Honest to goodness! There are times when I think our politicians are smoking something.
Two articles on the Opinion page of the July 17th issue of the Tribune caught my attention. The first was one in which Senator Toomey (R) from Pennsylvania and Senator Dan Coats (R) from Indiana proposed linking an encouragement of more immigration of “highly skilled” people to the United States with the need to find money to fund highway maintenance. What? They claim attracting foreign students and others “highly skilled” to remain in or come to the United States would produce more job creation and economic growth thereby providing more tax dollars for highway maintenance. They don’t, however, suggest a mechanism of how that would be tracked. Do they propose an eye in the sky to watch these immigrants or tag them somehow, maybe a tattoo or electronic chip, so that all the taxes they pay or taxes from jobs they create get directly into highway funds? So, no doubt, another government agency would be required to keep track of it all. Ridiculous! This proposal is a total flight of fantasy.
The cost of highway maintenance should be paid by the users of the highways. The current mechanism for funding is mostly gasoline and diesel tax on a per gallon basis. And, yes, users are choosing to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles and, thereby, use fewer gallons of fuel. This does not mean, however, they drive fewer miles on roads. The answer, simply, is to increase the tax per gallon up to the point needed to fund highway maintenance. Sure, there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth, but the problem needs to be addressed head on; not through some cockamamie scheme involving immigrants.
Now to the other article which, ironically, seems to tie right in. It was the editorial by the Tribune Board about education and graduation rates. The article pointed out the pathetic preparation of high school graduates for college level studies. The key sentence in the article said, “…. thousands of its (Indiana) high school students are graduating without the basic math, reading and writing skills needed to succeed in college”. This is no surprise and a problem existing for decades. The finger needs to be pointed at the high schools and nowhere else. Students wanting to prepare for college should not graduate from high school unless they demonstrate preparedness. The can should not be kicked down the road for universities to deal with as it now is. The current system is a recipe for the failure it is. And, guess what, if students were prepared, maybe graduation rates would go up and students would succeed in getting into the “highly skilled” category. No need for “highly skilled” immigrants. We would grow our own.
J200 – Journalism
The semester at Indiana University Kokomo is coming to an end. The campus is buzzing with students winding up assignments, taking final tests, and looking forward to at least a few days of rest before summer sessions begin.
For me, it was the end of attending a class in journalism taught by Dr. Erin Doss. Yes, I lived 20 years plus at the Kokomo Tribune including four as its publisher/CEO. I did some writing but mostly was concerned with management of a business and getting a newspaper on the door step of each subscriber every day at the same time. Formal journalism was not in my background. I wanted to learn particularly about the change in journalism over the past 3 decades. I did.
I loved the class. Just being around students and a professor who were enthusiastic about writing and journalism was refreshing. I found the cardinal principles of journalism had not changed one single bit. Reporters still are to gather news and information, then present it to their readers in as objective, complete, and unbiased ways as humanly possible. Hard news and opinion are to be separated. Features are to entertain and educate. Readers are informed about matters and issues that affect their lives. None of that has changed.
What has changed are the vehicles to get information from the heads and hands of a reporter to the eyes and minds of the reader. In my final days at the Kokomo Tribune, it was from reporter to computer keyboard to photo paper to full page paste ups to camera to full page negatives to press plates to, finally, a high speed offset press…… then on to delivery trucks for carrying to over 200 mostly teenage newspaper carriers and to subscribers’ door steps. That was the system.
Huge change has taken place. Now news starts with the reporter with final page design and layout (pagination) being done right in the newsroom. The image goes directly to machines that produce the press plates; then on to the press. The teenage carrier system has all but disappeared. Press runs are typically at night and delivery is by adult carriers in cars. But there is more: electronic media.
Even in the classroom, students were accessing news only minutes old via cell phones and computers. Social media and electronic delivery of news are the ways of today. Newsprint and ink have had to take a back seat and will likely remain that way.
I must tell you, though, that for this old dog the sounds of a press, the smells of paper and ink, and the joy of holding a newspaper in hand will never fade. Newspapers were the historical record and conscience of a community. I am not sure how this will ever be replaced.
Thank you, Dr. Erin Doss for an enjoyable, enlightening semester for this dinosaur.
Only in Kokomo
This just could not be passed up. I have gone by this little “Mom and Pop” restaurant hundreds of times. Every time I smile. I know from where the neon sign came. There used to be a craftsman in Kokomo near the restaurant that from a small, very old shop created neon signs. I don’t believe he his still there, but Kokomo is blessed with his work.
I have never stopped for a “sandwitch“. Always have wondered what would be served to me. Honestly, Kokomo is full of such miracles and this is one.
Agriculture Factories
There is a TEDx video that all should see. It is about factory animal production (CAFO: concentrated animal feeding operation); what they are and what they have done to agriculture.
The speaker, Michele Merkel, was an attorney that worked for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Her assignment included dealing with the problems of environmental pollution that resulted from CAFOs. She saw first hand the plight of people who lived near such animal factories. Water was polluted, air was made unfit to breathe, land was contaminated, and people were harmed. The animals were treated in ways that would horrify most people. She fought to correct those things.
That is until the George W. Bush administration came into office. She describes what happened. In short, the EPA was shut down regarding any pursuit of environmental violations by CAFOs. As a result, she quit. For over 15 years, she has opposed the EPA; she sues them over what they are not doing to protect people, the environment, and the animals.
One point made is that CAFOs are NOT agriculture as people generally think of farming. Corporations and their minions that treat animals as bioreactors are not farmers. They are corporation factory operators. Large agriculture corporations have usurped the terms “farmer” and “farming” and “agriculture” to hide behind knowing people would not support what is being done if they knew the facts. This is exactly the reason behind “AG-GAG” legislation that criminalizes the taking of photos and videos without permission of the animal operation. In some states, the laws even apply to photos taken from public locations. The corporations want absolute control and want to operate out of sight and out of mind.
In a State of the Union address as long ago as 1888, President Grover Cleveland said this:
Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters.
Think about this. We are fast moving there with agriculture. Animal “production” and patented seed/chemicals are in the hands of giant corporations. The only stopping is for people to become aware and to then act.
Link long address is http://www.tedxmanhattan.org/michele-merkel-using-the-legal-system-to-fight-factory-farms/
Wildcat Guardians
The annual clean up of the Wildcat Creek through Kokomo has just been wrapped up. As usual, hundreds of pounds of trash including tires, mattresses, boxes, construction materials, and more were removed from the creek. How did they get there?
In a word: JERKS….. people who do not care about the environment. You know the type: the ones that throw cups, bags, and drink cans out the car window when finished with them.
The Wildcat Guardians have been at this for a long time; I am thinking decades. My recollection is this effort began in the early 1970’s shortly after the first Earth Day. The first event was sponsored by the Kokomo Tribune. I remember several days of slopping around in the creek gathering things that did not belong there.
This is one group that does not get the notice it should. The members are dedicated to making and keeping the Wildcat Creek as clean and user friendly as possible. Their desire is for the creek to be fun and safe for boating and even for fishing. They deserve all the help they can get.
Salvation Army Fiasco
There just has to be more news than the issue with the Director of the local Salvation Army. This whole matter should have been a couple of paragraphs on page 8.
Here we have a guy who in good faith, I think, needed to have some help in cleaning out the old Salvation Army building on North Washington Street. I suspect he could have gotten all the help he needed from volunteers for free if he would have just asked. But no, he wanted to get a bit of cash into the hands of some folks, many of whom needed a chance to earn a few bucks. In addition, he provided lunch. Now he is the one who gets fried. Somehow this strikes me as petty and a crock.
The Salvation Army was not looking for part time or full time employees. They needed one day of help. I fully understand a complaint if there was to be some longer term employment as a prospect, but this? Give me a break.
And shame on the Tribune and the Perspective for making an enormous deal out of what was intended to be a good deed. The Salvation Army has done so much good for so many people over so many years in our community, it is time to put away the swords. The Salvation Army and its Director do not deserve the treatment given.
[Background: the Directory of the Salvation Army in Kokomo needed some help in cleaning out a store no longer in use in Kokomo on North Washington Street. He put out flyers about this and offered anyone who helped $25 for the day plus lunch. Several folks took the Director up on his offer and helped. Someone…. don’t know exactly who…. rang the bell on the Director alleging violation of federal wage and hours law requiring minimum wage for all hours worked. The Director was suspended by superiors. The Kokomo Tribune and the Perspective made this page one, above the fold more than one day.]
Indiana's Religious Freedom Act
Governor Mike Pence must think us to be stupid. His comments that the just signed “Religious Freedom” act is “not about discrimination” do not hold water. There can be only one reason for this incredibly bad legislation and that is “discrimination”. The fundamental Christian folks have been at it again. They don’t like gays and lesbians and don’t like same-sex marriages. If you want a clue about who supports this discrimination, just take a look at the invited guests to the governor’s private signing ceremony for the bill.
State Representative Sheila Klinker had it right when she wrote to her constituents, “SB 101 is designed to allow private businesses to discriminate against people with whom they disagree based on religious beliefs. More specifically, they are supporting the bill so that private businesses can refuse service to members of the [gay and lesbian] community and people who have consummated same-sex marriages.”
Before this all gets sorted out and more-than-likely thrown out by the courts, Indiana is the loser. Already several conventions have suggested they will not now come to Indiana which will be the loss of millions in revenue to the state. Even the NCAA is thinking about the implications. Companies like Lilly & Company and Cummings Inc. are not happy either.
So, nice going Indiana General Assembly and Governor Pence. Indiana has too often been labeled in negative ways. We just added one more to the list.
Nimrud Falls
Most of us have little knowledge of Nimrud, Iraq. This was a major Assyrian city between about 1250 BC and 610 BC. Before all of the conflict in Iraq going back now more than a decade, Nimrud was a treasured archeological site that gave the world a glimpse to life more than three thousand years ago. The city and its present day ruins gave very important artifacts telling the story of early civilization. 
Now Nimrud is gone. The insane ISIL radical Islamists decided Nimrud is “un-Islamic”. The result is bulldozers and sledge hammers have now destroyed this treasure. This is much like the Taliban destroying treasured Buddhist artifacts in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Radical Islamists want to reset the clock to the present with denial that any history preceded the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate.
The world must wake up to the fact we are in a religious war; like it or not. The goal of the enemy is the overtaking of all civilization on planet Earth. Nothing else is sacred or safe. There may be over 3,000 miles of ocean between the United States and the Middle East, but we are not safe from this insanity. Our borders are open. It is only a matter of time before some catastrophe befalls us. Our leaders are not taking the actions needed to eradicate ISIL and protect the USA. A good first step would be to secure our borders.
And contrary to the answer the Obama administration gives, economic development and jobs, the answer is massive firepower and scorched earth where ever the radical Islamists are. They give no quarter and we should not either.
Ms. Clinton's Baggage
Indeed! Hillary Clinton has really done it now. If Benghazi was not enough, there is now the email. Seems Ms. Clinton believes she is a rule maker unto herself. She commands all within the US State Department to use official email addresses when conducting official government business, then she exempts herself and routes hers through only her personal server somewhere in the basement of her home. If known before, this should have been
grounds for dismissal! There simply is no excuse good enough to justify this behavior. It put the country at risk. The only ….. repeat, only…. reason for sending emails only through her personal server was to later be the only one able to edit, censor, and delete those one does not want to become part of the official record and possibly public. There is no other reason and this one is unacceptable. The Benghazi House Committee should pursue this as intensely and vigorously as legally possible. Hillary Clinton must not be allowed to skate on this as she attempted to do with her lack of proper decision making about the Benghazi consulate. Those got people killed.
And where, too, are the watchdogs? People in the State Department and the Whitehouse had to know where Clinton emails were coming from. That information shows in every email received. Even dummies know that. No one raised questions, it appears, at any point in the time Clinton was the Secretary of State. This is yet another example of complete incompetence and lack of courage on the part of those in the Obama administration.
Who knows what yet will be revealed. The problem is that no one will ever know completely what was on the Clinton personal servers. Even if the servers were confiscated immediately by the FBI or Justice Department, the “editing” could well have already been done.
The bottom line is that Ms. Hillary Clinton is unfit to be the President of the United States. Remember that.
Minimum Wage
The column in the Kokomo Tribune on December 26th, 2014, titled, “Minimum wage hikes deprive vulnerable … again”, by Philip Coelho and James McClure, both Ph.D. professors of economics at Ball State University, is the most convoluted, confusing article I have read in a long time. I think they tried to make a case for eliminating the minimum wage and allowing the open market to offer wages from zero up. They try to convince the reader that a minimum wage deprives the disadvantaged of work and, if too high, that others will not have the motivation to better themselves and move to higher paying employment. At least I think that is what they tried to say. If so, I completely disagree.
A job is defined by a set of skills, knowledge, and actions. Individuals possess a wide range of skills and knowledge and corresponding ability to carry out actions. I hold the strong belief that people will not be satisfied with employment that requires less skill and knowledge IF higher paying jobs are available to them. The “Elephant in the Room” problem in the United States is that we have been engaging in a race to the bottom. Better than minimum wage jobs have disappeared by the millions even as the population in the United States continues to increase. This began and continues today with the sending of jobs to other countries; first to Mexico and then to Asia, countries with bottom dollar wages. Pick up about anything and see “Made in China”. Both political parties and their corporate buddies are responsible for selling our work force down the river in the name of free trade and lower prices for goods. What are left are minimum wage jobs by the dozens. That is much of what is available for people who before would be working in factory manufacturing jobs. As a society, we have decided no one who wants to work should be paid less than a specified minimum wage; a legal wage that would not be necessary or needed IF higher paying jobs were available. They are not.
As to the disadvantaged, provision does need to be made in wage law to promote employment for people who possess limited skills, knowledge, or the ability to fully act to carry out what is required for a specific job. Limitations of individuals do mean less economic value to the employer, but gainful employment for the disadvantaged has value to individuals and society more than purely economic value.
Beyond that, given the political and economic attitudes and policies of those in government and corporate power, a minimum wage — and a living one at that — is not only desirable but is necessary. Too many families now only able to find minimum wage jobs are on food stamps or other societal support services; cost taxpayers and compassionate givers bear rather than corporations. This is a national disgrace. As a nation, we, the people, have given away too much. If you don’t think so, take a look at corporation profits, Wall Street, and top corporation executive compensation levels.