Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Help stop Pepsi from helping HSUS!
Prevent Extremist Group from Capitalizing on Pepsi's Generosity
Background:The Animal Agriculture Alliance is dismayed that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been deemed eligible to compete to win $250,000 in the online Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi began the project in January of 2010 with the goal of awarding grants to “innovative and inspiring causes”. Ideas are submitted by individuals, groups, non-profits and businesses with no more than $25 million in revenue. Each month, up to 10 grants are awarded for each denomination of $5,000, $25,000 and $50,000. Two grants of $250,000 are also given. Winners of the grants are selected by public votes on the Pepsi Refresh Project website and text messages. Each month, the projects and organizations competing change and voting restarts.Past winners of $250,000 grants include the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation, AIDS Research Alliance, Homes of Hope for Children, Inc., Teach for America and the American Legion. Fourteen of the past 17 grants of $250,000 have specifically benefited children and eight of the 17 grants have gone toward medical research.Currently, HSUS is in the top spot to receive a $250,000 grant during the November period. According to the Pepsi Refresh website, HSUS plans to use the funding for “veterinary care, equipment purchases, fleet maintenance, shelter supplies, animal food and travel expenses.” HSUS already has a $100 million budget. Thus, we believe it is already capable of paying for these things without an additional 0.25 percent financial increase.More importantly, HSUS is not affiliated with any local animal shelter. Improving animal welfare is not the main concern of HSUS and other animal rights groups. These extremists are systematically working to prohibit the ownership and use of animals in any way- be it for companionship, entertainment, or food. Most of its money goes towards expensive legislative campaigns and litigation- much of which is aimed at livestock producers.Analysis of its 2008 tax return shows that only one-half of one percent of the group's funds actually went towards caring for animals. This past April, Charity Navigator downgraded its rating of HSUS and its international arm to lower than that of even the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which is generally considered a radical group.Interestingly, the Pepsi Refresh official rules indicate that proposed initiatives cannot “challenge, lobby for or seek to change current laws” or “involve political advocacy”. By applying for this grant, HSUS is unfortunately, and we believe selfishly, taking votes away from organizations that could actually benefit from such a generous donation. The third place group in the running for $250,000 plans to use the grant to fund research on a rare neurological disorder afflicting children. In fourth place is Hanna’s Hope Fund, the only charity worldwide dedicated to exploring and working towards a cure for the deadly genetic disease GAN. Unfortunately, these groups will not receive any funding as long as HSUS continues to dominate the ballot. Another politically-focused organization, Progress Ohio, is currently in the lead in the $50,000 category with a project focused on eliminating antibiotic use in the animal agriculture industry. The group’s proposal includes several inaccurate statements about how livestock are cared for on today’s farms. The Alliance strongly encourages its members and supporters to make an effort to prevent HSUS and Progress Ohio from receiving this money by voting for other, more deserving causes. Registering to vote at www.refresheverything.com is free and takes less than 60 seconds- all that is required is a valid email address. Each person can vote for 10 projects each day through November 30.Get Involved:- Read the Alliance’s letter to Pepsi.- Register to vote for deserving campaigns.- Notify Pepsi of HSUS’ true intentions.- Spread the word on Facebook or Twitter.About the Alliance:The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a broad-based coalition of individual farmers, ranchers, producer organizations, suppliers, packer-processors, scientists, veterinarians, and retailers. The Alliance's mission is to communicate the important role of animal agriculture to our nation's economy, productivity, vitality, and security. The Alliance shows how animal well-being is central to producing safe, high-quality, affordable food and other products essential to our daily lives.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
WTHR investigation on Indiana Jobs
Inflated numbers, secretive contracts surround Indiana jobsUpdated:
wnRenderDate('Monday, November 22, 2010 8:42 PM EST', '', true);
Nov 22, 2010 8:42 PM EST
Enlarge this pictureUnemployed workers meet in Fort Wayne.
Enlarge this pictureRobin Needham's entire family is looking for work.
Enlarge this pictureGeorge VanKirk filed bankruptcy after losing his job.
Enlarge this pictureBob Segall gets thousands of state job records.
Enlarge this pictureEconomist Morton Marcus doesn't trust Indiana job stats.
WTHR found tens of thousands of promised Indiana jobs never showed up. Now 13 Investigates has discovered more inflated job numbers, secretive contracts and conflicting stories that help explain why tens of thousands of unemployed Hoosiers are skeptical and downright angry.
Bob Segall/13 Investigates
Indianapolis - Robin Needham has been looking for work for 18 months, and she's not alone.
Her husband, mother and father are unemployed after losing their jobs last year at the Dalton Corporation foundry in Kendallville. Robin's sister is out of work, too. To help pay the bills, her teenage son and daughter started months ago applying for jobs at the local Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, McDonald's and Wal-mart but, so far, no one has hired them, either.
"It's an awful position for a parent to be in: to have to go up against your 17-year-old daughter or 16-year-old son and compete with them for a minimum-wage job," Needham says, wiping tears from her cheeks. "I feel angry and hopeless. I feel like a failure as a parent. You want to be able to provide for your kids … but no one's hiring."
The Needhams are among more than a quarter million Hoosiers now looking for jobs.
Jan Peppler was laid off as part of a "restructuring" at her retail job two months ago.
George Van Kirk, a longtime carpenter, has been looking for steady work for more than two years.
"I filed bankruptcy in order to keep my house," he said. "I'm 61 years old, close to retirement, and I have no job and no healthcare."
Robin, Jan, George and a dozen other unemployed workers met with WTHR last week at the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council in Fort Wayne. They represent a cross section of Indiana jobs -- factory workers, accountants, electricians and medical technicians – and all voiced frustration with the current job market.
"Where are the jobs?"
With state leaders announcing thousands of new Indiana jobs every month, the unemployed workers wonder where those jobs are.
"I'm sure not seeing it. Where are they?" asked Chris Oncheck, an unemployed electrician.
"Show us the jobs because I don't see them out there," added Jan.
"Where are the jobs at? If they're there, where are they at?" echoed Dave Hirschy, an unemployed millwright who has decided to return to school for more training.
Their questions are the same questions 13 Investigates has been asking for the past year -- ever since WTHR discovered empty cornfields and abandoned factories where the state claims there are supposed to be thousands of new jobs.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation says, in recent years, it's helped attract more than 115,000 new jobs to Indiana. But when WTHR asks for proof to back up the state's numbers, the agency won't provide it.
"We don't share it with the public. We don't release it to the news media. That's confidential information," IEDC chief executive officer Mitch Roob told WTHR earlier this year.
Contracts that don't exist
In an effort to obtain more information about the economic development deals announced by IEDC, WTHR asked to see contracts the agency signed with businesses it describes as "economic successes" – those companies that, according to IEDC, committed to bring new jobs to Indiana.
While IEDC has yet to provide all of the records requested, the information obtained thus far provides valuable insight into hundreds of reported job commitments. Perhaps most telling is not the thousands of pages WTHR has inspected, but the pages that are missing.
Eyewitness News has discovered IEDC never obtained an incentive contract from many of the companies it reported as economic successes. Some of those companies went bankrupt, drastically reduced the number of new employees originally reported to the media, orchestrated creative hiring practices that resulted in only a small net increase in employment, or simply changed their mind and decided not to bring new jobs to Indiana. But for years, IEDC has continued to count those companies – and their original job commitments -- in the agency's official job numbers.
Examples include:
- IEDC announced in 2008 that PEAT International would create dozens of new jobs in Madison County, but the $12 million medical waste incinerator project was in serious trouble even before the announcement. Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon declared the project dead weeks before IEDC released its 2008 annual report that listed the PEAT incinerator and its 40 proposed jobs as an economic success.
- In Perry County, a quiet boat ramp sits where Tell City Marine said it would create 243 jobs. Those jobs sunk when company investors decided to take their plans across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
- Getrag Transmission Manufacturing declared bankruptcy before it could hire a single Hoosier to assemble dual clutch transmissions. IEDC said the Tipton County project would create 1400 new jobs.
- In Fort Wayne, designer handbag manufacturer Vera Bradley announced in 2008 it would create 490 new jobs, and now says the 627 employees hired since the announcement far exceed the original projection. But in order to create those in-house sewing jobs, more than 600 people were laid off from other sewing companies around Fort Wayne.
IEDC promoted the PEAT International, Tell City Marine, Getrag and Vera Bradley deals in its annual reports and added their original hiring projections to state job totals, even though the real number of new jobs created was far less than projected. WTHR has not seen a signed incentive agreement for any of those projects among the documents provided for inspection by IEDC.
Conflicting information
In March, IEDC general counsel Shawn Peterson told Eyewitness News that IEDC did not have contracts with any of those companies.
But agency data files provided to WTHR earlier this month offered a conflicting story. IEDC gave WTHR a list of more than 6,500 incentive contracts it claimed to have with companies that brought jobs to Indiana. Companies like Tell City Marine and Getrag appeared on the list. Asked to explain the discrepancy, Peterson again insisted IEDC did not obtain executed incentive contracts from the companies, and blamed a possible "coding error" for the mix-up.
"IEDC is not certifying the complete accuracy of its over 6,500 entries. To do so, the IEDC would need to pull each file to determine whether a particular incentive agreement was fully executed by all parties … While our staff believes that the list [provided to WTHR] is statistically accurate, it is certainly possible that companies may inadvertently appear on that list."
Peterson also said companies receive no taxpayer funded incentives until agreements are fully executed and their performance verified, and some companies that failed to sign incentive contracts offered by IEDC still opted to fulfill their proposed job commitments.
But other businesses say IEDC exaggerated their job numbers, reporting best case scenarios instead of more realistic job projections.
According to IEDC's 2008 annual report, Navistar's Workhorse Custom Chassis committed to add 499 new jobs and $127 million in capital investment at its factory in Randolph County. But 13 Investigates found a letter in IEDC's own files showing the company would commit to far fewer jobs than those later promoted by the state.
In the October 2008 letter sent to IEDC project manager Mindy Kenworthy, Workhorse Custom Chassis' general manager Leon Wolmarans wrote "As stated in previous discussions, Navistar can currently only commit to Phase 1 of this project" which "will require circa $15M investment and create circa 100 new jobs."
Four months later, IEDC published the 499 projection – not 100 – in its annual report, which included a second expansion phase for which the company was not ready to commit.
"In our minds, what we were comfortable with was phase one," Wolmarans told Eyewitness News. "Anything more than that was in a feasibility study, so I don't know who at the state leaked that, but it shouldn't have been listed as a success."
Workhorse Custom Chassis has not added any of the 100 new jobs it hoped to create, and Wolmarans said expansion plans have since been abandoned.
While some of the companies listed as IEDC "economic successes" have hired more workers than expected, infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into the state's economy, many others have laid off far more workers than they hired.
As many as 40% of jobs announced by the state from 2006-2008 have not come, according to an analysis by Eyewitness News. IEDC and Governor Mitch Daniels say they won't give out specific job numbers for any company that has signed an economic incentive agreement with the state.
"Feel like I'm being lied to"
"People like [Gov.] Daniels want to say we've got all this job growth. What's he scared of putting the proof out there for?" asked Adam Lewandowski, who recently lost his job as a roadside tire technician. "Is he afraid that we might find out the truth?"
Chris Oncheck, who's been trying to find a job as an electrician for more than two years, says he is frustrated with the state's secretive position on jobs, too. "I feel a lot like I'm being lied to," he said.
It's easy to understand why.
As the number of job commitments announced by IEDC grows, Indiana's unemployment rate has not gone down. In fact, the state's 10.1% jobless rate is one of the highest in the region. According to the latest report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, only Michigan's unemployment rate is higher among Midwestern states.
"Today we have 276,000 fewer people working in Indiana than in 2006," said Morton Marcus, an economic consultant who spent 30 years as director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University. Marcus says ribbon cuttings by the governor and job announcements by IEDC look good, but often fail to translate into real jobs.
"What we have are press releases and you can't run an economy on press releases, he said. "We need to be founded in reality. That's the issue: how many jobs are actually being created."
State officials won't say – at least not with any specificity. Neighboring states like Illinois and Ohio put all of their job information on their public websites, where the data can be easily accessed at any time. But in Indiana, getting to see state job records can mean waiting a long time.
146 days … and counting
This year alone, WTHR has submitted ten requests under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. Several of WTHR's requests were denied because the agency said it did not organize its economic development contracts by execution date, and the agency was not willing to provide a report that would show which companies had signed an economic development deal with the state in a particular year.
After WTHR revised its requests, IEDC began allowing access to incentive agreements signed during the past five years. To date, IEDC has released roughly 7,500 pages of contracts – fulfilling approximately 50% of WTHR's request. It has been 146 days since WTHR first asked to see IEDC's incentive agreements. To get the remaining 50%, IEDC says Eyewitness News should expect to wait longer.
"We estimate that we may be in a position to fully and completely satisfy your request in early 2011," Peterson advised WTHR earlier this month. "We cannot proceed in a manner that unreasonably interferes with our agency's regular business, particularly in light of the current economic environment and the IEDC's limited human and fiscal resources."
When IEDC does provide records to 13 Investigates, the agency crosses out job and salary information it doesn't want the public to see. While those same details are made public in many other states, IEDC says it is required to redact the information due to a state law that classifies it as confidential.
To a roomful of unemployed Hoosiers in Fort Wayne, the secrecy adds insult to their injury.
"We're sick and tired of the lies and the crap," Robin Needham said. "None of us want to be in poverty. We want good jobs."
IEDC declined WTHR's request for an interview for this story.
wnRenderDate('Monday, November 22, 2010 8:42 PM EST', '', true);
Nov 22, 2010 8:42 PM EST
Enlarge this pictureUnemployed workers meet in Fort Wayne.
Enlarge this pictureRobin Needham's entire family is looking for work.
Enlarge this pictureGeorge VanKirk filed bankruptcy after losing his job.
Enlarge this pictureBob Segall gets thousands of state job records.
Enlarge this pictureEconomist Morton Marcus doesn't trust Indiana job stats.
WTHR found tens of thousands of promised Indiana jobs never showed up. Now 13 Investigates has discovered more inflated job numbers, secretive contracts and conflicting stories that help explain why tens of thousands of unemployed Hoosiers are skeptical and downright angry.
Bob Segall/13 Investigates
Indianapolis - Robin Needham has been looking for work for 18 months, and she's not alone.
Her husband, mother and father are unemployed after losing their jobs last year at the Dalton Corporation foundry in Kendallville. Robin's sister is out of work, too. To help pay the bills, her teenage son and daughter started months ago applying for jobs at the local Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, McDonald's and Wal-mart but, so far, no one has hired them, either.
"It's an awful position for a parent to be in: to have to go up against your 17-year-old daughter or 16-year-old son and compete with them for a minimum-wage job," Needham says, wiping tears from her cheeks. "I feel angry and hopeless. I feel like a failure as a parent. You want to be able to provide for your kids … but no one's hiring."
The Needhams are among more than a quarter million Hoosiers now looking for jobs.
Jan Peppler was laid off as part of a "restructuring" at her retail job two months ago.
George Van Kirk, a longtime carpenter, has been looking for steady work for more than two years.
"I filed bankruptcy in order to keep my house," he said. "I'm 61 years old, close to retirement, and I have no job and no healthcare."
Robin, Jan, George and a dozen other unemployed workers met with WTHR last week at the Northeast Indiana Central Labor Council in Fort Wayne. They represent a cross section of Indiana jobs -- factory workers, accountants, electricians and medical technicians – and all voiced frustration with the current job market.
"Where are the jobs?"
With state leaders announcing thousands of new Indiana jobs every month, the unemployed workers wonder where those jobs are.
"I'm sure not seeing it. Where are they?" asked Chris Oncheck, an unemployed electrician.
"Show us the jobs because I don't see them out there," added Jan.
"Where are the jobs at? If they're there, where are they at?" echoed Dave Hirschy, an unemployed millwright who has decided to return to school for more training.
Their questions are the same questions 13 Investigates has been asking for the past year -- ever since WTHR discovered empty cornfields and abandoned factories where the state claims there are supposed to be thousands of new jobs.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation says, in recent years, it's helped attract more than 115,000 new jobs to Indiana. But when WTHR asks for proof to back up the state's numbers, the agency won't provide it.
"We don't share it with the public. We don't release it to the news media. That's confidential information," IEDC chief executive officer Mitch Roob told WTHR earlier this year.
Contracts that don't exist
In an effort to obtain more information about the economic development deals announced by IEDC, WTHR asked to see contracts the agency signed with businesses it describes as "economic successes" – those companies that, according to IEDC, committed to bring new jobs to Indiana.
While IEDC has yet to provide all of the records requested, the information obtained thus far provides valuable insight into hundreds of reported job commitments. Perhaps most telling is not the thousands of pages WTHR has inspected, but the pages that are missing.
Eyewitness News has discovered IEDC never obtained an incentive contract from many of the companies it reported as economic successes. Some of those companies went bankrupt, drastically reduced the number of new employees originally reported to the media, orchestrated creative hiring practices that resulted in only a small net increase in employment, or simply changed their mind and decided not to bring new jobs to Indiana. But for years, IEDC has continued to count those companies – and their original job commitments -- in the agency's official job numbers.
Examples include:
- IEDC announced in 2008 that PEAT International would create dozens of new jobs in Madison County, but the $12 million medical waste incinerator project was in serious trouble even before the announcement. Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon declared the project dead weeks before IEDC released its 2008 annual report that listed the PEAT incinerator and its 40 proposed jobs as an economic success.
- In Perry County, a quiet boat ramp sits where Tell City Marine said it would create 243 jobs. Those jobs sunk when company investors decided to take their plans across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
- Getrag Transmission Manufacturing declared bankruptcy before it could hire a single Hoosier to assemble dual clutch transmissions. IEDC said the Tipton County project would create 1400 new jobs.
- In Fort Wayne, designer handbag manufacturer Vera Bradley announced in 2008 it would create 490 new jobs, and now says the 627 employees hired since the announcement far exceed the original projection. But in order to create those in-house sewing jobs, more than 600 people were laid off from other sewing companies around Fort Wayne.
IEDC promoted the PEAT International, Tell City Marine, Getrag and Vera Bradley deals in its annual reports and added their original hiring projections to state job totals, even though the real number of new jobs created was far less than projected. WTHR has not seen a signed incentive agreement for any of those projects among the documents provided for inspection by IEDC.
Conflicting information
In March, IEDC general counsel Shawn Peterson told Eyewitness News that IEDC did not have contracts with any of those companies.
But agency data files provided to WTHR earlier this month offered a conflicting story. IEDC gave WTHR a list of more than 6,500 incentive contracts it claimed to have with companies that brought jobs to Indiana. Companies like Tell City Marine and Getrag appeared on the list. Asked to explain the discrepancy, Peterson again insisted IEDC did not obtain executed incentive contracts from the companies, and blamed a possible "coding error" for the mix-up.
"IEDC is not certifying the complete accuracy of its over 6,500 entries. To do so, the IEDC would need to pull each file to determine whether a particular incentive agreement was fully executed by all parties … While our staff believes that the list [provided to WTHR] is statistically accurate, it is certainly possible that companies may inadvertently appear on that list."
Peterson also said companies receive no taxpayer funded incentives until agreements are fully executed and their performance verified, and some companies that failed to sign incentive contracts offered by IEDC still opted to fulfill their proposed job commitments.
But other businesses say IEDC exaggerated their job numbers, reporting best case scenarios instead of more realistic job projections.
According to IEDC's 2008 annual report, Navistar's Workhorse Custom Chassis committed to add 499 new jobs and $127 million in capital investment at its factory in Randolph County. But 13 Investigates found a letter in IEDC's own files showing the company would commit to far fewer jobs than those later promoted by the state.
In the October 2008 letter sent to IEDC project manager Mindy Kenworthy, Workhorse Custom Chassis' general manager Leon Wolmarans wrote "As stated in previous discussions, Navistar can currently only commit to Phase 1 of this project" which "will require circa $15M investment and create circa 100 new jobs."
Four months later, IEDC published the 499 projection – not 100 – in its annual report, which included a second expansion phase for which the company was not ready to commit.
"In our minds, what we were comfortable with was phase one," Wolmarans told Eyewitness News. "Anything more than that was in a feasibility study, so I don't know who at the state leaked that, but it shouldn't have been listed as a success."
Workhorse Custom Chassis has not added any of the 100 new jobs it hoped to create, and Wolmarans said expansion plans have since been abandoned.
While some of the companies listed as IEDC "economic successes" have hired more workers than expected, infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into the state's economy, many others have laid off far more workers than they hired.
As many as 40% of jobs announced by the state from 2006-2008 have not come, according to an analysis by Eyewitness News. IEDC and Governor Mitch Daniels say they won't give out specific job numbers for any company that has signed an economic incentive agreement with the state.
"Feel like I'm being lied to"
"People like [Gov.] Daniels want to say we've got all this job growth. What's he scared of putting the proof out there for?" asked Adam Lewandowski, who recently lost his job as a roadside tire technician. "Is he afraid that we might find out the truth?"
Chris Oncheck, who's been trying to find a job as an electrician for more than two years, says he is frustrated with the state's secretive position on jobs, too. "I feel a lot like I'm being lied to," he said.
It's easy to understand why.
As the number of job commitments announced by IEDC grows, Indiana's unemployment rate has not gone down. In fact, the state's 10.1% jobless rate is one of the highest in the region. According to the latest report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, only Michigan's unemployment rate is higher among Midwestern states.
"Today we have 276,000 fewer people working in Indiana than in 2006," said Morton Marcus, an economic consultant who spent 30 years as director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University. Marcus says ribbon cuttings by the governor and job announcements by IEDC look good, but often fail to translate into real jobs.
"What we have are press releases and you can't run an economy on press releases, he said. "We need to be founded in reality. That's the issue: how many jobs are actually being created."
State officials won't say – at least not with any specificity. Neighboring states like Illinois and Ohio put all of their job information on their public websites, where the data can be easily accessed at any time. But in Indiana, getting to see state job records can mean waiting a long time.
146 days … and counting
This year alone, WTHR has submitted ten requests under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. Several of WTHR's requests were denied because the agency said it did not organize its economic development contracts by execution date, and the agency was not willing to provide a report that would show which companies had signed an economic development deal with the state in a particular year.
After WTHR revised its requests, IEDC began allowing access to incentive agreements signed during the past five years. To date, IEDC has released roughly 7,500 pages of contracts – fulfilling approximately 50% of WTHR's request. It has been 146 days since WTHR first asked to see IEDC's incentive agreements. To get the remaining 50%, IEDC says Eyewitness News should expect to wait longer.
"We estimate that we may be in a position to fully and completely satisfy your request in early 2011," Peterson advised WTHR earlier this month. "We cannot proceed in a manner that unreasonably interferes with our agency's regular business, particularly in light of the current economic environment and the IEDC's limited human and fiscal resources."
When IEDC does provide records to 13 Investigates, the agency crosses out job and salary information it doesn't want the public to see. While those same details are made public in many other states, IEDC says it is required to redact the information due to a state law that classifies it as confidential.
To a roomful of unemployed Hoosiers in Fort Wayne, the secrecy adds insult to their injury.
"We're sick and tired of the lies and the crap," Robin Needham said. "None of us want to be in poverty. We want good jobs."
IEDC declined WTHR's request for an interview for this story.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Indiana Court of Appeals retention results....
Indiana Court of Appeals
District
Question
Yes
No
First District
"SHALL JUDGE LLOYD MARK BAILEY BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
351566
172193
Second District-
"SHALL JUDGE CALE BRADFORD BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
284660
120656
Fourth District
"SHALL JUDGE MELISSA S. MAY BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
931022
389323
Fifth District
"SHALL JUDGE ELAINE B. BROWN BE RETAINED IN OFFICE"?
940562
381254
"SHALL JUDGE MARGRET G. ROBB BE RETAINED IN OFFICE"?
922520
391330
District
Question
Yes
No
First District
"SHALL JUDGE LLOYD MARK BAILEY BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
351566
172193
Second District-
"SHALL JUDGE CALE BRADFORD BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
284660
120656
Fourth District
"SHALL JUDGE MELISSA S. MAY BE RETAINED IN OFFICE?"
931022
389323
Fifth District
"SHALL JUDGE ELAINE B. BROWN BE RETAINED IN OFFICE"?
940562
381254
"SHALL JUDGE MARGRET G. ROBB BE RETAINED IN OFFICE"?
922520
391330
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Is Natural better? - by John Stossel
When you sit down with your family to Thanksgiving dinner next week … Watch out! Your wholesome feast is actually LADEN with chemicals! Your turkey contains heterocyclic amines and your cranberry sauce has furan derivatives! Truth is, all of these chemicals are NATURALLY OCCURRING. They aren’t actually dangerous … but why are people so chemophobic? Is “Natural” food really better?
The documentary Food Inc won an Oscar nomination. It thrilled Hollywood by claiming that big business has made food more dangerous. But the opposite is true. Food poisoning has been decreasing. Should we fear the dawn of “Frankenfoods”? The latest scare from environmentalists is genetically modified foods. John is eager to eat genetically modified salmon. Grass-fed cattle is said to be tastier, healthier and better for the environment than conventional corn-fed feed lot cattle. It does produce leaner meat, but it’s actually WORSE for the environment. As for taste? We'll hold an informal taste test. And organic food claims to be pesticide free … but Alex Avery from the Hudson Institute explains why many aren’t, and that anyway, microscopic pesticide residues don’t harm anyone. In fact, they help reduce carbon emissions, something environmentalists should support.
Is "Natural" better? That's this week on STOSSEL.
The documentary Food Inc won an Oscar nomination. It thrilled Hollywood by claiming that big business has made food more dangerous. But the opposite is true. Food poisoning has been decreasing. Should we fear the dawn of “Frankenfoods”? The latest scare from environmentalists is genetically modified foods. John is eager to eat genetically modified salmon. Grass-fed cattle is said to be tastier, healthier and better for the environment than conventional corn-fed feed lot cattle. It does produce leaner meat, but it’s actually WORSE for the environment. As for taste? We'll hold an informal taste test. And organic food claims to be pesticide free … but Alex Avery from the Hudson Institute explains why many aren’t, and that anyway, microscopic pesticide residues don’t harm anyone. In fact, they help reduce carbon emissions, something environmentalists should support.
Is "Natural" better? That's this week on STOSSEL.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Food Safety Bill
One thing that no one addresses is how many cases of foodborne illnesses were caused by undercooking the food, improper storage in the home, a time issue from the grocery or food supplier to your home. Did you ever wonder if the milk was ok because you forgot to get it out of the trunk? Let Senator Lugar and Bayh know that you do not want to lose our roadside food stands, the farmer's market, and other local food suppliers. Simply adding a few more inspectors would allow more locally grown cattle, etc. to be utilized by all.
WASHINGTON — The Senate has voted to move forward on a far-reaching food safety bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to prevent foodborne illnesses.
The chamber voted 74-25 to proceed with the bill. Supporters needed 60 votes because Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, had objected, saying the legislation's $1.4 billion cost isn't paid for.
The bill would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce that have sickened hundreds.
The House passed a similar bill over a year ago.
However, advocates for buying food produced locally worry the legislation's safety requirements could force small farms out of business.
The opposition of these "locavores" — advocates for buying food directly from the farm or closer to home — and owners of small farms has become a sticking point in the Senate, which was to vote Wednesday on whether to consider the bill.
Supporters needed 60 votes because Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, had objected, saying the legislation's $1.4 billion cost isn't paid for.
While the bill is designed to give the Food and Drug Administration greater authority over the nation's food supply, opponents say it could bankrupt some small farms that don't have the means to comply with new standards the bill would impose.
Story: 5 ways the food safety bill would affect you
Those standards could include registering food safety plans with the FDA and documenting efforts to show food is not contaminated as it is produced.
"It's going to put a nail in the coffin of our family food producers," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is planning an amendment to exempt some small farms who market food close to their operations. He says many small farms already comply with state and local regulations to keep food safe.
Concerns overblown? Food safety advocates are lobbying against the Tester amendment, saying his concerns are overblown and efforts to broadly exempt smaller farms could be misguided. They argue that the legislation, which would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe, is crucial in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce that have sickened hundreds.
"Our view is that food should be safe no matter what the source is," said Erik Olson, director of food and consumer product safety at the Pew Health Group.
Olson and other advocates say that while small farms may not need to follow as many regulations as large corporations, the size of the farm is not as important as the safety of the food. Producers of leafy greens, tomatoes and other foods that more frequently cause illness should have to follow strict standards to keep contamination away from food no matter what the size of their operation, they say.
The two sides were working toward a compromise Tuesday. If the Senate votes to proceed, senators probably would then consider Tester's amendment as part of floor debate on the bill.
Whether the bill could make it to the president's desk during the brief lame-duck congressional session is unclear since the House passed a different version of the legislation in 2009. Even if the Senate passes the bill, the two pieces of legislation would have to be quickly reconciled before the end of this session sometime after Thanksgiving.
President Barack Obama issued a statement in support of the Senate bill Tuesday, saying the legislation would address "long-standing challenges" of the FDA by helping producers prevent foodborne outbreaks and giving the government more tools to keep food safe.
Recent outbreaks have exposed a lack of resources and authority at the FDA as the embattled agency has struggled to contain and trace contaminated products.
Currently, the FDA does not have the authority to order a recall and must negotiate recalls with the affected producers. The agency rarely inspects many food facilities and farms, visiting some every decade or so and others not at all.
WASHINGTON — The Senate has voted to move forward on a far-reaching food safety bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to prevent foodborne illnesses.
The chamber voted 74-25 to proceed with the bill. Supporters needed 60 votes because Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, had objected, saying the legislation's $1.4 billion cost isn't paid for.
The bill would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce that have sickened hundreds.
The House passed a similar bill over a year ago.
However, advocates for buying food produced locally worry the legislation's safety requirements could force small farms out of business.
The opposition of these "locavores" — advocates for buying food directly from the farm or closer to home — and owners of small farms has become a sticking point in the Senate, which was to vote Wednesday on whether to consider the bill.
Supporters needed 60 votes because Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, had objected, saying the legislation's $1.4 billion cost isn't paid for.
While the bill is designed to give the Food and Drug Administration greater authority over the nation's food supply, opponents say it could bankrupt some small farms that don't have the means to comply with new standards the bill would impose.
Story: 5 ways the food safety bill would affect you
Those standards could include registering food safety plans with the FDA and documenting efforts to show food is not contaminated as it is produced.
"It's going to put a nail in the coffin of our family food producers," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is planning an amendment to exempt some small farms who market food close to their operations. He says many small farms already comply with state and local regulations to keep food safe.
Concerns overblown? Food safety advocates are lobbying against the Tester amendment, saying his concerns are overblown and efforts to broadly exempt smaller farms could be misguided. They argue that the legislation, which would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe, is crucial in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce that have sickened hundreds.
"Our view is that food should be safe no matter what the source is," said Erik Olson, director of food and consumer product safety at the Pew Health Group.
Olson and other advocates say that while small farms may not need to follow as many regulations as large corporations, the size of the farm is not as important as the safety of the food. Producers of leafy greens, tomatoes and other foods that more frequently cause illness should have to follow strict standards to keep contamination away from food no matter what the size of their operation, they say.
The two sides were working toward a compromise Tuesday. If the Senate votes to proceed, senators probably would then consider Tester's amendment as part of floor debate on the bill.
Whether the bill could make it to the president's desk during the brief lame-duck congressional session is unclear since the House passed a different version of the legislation in 2009. Even if the Senate passes the bill, the two pieces of legislation would have to be quickly reconciled before the end of this session sometime after Thanksgiving.
President Barack Obama issued a statement in support of the Senate bill Tuesday, saying the legislation would address "long-standing challenges" of the FDA by helping producers prevent foodborne outbreaks and giving the government more tools to keep food safe.
Recent outbreaks have exposed a lack of resources and authority at the FDA as the embattled agency has struggled to contain and trace contaminated products.
Currently, the FDA does not have the authority to order a recall and must negotiate recalls with the affected producers. The agency rarely inspects many food facilities and farms, visiting some every decade or so and others not at all.
Monday, November 15, 2010
College time humor
Hinting at needing money
Dear Father,
$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply I can't think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.
Love, Your $on.
After receiving his son's letter, the father immediately replies by sending a letter back.
Dear Son,
I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.
Love, Dad
Dear Father,
$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply I can't think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.
Love, Your $on.
After receiving his son's letter, the father immediately replies by sending a letter back.
Dear Son,
I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.
Love, Dad
Monday, November 8, 2010
District Scholarship Winners Announced!!!!
Kyle Alcorn and Kristen Fry, son of Ron & Jane Alcorn and daughter of Phil & Janice Fry received the top District Scholarship awards. They are both studying in an Agricultural field at Purdue University. The next major FB activity will be the State Convention at Indianapolis on December 10-11, 2010.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Fall District Farm Bureau Meeting
Dist 5 - Fall Awards Program
Location:Putnam County Fairgrounds Community Building
Start:6:30 PM
This next year's Annual Putnam County Farm Bureau meeting will be held Feb. 21
also at the fairgrounds at 6:30 pm
Location:Putnam County Fairgrounds Community Building
Start:6:30 PM
This next year's Annual Putnam County Farm Bureau meeting will be held Feb. 21
also at the fairgrounds at 6:30 pm
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Putnam County Election Results
PUTNAM COUNTY
Prosecutor
R -- Tim Bookwalter 6,498 votes 69.05%
I -- Robert Perry 2912 votes 30.95%
Sheriff
R -- Steve Fenwick 5,765 votes 57.41%
I -- Joe Tesmer 2,422 votes 24.12%
D -- Garry Clark 1,854 votes 18.46%
STATE OF INDIANA
House District 44
R -- Jim Baird 5,639 votes 54.88%
D -- Nancy Michael 4,250 votes 41.36%
I -- Dennis Beatty 386 votes 3.76%
Secretary of State
R -- Charlie White 6,451 votes 64.64%
D -- Vop Osili 2,750 votes 27.56%
L -- Mike Wherry 779 votes 7.81
Auditor of State
R -- Tim Berry 6,555 votes 67.83%
D -- Same Locke 2,565 votes 26.54
L -- Eric Knipe 544 votes 5.63
Treasurer of State
R -- Richard Mourdock 6,821 votes 70.36%
D -- Pete Buttigieg 2,818 votes 29.24
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator
R -- Dan Coats 5,965 votes 58.72%
D -- Brad Ellsworth 3,452 votes 33.99%
L -- Rebecca Sink-Burris 738 votes 7.27%
House District 8
R -- Larry Bucshon 6,506 votes 65.12%
D -- Trent VanHaaften 2,759 votes 27.60%
L -- John Cunninghamn 724 votes 7.24%
TOWNSHIPS
Greencastle Township Board Member (Top 3)
R -- Karen Hill Ambler 2,391 votes 30.05%
D -- Charles Miles 2,024 votes 25.43%
R -- Marilyn Clearwaters 1,965 votes 24.69%
D -- Doris J. Miller 1,578 votes 19.83%
Warren Township Board Member (Top 3)
R -- Sharon C. Evans 295 votes 32.63%
R -- Bob Dennis 225 votes 24.89%
R -- Lawrence W. Muncie 221 votes 24.45%
D -- Rex A. Parker 163 votes 18.03%
SCHOOL BOARDS
Cloverdale School Board Cloverdale Township
Brian Asbury 519 votes 55.69%
William S. Schwartz 413 votes 44.31%
Cloverdale School Board Taylor Township
Duane L. Huge 491 votes 51.74%
James F. Sharp 458 votes 48.26%
North Putnam School Board Clinton Township
Travis R. Lambermont 188 votes 51.09%
Scott R. Rader 180 votes 48.91%
South Putnam School Board Jefferson Township
Wesley Hacker 240 votes 59.55%
Darwyn Nelson 163 votes 40.45%
South Putnam School Board Warren Township
David Bombei 181 votes 53.71%
Adam Hughes 156 votes 46.29%
Prosecutor
R -- Tim Bookwalter 6,498 votes 69.05%
I -- Robert Perry 2912 votes 30.95%
Sheriff
R -- Steve Fenwick 5,765 votes 57.41%
I -- Joe Tesmer 2,422 votes 24.12%
D -- Garry Clark 1,854 votes 18.46%
STATE OF INDIANA
House District 44
R -- Jim Baird 5,639 votes 54.88%
D -- Nancy Michael 4,250 votes 41.36%
I -- Dennis Beatty 386 votes 3.76%
Secretary of State
R -- Charlie White 6,451 votes 64.64%
D -- Vop Osili 2,750 votes 27.56%
L -- Mike Wherry 779 votes 7.81
Auditor of State
R -- Tim Berry 6,555 votes 67.83%
D -- Same Locke 2,565 votes 26.54
L -- Eric Knipe 544 votes 5.63
Treasurer of State
R -- Richard Mourdock 6,821 votes 70.36%
D -- Pete Buttigieg 2,818 votes 29.24
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator
R -- Dan Coats 5,965 votes 58.72%
D -- Brad Ellsworth 3,452 votes 33.99%
L -- Rebecca Sink-Burris 738 votes 7.27%
House District 8
R -- Larry Bucshon 6,506 votes 65.12%
D -- Trent VanHaaften 2,759 votes 27.60%
L -- John Cunninghamn 724 votes 7.24%
TOWNSHIPS
Greencastle Township Board Member (Top 3)
R -- Karen Hill Ambler 2,391 votes 30.05%
D -- Charles Miles 2,024 votes 25.43%
R -- Marilyn Clearwaters 1,965 votes 24.69%
D -- Doris J. Miller 1,578 votes 19.83%
Warren Township Board Member (Top 3)
R -- Sharon C. Evans 295 votes 32.63%
R -- Bob Dennis 225 votes 24.89%
R -- Lawrence W. Muncie 221 votes 24.45%
D -- Rex A. Parker 163 votes 18.03%
SCHOOL BOARDS
Cloverdale School Board Cloverdale Township
Brian Asbury 519 votes 55.69%
William S. Schwartz 413 votes 44.31%
Cloverdale School Board Taylor Township
Duane L. Huge 491 votes 51.74%
James F. Sharp 458 votes 48.26%
North Putnam School Board Clinton Township
Travis R. Lambermont 188 votes 51.09%
Scott R. Rader 180 votes 48.91%
South Putnam School Board Jefferson Township
Wesley Hacker 240 votes 59.55%
Darwyn Nelson 163 votes 40.45%
South Putnam School Board Warren Township
David Bombei 181 votes 53.71%
Adam Hughes 156 votes 46.29%
Monday, November 1, 2010
Election Day.
Yes, Tuesday November 2 is election day. If you don't know where to vote call the Putnam County Clerk's office 653-2648. Please try and learn as much as you can about the candidates and vote for the best candidate and not a political party. The candidate with the most signs or the biggest ads may not be the best person for the job. If only the party system would disappear when the candidates reach office and are able to vote or make good decisions on their own without being forced to vote the party line. It's a fine line they walk between doing what their voting public wants and what their party wants. Whoever is elected we MUST pray that they will look for divine guidance when making important decisions.
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