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The US Army Corps of Engineers announced a decision yesterday. That decision was to end the conflict over routing the Dakota Access pipeline under the Missouri river where it would be a potential threat to the river waters, a source of water for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and would have touched tribal burial grounds. The Corps will seek an alternative route which will, no doubt, be more costly to construct and will delay utilization of the pipeline which was near completion.
This is a good and just decision. As both an ardent President-elect Donald Trump supporter AND one who holds deep concerns about our natural environment and the values of Native Americans, I hope that a President Trump will endorse this Army Corps decision. Yes, this country needs to be on a course to develop domestic energy resources, but that must be done in a way sensitive to potential environmental damage as well as to the values of American citizens.
Donald Trump has emphasized his stand for clean air and clean water. This Corp decision is consistent with that stated position.

OK. I, for one, have had enough of the whining from Democrats, the youngsters on college campuses, and selected media. Elections have consequences. Some win and some lose. Get over it.
I just read the totally whining letter to the editor in the Kokomo Tribune on November 18th from Kathy Skiles, the chairwoman of the Howard County Democratic Party. She trucks out all of the rhetoric and lies her party put forth in the recent campaigns. Even President Obama has warned us about false news reports and propaganda which Skiles clearly has swallowed hook, line, and sinker. She does not truck out the fact that at the top of the Democratic Party ticket was a person who clearly put this country at risk with what will likely be legally judged as criminal acts. She does not truck out the facts surrounding the rip offs involving the Clinton Foundation.
Hopefully, Congress, the Justice Department, and the FBI will not close the case against Hillary Clinton but will pursue full accountability under the law. All this unless, of course, President Obama chooses to issue a pardon to Clinton. That would not come as a surprise given the words that have come out of his mouth since the Democrats lost the election. Considering Obama is known to have knowingly utilized the Clinton server, he may want to pardon himself as well.
Lose the election the Democrats did. That was crystal clear in Indiana. Elected offices from the top of the ticket to the bottom were overwhelmingly won by Republicans. The Republicans hold a super majority in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly. A Republican governor was elected and the voters turned away the sham of former Democrat Senator Evan Byah wanting to become a US Senator from Indiana. The people of Indiana chose Donald J. Trump to be their President. They were tired of the same old corrupt ways from the Washington swamp as led by President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, and Representative Nancy Pelosi. Off they go into the sunset.
The new sunrise in Washington DC is to be led by those with a new vision for this country. It is to be led by those who believe in America First. It is to be led by those who believe in the rule of law and that people in this country should abide by and be treated equally under the law. It is to be led by those who believe in American jobs first and trade that favors America, not foreign countries. It is to be led by those who believe in equal educational opportunities for all. It is to be led by those who put homeland security above all else.
The United States of America was declining in measurable ways due to wide spread corruption and ineptness. We now have a fresh start and a new beginning. It would behoove the whiners to get on board and contribute to the rise of the new America rather than complain, moan, cry and spew irresponsible, false, divisive and denigrating rhetoric to serve Democrats over their lost election. By the way, given her attitude and acts, Kathy Skiles should resign.

Here is what it has been all about in our part of the world for the last several weeks. Get the crops harvested…. corn and soy beans. The unfortunate fact, though, is that virtually all of it is genetically engineered and we really don’t know what the heck that may be doing to us, our livestock, and the environment. All that we really do know is that these crops can withstand massive doses of Roundup herbicide without dying while the “weeds” around them do. At least that is what is supposed to happen. Problem is, though, there are now super weeds that survive. The solution proposed by the chemical/seed companies who are the promoters of GM crops is to up the ante for chemicals. Ummmmmm…. wonder who that benefits? They want to add 2,4,D to the mix.
Somehow I think commodity agriculture is a train wreck waiting to happen. I do not think we can continue to poison the soil, water, and air indefinitely without serious consequences to people and all living things in the environment.
We shall see if the Trump administration sees and understands these problems…. and then chooses to move toward a healthier way to produce food. Hope so.

November 8th came and went. The outcome was late made public but was actually known the minute the polls closed. The die was cast. Donald J. Trump is to be the next President of these United States.
I could not be happier! The crooked Hillary and Bill Clinton were vanquished. Their corruption, law breaking and influence peddling for pay have ended. The Clinton Foundation remains under investigation. And I hope Hillary Clinton herself will as well.
The ace in the hole they have, though, is President Barack Obama. I would not be at all surprised if he issues a general pardon before he leaves office. He has that power. Bill Clinton did a lot of the same for some pretty unsavory characters and criminals. We shall see.
History will write the Clinton era has ended. Thank God! The United States of America has been given a new lease on life. President Donald Trump will lead the way. Let us all hope that the GOP dominated Congress will not be an impediment but will support what Trump promised the citizens of the country during the campaign. The people (not the power brokers, lobbyists, corporations, and donors) now have a friend in the Whitehouse.

The Indiana Senate Democrats just will not quit. An article in the Indy Star on November 11th says Indiana Senate Democrats will be pushing immigration-related legislation in this session of the General Assembly. You will never guess what cock-a-mammy things they want.
First, they believe illegal immigrants (aka. undocumented immigrants) living in Indiana should pay in-state tuition to state universities. They want preferential treatment for immigration law breakers over American citizens from other states. This makes no sense.
Secondly, they want to make it easier for law enforcement to find family members when dealing with “undocumented immigrants”. This would call for the creation of identification cards at yet another cost to the taxpayer. It is the responsibility of the undocumented immigrant to carry personal identification, not something the state should take on.
Finally, they want illegal immigrants to be issued a state driver’s license. I suspect most illegal immigrants are driving anyway and without legally required insurance; yet another violation of law. I guess I would be OK with this proposal if across the face of the license it states “illegal immigrant” in bold letters.
The election of President-elect Donald Trump and the tsunami wave of Republicans at all levels of government carried a clear message about immigration. That message is that illegal immigration and taxpayer services to those in this county illegally must end. There is to be legal immigration and care for citizens of this country first and foremost. That is the law.

There will be few words appropriate come next Wednesday….
“Thank God!”
or
“God, HELP US!”
We are at likely the most critical point in the history of the United State of America except for the times of the Revolution against Great Britain and the Civil War. Choose wrongly and I believe we are headed down in a race to the bottom. We have a chance to look upward once again if we make the right choice. Wednesday will provide the answer.

It is time for something a little light hearted. My brother, Ted, likes to clip articles from various sources to send to me. He knows my interests, so the article contents typically support or challenge those. He and I don’t agree on everything, but do on most.
One article he clipped was one about the Asian carp, a fish now found almost throughout the United States but one that was not native to North America. Various carp species were brought to this continent from Europe in the early 1800’s. Not the smartest decision environmentally, but humans were pretty stupid about those things then. In Europe, the carp are both a sports and food fish. In Asia, carp have been a popular food fish for thousands of years. In North America, carp have not been considered either a sport or food fish. Mostly, they are considered a “trash fish”. That may be changing.
The article Ted sent says, “Asian carp is leaping onto table-tops in Kentucky’s finest dining establishments”. At a restaurant named, “The Ward 426”, the fish is served as “Kentucky Carp”. The charge is $24 for fish specially browned in butter and served atop sweet potato puree with roasted fig jam and mushrooms pickled in balsamic vinegar. In Kentucky, the carp are sometimes called, “Western Kentucky Silver Carp”. It outsells catfish whether grilled, fried, blackened or buffalo-style. One top chef compares carp to scallops and Chilean sea bass. For the white and meaty carp, chefs pay less than half the price of more expensive seafood such as sea bass.
Mature Asian carp average 45 to 70 pounds. Now there is a fish! The meat is white, clean tasty, and low in contaminants such as mercury due to its feeding habits. Carp are plant eaters.
But carp are environmentally destructive. This is a fish that when too many can really screw up the aquatic environment for native fish. This is a fish that lays 1 million eggs a year. An over population is a threat to native fish such as bluegill, crappie, bass, and shad. Oh, did I say that the eggs can be a source of roe or caviar? So, what to do?
The answer is for human beings in North America to eat up. A knife and fork will go wonders to helping the environment and enjoying a fish feast. The Mighty Carp needs to become a staple in our search for “sea food”. All winners for the environment and for the food supply.

The Kokomo Dispatch blog has been resting long enough. I chose to consolidate posts to the kentblacklidge.wordpress.com blog some months ago. Now I believe it time to undo part of that choice.
The Kokomo Dispatch masthead existed on a print newspaper for decades. It began as a local newspaper in Kokomo, Indiana, as an enterprise started by the Poynter family who went on to bigger things with the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. The Dispatch was purchased by my great grandfather, John Arthur Kautz. The Dispatch name was carried as a sub-head in the Kokomo Tribune until the late 1960s when the name was dropped.
The Tribune was sold in 1981 to the Thomson Newspaper group. At that point the Tribune had close to two dozen family owners, all descendants of Kautz. The family was in the situation where the death of one of the older partners would trigger a forced sale just to pay estate tax. The decision was made to sell. The market for newspapers was very good at the time, but the sale to Thomson was not good for the paper nor for the community. The focus went from serving the community to maximizing profit. Unfortunately, this was the story for hundreds of family owned newspapers across the country.
I want to carry on the Kokomo Dispatch name which was not included as a part of the sale to Thomson. I feel it is part of my history and duty. I think the Poynters would be pleased as would J.A. Kautz since the Tribune name was passed on to others.
It is interesting to me to realize how deeply newspapers and journalism are rooted in me. Some of my earliest memories are of times going to the newspaper offices with my father. I was around newsrooms, composing rooms, and the press more times than I can imagine. I can still smell the ink and paper and still hear the rumbling of the press as it printed the thousands of copies of the paper to be delivered to doorsteps. I remember.
After the sale of the Tribune, I changed course. For years I was involved with science and the academic community. I loved that, too. I was able to make a significant contribution in evolutionary biology. I went off, too, in other directions that hit dead ends. For the past 16 years, professionally I have been a licensed real estate appraiser in Indiana. This has had its rewards in that I have become very familiar with about all communities in North Central Indiana and have met hundreds of very interesting and good people. My vision as a result has widened.
For years, the voices within rooted in my decades with the Kokomo Tribune were muted. They have come alive. We are in precarious times for our country. Everyone who can should speak out.

The uproar over the Trump sex talk video is a whole lot to do about nothing. His apologetic response should close the matter completely.
Men have a way with them beginning with the onset of puberty. Studies have shown that healthy men have thoughts about sex frequently, very frequently. Those who don’t have such thoughts are either liars or eunuchs. Any male who has been on a team, in a locker room, on a golf course, or with male gatherings of about any kind know that sex talk and braggadocio pop up more often than not. And any man who notices the female gender has thoughts of sex at least from time to time. This is all normal in our society.
And for women, have you noticed at the check out line at the grocery store the number of magazine covers featuring some female clad in “sexy” fashion or about nothing at all? Do you see any covers with male models on them? I don’t. And what is this about? Have you noticed the number of magazine covers that feature some article about great or better sex? They are all over the place. And women in the United State of America don’t wear burkas that cover from head to foot; quite the contrary.
None of this means it is proper to act on every thought. Our culture is filled with sexual suggestion and allure, but talk is a universe different from actions. Donald Trump talked 11 years ago in ways that were meant to be private and between men as men sometimes are.
What gets me is the sanctimonious outrage from both women and men over what Trump said 11 years ago. I particularly question the character of the Republicans — including House Speaker Paul Ryan — who express shock and judgment, then go about back peddling or distancing themselves from the Republican candidate for President of the United States of America. They are like rats fleeing from a ship. One wonders about people who profess they are so much better than Donald Trump or are they just “posers” who were always looking for a reason to dive back into the Washington cesspool from which they have come and love so much.
I can not conclude without comment about the Clintons. Bill Clinton is a true sexual predator. Hillary Clinton was an enabler. She was the one who went about threatening Bill’s victims. Silence is golden or else.
Donald Trump never claimed to be an angel or perfect. He is a male human being with flaws like the rest of us. Maybe that is why the “rest of us” like him so well. He has apologized. Now let’s get on with the debate about the issues that are going to make or break this country.