school youth have dropped by 42 percent, resulting in 49,000 fewer youth smokers.
• Adult smoking rates have decreased from 27 percent to 23 percent. This historic low rate means there are 208,000 fewer smokers in Indiana.
• Per capita cigarette consumption in Indiana has declined by 40 percent, meaning those who smoke are smoking less.

These declines in youth and adult smoking will continue to save Hoosiers money. These reductions in smoking will save $3 billion in future health care costs, including $512 million in savings to Medicaid.
In Vanderburgh County, significant progress has been made; together our faith, health and community organizations have made major strides to address our high smoking rate. During these past ten years we have seen a major shift in smoke-free policies.
When ITPC, Smokefree Communities and Empty Pack began, there were no tobacco-free campuses for our schools and hospitals. Today, our parents know their children are protected from deadly exposure to secondhand smoke when attending a public school in Evansville. Today, all patients and families are protected with tobacco free policies when on the grounds of all of our major hospitals while they receive the best care that can be provided by our city’s health care teams. That’s good common sense.

Today, smokers that desire to quit can get free help from the Indiana Tobacco Quitline. This essential service has helped more than 60,000 Hoosiers quit tobacco since it began just four years ago. In Vanderburgh County more than 1,500 smokers called the quitline since 2006. Our local doctors, nurses, dentists and employers are using this service to encourage their patients and employees to make a decision to become tobacco free.

But the battle to save Hoosiers from the destruction that tobacco levies on Evansville families is far from over. The programs provided by Smokefree Communities, Empty Pack and the nearly 2,000 other organizations statewide working to reduce tobacco use are still necessary and needed more than ever. As the social acceptability of tobacco use has changed and quitting resources are more available, ITPC and its leadership are vital to our continued success.

The last decade has proven what some thought was not possible–to change Hoosier culture and social norms about smoking. While many successes have occurred, much work remains to protect Hoosiers from the deadly harms of tobacco. This is why our health community and our faith leaders have joined in support with the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition, to celebrate the successes and to continue the fight for improving and sustaining our tobacco-free progress.

Co-authored by:
Timothy Flesch, President and CEO, St. Mary’s Medical Center, 485-4827
Linda E. White, President and CEO, Deaconess Health System, 450-2250
Dr. Ray Nicholson, Vanderburgh County Health Officer, 435-5684
John Herring, Jr., Carver Community Organization’s Empty Pack Coalition, 812-402-3170 Ext 2107
Rev. Adrian Brooks, Memorial Baptist Church, 812-422-7676
Rev. Rabon Lindell Turner, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 425-3498
Rev. Dr. George Huffsmith, First Baptist Church, 812-425-8296

Downtown Louisville is not particularly known as a dead zone for cellular service but as it turns out the new state of the art Yum Center must have some new and exotic materials that suppress the cellular service that is available in the new downtown arena. It could be a bandwidth bottleneck that 22,000 screaming fans create when texting each other, checking out other scores, or watching replays on handheld devices that is creating annoyance among the attendees wanting to use wireless devices during events. Then again, it could be that the structure itself attenuates the signals causing dropped calls and slow refresh rates.

Whatever the source of the problem, just two months after opening the Yum Center is already in a situation where they are in need of a $2M upgrade to boost the cellular service inside the new arena. This upgrade will involve installing approximately 400 antennas to boost the service capacity from three cellular carriers. The funding source to cover the cost of the $2M project has not been disclosed.

Downtown Evansville has long been an area with weak cellular coverage. Long connection times and dropped calls are the norm both on the sidewalks and inside offices. Many offices only have cellular service if one faces west, tilts their head to the side just right, and stares at a north facing wall. Reliable cellular service is already a problem in Downtown Evansville so one would anticipate the it will be an even bigger problem when 10,000 people want to text each other and watch replays on hand held devices in the new Evansville Arena. Is a solution already designed?

The City County Observer based on the recent debacle with lack of planning for a Downtown Convention Hotel is especially interested in the current state of a project to assure that the signal strength and bandwidth will be sufficient for attendees to access their phones during events at the Evansville Arena.

Given the fact that Louisville had a big oversight with cellular service and the Evansville has already suffered through the humiliation of just “assuming” that a hotel would materialize we would like to pose a question to John Kish. That question is, “what is the plan to enable the Evansville Arena to assure sufficient signal and bandwidth so that hand held devices will work reliably inside?”.

We will publish the response to this question without bias or edit of any kind. A link to the article about the cellular boost project may be accessed through the following link.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110120/NEWS01/301200068/1002/sports/KFC+Yum++Center+installs+system+to+boost+cell+phone+service+inside+arena

IS IT TRUE that the time spent on the City County Observer site has increased to 4 minutes and 30 seconds for all readers?…that when only Evansville readers are tabulated that the time on site per visit now exceeds 5 minutes?…that this is more than 100% more than our “peer” group of websites as defined by Google?

IS IT TRUE that panic seems to be setting in with certain members of the Evansville City Council who voted no on strengthening the smokefree workplace ordinance that was introduced by Dr. Dan Adams in 2010?…that with local surveys showing that 73% of the people of Evansville supporting such an ordinance that the members of the City Council who ignored that last year are having to face the reality of their choices?…that some are still clinging to the belief that this is a state decision and hoping to avoid having to vote on it this year?…that the best solution that may just recover some of the support that was squandered last year would be to ask Dr. Adams to re-introduce a smokefree workplace resolution as soon as possible so that the City of Evansville and its City Council can join the Vanderburgh County Commissioners in passing this before the “Big Brother” state legislature takes Evansville to the woodshed and forces laws on us?…that the City Council of Evansville will be adopting a smokefree workplace resolution and that the only variable is who the members of the City Council will be and when it will pass?…2011 or 2012? That is the question!

IS IT TRUE that yesterday the City County Observer provided a link to a public disclosure document that provided the details of the 2010 contributions received by and the expenses reported by the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee”…that the CCO internet traffic for the day was near record levels and well over 2,000 page views for the day?…that this was one of the quickest postings ever on the CCO for drawing comments, emails, and even phone calls?…that most of these phone calls were from Democrats?…that several of the past candidates for office on the Democratic ticket that were listed as recipients of contributions under the expense disclosures of the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee have informed the CCO that they did not receive any financial support as was reported in the disclosure documents?….that these candidates had to file disclosure documents as well?…that those disclosure documents are public record and will be cross referenced as soon as possible to see if they reported the contributions that the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee reports that they were given?…that as soon as that is complete (hopefully tomorrow) the CCO will post those disclosures and let our readers do the investigation work themselves?

IS IT TRUE that there were a number of expenditures in the disclosure document of the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee for 2010 that simply were attributed to “card services”?…that this typically means that a credit card was paid from the proceeds?…that we are very curious about the details of what that credit card expenditure break down actually is?…that many disclosures of this type go into deep detail with respect to the details of credit card use?…that disclosing the details of what that credit card was used for would go far to explain the uses as they pertain to doing things that would have helped Mayor Weinzapfel seek a third term as Mayor of Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that it has now been 1,350 days since the announcement was made on May 14, 2007 that the McCurdy Hotel was to be refurbished into luxury apartments?…that it has now been 1,204 days since the Evansville Redevelopment Commission at the request of Mayor Weinzapfel approved the spending of $603,000 to purchase the parking lot?…that City Centre Properties and Scott Kosene the developers of the McCurdy project are both listed as contributors to the Weinzapfel for Mayor committee for 2010?

IS IT TRUE that there are now 660 days remaining in the two years that the EPA had given the City of Evansville to present an acceptable solution to the Combined Sewer Overflow problem?…..that this plan is an expensive and complex endeavor that needs immediate attention to avoid the embarrassment and expense of another round of fines?

Take That: January 21, 2011

The Most Poignant Readers Comments of the Week

In response to “IS IT TRUE January 20, 2011”

“Weinzapfel with 1 MILLION behind him backed down to Rick Davis! Either Davis’s reputation is worth more than 1mil, or Weinzapfel has done 1mil worth of damage to his own rep during his time as mayor.”

Analytic

“Rick Davis is going to get smashed. All the times the JFK club went after different office holders, the celebration at Bar Louies on election night when Tornatta lost. Pay backs are hell. I’m sure the Mayor will put the money to good use.”

Mfcdkw

“You’re right. Pay backs are hell. Weinzapfel, Owen, and all their old-school methods (not to mention their blind followers) will be ousted on election day when they learn that their bullying and bribing only go so far.
Out with the old – in with the NEW – and Evansville’s best days are ahead.”

Vandy Democrat

“The Darkside Democrats are being overthrown, and yes, celebration is in order. Their response is: Paybacks are Hell,–Out with these Thugs and Good Government is the Future.”

Crash Larue

In response to “Anderson IN plans 12 ballfields for $6M”

“So in reality, it was a “Robbery” that was planned for Evansville.
Baseball fields were just the “Cover””

Crash Larue

“Did you notice the “growing athletes” part? Somehow Anderson has the ability to focus on and the ethic to allow their residents to personally benefit, as a priority.”

Eville Taxpayer

“I bet they didn’t spend $765,000 doing a study and getting that pretty picture drawn either. The tragedy is that if the local group would have had a proposal based in reality at a price that made sense it would have been approved.”

The Architect

“Wow, quite embarrassing for the supporters of our formerly proposed money-pit. This really rubs it in their faces”

Analytic.

In Response to “Report of Receipts and Expenditures for the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee”

“ I wondered why I didn’t recognize many of the donor names. Then I went back at looked at the addresses. Many (most?) are not residents of Evansville, or even Vanderburgh County. Who and why are these people buying the mayorship of Evansville ???????”

Uncle Jim

“Lots of money in, lots of money out. Lots of money from out of the city limits, lots of money sent to DC and the Indy Central Committee. Lots of money to “Cardmember Services”, which seems to be just paying a credit card balance – government “transparency” at its finest!”

Eville Taxpayer

County Commissioner Lloyd Winnecke:

Vanderburgh County Commissioner Lloyd Winnecke who has recently made a soft announcement of his candidacy for Mayor of Evansville and will be making it official this Saturday has released his disclosure document with respect to his fundraising activities. Winnecke raised $21,435 in 2010 and spent $19,253 leaving him with $9,495 to begin his campaign. The 10 page list of contributors and itemized expenses are available for your inspection through the following link.

Winnecke for Mayor 2010

Vanderburgh County Treasurer Rick Davis:

Treasurer Rick Davis who defied the admonishments of Democratic Party Chairman Mark Owen by refusing to defer to Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel kicked off his fundraising last fall and eventually raised a total of $12,283 of direct and in kind contributions and spent $11,700 leaving the campaign with a whopping $582 to begin seeking his party’s nomination.

Mr Davis’s disclosure document is 8.48 MB that is slightly over the 8MB limitation imposed by WordPress. It is surprisingly simple and heavy on in-kind donations. Anyone who would like a copy emailed direct please ask and we will forward it.

The City County Observer has obtained the disclosure statement filed by the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee with respect to fundraising and expenditures. Mayor Weinzapfel’s team raised a total of $536,058 dollars last year for the purpose of seeking a third term as Mayor of Evansville. The Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee spent $367,930 of those dollars in efforts to improve the Mayor’s chances for re-election. Mayor Weinzapfel still has $774,905 that was contributed to his committee for the purpose of running for a third term as Mayor of Evansville. Now that he has announced that he does not want the job we wonder exactly what will become of the money that he raised to spend on extending his time in the third floor office on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

You may examine the 264 page list of contributors and the expense records on the following link.
http://www.filefactory.com/file/b514879/n/J_Weinzapfel_Report_of_Receipts_&_Expenditures.pdf
It is a very large file, so it is hosted on filefactory.

IS IT TRUE that at the end of 2010 the race for Mayor of Evansville had three people already raising money to seek that office?…that the fundraising activity reports were released yesterday and are quite interesting?…that current Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel raised a total of $536,058 in 2010 for the stated purpose of seeking the office of Mayor of Evansville?….that the Weinzapfel for Mayor effort spent $367,930 in efforts to be re-elected in the 2011 campaign?…that the Weinzapfel for Mayor Committee is still sitting on a war chest of $774,905?…that Mayor Weinzapfel has recently announced that he will not be running for re-election?…that we wonder how he can possibly spend $774,905 seeking and office that he does not even want?…we are very curious about where that money goes now?

IS IT TRUE that County Commissioner Lloyd Winnecke is having his coming out party to announce his candidacy for Mayor of Evansville at his alma mater Central High School this Saturday?…that Commissioner Winnecke raised a total of $21,435 during 2010 through his “Winnecke for Mayor” committee?…that he spent $19,253 and has a whopping $9,495 on hand to spend seeking the Republican Party nomination?…that Commissioner Winnecke must have breathed a sigh of relief when Mayor Weinzapfel announced he no longer wants to be Mayor because $774,905 is enough to squash anyone that only has $9,495 of ammunition to fight with?

IS IT TRUE that the man who refused to show the commanded deference to Mayor Weinzapfel, Evansville’s own Rick Davis has also been raising money?…that Mr. Davis raised $12,283 and spent $19,253 in 2010 in his efforts to become Mayor of Evansville?…that at the end of 2010 Mr. Davis is sitting on a cigar box full of campaign funds amounting to $582?…that in nearly every poll that was taken matching Davis against Weinzapfel, Davis has either won or been very close?…that Rick Davis is positioned to run a campaign that makes up for a shortage of cash with a surplus of commitment, in-kind services, volunteer spirit, and a bit of old fashioned listening to the people of Evansville?…that we also expect his fundraising to pick up as more people get on the “Pick Rick” bandwagon?

IS IT TRUE that the Democratic Party political top head hunter is trying to convince any viable candidate to run for Mayor of Evansville? ….that he has not succeeded in convincing any of the obvious candidates to seek the office of Mayor? ….if the Democratic party Chairmen is so h— bent in finding someone to run against Rick Davis in the Democratic party primary for Mayor maybe he should run against him?

IS IT TRUE we are extremely pleased with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s office and the Evansville Police Department in the way they are nabbing burglars, apprehending fugitives, and keeping drunks off the highways and streets?…that the recent career burglar that has been caught took the cooperation of peace officers from both Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties?…that by working together these forces will make us all safer? ….that the City County Observer wants to say we are very proud of your police work?

IS IT TRUE we are extremely pleased with the caliber of candidates coming forward to run for political offices in the city of Evansville? …that we feel the political change in the air?…it is our strong opinion that the “know it all attitude” at City Hall shall shall be no more the day after the election?

IS IT TRUE we want to thank the Vanderburgh County and the City Of Evansville street snow removal crews for doing an outstanding job so far this winter?…that we wish that the Weinzapfel Administration would turn these crews loose in Downtown Evansville that seems to be completely abandoned to the tyranny of the ABOMINABLE SNOW MAN every time we get a winter storm?…that the BUMBLE is rumored to be coming back today to terrorize the walkers on the streets and sidewalks of Downtown Evansville?…that Yukon Cornelius has said he won’t be coming back after his bacterial infection from sniffing and licking his prospectors pick after sinking it into the soil of Bee Slough? Pooey! Nuthin! Said Yukon as he mooshed his dogsled to the next town.

I do not know about you, but there is one theme that continues to rear its ugly head and its the poor treatment of the American people. Case in point, the current economy we are living in has resulted in record home mortgage foreclosures, record job losses and inflation in the price of goods and services throughout the United States.

What we are experiencing is an erosion of our privacy and too much government control of our lifestyle. The bottom line is, over the course of the past five years, we the American people have taken a beating. This beating has come through the passage of laws that encouraged sub prime lending, offshore jobs and manipulation of gas prices at the pump and utilities as well.

I cannot make it any plainer than I have, we the American people have been knocked down and the fact we can look up, we have to get up and fight for our rights, freedom and way of life. Why is it that the leadership in America is passionate about rescuing Wall Street but is against Main Street, hard working men and women?

The answer lies squarely on the amount of campaign contributions that fill the coffers of politicians through lobbyist for the banking, insurance and medical industries. Some of the politicians will address campaign contribution problems, but not many. The American people are left holding the proverbial tax bag, in that we bailed out Wall Street and big banks, however if you were to go to a bank for a loan or a loan modification for that matter, you will encounter rejection.

The leadership of America should not have bailed out Wall Street and left the hard working American people to struggle. If a man or woman cannot get a job, government and private industry should be creating them. All of the big tax cuts enacted by the previous administration have caused a huge vacuum in our economy because there is not as much revenue to draw upon, resulting in municipalities curtailing services such as police protection, furloughing city and county government staff and slashing school funding for our children.

Citizens of America if you want to get a job, go off shore and take little to nothing in pay to get the job you lost, after all it was outsourced to countries with sweat shop operations. Where have all the leaders gone in America, it seems as though the only important people are the politicians, big government and big corporations?

Its time for the beatings to end, its time for the American people to vote the nonperforming politicians out of office and to create jobs in America, while at the same time take your money out of the banks that acted a fool during the height of the economic crisis.

We love America, however we do not like the direction our leadership is taking us. The American people seem to be forgotten, when the next election rolls around, remind the incumbents who really matter.

Paul Lawrence Vann is an inspirational speaker who motivates people to maximize their human potential and improve their bottom line. He is author of Living on Higher Ground and is a leadership and workplace diversity expert who assist people to achieve their greatest potential. Paul has an uncanny ability to resonate with audiences, thus adding tremendous value through the experience. http://www.paullawrencevann.com

It’s always fun following our political class because you never know what they will say or what they will do that either makes no sense, is embarrassing, or has very little impact on the average American. Consider some of their recent escapades:

– “Stating The Obvious” – Former President Bill Clinton was quoted in a September 21, 2010 Associated Press article: “Do you know how many political and economic decisions are made in this world by people who don’t know what in the living daylights they are talking about?” Talk about stating the obvious. Given our continuing domestic economic situation and the fact that the political class has not solved a major issue in decades, I would say Mr. Clinton nailed this one perfectly.

– “And Who Is Responsible For This Mess?” – Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado was quoted in a Washington Post article on September 3, 2010: “We have managed to acquire $13 trillion of debt on our balance sheet. In my view, we have nothing to show for it.” The article went on to say that the good Senator voted “yes” on the economic stimulus bill, the health care overhaul bill, increased education funding and other bills that a Democratic Party-controlled Congress passed on his watch.

The economic stimulus bill has gotten us 9.8% unemployment while wasting hundreds of billions of dollars, the health care overhaul bill is already coming apart and as is its prediction of reducing the national debt, our public schools for the most part do not educate, and no major issues have been solved for the $13 trillion. Looks like the Senator’s keen insight is very compatible with Bill Clinton’s experience.

– “Now You Tell Us” – A quote from retiring Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd appeared in the December 6, 2010 issue of Businessweek magazine: “Powerful financial interests, free to throw money about with little transparency, have corrupted the basic principles underlying our representative democracy.” This quote is from a U.S. Senator who chaired the powerful Senate Banking Committee. During his tenure, he was one of the largest recipients of campaign donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest financial entities that he was supposed to be overseeing. To add insult to injury, Fannie and Freddie were, and are more so now, government entities that should not have been involved in any kind of campaign funding modes, lest of all with the one person who had Senate oversight responsibility for them. The Senator’s words would have had a lot more meaning if they had been spoken during his Senate tenure, as he returned the money he received from Fannie, Freddie, and other powerful financial interests.

– “Light My Fire” – The Associated Press reported on December 9, 2010, that soon-to-be ex-Governor Crist of Florida has been successful in getting a pardon for Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. Morrison was arrested about forty years ago for obscenity during a Miami, Florida Doors’ concert. He has been dead for almost as long so it is not as if Crist was bringing solace to an old man. The Florida economy is in the dumps with higher than average unemployment and probably almost as many homes in foreclosure as there are on the market for sale.

But these family affecting crises can all wait as a politician toils on a completely useless piece of work. Just like the recent passing of Federal legislation that regulates the sound volume of television commercials, where do you think the pardoning of Jim Morrison would fall in the top priorities, concerns, and issues facing the typical American family? I doubt it makes the top 100 but it somehow lit Governor Crist’s fire, to the benefit of no one in Florida.

– “Assault With A Deadly Bicycle” – Reason magazine reported in its January 2011 issue that the town of Black Hawk, Colorado has banned the use of bicycles on most of its city streets. The local town council felt that there could be possible collisions between cars and bikes on the town’s narrow streets. Is this a big problem or top priority of Black Hawk residents? Probably not since, according to the article, there has never been a bike/car collision in the town.

– “Who Ever Reads The Fine Print Anyway?” – According to a New York Times article on July 7, 2010, when President Obama was signing the voluminous financial industry regulation bill, he said: “If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, student loan, or a mortgage, you know the feeling of signing your name to pages of barely understandable fine print.” If he cannot understand what he is signing, how confident does that make the rest of that he and the rest of the political class know what they are doing? (See Bill Clinton’s observation above). It recalls the infamous Nancy Pelosi quote that we would not know what is in the health care reform legislation until we actually passed it. (Clinton is looking smarter and smarter by the minute).

– “Talk About Gun Control” – Not to be outdone by the American political class, Reason magazine reported in its January, 2011 issue that in Queensland, Australia, they really take their gun control seriously. They are considering a statute that would require all TOY guns to be licensed. Those who fail to license their TOY guns would be subject to $4,500 in fines and… if they do not lock up their TOY guns they would be subject to an additional fine of up to $750. They are almost as good as working on inconsequential stuff as American politicians. Bill Clinton did mention politicians around the world not knowing what they were doing, looking smarter and smarter, Bill.

These are funny stories and quotes but also pathetic commentary on what and how our political class works today, to the benefit of no one but themselves. Maybe they need some help from the following steps to get focused:

Downsize government by 10% a year over five years, hopefully reducing the amount of useless initiatives and low priorities our politicians currently work on and get them focused on real issues, not efforts like banning bike riders or pardoning dead rockers. At the very least, even if they accomplish nothing with this limited to do list, we would save our tax dollars.

Revamp and re-democratize our election processes so that people like Senator Dodd would not be “tempted” by “powerful financial interests.” These steps would include banning campaign contributions from anyone or any organization except individual American citizens and not allow campaign contributions to cross Congressional district or state lines, e.g. someone living in Kansas could not contribute to a candidate running for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

Require all members of Congress and the Presidential administration to take and pass a course on basic economic theory to try to address Bill Clinton’s insight above. How much damage would the course to, given the poor economic track record of those in power today?

Impose term limits on all Federal politicians so that we have a reasonable chance of getting rid of the bad ones before they decide that regulating the sound volume on our television commercials is a top priority or we end up with politicians that do not even know what is in the legislation they are passing.
Notes and quotes, makes me sad and mad that we have to put up with them, despite their comic relief.

Walter “Bruno” Korschek is the author of the book, “Love My Country, Loathe My Government – Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom and Destroying The American Political Class,” which is available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Our daily dialog on freedom in America can be joined at http://www.loathemygovernment.blogspot.com.