Hoosiers are being fooled as the General Assembly is consistantly trying to stifle home rule advantages and selections; and yet Governor Pence panders for home rule, only to trump the voter, rather than the principled stand he took during the election and previously .... You want to talk about quid pro quo? .... Congrats Indiana, this Governor is fighting you rather than for you!!!

As a Libertarian, I feel that anything that strips both home rule and proper checks and balances within local government, especially without the consent or consultation of those governed, by an outside jurisdiction or officer, should be scorned scrutinized and immediately vetoed, and the people responsible should be voted out of office as quickly as the electoral process and legislation repealed or injuncted as soon as judicial review allows. The fact that this is an obvious slight of hand to remove a validly elected and dually sworn City County Council Member whom happens to be gay is vile in the worst degree of Hoosier politics and just not the way we roll here in Fort Wayne and Allen County. Please call Governor Pence and ask him to VETO this bill SB621 and any others like it. 

What would happen if they tried this in Fort Wayne or Evansville etc.?  

The short answer is there would be a riot at the State House.

According to Zach Adamson, the Councilman directly targeted and one of four affected by the now passed and signed legislation, Allen Countys bill is coming to a head fast as of the 8th of May the General Assembly had sent Allen County's Local Government Reform bill to Study Committee. We are next on the list for having our local representation stripped from us without even a wink or a nod as to what we citizens want. Contact your local Legislator today and tell them to stop the process and talk to the people here in Allen County first. And if they dont listen, vote them out of their jobs, finally, next year.

Sorry Governor Pence, you dont get to excuse your clear violation of "your own 'philosophy'" for the sake of allowing the General Assembly Republicans their dues and kickbacks of power, to run roughshod over the validly elected and dually sworn members of the City and or County Council, and any other branch of local government.

On his last day  to either approve or veto bills, Indiana Governor Mike Pence went ahead today and signed SEA 621, legislation which will change the way Marion County Government operates.  

SEA 621, among other things, gives the Mayor of Indianapolis more control over the budget and it eliminates the four at-large City-County Council positions.  It also creates a central count for absentee ballots, puts IMPD permanently under the Mayor and reduces the residency requirement for an individual to run for Mayor. 

Republicans and 621 supporters have said the legislation was necessary to keep spending under control, while Democrats and opponents had called it a power grab.  Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry and Sheriff John Layton went so far as to say the legislation would hinder their ability to fight crime.

 http://www.indypolitics.org/post/50176374114

Now that the bill has passed, Democrats and City officials held a press conference to urge Gov. Pence to veto the bill. Zach Adamson stated:

It strips the Council's ability to serve as a balance to the now unchecked power of the Mayor, the very balance the voters clearly and decisively demanded when they elected us. It also drastically alters the makeup of the City-County Council by eliminating the four At-Large councillors without a shred of input from the people of Marion County in a purely partisan move that attacks the people's ability to self-govern.

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-marie-siroky/indianapolis-at-large-cit_b_3213009.html

 
Indiana’s Republican muscle was in full flex Saturday when Gov. Mike Pence signed a measure to reshuffle Marion County government and eliminate four Democratic-held council seats.

Supporters insist the changes in Senate Bill 621 promote good government, but one longtime political observer disagrees.
“If it’s good government for Indianapolis, why isn’t (Pence) doing it for all the major cities?” asked Brian Vargus, an Indianapolis political consultant and former political science professor. “The elimination of at-large seats is such a blatant power grab, you’d have to be a kindergartner to buy that.”
The measure eliminates the four at-large seats on the City-County Council, grants the mayor-appointed controller more authority over county officeholder budgets and grants the mayor the right to appoint five of nine members to the Metropolitan Development Commission — a majority, compared to the four members he currently appoints.
Vargus said Pence, a conservative who had recently expressed reservations about the measure, signed the bill to appease Indiana’s established Republican leaders.
“It runs against a lot of (Pence’s) philosophy, where the central government, the state in this case, doesn’t tell a city or a town what to do,” Vargus said. “He’s got to keep the powers-that-be in the party happy because they really don’t get along with him.”
Pence issued a statement Saturday that acknowledged he signed the bill despite “misgivings” over the elimination of the at-large seats.
“I am signing this legislation,” Pence said, “because it serves the public interest by granting to the current mayor of Indianapolis — and any future mayor of either political party — the authority to manage the city’s finances in a manner that protects taxpayers and encourages economic development and job creation.”
Reaction was swift and predictable, with Republicans cheering and Democrats grousing

http://www.indystar.com/article/20130511/NEWS/305110034/Gov-Mike-Pence-signs-Marion-County-legislation

 

Senator John McCain attempts to garner his maverickness back; I wonder what or whom pissed him off this time?

I have advocated for this at length a few times. A close friend, who once upon a time - for several years - was a 'caged monkey' for Comcast/Xfinity, and I had a lengthy discussion about this very issue. Its actually called 'Single Profile Masking'. Here is more information via CNET http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57583821-93/senator-john-mccain-pushes-to-end-the-cable-bundle/

Cable Companies have been able to do SPM for years but they dont want to because actual consumer having purchase control would affect their marketability and financial equity severely. You would almost be placed into the position of having to nationalize the system to keep it up and running, while the infrastructure is updated and caught up to specs to handle the service load and security issues that they don't want anyone to know exist currently.

While this provision by law is a long time coming, and with the above ramifications listed, Im scared to know that it is actually John McCain introducing it SCH13204 http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=d26f11d4-7030-44ff-b980-1c0c75e8f5d1.

The SPM provision, while EPIC in itself, probably wont pass this Congress at all; so therefore this is probably yet again John McCain, grandstanding to make himself look important and as 'a fighter for the people', which probably means he is up for reelection in the next two Senatorial cycles or he is getting ready to run for President in 2016 again too and he got miffed by somebody for campaign donations so this is retaliation on his part.

John McCain lost his 'Maverick' status a while ago by his own doing. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds thru the legislative process. I personally feel it is a red herring and am not holding my breathe but I will advocate that everyone pay attention to this bill SCH13204 and ask your Senators and Representatives to allow it to proceed for a full vote by both Houses of Congress.

NEXT BI MONTHLY BUSINESS MEETINGS LOCKED IN FOR REST OF YEAR ALMOST.

Finally was able to confirm with ACPL after playing phone tag with Josette all month, sorry for the delay.

The Libertarian Party of Allen County, Indiana will be meeting in the Business and Technology Room of the Allen County Public Library (instead of the Globe Room) from 2-5 pm or 14:00 to 17:00 on the fourth Saturday of the month in May (25th), July (27th), September (28th), and eventually (only able to confirm 3 meetings at a time) November (23rd *tentative due to Thanksgiving holiday). Stay tuned for further details and other opportunities to meet your local Libertarian Party and as always we extend a welcome invitation to all of our new members their friends and acquaintances.

Also keep in mind that per our bylaws at this meeting the new Officers will be taking over. They are Douglas Horner, Chair; Jeannette Jaquish, is returning as Vice Chair; Robert Enders, Treasurer; and I, Kenneth White Jnr, am returning to my prior position as Secretary. A big thank you goes out to Elizabeth Lemmon Sepponen whom has served as the Secretary for the last three years.

Securing the Blessings of Liberty,
Kenneth White, Jnr.
Vice Chair, LPAC

Please use this event posting on Facebook to share with your friends and family and to RSVP. Thanks.

The recent IRS scandal

1. I really doubt anyone is going to jail over this. Some people have already lost their jobs. I suspect that other IRS employees are already getting their resumes in order, creating Linkedin profiles, and keeping an eye on the "help wanted" section of the classified section. But the burden of proof to convict a person is much higher than the proof required to fire a person. A competent defense attorney could convince a jury that it was reasonable for a defendant to suspect that anti-tax groups were created for the purpose of tax-evasion. After all, how many cops actually go to jail for unlawful searches? 2. This is exactly why the federal government needs to reduce spending. The more the government spends, the more it will depend on the IRS to ensure compliance. The more pressure the IRS is under to enforce the tax code, the more likely you are to get an audit.

Closing Guantanamo

Obama says he wants to close Gitmo, but insists that Congress won't let him. But does he even need permission from Congress? The answer to that boils down to this: Is the detention facility under the jurisdiction of the Cuban government or the US government? Legally, Cuba maintains sovereignty over the bay, but the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903 gives the US the power to lease Guantanamo in perpetuity. The Castro regime wants the US to leave and insists that they have the right to terminate the lease and evict the US Navy. If the State Department decides to recognize that Cuba has jurisdiction, Obama can close the base on the grounds that we don't have permission to stay. On the other hand, if the United States has jurisdiction over the bay, then everybody there is protected by the Bill of Rights. The President can and should place the Constitution over the wishes of Congress in this matter.