Scandals and votes

Steve Keltner to replace Senator Teresa Lubbers

HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION is solidly behind Steve Keltner for Indiana Senate. Please join us at the Columbia Club to celebrate Steve's birthday and give some money to fund his campaign. We need him in office and he will work for us, not his cronies or special interests. You might recall that Senator Lubbers is not taxpayer friendly and recently showed no compassion to a taxpayer who lost friends to the pressure of property tax bills.

Please join host Mark Rutherford

in supporting Steve's campaign for Indiana Senate.

When: Thursday, February 7, 2008
(This also happens to be Steve's Birthday)
Where: The Columbia Club 121 Monument Circle
Cost: $75 per person (Payment accepted at the door)
Drinks and Hors d'oeuvres included
Time: 6-8pm

Friday Rally -- Noon at the state house

Government thieves unwelcome

Citizens from all over the state are coming on Friday to let their legislators know they have had enough of the cronyism and politics in the state house. We are coming to tell the legislators that we want our interests put first.

While Eric Miller has done a lot to push property tax repeal, he is now purposely driving a wedge into the property tax repeal momentum by attemptoing to attach citizen activism to his homo-hatred agenda.

We want citizens throughout the state to know that HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION will be there. We are here for ALL of Indiana citizens and do not support the marriage amendment or any other legislation that oppresses Indiana's people. We support open, accountable government that uses our money wisely.

We want property tax legislation to be kept separate from other legislation. We expect the government to get out of our personal lives. God knows they can't even run the government, do we really want them involved in our personal relationships too?

Join us at noon on Friday and look for the giant banner that says: "Politicans, do you want our houses?" Bring signs and posters.

Let them know you are voting them out in November. We all can say now that we have had enough.

Tremco Roofing and Ice Miller visit our blog this morning.

According to our site stats Tremco, the Ohio-based roofing contractor we told you about , was up bright and early and all over our blog this morning. An hour later Ice Miller. the law firm that represented Tremco's libel suit against the NW Indiana activist who exposed Tremco, was visiting.

Think they'll slap a libel suit on us too? They don't like it when we citizens meddle with our own tax dollars, do they?

As an aside, Tom John who heads the Marion County Republican party, accepted a position at Ice Miller this week. The Marion County Republicn Party is the same band of hooligans that didn't support their own candidate, Greg Ballard in the election. In fact, a couple weeks before the election Tom John said to someone right in front of Greg Ballard that becoming mayor was a lost cause. Nice, huh?

We hope Ballard never forgets who put him in office. We're working hard to get the cronyism in Indiana government broken up. We need the whole state to pitch in and help.

UPDATE: We were incorrect in stating that Ice Miller filed the libel suit against Ms. Vice and stand corrected. The suit was filed, but by another firm. Ice Miller does have a big heavy hand in lobbying against the taxpayer and for Tremco at the state house. You can read more about it here.

Indianapolis Tea Party - July 28, 2007

INDIANA TEA PARTY 2007

Andy Horning speaks out about the marriage amendment

Andy Horning is a devout Christian and devout patriot. Andy Horning doesn't judge others either. In his essay today he describes the marriage amendment as "marriage is between a man, a woman, and Caesar". Andy gets it. Here's what he had to say today on his "WE DECLARE" blog.

WE DECLARE:
"I’ve gotten a slew of emails today about SJR 7. I may as well post what I’d said to some in reply:Unfortunately, what SJR 7 really does is formalize the thinking that marriage is between a man, a woman, and Caesar. Christians should define marriage as a Holy covenant between a man, a woman, and God - not as a state contract with all sorts of bennies. But with Social Security, bereavement pay, visitation rights, property rights, work rules, tax rules and more rules, rules rules from the Great Golden Calf of State, we’ve desecrated the Holy covenant, and have put self-acclaimed Christians in the preposterous role of advocating legal disparity in matters of simple justice.

If SJR 7 advocates get their way with this resolution, then politicians, not church officials, will have all authority in the matter of “marriage,” and a new crop of politicians may someday declare that marriage can be only between a man and a goat.

I say we should get the state out of marriage entirely. Take from Caesar what is God’s.
Post script: Since when have politicians cared about the constitution? Why amend what they will not obey? Obey what we’ve got, and then we’ll just see if we need to amend anything…"

THE 'GIT LIST' : Hoosier Senators Put on Notice by The People

Hat tip to OneTaxBillFromHomeless.com who first published this list. We need the list published on blogs state wide.

Notice: To members of the Indiana Republican Senate Caucus

You have until noon on Thursday, January 31st, to clear your names or clarify your caucus votes, on this public forum, regarding SJR8 (property tax repeal), taken on Thursday, January 17th.

By force of special interests rather than leadership, you voted in secret, to deny the citizens their freedom of speech, entrusted to the people who should represent them.In the absence of open process, here are the people's "Top Ten" or Republican Senators, who in a forced, closed caucus (1/17/08), voted to bring property tax repeal to the floor of the Indiana Senate for an open vote. Until or unless the record is corrected by members of the caucus (with verification), the people have it on excellent authority, that the following, first list of ten people are the good guys, and the second list of 23 Senators are the not so good:

List #1: Senators for the People and open process:
THE GOOD GUYS
1) Phil Boots
2) Mike Delph
3) Jeff Drozda
4) Greg Walker
5) Brent Waltz
6) John Waterman
7) Tom Weatherwax
8) Brent Steele
9) Mike Young
10) Joe Zakas

#2: People's 'GIT LIST' (git outa here)
or senators opposed to open process
THE BAD GUYS
1 ) Ron Alting
2) Vaneta Becker
3) Richard Bray
4) Dr. Gary Dillon
5) David Ford
6) Beverly Gard
7) Victor Heinold
8) Brandt Hershmann
9) Robert Jackman
10) Luke Kenley
11) Dennis Kruse
12) Sue Landske
13) Connie Lawson
14) David Long
15) Teresa Lubbers
16) Robert Meeks
17) James Merritt
18) Pat Miller
19) Frank Mrvan
20) Johnny Nugent
21) Allen Paul
22) Marvin Riegsecker
23) Tom Wyss

Would Jesus jeapordize Hoosier home ownership security?

A PICTURE OF HATRED
Representative Turner

Advance Indiana first reports that Representative Turner today effectively killed the property tax relief plan first put forth by the Governor by adding this amendment:

.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF INDIANA IS AMENDED BY ADDING A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

Section 38. (a) Marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) 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.".

.

Activists with Hoosiers For Fair Taxation are absolutely outraged that our legislators would attempt to force our citizens into the choice of property tax relief along side acceptance that our gay friends and family in love will never be allowed to be married. This is discrimination, hatred, and under-handed politics at its worst.

I will admit I've been torn about what to do since first learning of Eric Miller's February 1st repeal rally because he is planning to attach his homo-hatred agenda to the property tax activists' agenda. I was going to hold a separate rally on the same day, but then changed my mind because I didn't want to bring attention to SJR 7 (marriage definition amendment) and I didn't want to show division among property tax activists. However, I can no longer be quiet.

Rep. Bosman, Rep. Turner, and Eric Miller of Advance Indiana are now pushing legislation that will effectively oppress one large group of Hoosiers, while attempting to give relief from oppression of homeowners. It's a Sophie's Choice. How can any of us stand up at Eric Miller's Rallys ever again? Eric Miller used our tax activism and hi-jacked for his agenda of hate.

We will be at Eric Miller's Rally on Friday with plenty of ammunition.

And Indiana's citizens who love ALL of her people will be heard.

You can count on that.

--Melyssa, volunteer & founder
HOOSIERS FOR FAIR TAXATION

Roofing contractor's training manual explains how to trick schools into tripling their construction budgets

Want to get rich by screwing taxpayers and school systems? Then read the excerpts from the Tremco training manual that we published below. Big Hat Tip to Indiana activist Diane Vice at Welcome to My Tea Party

Companies who rip off school systems (like the one we are exposing today) are the real reason why educrats and house democrats whined to reporters when their funding is getting cut. Our kids' educations aren't threatened. What is getting threatened are their kickbacks, tickets, and wining and dining on the public dime.

We need school superintendents and facilities managers to do their home work and get the taxpayers good deals on maintenance and remodel projects. We also need to make sure ALL of Indiana's companies have equal access to compete for contracts. Price fixing, bond debt, and lazy, greedy educrats are the real reason school budgets need to be slashed. There is meaning in the fact that the ISTA building is across from the capitol. Ever think of that? --HFFT editor

FROM THE TREMCO TRAINING MANUAL:
Controlling the School and Public Work

1) Public monies are budgeted for roof work a year in advance. These funds are spent unless a major catastrophe occurs. We must make every effort to be a factor in the budget setting process. Some years when industry is down the public monies are good. We need to diversify our business so that we do not get hurt in any one segment of our market place.

2) These school and public work accounts vary in size. The large the account the more competition you will encounter. We need to be calling on all size accounts so that we do not rely too heavily one one particular account to make our year.

3) Start out with these accounts in the same manner as any other account. Find out what the business manager or superintendent's priorities are.....

4) Once we create a need and get agreement from the account, try and keep the job from going out for public bid. We must show the account why it is to his advantage not to go out for public bid....
C) Small separate purchase orders [Remember the "change order" from Rossville?]...

5) Write specifications to make sure we include all details and be as thorough as possible.
A) Write items into the specs which our competition does not have.
B) Mix the job up. Write in Tremline, NTB fasteners, resaturation, etc. Make it complete as possible.

6) Make sure there is a pre-bid meeting. This way you will know who your competition is before the bids are opened. Make the pre-bid mandatory and have it early in the advertisement.
A) Any changes in the specifications or materials will be sent out in an addendum. Never have your business manager or yourself be put in a position whereby a decision is made on the spot on any item in the specifications whether it be materials or methods of application. In this manner you can still control the final outcome with changes...

7) Contact all contractors that have picked up specifications. Make it clear that you will give them material prices as long as they do not submit an alternate to the specifications. Make it clear to a competitive contractor that it would be to their advantage to bid your specifications and not the alternate. Neutralizing them is all we can expect...

9) Stay in contact with the business manager to make sure there have been no changes. Check to see who picked up specifications.

NEWS BROADCASTS ABOUT TREMCO
http://www.wlwt.com/news/2010987/detail.html

http://www.wlwt.com/news/790350/detail.html

"Welcome To My Tea Party" corruption expose blog by Lake County activist

We recently talked with Lake county homemaker, Diane Vice, who single-handedly is exposing the corruption of Tremco Co. via her blog "Welcome to My Tea Party". Tremco is a roofing contractor that attached itself to a buying club that schools use for purchase of consumable materials. They are designed to give school systems volume discounts on pencils, paper, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies.

Tremco charges schools, and ultimately taxpayers, about three times the cost of similar roofing materials you can buy from GAF or other quality manufacturers. Diane began to break open the scam when roofers in her area were complaining that they couldn't get contracts and the money was going out-of-state to Ohio based Tremco.

Eventually Diane's whistle blower oddysey led her to testitfy before an Indiana senate committee who promised to help. Unfortunately things fell apart after Tremco spent big bucks to send in their lobbyists and plenty of Ice Miller lawyers who prompty sued our whistle blower heroine for libel.

Mervilde's $183 million dollar bond increase for Washington Township

EVENT: Public Information Meeting about Washington Township Schools’ $183 million building plan

SPONSORED BY: Citizens For Education (CFE)
DATE: Thursday, Jan 31 at 7 pm.
PLACE: Pleasant View Lutheran Church
801 W. 73rd St. (Corner of 73rd and Hoover Rd.)

45% of our property taxes go to our Washington Township schools—approx. $100 million/year!

80% of Washington Township residents do not have children in Washington Township Schools

A 2005 $50 million Bond Compromise Agreement was accepted—and broken by the Board in 2006.

A potential $185 million construction bond issue is awaiting the next Board.

Does CFE want an excellent education for our students? YES
Does CFE believe that there is waste in the school budget? YES
Does CFE believe that school dollars should be devoted to education and teachers FIRST? YES
Does CFE want to keep school dollars in the classroom for teaching, not for building classrooms? YES

Citizens For Education is a new organization whose mission is:
"To promote the district values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Courage, Caring, Self-Discipline; To promote the use of taxpayer funds for the primary goal of student education;
To elect responsible persons to the WT School Board"

EVERYONE IS INVITED

Please come--bring your friends and neighbors!
For more information, contact Penny Bigelow, President
876-0707

Indiana's Political Caste

GOT VOTES?
SJR8, May, November?

Their paternal tones, crash land in the ears of their peers- their constituents. Unaware and disconnected; the state housed, wax on in the clubby tongue of the rotunda, about property tax "reform." Roaring like lions, they trap mice (township government, state wide a 2% "problem" or $332M of $15.3B), while avoiding the difficult, brave work, of herding elephants (Indiana's excessive bond debt). Best figures available (LSA & DLGF updates welcome!), indicate that Indiana's bond debt is something like $21.6B and GROWING; a statewide problem, 65 times greater than that of township government... meow.

Add 17 floors to the tallest building in Indianapolis, the 48 story Chase Tower, to create a structure that is 65 stories tall. Imagine this 65 story version of the Chase Tower, standing next to a single story White Castle, and you'll get the idea (comparison). Unless you're crave impaired by a slider fixation, you'll notice the tallish building. So, what's with the phantom appetite for township government, when Indiana's bond debt is a problem sixty-five times its size? The answer is special interest. Welcome to the state capitol of Myopolis, where special interests trump general welfare. How do you eat an elephant anyway?

In the absence of good faith or appropriate disclosure by the STATE of Indiana (ahoy staties, let's see some numbers); we'll dart throw an estimate of $21.6B, in total bond indebtedness; assuming, ¢30 of each property tax dollar committed to bond debt is multiplied, by the annual PT collection of ~$6B, and then by a factor of 12 (economist's estimate of the blended rate and terms of total current bonds, again, in the absence of any disclosure by the STATE). Let's be clear, Indiana's excessive bond indebtedness is an undisclosed, perpetual, unspecified lien (ain't that term oxymoronic) on private property; which is unconstitutional. The purpose of law is clarity, not obscurity. The Constitution is every American's document; written as such, and not the loopholed refuge of lawyers who fail to hear their higher calling.

Nationally, the President and Congress are busting a speedy move to avoid election woes, 'er recession (two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP). One economist, a true friend of the citizen, and reasoned proponent of repeal, estimates the current quarter (Q-1 of 2008, factored for a margin of error), will range between negative growth of 1.3%, to barely but hopefully positive growth of .1%. While folks in D.C. scurry to "package" the appearance of a solution (sound familiar?), they ignore the historic, tried and true solution of cutting marginal tax rates, a la JFK / Johnson / Reagan. In the beltway, the pulse of flashing barricades is routinely confused with club strobe; a place where principled proaction is traded away and devalued, in exchange for political reaction, dancing to the tunes of special interests. Rather than address the problem, our economist friend explained, "They're [D.C.] going to drop cash from helicopters on the American people." Symbolism over substance, sound familiar? Government continues to insist on problem making with the excuse of "having an answer," when the real answer is government getting out of the way, not acting as a free market barricade.

As a citizen, it's difficult to understand or accept, the profound disconnect between Hoosiers and their government. It was detachment on display at the State of The State Address (Tues, 1/15); as some legislators leaving the chamber, felt obliged to make comments in paternal tones, to the 200+ supporters of repeal, assembled outside the chamber. "You don't want to pay for anything," mischaracterized one legislator (never minding that it's citizens who pay for everything). Citizens assembled that evening with a simple purpose; to be heard on the issue of repeal, and insist that it get a fair hearing on floor of both houses. The failure of this legislature, to allow open discussion and a vote on the floor of both houses, is the absolute denial of free speech.

Yet another legislator refused to give his name or clarify several comments that he made; specifically his suggestion to this observer that he was from the "other side of the aisle" (vs. those unwashed, assembled outside the chamber door). As he continued, his party affiliation became apparent and I stopped my less than ten second, quick count, at 6-7-8, members of "his" party, within direct view and our assembled ranks; realizing that he and his colleagues are completely unaware, that the repeal movement is omnipartisan. His unwitting arrogance and disconnectedness were suddenly familiar, in a November 2007, east end of Market Street, sort of way.

Add to these episodes, the Senate Republican caucus' recent denial of free speech and representative government, to all Hoosiers; by their abandonment of SJR8 (Thur, 1/17), the bill for repeal, killed by their decision to study it to death, in a "summer study." How many more years of summer study are required, before these folks GRADUATE?!? How many summers have these same Senators spent, studying the plan (HB1001) which was created last year and just passed in the Indiana house? Which, if any, elimination plans did those Senators truly study during the same period? Doesn't the elimination idea go back several years (Indiana Farm Bureau, etc.)? There's a profound sincerity deficit here.

Indiana's beloved, former Governor, Otis "Doc" Bowen, wrote a recent editorial, "Time for action is now." Doc explains that "visible, lasting and substantial" property tax relief was a primary goal of his first year in office (1973), in a similar environment of rapid tax increases and runaway spending. While his editorial is an endorsement of House Bill 1001; the very architect of Doc Bowen's property tax relief plan, the guy with the numbers, was Dr. Bill Styring; a well credentialed economist (see utube feature on this website) who tells us that the only rational solution to the property tax problem, is total elimination, everything else, he says, is a "radical idea." Exactly what's going on here is hard to say (Gubernatorial etiquette, an editorial written by a fine man to calm the fears of seniors facing homelessness, or?). Remember however, that until very recently, and for a very long time (like last fall, after the State Fair and before the election); Farm Bureau Co-op (that's right they had an entire booth at the State Fair devoted to the ELIMINATION of property tax, but don't worry their members are also confused), held a position firmly in favor of REPEAL. So much change in such a short period of time reminds us that change is indeed the true constant.

Asking our representatives to exhibit the courage of their convictions and expose them to open process (floor discussions and votes on the repeal issue, in both houses) is not too much to ask. It's the right thing for them to do and the conscious (in touch) among them know it.

GOVERNOR DANIELS DISINGENUOUS BACKPEDAL

Governor Daniels Mistake of the State Address did not cater to ‘repeal’ of property taxes. His few references to it elsewhere in other forums indicated he sympathized with repeal advocates who he claimed had their heart in the right place. Lawmakers have indicated openly they did not push it, because it was not part of the Governor’s reform package, and they were not about to take the lead unless they followed the Governor’s endorsement.

THE CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS:

January 15 - Citizens repeatedly shouted “Repeal” to Daniels while entering the Statehouse room

January 16 - Daniels defended his original plan and mentioned repeal was a nice idea but not now.

January 24 - Speaking at the Southern Indiana Realtors Association in hard hit Jeffersonville, In., the Louisville Courier-Journal quotes Daniels: “I am in favor of repealing property taxes”, “If a bill comes to me, I’d sign it”.

Yet Daniels never pushed his philosophy, never wove it into his reform package as a principle ingredient and never encouraged lawmakers to devise a workable plan with that goal in mind. The simple caps he proposed may be constitutionally challenged and begs the question that if going for a Constitutional amendment, why settle for Constitutional caps instead of permanent repeal if he truly believes in repeal. Why not become of leader of repeal and make a way for it to happen? That’s what the CEO of our State is required to do; be a leader and fight for the convictions he believes in.

Is it possible that after his unhappy public welcome at the Statehouse, the disapproval of revolting Hoosiers gathered at the Statehouse Taxing Time broadcasted live to hundreds of thousands of citizens, that lip service is the only thing left to boost his sagging popularity in an election year? This transparency will be left up to the voters in November.

Patriot Paul

Fair Tax Rally in Nashville on April 12

We are asked to invite Hoosiers to a big Fair Tax Rally in Nashville TN. Since the rally is on a Saturday and is only four hours from Indianapolis, Hoosiers For Fair Taxation is going coordinate a caravan from our capitol to attend the rally in the Volunteer state's capitol. Please email us if you want to go and we shall put you on list and make sure you get trip updates. --HFFT editor

Calling all FairTaxers!

April 15th is right around the corner and the Internal Revenue Service is taking aim once more on America 's working class and small business owners. We individual FairTaxers have another opportunity to get our message out into the public forums on a national scale.

The National Fair Tax Freedom Rally will be held in Nashville , Tennessee , on the Saturday prior to the April 15th deadline. This event is not put on by the Americans For Fair Taxation group in Houston , TX . They have their hands full with the Presidential election focus, so this is an independent grassroots event!

The AFFT staff and volunteers are certainly invited and encouraged to come and join in as honored guests. Also, we will be inviting any and all candidates for Washington's governmental offices, including incumbents, to attend and tell us why they do or do not support the bills HR25 and S1025 in Congress. Maybe one of them have what they think is a better plan; we want to hear that as well!

The date of the event is Saturday, April 12, 2008, at Riverside Park located near the State Capitol Building . There are other events going on in the city the same day, so plan to have some fun while you are visiting.

If you would like to learn more about FairTax, you might want to check out this website:

STATEHOUSE CHAMBER OF HORRORS !

As I sat among 150 residents at the ‘Taxing Time’ event held inside the Indianapolis Statehouse House chamber Wednesday night, I tried to be a neutral observer. Just to double check my reality that I was not in Hell instead of Indiana, I later replayed the hour event found on WTHR’s web page. Yep, it was real. Despite the outside freezing temperatures, the inside was simmering with irate property owners of homes, businesses, and farms; many who told horror stories of their past and present plight.

A veteran, Kent Morgan, sitting in front of me spoke of his fixed income and fear of loosing his home. To my left, Dave Hendricks from Hamilton County spoke of eviction from his seized home by a prosecutor over his failure to pay steep property taxes. In fact, from the floor to the balcony, the panel of 4 lawmakers drew harsh criticism from citizens who had jeers for legislators and cheers for repeal. The crowd with frequent boos and outbursts wasn’t buying the same status quo remarks heard for months. For citizens already drowning, it was little comfort to be told our leaders still were trying to design a lifejacket. Residents’ shouts of repeal and stop spending periodically echoed, leaving no doubt that property owners are fed up with being taxed out of their homes and want action; not words.

As I emerged from the Chamber of Horrors, disgusted business, farm, and homeowners, some of whom traveled miles for the event, were still boiling from lack of answers to valid questions, and their plight remains unsolved. Who can blame them? The lawmakers on the panel represented the cast of characters who have presided over an abusive system, and it will take more than tweeking to fix it. Few knew that only the night before, the Senate Rules Committee had killed the repeal bill.

Paul Wheeler
Contributor

Taxpayers Score! Washington Township PRO-TAX people in disarray!

1. Incumbents on the Washington Township School Board flee!

All three incumbents on the Washington Township School Board are NOT running again for School Board in the May, 2008 elections!

2. Very few people want to run on the PRO-TAX Parents Council Slate!

The Parent Council of Washington Township, the PRO-TAX supporters of the $183 million Strategic Plan which includes NO educational benefit, has had their slating meetings on Jan 16 and 17. Cid McNeilly, Chairman of their Slating Committee, is “mortified” that they only have two candidates to run for the three open slots on the School Board. She is still searching and trying to recruiting a third candidate.

By the way, Cid McNeilly is an architect. Her architect-husband works for CSO, the architectural firm who designed the $183 million Strategic Plan that the current school board endorsed at their Dec 12 meeting. By the way, the "S" in CSO is gubernatorial candidate Jim Schellinger, who builds school buildings for a plush living.

3. One PRO-TAX Parent Council Candidate could have a conflict of interest!

Is one slated candidate a PAID Staff Member, Head of the Team Parenting Program? Is this is a conflict of interest, or what? Is this slated candidate an act of desperation by the PRO-TAX Parent Council?

Listen to Abdul tomorrow at 8am

Greg Wright, the lone fiscal conservative on the Washington Township School Board and Penny Bigelow (chair of taxpayer advocacy group) will appear on the Abdul show tomorrow, Thursday at 8 am. AM1430 WXNT

They are slotted for one hour, so there should be time for different topics such as:

Wash Twp schools and their $183 million building program

The referendum on school projects (which was just cut down in the Senate yesterday to only non-educational projects such as athletic fields and swimming pools!)

Citizens For Education and our first general meeting on Jan 31, 7 pm at Pleasant View Lutheran Church, 73rd and Hoover

Call for candidates to run for the school board and be slated by Citizens For Education

Please listen in and call in, if you wish. Abdul's show number is 317.228.1430.

READ IT: The Indiana Constitution

Here it is:
THE INDIANA CONSTITUTION

If you care about your property and the future of our state,
start reading and learn your rights.

MASS MURDER AT THE STATEHOUSE

MASS MURDER FROM STATE ROOM 431

Part 1

Hundreds of Thousands of Hoosiers were assassinated last night by 12 Senators who claimed they had reservations about SJR 8 known as the repeal of property taxes bill. Claiming lawmakers spent a whole 5 ½ hours studying the matter, they remained with unanswered questions as to all of its consequences and voted 12-0 to kill it, dashing hopes for all Hoosiers jeopardized with overburdened property taxes with a failed and broken system that needs a desperate overhaul.

Room 431 was the crime scene as citizens took up every seat and the remainder watched on the monitor outside the closed doors. A statehouse officer came into the room and removed signs of “Let us Vote” from citizens’ hands. No one was smiling and most Senators’ heads looked downward with few eye contacts with the public. How could they. They knew what they were about to do exposed their moral and economic failure. A funeral was about to take place, delegated by a caucus not open to the public. But these 12 Senators became the executioners, who with open self-gratulatory comments and praise for each other about their funeral preparation for Hoosiers, then pressed a button to nuke their employers; the citizens of Indiana. Never mind if they had years to fix the escalating problem. Never mind if the studies during last summer to the present were not in their crosshairs. Never mind if citizens complained about lawmaker’s preoccupation with lobbyists’ demands from schools and unions. And never mind if they skate around Constitutional issues by hiding behind every dark loophole and procedural tactic, reminiscent of the City County lockout this past summer. For lawmakers, citizens were a crying nuisance that attracted notice to status quo and incompetent politics, so they killed them.

Media, including the Chicago Tribune, arrived to watch the spectacle of what ugliness reared its head within Indiana. As if to comfort Hoosiers, Senate Bill 100 was invented to study taxation restricted to homestead property only. If passed, this summer study would be required to offer its proposals for the 2009 legislature, conveniently after the November, 2008 election.

Fuming citizens picked up their previously confiscated signs outside the door and held their own caucus, determined that total Repeal can eventually be the Lazarus for citizens to come forth from their grave to live a less oppressed life.

Totally missed by lawmakers is not just the remedy to fix economic problems, but the moral imperative for Hoosiers to own permanently their property without fear of confiscation from the State’s annual eviction notice for failure to pay a ransom note into a broken system. No sugar-coated pill is going to pacify Hoosiers who will make November an interesting election with incumbents on a flush list.


Paul Wheeler

Ethics smethics! Indiana's lawmakers don't seem interested in ethics reform

The Journal Gazette in Ft. Wayne offers us an excellent editorial on ethics (actually lack thereof) in the Statehouse. This editorial is a MUST read.

Here are the ethics bills currently being shunned by Indiana's greedy lawmakers. We like HB 1063.

Senate Bill 59: Reduces from $100 to $25 the minimum reportable amount for total daily gifts to a legislator or a legislative employee given by a registered lobbyist or a single gift received by a legislator or legislative candidate.

Senate Bill 165: Provides that an individual who has served as a member of the General Assembly may not register as a legislative branch lobbyist during the period that ends one year after the date the legislator leaves.

House Bill 1063: Provides that a member of the General Assembly, a candidate for a legislative office, an officer or employee of the General Assembly or a member of the immediate family of any of those individuals may not accept a gift from a lobbyist. Provides that a lobbyist may not give a gift to any of these persons. Provides that violations of any of the prohibitions on giving or accepting gifts is a Class B misdemeanor. Provides that an individual who has served as a member of the General Assembly may not register as a legislative branch lobbyist during the period that ends two years after the date that the individual ceases to be a member.