Friday, November 30, 2012

An Interesting Read On Happieness

Full story here.

Contrary to what some recent studies have said, people do NOT like Facebook more than sex!
Researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have published the results of a survey asking people to rate different activities in three categories  including pleasure, engagement and meaning.  Here is the list of things that bring us the most happiness:

#1.)  Sex- obviously.
#2.)  Getting drunk- who doesn’t like to let loose and have a good time?
#3.)  Volunteering- it always feels good to give back
#4.)  Meditation or prayer- everyone needs a time to take a step back and reflect
#5.)  Taking care of children- those little guys are so cute! 
#6.)  Listening to music- jamming out is the best
#7.)  Socializing with friends- these people help you have a good time and keep you sane!
#8.)  Hobbies- this stuff is fun but probably ranks so low because of the effort level it takes
#9.)  Shopping- fun when you are in the mood, bad when it’s a chore
#10.)  Video games- these things start out fun but can get addicting and time consuming!

And here are the ten things that bring us the LEAST happiness:
#1.)  Recovering from an illness- obviously
#2.)  Facebook- sometimes the whole thing can be so annoying! Your “friends” can post something stupid, annoying or offensive, making the social networking somewhat of a chore
#3.)  Housework- there are a million things we’d rather do than housework!
#4.)  Studying- because it’s boring, but can be rewarding
#5.)  Texting- a phone call is just easier sometimes!
#6.)  Going To Class- because who wants to be lectured at when they are an adult?!
#7.)  Going to work- when you are only doing it for the money, it’s difficult to actually want to be there
#8.)  Commuting- necessary evil
#9.)  Fixing computer problems- such a hassle, but we all want our gadgets to work!
#10.)  Showering- probably because this is the first step to getting things accomplished in the morning!

Read and discuss.

New Poll!

It deals with the motives of Mike Moore's remaining supporters.  You can vote for all that apply.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Ed Zastawny's Letter To Jeffersonville Residents And My Take.

Dear Jeffersonville residents:

The city government system in Indiana is made up of two co-equal branches of government which includes the executive branch (mayor) and the fiscal/legislative branch (city council).

From time to time, disputes between these branches of government occur, and when this happens, it’s critical for all involved to communicate, to offer dialogue and be willing to compromise to develop a workable solution. Costly taxpayer lawsuits between these two branches of government should be the option of last resort.

I want to reassure you that the council has been trying, and will continue trying, to work with Mayor Mike Moore. Unfortunately, the mayor has chosen to sue the city council, and I’d like to comment on the three allegations in a legal petition filed against the council. My comments are not legal arguments, but rather an explanation from a practical and historical standpoint as to why the council believes it has been acting responsibly for the citizens of Jeffersonville.

The mayor is fighting the council’s approval of Redevelopment TIF claims. The council, which is the fiscal branch of government, has been reviewing and approving Redevelopment TIF claims since 2006 and this system has worked fine under the previous Waiz and Galligan administrations.

The council does ask questions and reviews claims, but to date I am not aware that the council has declined any TIF claims during 2012, so the council is not even sure why this was brought up by the mayor. The real question is why the mayor does not want fiscal oversight and what the mayor plans to do with all the Redevelopment TIF dollars.

During the next three years, it appears that the Redevelopment Department, which is controlled by unelected appointments, will have more than $20 million of Jeffersonville property tax dollars to spend. Does it make sense for unelected appointments to have free range to spend more than $20 million of property tax dollars over the next three years with no oversight from the elected fiscal body of Jeffersonville?

The Parks Authority system that the mayor is fighting has been in place since 2008. The Parks Authority is made up of input by the mayor and many citizen appointments to advisory boards — the Parks Authority Advisory Board; the Special Events/RiverStage Board; the Programs Facilities Board; and the Sports and Athletics Board — which make recommendations to the Parks Authority (which is comprised of the City Council members).

The Parks Authority has allowed more people to be involved in parks and puts the council in a better position to recognize the funding needs of the park system. It also has allowed the expansion of many park programs. One of the suggestions by Mayor Moore to the Parks Authority included the expansion of fitness classes (Zumba) at the RiverStage. The Parks Authority supported this idea and funded it appropriately ($36,000) to make this happen.

What does the mayor want to do within the Jeffersonville parks system that the current Parks Authority system is not doing? If the mayor has other good park ideas he should share them and the Parks Authority can help make them happen. The council believes the current parks authority system has been working well since 2008 and does not understand why the mayor wants to disband it and take it over himself.

It appears the mayor believes he is the only elected official allowed to oversee city communications to the public, but from a management and practical standpoint, we do not believe this to be the case. With the current communication position open, this gives the council a chance to look at this position and reconsider where the best place within city government is to oversee and manage city communication resources. Today, the elected city clerk and her department is responsible for attending and recording the minutes of all public city meetings — parks, sewer, drainage, city council, planning and zoning, etc. — and she is currently in the process of upgrading to new software to record and publish these meetings on the Internet.

As a result, although the clerk may not be involved in shaping the city’s future such as the mayor, it appears the clerk’s department might actually be the most well-informed and best department to manage the city communications person. Let me add that the council did not know the mayor was going to consider contracting public relations/communications services to a third party, and at this point we really don’t know enough about the services to be performed or about the PR company itself to say that contracting these services is a good solution or not.

I hope you, the taxpayers of Jeffersonville, better understand the important aspects of this dispute and that the council would much rather stay out of all the negative headlines and away from any court fights. I also hope the mayor reconsiders his lawsuit against the council and sees it as a needless waste of taxpayer dollars and withdraws it from the courts.

Finally, I also hope the council can quickly get past this legal action and get back to focusing our efforts on working with the mayor to make Jeffersonville the best place it can possibly be.

— Ed Zastawny is the Jeffersonville City Council President.

This letter appeared in the N & T today. 

This continues to confirm what we have been told by everyone, including the mayor with his "I don't think we have to work together.  They can just pass whatever they want and I'll decide on it when it hits my desk" statement.  Something along those lines anyway. 

But in fact, Mikey ran on a platform of openness.  Now it seems he's willing to sue the city council so that they cant see what it is he wants to do. 

Not very open is it?

Again this could have been avoided.  But Mikey, started from the very beginning (this story can not be told or emphasized enough) when he was approached by a council person trying to find common ground and projects.  Mikey brushed him off by simply saying "I'm the mayor." 

Mikey's stand alone mentality has also gone against the party he switched to, to run for mayor.  He has refused to work with his Republican family in the council.  It has gotten so bad that Republican Ron Grooms added an amendment earlier this year to a bill so that the council could continue to act as the Parks Authority.  That is one Republican doing whatever he can to keep control of something out of another Republicans hands.

He also has seemed to let go of any of his staff who tries to work with the council.  Mike Hutt tries to work with the council.  BOOM!  You're fired!

Word was that Leah Farris had just had lunch with some council members discussing her positions direction as it changed to the oversight of the Clerks office.  BOOM!  You're fired!


When Hutt was let go, many of his blind loyalist came up with silly excuses such as "I think he fell in with the wrong crowd."  That was about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. 

But as we got all the way down Leah, his blind loyalist have dwindled greatly and the few remaining offered no such ridiculous defence's.  The few that did comment just offered up the likes of "I'm sure he had a good reason." or something along those lines.

Yes.  After all this ridiculousness in just one years time, he still has those people loyal to him.  It goes against all common sense, but they still exist.  And the few vocal that remain will probably always remain.  They probably have reason like being his friend.   Or I'm mad because I got annexed.  But those aren't good reasons.  Not when electing an official who supposed to be doing whats best for our city and moving it forward.  And he has shown that he is in no way interested in doing anything that will help this city push forward.   Looking objectively, you can not honestly say you want whats best for the city and still support this man and his actions this year.

Its time for the those few remaining loyalist to admit one of two things.  Either, one: Mikey has no interest in working with the council or anyone else who has any different ideas than him and that Mikey is wrong.  Or, two: That you don't care about any of that stuff because you don't care about things getting done in this city or whats best for this city.  And that you still support Mikey for reasons that have nothing to do with the best interest of Jeffersonville. 

The decision is yours.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Question For Chopper:


So, as some of you may know, I used to refer to the last few strong holds of Mikey supporters as moore-ons.  To me they deserved it as most are not interested in advancing the city but just interested saving themselves a few pennies a month. 

However, this seemed to upset Chopper.  I can understand that, she is still a Mikey supporter.  So I stopped for that reason alone.

Now I see that she is over on the website of the child who has learned how to use photo shop.  Supporting him as he talks about how foul mouth the Oracles supporters are.  All the while calling him the "Orifice".  Seems like a big ol' double standard to me CW.  So is it OK to disparage only the ones you don't like?

Monday, November 26, 2012

Married With Children's Monday Morning Wrap Up

I was dead tired yesterday after a long week of family, eating and champagne.  So I went to bed and am now typing this up early in the morning before heading back to the very busy JAML Coporate Headquarters.  So lets get this done!


Yesterday was Christina Applegate's birthday.  And that got me to thinking about one of my all-time favorite sitcoms.  Married With Children!  Yes, one of the most controversial shows of its time.  Married With Children was FOX's first sitcom hit (well normal sitcom hit, as the Simpsons came along about the same time).  The show was instantly a lighting rod for criticism from the "uptight" crowd as being to risque and not projecting a wholesome image of family life.  There is actually a "lost" episode where Steve and Marcy go to a motel to spice up their life and they end up in court because their night in the motel had been video taped.  Back then that was too much sex talk for even the "controversial" FOX.  Now an episode like that would have viewers going "well, I can see that happening" because, well, we've seen that happen.  As the show went on, it evolved in to a weekly scheme for Al Bundy to try to get rich or surround himself with beautiful women (Oh, Kelley would still not like that) that always backfired on left him right back where he started, if not worse.  In the end, critics would ignore the fact that Al never really won anything from his antics or that he really did love his family.  But they could no longer ignore the huge hit it had become.  Eventually, the show would suffer from FOX trying to move the show from one time slot to another and then back.  This lead to an abrupt cancellation that didn't even allow the show to write a proper send off or for the cast to get a chance to say good-bye to one another.  But since then they've had a few reunion shows that have been special for the cast and the viewers.  It was there that I heard Katy Segal thank the women's group that first filed a complaint about the show.  Because, "after they complained, everyone started watching".  Well then let me say thank you too.

To set this up, Al was working as security guard for his old school, when a trip to the bathroom allowed someone to steal the "City Championship" trophy that Al's old football team won where he scored the winning touchdown.  This lead to  Al getting fired and going to search for the trophy himself:


Now, on to the Wrap Up:

-The disappointing news for me this week was that 4th Street Live has also installed an outdoor ice rink.

This greatly depresses Jeffersonville's chances of getting people from over in Louisville to travel to Jeffersonville to do some outdoor ice skating.  But each has their pros and cons so there is still a chance of people coming to Jeff from the other side of the river to do some ice skating.  And certainly we should have the southern Indiana market.  So lets hope that the area is big enough for two outdoor ice rinks.

-The city council meeting last week got some extra attention.  After it was revealed that two children had been the victims of assaults, a parent asked for time to share her concerns over the way it was handled publicly with the council.  Gaw has the story from that concerned parent here.  I also encourage you to watch the video clip provided.

Needless to say, Mikey can not stay out of his own way and had anybody who heard or read his comments either scratching their heads in confusion or shaking them in dis-belief.

My take is that I can understand wanting to stand behind the police and I'm sure they have their reasons for not going public yet.  But at some point you have to say that in this instance the fine men and women of the police department who really do a wonderful job, made a mistake.  Or at least the person or persons that made this decision made one. 

But instead, Mikey completely ignores the parents direct concern and says he doesn't micro-manage (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) and he doesn't like the rumors that have been going around for the last few months. 

Wait.  What?

Unless there is a rumor that has been going around Jeffersonville that hasn't made it on to the CCC, Gaw or the Oracle sites that none of the people I talk to have heard or found necessary to mention to me, what in the hell is he talking about?  And if he's talking about the rumors of his personal life, what the hell does that have to do with a parents concern for her child?

Mikey really does himself no favors at all.

-There a small chance of a very light accumulation of snow tonight.
If there were any accumulations it would be very light and only on grassy areas and cars.  Just mention it because if you park outside, you may have to do some scraping in the morning.  Keep that in mind.

-We have new airboard members.  They are Jim Baker, Beany Smith and Tom Galligan.  That crazy TG, he just wont seem to go away.  Congrats to all.

Is that the same James Baker?  Probably not.

-This week it was announced that the city clerks office has purchased and is installing a new recording system so that all public meetings will be available online for the public.  The N&T story is here.

It should be ready to go by the next council meeting and they will expand its use as they go.  It was paid for out of the clerks budget.  This is a great opportunity for all the people of Jeffersonville to see what actually goes on in the council meetings and who is saying what.  Plus any elected official who tries and say one thing to the public and another in meetings will have to deal with this:
There are just so many uses for this photo its great.

-Remember Mikey hinting at but never really saying that he was going lower sewer rates.  And then when he didnt, his loyal followers saying it was the council's fault that he couldnt lower rates?

Well number one, it is some what true that it is the council's fault.  You see, Mikey failed to mention when he was campaigning and/or failed to realize that the mayor cant change the sewer rates.  Thats a council authority.

Second it seems that mikey is going to use everyone of those funds in the sewer rates for his uninspired "CSO interceptor project".  You can read the whole story here no, here. 

But to sum it up, the mayor will not be lowering rates or doing anything to help lower them.  He will be using their funds to help fix the CSOs problem, which the city has always had to fix.  He will be using a plan that has numerous flaws that were admitted to in his first public meeting.  He will proceed with a plan that in no way helps spur business growth downtown. 

He is applying duct tape people.  And he's doing it at the same cost that he was complaining about the other guy doing it at.

-The Oracle has a great read about the state of affairs and the enviroment around the mayor.  I wont steal his thunder, but its not suprising in the least.

And if your going to attack the Oracle's stories and reporting, do it with some facts, not just name calling.  It makes it pretty easy to see which side of the fence we should be on.

-Well, that takes care of the Wrap Up this week.  I'll be back later in the week with some more stuff and hope that you all have great week.  Until later feel free to comment below and to like the Facebook page.
Later taters!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Hostess's Weekend Wrap Up



This week we found out that we are approaching the end of the Hostess brand, and thus the end of some peoples most favorite snacks to be found in the grocery store.  Hostess, which has been battling financial troubles since the beginning of the century, filed for bankruptcy again in January of this year.  A new contract with the Bakers Union was drafted in Bankruptcy Court and submitted to the union for approval.  The company told the union that the company would fold unless the contract was approved.  The union rejected the contract and Hostess did indeed fold.  This means that 18,000 people will be losing their jobs right at the start of the holiday season.  Truly sad. 

From twinkies to ho-ho's to cupcakes, most if not all of us have some kind of fond memories of one of their snacks from our childhood.  Now they are gone.  But, even as people are bidding hundreds of dollars on boxes of the snacks online, I wouldn't bet against seeing some of the items on shelves some day.  The company will sell off their assets.  Meaning that someone is likely to buy and produce some of the products to sell again.  I'd imagine that some where down the road, we'll at least see twinkies again.

The only thing left now is for Republicans to blame Obama for an economy so poor that Hostess folded and for Democrats to give him credit for an economy doing so well that people can bid hundreds of dollars on boxes of snacks.  Sigh. 

Now on to the Wrap Up.

-The big news of the week was the mayor filing legal action against the council.  I discussed it earlier in the week.  And the Oracle made his predictions as well here.  I tend to agree with him that a sweep by either side is unlikely.  But even a split either way will be damaging to the mayor.  You can read my thoughts on it here.  But to sum it up, it is the mayor who has shown and admitted to a lack of willingness to work with the council, and he has shown his childishness in not getting what he wants.  Its going to be a long 3 years that mayor has brought upon us all.

-The really big positive news of the week was the announcement of the selection of two construction firms to build each of the new bridges for the Ohio River Bridges project and completion dates for each one.  The story for the East End Bridge (the bridge that makes the most sense) is here.  Its completion date is October of 2016.  The story on the  Downtown Bridge is here.  Its slated to be complete in December of 2016.

Wow!  From three bridges to five bridges in the course of a couple of months.  Without going into great detail right here (cough, future blog post, cough), this is a great development for the region and will be the most abrupt changes in the traffic pattern since the temporary closure of the Shermon Minton Bridge.  And this time it will be very positive change!

While I'm sure that Riverfields will continue to be a pain in our backsides during this project, I dont see them getting this far without knowing that they were good to go.  Great news for us all to be sure.

-Goliath got a hold of the complaint filed against the mayor, and thus, against the city (way to go Mikey).  But good job G.  You can read the complaint right here.

-The outdoor ice rink will open up this Friday down at the old Tubby's site.


As you can see it has been constructed in the same spot as last year and is nearly (if not already) ready to roll on Friday.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I give credit to Mikey on this one.  It would completely fit his mind set to cast this idea away because it was the previous administration's, but he brought it back, and for that I am grateful.  If the city can find a way to add a few more "holiday" attraction in the future to add to the outdoor ice rink, we might be able to find ourselves a nice little holiday niche to attract others from surrounding areas.  Big plus for the city.

-The old barn at Armstrong Farms was torn down this week.



The barn sustained damage after being struck by a tornado earlier this year.  The tornado touched down in Clarksville in the Wal-Mart parking lot and traveled down Veterans Parkway.  It struck the barn causing a large portion of the roof to be blown off.  The barn had sat like that for most of the year. 

I saw the barn recently and wondered if they planned to fix it or just leave it as it was after such a long period of time since the tornado.  I got my answer this week.  It was a nice little scenic item that has been there as long as I can remember and now it is gone.  No word yet on whether they will replace the barn.

-From destruction to being saved.



The Reuben Wells house was moved this week to Market street so that it didn't have to be destroyed.  It was in the landing path of the Pedestrian Bridge (I don't know that I've ever typed bridge this many times at once).  The house has been the source of some small controversy over its purchase and then the quest to save it.  As it stands now though, this story has a happy ending.  To all the people who put time and effort into saving the house, congratulations on a job well done.

-That's it for me and the Wrap Up.  I'm guessing from my work load at the JAML Coporate Headquarters this week and traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday that this will be it for the week.  I have one post that I was going to make last week, but then Mikey's trip to the court house made me write a whole nother post (thanks again Mikey).  I could finish that one up if I get time, but its kinda negative and I think I can find another week besides Thanksgiving week to post that one.  If I come up with a positive one and the time, I'll post that.  And if there is any breaking news, I'll find time to post that as well. 

But I'm guessing that this is it for the week.  So I want to take time to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

Until next week, feel free to comment below and to like the Facebook page.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mayor Goes "All in" With Legal Action

Mayor Mike Moore has just pushed all his few remaining chips to the middle of the table.  Hard to believe that a man that the year with so many chips is now so quickly down to so few chips and is so quickly risking all that he has left to salvage something, anything from his first year in office.  If the cards don't come up his way, he'll be left for three years without any political chips to bargain with the council and it will be their city to run, not his.



You see, Mike Moore has filed legal action against the council on three separate fronts.  One on the moving of the city's Communication Director to the oversight of the City Clerk.  A second on whether the council has any authority over the use of "TIF" dollars.  And lastly, over the council also acting as the parks department.

If Mike should win all three, he can hold his head up high and claim a very public victory.  A split of either 2 for him, or 1 for him, and he comes off looking very poorly in the public eye, and has thrust the battle he has engaged the council in, into view of the whole region.   A sweep against, and he'll have embarrassed himself and the few remaining blind loyalist he has left yet again.  He'll have no political leverage left after just one year into his term.

I believe the poker term for that is "busted".

Something we all must remember is, this is the way HE wanted and HE has brought this all on himself.  This could have been a nice friendly home game with his pals.  Instead he turned it into the World Series Of Poker, and he has been showing that he was just some guy who could afford the entrance fee and really had no idea what he was doing.

I was told of a conversation that a council member tried to have with mayor after last years election.  The council member reportedly approached Moore about what he would like to see get accomplished going forward so that they could work toward common ground to make sure the city did not go stagnant. 

What was Mike's response to this attempt to find common ground?  Well the answer would be: "I'm the mayor."  (yes, that's where that joke got its start.  And it still infuriates me to this day that this ego maniac thought that mayor equated him to king and that, his response was appropriate)    Moore has since given this story credit when he stated he doesn't see why they have to work together.  They can just pass their ordinances and he can sign or veto them as he sees fit.

So how did a man that started off the year with so many chips get to this point? 

Well, mostly a little here or there.  But remember this could have been a friendly game, but he chose to piss off the people he was sitting at the same table with.  And to piss on some of the people that helped get him there.

So then he lost some at the very beginning when his battle with council started to become apparent.  He lost quite a few when he sent the loyal Mike Hutt packing after Hutt had worked with the council on finding investers into the canal project.  This blasted two of his campaign items.  One, that Moore wasn't the "my way or the highway" guy he painted Tom Galligan to be.  And two, ithad one of his supporters saying that there were people willing to invest in the canal project. 

Then he lost a nice sized pot when he chose to publicly yell at former mayor Dale Orem at a sewer board meeting because he didn't get his way.  He bluffed some more away when he took down a sign designating a park "Galligan Field" only to replace it a few days later.  

Then a lawsuit by Mindy Christian coupled with the way he demolished the old Tubby's building.  His inability to work with council members from his own party or any of the new council members, leading to override after override cost him yet more. 

The political website "j-pol", which seemed only interested in the promotion of the mayors agenda, cost him some more when it went after Vicki Conlin when it was rumored that she would consider running for mayor in the next election. 

Now that's a poker face!  YIKES!

"j-pol" went bye-bye very quickly after that.

Toss in firing the communications director, (possibly after she had just had a meeting with some council members), trying to hire her replacement in the form of someone he should never consider hiring, and his very public divorce and the rumors surrounding that situation and he's almost completely out of chips. Basically after just getting started he's almost completely out.

He had a huge advantage in chips to start out with.  But instead of using them wisely for everyone's betterment, he chose to use them to stroke his own ego.   He could have used those chips to earn himself more chips.  Instead he tried to bully the other people sitting at the table he ended up handing them over.  He could have sat back with his rather large stack and picked his spots.  Instead he went in blindly and irresponsibly just threw them away.

Now he's down and almost out. 

He only had two strategies left.  One to slowly chip away and earn the chips back slowly.  Of course nothing he has done to date indicated that would be his plan of attack. 

The other remaining option was to push his few remaining chips in a try for a quick double up.  And that's what he's done.

But if things don't go his way, he'll be BUSTED!


Monday, November 12, 2012

Poll Added To The Blog


I've added a poll to the sight.  We'll probably let them go for a couple of weeks and then start a new one.  Its at the top right of the page.  Hope it adds positively to the blog.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Veteran's Day Weekend Wrap Up

Today we honor our veterans.  It is because of them and their sacrifice (and their family's sacrifice as well) that we sit here in the greatest nation of them all.  It is because of them that we can waste our time working on unimportant blogs and checking unimportant forums.  It is because of them that we are able to choose a job or career path that we want.  It is because of them that after the horrors of 9/11 we can still get on planes and feel reasonably safe.  It is because of them that millions around the world feel safe because they have already helped another country.  It is because of them that we sit in restaurants on days like this and watch football being served beers by scantly clad wimmens.  It is because of them that we take nice scenic drives through the country side to see a freshly fallen snow in the winter, the budding of plants in the spring, the flowing of creeks in the summer, and the turning of the colors in the fall.  It is because of them that we travel to coasts in the summer with our families.  It is because of them that we have 500 television channels to keep us entertained and distracted.  It is because of them that we can gather for a child's first birthday and a person's retirement party.  It is because of them that we can get together with old friends at the "old hangout" from time to time.  It is because of them that we can sit out on the back porch and enjoy a beautiful evening.  It is because of them that we can believe in God, gods, or nothing.  It is because of them that we can have a family of our own vision, and not someone else's.

We are free.  And it is because of them.  Remember that not just today, but always.


Now on to the Wrap Up.

-The big story of the week (as far as the city goes anyway) was the unveiling of the final design for the Pedestrian Bridge Landing yesterday.  I have not seen it.  But I've heard mixed reviews.  I actually liked the original design put out so I'm assuming that I will like the new one as well.  But I also understand that people didn't like that design or this one.  To each their own.


 (Ok, now I've seen it)

The problem is, that no one was allowed to make their concerns or dissatisfaction known in a public matter at the meeting.  This was one of Mikey's rallying cries during the election last year.  He wanted every one's input and and he said he would do so in a very public way. 

Well not this time it seems.

While I completely understand the fact that you're not going to be able to make all of the people happy all of the time and there comes a point where you just have to say this what we are doing and move forward.  But Mikey has painted himself into quite the corner by his campaign promise.   A promise that he is finding very hard to keep.  I have no sympathy for the man as now he's finding out that this particular weapon that he swung so thoroughly in the election is a double edged sword.

-Mike Hutt brings up an interesting thought over on the CCC.  He has seen two phases of this project.  One had tons of green space like the picture above shows.  But the phase two of the project that Hutt has seen adds a lot of concrete over that green space. 

Honestly, it would not surprise me if there is a phase two that adds concrete and that Mikey has plans to make sure that happens no matter what.  He has shown a slight obsession with making sure that a certain project never goes through.  And adding a whole lot of concrete to the area would help with his unhealthy obsession.

-The mayor has hired ProMedia, a communications group to handle the city's communication director's job.  And he did so without consulting the council.  He promises it will not cost the city anymore than when Leah Farris had the job.  And that he's done playing politics with the council. 

I'm thinking that this might be my column later this week, so I wont go into too great of detail with my thoughts right now.  I will say that at this point, it might just be best if the council just de-funds the position.  The original thought behind the position was to highlight the city.  Not be a person that follows the mayor around with a camera waiting for photo ops.  And if there are any financial consequences to de-funding the position with ProMedia, then the mayor can explain to the city why he chose not to discuss the hiring with the council before hand.

-Mike Hutt has informed us in a thread on the CCC that there is a new lawsuit against the city.   Larry Wilder is representing Palmer Roofing in a lawsuit against the city of Jeffersonville.  (Boy the mayor is making Larry a lot of money)  The lawsuit allegedly stems from comments Mikey made at a public meeting earlier in the year describing the work quality of Palmer.

By the way, this has been rumored for quite some time.  And many of the Moore (I'll just go with supporters so I don't make CW mad) supporters have said it was much ado about nothing and pointed to the lack of action by Palmer as their defense. 

Well now it seems that humble pie is being served to those who took that stance.

-It appears that Jeffersonville will be getting a second Taco Bell.

From reports it is slated to go into the parking lot in front of Rural King.  While its nothing to get terribly excited about, its certainly not bad news.  My only thought is that, that parking lot is going to be quite crowded. 

-Grumpy Granny announced her retirement from the owner/operator position of the online world.  Hopefully she will continue to be active as a poster and commenter. 

As I have said several times, I have nothing but respect and fondness (get your mind out of the gutter) for GG.  While I in no way hide my feeling that some administrators and moderators of CCC have a quick trigger for yanking stuff they find goes against their view or using their position to promote their political preference, I never found that from GG.  She was the jewel of the CCC.  And like I've said, her managing style will be missed, but hopefully her insights will continue on. 

Here's to GG.

-Finally, a note about the blog.  The holiday season is a very busy time at the JAML Corporate Headquarters.  This was my only blog post since last weeks Wrap Up.  Until the season is over some weeks may be sparse.  But I will be here.  And the Wrap Up will be here every week.  I wasn't quite prepared this week for the work load combined with the blog, and am now taking measures to try and ensure that most weeks will at least have a mid week post of some kind.  Please bear with me during the coming weeks.

-Until later, feel free to comment below and to like the Facebook Page.  Hope everyone has a good week.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Recount's Weekend Wrap Up


With the election on Tuesday, our wrap up this week takes time to look at the docu-drama that looks at the most famous and controversial presidential election of all time.  The 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush.  The movie starts right with the election and then focusses on the ensuing legal battles afterward.  You get to see how close Gore came to giving his concetion speech the night of the election.  Then to the immediate arming of the troops in the days that followed.

While the movies is primarily about the battle of the Democrats to recount, it does spend split time with the Republicans and their persuit to ensure that Bush become the next President Of The United States.  Most everyone is portrayed in an equal way in this movie.  While the Republicans are shown wanting the results to stand, their opponents are shown focussing on a select few counties, where democrats are in great numbers, to do recounts.  It is just a good old fashioned political fight that shows you the "punch/counter punch" that went on in the weeks following the election. 

The movie did no favors for Katherine Harris though.  She is generally potrayed as someone lucky to walk and chew gum at the same time.  How they decided to be fair in everyone elses portrayls and then just pound on her I'll never know.  I'll guess we just assume that the writers are not fans in anyway shap or form of Harris.

In the end, when its decided that Bush would become the next President, you are left feeling very sad for Gore's legal team (and I say that as someone who voted for Bush) who poured their heart and sole and then some in to trying to win this election for him and came up just short.  And the most touching part also comes at the end when Bush legal team lead James Baker tells the story of how he became a Republican.  Except to Harris, this film is pretty fair and I encourage you, if you have HBO, to keep an eye out for it the next time that its on.

It should be noted, that in all the recounts done after the election, it was shown that Bush would have won Florida under every standard of counting except the most liberal.  No pun intended.

On a side note, as someone who was always interested in politics, this was my very first election to vote in.  I remember watching the returns that night.  I kept my eyes on the running totals on the bottom of the screen all night.  Gore openned up with a huge lead in Florida.  But as soon as the news called Florida for Gore, Bush began to pull closer eventually taking the lead.  Then as soon as Florida was called for Bush, Gore immediately started to pull very close.  It was one of those few times when if you were paying close enough attention at home, you were actually ahead of the on screen experts.

And one last thing that the movie skips over:  If Gore had won his home state of Tennessee, he would have won the election.  Oh well. 

On to the Wrap Up:

- The biggest news in our little online world was that Grumpy Granny had closed CCC her account on Friday.  As I said in the my post on Friday, this is sad news and I hope that this is just a temporary break for Granny.  I've have always found her to be fair.  And I always enjoyed seeing her posts.

It has been a very stressfull couple of weeks, I'm sure, with the type of conversations that have been going on.  And hopefully, this is just a brief break for the grumpy one.

-The one good thing to come out of this? Who knew that Quasar and MBHeights1 had personality?

-Aso this week, the recently departed Leah Farris hired herself an attorney.  While Indiana laws do give employers a lot of the power of discretion when it comes to releasing employees, there are still some rules that all employers must follow.  If one or more of the rules was broken, well then the city could have itself another lawsuit.  It will be interesting to see where this goes as we move forward.

-The Oracle made his return this past week.  It was certainly long over due.  It is great to have the big blogger back.  There is no one in our little world of blogs that has more insight or sources than the Oracle does and his return is a benefit to us all. 

And it will make Kelley mad, so hey, I'm even more on board.  Welcome back Oracle!

-J-pol did not come back this week.

-The mayor did file for divorce this past week.  It is what it is.  If people want to be mad, be mad at the person who knew his personal behavior patterns and still took his family in the public eye.  That really shows you a person who thinks about no one than himself.

And talking about this makes Kelley mad.  So I'm even more on board with this.

-Speaking of the mayor, he has postponed the community forum on the Pedestrian Bridge landing.  It was supposed to take place next Tuesday.  No new date has been set.  If you ask me the mayor did not want to be in front of a large group of people answering questions.  Thats your fault Mikey.

-Sorry its a day late.  Computer problems. 

Wait.  Computer problems  Granny gone missing.  Could this be part of a larger conspiracy against local bloggers? 

And now spell check is not working.  It is a conspiracy.




And remember to like the FB page and to comment below.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Grumpy Granny Closes Her CCC Account

Grumpy Granny has closed her CCC account.  But it does not appear to be erased as her avatar is still visible. 

I hope that this is only a temporary break for GG.  This week has been I'm sure very stressful with some taboo topics and quite a few people questioning the fairness of the CCC. 

On a personal note, I have great respect for GG both as a moderator and as the person I've very limitly gotten to know through a few PM's.  Though she has not always told me that I was right (or wrong for that matter) whenever I have conversed with her about some minor issues, I've come away feeling a great sense of fairness from her.  As well I have come to respect her stance and opinions on issues while not always agreeing.  I've missed her regular post to the Jeffersonville threads since she has moved her attention over to the Clarksville one.

Here's hoping that she's back soon handing out the whacks and that she knows she will be missed until that time. 

WHACK! 

For old times sake!

Bad Cops, And Funny Stuff

I shouldn't have written that column Monday.  Not because it wasn't 100% true, but because there hasn't been enough news going on since then.   I have a couple of notes, but that would cripple the "Wrap Up".  I have about three ideas for a column, but I will hold my mikey bashing to once a week for now.  Anything more seems like overkill.  So, alas, I'm just going to post the videos of a story I heard recently and a funny YouTube video of the worst family in Feud history.


-And you think you've had bad experiences with the police:

Read about the unluckiest drunk in history here.  He broke into a karate stundents apartment.

And then two of the funniest clips you'll ever see from the old Family Feud: