The Lafayette Journal & Courier, in an editorial, is beginning to see that Democratic complaints about Gov. Daniels penchant for power grabs are more than mere bellyaching from the minority party. The subject of this editorial is Daniels’ effort to fire all of Ivy Tech’s trustees so that Daniels can replace them with his own people. This hits close to home, I suspect, because folks on the editorial board have personal knowledge of one of the trustees, Joe Bumbleburg. Regardless of what his politics may or may not be, I suspect they know him to be a man of integrity and an effective and unfailing advocate for Ivy Tech. So, when Mitch Daniels goes out of his way to try to fire Joe without articulating a reason, it starts looking more and more like a power grab.
Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette on Prison Privatization
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial on prison privatization entitled Pulling profits from a cell. This editorial seems to be pretty well in line with the opinions I offered in a previous entry. The Journal Gazette argues:
The state has a responsibility to operate a correction system in a manner that is safest for its citizens and meets constitutional requirements. To cede the job to a private contractor as a money-saving tactic is a wholesale abandonment of one the state’s most important functions.
The editorial points out that in Florida, 200 employees of state-run juvenile detention centers who were fired for abuse and incompetence were later hired by privately run juvenile centers. In Kentucky, a private prison contractor faced a state fine for having only 7 guards trained to respond to a riot instead of the 20 that were needed.
They say that it’s irresponsible to consider only the economics of the matter. I would suggest that once the lawsuits accusing the state of constitutional violations start falling fast and furious, even the economics of the matter won’t necessarily justify the change.
Indy Star on Voter ID & Blacks
Matthew Tully and Barb Berggoetz for the Indy Star have an article entitled Some blacks are wary of effect of voter ID bill. The thought is that the bill is intended to and will have the effect of depressing voter turnout in the black community because of difficulty obtaining IDs, a reluctance to obtain IDs because of distrust of the government, and a disinclination to jump through yet another hoop to participate in a system of government that doesn’t work for them. Supporters of the bill say that it is necessary to fight voter fraud. However, detractors of the bill point out: 1. There is no evidence of voter fraud at the polls to start with; and 2. The bill does not address absentee ballots with which there actually have been problems (but which historically break in favor of Republicans.)
Update Taking Down Words has some commentary on what he dubs as the “Voter Intimidation Bill” here and here. In the Agora has some contrary commentary here.
I, of course, have commented previously on this matter here, here, here, and here.
Indy Star Opinion on DST
The Indy Star has an article on DST entitled Running out of time. In it, I think we see what’s really at the heart of the desperate desire to change clocks twice per year on the parts of some of those who live in Indiana:
It’s long past time Indiana come in line with 47 other states that already observe DST.
There you have it. They want to be like everybody else. Presumably they’d want Indiana to jump off a bridge if everyone else was doing it. It’s part of the McDonaldization of America where one strip mall looks much like another. Of course, real Hoosiers don’t care much what other people think. For a Hoosier, if it works, keep it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Oh, and the opinion suggests that the DST language could be attached reasonably to any bill dealing with economic development or transportation issues. Gee, why not put it in any bill that has to do with the environment. Because DST has to do with our daily relationship to the sun. That’s kind of environmental, right? Or maybe they could put it in with a healthcare bill because our daily relationship with the sun impacts our health. Or maybe they could jam it in with the voter ID bill because it will affect the time of day voters get to the polls. Hell, put it with the Poet Laureate bill. Poets write about the sun don’t they? The possibilities are endless if one is willing to call that much of a stretch “reasonable.”
More on Death of a 4 Year Old
The Journal & Courier has more on the death of Aiyana Gauvin and they also have an opinion piece entitled Did system fail Aiyana? It surely didn’t save her.
The news story describes a court proceeding in which the juvenile court judge said that prior records involving Aiyana had to remain sealed. Those records involve the initial removal of the girl from her mother in a child in need of services proceedings. There is at least the allegation that the mother had a prescription drug dependency before Aiyana was moved to her father and step-mother. The juvenile court judge said that her personal preference would be for the records to be unsealed, but that the law didn’t allow her to act on her personal preference in this regard. The Journal & Courier is apparently going to try for the records under a different legal angle.
The opinion piece captures the simmering rage of the community over this incident. For my own part, I cannot fathom the depravity that leads to the deliberate torture of a 4 year old. Apparently pictures were taken of Aiyana tied to bathroom fixtures and baby gates. I believe there are also allegations that other children in the family were involved with Aiyana’s mistreatment.
I seem to have a fixation on the more emotional stories this week – Aiyana Gauvin and Terri Schiavo. Chalk it up to a slowish legislative lead up to the Easter Weekend I suppose.
Muncie Star Press on lifetime healthcare for ex-legislators
The Muncie Star has an opinion entitled Editorial: Benefits for ex-legislators too costly for taxpayers referring to the legislation, passed in 2002, that offers taxpayer subsidized healthcare for ex-legislators. (See previous entry.) According to the Star Press:
While that doesn’t make a ripple in the $11.6 billion state budget, the benefit is offensive in principle, particularly at a time when legislators are cutting state programs because “there’s not enough money.” In addition, lifetime benefits have a way of adding up to real money over the years as more and more beneficiaries waddle up to the trough. This is all in addition to a pension program that legislators created in which the state matches $4 for every $1 they contribute.
The Muncie Star Press takes the House Republicans for using the benefit as a campaign issue against Democrats but then failing to take action once they gained control.
HB 1039 – Interfering w/ drug or alcohol screening tests
Engrossed Version, House Bill 1039 Interfering with drug or alcohol screening tests. Makes it a Class B misdemeanor for an incarcerated person or a person under court supervision to interfere with, or to possess a device or substance intended to be used to interfere with, a drug or alcohol screening test. Passed by the Seante 46 -0.
More Schiavo
Abstract Appeal — by Matt Conigliaro has an outstanding timeline of the Schiavo case and the extensive legal proceedings that have taken place over the past 7 years.
More Schiavo: Slow Indiana Politics Day
Yesterday seems to have been a slow day in Indiana politics, and the Schiavo story has so many compelling angles. So, like everybody and their dog, I HAVE AN OPINION! (Alert the media.) Anyway, I was reading an article from the Evansville Courier Press on the issue as it pertains to medicaid. I found the following three paragraphs interesting:
“At every opportunity, (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay has sanctimoniously proclaimed his concern for the well-being of Terri Schiavo, saying he is only trying to ensure she has the chance ‘we all deserve,'” the liberal Center for American Progress said in a statement Monday, echoing complaints of Democratic lawmakers and medical ethicists.
“Just last week, DeLay marshaled a budget resolution through the House of Representatives that would cut funding for Medicaid by at least $15 billion, threatening the quality of care for people like Terri Schiavo,” according to the statement.
DeLay spokesman Dan Allen fired back: “The fact that they’re tying a life issue to the budget process shows just how disconnected Democrats are to reality.”
I don’t like what either of these guys are doing, frankly. We shouldn’t base our Medicaid funding policy on our empathy for every hardluck story that comes down the pike. That’s why the Center for American Progress is wrong. DeLay, however, is stunningly wrong when he indicates that Medicaid can be separated from the issues of life and death. People need medical care to live. Medical care costs money. No money = no medical care. No medical care = death. My judgment – DeLay loses this round. (Except for the fact that, the more they talk about Schiavo, the less they talk about DeLay’s alleged involvement in an ever expanding number of financial scandals.)
Lugar & Bayh support Schiavo bill
The Indy Star has an article entitled, Lugar, Bayh support Schiavo law. From the article:
Lugar “believes it’s important to allow for the due process (of Schiavo’s case),” said Mark Hayes, a spokesman for the senator. “This is a very special case, and he simply wants to make sure that all of the details are examined before any decision is made.”
“Senator Bayh and every other senator agreed to allow the federal courts to intervene in this tragic case,” said Meghan Keck, a spokeswoman for Bayh.
Neither senator was on the floor when the bill came up for a vote Sunday afternoon. Hayes said Lugar was in Florida on vacation.
I’ve gotta say, I’m extremely disappointed in Bayh and Lugar. I guess it’s a good example of hard cases making bad law. Let’s be clear about the bill that Bayh & Lugar supported. It altered federal jurisdictional rules for the parents of Terri Schiavo and only the parents of Terri Schiavo so that the federal District Court could consider whether the federal rights of Terri Schiavo had been violated. Lugar’s statement that he wants to make sure that ll of the details are examined is mindblowing. This case has been litigated for years and years. Federal judges have already been asked to overturn the state court’s decision, and declined to do so. Schiavo’s parents have had more than due process, they’ve had extraordinary process. Then Congress comes along and passes a law because they don’t like the result.
I know “science” isn’t exactly popular in the halls of power these days, but the woman is gone; her empty husk lives on because Ms. Schiavo has become central to the lives of others who fear death so much that they refuse to recognize it when it arrives. Her rights have been well looked after by the legal system. Her husband is apparently trying to carry through with her wishes as best he can.
Congress has no business tampering with well settled legal principles on a one-time-only basis for the sake of making an excruciating marital decision even more difficult. Some things just aren’t Congress’s business, and Bayh and Lugar should know better.
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