MIA and slim pickings

Out of town most of last week and no internet access over the weekend results in no posts. Going to be slim pickings today, too. Work, work.

I skimmed a few of the papers today. I see that Kucinich and Conyers introduced a national health insurance plan. I read something last evening to the effect that our health care system hobbles our entry into the global market. Considering how well General Motors and Ford are doing right now, I think we will see them demanding a national health insurance program. It seems that the union bashers are out again. The UAW caused GM and Ford failing in the global market by getting healthcare benefits. Probably the same people who bash the idea of national healthcare as socialism and predict national healthcare will be our national apocalypse. The United States avoided national healthcare because the big corporations paid the bill for healthcare. That was easy to do when there was little international competition. Now we got lots of international competition from companies where there is national healthcare.

E.J. Dionne has an op/ed piece in the Washington Post about California moving its primary. This paragraph caught my eye:

And it's time that our candidates get tested early by broader electorates. Was it really good for the country that South Carolina's Republicans put an effective end to the battle between George W. Bush and John McCain so early in 2000, on Feb. 19 to be exact? Was it helpful that the Democratic battle between Al Gore and Bill Bradley that same year effectively ended after New Hampshire voted on Feb. 1, or that John Kerry wasn't tested harder in more places after his Jan. 27, 2004, victory there?

I am one of those who would say that none of us were served well by Kerry wrapping up the nomination before all of the primaries were done. Call me a chauvinist but I think the Midwest ought to have its say and maybe we would get a better selection of candidates.

Our Senator Lugar also has an op/ed article in the Post, Beyond Baghdad. I had a great-aunt who lived in Indianapolis who said Lugar talked like butter would not melt in his mouth. She did not mean it as a compliment and she was a Republican. Reading this article reminded me of that. Reading between the lines I see a conflict between Lugar trying to be a good Republican by offering to salvage his President's new Iraq plan and his intelligence.

The administration must avoid becoming so quixotic in its attempt to achieve the optimal outcome in Iraq that it fails to adjust to shifts in the region or political realities within Iraq. Although any administration would be reluctant to talk about a Plan B when its primary plan is still in motion, the president and Congress must reach a consensus on how to protect our broader strategic interests regardless of what happens in those Baghdad neighborhoods or on the floor of the Senate. Otherwise, the fatigue and frustration with our Iraq policy that is manifest in the resolutions of disapproval before the Senate could lead not just to the rejection of the Bush plan but also to the abandonment of the tools and relationships we need toPublish defend our vital interests in the Middle East.

Ever wonder if Dick Lugar wakes up at night with the cold sweats wondering how this idiot got elected President and he did not?

Another Anderson Blog and Our Mayor

From the comments to a couple of blogs, I learned that there is another Anderson blogger. The LSOA has not published much of late, but maybe that will change?

He asked in his comment to my post on Obama: "Why can't we find someone like him to run for Mayor?"

I think Barack Obama has a vision of where he wants the Democratic party and this county to go. I know Kris Ockomon and Darryl Rensel have announced their candidacies. I cannot say from the Herald-Bulletin articles what sort of vision they have for Anderson. Maybe LSOA or I should find the time to ask them.

If this editorial is any indication, the Herald-Bulletin will not ask Smith what is his vision for Anderson.

Pig Ears

I get to do the cooking around the house. The wife does not like to cook. Living with me is not the easiest thing in the world and since I like her and want to keep her happy, I cook. That means I also do most of the grocery shopping. I also usually take the step-kids to the grocery. Now, while at Harvest on Columbus I am trying to show the ten year old why he needs to work on his reading and show him a container. He reads the words. His eyes get big. Pork brains! He asks can we get them? Well, we do. Turns out the kids like them. Luckily, I had a great aunt show me how to fix brains and eggs.

Well, that was last summer. Since then we began to notice what I would call exotic stuff but my older relatives would probably laugh at calling them exotics. Seems that brains and eggs were once - fifty plus years ago - the standard Sunday breakfast in my dad's parent's home. The aforementioned great aunt loved her pig's feet. I do remember the old Matthhew's grocery carrying pig ears and tail and cow tongue but that was about thirty years ago.

So what I am calling exotic meats? Well, Payless and Harvest have got beef tongue. That started last summer. More recently, Payless and Harvest are both carrying pig feet. Payless has something called pig maws. Harvest has pig tails. Payless has what I call mountain oysters. Harvest has pig ears. (I probably ought to say the Harvest on Columbus does, I have not checked out the Harvest on Scatterfield for about a month or so).

I have not idea why we are suddenly seeing all these spare pork parts in our local groceries. None of them have logos from national producers. I assume that they are local product. By local product, I mean Indiana pork producers and not just Madison County farmers. This article in the Washington Post says this is a big trend. Maybe Anderson is on the cutting edge of culinary delights?

I do know that the wife has told me in no uncertain terms what would happen to me if I fix any pig ears for her. Like, I said, I got to keep her happy. No telling her what she would do if I bought the hog's head that Harvest has in its freezer section!

Liberal Indiana changing focus

The Liberal Indiana blog is looking to change its focus. Here is the plan:

In the next few days, Liberal Indiana will be re-tooled to:

• Provide links to well-written Indiana-based posts written by liberal bloggers on a daily basis
• Have a unique design and easy-to-use interface
• Give liberals across Indiana the opportunity to start their own blog at Liberal Indiana
• Provide an open forum for hoosiers to discuss local issues, ideas, and what-not
• Give readers the opportunity to moderate comments in a more Democratic way without opening the floodgates to spammers

I think this sounds like a great idea. I think there are quite a few people in Indiana who do not fit into the usual caricature of Hoosiers but have no outlet for their views. The changes do not look like they have been made but keep checking the blog.

ECI Biz Blog: Heads up for local businesses

The Muncie Star-Press has a business blog. I understand blog purists do not like calling anything a blog that does not have a blog roll and links to other blogs, and this one lacks both. However, the writer has a fairly lively style. More importantly to me, he writes about local businesses and we do lack this sort of thing in the area.

The Herald Bulletin finds another new business -Anderson gets a new funeral home

Looks like a new funeral home is to open on the west side. Here is part of the article from the Herald-Bulletin:

Glazebrooks Funeral Services at 2822 Nichol Ave. will officially open their doors at the end of summer in August, Robert Glazebrooks, funeral director, at Glazebrooks Funeral Services explained.

At the 6,000 square-foot-building, the plan is to transition the former Red Men Lodge into a funeral home with a chapel, an extended lobby and a main room for viewings.

Glazebrooks is originally from Anderson, and has been working in the funeral industry in Indianapolis in many different capacities.

The writer does not emphasize that is another migrant returning home to start a business but no reason why I cannot.

I also found interesting that Glazebrooks plans to employ 20 people. That is not a small funeral home.

Sister Helen Prejean is coming to Anderson

Regardless of what you might think of the death penalty issue, I am impressed that Sister Helen Prejean is coming to Anderson.

One person wrongly convicted and sentenced to death is one too many for Sister Helen Prejean, author of a new book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.” Prejean will be speaking Tuesday in Anderson and discussing the reasons why the current death penalty should be suspended, said Kathleen “Kitty” Zink, a co-chair for the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Social Justice group. The group is sponsoring Prejean’s visit.

She will speak at 10 a.m. in Reardon Auditorium to Anderson University students then again in a public presentation at 7 p.m. in the Anderson City Auditorium. According to Chris Williams, director of university communications at AU, the public is also invited to the Tuesday morning presentation during the students’ chapel time.

I do not know if I will be able to attend but if anyone does who reads this, please let me know how it goes.

Strange sights in Anderson

Driving back from Papa Murphy's, I look up and see a hot air balloon a bit above the horizon. I consider that a strange sight as the temperature is 31f.

State Party

The state Democratic Party has e-mail alerts. The following is from the latest one I got:

Accordingly, if you have friends who already receive or would like to receive printed correspondence from the Indiana Democratic Party, please have them send an e-mail to jwagner@indems.org with their name, street address and e-mail address. We'll take care of the rest!

Our second major administrative goal is to revamp and redesign our online presence, www.indems.org, to be more user-friendly and to include more relevant information. But we can't do that without your help!

The site for the state party is here.

The Next County Democratic Party Meeting

I have heard that the next meeting for the County Democratic party is 6 pm on February 9 at Local 63.

Commerce Connector

I wanted to parse the Governor's State of the State speech but just not had the time this past week. He talked nice about us Democrats but as my mom used to say - actions speak louder than words. He still wants to push his Interstate Commerce Connector.

Even if I have not been able to keep up with the Governor's "grand vision", others are doing a grand job. TDW has been following up with posts here and here and here. TDW also excerpted a piece which, I think, hits some good points that bothers us - we pay the gas tax to fund roads and now now you want us to pay tolls, too?

Closer to home but with less skill the the Herald-Bulletin covered the local presentation. I saw nothing forewarning us about this meeting. Wish I had. Reading the comments on the H-B page show that I was not the only one ignorant of the meeting. Anyway, the story is here: Commerce Connector meets resistance. A couple of things here still have me scratching my head:

Joseph Gustin, deputy commissioner of public-private partnerships for INDOT, gave a short introduction before answering questions before an audience of about 50 people.

“The governor is committed to economic growth in Indiana,” Gustin said. “And having viable transportation infrastructure is an important part of the plan.”

***

Gustin further compounded the problem with a seemingly conflicted message.

“This project was never intended to ease traffic north of Indianapolis,” Gustin said, which seemed to contradict proposed benefits of the project listed in provided documentation. He also said the contract for Interstate 69 does not include a noncompetition clause, while state Sen. Tim Lanane, D-District 25, said the opposite.

Gustin said INDOT looked at median income, property growth, sales tax revenue and building permits in Indiana’s 92 counties and found that those numbers were strongest in communities with access to interstate highways. Of the last 327 deals completed by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Gustin said, 80 percent were completed in counties with Interstate access.

But INDOT must continue exploring traffic volumes, locations and environmental effects.

“Once we have that, we can determine the preliminary viability,” Gustin said. “Right now, we’re asking the Legislature to transfer P3 authority from I-69 to the Indiana Commerce Connector and the Illiana Expressway.”

Give the Herald-Bulletin reporter credit for noticing that Gustin contradicted one of INDOT's and Mighty Mitch's reasons for this project - congestion at 69 and 465. Is this a sign that the Governor's attention span, ideas, justifications are as variable as those of his former boss? (Remember the President shifting from WMD in Iraq to regime change to democracy in Iraq as why we needed to invade Iraq.) On the hand, remove congestion from the discussion and then no need to discuss alternatives like light rail.

I suspect Lanane knows what he is saying when he says there is a non-competition agreement. I cannot see a business making the kind of investment craved by the Governor without one. Who wants to put in that kind of money and then have another company open another toll road in competition? No non-competition agreement makes this whole thing a very dubious deal or shows just how unbusinesslike our businessman governor really is.

I do wish I had been here to hear this Gustin explain how it is that Interstate access does not help businesses. Sure, most business locate near the Interstates. Talk about your obvious conclusions. The real issue is whether all interstate intersections are created equal. They are not. Take a look at 332 and 69, or ask why Milroy or Cloverdale or Warren or Remington are not bustling centers of commercial activity. Still thinking the Governor has watched Field of Dreams too many times.

But the real kicker here, I think, is caught in this phrase: "we can determine the preliminary viability..." I read that to mean they have no facts supporting this idea.

Add all this in with this brief report from the Indianapolis Business Journal:

Oil to hit $100 a barrel, commodities expert predicts
Fri, Jan 19 - 2007
IBJ Editorial Staff
The slide in oil prices that dragged gas prices in Indianapolis below $2 a gallon won’t last more than two years, according to Jim Rogers, who in 1999 predicted the surge in oil, metal and grain prices.

The author of “Hot Commodities” and creator of the Rogers International Commodity Index told Bloomberg that booming growth in China and other Asian countries will push oil above $100 a barrel in the long term.

Oil prices dipped briefly below $50 yesterday after hitting $78.40 in July as warm weather cuts demand.

So all we can look forward to are increased gas prices and our State's grand transportation plan is all about building more roads?

Obama is running for President

WASHINGTON -- In an announcement weighted with history and moment, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who less than three years ago was serving in the Illinois Senate, declared today his intention to run for president.


From the Chicago Tribune.

I think he has got the style and the substance to do it and so let's see if he can win.

Gay Marriage Amendment still alive

Advance Indiana clued me in on this. I was working on a post till Firefox crashed on me. I might have to shorten it so I can get to work.

The Republicans passed this to whip up terror that gays and lesbians might share our heterosexual wedded bliss. Not that Indiana law recognizes marriage between same sex couples. Not that there was a threat that Indiana would force any religious institution to recognize a gay marriage. No, just to make Indiana safe from those dreaded gays and lesbians.

Well, Indiana did not and does not need the protection. The state constitution protected the religious institutions. Federal and state law protects marriage.

The proposal pretty much cripples our rights under the first section of Indiana's Bill of Rights. If you read the proposal, it affects unmarried heterosexual couples, too.

Marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one man and one woman.

This Constitution or any other Indiana law may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups

Gay and lesbian couple ought to have the same rights to state benefits as we heterosexuals do. That is my reading of Indiana's Bill of Rights. Before anyone gets all homophobic about this, read the state Bill of Rights. How do you feel about eviscerating the Declaration of Independence? And remember that this is not the theocracy of Indiana but the State of Indiana.

These are the first four sections of Indiana's Bill of Rights. Read the first section and try to explain to me how this "gay marriage" proposal does not conflict with the first section? Or how discriminating against gays and lesbians (or unmarried heterosexual couples) in regards to marriage benefits does not violate this section?

Section 1. WE DECLARE, That all people are created equal; that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that all power is inherent in the people; and that all free governments are, and of right ought to be, founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and well-being. For the advancement of these ends, the people have, at all times, an indefeasible right to alter and reform their government.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).

Section 2. All people shall be secured in the natural right to worship ALMIGHTY GOD, according to the dictates of their own consciences.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).

Section 3. No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience.

Section 4. No preference shall be given, by law, to any creed, religious society, or mode of worship; and no person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support, any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against his consent.
(History: As Amended November 6, 1984).

section?

Some updates on the Interstate Commerce Connector

Frankly, I was beginning to think Mighty Mitch's new toll road was dead so I neglected a few reports on the subject. Looking around the web shows that Mitch is talking out of both sides of his mouth. This is from the Herald-Bulletin on the 12th:

“Right now our focus is on legislation that would allow the governor and the administration to explore P3 agreements for projects such as the Commerce Connector,” said Jamie Jorczak, director of communications and marketing for INDOT during a visit to The Herald Bulletin.

“Our focus is not so much on breaking ground or where it’s going to go, those things will come with our studies. Our focus right now is on the authority to explore that path.”

On Monday, the opening day of the Legislature, bill No. 001 was introduced in the Indiana Senate. The bill would allow INDOT to explore P3 agreements and must be passed by mid-February to move onto the Indiana House before the end of the legislative session on April 29.

Taking Down Words has a post here on the private/public partnership proposals which leads to an INDOT page on public-private partnerships here. I have seen 2:00 am infomercials which did not salivate so heavily with self-love as this page. ("Governor Daniels has received national recognition and awards for his leadership and use of public-private partnerships in addressing Indiana’s transportation infrastructure needs." I think he got some award from some trucking industry group for his toll road lease/sale which is his only private-public transportation deal to date.). In case anyone forgot here is the general plan:

In P3 agreements, private sector funding is used to design, build, finance, maintain and operate a public facility:

• In return for paying to create the road, and also paying a premium above this cost, the company collects tolls on the facility for a designated time period.
• The highway remains a publicly-owned asset, and it must be maintained to state and federal standards.
• State officials monitor the management of the facility and set the parameters for toll increases over the life of the agreement.

No mention of what happens when the private company goes bankrupt is there? Hmm.

But that page will take you to this INDOT page with a nice map of where the Governor thinks the route should go (I cam beginning to think the guy thinks he is Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams - build it and they will come). With more hype paid for by our tax dollars:

• Local officials across Central Indiana support the Indiana Commerce Connector and call it an innovative plan to attract new investment and jobs to their communities.

For those of us in Madison County, look at that map closely. The exit off of I-69 is west of Pendleton and east of the Lapel exit. It appears to come between Pendleton and Ingalls. I suspect it comes very close to some state owned land in Pendleton - the Reformatory. I think Highway 67 would be about two miles south of the I-69 exit. I call that pretty cramped territory for development in an area of farms and some nice housing developments. Pretty cramped, too, from the perspective of the Lapel exit where new housing lots are going up. From there south through Hancock County - west of State Road 9.

For those of us in Anderson, think about a route that is about ten miles away from us. Consider that it is even further to the west of State Road 109 which is a more direct route from I-70 than State Road 9. Just what local officials did Mighty Mitch find that like his plan?

I got to admit that I found this point amusing:

The Indiana Commerce Connector will improve access to Indianapolis International Airport, making it easier for Hoosiers and companies to use this tremendous transportation hub.

Yes, I want to go to the Indianapolis airport by way of Shelbyville and Mooresville when the gas is over $2.00 a gallon. I now have a division in my mind which seems evenly balanced: between anger that the Governor thinks we are stupid and anger over the Governor's lack of common sense.

I must report one good thing (thanks, again, to TDW), even the Republicans are balking at Mitch's road to nowhere.

An aside about the Herald-Bulletin's article, I noticed that the online comments section was empty even though I left a comment there two days ago. I commented that the Governor had not been show that the project would bring the growth he projected. Considering how well the Governor projected the costs of our Iraq fiasco, I think we should severely doubt his abilities to predict anything.

Finally, some fun stuff

Having expelled the crankiness of the morning, I'd like to share some fun stuff I found:

John Wayne in Glasgow

Pop music in Britain (and this should warm the hearts of anyone who remembers vinyl)

Clint Eastwood's new movie (I've not had time to see any movies at the theater since King Kong but I want to see this one and Casino Royale).

Highland High School's girl's basketball team.

And a horror movie to look forward to - Last Man on Earth.

Fishing in Scotland here and here.

Antidotes to a gloomy day.

Windpower - a report from Scotland

For those of you interested in alternative energy, especially since Mighty Mitch has stumbled on the idea, might find this article of interest. Scotland seems to have been an early promoter of wind power. Personally, I think it has uses here but we got to be aware of the problems (mostly environmental) . This article lays out the good, bad, and the ugly.

Economic development - Muncie vs Anderson

I just posted on how bare is the Anderson Herald-Bulletin's online business page. The H-B has been finding some new businesses and I have posted on them here and here. Why cannot the H-B give local businesses the kind of attention the Star-Press does here?

I suspect that Muncie gets a boost of pride of seeing hometown talent doing good. Anderson surely has some sort of successes but would we know it from the H-B? No.

With this kind of economic forecast for Indiana, some glimmer in the bleakness would be appreciated.

Muncie- Speed networking event set at chamber

From today's Muncie Star-Press. Nothing says that we cannot cross over to Delaware County. It might good for our Chamber to offer such a thing. Then would the Herald-Bulletin run a story like this? Not much on the H-B's online business page.

Putting my money where my mouth is, Part 1

I wrote yesterday, that we need to have a better vision of what we want Anderson to be before we can set out a plan. Today, I want to start working on such a vision. I know the following list is vague, maybe even the one thing I detest - utopian, but hopefully it will start a conversation (if there are actually people reading this thing):

1. A city where everyone's talents and energies can be put to good use.
2. A city that encourages its citizens to be more than worker drones.
3. A city that throws off its reliance on outsiders to run the place.
4. A city that is open to all of its citizens to make contributions to the community.
5. A city that is a fun place to live.
6. A city that can answer the question of why anyone would want to live here.
7. A city that can actually enjoy and promote its uniqueness.

Sunday reading - Bush, Blair, Iraq and Iran

Reading around this morning without enough caffeine (yet) and Bush's Iraqi plan still exercising lot of word processors. The Washington Post's columnists Broder, Will, and guest writer Michael O'Hanlon all seem to agree that Bush and his critics share some common ground. Will puts forward this argument most succinctly:

Bush and his thoughtful critics, ostensibly at daggers drawn, are actually in agreement on three points. First, the failed policy of the past three years is both militarily and politically unsustainable. Second, any substantial departure from that policy must involve a leap into the dark -- a bet on the future about which no reasonable person can be confident. Third, the nation embarked Wednesday night upon the beginning of the end of U.S. suzerainty in Iraq, where, Maliki has said, with more bravado than plausibility, that by June -- about when the full surge probably will reach Iraq -- his government will be able to handle its security challenges.

I still think Bush's interest is in creating the appearance of doing something to save his reputation rather in actually solving the problem he created. Still, O'Hanlon has a good argument on why we should let the surge go ahead.

Rather than deny funding for Bush's initiatives, Congress should provide it now -- but only for fiscal 2007 (meaning through September). By that point, or even the August congressional recess, we should know if the surge is showing promise. If it does, Congress could consider continuing its support. If not, the moment will be right to force the president's hand and move to a backup plan.

All three agree (as does the Post's editor), that the great weakness of the plan lies with al-Maliki. Broder puts it this way:

For this gamble to work, a lot of implausible things have to happen. Maliki's governing coalition, which includes the party of Moqtada al-Sadr, will have to steel itself to send troops into the neighborhoods controlled by Sadr's own Mahdi Army. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says this will happen, but the promise remains to be tested.

For others who already noted this problem with al-Maliki see this earlier post of mine.

Meanwhile, Blair is not going to send more British troops but will send words of support to Bush. That last link goes to a Sunday Herald article. I found these three paragraphs interesting - in a scary way:

During his swansong' tour, Blair is expected to revisit Iraq and continue to rework his record without any recourse to an apology. According to one Blair aide: "The emphasis is not so much on the past, as offering insight into the future. All prime ministers have done this." But not all have had one eye on Washington while doing it.

Similar warnings are being thrown at whoever takes over from Bush. One credible forecast is that Bush is intent on delaying any withdrawal in Iraq until the next president takes office. Leslie Gelb, a former State Department official in the Carter administration, said: "The worst challenge the next president will inherit will be to figure out how to lose in Iraq without the appearance of losing. Then there's huge problems at either end of Asia - Iran and North Korea. The next president is heading into the biggest, most dangerous set of problems we've faced since the Cuban missile crisis."

On Friday Blair effectively accepted Gelb's forecast, but said he and Bush had done the right thing. Any other action would have been a mistake.

I do not think anyone noticed this quote from Gelb. I know the idea is understood but that reference to the Cuban missile crisis does put quite a point to it all.

The Sunday Herald also has an article on Iran, Iran: The Backlash Begins, that might serve as a bit of antidote to the scare-mongering we get here for reporting on Iran. Here are the interesting bits:

Having built an international status on baiting the West, the president is in danger of becoming a scapegoat for the increasing isolation Iran faces over its nuclear programme - which the West suspects is designed for bomb-making despite Iranian denials.

***

More worrying still for the president was the fact that fundamentalist newspaper Jomhouri Eslami - which often reflects the views of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - accused Ahmadinejad of adopting the nuclear issue as a personal slogan to deflect attention from his government's economic failings.

***

The warning followed criticism by MPs that a conference staged last month questioning the holocaust - organised to bolster Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis as a "myth" - had damaged the national interest.

At a closed session of the conservative-dominated parliament, members denounced the event as "inappropriate" and "unnecessary", and said it had directly influenced the UN's decision to impose sanctions on Iran.

For the president's opponents the welter of criticism means only one thing. "It's a sign that the golden age and honeymoon of Ahmadinejad with the people is over," said Isa Saharkhiz, a journalist and political activist. "He is in a position where not only his critics but many of his followers are trying to distance themselves from his stances and actions. His rivals in the last presidential election will have a more vital role in the country's future."

Still reading the Sunday Herald and another article that might be of interest - Sadr’s Army. "Whenever he (Sadr) is asked why he keeps fighting against what has happened in the past four years he invariably answers: 'I do not care what the Americans have to say about this and I never did. Only the Iraqi people can choose who they want to protect their country.' "

Oh, what a wonderful way to start a morning. Take all this as a reminder that the world is a whole lot more complicated than we might like and what appears a simplistic solution may only be a simpleton's blathering.

Time to kick the habit - Guide closes for good

Guide closed a little quicker than was expected but it is gone. The Herald -Bulletin has the headline in print as if World War Three just started. No more Anderson as a GM town. Time to pick up ourselves and move on.

I found it kind of odd but George Will profiled the UAW president today. Will ends with this: "A UAW card no longer means that life cannot be hard." yeah, no kidding.

The Indianapolis Business Journal had a news alert that Toyota is looking to place more plants in Indiana. I'd like to say this is a good thing for Anderson to lobby for but for the past 43 years we have been addicted to Big Auto. I say it has been ruinous for us. Even the Herald-Bulletin recognized the problem in this editorial.

We have two candidates running (so far) in the Democrat primary. Neither has made a clear statement about his economic development plans and they need to do so. I feel that our Mayor has been grasping at straws but some of those straws stayed in his grasp. I doubt anyone does not know what ails Anderson and that our options are not so wide open, but surely we Democrats can devise a plan that is less simplistic than our Mayor's plan? Economic development - jobs - will be top of the list come this November. Not the police department.

We need a vision of what Anderson can be and adapt a plan to bring that vision to life. We can do better than the Republicans. We just need to think large.

Last on surging Bush and a tip to Liberal Indiana

Liberal Indiana has a post by Reverend Barry Welsh. He ran against Mike Pence with little support and little money, but who I think made a very good impression in his one debate with Pence. A good deal more thoughtful than anything I have written on the subject.

I finish off my splenetic review of Bush with this editorial from the Toronto Star. While the fellow writes for Canadians and Afghanistan, there are some things for us Americans to ponder, too. This is merely the opening of the editorial.

U.S. President George Bush continues to preach "victory in Iraq." But the phrase rings hollow. Pouring 21,500 more American troops into Baghdad's anarchic streets and rural areas isn't likely to deliver a victory that has eluded 140,000 soldiers so far. War-weary Iraqis should be so lucky.

Rather, by ordering yet another troop "surge" even though a majority of Americans and even many Iraqis oppose it, and warning yesterday that "it's going to take a while," Bush hopes to run out his term without having to acknowledge defeat, then hand off the mess. As the execution of Saddam Hussein highlighted, Iraq's Shiite-led government is locked in a power struggle with the Sunni minority that U.S. guns alone can't resolve.

Bush would have done better to heed the rebuke frustrated American voters delivered when they handed the Democrats control of Congress last fall, and invest in a diplomatic "surge" instead of a military one.

Rather than pin excessive hopes on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government – and U.S. firepower – Bush should have launched a concerted diplomatic drive to persuade Iran and Syria to stop fanning sectarian militancy, and to enlist the wider Arab world to press for an all-party compromise. And he should have conditioned U.S. political, military and economic support for al-Maliki on prompt delivery of national reconciliation, good governance and security. That was the sensible thrust of Bush's own Iraq Study Group recommendations, which also urged redeploying U.S. forces next year from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Instead, Bush continues to threaten Iran and Syria, and promote a military solution to what, at root, is a political problem involving Iraqis and their neighbours. That promises to mire U.S. troops in Iraq for years.

A clash between the White House and Congress now seems inevitable. So does a rising death toll in Iraq, where more than 50,000 Iraqis and 3,000 Americans have died in a $500 billion war.

There are lessons for Canadians in this sorry spectacle. We and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies must strive to shape a better political outcome in Afghanistan than Washington has in Iraq.

Iraq: political failure, not a military one

I wrote in an earlier post that George Will nailed the problem with Iraq. Our military has beaten back armed opposition in the manner that a military is supposed to do, but a military is designed to attack other armed forces - naval, land - in formations - fleets, regiments, forts - and is not really designed to deal with guerrilla tactics from a pissed off locals. However, some of that might be changing. See here and here. Then, again, probably not.

A military cannot provide the necessities of a civil society. Security not only of persons but of property; providing the necessities of clean water, electricity, safe roads, courts, and so on. For a primer on civil society go read John Locke.

Will suggests the need for a Marshall Plan. If we had made sure that there was clean water and steady electricity, maybe we would not look so incompetent in everything but how to blow things up. Maybe the locals would not be looking to their local militias to provide the things needed for life.

I think Will also hits the point that bothers everyone with an open ended commitment to provide troops to Iraq. Why should the Iraqis assume responsibility so long as we do not make them take responsibility?

Today, Gen. George Casey, U.S. commander in Baghdad, is in hot water with administration proponents of a "surge" because he believes what he recently told the New York Times: "The longer we in the U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq's security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to take the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias. And the other thing is that they can continue to blame us for all of Iraq's problems, which are at base their problems."

I cannot escape the feeling that we do bear a responsibility to Iraq but there are limits to any responsibility. I am not sure that more staunch advocates of withdrawal see that we have a responsibility to do what we can to fix the mess we created. See this editorial from The Nation. I think the Democrats need to see any argument that we are anti-military as irrelevant (which, I also, think is something that the majority of us Americans figured this out last year). The military did as good as it could within the situation of Iraq. Reading between the lines of this New York Times' article, I think the Democrats are beginning to see that a military solution is not enough.

Why you should read more than your local paper online

Hey, we got the internet and that brings the whole wold to us. So why just stick with reading the local paper on the internet? I do not read as much as I used but with a RSS reader I still around a bit. So is it laziness or ignorance of how to find non-local newspapers online?

I learned from a friend in Canada just how different the US news is from foreign news. That the Toronto paper or others would print stories that our US papers would not print. Once you start looking around at the news we are not getting from our own papers, you might get out of the conservatives' whine about liberal bias in the press. From what I saw when Bush was priming the pump for invading Iraq, neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post were as critical of the Administration as British papers were of Prime Minister Blair. (The New Times could even be said to be a cheerleader for invasion). Any bias is that these "liberal" papers are mainstream and the conservatives are not mainstream.

To give you an example, take a look at The Times of London's page on Iraq with the New York Times' Middle East page. Some overlap but the New York headlines seem so much more tepid.

Surging George W. Bush

I have been off trying to tend to the bank account and not tending to this. Besides, I had to take a day or two to see if I could work up a better comment than Doug Masson. I admit that could not watch Bush for more than fifteen minutes. I had already watched Armed and Famous and had my fill of crap television. Am I the only one who thought that Bush's demeanor was strange? A certain deadness in the eyes and the area around them? I thought there was a disconnect between his words and his expression. Absolutely unconvincing and uninspiring.

The press seemed to push the fact that Bush admitted his mistake. The Boston Globe started its review with "Make no mistake about it: President Bush is admitting he's made some in Iraq." David Corn's blog at The Nation started with: " George W. Bush finally has dipped his toe into the reality-based pool." The Associated Press story as run by Toronto Star started off this way:

President Bush acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he erred by not ordering a military buildup in Iraq last year and said he was increasing U.S. troops by 21,500 to quell the country’s near-anarchy. “Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,” Bush said.

The Washington Post had this in the second paragraph of their review; "In a widely anticipated nationally televised address, Bush stood in the library of the White House and soberly said he had pursued a flawed strategy and acknowledged for the first time that he had not sent enough troops to provide security for Iraqi civilians." The London Times has two articles with headlines damning Bush's plans: Bush goes for bust with an extra 22,000 troops, and History will not forgive a failure to match words with deeds.

I think everyone recognizes that the "plan" (yes, Mr. Bush can call it a plan rather than a statement of absolutely self-serving BS substituting words for action) depends on Iraqi support. If you do not, then read the Corn article noted above. If you think that al-Maliki will help us, then take a look at this London Times article.

Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, is not quite the well-meaning but ineffective figure portrayed in Bush’s plan. He has done at least seven things in the past six months which show that he plans to help Shias to secure control of every part of government and has no notion of sharing power with Sunnis.

Meanwhile, the Sunnis think that Bush's plan mean he is supporting the Shia.

Does Bush's plan even seem to acknowledge the realities of Iraq? Not from where I am sitting. The rest of the world - including our enemies - are probably not taking as much delight in the Democrats winning control of Congress as in our president clarifying his personal stupidity on television. I must admit that the best critique of what has gone wrong in Iraq is from George Will. Our failing in Iraq is not a military failure but a political failure.

Thanks for the compliments

Trifles got recognized by TDW and by Masson's Blog. I admire both blogs immensely and hope that I can up with the standards I think they have set. I already know that I cannot be as humorous as TDW.

Herald-Bulletin finds another new local business

First, they find the meadery in Elwood. Now the Herald-Bulletin finds a bookstore in Pendleton. Anderson has a Walden books in the mall and there is a Reader's World on Scatterfield close to Wal-Mart. So any new bookstore ought to be a credit to the county.

Selling off assets

Taking Down Words has a posting that mentions how Ontario sold off its tollroad and regretted its actions.

The Toronto Star has an article on how the Toronto Transit Commission plans on selling off assets. Several points caught my eye. The first one is this:

But Councillor Adam Giambrone, the TTC's 29-year-old incoming chair, now wants the sell-off to proceed in earnest. In December, TTC commissioners even formed a special committee to propel the disposal – a committee that will meet for the first time later this month.

"This committee will probably meet monthly," says Giambrone. "The idea of the committee is not just to talk about it, but to drive the process forward, like a working group.

"If you say there's a problem around zoning, this committee needs to work through those issues, tackle them head on and resolve them to the extent they're resolvable, compromise where compromise is needed and just generally push the whole file forward."

How unlike our Governor's thoughtful process of "Gee, I think this sounds like a good idea!" An actual group of government officials who sound like they are willing to work out problems instead of just ordering them done.

The Canadian commission also seems to be thinking and looking ahead:

Public policy has also helped fuel demand. With as many as 150,000 people moving into the Greater Toronto Area each year, both provincial policy and the city's official plan call for intensive residential development around subway stations and major transportation corridors – a way of curtailing urban sprawl.

But while Wong says, "the potential is there" for the TTC's coffers to get a boost, he's not sure the sell-off will amount to anything like the giant windfall some councillors might have in their dreams.

It's not just the peculiarity of some sites, like having to build over top of a subway yard at Davisville station, that makes predicting prices difficult. (The High Park deal involved a land swap.) There's also the need, in many cases, for potential developers to accommodate existing and future TTC operations. The buses, after all, still need to get to the station.

Hmmm, no toll road skirting suburban Toronto to ease congestion? They want to curtail urban sprawl? Can we sent MM and his RV to Canada instead of Japan for his next trip because the next point seems the anti-thesis of MM's governing style:

Nor is raising immediate cash the sole aim for either the TTC or the city, notes Vincent Rodo, the commission's budget chief. "When we're trying to develop these properties, we've got several goals. One is, obviously, proper utilization of a public asset. You want density over subways. We're hoping to get ridership out of it."

There's also elevated property tax revenue for the city in future. But in many cases, a sale would mostly help defray the costs of something the TTC would have to do anyway, such as replacing the original bus terminal at Eglinton station, which had to be closed several years ago after engineers deemed it structurally unsound.

I have ridden on the commuter train into Toronto and it is wonderfully clean and efficient. In short, it had all the appearance of a well run business. All of these points might also want to be considered when we talk about light rail for our area.

Bush on the economy - liar or more delusions?

I do not subscribe to the Wall Street Journal but I check out the Washington Post online. Yesterday, the Post editorialized on the President's op-ed piece in the WSJ. The editorial started liked this:

PRESIDENT BUSH wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday that "it is also a fact that our tax cuts have fueled robust economic growth and record revenues." The claim about fueling record revenue is flat wrong, and it is shocking that the president should persist in making such errors. After all, tax cuts are the central plank of his domestic policy. How can he fail to understand the basic facts about them?

President Bush also thought we were winning in Iraq and that there was no global warming and the Republicans were going to keep Congress. I have not seen where Indiana has benefited a bit from the tax cuts. I suggest reading the rest of the editorial. While economists can nitpick over details, the Post uses Republican economists to make its points.

The take a look at this article at the New York Times: A Phantom Rebound in the Housing Market. I think most of central Indiana missed the housing boom of the past few years. This is the boom that helped picked up our national economy.

In Anderson and Madison County, the biggest real estate boom has been mortgage foreclosures. Which ought to give our legislators something to think about.

Bush still delusional about Iraq?

I know about stubborn. I can be quite mulish a lot of the time. I come from a family with an aptitude for cutting their noses off to spite their faces. However, I have good enough sense to know that these traits make me wholly unfit for elected office. I saw that same kind of stubbornness in Bush back in 2000 when he got cornered by press in Maine about some DUI that had slipped his mind. He had no idea of how to deal with the questions gracefully and there was rage in his eyes. Now I am wondering if there is more than just stubbornness but stubbornness and an raging, outsized ego. Or is he just nuts?

This from The Sunday Herald of Scotland:

If the leaks are right, and the US plumps for "surging troops" and "surging resources", this will be the antithesis of what James Baker's Iraq Study Group recommended at the end of last year. At the time, the former secretary of state made it clear that his findings represented joined-up thinking and should not be cherry-picked by the president.

Although Bush has great respect for Baker and acknowledges the depth of his experience in the Middle East, he has clearly paid lip-service to the findings of the group and has listened instead to advisers like Kagan and Keane. With their siren voices ringing in his ears, Bush has come to believe that 2007 will be a crucial year in Iraq and one on which history will finally assess his

presidency.

This is from The Age in Australia:

And who will trust the Americans now, after this and Abu Ghraib and hurricane Katrina, to get any process right in any country including their own? Not the British soldiers on the ground in Helmland Province, Afghanistan. Not the Australian "security guards" in downtown Baghdad. Not the Iraqi dentists, doctors, nurses, restaurateurs and university lecturers daily fleeing the country. Not the children with toothache. Not the pregnant women with nowhere to go to give birth. Not the grandmothers of dead babies in humidicribs whose electricity gave out. Not the middle-class parents afraid to put their children on school buses lest they never see them again.

And who in the US will trust the American Army, the State Department and the current American rulers of Baghdad either? Not the 30,000 boys and girls wounded, nor their families. Not the 13,000 or 15,000 parents and siblings bereaved. Not the mayors of the towns the 3000 dead kids came from. Not the Democrat local members Bush is now asking for more soldiers, more weapons, more money, more patience, more time in a Long War as long, perhaps, as the Cold War.

The US is facing outright defeat — and worldwide contempt as never before — because of the Saddam gallows Grand Guignol and the secular Golgotha his jeering, black-hooded captors turned it into. And none of this need have happened. All the cluey US spin-men had to do, after consulting a few legal experts, was yield him up to lengthy trial by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague; let him give big speeches the media would soon tire of; and let him grow very old and sad in jail.

These are from countries who are allied with us in Iraq. We can say that they are not representative but then we have this from The London Times:

I have not heard one remotely plausible game plan for the “Battle of the Surge”. Leaks have indicated that commanders on the ground are strongly opposed to giving the enemy yet more targets. Pentagon chiefs are equally opposed to the cost in men and money of a transient boost in control on the ground. American public opinion and Congress are overwhelmingly against the plan, which Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator, calls “Alice in Wonderland”.

NI_MPU('middle');

American puppets in Baghdad’s green zone will do as they are told, but the only real enthusiasts are neocon diehards and Tony Blair. They were represented on this page two weeks ago by Frederick Kagan, in a fantasy revival of the 2003 “clear and hold” strategy, which amounts to telling American soldiers to commit suicide.

Leaders contemplating defeat far from the front are always tempted to order “one last push”. Thus did Hitler order the battle of the bulge, Nixon the bombing of Cambodia and Reagan the blasting of the Shouf to cover his retreat from Lebanon. A general must pretend to victory even in the jaws of defeat, or his soldiers will not fight. America has 1m men under arms. Surely they are not to be beaten by a few hundred guerrillas in the suburbs of Baghdad? So Bush will tell them to make one last heave, however pointless. He does not want to share his father’s legacy of cutting and running from Iraq.

By the way, The London Times I think is still owned by Rupert Murdoch of Fox News.

For something American, and far to the left side of liberal, here is an article from The Nation: Selling the Surge.

2009 cannot come soon enough.

General Assembly - More on what is coming

The Indianapolis Star has an article and editorial about the upcoming General Assembly. I so seldom agree with the Star's editorials that I am about in shock. Of course, there is not here that is really new. Finally, the Republicans see the sense of all day kindergarten. We have got it get drilled in the kids' heads that a good education equals a good job. Drill it in the parent's heads, too. There are still those who think that GM will start employing high school dropouts at UAW wages.

What I fear is that Mighty Mitch ( have seen too much of that MM logo and can only think of Mighty Mouse when I see it) is trying to make himself out to look reasonable and us Democrats as unreasonable. Again, thanks to TDW for making me think about this. Maybe the uproar over privatizing the lottery has sent him into shock.

Daniels' legislative programs intrigue me. TDW, again, brought this one up. She asks if MM has a larger strategy or getting a cold shoulder from his party? First year in, he tossed out an increased tax and did nothing to get it through the legislature. His proposals this year for new toll road and the lottery have no sponsors on the legislative side. Part of me wonders if he even knows how to line up legislators but maybe I am just overestimating his arrogance. Maybe, just maybe, the Republicans have come to realize that Bush and his acolytes like MM have come close to ruining their party? Maybe our Republicans have a larger strategy to remove MM before we get a chance? Let us hope.

New General Assaembly Session coming - talking about the minimum wage

The economists bicker back and forth like they always do about some mind numbing detail that reminds me why I hate higher math. I know people here in Anderson trying to live off the current minimum wage and others trying to live off of wages below what is being proposed as our new minimum wage.

The Journal Gazette has an article on this. The Fort Wayne paper obviously recognizes a good state senator to get a quote from:

“I just think that unlike past years now it’s been clearly demonstrated that there is overwhelming acceptance of an increase in the minimum wage. Every poll I’ve seen shows support for it,” said Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson. “The passage of time itself speaks for itself. If you’re going to have a minimum wage, which I think we have committed to, then it should be a reasonable minimum wage. Obviously, $5.15 is just not.”

Lanane has filed one of four bills so far by Democrats in the House and Senate seeking an increase. His bill, along with two others, uses a phased-in approach, reaching between $7.25 and $8 by the end of 2008.

One bill would hit $9 by 2009.

Ok, a little humor there. Lanane represents most of Madison County and part of Delaware County. He has got a very good of what it is like here.

This morning's Taking Down Words got my attention on this subject. TDW has links to some other articles on the subject and the comments to her blog ought to be read.

The theme seems to be the Governor is ok with the idea. I suspect TDW and her commentators are right - the Governor can make soothing noises that sound like he is in favor of the increase and hope the US Congress or the Republican's in Indiana's Senate keep the problem away from his desk.

For those against the increase just answer this question: do have to depend on the minimum wage for your job or does the business you work for depend on people whose income is minimum wage? In my business I see a lot of people who are not working at a union shop or on salary, and they can no longer afford me and I cannot afford to cut rates to work for them. At the same time, those who do have the income are leaving the area. The economists can argue over numbers but the question is what is right for all the people.

Worldwide Conspiracy? Silliness for Sunday Afternoon

From Muncie, Indiana to Merseyside, is the worldwide conspiracy of pitbull owners? Today I saw the article in The London Times and remembered a headline from the Muncie Star-Press.

So maybe Muncie should call Scotland Yard? Build on their Armed & Famous franchise? I know people in Muncie keep talking about this. My think Muncie deserves it but that is another story for another day. I even know a guy who really hopes LaToya Jackson would arrest him. No, he is not quite right in the head but I think you got to be of a certain age to remember LaToya. Hint: she was the hot one before Janet.

I got to admit it gives Muncie some press in the Indianapolis Star (but remember that Muncie's Star-Press and the Indianapolis Star are both Gannet papers) and from what I have just seen, The Washington Post. Both pieces are fluffy but at least Tully drove up from Indy to Muncie.

Great Lakes Small Business Blog

I was unaware of this blog until I got an article commented upon. I am making a separate entry noting this blog because I think that it looks great and could be a great resource for small businesses.

If anyone has been reading this blog, I hope they have gotten the message that I think businesses of all sizes are needed here in Anderson and in Indiana.

Indiana's Agiculture Policy - a response to a response

have spent some time trying to add the following to the comments at Great Lakes Small Business Blog but with no luck.

I thank you for your kind words regarding Trifles from Anderson. However, I would not have said that the article you cited was advocating government subsidies. It was meant to critique the current Indiana agricultural policy.

I would say that federal agricultural subsidies made two contributions. First, they reined in what had been one of the more radical segments of our citizens. Take a look at the Grangers and the Populists and you will see farmers. Now we have Republicans. The other accomplishment is the rise of the corporate farm.

Government is involved with agriculture and always will be. A dependable food source will always trump the pure, anarchic free market. That takes a bit of fun out of our lives but an unreliable food supply system is a recipe for disaster.

With that said, the current federal subsidies provide their own dangers. I cannot recall for sure but I am petty certain that I did not blog on a Washington Post article regarding milk subsidies. The article was pretty good description of the monopolist tendencies created by subsidies.

Indiana's government has decreed that CAFO's - actually hog feeder lots - will be the future of our state agricultural policy. Presumably now Purdue (our land grant university) will do all it can to pursue this policy. Our farmers and Purdue have a relationship for promoting our state's agriculture. And there we have government involvement again. I am far from keen on CAFO's. I see environmental damage and I see economic problems stemming from a monoculture. While they cannot be avoided, it should not come from starving the small farmers.

We could and should encourage value added products, better education about foreign markets for all our agricultural products. This requires a government/private partnership (especially the export side of things). But at the state level, the principal government influence on our farmers is Purdue. Information, training, research provided by Purdue may not save all family farms but it certainly cannot hurt very many. Combine what Purdue provides with the skill and knowledge of the farmer and I think we may have a better agricultural policy than what has been proposed so far.

Happy New Year? Economic news for Indiana

January comes from the name of a Roman god. He could look backward and forward. Well, this morning the Muncie Star Press is looking at what the new year has in store for the local economy. One is a report from their local business roundtable and the other is a general survey of Muncie businesses. Whether Borg-Warner will close hangs over Muncie. The prospects do not look good for the area or for Indiana. We remain tethered to the same manufacturing economy that we were sixteen years ago and Mitch does not really seem committed to letting us free from that tether.. So much for Mitch's plan to change to Indiana. Today's manufacturing does differ from that of 1990- there is even less of it than there was then. Patrick Barkey wrote about this early last month and his lack of enthusiasm was outstanding.

Thanks to Taking Down Words for a link to this piece from The Northwest Times. The writer looks back and sees decline. Combine that with the Star Press articles and the business climate looks as gloomy as today's weather.

More locally, Saturn Computers announces it is downsizing. Now, cutthroat pretty much describes the computer business - computer sellers must compete with Dell and service is where they make their money - but Saturn held on longer than anyone else in town.

The Herald-Bulletin headlines a story with City looking for a banner 2007, but does not really explain why the city expects a banner year.

The Herald-Bulletin editor writes very optimistically about Anderson and Madison County. Yes, Nestle and Mancor add much to the city. Do we really know just how much of an economic benefit they do provide and will provide? I think the Mayor's trips to China and Israel were good ideas (hey, Canan over in Muncie did something similar and it has been of some benefit - take a look at the Star-Press articles above) but has anyone heard any reports of what he did or accomplished? I might have shared the editor's optimism if I had not read the articles I linked to above. By the way, none of today's reports or any hint of them appeared in The Herald-Bulletin.

We need a strategy that does not rely on only huge industrial works or selling off the state. We need a strategy that enables the small farmer and the small businessman. A strategy that promotes innovation that stays at home rather moving out of state to make money. We need a strategy that funnels capital to small businesses to develop their ideas. We need to tout Indiana's tourism and other services. Which means, in turn, selling Indiana instead of selling Indiana off. We do not need small visions of the sort that dominate our Governor. The question remains open if the Democrats can rise to the occasion. I humbly suggest that Anderson provides us with an opportunity this year and a laboratory for afterwards.

Purdue and alternative agiculture

We all know that the Governor's agricultural policy is to create huge hog farms, CAFO's. I have made my views known here on the subject. The point here is that we need a comprehensive agricultural plan and not one that merely converts farms to industrial agriculture.

Well, it seems that Purdue has also been working on this idea. Agricultures Magazine has an article about some of Purdue's projects. They also have an article on local producers for local consumers (Ways to Grow did not work for me, but I found the site here and mostly barren.)

Meanwhile, the Washington Post has an article on a farmer's wife who started a creamery. Purdue's dairy page has nothing similar.

Then if you look closely at the copyright dates and the date on the publications, there seems to be a connection. The Ways to Grow website shows a copyright date that ends in 2003. If you go from Ways to Grow to the Jennings County Growers site, their copyright ended in 2005. Then go from the Jennings County Growers to Hoosier Fresh, we have reports that end in 2003. So, is there any connection to Governor Daniels coming onboard in 2004?

Biofuels and Indiana - from Purdue to you

I thought it might be fun to see what Purdue has about biofuels. Looks like they have an entire website here. There are papers in .pdf format but I have not had time to read them. Purdue also has a Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering and the Richard G. Lugar-Purdue Summit on Energy Security.

Now I have two questions. First, am I just out of the swim of things or is there a problem here with a lack of publicity? The Purdue press release says in part:

To help farmers and the general public better understand the science and issues behind biofuels, Purdue has created a bioenergy Web site that highlights research techniques and information related to renewable fuels, ethanol and biodiesel.

"We developed this Web site for two audiences – crop producers interested in the use of their grain for feed and fuel, and the general public interested in how we're using resources for ethanol production," said Tom Jordan, assistant director of Purdue Extension.

Second, is there any strategic plan for converting this research to tangible use?