Blue Indiana - Recommended Diaries

An Apology Is Due

finifinito — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:00:11 GMT

On behalf of the Dr. Woody Myers campaign I would like to take this opportunity to extend an apology to the bloggers involved in the threatened legal action at the end of last week initiated by our attorney Justin Leverton. There was a miscommunication between the campaign and our attorney relating to the television ad run by David Orentlicher which he was authorized to threaten legal action against the David O campaign for running.

Mr. Leverton chose to pursue the course of action against the bloggers involved on his own. When we discovered what had happened we immediately asked him to drop the matter, but by then the damage had been done with letters issued to Bil Browning, Tyrion and Sheila Kennedy. We regret this took place and would like to extend a personal apology to each of those bloggers.

I would also like to extend my own apology to any members of the Blue Indiana community who may feel slighted in any way by my recent comments here. Emotionalism got the best of me a few times and I may have said some things recently which reflected poorly on me and my candidate. For that I am very sorry and can only offer that I am guilty of zealous partisanship on behalf of my candidate, which I would hope each and every one of you who clashed with me in comments here would be honest enough to agree we are all guilty of from this cycle. I had no ill intentions going into this campaign and harbor no ill will towards any members of the Blue Indiana community at this time either.

Sincerely,

Joh Padgett
Internet Coordinator
Myers 2008
http://myers2008.org

Carson Back at Work

Wilson46201 — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:53:02 GMT

The day after his stunning Democratic Primary Election victory, our Indianapolis Democratic Congressman André Carson was back at work in Washington DC representing his constituents distressed by home foreclosures by strongly supporting H.R. 1858, a bill dealing with rehabilitation of foreclosed properties.

I Can Has Nativism?

reverentandfree — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:56:23 GMT

Mark Souder loves the English:

U.S. Rep. Mark Souder was presented today with an "A in English" award for his leadership in Congress to preserve the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Souder was recognized at the ceremony by U.S. English, a citizens' action group working to make English the official language of the United States.
"The English language is a great unifying force in our nation, and I have long argued that the government should promote it so as to bring us together," Souder said. "Efforts to make English the official language of the United States are aimed at inclusion and community. As we communicate with one another in English, we strengthen the bond that exists between all Americans."
"I am pleased to present this award to Congressman Souder for his efforts to unite our diverse nation under the common language of English," said Mauro Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English. "Mark Souder has been a strong supporter of official English policies during his time in Congress. At a time when there is renewed interest in preserving what unites us as a nation, we are grateful to Congressman Souder for his dedicated and enthusiastic support of this issue."
Souder is a cosponsor of H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, which would require all citizens to be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States. H.R. 997 has been referred to the Education and Labor Committee, where it awaits further consideration.

So if this legislation passes and is signed by President Bush...I'll allow the readers time to laugh out loud here...

are you done?

good...

as I was saying, if this legislation becomes law, does that mean that Dick Cheney's citizenship will be revoked? I think that's a fair question.

All Politics Is Local: Single-Payer System in Monroe County

BrianK — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:49:12 GMT

Here in Monroe County, we've had a few bold plans lately, but this one is a perfect example of what progressive thinking can do for local government.

On Tuesday, former County Council president Mark Stoops won his bid to run for County Commissioner. Mark has run on a number of progressive issues, but his boldest proposal is a single-payer health system for Monroe County.

Here's an excerpt from his press release on the subject:

All local government units and larger not-for-profits have their own insurance plans and groups - Monroe County government, City of Bloomington, IU, Monroe County Schools, Richland-Bean Blossom Schools, Ivy Tech, Monroe County Public Library, Bloomington Hospital. United Way has a nice pool of organizations covering 700-800 people. The list goes on and on. Dozens of separate groups representing thousands of local people.
There is no reason, except for a lack of political will, that local government units and not-for-profits cannot pool their employees and create an efficient, low-cost, administrative agency. The savings on administration alone would be greater than 10%. That is 10% savings on millions and millions of dollars.
Once an initial larger pool is created, the lower cost would encourage still more participation by local, large employers. At that point, the economies of scale and dilution of risk would allow us to offer the plan to small businesses and individuals in the community.

The plan is designed to go in phases - after a study commission can run the numbers, it would first include all the governmental units. As it was pointed out, there are numerous benefits to making the administrative agency a separate, nonprofit entity, as it would allow state organizations (like IU) to join without any major legislative changes needed from the General Assembly.

Continued after the jump...
I received word yesterday that the local United Way health trust is disbanding due to a large increase in premiums. That leaves many local nonprofits trying to negotiate affordable rates on their own. More than 10% of the workforce in Monroe County is employed by nonprofits; making affordable coverage available to these agencies is key to the continued economic development of the county.

Not only is Mark Stoops' plan workable, but there has never been a better time for this proposal. While we wait for our representatives in Congress to get their act together, we have to be proactive locally.

Here's my question for the BlueIndiana community: what progressive initiatives are going on in your communities?

Disclosure: I am the Chair of a progressive organization that voted to endorse Mark Stoops, and I wholeheartedly support him in his efforts. However, I have no formal connections to his campaign.

Thank You, and Congratulations!

Zach Myers — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:44:48 GMT

I am so proud of my father today, Dr. Woody Myers! We ran a great race, and I'm so proud of all of his team for everything they've done.

I'd like to send a hearty congratulations to Congressman André Carson. He's a great guy, and I know he'll continue to serve us well, and will absolutely crush Jon Elrod this fall along with victorious Democrats all over the country.

Congratulations to all of my friends on the Carson team, especially Melissa Fisher, Erin Rosenberg, Brad Lorton, and yes even Wilson Allen (it'll be nice to be on the same team again).

Now that the silly season is over, we can once again come together as a party and focus again on our goal of making this an even better city, state and country.

Marion County, Indiana and all American Democrats have a long road ahead in the next six months, but that road leads to victory, and to a better America. Let's get to work!