Welcome News

Last week Randy Stumler announced he was heading for the Azores. His adventurous move created two openings. An outstanding candidate has stepped forward to announce that she would like to fill one of the vacancies.

Suellen Wilkinson has decided to seek Stumler's unexpired term on the Floyd County Council. For those who know Ms. Wilkinson this is wonderful news. For those who don't know her, let me offer why it is, in fact, wonderful news.

Ms. Wilkinson has lived in New Albany for 19 years. During 16 of those years she worked at the Floyd County Museum, now known as the Carnegie Center for Art and History. She was instrumental in raising it to the level it holds today as one of the shining examples of what New Albany is capable of achieving when its citizens work together for the common good. She was at various times the Director of Development and the Director of Business Operations. She has been involved in many of the good efforts of our community. Her resume also includes volunteer contributions of work with the Arts Council of Southern Indiana, Leadership Southern Indiana, the Library Board, and the Board of Directors for Rauch Industries. Although she is now retired, she can still be found many days at the Carnegie Center.

Prior to moving to New Albany Ms. Wilkinson held several key positions in government in her home state of Wisconsin. She was on the Governor's staff and the Attorney General's staff. She was the state Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

All of these positions highlight her ability which would be a welcome asset on the County Council. Her involvement in the community gives her strong background knowledge of the most capable and committed people in our midst. The high regard shown toward the Carnegie Center stands as a testament to her work there. It bears mention, of course, that the Carnegie Center depends on the contribution of time and effort from its entire staff under the direction of Sally Newkirk, but Ms. Wilkinson is the subject at hand, and her effectiveness with the Center is one of the important qualifiers for her service on the County Council.

The balance of Randy Stumler's County Council term will be filled by a caucus vote to be held August 5. It is critical that in filling this unexpired term we look toward who is best qualified to stand for election in the fall. Ted Heavrin has already secured a spot on the November ballot. The person named to fill out Stumler's term will be, in essence, the Democratic Party's farm team. This short period of time is that person's brief opportunity to get known in the wider community. Unabashedly, I think Suellen Wilkinson is highly qualified and well suited to assume the duties of a County Council representative. I think we are fortunate that people of her caliber and qualification are willing to serve in this position. As a Democrat, I don't think we could find a stronger candidate to complete the slate we offer to the voters in November.

Bon Voyage, Mr. Chairman

Floyd County Democratic Party Chairman and County Councilman Randy Stumler is resigning both of those positions this week. He is accepting what he calls a, " once in a lifetime opportunity."

Randy has accepted a post with the Department of Defense to teach dependents of military and diplomatic personnel. He and his family will depart in August for the Azores. If you know anything about the Azores, you'll wonder, "why would anybody leave New Albany for that place?"http://www.fotosearch.com/ICN001/f0000964/ (click on Azores in Keywords)

This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime for Randy, Karen and the children. I'm sure they will make the most of it. There's a wide, beautiful world just beyond our self-imposed limits. Bon voyage to the Traveling Stumlers. Be safe. Carpe diem.

Livin's Easy?

YouTube - Mungo Jerry - In the summertime

Meme Me Up Scotty

Perhaps it's because I see nothing on the horizon that threatens controversy, since the discussion of a nascent smoking ordinance surely won't ruffle any feathers. Or perhaps it's because I just can't stand the implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the D.C. handgun law. But whatever the inner current, I'd like to make a modest proposal which has plenty of obvious local effect but little chance for local birthing.

The National Rifle Association has become the recognized voice for all in the U.S. who own guns or hunt. Find a gun owner or a committed shooting hobbyist and I'm not sure they would assign such high position to this organization but the media are sure willing to make the assumption that the NRA offers the definitive view of the place of firearms in our country. It's kind of like the Beef Council's opinion of "what's for dinner", but the media in its varied forms is not known for discernment.

My modest proposal is an odds-on loser with the NRA. I don't, however, think I've seen this particular trial balloon aloft. I think only infrequently about guns, and then mostly the thought that I don't want one launching a lead projectile in my direction. (I don't see the need to hurl lead in the direction of other living creatures either since we've long established that protein can be harvested from many other sources, nuts, cheese, Krogers to name a few. But truly that's another topic for another day.)

My proposal is simply this: a license for firearms users and stiff, hefty, onerous fines and sentences for those caught in possession of a firearm and no license.

The NRA wants nothing to do with gun registration. It wants nothing which could lead to confiscation of firearms; this is the scenario that ends in someone's cold dead fingers being pried from the barrel of a gun. Is it possible the NRA could stomach licensing of firearms users?

The license would be issued to those without felony records, who have no history of serious mental illness, and who have completed a gun safety course offered by qualified instructors.
This would place the use of a deadly instrument into the hands of those at least nominally and minimally qualified to do so; similar to the licensing of operators of automobiles. Those caught in possession of a firearm of any kind, but without a license would face a fine and/or sentence, possibly including forfeiture of the gun.

Since this in no way states that the owner of a license is also the owner of a gun, it could not be construed as registration of firearms. It could prevent the purchase of guns at gun shows if a purchase is attempted by an unlicensed buyer.

Of course the standard refrain could often be true here. A criminal would likely not have a license for the gun used in a crime. So what? At least law abiding citizens would have to prove they are nominally competent to own a gun. That's an improvement over what we have now. And it might prevent some of the needlessly tragic accidental shootings of children by children as the parents are better educated about safety. It might possibly have prevented an incident such as the shooting last week in Henderson, Kentucky, which was carried out by a man with mental illness.

Licensing of gun users seems like a sensible response to the obvious danger posed by the proliferation of guns in America. This proliferation suggests a climate not too unlike the Wild West. The NRA's response to the Supreme Court case, on the other hand, is just plain nuts. The NRA has filed suit against the Public Housing Authority in San Francisco to disallow a gun ban within public housing property.

If the NRA gets its way, its theory goes, more people will be armed and those who pull a gun are thereby more likely to be shot down by their fellow citizens, thus insuring safety for the residents of public housing. And they wonder why people call them "gun nuts".

...everyone you meet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqP3wT5lpa4

The Bleat Goes On

As has been widely and sheepishly reported by the cable yackers, Rush Limbaugh is conducting "Operation Chaos". This brilliant plan, as its "commander" Limbaugh states, has as its goal the disruption of the Democratic primary process. He claims to be directing his Dittoheads to keep the primary process going as long as possible in order to cause internal bleeding within the Democratic Party.

This strategem has even received a nod of validation from the upper ranks of punditry. It has been seriously discussed by the likes of NBC's Tim Russert as a factor in Hillary Clinton's continued strength. I believe Fat Head is being given way too much credit and credence.

At any rate, the Master of the A.M. dial has issued new orders. He said yesterday,"I now believe he (Obama) would be the weakest of the Democrat(sic) nominees. I now urge the Democrat(sic) superdelegates to make your mind up and publicly go for Obama."

In a related item, Limbaugh then went on to urge the Sun to rise tomorrow, along with a call for the continued application of the Law of Gravity.

Harking back to the evil nemesis of Maxwell Smart, the other KAOS, isn't it way past time to put Limbaugh under the "Cone of Silence"?

Derby Day Politics

Baron Hill at Riverview Towers, Saturday May 3, 2008
Lee Hamilton at Riverview Towers May 3, 2008


The past and present Ninth District Congressmen spoke Saturday, near post time, on behalf of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Was it raucus? No.
Was it a packed house? No.
Was it inspiring? Yes.

The crowd was mainly comprised of the elderly residents of Riverview Towers. Frankly, many of them came for the pizza provided by the Obama campaign. They got that, to be sure, but they also got an impassioned plea from both men on the significance of the Obama campaign for America.

Hill spoke first and then introduced Hamilton. Hill talked about the psychological barrier that had kept humans from running a mile in a time faster than four minutes. That barrier came down on May 6, 1954 as Roger Bannister beat the clock. Hill said we, as a nation, could not conceive of a black man having an honest chance of winning the presidency until recently. That psychological barrier is coming down, win or lose, because Obama is in the race. He is elevating the level of the debate by running a positive campaign. His very presence in the race brings the hope of transformational change.

Hamilton spoke also about the hope of real transforming change. As he put it, it's time for a new generation to start leading this country. It is time, he said, to leave behind the back room deals and lobbyist-driven legislation. Neither he nor Hill glossed over the difficulty of playing the game with new rules. Neither said it is a certainty that it can be done. But both said it is imperative that we try, and now, because our stature in the world has been so terribly damaged by Bush and Cheney.

The inspiring thing about the day's event was the fact that Hamilton and Hill but especially Hamilton came out on Derby Day to address a relatively sparse and slightly less than entusiastic crowd. This was an opportunity to phone it in; say something about making sure you get out to vote Tuesday, tell your friends to vote and isn't this a great country we live in? Hamilton could have done that but he didn't. The former Representative with 34 years under his belt spoke with conviction and passion about how the eyes of the world are on, and will be on, Indiana Tuesday. Will we let the opportunity to chart a new course pass us by? Will we show the world that we want to continue on the same path we've been following or that we want to join the rest of the world and somehow make amends for the disasters that Bush has wrought?

Hamilton closed his remarks by pointing out that one man in the back of the room had nodded out and another had spent much of the time checking his watch. It easy to figure why they were not too engaged. After all, it's time for new hands to take the wheel.

I am disappointed in the turn the Democratic campaign has taken and, frankly, I feel that Senator Clinton and or her operatives are to blame for it. Not the Jeremiah Wright mess; that was a self-inflicted wound. What is most disturbing for me is the tone struck by the Clinton camp through the incessant harping on the remark a few weeks ago that Pennsylvanians were "bitter". (I addressed that point in a post here titled "Bitter. Who's Bitter?")

Now we have the goofy suggestion that the U.S. take a summer vacation from gasoline taxes. That is precisely the kind of pandering which results in cynicism about the political system. Don't worry about global warming. Don't try to think about why we've allowed ourselves to be tied to an unsustainable transportation system. And by the way, don't think about the fact that the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi both say they won't bring the proposal up for a vote. And don't think about the fact that most economists think it's a goofy idea.

Today, on This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Sen. Clinton was in Indianapolis taking questions from an audience. She derided Sen. Obama's opposition to the gas tax holiday, in what must be a newly settled-on wedgeword for the campaign "elite" and its many variants, for being a dealer in "elite opinion". The irony in that is rich. Who is the real elitist Sen. Clinton, when the "common man" is assumed to be too unsophisticated, or thick-headed to realize that a temporary tax break on fuel is only an election gimmick? (kind of like the election-time pledge that Republicans will return us to the days of strong moral values and illegal abortions, when in reality they only want to deliver tax cuts for the real elites)

I'll grant that because of the economic situation we are in, some may be desparate and may see hope in that illusory savings. But the true holder of the elitist label should be Bush Inc., not fellow Democrat Barack Obama. Senator Clinton knows this, and her continued flailing attacks threaten the ultimate goal in November: preventing a third Bush term under John McCain.