TAX ABATEMENT – NOT FOR FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS ANY MORE

I don’t get it. Why was Mitch Harper the only one who questioned the propriety of the tax abatement given to the new Harrison Square condo owners and had the wherewithal to vote against the proposal? Why would buyers who can afford the condos need a tax abatement?

I have always supported Harrison Square, but this goes too far. Councilman Pape mentioned that we need to be sure we can draw new development to the downtown. Pardon me, but I thought the condos had already been purchased. I also thought we were well on our way to building Harrison Square. Sounds to me like development is already being created.

Why would City Council need to give an abatement after the fact? Did the purchasers agree to buy the condos with the understanding that a tax abatement was in the air? Or am I missing something here?

First, Council provided tax abatements to such illustrious businesses as fast food restaurants which pay paltry wages and do not do much for the community, and now, it appears that certain lucky private property owners will get the benefit of a tax abatement. Okay – where is my abatement? Why shouldn’t I have the benefit of a 10-year abatement?

The following YouTube video is of Councilman Harper explaining why he voted against the tax abatement. And, you know what, he makes perfect sense.

THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF – FDR

The following is a chain e-mail I received from a military person who is no longer on active duty. The original sender is also a military person – at least I think that is what “grissom.af.mil” represents.

I went to Snopes.com – which is something I do regularly now that I receive a number of these hateful e-mails – and checked to see if any of it was true even though I have read enough and researched enough to know it isn’t. And, none of it is true. But the object is to link Obama with Islam and tie him in as a Muslim. That accomplished, the bulk of the e-mail is to instill fear of all Muslims, in general, and Obama, in particular – even though he is not Muslim.

This has to be one of the worst e-mails full of hatred and lies that I have ever received. The full text of the e-mail is as follows:

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CAN MUSLIMS BE GOOD AMERICANS?

This is very interesting and we all need to read it from start to Finish…….. and send it on to anyone who will read itMaybe this is why our American Muslims are so quiet and not speaking out about any atrocities….

Can a good Muslim be a good American?
This question was forwarded to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.The following is his reply:

• Theologically – no. . . . Because his allegiance is to Allah, The moon God of Arabia ..

• Religiously – no. . . . Because no other religion is accepted by His Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256) (Koran)

• Scripturally – no. . . Because his allegiance is to the five Pillars of Islam and the Quran.

• Geographically – no . . . Because his allegiance is to Mecca , to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

• Socially – no. . . Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him To make friends with Christians or Jews.

• Politically – no. . . Because he must submit to the mullahs (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America , the great Satan.

• Domestically – no. . . Because he is instructed to marry four Women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34 )

• Intellectually – no. . . Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

• Philosophically – no. . . . Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran does not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

• Spiritually – no. . . . Because when we declare “one nation under God,” the Christian’s God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as Heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran’s 99 excellent names. – - – Therefore after much study and deliberation…. Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. – - – They obviously cannot be both “good” Muslims and good Americans.

* * * Call it what you wish..it’s still the truth.
* * * You had better believe it.
+ + + The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future. The religious war is bigger than we know or understand. . ..And Barack Hussein Obama, a Muslim, wants to be our President? You have GOT to be kidding! Wake up America !

Obama even says if he wins the election, he will be sworn in on the Quran—not a Bible!

After reading this what do you think? It would be good to keep this going until after the primary season.

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I would also like to know if the individuals are sending these e-mails on my dime as a taxpayer. The address is a military address, and I believe should not be used to circulate such hateful trash. To do so at taxpayer expense is a breach of duty and should be dealt with. I have saved the original address,and I will be contacting someone to see what can be done.

Finally, I am not supporting Obama in the primary; I am supporting Clinton. But some issues go beyond the candidate of choice. They reach to the very core of decency. This e-mail urges suspicion of all Muslims – a path that simply generates more hate on top of already existing hate.

I hope that if you receive one of these e-mails from a military address, you too will take steps to see that it is stopped if it is, indeed, being done with taxpayer money.

KOSOVO TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE – RISING FROM THE RUINS OF YUGOSLAVIA

Kosovo is on the verge of declaring its independence from Serbia: a momentous occasion, yet most Americans will be too absorbed in the current political scene to pay any attention. Many will be thinking about whether or not Obama lacks substance or whether Clinton represents the politics of old or whether McCain is too old to be president.

Kosovo’s anticipated arrival on the world stage has not been won without sacrifice or criticism. It has been a long struggle – one which required the breakup of Yugoslavia and years of subsequent chaos, violence, and ethnic cleansing. Since 1999, Kosovo, a province of Serbia, has been under U.N. control.

Old Yugoslavia

On January 31, 1946, the new constitution of Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, modeled after the Soviet Union’s constitution, established six Socialist Republics, a Socialist Autonomous Province, and a Socialist Autonomous District that were part of SR Serbia. The federal capital was Belgrade. The Republics and provinces were as follows:

1. Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the capital in Sarajevo,
2. Socialist Republic of Croatia, with the capital in Zagreb,
3. Socialist Republic of Macedonia, with the capital in Skopje,
4. Socialist Republic of Montenegro, with the capital in Titograd (now Podgorica),
5. Socialist Republic of Serbia, with the capital in Belgrade, which also contained:
   5a. Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, with the capital in Priština
   5b. Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, with the capital in Novi Sad
6. Socialist Republic of Slovenia, with the capital in Ljubljana.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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From the end of the second World War until 1980, Yugoslavia remained a federation of the six republics. After Yugoslavian dictator Tito’s death in 1980, some of the republics began to seek more freedom from centralized control, but, at the same time, Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian communist leader, whipped the Serbian people into a nationalistic fervor. Milosevic’s goal was to keep the Serb people together at any cost.

In 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, each of the republics held elections. Some of the republics voted for independence and some voted for continued unity with Yugoslavia. The stage was set for death and destruction as the forces that desired independence fought those who wished to remain tied to old Yugoslavia.

The New Nations

Yugoslavia formally ceased to exist on January 15, 1992, when all 12 members of the European Community officially recognized Slovenia and Croatia as independent states. One by one the former Yugoslav republics declared independence with each declaration leading to war and chaos.

Terrible atrocities were committed by all sides during the Yugoslavian wars. Serbian leaders had fought for an ideal of keeping all Serbs together in a “Greater Serbia”, but failed. In two of the most notable atrocities committed, both in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia besieged Sarajevo, resulting in 12,000 deaths and massacred 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica.

The war in Bosnia ended with the Dayton Agreement on December 14, 1995. In all, about 300,000 people were killed and more than 2,000,000 were displaced. In 2003, the name of Yugoslavia was abolished and by 2006, all republics had declared their independence. But within the republic of Serbia lay the autonomous province of Kosovo, waiting for its day of independence.

Kosovo

Kosovo, lying in the southern area of Serbia, is predominantly Albanian and Muslim. Under Tito, Kosovo was granted semi-autonomy in the 1980s but the Kosvars continued to agitate for greater autonomy. When Milosevic assumed leadership of the communist party, he began a drive to subdue Kosovan nationalism. When Milosevic refused to accept an agreement by the European Union to end the conflict, NATO began a bombing campaign. After 78 days of bombing, Milosevic agreed to withdraw his forces from Kosovo, but the violence did not end.

As Albanians returned to their homes, violence among the ethnic groups continued to simmer. Serbs, who had entered during the purging of the Albanian population, were now the ones forced to leave. The hostilities continue to this day, and, with Kosovo on the brink of declaring independence, fears are increasing that this latest and possibly last of the declarations of independence will lead to yet another round of violence.

Earlier Saturday the European Union finally agreed on a security, administrative and legal task force to aid Kosovo once it makes its much anticipated declaration.

Within hours, Kosovo will declare its independence, joining the other players on the world’s stage of autonomous players. And we may see yet another round of violence in the Balkans. As all Americans should remember, independence comes with a price.

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN – NAVY TO SHOOT DOWN SATELLITE

The Navy has been ordered to shoot down a spy satellite hurtling toward Earth with a 1,000 pounds of deadly hydrazine onboard. The satellite spun out of control after being launched in December 2006. The exercise gives the Pentagon a chance to show off decades of controversial research into space weapons – and raises new concerns that it could cause an escalation of military competition in outer space.

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But shooting down the satellite is particularly sensitive now because of the controversy surrounding China’s anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites. The action drew immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

A key concern at that time was the debris created by Chinese satellite’s destruction—and that will also be a focus now, as the U.S. determines exactly when and under what circumstances to shoot down its errant satellite. So we protest China’s actions and then turn around and prepare to do the same thing – now that is hypocrisy. It also sounds like the old familiar “one-upsmanship” that permeated so much of the Cold War era.

However, the action not only raises the specter of increasing “spy-in-the-sky” games but also raises the issue of environmental damage that may be done to the area of the Pacific Ocean where the satellite will splash down, spewing out its toxic content. But Bush has never had much concern for the environment – why start now?

After all what’s a little environmental damage and a little “step over this line” diplomacy when Bush decides to put on his cowboy persona and once again flex his “my guns are bigger than yours” attitude.

WHERE ARE OUR YOUNGINS? IS ACTIVISM TIED TO THE DRAFT?

Conscription is a system to provide manpower to be used in the armed forces. In the United States, conscription was introduced in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 1863 Enrollment Act permitted draftees to hire paid substitutes to fight in their place. In the United States during more recent times, conscription has simply been called the “draft.”

During the Civil War and again during World War I the draft mechanism was dissolved at the end of hostilities. In 1940, prior to U.S. entry into World War II, the first peacetime draft in our nation’s history was enacted in response to increased world tension with the result that the system was able to fill wartime manpower needs smoothly and rapidly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

At the end of the war, the draft law was allowed to expire, but it was reenacted less than two years later to maintain necessary military manpower levels as a result of the Cold War. From 1948 until 1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means.

Induction authority expired in 1973, but the Selective Service System remained in existence in a “standby” posture to support the all-volunteer force in case an emergency should make it necessary for Congress to authorize a resumption of inductions.

Vietnam War draft

Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began slowly and in small numbers in 1964 on various college campuses in the United States. This happened during a time of unprecedented student activism reinforced in numbers by the demographically significant baby boomers, but grew to include a wide and varied cross-section of Americans from all walks of life.

Much of the protest movement was fueled by a system of conscription that provided exemptions and deferments more easily claimed by middle and upper class registrants – and thus inducted disproportionate numbers of poor, working-class, and minority registrants. By the end of 1967, as U.S. troop casualties mounted and the war ground on with no end in sight, public opinion polls showed a majority of Americans were opposed to the war and wanted it to end. In 1967, the continued operation of a seemingly unfair draft system then calling as many as 40,000 men for induction each month fueled a burgeoning draft resistance movement.

But where is that resistance from the youth of today? An undeclared war is being waged in a foreign land, thousands of military personnel are being sent to fight, thousands are dying, and thousands more are being maimed for life.

Yet, the youth of today are strangely silent. Could it be that the primary reason so many college age and young people are not participating is because they do not have a “vested” interest in this war? The Selective Service is still in place for males, but the draft is not. But it is folly to ignore the authority to reinstate the draft at any given moment.

The sole purpose of the Selective Service is to keep track of the number of available young males in case the draft needs to be reinstated. And, as the youth of today sit back comfortably assuming that they are “safe” from forced service to this country, the reality is that our military is stretched thin by our ongoing and misguided efforts in Iraq.

Of course, you will see some younger protesters at the rallies and marches, but take a closer look as you drive by. When I stand on the sidewalk along the Clinton street side of our Courthouse, I look up and down the row of protesters, and I see older individuals – many in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and, yes, even in their 70s.

Many of us protesting and rallying are from the Vietnam War era – we remember those days, and we are willing to stand on sidewalks and street corners in blistering hot weather as well as zero degree temperatures to protest a war that is not only unjust but also one of the greatest blunders ever made by a president.

So our youth, for the most part, turn their heads away from the horrors of Iraq, comfortable in their false sense of security and the notion that they are safe from being snatched into service. They are not yet affected; they are not the ones fighting and dying in an unjust war.

But those thoughts are misguided; the Selective Service hovers in the background with the power to rip complacent bodies into forced military service. A vested interest in this war and any other wars may very well arise only when the individual has the most to lose – his or her own life. What a shame that it takes extrinsic motivation to force the youth to do something that should arise from intrinsic values – caring about their fellow human beings.

Photo Credit: Mike Keefe – InToon.com

 

CLINTON GARNERS “STAR” POWER

 

John Glenn made a rare appearance this week to stand beside Hillary Clinton and to endorse her candidacy for president.  He was joined by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Ray Miller, the state’s senate minority leader.  Clinton has recently suffered from a string of losses to Barack Obama, a shake-up in her campaign, and acknowledgements that she has loaned funds to her own campaign.

Clinton does not take to playing the underdog; she is an extremely strong-willed individual who should not yet be counted out of the race.  She earned a much-needed caucus win in New Mexico Thursday picking up 18 delegates to Obama’s 13 delegates.

While Obama still leads slightly – by 42 – in delegate totals, Clinton leads in two critically important states holding primaries on March 4.   In Ohio, Clinton leads by a comfortable margin – the Rasmussan poll shows her ahead of Obama 51% to 37% wtih 12% undecided.  At stake – 161 delegates to be awarded proportionately.  In Texas, according to an IVR poll, Clinton leads 48% to 38% with 10% undecided.  At stake in Texas – 228 delegates to be awarded proportionately.

While many have recently been pleased at the prospect of a down-and-out Hillary Clinton, to write her off would be an enormous mistake.  Clinton did not get where she is today by being a shrinking violet.  She knows how to handle adversity, and she knows how to survive.

THE RIVER WIDE – AFTERMATH

Wednesday and part of yesterday was a bad day for the flood-fighting effort. The city had brought in one pump, but it had problems and wasn’t working properly. When I got home Wednesday night, the water around my home was higher than when I had left Wednesday noon after checking my home, but the city workers had erected the clay dike and were busy maintaining it.

Parking was a problem, but I found a spot up the block from my home. A huge pump was brought in and set up out in the street at the northwest corner of my house to try to get the water pumped back over the dike.

Pump brought in by the city – the St. Marys is visible yet at the top of the dike-the sandbags piled in the middle are holding down a manhole cover where the river was backing up onto the street

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Let me digress for just a moment. In July 2003 when we flooded, the city had brought in dump truck loads of sandbags to use, and we got those put in place. But the water was still getting through and running down into my basement. I am the lowest point on the block, so naturally the water came down to my one, little old corner to build up. And since the yard was a total disaster anyways, we dug a trench from three houses up down to the corner of my house.

My neighbors, who own the rental property next door, and I went together and rented a four-inch pump to decorate the corner of my yard. I had never run a pump before, so that meant I needed to learn the ins and outs of how to run the thing – not that it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out.

We put down plywood to support the weight of the pump. During the day while I was at work, one of the owners of the rental house watched the pump. When I got home, I grabbed a couple of hours of rest, and then went out at about 7:00 p.m. to spend the night on the porch swing. It was July, so at least it was warm.

I took out a couple of pillows and a light blanket and slept in the porch swing for three nights straight. I would doze – kind of hard to sleep really comfortably in a porch swing with a loud pump running close to you. I would get up every two hours to fill the pump with gas. My worst fear was that I would be so tired, I wouldn’t wake up and then the pump would run out of gas.

To further complicate things, my youngest son and I had just refinished the narrow strip of yard running along side my house the summer before. We had laid landscaping fabric down and lined the length with landscape timbers. We then put down lots of pretty red mulch to brighten it up. Let me tell you, pretty red mulch does a number on a pump. But good old ingenuity set in, and I brought out one of my spaghetti strainers, and we secured it to the end of the hose.

The first time I shut the pump off to put gas in, I forgot how I had been instructed to turn it back on. Dang – where was that rocket scientist manual when I needed it.  I about panicked when I thought I couldn’t get the thing started. After talking to myself a minute or two and fiddling with every switch on the thing, I remembered how to turn it back on. And at 2:00 a.m. with not a soul around, I could laugh out loud at my stupidity. And, I could laugh with relief. I didn’t forget again how to turn it back on.

So back to this ginormous pump sitting in the street by my house rattling and humming right now. It is huge. Wednesday night as it tried mightily to begin throwing the water back out into the river, I could feel the vibrations. All I could think about was my basement wall which had a large crack in it and had sprung a leak Wednesday night. One of my neighbors who had been helping me told me to just plug it with my finger like the little Dutch boy. Uh huh, right.

So tonight as the pump growls for the third night in a row, I have been keeping the city workers supplied with coffee and snacks. It is the least I can do for those who have put in long, tiring hours to protect us and help us save our homes. It is cold out, and I thought about sitting out on the swing for a while, not that it would do me any good. But it is also hard to relax. The workers don’t complain, and they don’t even ask me why I don’t want a wall along the river. And for that, I am thankful.

How do I explain the love I have for my little area and for the St. Marys and Thieme Drive? How can I make anyone understand when they see these pictures and wonder why on earth I wouldn’t want a wall to protect me and my neighbors? I can only ask that you sit on my front porch on a warm summer’s day with a breeze blowing softly and the trees green with life and the twitters and chatter of the wildlife along the river bank and the sun shining down and the river peacefully flowing through the city – then tell me you don’t understand.

THE RIVER WIDE – ST. MARYS TOPS ITS BANKS AGAIN

After going through three floods in a year and a half, I have become familiar with the ebb and flow of the river just across Thieme Drive from home. Yesterday was the the fourth time in four and a half years – July 2003, June 2004, January 2005, and February 6, 2008 – that this small “cup” area of Thieme, Nelson, and West Berry has been the victim of flooding.

Not many of us are affected, and when we do flood, it is an aggravating inconvenience. My basement takes in water primarily from filtration as the St. Marys travels through the “fill dirt” which is the foundation of Thieme Drive and adjacent properties.

I have found that I pay much more attention to the weather forecasts, especially when rain, snow, sleet, and other variations of moisture are predicted. What is strange is that I have come to recognize the signs of whether or not the river will top its banks. If it rains heavily for several days or if we have a snow melt combined with rains, the river will get close to climbing out of its banks. If we have a couple of days where we have clear skies, the river has a chance to discharge and the levels drop.

Tuesday night, as I drove home along Thieme Drive, I saw that the river was extremely high – higher than usual when it has approached its banks – and thought to myself, “Oh, oh, this could be a problem.” Yesterday morning when I anxiously looked out my front window, I could see the river creeping across Thieme Drive, and I knew the river would be up to my yard in a few hours. I grabbed my camera to see if I could get some pictures in the dim morning light. The picture below is of several vehicles driving through the water before the City blocked off Thieme Drive.

Thieme Drive traffic – early morning February 6, 2008

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I went to work with that kind of sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that when I came home, more than likely the river would have advanced to the top of my front lawn. I got through my morning class and then ran home to check the water level and to check my basement for water.

St. Marys River overflowing banks – February 6, 2008

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The City had blocked off Thieme Drive, but I have learned that I can cut down an alley to get to the side of my home. Once there, I am able to get into my house. It sets on a slope, and, in all the times I have flooded, I have always been able to get into my house.

I ran in and immediately went to the front door to go out onto my front porch to see what was happening. The City was hauling in load after load of clay to again construct a dike like the one that was put in place in January 2005. This time, though, it would be a different battle since the river had already topped its banks and covered Thieme Drive. Water was already over to our yards and up to the tops, so the City workers had to dump the clay on top of water along the river side.

City worker along Thieme Drive

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But just knowing that the City was going to work to protect our homes made me feel so much better. One of my friends came by to see how I was doing, and I talked to him for several minutes on my front porch. After he left, I went back to work. Coming home last night, I knew what would be facing me. I have been through this now enough times, but several of my neighbors have been through this even more.

I drove up and parked, and, as I suspected the river was up to the top of my lawn. The City workers were working diligently to build the clay dike, but the river was coming up through manhole covers. I spent about an hour just watching and thinking about what was to come when I would get off work and come home last night.

That is all for now. I spent a fairly restless night and did as much as I could to help sandbag. This morning I am really tired, but I have to go to work. I hope to take a half personal day this afternoon and come home. It is hard for me to concentrate when I know what is going on around my home and my neighbors’ homes. I will follow up with the efforts from yesterday evening in a post with pictures later today.

The water level yesterday afternoon – from my front porch

But doesn’t that new fence railing look nice against the drab background?

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SKILLMAN TO LEAD MORE JOBS OUT OF INDIANA

Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman – aka Outsourcing Annie – will lead a 26-member delegation of Indiana food and agribusiness leaders to Mexico. Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller will join the traveling party. The group will visit a pork processing plant and the largest dairy operation in Latin America as well as meet with representatives from grain and biotechnology industries.

See a trend here – anyone? Anyone? Daniels and Skillman unleashed the Possibilities Unbound Plan in 2005 which triggered the filing and approval of hundreds of CAFO permits to operate confined operations to meet the goal of doubling hog production within a few years. The visits to the pork processing plant operation will no doubt be to work out agreements for processing the pork product or to open the possibility to contract for raising hogs in Mexico. But why would outsourcing processing even be needed?

Wasn’t one of the Guv’s goals in doubling pork production to increase economic benefit to Indiana? The next excuse we will hear from the Guv and Skillman is that we just don’t have the capacity to handle all the processing.

In addition to outsourcing possibilities visiting pork and dairy locations, one of the foremost topics appears to be “rural development.” This is code for “rural exploitation” of Mexican agricultural areas; obviously we are not discussing rural development here in Indiana. Much of the country is too arid or too mountainous for crops or grazing, and it is estimated that no more than one-fifth of the land is potentially arable. However, Mexico’s burgeoning population has made it a net importer of grains.

Add to this mix the fact that NAFTA, which was implemented 14 years ago, required the lifting of tariffs on corn and beans by early 2008, and it looks like the Guv and Skillman will be some of the first to exploit the elimination of the tariffs by shipping Indiana grain to Mexico.

Again, more exploitation of the Mexican people and land. Note that Emily Otto-Tice of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Corn Alliance is one of the 26-members making the trip.

Photo Credit: Photovault.com

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With much of the land too arid or too mountainous for grazing, it also raises the prospect that Mexico would be an excellent experiment in building and running CAFOs since CAFOs do not require a large number of acres to operate. Build CAFOs in Mexico, ship Indiana grain to Mexico to supply the necessary feed, and ship the finished product to the growing middle classes in countries such as China. With states and local communities becoming ever more wary of the environmental dangers of CAFOs, why not use Mexico with its less stringent environmental standards.

Skillman has previously led separate missions to Taiwan and Vietnam and to Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama. All countries which produce all those lovely, cheap products competing for the American consumers’ attention. So, while Indiana’s economy is not faring so well and the United States appears headed into a recession, the Guv sends his right-hand woman on another field trip with 26 cohorts at the expense of the taxpayers.

The following are those individuals who owe us thanks for their memories in Mexico since I assume the Hoosier taxpayer is again paying for the privilege of losing jobs. I have underlined and bolded those names connected with agriculture. Notice that two areas are predominantly represented: grains and pork. Connect the dots: Mexican rural development – exporting crops and outsourcing meat production and processing.

• Lt. Governor Becky Skillman
• Andy Miller, Director, Indiana State Department of Agriculture
• Juana Watson, Senior Advisor to the Governor on Hispanic Affairs
• Steve Akard, Director of International Development, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
• Angela Coats, Press Secretary, Office of the Lt. Governor
• Bart Lomont, Special Assistant to the Lt. Governor of Indiana
• Matt Harrod, Assistant Director of Policy and Research, Indiana State Department of Agriculture
• Lesley Taulman, International Trade Program Manager, Indiana State Department of Agriculture
• Dale Whittaker, Associate Dean for Academic Program, Purdue University College of Agriculture
• Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, Dean, College of Architecture and Planning, Ball State University
• Susan Sutton, Associate Vice Chancellor of International Affairs and Chancellor’s Professor of Anthropology, IUPUI
• Dr. David A. Bathe, Chancellor, Ivy Tech Lafayette
• Don Villwock, President, Indiana Farm Bureau
• Mike Platt, State Executive Indiana Pork Producers Association
• Terry Vanlaningham, Indiana Pork
• Emily Otto-Tice, Director of Grain Marketing, Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn
• Fayte Brewer, Indiana Grain Producer
• Jim Eichhorst, Manager, State Government Relations, Midwest Region, Biotechnology Industry Organization
• Ted McKinney, Leader, U.S. Food Chain and States Affairs, Dow AgroSciences
• Andres Felix, Legal and Government Affairs Lead, Latin and North America, Monsanto
• Angel Saavedra, Regulatory and Government Affairs Manager, Dow AgroSciences, Mexico
• Mike Murphy, President, Murphy Partners, LLC
• Beth Bechdol, Director of Agribusiness Strategies, Ice Miller LLP
• Terry Anker, Chairman, The Anker Consulting Group
• Steve Churchill, President and CEO, PreferredPartners

GE TO CLOSE BLOOMINGTON PLANT

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports that General Electric Company will close its massive refrigerator plant in Bloomington by the end of 2009, displacing about 900 employees. Apparently, the Bloomington operation lost about $45 million last year, thanks to declining side-by-side refrigerator sales and rising material and labor costs.

Kent Suiters, the plant manager said that despite continued investment by the company and hard work by the union leadership and GE employees, they can no longer effectively compete.  Effectively compete against what or who?  Could it be that this is another example of corporations sending their work to other countries to reap ever-wider profit margins?

The union that represents the plant’s 837 hourly employees will have a limited amount of time to offer competitive alternatives to the closure. A final decision on the closing of the 1 million-square-foot plant will be made after those talks. The shutdown would wipe out 1 percent of the total work force in the Bloomington area and 8.7 percent of workers in the area who make durable goods – refrigerators and other products expected to last at least three years.

The last few years have been rough for GE employees in Indiana. In March 2005, the company laid off 470 workers at the Bloomington refrigerator plant, leaving about 1,000 employees. At a later date, the company said it planned to let go of 365 of its 750 employees at an electric motors and transformers plant in Fort Wayne.

But, what will probably happen is that Daniels will hop up on his magic podium and announce more jobs for the year 2011 – that three-year stretch that he seems to favor. Daniels seems to know how to manipulate the media to make it look like he is doing so much for Indiana when all the while we are losing jobs that may not be replaced for years. Sure won’t do the GE workers any good.