Breaking News: Democrat House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer is back in the State Capitol meeting with Speaker Brian Bosma at this moment.

Be Cautious – State House Shutdown Doesn’t Make Citizens Safer

Occasionally, in articles and talks I have invoked the famous adage of New York Judge Gideon J. Tucker, who in 1866 observed, “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe when the legislature is in session.” The judge’s quip is generally true, but when it comes to this current shutdown of the Indiana State House, do not be deceived. We are not safer with thirty-seven AWOL Democrat legislators hiding out at a Comfort Inn in Illinois. I am very worried about the bizarre political events in Indiana and Wisconsin. This is no longer 2010 which could be recorded as the year of the TEA Party.  Make no mistake, the far left has awakened and fully entered the fight in 2011.

While the Indiana House of Representatives has come to a halt and slowed the Senate somewhat, the players who fostered and gave cover to this shutdown have not been resting. During the shutdown, teacher’s unions are working direct mail lists of not just teachers but social workers and others they see as ideological big government allies. They also have a statewide radio campaign underway. Big labor unions are busing in members from Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky for this Indiana-specific battle. In the midst of this, abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood are fighting as though the government is bankrupting them, even though the proposed removal of Indiana tax dollars represents a cut of less than 10% of their $18 million budget. (Planned Parenthood’s national base is already mobilized from the similar defunding proposal in the US House, authored by IndianaCongressman Mike Pence.)

Fifty years ago, William F. Buckley warned that for a bureaucrat, government spending was like eating. (“One must keep in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians.” – WFB, National Review, Sept. 8. 1964) People must realize that the recent election results were interpreted by many special interest groups tied to the government as a starvation notice.

These groups see their very livelihood in serious jeopardy right now. Such a view is a very significant motivator. (Whether this is in fact true does not seem to matter. Take for example, the notion that Right to Work is a “union buster” even though every one of the 22 right to work states still have vibrant unions. Indiana’s strongest union, the ISTA is an open shop. No teacher has to join the NEA as a condition of employment, and yet the teacher’s unions are undeniably strong and have unmatched power over schools and the political landscape. Incidentally, right to work legislation is off the table, yet the protests continue.)

No one should underestimate the strength of the establishment, the political left, big government types, or government funded organizations. What we are witnessing in Indiana should be a wake up call to those who supported smaller government, business freedom, parental rights, the right to life and traditional values. November’s election results were not a reprieve of our involvement, it was merely step one if we are ever to stop or even slow the fiscal decline and radical restructuring of America.

Home Education Day at the State House

The Indiana Association of Home Educators annual “Home School Day at the Capitol” is tomorrow, March 3rd. I have been helping to organize the day as the IAHE legislative liaison and will start the day off with a workshop at 9:30 am in room 139 at the Indiana Convention Center.

In addition to explaining how a bill becomes a law and other state government basics, we will be joined by a few legislators. After lunch, at 1:30, there will be a “rally” (actually more of a presentation compared to the “rallies” of late in the capitol building) in the South Atrium, second floor of the State House. The event is free for home educating families and their children.

A Misperception of Christian Divorce Rates

It has often been said that the divorce rate in the church is no different than the rest of society. This is not really true. Based upon the best data available, Christians actually do have lower divorce rates than people of no or nominal faith. Due to religion’s positive influence upon individual values and behaviors, people who actively practice some type of traditional faith do tend to have lower divorce rates than the rest of society.

Couples who regularly attend weekly religious services, regularly practice religious commitments such as prayer reading the Bible and religious materials and generally take their faith seriously have lower divorce rates. W. Bradford Wilcox, a leading sociologist at the University of Virginia and director of the National Marriage Project, finds that “active conservative Protestants” who regularly attend church are 35 percent less likely to divorce compared to those who have no religious affiliation.

Interestingly, religion can also be dangerous to your marriage. Some research finds that those who occasionally attend church but do not take their faith very seriously actually do have higher divorce rates than those with no religious affiliation. Wilcox found that nominally attending conservative Protestants are 20 percent more likely to divorce, than secular Americans.

For more information on these studies and this topic, click here to read the article, “The Christian Divorce Rate Myth,” by Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=34656

The Radio Ad that Has Indiana Talking

You can often get by with a corny political advertisement if there is humor in it. Governor Mitch Daniel’s Aiming Higher PAC has seemingly hit that mark with a new 60-second ad that has a lot of talk radio buzzing this week. The advertisement, called, “Won’t You Come Home Pat Bauer” can be heard here:

http://www.aiminghigherindiana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Wont-You-Come-Home.mp3

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Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker disclosed that the state party is financing the walkout to the tune of $2,500 per day.  That changes the nature of this action from a legislative protest to an organized and fully funded political campaign.

From WISH TV

Democratic State Chairman Dan Parker says he is sponsoring the House Democrats’ stay at an Urbana, Ill. hotel. Reached by phone in Washington, D.C. Parker said he is paying $2,500 a day. He says he’s received online contributions to help pay the cost and may solicit more.

Parker says he will pay the bill for as long as it takes. — WISH-TV

Further, from C&W.

[...]

The question: who, besides taxpayers, is really financing this walkout?

This isn’t a frivolous matter.  We have campaign finance laws for a reason.  By mid-week, national unions with deep pockets had arrived to direct the protest effort in Indianapolis and other places around the country.  Special interests, in this case labor unions, should not be able to donate money to the Democratic Party during the legislative session so that money can be passed through the party and used to support a legislative walkout that affects the issues those special interests oppose without any transparency or accountability.

Democrats may also have a campaign finance problem.  If the Indiana Democratic Party is paying for hotel rooms for state legislators, that may have to be reported as an in-kind contribution to legislators according to the Indiana Election Division as explained in the 2011Campaign Finance Manual. But legislators are prohibited from receiving contributions during the legislation session, which could include in-kind contributions for hotel rooms.  The ban is in place to prevent groups and individuals from contributing money to affect legislative action during session.

But isn’t that exactly what they’re doing here? By “donating” the cost of their stay in Indiana, it is directly affecting legislation, which has basically ground to a halt in the house.

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1. Are Evan Bayh’s ground troops getting nervous? Is Evan Bayh a Nervous Nellie? This past Monday night...

House Bill 1279 was authored by Joe Pearson, a Democrat from Hartford City. While it has all the feel-good intentions of a typical “we want to control more of your life” bill, it misses the mark for those that think it should be law. It only applies if you’re actually “sending” a text, not reading one.

Indiana law already bars texting by drivers under age 18, and that’s fine by me. Kids’ attention spans are short enough as it is. The real question with this law is how are they going to enforce it?

How can the officer prove you were actually pushing buttons? It seems to me the only way to prove it would be to confiscate your cell phone and look. Unless the accused granted permission, that require a search warrant. Under this law you can still punch the buttons on your phone to make a call. How’s the officer going to know what you were doing?

And, what about interacting with your GPS?

Synopsis: Texting while driving. Provides that it is a Class C infraction if a person uses a telecommunications device to transmit a text message or electronic mail message while operating a moving motor vehicle. Repeals the current definition of “telecommunications device”.

The definition of a “telecommunications device” under this bill is as follows:

Means an electronic or digital telecommunications device. The term includes a:
(1) wireless telephone;
(2) personal digital assistant;
(3) pager; or
(4) text messaging device.

No mention of a GPS. You still have to take your eyes off the road and push the buttons on a GPS unit. For that matter, you still have to do the same thing to change the station on your radio, put in a different cd, etc. Or how about people that go through the drive-through and hit the street cramming a burger down their throats with the wrapper blocking their vision?

I’m in no way condoning texting while driving. I won’t even allow my son to talk to me on the phone if he’s driving. We don’t need laws that tell us what kind of light bulbs to use, or, that outlaw the spanking of children by parents, or tell us how bright, or not, the lights on our houses should be, or how and when we can use an electronic device, or whether or not business owners can allow smoking on “their property,” or force us to buy health insurance if we don’t want it.

Why not a law that prevents parents from feeding their kids until their too fat?

I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.

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NIPSCO is advising people in the Lake James area that a person in a white truck is misrepresenting himself as a utility company employee and demanding payment from local residents for the trimming of tree branches. NIPSCO spokesman Larry Graham says while the company has contractors that perform tree trimming work along their power lines, neither NIPSCO nor their contractors ever request payment from residents for performing such work. Graham says anyone being approached by someone requesting payment for unauthorized tree trimming work should contact local police to report the incident.

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AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) – Police in DeKalb County are looking for an inmate who escaped Thursday evening from the DeKalb County Jail.

Shannon Michael Pelmear, 24, escaped from the jail around 10 p.m. Thursday. Police describe him as a white male, 5′ 10″, and about 150 lbs. Pelmear has black hair, hazel eyes, and a tribal tattoo on his left arm. He was last seen wearing black and white horizontal striped pants, no shirt, no shoes, but he does have on white socks.

Police say he escaped by breaking out a small window on the second floor of the jail and dropping down to the sidewalk. He fled East from the jail on 9th street. The jail is located on 215 E. 8th Street in Auburn.

Pelmear was in jail for dealing Methamphetamine and cocaine. He’s been there since May 14th, 2009.

Anyone with information about Pelmear’s whereabouts is asked to call the DeKalb County Police at 260-925-3365.

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FBI-led probe yields drug-network arrests

After more than eight months of investigation, a federal task force announced charges against more than a dozen people believed to be part of a citywide drug-trafficking network.

Interim U.S. Attorney David Capp, flanked by local, state and federal law enforcement officers, announced Thursday that 16 people had been charged in the conspiracy, with 15 arrested so far and more than $200,000 seized.

This is an interesting visual in how they spread their operations all over the city. You may have to zoom out to see all of the locations involved in the bust.

View Cocaine Bust in a larger map

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Teen homicide victim eulogized

The contrasts between the way those who loved homicide victim Jaquan D. Allen wanted his life to be and the way it was were on display at his funeral Monday.

There was the 17-year-old Allen – gunned down Dec. 27 around 4 a.m. in a car on State Street – lying in a coffin. When they closed it, some of the approximately 200 mourners at Kingdom Door Christian Worship Center became hysterical and had to be restrained. “I just want to see him one more time!” screamed one young man, who had to be wrapped in a bear hug by a family member.

There was Taron Causey soulfully singing, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper, it won’t work,” causing women in the crowd to sob.

And there was the image of Jaquan Allen on the T-shirts of several audience members, including one worn by his father, Jesse Allen. On the front of the shirt Jaquan Allen flashes a gang sign. On the back, with a cigarette between his lips, he points a pistol.

What the hell is wrong with this guy? How can the father of this dead kid glorify gang banging, and at his kid’s funeral?

AWB

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From a local Newspaper:

Nathaniel Wilkerson said members of the Renegade Vice Lords are out to get him for trying to leave the gang.

Wilkerson made the statement after his father, Brian Wilkerson, had his mobile home at Country Forest Drive shot into around 10:20 p.m. Monday, according to Fort Wayne Police Officer David Bush’s incident report. Bush wrote that Brian Wilkerson, whom Bush arrested on an outstanding warrant, said the bullet went through a wall and into the bathroom. The Wilkersons said their home had been shot at twice before.

Country Forest Drive is off Washington Center Road, about 1 mile west of Lima Road. It’s home to one of the most rundown trailer parks in the city.

The Renegade Vice Lords hail from Chicago. Click here for some pictures.

I prefer to call them human debris.

AWB

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Allen County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Jeff Shimkus said the addresses for offenders can change daily and unless residents were checking every day, they may not know that a sex offender has moved into their neighborhood.

One of the reasons it’s important for Hoosiers, and in particular parents, to keep informed about sex offenders in their neighborhoods is that sex offenders will likely commit another offense, Carter said.

Many of the offenders found in Allen County have two or more offenses on their record, according to the county’s sex offender Web site.

 

An offender has lived near my home for the past several years.  We have been very fortunate by having a county deputy that lives about four doors down from the offender who has kept a close watch on him.  Not close enough though. 

The offender approached my son and his best friend on the beach at the park across the street from the offender’s home two summers ago.  My son’s best friend is the deputy’s son.  The offender knew who both boys were.  Pretty brazen wouldn’t you say? My daughter was babysitting and was very upset by his approach.  She gathered the kids up, took them home and called the deputy.  The situation was handled immediately.  We were lucky because our kids had been made aware of who this gentleman was due to the registry. I strongly believe the registry did indeed keep our boys from becoming another statistic.

This particular offender moved about three weeks ago.  I have kept an eye out to see where he moved to. He has 30 days to register his new address.  He registered yesterday.  I recognized the address as the home of one of my daughter’s friends who had just moved.  I know several of his new neighbors.  Two of them are school teachers.  I am printing off his information and mailing it to them. 

 

At a cost of $12,000 a year paid by the state, if the Web site prevents “even one heartache,” it’s worth the cost, Carter said.

Along with giving addresses for convicted sex offenders, the state’s Web site can tell Hoosiers whether a sex offender works nearby, Carter said.

I as a parent fully appreciate the website and also feel as if it has saved my child personally.

Read the full article here.

Posted by Lucy.

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Following the raid on Monday, the last massage parlor in Warsaw was closed down.  Arrests for prostitution had occurred in each of four establishments in the small community. Word on the street in Warsaw has it that Monday’s raid was by far the biggest bust and included an establishment in Fort Wayne and Georgia.  I always found it curious that the VIP Office Spa had a billboard up on US 30 coming out of Fort Wayne.  That just kind of raised my eyebrow that something might be askew.

Well anyhow, they now have that problem under control in Warsaw, what will they focus on next?  Hope they don’t start looking for something to do, like banning smoking…

Full Story here

Posted By Lucy

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Apparently a satellite dish installer is just a prime example of the fact we really do not know what may happen in our home when we are getting something installed or repaired in our own home.  We open our door to a complete stranger and give them free reign of our home and we are even fairly naive to the fact that anything can happen.

In today’s society we tend to trust no one, except these service/installation people.  Why is that?  I remember when we rented our water softener from Culligan, our salt delivery man had a key to our home and complete access anytime during the day when we were not home. Let’s not even think of how often our route drivers changed…

Link to Journal Gazette | 02/28/2007 | Alleged video voyeur nabbed in Kosciusko

Now this is where this article gets a little more interesting to me.  The article indicates adamantly that this is a one time incident with the installer… I have some rather strong doubts.  The same installer did an installation directly across the street from my house just a few weeks ago.  I remember clearly because it seemed very odd to me that he was out here for a very long time on a Friday afternoon, again on a Sunday afternoon and yet again the following week.  You can bet your cookies I will be across the street knocking on the neighbor’s door tonight when they get home from work, just to make sure they are aware of the situation and that they get things checked out.

Eww….it just gives me the heebie jeebies…

Posted By Lucy.

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WARSAW – A Kosciusko County judge ordered a Warsaw massage business to close, agreeing with city officials that the business violates city rules. Judge Rex L. Reed granted the permanent injunction against Dating Dynamics & Massage Inc. and its owner, Jenette Fairchild, in a court document dated Tuesday. The city filed an injunction against the business in August, saying the business had violated the ordinance that regulates massage businesses, court documents said. The injunction asked the court to order the business and Fairchild to stop operating without a permit. Warsaw passed an ordinance in July 2005 that regulates massage businesses, and since then, periodic inspections have been conducted. Ordinance violations led the city to revoke the permit for Dating Dynamics in June. Police said the business remained open despite being subject to fines ranging from $200 to $2,500 per violation per day.

This has been an ongoing story since their first day of business. There are a couple of other similar businesses within the community that have also been under much scrutiny and are frequently shut down… But this battle has raged on the longest and here are a few clips from another article in the Warsaw Times Union:

Fairchild, who went before the council Monday, spoke out against the recent ordinance involving massage establishment regulations and said that she felt targeted and harassed by community leaders. In an emotional address that brought about the eventual rap of the mayor’s gavel to rule her out of order, Fairchild questioned areas in the ordinance that she believed were unjust and wondered how her business would be regulated under the new laws.

and from the same article:

“I am being targeted by a bunch of hypocrites,” Fairchild said. Mayor Ernie Wiggins ruled Fairchild out of order after she accused members of the Winona Lake town council and Warsaw Police Department as being frequent patrons of her establishment. “This is going too far,” Wiggins said. “From my understanding, you feel like you are being targeted. Your business was not targeted in this ordinance, and if you’re not doing anything illegal, then you have nothing to worry about.”

This has been ongoing for several years in Warsaw, usually where there is smoke there is fire and too many times employees from her business have been arrested for prostitution. For example and here. Posted by Lucy.

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Missing paperwork is being blamed for the release of a prisoner from the Kosciusko County Jail who was serving a 10-year prison sentence.

Wesley Fields, 26, was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for robbing, then clubbing, two women in the head with sticks.

After being sentenced, Fields was transferred from the Huntington County Jail to the Wells County Jail, where he was waiting to be taken to the Indiana Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. On Oct. 31, Fields was transferred to Kosciusko County to appear in Superior Court II for failure to appear in court for an earlier charge of driving while suspended.

Once in Kosciusko Superior Court II, on Nov. 3, Fields was released on time served. After the sentence was handed down by the Kosciusko County judge, Fields was taken back to the Kosciusko County Jail where the National Crime Information Center and the Indiana Data And Communication System databases were checked to see if he had any outstanding warrants. The checks found no active warrants for Fields, which, said Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert, is not uncommon once someone already has been sentenced to prison.

Normally when a prisoner is transported to a local facility and then needs to be sent to department of corrections facility, a document called an abstract indicating that information is either mailed or transferred with the prisoner. In Fields’ case, said

Kosciusko County officials, the abstract was never received. Kosciusko County officials were never made aware of Fields’ prison sentence, and he was released from the Kosciusko County Jail. “We would have held him if we had the information to do so,” said Kosciusko County Public Information Officer Chad Hill.

Fields was arrested Wednesday night in Huntington after an officer tried to stop him for suspicious driving. After a chase, Fields was arrested and booked into the Huntington County Jail.

Posted By Lucy.

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