Snowplowing Update - City of Indianapolis Roads are Just as Bad as the Interstates

The City of Indianapolis, led by Mitch's fellow Republican, Mayor Greg Ballard, has also presented motorists with an embarrassing, incompetent and dangerous snow removal effort, this morning.

I am aware of Republicans' much-advertised distaste for government, but there are some things centralized government can do fairly well, if administered correctly, chief among them is plowing the streets.

Getting the streets plowed is true public safety. If the Republicans aren't willing to commit their energies to these basic and essential public services, then they ought run for other offices where the consequences of their inaction cannot so profoundly imperil the lives of over a million people.

Mitch Daniels Fails to Get the Roads Plowed

We had a little snow, last night. Maybe 3" - 4". Nothing much. It fell softly and steadily, all night.

Despite the predicted and not overwhelming snowfall, Mitch Daniels failed to get the Indianapolis Interstates plowed for this morning's commute. The Interstates looked untouched, with the car tires making wagon tracks through the snow. The commute on the Interstates was unbearable.

This failure to perform basic governmental services is nothing but rank incompetence from Daniels. Instead of making another trade summit to a foreign country, Mitch, how about you stay home to run the state and put together a good road plowing plan?

Harrison Ullman once correctly described Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's snow removal plan as "Wait 'til May." What is it about Republicans that cause them to focus their attentions so heavily on matters that have very little benefit for the people, while ignoring the prosecution of basic governmental services that ensure a decent quality of life for the entire population?

When the largest city in the State can't get to work quickly and safely after a modest snowfall, you're not doing your job, and you're continuing to mire Indianapolis in its longstanding and notorious mediocrity. If Indy can't play with the big boys on something as easy as snow removal, Indy can't expect to be regarded as a first-rank city.

An Open Admission that the NFL Meddles in its Games

In the midst of a 23-3 blowout on Monday night, Coach Jeff Fisher of the Titans was calling running plays to spend down the clock and leave with an easy win in hand. Inexplicably, Coach Jack DelRio of the beaten Jaguars called timeouts, when his team had no hope of recovering from the deficit in a the short time remaining.

It is now revealed that the NFL asked the two coaches to call pointless timeouts so that more commercials could be aired.

We all know that the Colts have been the beneficiaries of some of the most rigged games in sports history, so it's nice to see actions like this surface to confirm what everyone knows - the the NFL manages the outcomes of games.

Good for Coach Fisher, by the way. He refused to call needless timeouts, and the Titans scored an additional touchdown because of DelRio's corruption of the game.

Here's the story on Yahoo Sports.

"Jack used his timeouts," Fisher said. "My understanding is they needed network timeouts, and that's why Jack used his timeouts. They came over and asked me to do it, but I said, 'I was hoping to get a first down and kneel on it.'"

Fisher has an interesting sense of humor (you may remember that he tried to break his team's 2009 losing streak by donning a Peyton Manning jersey), but in this case, he wasn't joking. Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com has the real story, based on Fisher's Tuesday press conference with the local media:

"At the two-minute warning in every game in the fourth quarter, there are conversations that go by. There's conversations that take place at the two-minute warning before the first half. But there's conversations that take place, and it's the official's responsibility to give the head coach a status of commercials and TV timeouts," Fisher said. "Yesterday, I was told that they were two short. And they looked at me and smiled, and I said, 'Sorry, I can't help you.' Mike Carey came across and said, 'Here's the deal. We're two short.' And I said, 'Mike, I can't help you. I'm trying to get a first down and I'm gonna kneel on it.'

McCormick told me that he did not know (nor did Fisher) whether Del Rio took his timeouts in accordance with Carey's request, or the league's specific need for TV timeouts.

Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about this story -- the part that made it so hard to believe at first -- is the idea of a television network, and the need for ad revenue, deciding the pace of a game (no matter how awful it may be). That Carey would break away from his responsibility as a supposedly objective arbiter of the on-field action to try and wrangle timeouts from coaches in the name of commercial breaks -- well, this is where we truly have gone down the rabbit hole. And judging from Fisher's comments, this happens all the time.

Obama Just Went on My Shitlist

He just blocked reimportation of 100,000 M1 Garand rifles from Korea, rifles which we loaned them. We built them for WWII, and we let allied militaries use these rifles, as we went on to other equipment.

The Garand is one hell of a battle rifle, and it's pretty accurate, as well. These rifles are used competitively, every weekend, in ranges around the country in NRA Highpower matches and less formal "Garand" matches.

http://volokh.com/2010/08/18/obama-bans-over-100000-rifles/

I was giving Obama a break, because, well, nobody can be worse than Bush, but there is absolutely no excuse for this action. This vindictive action reveals the true colors of the Democrats and proves that all that talk of communion was just lip service.

I may not support a Republican in the upcoming elections, but I sure won't support a Democrat.

Anti-Gun Mayor Greg Ballard Leaves Indy Residents Prey for Criminals

The anti-gun Republicans continue to make Indy residents sitting ducks for criminals by denying the citizens their right to keep and bear arms.

Dave Clark, a 60-year old Indy resident, was attacked on the Monon Trail, near Kessler, on Tuesday. As is well known to criminals, Republican Mayor Greg Ballard prevents people from carrying guns on the Monon, making the citizens easy prey for the criminal thugs.

It's time we all stopped thinking of Republicans as pro gun. They're not. They only pander to us when they want our vote. Being "pro-gun" means not voting Republican. All gun owners must send a message to anti-gun Ballard by not reelecting him in 2011.

What Does "Support Our Troops" Mean?

Can anyone tell me?

Our Runaway Military

Good article by David Hoppe at Nuvo. He accurately notes that the military has become a parallel government.

David closes by quickly pondering what Americans most want the role of President to be, chief executive of the government or commander-in-chief of the military. David has bumped into a tremendously important question that deserves its own exposition.

For so many of the phony Conservatives, it seems the primary role of the President is to be in charge of the military, a task denied any peacetime President. For our extensive legions, whether serving or retired, glory comes through combat, and without combat, their particular form of government employment loses its bragging rights.

If David listens closely to what today's Conservative says in private, he'll get an answer to his question, an answer that will terrify all those who believe in civilian control of the military and use of the military only for those rare moments when America is attacked.

The War Party Spreads More Evil

Liz Cheney, the current nepotistic darling of the big-government Republicans, has been sent on a mission to spread disinformation about Michael Steele's honest and accurate conclusion that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable.

Cheney is calling for Steele's resignation because Steele dared to speak the truth to the world about the raison d'etre of the War Party. The great Ron Paul has come to Steele's defense, and Paul should be joined by all people who appreciate the truly destructive nature of war. Steele should also be assured that the Republicans are not a monolithic bloc of hateful troglodytes who cheer the latest episode of war to quench their bloodlust.

Of course, Steele is correct in his analysis. When was the last time you received a clear definition of "winning" from the politicians? When they come anywhere near such a definition, do their objectives strike you as attainable? Of course, not. As a basic political fact, Afghanis want no governmental export from the United States. Our governance is foreign to them and will ultimately be rejected by them. As our attempts to force our government on them are foolish and will never take, America has a convenient reason to stay in Afghanistan, forever, as we press our futile attempt to get them to accept the political system we'd wish they'd have.

America is now engaged in perpetual war for perpetual peace, as Vidal cautioned. We should all be more demanding of her politicians. We deserve answers to some basic questions: When can we stop the loss of American and Afghani life, and when can we stop the pointless expenditure of billions of dollars we squander to prosecute this exercise in futlity? In a more prickly question, do Americans value the loss of an Afghan life as equal to the loss of an American life?

This adoration of a standing military and perpetual war makes the Republican Party absolutely intolerable to those who advocate limited government and fiscal austerity and want to have America be thought of favorably in the world. At the close of WWII, America couldn't have been more revered in the world. Currently, however, we're a thug country, a dangerous bully, a country with a short temper that engages in wars for resources.

The Republican Party used to be a strongly anti-war party who counseled war only when the country was under attack. These pro-war advocates are not, in any way, "conservative." They're social meddlers on a global scale who preach limited government only toward domestic spending programs such as public transportation and welfare which are quite cheap, as government programs go, certainly as compared to war.

It's O.K. to be Republican and anti-war. If more Republicans demanded the end of the war and an end to our stationing of troops around the world, we'd make some progress toward reducing the deficit and debt. Further, the party that advertises itself as the champion of "limited government" might reclaim a bit of credibility on the subject.

Daniels Increases Costs By Turning Public Property into a For-Profit Business

This is what happens when you sell off public property to people who want to run it for profit, instead of at cost. Tolls have now risen 89% on the Indiana Toll Road, now owned by Cintra of Spain.

From the Indianapolis Star:

"MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- Drivers using the Indiana Toll Road started shelling out more cash for fares Thursday as rates went up for the first time in two years.

The cost for cars to drive the 157-mile road from Illinois to Ohio went from $8 to $8.80.

It's the second rate increase since the state leased the Toll Road to a private company. In 2008, the price to go the full length of the road went from $4.65 to $8 for drivers paying cash."

Don't look for Cintra to lay off the toll increases:

"Thursday's price jump won't be the last for Toll Road drivers. The state's lease with the private company allows tolls to go up every July after next year."

Tolls have increased by 89% in the four years since Mitch sold off the Toll Road. Drivers will never have a passable alternative to the Toll Road, allowing drivers to participate in a free market for roads, since the contract signed with Cintra forbids alternative routes from being built or improved.

If Daniels would have allowed the Toll Road to impose rate increases, instead of phonily saying that rates could not be increased, then these rate increases would have been imposed by the State to cover the actual costs of the road. The Public would have been furious to see a profit being made from its travels. Mitch found a way around public accountability. Presently, Cintra is raising toll rates to to recoup its investment of $3.85 billion that it paid to the State, and they are raising rates earn their profit, both at the expense of drivers' pockets. All Mitch did with the sale of the Toll Road was to impose a massive tax on drivers and shift citizen dollars to the government and private industry, all while tiptoeing around the public ire for being known as the guy who raised taxes. Not surprisingly, most Republicans love this proto-Fascism.

How does it benefit a citizen to have the public treasury receive $3.85 B for a public asset, only to be forced to repay that $3.85 billion to a private company, while being forced to pay higher use charges for the public asset? This deal is a massive net loss for each citizen.

This bad deal is crony capitalism and corporatism, at its worst.

Chicago Gun Ban Defeated

The opinion is available here:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1521.pdf

While the ruling is good news, as usual with Supreme Court opinions, it's a tour de force of sophistry. Why does it take 214 pages to say that all Americans are protected by the Bill of Rights? Why are the rights of all Americans subject to the opinions of five people? When did I ever consent to a system of governance that subjects my liberty to a vote of five people? Why does the Supreme Court feel itself entitled to ramble in its rulings, its babblings creating law and authority, along the way, free to be cited by other sophist lawyers and judges who, though having at least seven years of college, find the plain meaning of documents opaque? Why cannot the Supreme Court tersely answer the question before it, and shut up?

What has happened to the rule of judicial restraint that judges claim to obey? How did we ever let this country become a place where judges can boundlessly opine, and their ruminations are given the force of law?

This ruling ought be read for its essence, only, and the remainder, the surplusage, dismissed as irrelevant obiter dictum.

Great Article on the Perils of Endless War

Simply, the wars are bad. We need to come home, now. We cannot sustain this level of spending, and we are destroying the purpose of the military by engaging in permanent wars and occupations. We still have troops in Germans and Korea, making WWII and the Korean War now 60 and 50 years old, respectively. We flatly cannot afford permanent occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The national debt is at 14 trillion dollars, and rising. The only way out of this may be to repudiate the debt, and doing that will set off a deep depression in this country.

From the Washington Post.

The Republicans Are Becoming Nuttier and Nuttier

It's becoming increasingly difficult to see this party as anything but the party of hate, the party of angry old White men.

Check out this latest bit of nuttery from Texas. The Texas Republicans actually want to recriminalize sodomy, you know, getting a blow job from your girlfriend, and they want to make gay marriage a felony.

Seriously.

This the the Texas GOP's new platform:

"We believe that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, refuse to recognize, or grant special privileges including, but not limited to: marriage between persons of the same sex (regardless of state of origin), custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insurance or retirement benefits. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values."

The article continues. Read on. There's more good batshit crazy Republican nuttery in there.

How is it That an Embassy and a Football Stadium Both Cost One Billion Dollars?

This week, we saw news that the United States government is going to build a new, fancy, whiz-bang embassy in England. No expense is to be spared on this embassy, and it even has a moat. It will cost one billion dollars. Its cost is seen as excessive.

By contrast, the Indianapolis Colts stadium, built right here in the heartland, cost one billion dollars. Hoosiers cheered it as "essential to our downtown."

How does an embassy, a building of unsparing technology, fortified with the best anti-terrorism engineering, a building worthy of representing its country and built to be a structure of enduring utility cost the same as a big barn, with a lawn down the middle, flanked with poured-concrete grandstands and having a roof overhead that is partially on garage-door tracks?

Why Hasn't Mitch Daniels Opted Out of Real ID

I love the ACLU. Sometimes, they irk me, but far more often than not, they're on the right side of civil liberties. Here they are again railing against the big-government boondoggle that is Real ID.

http://www.realnightmare.org/news/105/

This Real ID came out of Bush and has made applying for a driver's license an absolute ordeal.

Far too frequently, the self-advertised party of limited government is engaging in some form of big-government activity that runs afoul of someone's civil rights. More often than not, the ACLU is trying to protect someone from the limited-government folks. Ironic, indeed.

If Mitch wants to claim any sort of Conservative, limited-government, credentials, he ought to get opposition to Real ID in high gear before he makes Hell out of Hoosiers' lives. Of course, the Republicans are the same party that wants ID restrictions prior to voting. Ted ("Todd") Rokita stumped with the fallacious "since you need a driver's license to do x, y, and z, you should need one to vote" argument. Thankfully, that horrible requirement was stricken by the federal courts. If Indiana is to have Real ID, let the trials of such national identification not pollute other areas of a person's life.

Better yet, be a Conservative, Mitch, and strike down Real ID.

This Is Really Obvious

Well, I told you so. Three series and one pick. Not a good day for Manning. It's not difficult to see what's going on in the NFL.

I'm interested to see if the NFL gives the Colts a tough schedule, next year, or if it keeps giving them these cakewalks, despite supposedly basing scheduling on prior year performance.

It's good to see the Colts on a losing streak.

I TOLD YOU SO!

For weeks, I've been having fun with the crying Hoosiers, telling them that their Colts are a weak team with a weak quarterback, both of which is sheltered by the NFL from having to play outside in the cold. Last week's loss against the Jets was a nice confirmation that I'm still the best handicapper of the back-room dealings at the NFL.

We all know what the Colts threw last week's game - they couldn't afford to have their weak QB get exposed as such in a bitterly cold game where he needed the win for a record and isn't good enough to pull it off. Manning is awkward and frail in the cold, and he simply couldn't be exposed to an injury. It's going to be 10 at game time, today.

Well, the NFL can't keep cold weather games off the Colts' schedule, entirely, since it is a cold-weather league, played during the coldest part of the year, so the NFL helped the Colts by putting their lone cold-weather game at the end of the season where chances were high that the Colts could rest the starters.

Now, after much confusion, someone let Kravitz at the Indy Pravda in on the reason for benching Manning during the Jets game.

"BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Just sit, baby. After last Sunday's fiasco, how can the Indianapolis Colts justify playing any of their top people in today's abjectly meaningless game against the Buffalo Bills? Can you imagine the fan revolt if Indy uses its starters beyond one series, much less one play? We will hear the cries as far as Orchard Park, N.Y.:"

You just figured this out now, Bob? Did you deduce this on your own, or were you fed today's column by the Colts' front office?

The Colts have to lose today. If the Colts win with a backup QB, their fans will be howling for someone's head for causing the Colts to miss the Perfect Pats' record. The problem for the Colts is that there's another record at stake, today: most wins on a season, held by the '84 49'ers, the '85 Bears and the 'o7 Pats. If the Colts lose, today, they lose a shot at moving into that highest level of NFL greatness.

Buffalo's pretty horrible, and Painter played at Purdue and other Big 10 stadiums, where he became decent playing in the cold. He's certainly not afraid of it. The Colts could legitimately win, today, despite their own attempts to throw the game.

We'll see if the Colts read my article in time to realize that the real NFL record is still on the line. If they give Painter some weapons, we'll know that they're actually trying to match the record only the big boys hold. If Painter does well, and if the refs don't cheat and give him a win, as they do with Manning, Painter will have legitimately accomplished something.