Disqus - Latest Comments for jdlong

Re: Speaking of secession

Alamo City Pundit — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:36:40 -0000

An excellent article, but the comments of Governor GoodHair aside (frankly, he's an idiot), the state of Texas is currently undergoing the throes of a minor revolution right now. Petitions are being circulated to recall the Legislature to nullify the Obamacare bill under the 10th Amendment. Should the legislature fail to do so, the petitioners have the right to nullify the legislature itself and call a new constitutional convention, which could result in (dare we say it) . . . . yes, secession.

Again.

And see how well that worked out last time; although the Obama Regime is so short in the testicular department, we might get away with it this time.

See my post at: http://wp.me/pnPpS-1XB

Nice little blog you got here, by the way!

~Johnny~

Re: Prosecutorial Pissing-Contest Party After Presiding Potentate Poo-Poohs Plea Deal!

Alamo City Pundit — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:14:02 -0000

If there was any gap in my posting, it's your fault, Steve! You got me started on TCOT, brother. And now I'm going to meetings about Tea Parties at the Alamo.

("I don't think we're in Valparaiso anymore, Toto.")

CB, you say "an obvious appeal to emotion and as well to the average intellect of the average layperson" like those are bad things. The 'average layperson" are the population and backbone of this country. They are the citizenry that make up the common man. Anything else is elitism.

The bottom line is that we need to stop making excuses for poor work. If "law enforcement probably screwed it up", that officer needs re-training, or firing. If "the prosecutors were without leverage", we need to find Prosecutors willing to apply leverage; as well as judges willing to judge the facts of the case, and not take into account every mitigating circumstance the defence can dredge up to cloud the issue.

And while it may be true that ""It is better for 100 criminals to go free, than for a single man to be imprisoned," try explaining that to the 99 widows and hundreds of orphans of the people killed by drunk drivers.

The law is the guardian of the people -- or it should be. When it ceases to be, we have no law.

Welcome to 21st Century Populism. See you at the Tea Party.

~~JD~~

Re: RINO Sen. Sue Landske?

Alamo City Pundit — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:13:32 -0000

As I just posted over at Alamo City Pundit, we need to throw out those who wear the name “Republican” but don’t work for and support conservative principles. We can start with Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Arlen Specter, but Sue Landske is definitely on the list as well. We make the announcement that they are no longer associated with, members of, or supported by the Republican Party. We remove the “R” from their nameplates in the Senate. We stop inviting them to Republican functions and celebrations. We actively nominate and campaign for actual, real Republican candidates in their districts.

If somebody wants to play softball on my team, then doesn’t catch a single ball, never hits a single line drive, and can’t get the other players out, They won’t be on my team long at all. And if they’re actively working with the competing team — I’ll throw them off the field myself. They are worse than useless — they’re counterproductive. They’re third column agents. They’re traitors to the cause.

Harsh, but true. Get rid of them. Make it a priority. It does no good to count them in our column when they’re really Democraps in disguise. Call these spades spades and work to get real conservatives in those positions.

By the way, did you know there is a provision in the "Stimulus" Bill that states *cannot refuse the money*? How arrogant can they be?

~~JD~~

Re: Places I'm watching-interacting during Inauguration

Alamo City Pundit — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:17:16 -0000

There's a really nice Cary Grant marathon on TCM. I'm watching "Bringing Up Bzaby" with Grant & Hepburn right now. Beats the hell out of watching Geraldo Rivera fawn drippingly over the Inauguration on Fox.

I can't bear to even try CNN - let alone MSNBC. And apparently I'm not alone - the Stock market's down 332 points today; most of it after the actual inauguration.

~~JD~~

Re: #TCOT how to energize a local GOP

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:18:49 -0000

I think both your positions are right. The problem *IS* the old-line Republican Party; and it can only be fixed with an infusion of "new blood" from Conservatives. (Conservatives and Republicans are not exactly identical subsets.) John McCain is a Republican; but his votes on immigration and the Bailouts show he is hardly conservative.

When Conservatives get the reins of the Republican Party, as we did during the Reagan years, we'll begin to see Republican wins again.

~~JD~~

Re: Put the money where your tax is

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:49:27 -0000

I agree that the Gary airport needs to be privatized; but until the South Shore has a stop there and the runways have been lengthened, no one will take that risk. With a South Shore stop travelers can easily transfer to either Midway, O'Hare, or even South Bend Airports. Longer runways will make Gary a potential International Airport to handle bigger jets.

But those other things need to happen first. Until then, it's a pipe dream.

The other stuff -- the buses, the sewers - need to have some kind of government support. The role of government is to provide certain goods and services (like the military; or utilities) that private enterprise can't afford to provide. But while the sewers will always need to be subsidized, there's hope that mass transit will eventually break even or even make a profit. Right now there is no coherent public transportation policy or agency in NWI. Were we to have such a policy or agency to coordinate public transportation, you would see more people taking public transportation.

When my mother was a girl there was a streetcar that ran from Valparaiso to Gary called the "Gary Interurban." It ran from the Valpo courthouse north along Calumet, made a left a Flint Lake and through Portage to Gary. (Which is why Calumet is one of the few streets in Valpo not to run at right angles.) I think a revival of the Interurban that ran from Valpo north to Chesterton then West to Portage would not only be a great connection to the South Shore; it would promote travel between the communities, especially with all the festivals. A later extension to Kouts and Hebron could be done when the concept was proven.

(Personally, I'd love to see a stop at the 40er Drive In . . . but I digress.)

~~JD~~

Re: There's a plane in the Hudson

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:56:44 -0000

Makes you want to pay attention to those pre-flight briefings now, doesn't it?

~~JD~~

Re: Worth reading - NW Indiana Today

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:55:18 -0000

Wow. Quite the linkage. You forgot the one about putting in the bridge over Chicago Street in Valpo -- finally, thirty years later. (Heh.)

Valpo has always called their schools off at 5am, even forty years ago when i was a 5th grader at Gardner School (now the Boys and Girls Club in Valpo.) But that was before most households had both parents working; and callling off school at 5am these days is an immense hardship on two-parent working families. I think when you know you're going to have catastrophic weather (like sub-zero weather, or impending snowstorms) calling off school early (like Chesterton did and does) is a wiser course.

Also; please send me your contact email at johnthedisciple@yahoo.com. I have a tip for you.

~~JD~~

Re: Who is running for GOP chair in Porter County?

Alamo City Pundit — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:21:16 -0000

I think RR has snagged it pretty well here. I just want to know one thing. Which one of these candidates is going to field a candidate, *ANY* candidate, for each and every open seat in an election. I don't care if they nominate Scooby-Doo to run against Visclosky, as long as they're nominating and fielding candidates. (Remember, that's the way Obama got elected; when Jack Ryan's campaign fell apart, there was Obama to pick up the pieces.)

We cannot afford to leave offices without candidates. If the Republicans are to take back the majority,. there have to be candidates for all offices. Starting with small offices and working their way up is how we get people to start their careers politically and get better candidates for higher office.

~~JD~~

Re: NWI Times calls Gary request a bailout

Alamo City Pundit — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:22:03 -0000

Yellow Journalism in the Times is a surprise?

The Times has been lying to NWI since before they bought the Vidette and promised to keep the name in the title of the paper in perpetuity. (It lasted less than 2 years.)

I've got a post on my blog today (http://jdlong.wordpress.com) that talks about how the Post-Trib "neglected" to include names of the judge and prosecutor who plea-bargained a molester -rapist down from 30 years.

The Times didn't even cover it. At All.

Does Northwest Indiana even have a newspaper that covers the news anymore?

~~JD~~

Re: Miller Citizens Against Extension

Alamo City Pundit — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:11:23 -0000

Why in the world Miller Beach hasn't broken away from Gary and established their own town a long time agao is beyond me. Gary obviously isn't going to improve services and upgrade infrastructure. They will continue to drain the only cash cow they have for taxes as long as they can.

~~JD~~

Re: What's the problem in Lake County GOP

Alamo City Pundit — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:06:35 -0000

My uncle (who died about 20 years ago) used to be very big in Porter County Republican politics. He was chairman of the Valpo 1st district, and had the license plate "64R 1" for several years.

He used to say that Lake County was like "Lord of the Flies." Lots of little fiefdoms with nobody to unite them. I think that's true; politics in Gary is radically different than that in Crown Point than it is is Schereville than it its in Hammond -- etc, ad infinitum. The one unifying theme is the Unions and their death-grip on the working man in Lake County, despite what the slow death of the Steel industry has done to Gary specifically and Lake Co. generally.

And unions go Democrat.

I think there's a terrific opportunity here though. With the coming recession hard on the heels of the gradual decline of the steel industry, it's the perfect time for the Republicans to appeal to the workers. Japanese-style unions are centered around the company and guarantee employment in return for loyalty. The old American-style union that guaranteed wages in return for loyalty to the union seems to be in decline. A Republican appeal to union workers would go far; particularly with workers of non-unionized businesses like Wal-Mart.

But I digress. Lake County won't have a unified Republican party until they find an issue to unify behind. Rebuilding Lake County's Infrastructure would be a good place to start. Appeals from the Lake County Republicans would fall on more receptive ears in Republican Indianapolis, with assurances that Republicans in Lake County would keep their hands on the checkbooks and not let the money spiral into a massive blank check written by Democrats.

Turn fiefdoms into Infrastructure rebuilding. Turn Blue Lake County into a Red County.

~~JD~~

Re: Downsizing the Federal Government

Alamo City Pundit — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:41:03 -0000

I have to agree. "Free Trade" is hardly free as long as the other trading partner is subsidizing the industry we're trying to trade with. I'm a free trader, but very much in favor of applying proportional tariffs to level the playing field.

~~JD~~

Re: Freedom of Speech?

Alamo City Pundit — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:38:47 -0000

We got to this place by constantly expanding and re-expanding the definitions of "freedom' until it pretty much meant "anarchy as I define it." No responsibility -- all rights and demands. Today we can demand our right to free speech go say the most foul, objectionable, and hateful things in the world, without the constraints of common sense or decency.

The Muslims know this and ride that ragged boundary of liberties, thumbing their nose at us as they go. If "Hate Speech" ordinances were applied uniformly and equally to everyone, we'd have a powerful weapon to fight this with. But as long as "Hate Speech" only applies to conservatives, we're helpless.

Just my opinion there.

~~JD~~

Re: Gary is test case for Distressed Unit Board

Alamo City Pundit — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:31:58 -0000

Of course there's the whole issue of whether Gary can actually make a budget that's not full of graft, pork, and insider payments anyway. Gary has pretty much always been the lapdog of US Steel, and without US Steel's financial input, Gary is struggling to find out how a real city budgets and spends money without a corporate sugar daddy to pick up the pieces.

And then there's the whole issue of whether there's an honest politician left in Gary - doubtful.

If they wanted to do this right, they could make Gary a state-sponsored public works project. Remove the mayor and city council and repave the streets, tear down the abandoned buildings, re-work the infrastructure, and finish making the airport a world-class travel portal (get the South Shore stop built, extend the runways, move the train tracks, etc.). Then they could encourage businesses and people moving in with tax breaks and dirt-cheap property prices.

And Gary would start to come back. Otherwise, the clinical definition of insanity is "doing what you've always done and expecting a different outcome." There will be no more Donald Trumps until Gary stops looking at them as fruit to be plucked and eaten and as partners to be encouraged.

~~JD~~

Re: Today in Northwest Indiana

Alamo City Pundit — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:43:06 -0000

Man, if we only had County Commissioners like that in Porter County. Shame.
~~JD~~

Re: Chrysler: already blowing the money

Alamo City Pundit — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:39:30 -0000

I'm seriously considering never buying an American car again - except maybe Ford. Ford didn't take any of the bailout money and already is in progress with an aggressive downsizing and waste reduction plan. But GM and Chrysler are right off my list. We'll never see a dime of this money back as long as the UAW has a death grip on the Car companies.

~~JD~~

Re: Downsizing the Federal Government

Alamo City Pundit — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:37:09 -0000

Senator Lugar is a member and former chairman of the Agriculture committee. his website says he's upset with the subsidy reform bill because it only gives money to big farmers.

Personally, I'm upset it gives money away AT ALL.

When this recession really starts to hit and taxes and inflation spiral out of control, it will be because of these programs exactly. I'm sorry I ever campaigned for your Senator (my former senator.) My current senator (John Cornyn) tells John McCain to go jump in a lake to his face - now THAT's a Senator!!!

~~JD~~

Re: 10 day plan - Social Media for Conservatives

Alamo City Pundit — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:28:59 -0000

As much as I've hesitated getting into Twitter an the like, I can see I'm going to have to uprade my Palm pilot to one with Texting capabilities and get into Twitter if we're going to get organized and make a difference. Heck, if we're even going to be a remotely organized opposition to the Obama Mudslide, we've got to get organized.

Thanks for the step-by-step. Looking forward to the next installments.

Sarah Palin isn't on Twitter?

~~JD~~

Re: Daniels keeps budget cutting pressure on

Alamo City Pundit — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:30:33 -0000

I'm kind of divided on the Governor's suggestion. While it is a plain fact that the first refuge of the non-imaginative budget cutter is to slash personnel costs, I think we are by no means even close to being out of this recession - and forgoing raises is a good PR move, if nothing else. Certainly for the upper levels of government -- the mayors, governors, etc - it makes a ton of sense. The Big Three executives who showed up for their handout in private planes accentuated this issue and have pulled out the long knives of class warfare well in advance.

However, Joe Six-Pack , still whining how the steel mills are closing and refusing to acknowledge his monstrously overpaid union wages created that problem, is very unlikely to accept any kind of pay cut.

A year from now, when the full force of the recession has gripped the economy by the throat, I don't think you'll have any problem justifying a "no raises" viewpoint. Everyone still with a job will be fairly grateful to have it. In the meantime, it's just more PR hassle than it;s worth. Let the figureheads refuse their raises this year. Let Joe Six-Pack cry about it next year, when he'll look more greedy and foolish than he does now.

~~JD~~

Re: The 2008 cost of the 12 days of Christmas

Alamo City Pundit — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:30:43 -0000

It always drives me crazy when i see these things each year. How do they figure the costs of these things? Could we see a detailed cost analysis of this? Are we renting the Leaping Lords and Dancing ladies by the hour; or is this some kind of indentured servitude?

Ehhhhh . . . my dad was an accountant. Blame him.

~~JD~~

Re: Pull your money from Top 20 Banks

Alamo City Pundit — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:47:38 -0000

I'm alternately excited and terrified by your suggestion.

One one hand I can understand why the banks would want to do this, just for their own peace of mind. Not only has the whole sub-prime financial thing got them rattled, the incoming Obama administration has already made noise that are sure to scare them to death.

On the other, pulling out money from banks is one of the prime instigators of the Great Depression.

I think it's wiser to move it slowly to credit unions and such (diversification can never bee a bad thing financially), but also watch and see what banks resist this trend and continue with community investment. Support the banks that support your community, and transfer away from those that pull out.

God, this could get really ugly really fast. . . .

~~JD~~

Re: Merry Christmas Porter County

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:58:29 -0000

Heh. Good one.

Re: The Reagan Revolution

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:58:00 -0000

I gotta go with Daltonsbriefs here. Paul is too isolationist -- we just can't afford that in today's world. Oceans are not quite the barriers they were pre-WWI. And some of the people that Paul attracts quite frankly scare the crap out of me.

Now Sarah Palin -- let's talk!

~~JD~~

Re: Sanders to leave RDA

Alamo City Pundit — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:51:00 -0000

As much as I like Doug Olson, too many folks from Portage seem to think the County ends at 700 North, which is why Valpo is thinking of withdrawing. Whoever is chosen, they'll have to address this.