LONG THOMPSON APPEARS HEADED FOR A WIN

According to a SurveyUSA poll conducted on April 28th exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville, Kentucky, and WCPO-TV Cincinnati, Ohio, Jill Long Thompson still leads her challenger, Jim Schellinger, by a margin of 12%.

This can’t be the kind of news that Schellinger and his avid followers want to hear. Schellinger just can’t quite seem to catch on. Despite early backing from the Democratic establishment and a much larger bankroll than Long Thompson, he isn’t generating the anticipated support among Hoosiers that he needs.

Long Thompson is running progressively stronger among Moderates, where she started tied with Schellinger but now leads by 28, and among Liberals, where she now leads by 14. Schellinger continues to lead among Conservatives. Schellinger leads by 7 in Central Indiana and by 10 in Southern Indiana. Long Thompson leads by 12 in greater Indianapolis and by 34 in Northern Indiana.

Long Thompson’s lead comes almost entirely from women, among whom she now leads by 23 points. The contest is effectively tied among men. Starting at age 42, women outnumber men. By age 85 and older, there are more than twice as many women as men. It is about time women came out in numbers to support and vote for other women.

Although the election is still six days away, and elections can be unpredictable, unless something unforeseen happens, we are looking at Jill Long Thompson as our nominee to take on Mitch Daniels. I have never liked the phrase I am just about to use, but YOU GO GIRL!

THE DOWNSIDE TO COMPUTERS

I haven’t vanished, but I have been having Earthlink issues with my computer service. Sunday morning, the service disappeared. I have spent three days and talked to eight people at Earthlink trying to get it repaired and being shunted from technician to technician.

Earthlink attempted to blame it on Verizon, and Verizon said it wasn’t their fault. Last night, the Earthlink person finally appeared to get the service back up. However, he said it was my router which was now not compatible with Earthlink because of some line adjustments that had been done.

Never mind the fact that Linksys is the brand Earthlink touts when it sells its 24-hour paid tech support program. And never mind the fact that it is new and has been running just fine for two months now. He proceeded to tell me that if I wanted the router problem fixed I had to purchase the tech service support program.

I DON’T THINK SO!! And that is what I told him. Evidently, he thought I sounded a bit testy - who wouldn’t after all this - and he instructed me on how to clear the problem. It still isn’t working perfectly and glitched again last night. But I am back this morning.

People, we are way too attached to our technology. When our computers go down, it disrupts our entire day. I couldn’t work at home, which I usually do to some extent, so I had to put in 12-hour days at work Monday and yesterday.

How sad that we can no longer function without these square pieces of technology sitting on our desks or on our laps. But that is a piece for another time and place.

Okay - so I have vented. Anyone else out there go through this and wonder why we are so velcroed to our technology? I found myself longing for the days when checks were the only form of bill payment, research was done the good old-fashioned way in a library, people actually answered to help you out instead of having to punch number after number for a selection, and computers didn’t control schedules.

MAGGIE KERNAN ENDORSES JILL LONG THOMPSON

In what must make interesting table talk, Maggie Kernan has endorsed Jill Long Thompson for governor. Joe Kernan recently decided to back Jim Schellinger, an Indianapolis CEO and political neophyte. Maggie Kernan has known Long Thompson for many years and is confident she would be an outstanding governor.

The race for Indiana governor on the Democrats side has been somewhat unusual. Originally three candidates had thrown their hats into the ring: Richard Young, Jim Schellinger, and Jill Long Thompson. Richard Young withdrew early on, leaving Long Thompson and Schellinger to fight it out. Although Long Thompson entered the race much later than Young and Schellinger, she has managed to take the lead and remain ahead in the polls.

Jill has run what some may see as a low-key campaign with much less money than her opponent. Yet she appears to be heading for a victory on May 6th. Maggie Kernan’s support is an important boost to Jill’s campaign.

NORTHWEST LEGISLATORS ENDORSE LONG THOMPSON

Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson has been endorsed by five Northwest Indiana legislators. At a campaign rally in East Chicago this week, the following legislators threw their support to Long Thompson:

• State Senator Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes
• State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary
• State Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond
• State Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland
• State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster

Jill Long Thompson, a former congresswoman and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, faces Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger in the May 6th Democrat primary. The winner of that primary will face Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels in November.

Long Thompson has also been endorsed by five Indiana Teamsters locals, the United Steelworkers, the Service Employee International Union, Communication Workers of America, the American Federation of Government Employees, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, the United Transportation Union and Local #446 of Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees.

Even though Schellinger has raised more money than Long Thompson and, early on, received the blessing of some of the higher ups in the state Democratic Party, he has failed to convert those assets to his benefit. He is a CEO and, frankly, I think Hoosiers have become leary of business leaders who attempt to convert themselves to politicians - a la Daniels.

By Schellinger’s own admission he is “new” at this. Do we really want someone who is inexperienced in the realm of politics taking the helm of our state? The answer is no. Come May 6th, Hoosier voters will have the opportunity to select Jill Long Thompson, a Hoosier with strong rural and working class ties who was educated in Indiana, knows Indiana, loves Indiana, and will bring Indiana “back on track” from the destructive and exploitative course set by Daniels.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

EARTH DAY TURNS 38 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Earth Day is 38 years young today. In 1970, the first Earth Day was held as an event to increase public awareness of the world’s environmental problems. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches, and educational programs.

Earth Day was the idea of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness. Earth Day, indeed, increased environmental awareness in America, and in July of that year the Environmental Protection Agency was established to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation.

The infant agency was to be created from 15 different established agencies and parts of agencies already existing within the federal government. From a management point of view, the task was daunting: how to form a cohesive, integrated, functioning entity out of those different entities?

But create it they did, and today over 17,000 people are employed by the EPA to oversee its mission to protect human health and the environment.

The Earth is our home, and it deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Two of the most eye-opening courses I took in undergrad were Physical Geography and Physical Geology. Those two classes contained a wealth of knowledge about the Earth and its component systems. When I had finished those courses, I knew I would never look at the Earth and how I related to it in the same way.

So, today, take a moment and think about how your actions impact this home - the only home - we will ever have. Treat the Earth with respect, learn about its cycles and its biomes, understand how it sustains, protects, and provides for us as we move in seasons around our Sun.

But, most of all, take action to make a difference. Every small change you make will lead to combined larger changes that will keep this planet a home of which we can be proud.

Photo credit: About.com

DANIELS IN TOUGH SPOT - UNABLE TO MAKE HEADWAY DESPITE HIS MILLIONS AND HIS MINIONS

Despite his millions of campaign dollars from his minions, the Guv can’t seem to get a leg up on either of his opponents. A new poll, taken by IPFW in Fort Wayne, show’s Daniels would get 47% of the vote to Democrat Jim Schellinger’s 46%. And he’d get 48% to Jill Long Thompson’s 47%.

The poll of over 1,200 Hoosier voters also showed people are lukewarm on Daniels’ performance as governor. A showing of only a percent lead on either of the two Democrat challengers must be pure misery for those who believe the sun rises and sets on what Daniels purports to have accomplished.

Remember how absolutely certain Daniels and his Republican-controlled General Assembly were that switching Indiana to daylight saving time would save energy? What a shock it must have been to see a study come out that found that going to daylight saving time actually increased energy costs by $8.3 million dollars.

And, the leased toll road? Well, we now see that the foreign company involved in the Public-Private Partnership is almost doubling its tolls. Two of Daniels’ much-touted “accomplishments” that appear to have backfired.

Four more years of Mitch? I don’t think so. Indiana can’t afford another four years of a marketer who is better at manipulating his feats than coming through with real solutions.

MOVE OVER BOYS - THE GIRL IS COMING THROUGH

Standing beside a trophy nearly as tall as she is, her arms raised above her head and hands grasped by runners-up Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon, Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy car race today at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. After 50 tries, she finally made the history books.

The win was far from certain as Patrick began the race in 6th place. She held that place for most of the race, making a gutsy decision near the end of the race to literally come home on ethanol fumes. She led for only 3 laps of the 200 lap race, but it was those laps that she needed and which brought her home to victory lane.

Photo credit: ESPN Sports

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Photo Credit: ESPN Sports

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Allowing her little time to savor the victory, ESPN reporter Jack Arute already had the ultimate question in order. “Danica, when are you going to win again?” No doubt, it will be soon. Once the girl breaks through, she will be back to bump the boys over again.

Way to go Danica - for a well-deserved win and another breakthrough for women in sports!

BARE NAKED LADIES

Nope, I am not referring to the rock group, Barenaked Ladies. Or those groups of oldies but goodies who bare all for calendar sales. I am talking about average, everyday deciduous trees during the two seasons when they have shed their clothes.

Deciduous means “falling off at maturity” or “tending to fall off” - deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off. The term is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally.

Of course, I prefer to look at the deciduous trees since they are the ones that hold the most fascination for me.

Oriental Plane (cousin to the Sycamore) in East Swinney Park

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I love the sight of trees standing in the cold winter air - their feathered tops breaking the bleak, still, bitter, winter skyline. My eyes are always drawn to the sky in the winter when I am out on the highways traveling. Without leaves, the trees sport their bones, some crooked, some balanced, but all amazing structures.

Trees are truly a wonder. They start from seeds - many half the size of a penny - and sink their tiny roots in the ground. Anyone who has ever ignored a seedling and let it grow to a fair size knows the struggle it takes to remove it. Trees send roots under sidewalks and streets and into home foundations, worming their way upward creating bulges. They are sturdy, adaptable creatures found in almost every corner of our world.

Spring is now here, bringing forth bright green dressings to deck the trees, clothing them once again in their plump appendages that wave in the summer breeze and hang lazily overhead to shade us from the summer heat. The bones will disappear amid the donning of their cloaks of green, and I will have to wait, once again, for the cold temperatures of fall and winter to create the feathery skyline which I so love and admire.

Oriental Plane (cousin to the Sycamore) across the street from my home

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The tree above, which guards a corner on Thieme Drive across from home, is close to one hundred years old. It was planted as part of a parks and boulevard system developed by George Kessler around 1911. What a magnificent specimen! The tree sheds its bark every so often, and I like to gather it for craft projects. The bark is amazingly beautiful with a mottled look. When brushed with a stain or sealant, it takes on a deep, brown color.

Stand of trees at Collamer, Indiana

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Multi-trunk tree at Collamer, Indiana

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Tree along the River Road near South Whitley, Indiana

GREEN FROG HOSTS “CHEERS” BARTENDER TED DANSON

Ted Danson stopped by one of Fort Wayne’s home town bars today to campaign for Hillary Clinton. The smaller Green Frog was the site of a late afternoon visit by Danson, who is a family friend of the Clintons. While Danson encouraged voters to learn about candidates in order to make an informed choice, he emphatically stated that his choice has been made and that choice is Hillary Clinton.

The Green Frog was full of excited onlookers as Danson spoke about his support of Clinton. As Danson finished, he offered to answer questions. One male made poor use of the opportunity by asking if Hillary would ever “wear a skirt.” Without missing a beat, Danson responded by saying that she possibly would if Obama would wear a kilt. Ah, good old sexism is still alive!

Mr. Danson was readily available to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Although many individuals were having their picture taken with Mr. Danson, I opted to shake his hand and thank him for campaigning for Hillary. I figure stars are no different than anyone else - they have opinions about politics and whom they choose to support.

We may have to wait years again before we get the opportunity to be visited by stars at local bars! So Cheers to Ted Danson for visiting our city and one of our local establishments.

MITCH DANIELS WORLD OF FANTASY

I can’t help but marvel at the audacity of Mitch Daniels. His commercials - with supporters touting his “achievements” ad nauseum - are nothing more than glorified efforts to pander to Hoosier voters with his farm cap and long-sleeved shirts.

With all the commercials floating about, it must be quite a shock that Indiana’s unemployment rate jumped in March to 5.1% - the highest seasonally adjusted rate since July 2006.

The half point jump from 4.6% in February put Indiana in a tie with California for the second highest month-over-month increase nationally - right behind Louisiana.

I am sure this can’t be welcome news for a governor who has tried to deflect attention from Indiana’s continuing job-loss predicament by news conference after news conference flashing announcements of new jobs two and three years down the road.

But Daniels is good at marketing techniques according to Jim Miller, Reagan’s OMB director from 1985 to 1988. On learning of Daniels’ appointment by Bush as OMB director, Miller commented that “Daniels would be an unconventional OMB director inasmuch as he would be much more a marketer than a number cruncher.

Apparently, Miller was right. Daniels left less than three years after his appointment when he saw his efforts to maintain some semblance of a budget unraveling before his eyes as Bush sank the the country farther and farther into debt. Daniels, try as he might, was unable to manipulate budgetary figures to cover the bloated deficit.

He came back to Indiana where he has, once again, succeeded at marketing his “accomplishments” in a way to cover the realities of job losses, failed privatization policies, and far-off promises of employment. His marketing techniques of smoke and mirrors certainly are suitable to his fantasy world where reality doesn’t quite seem to materialize.