Voter Registration

Let’s see, the Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN) editorial writer in the column published in the Kokomo Tribune on the 8th thinks that for folks having never registered to vote before, it would be a burden or too complicated to ask they present some photo identification and some address-verifying mail to establish Indiana residency in order to register to vote. Well now, this sure sounds pretty complicated to me only if one concludes prospective voters are stupid or deceptive. The writer claims this requirement would apply most to young people and naturalized citizens who more than likely would vote Democrat.

The other way to get through this extremely complicated maze of registering to vote is to provide a copy of a driver’s license and the last four digits of their social security number along with their registration application. This too sounds really ominous and very difficult to do, especially if you are young and/or naturalized.

The truth is that nothing in the above is complicated or burdensome. Anyone with half a brain can figure it out.

The writer then goes on to say, “Indiana’s elections are secure, as are elections in every other state. Election fraud is rare.” Frankly, the writer must live under a rock. Even in very red Indiana, there is election fraud.

I am grateful the Indiana General Assembly is taking steps to assure voting in Indiana is fair and accurate. I would be happier if Indiana would return to paper ballots, one day voting at one’s home precinct, rare and justified absentee ballots, and hand signature ballot registration books (the only way to match signatures). I do think that one way to promote more eligible people to vote would be to declare a state holiday for a voting day. No work obligation for that one day.

What the General Assembly has done does make elections more secure. They just need to do more.

The Comet

North Central Indiana has just experienced a great loss. There was a small weekly newspaper, The Carroll County Comet, in Flora, Indiana, that had been published for many, many decades. It is now closed. Its owners’ family had been involved in newspapers in Carroll County for over 100 years. The Carroll County Comet itself came into existence in February 1974. It was published every week since then until the end of December 2023; close to a half century. Its owners were dedicated to serving their community.

The loss of the Comet is yet another in the grievous story of newspapers in the United States. Now we find many ‘news deserts’ around the country. In the last issue of the Comet, the owners point out that since 2005 over 2,900 local newspapers have closed. They reported the USA is on pace to lose one-third of all its newspapers by the end of 2024. What a catastrophe.

Thomas Jefferson said long ago, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter”. He knew the importance of an informed public to make a strong country.

The USA is in crisis times. In my mind, we may not survive as a strong Constitutional Republic. The loss of newspapers is yet another indication we are losing the glue that holds us all together. Electronic media and the Internet will never take the place of locally owned and operated newspapers that once put printed paper into the hands of citizens weekly or daily. Those papers told the story of a community from the minor to the major events, sports, and interests. They helped to create the feeling of knowing neighbors…. something now disappearing.

Where I live in Kokomo, IN, there still is a daily newspaper. But it is a skeleton of what it once was. In the days when I was directly in Kokomo Tribune management, we had about 185 employees and over 300 newspaper carriers that delivered the paper to doorsteps each day. Each edition was of many pages of extensive stories, photos, and editorials about local happenings and interests. Now the Tribune has maybe a dozen or so employees. Each edition is of a few pages only. Its coverage of happenings is very limited and its circulation is a fraction of what the KT used to be.

I sure don’t know the answer. An informed public is critical to the strength of our country.

The Ole Tribune

Times change and life moves on. I spent over 20 years as part of the Kokomo Tribune family during the time it was one of the most recognized leaders of medium sized daily newspapers in the world. It was awarded recognition as “First In The Nation” penetration of its market for eight of a ten year period and only second in the remaining two years. It kept its position as one of the top medium papers in all of the 20 year period I was there.

The Tribune was owned by my great grandfather, John Arthur Kautz, from 1897 until his death in 1938; the year I was born. It was sold by his owner descendants in 1982 at a time when there were almost 30 part owners. This was at the height of the value of newspapers across the country. Consolidation into newspaper groups had begun a few years earlier. Newspapers were king when it came to keeping the public informed. There was at one time about 1,800 independently owned newspapers across this country. It was a time when newspapers were truly the “Fourth Estate” that kept government honest by keeping the public aware of what was going on inside and outside of government. It was the watchdog.

During the period from about 1960 to 1980, there was a revolution in newspaper technology. The old way from the 1800s to then was production by Mergenthaler Linotype machines and rotary letterpresses to print. The technological change was to photocomposition, use of computers, and offset printing. The Tribune was a leader in developing this technology even to the development of one of the very first computer typesetting systems, the Delco Justifier of which I did all of the programming. Key personnel like Dick Isham, Alan Harnish, Ron Frye, John Hoffman, Richard Pickering, and Dow Richardson and me led the revolution at the newspaper under the overall guidance and encouragement of our Publisher, my father. The entire Tribune family included about 185 employees and over 300 newspaper carriers. All played an important part in Tribune success.

The Publisher and CEO of the Tribune who followed J.A. Kautz , Richard H Blacklidge, became President of the American Newspaper Publisher Association. This position before had always been held by a Publisher of a large metropolitan newspaper; never from a medium sized paper. He went on to become Vice-President of FIEJ: the International Newspaper Association. While he was engaged in those national and international responsibilities, the Tribune family in Kokomo continued to lead in technology and news/editorial/feature content envied by all. The readers of the Tribune trusted the newspaper to tell all and to tell truth; things gone by the wayside in current major media.

As Business Manager, Associate Publisher, and eventually Publisher when my father developed health issues and then retired, I am proud of our two decades of accomplishment. We led the industry that informed and protected the public.

Ironically, in retrospect I believe my father saw the handwriting on the wall. The consolidation of newspapers into newspaper ownership groups, then to major media groups was coming. Technology was coming fast. And many of the original owners of newspapers were dying off. The nation has suffered from the loss of honest, tough, and wise leaders in media; specifically in newspapers.

Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, said, “Where the press is free and every man (and woman) able to read, all is safe”. He said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

Today, we have a captured press whether it be in print or electronic form. We particularly have a national media that lies, distorts, and covers up corruption. We do not have a free and honest press any longer. Whether we will make it now as a Constitutional Republic with a free people remains to be seen.

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Biden Persecution of Trump

Yes, President Donald J Trump has been indicted on espionage charges in the handling of documents he took possession of when leaving the office of the Presidency. The bottom line is this indictment is a blatant case of political persecution.

As President, Donald Trump had the total and absolute authority to declassify any and all documents he wished. No one else in government had that authority. And he did not have to make some formal declaration about classification when possessing documents. By taking documents with him to Mar-a-Lago, all documents were automatically declassified by implication. And what did he do with those personal Presidential papers? He reportedly secured them in a locked area that was patrolled by assigned Secret Service agents.

The content of any documents the then departing President matters not. They were declassified and declared personal. The claim by President Trump is they were and are his.

There is disagreement about what are personal papers and what are not. This seems to be the lynch pin to any legal issues. One cannot question the authority to declassify. That is the President’s only. The claim is that President Trump violated the Presidential Records Act. That is in debate, but even if true there is no criminal penalty and Trump was communicating and working with the National Archives and Records Administration concerning what papers are personal and what should be possessed by the NARA. Then the raid on Mar-a-Lago by the FBI took place without notice. Even Trump’s on site lawyers were frozen out of the property while the FBI agents searched through the property even reportedly to the point of searching Melania Trump’s dresser drawers.

Now since there is no criminal action possible under the National Records Act, the Biden Administration has decided to charge Trump with espionage, a criminal charge. My prediction is this will eventually go nowhere even if it has to get to the Supreme Court before being thrown out.

Political pundits now say that what the Biden administration has done virtually assures that Donald J Trump will be the Republican nominee for President for the 2024 election. This is the opposite of what they hoped for. In truth, Democrats are scared to death that Trump will become President again in January 2025. If he does, the political bloodbath then will begin. The excising of the corrupt and criminal and deep state will be quick.

One has to say something about President Joe Biden. When Vice President and a Senator, Biden had no authority to declassify anything yet he took all sorts of official classified and government papers according to reports. Reports are many were stored openly in a car garage and many more in a library at the University of Pennsylvania. Has the Justice Department, the FBI, and the National Archives and Records Administration done a damned thing about Biden’s violations. Of course not. Or how about Sec. Hillary Clinton violations of classified materials. Nothing there either.

Americans see through all of this and more and more are angry about the injustice being perpetrated. The 2024 election cannot come soon enough.

Frustrated

I have to admit strongly that I am very frustrated at not having the voice and actual power that I once had as Publisher of the Kokomo Tribune. That newspaper in the day had great influence over what happened and the directions taken in Kokomo and surrounding area. The citizens of our area trusted us as evidenced by the over 95% of the homes receiving the Tribune each day….. seven days a week!

Our editorial philosophy was one of moderate conservative Republican. It really boiled down to “common sense”. Nothing stupid. And the people knew this and supported this.

We promoted good jobs and a safe community in a healthy environment. It was through the efforts of the Tribune that the clean up of the Wildcat Creek began. It was a polluted open sewer at the time. We exposed that and forced clean up of other places as well .

We opposed the building of the Lafayette Reservoir that would have covered over 4,000 acres of prime farmland. It was ultimately decommissioned by Congress which stopped the Corps of Engineers building the reservoir.

We did our best to educate people about the importance of clean air, clean water, and clean land. We were trusted.

Now we have shit coming along like a proposal to cover 1,800 and 1,700 acres of prime farmland with solar panels in eastern Howard County. Insane. It never would happen in the old Tribune days. I can only hope it will not happen today, but there is an uphill battle to prevent same.

While I am at it, I am going to bitch about President Joe Biden. I have no idea how he has the authority to unilaterally pass out billions of dollars and massive numbers of weapons to the most corrupt country on the planet, Ukraine. Ukraine has been criminal ole Joe’s money basket for a long, long time. Where in the hell is Congress. I thought they had control of the purse strings….. the Republican controlled House of Representatives at that.

I am really getting the feeling that everyone in political power in the United States is corrupt or afraid. There have been so many crimes exposed but nothing happens but talk, talk, talk, talk. No consequences. Hillary Clinton should be behind bars along with George Bush, Dick Cheney, and now Joe Biden along with his entire criminal family and fellow travelers in the Biden administration.

We are on the edge of a global nuclear war. Russia has just pulled out of a nuclear treaty with the US. Russia is not going to lose face in Ukraine. Putin will pull the trigger on nuclear weapons first.

And by the way, the United States did blow up the Nord Stream pipeline. There is no doubt. Fuckin’ Biden as usual made the decision. As reported time and time again, in his entire political life he has been on the wrong side of every decision regarding foreign relations. Now he is playing with nuclear fire.

Biden et al must go. I don’t know how or when, but he and the cackling VP have to be gone or our country is not going to survive. The doomsday clock is ticking. It is close to midnight.

The Malheur Enterprise Newspaper

[There is a small newspaper in Vale, Oregon that has caught my eye. It is the Malheur Enterprise. Malheur County is of about 33,000 people. I believe the Enterprise is the way newspapers and honest journalism will survive and grow in our time of propaganda major media. There is a similar paper, The Carroll County Comet, in Flora, IN, in a county of about 20,000 people that follows a very closely similar path.]

The Enterprise has a few points to make:

Why Pay for News: Newsrooms across the country have cut back in recent years. Reporting the news is costly. We won’t last as a business by giving away that work. Here are the benefits of paying for our work.

Be a better citizen: Our award-winning journalists help you stay informed by covering your community — schools, elections, businesses — every day.

Get 24/7 coverage: Every subscriber gets our newsletter and breaking news alerts so you never miss the latest.

Your government watchdog: Our reporting holds powerful officials accountable for how they use their power — and your money.

Trustworthy journalism: We’re open and honest about how we conduct ourselves as journalists.

Clutter-free website: Easily get caught up on news — on computer, phone, or tablet — without the popups or auto play video.

———————————————

And How We Work as Journalists: We want to be open and clear with you, our reader, about the standards that guide our work every day. We strive to meet every one of these. We never intentionally disregard these principles. When we fail, bad information, speed, or inadequate experience is to blame.

Accuracy: We strive to be certain that every fact — every number, every date, every name, every quote — is true. We will never knowingly publish false or inaccurate information. We will honestly and quickly correct any factual error.

Clarity: We want our reporting to be understandable, free of jargon and vagueness. You can expect us to gather the necessary information and develop sufficient expertise to produce stories clear about issues, agencies, and people.

Fairness: Our stories will honestly represent views and issues, never mis-characterizing or distorting facts and developments. We want those we write about to feel they were fairly treated.

Fact Checking: We follow our own customized fact-checking protocol to guard against error. That includes a requirement to reach out to subjects of stories as possible to verify the accuracy of our intended reporting.

Bias: We know full well that readers now come to news reports suspicious that they might encounter a deliberate tilt by the news organization. Our intent is that you never detect a political, economic, or social bent in the stories we serve to you.

Facts Over Fancy: Our primary job is to gather the news. We devote every dollar we can to reporting. That means we don’t divert time and money into making our stories glitzy or stunning in design. We are certain you would prefer accurate news over flashy presentations.

Professionalism: We can get better, and we will. We will always — always — work to sharpen our journalistic skills. We will become better interviewers, data analysts and writers. Our professionals are intent on getting as good as they can, not for awards but to better serve your needs.

Citizenship: We don’t consider ourselves distant observers. We take pride in the community — its people, institutions, and traditions. We engage in issues that matter. We identify problems, but we will always seek solutions as well. Like you, we want our community to improve, to be welcoming and safe, to be economically vibrant.

Without Fear: Our reporting can and will put us at odds with people who hold power or those who can and do abuse the public in some fashion. We will pursue difficult stories because they are important stories. We will not be scared off of or intimidated from doing any necessary story — ever.

Without Favor: We owe allegiance only to you, our reader. Our work is not done in service to any special interest. We are beholden to no party, no business, no individual, and seek no special treatment from any. We are beholden only to the truth.

Trust: The most valuable possession of our team is your trust. We know we can’t exist without it, that we will not otherwise succeed as a business and as a news organization. We are relentless in earning and keeping that trust.

Kokomo Tribune on Censorship

On October 10, 1968, The Tribune’s front page stories appeared with several paragraphs missing and its editorial page was blank except for one editorial which listed a government agency’s suggestions concerning fires in homes.

Sections of page one stories dealing with an Apollo space flight, the Vietnam w    ar, Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey were lifted, leaving large white holes in the accounts. Except for the one editorial, the editorial page was blank, carrying only the headlines of columnists and items normally appearing on the page.

In a front page editorial The Tribune stated, “So that we at The Tribune and Tribune readers everywhere might gain a better appreciation of the value of freedom of the press, today’s front page and editorial page have been censored according to standards practiced in many repressed nations of the world.”

The editorial also said, “As you read the news accounts on The Tribune front page, you will, of course, note how incomplete they are in terms of what Americans are provided in the way of information in a free society. The Tribune will not reprint any of these stories in full. What is lost in this ‘censored’ edition is lost forever. We, the American people, can live with the loss of news for a day. But could this nation survive in freedom if we had to live with censorship every day?”

[This message could not be more loudly needed than today. Too many of the major news media — print and electronic — have become political tools with objective, unbiased reporting becoming more and more difficult to find.]

The Kokomo Dispatch

[An earlier version of this piece was posted in 2016. Points continue.}

The Kokomo Dispatch masthead existed on a print newspaper for decades. It began as a local newspaper in Kokomo, Indiana, as an enterprise and was lastly owned 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 from the Poynter family. The Dispatch name was carried as a sub-head in the Kokomo Tribune until the late 1960s when the name was dropped.

The Tribune sold in 1981 to the Thomson Newspaper group. At that point the Tribune had close to two dozen family owners, all descendants of J.A. 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 excellent 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, later in other directions that hit dead ends. However, I did teach at and was the Vice Chancellor of External Relations at Indiana University Kokomo for a time. For the past 20 years, professionally I have been a certified 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 rooted within me from 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. I intend to do just that.

The Relic

When driving by 300 North Union Street in Kokomo, Indiana, one would never know once here was one of the leading medium sized daily newspapers in the world, The Kokomo Tribune. What stands here now is a burned out relic; a building hollow and locked up but with memories of greatness. It is doubtful current owners of this newspaper will ever restore the building following a fire in early January 2021.

Once here was a newspaper that led in the development of production technology and that had visitors from all over the world to see how production was done. Here was a newspaper that had the latest in a new 48-page Goss Metro Offset press built by Rockwell. Here was a newspaper that led in the development of computer technology and photo composition in newspapers.

Here was a newspaper that frequently on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays had to make double runs of the press because the issue that day exceeded the 48 page capacity of the press. Here was a newspaper that had over 200 carriers that delivered the paper to the door step of readers each day.

Here was a newspaper that was determined to be “First in the Nation” in penetration of its metro market by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the gold standard, for 8 of 10 years during one decade; and only second for the two remaining years. Here was a newspaper with a paid circulation of 34,000 daily and an over 95% penetration of its market. Nearly all homes in the market subscribed to and received the paper each day.

Here was a newspaper that people wanted to read and one that was trusted for truth and for comprehensive news of its community. Here was a newspaper that had a reportorial staff of about 35 to cover hard news, sports, and community features. Here was a newspaper that editorially reflected the consensus of the community with a moderately conservative political philosophy on its Editorial page, but one that strove diligently to keep opinion out of objective news reporting. Here was a newspaper that was at the heartbeat of the community.

When the Goss Metro press was first received, the Tribune building had a large wall of glass facing Union Street so people of the town could come by and see the press in operation. It was impressive. Nothing can replace the sights and sounds of a large newspaper press in operation. They loved it.

The management of the Tribune was active and recognized. The then publisher, Richard Blacklidge, was once president of the Hoosier Press Association, The Inland Daily Press Association, and finally, the American Newspaper Publishers Association. The latter was historically dominated by publishers of the large metropolitan papers of the United States. Blacklidge was also the Vice President of FIEJ, the international newspaper association.

The Editor, Dow Richardson, was a leader in the American Association of Newspaper Editors. He led the news and editorial side of the Tribune for over 50 years.

Kent Blacklidge, the son of Richard Blacklidge, was the initial inside driver of the technological changes. He led in the development of one of the first computer typesetting machines in collaboration with engineers at Delco Electronics. He wrote several computer programs for production, circulation, and accounting applications. Kent later became publisher of the Tribune when his father retired. During his years as Associate Publisher and as Publisher, he led the paper in causes that bettered the community and the environment.

With his skills, knowledge, and spirit, Richard Isham was brought on as operations manager early in the technological change period. He, with his management team, brought newspaper production to perfection. Every 24 hours a new, fresh, and full of news newspaper was pushed out the end of the press and finally to Tribune readers.

The glory days are gone. The real Tribune family of those days has scattered, retired, or died. The Kokomo Tribune is almost gone. Even before the fire, it was a skeleton of what it once was. Both circulation and content have plummeted. Now even the physical building has been shuttered and locked. The loss to the community is immeasurable.

Newspapers once numbered about 1800 family owned and independent in this country. They were the “Fourth Estate” with power and influence to provide checks and balances on government. No more. The country is worse off for it.

Tone Deaf

To know Democrats, many newspaper columnists, and many electronic media talking heads are tone deaf or maybe worse — daft, all one had to do was read the Opinion page of the Kokomo Tribune on April 23rd. In particular, the column by John Krull, clearly a “never Trumper”, is filled with vitriol toward President Trump. Turn on your TV to most stations and you will hear much the same.

The Mueller Report states there was NO collusion with the Russians (not a crime even if so) by President Donald Trump or any in the Trump Campaign to influence the election of 2016. It took 200 pages to say that. NO COLLUSION!

President Obama knew well before the 2016 presidential election the Russians were at work. Did he warn the Trump campaign this was going on. NO. He, Hillary Clinton, and the DNC aided and abetted Russian influence by weaponizing the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice, and other intelligence agencies against the Trump campaign. He and Clinton wanted Trump defeated. He did not get that done, but crimes were committed not by the Trump campaign but by Obama, Clinton, and many in the FBI, CIA, and more. And before he left office, Obama made permanent employees of what were political appointed positions in an attempt to preserve the “deep state”.

Mueller, Weissman, and the henchmen tried to skate on the last 200 pages of the Mueller report. That half dealt with the charge of obstruction of justice. Interesting there can be no obstruction of justice when there is no underlying “crime”. Too, to be obstruction of anything, there must be action, not simply voicing anger or displeasure. Mueller wanted to muddy the waters to give Democrats in Congress the excuse for endless investigations and perhaps even the impeachment of President Trump. We are now left with the crazies in Congress: Nadler, Schiff, Cummings, Waters, Castro, Swalwell. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Tlaib. Those who are chairs of committees plan endless hand wringing, wailing, and harassment. It will not work.

Rather ironically, the reason Mueller had anything to say about obstruction of justice was that President Trump was totally transparent in his approach to Mueller. Millions of pages of documents and unlimited access to White House and campaign personnel, even to Trump’s personal attorney, were provided. No executive privilege was exercised; this was completely unprecedented.

President Donald Trump brought our country back from the brink of disaster. The economy is booming and predicted to continue to do so. Unemployment is at historic lows. More people working than ever in the history of the United States. Manufacturing jobs have returned. Wages are continuing to rise, particularly among the middle and lower classes. Stifling regulations have been rolled back. The USA is again respected on the world stage.

Thankfully, unlike Obama’s “wingman” AG Eric Holder, we now have an Attorney General in William P. Barr who will not be deterred in pursuing justice for the crimes committed by the Clinton side of the 2016 election Special Counsel Mueller willfully ignored. Barr will indict those who committed crimes against our country. It will take time, but Lady Justice will prevail.

The 2020 election will be more consequential than the last. It will be a continuing shining light on the hill with President Trump or economic collapse with all the freebies promised by the Democrats. That will be the choice.