Archive for the “Current Affairs” Category

Mo-ped operators in Indiana would need a valid driver’s license and have to get the motorized scooters insured under legislation state Sen. Ron Alting plans to propose in the upcoming General Assembly session.

More here.

I guess they’ll be a lot of clients of AADP taking the cab if this passes.

AWB

Below 9000 for the first time since 2003

Ouch!

From FoxNews

The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression continues to engulf Wall Street, carving out 5,000 points from the index, including 2,000 points over the past seven days alone.

[...]

Thursday’s plunge came despite an absence of any major negative developments. Instead, the markets focused on the continued uncertainty of the credit crisis and fears the global economy will slide into a recession.

More here.

Let them sink! - AWB

Fred Rost has arranged for Paul Helmke, the three-term former republican Mayor of Fort Wayne, and former president of The United States Conference of Mayors to address the CBC this Monday, October 13th.

Helmke will address the CBC with his thoughts on national, state, and local politics, and the future of the Republican Party.

When: October 13th 7:30 a.m breakfast
Where: The Window Garden Restaurant 13th Floor - One Summit Square

Bio:

Paul Helmke has served as President of the Brady Campaign/Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation’s largest national, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, since mid-July 2006. Prior to this, Helmke was a lawyer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he served as mayor from 1988-2000.

Helmke was President of the United States Conference of Mayors in 1997-1998 and was a Board member for the National League of Cities. He is a past-President of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and of both the national and Indiana Republican Mayors and Local Officials organizations. Helmke was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in Indiana in 1998.

Helmke served on the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services’ “Violence Against Women Advisory Council” and on the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education’s “Advisory Council for School-to-Work Opportunities” and worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on special projects.

After upsetting a two-term incumbent in November 1987 with 52 percent of the vote, Helmke was re-elected mayor in 1991 and 1995. Helmke is only the second person in Fort Wayne history to be elected to three consecutive four-year mayoral terms. His 64.5 percent of the vote in 1995 tied the largest margin of victory for a Republican in the city of Fort Wayne.

As mayor, Helmke received national attention for his program of “Community-Oriented Government,” his efforts to fight crime, redevelop brownfields, and advocate for urban interests. He reduced the city property tax rate and city debt, pursued an aggressive annexation program, strengthened the police department and started community policing (which helped bring the crime rate in 1999 to a 25-year low), helped revitalize the downtown, and supported economic development efforts that helped keep the unemployment rate below the state and national averages. Under Mayor Helmke’s leadership, Fort Wayne was named an All-America City by the National Civic League in 1998.

Helmke has appeared on the evening news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as numerous Fox News shows, MSNBC’s “Hardball,” C-Span’s “Washington Journal,” and The Colbert Report. He was also a contestant on “Jeopardy” in the early 1970’s.

In 1970, Helmke received an honors degree, with highest distinction, in political science from Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana). While at I.U., Helmke was selected to Phi Beta Kappa scholastic honorary, and was elected student body president. Helmke received his law degree from Yale University in 1973 (in the same class with Bill and Hillary Clinton).

Prior to becoming mayor, Helmke practiced law and served as an Assistant County Attorney. He taught Communications Law for a number of years in the mid-1980’s. After leaving the mayor’s office, Helmke was “of counsel” with Barnes & Thornburg, Indiana’s largest law firm, for three years and then returned to his family law firm, Helmke Beams LLP.

A native of Indiana, Helmke and his wife, Deborah, a former public school kindergarten teacher in Fort Wayne, have two grown daughters. The Helmke’s live just outside of D.C. and continue to maintain a residence in Fort Wayne.

Updated: Added a ticker, see right side —>

Dow +136.75
+1.45%
9,583.86

Nasdaq +33.39
+1.90%
1,788.27

S&P +18.22
+1.83%
1,014.45

Oil drops 6 percent to below $88 on demand concerns

Murphy USA, 2470 E Wabash St near Maish Road Frankfort, Indiana.

Reported 6:15 a.m. today.

AWB

Oil briefly falls below $90 | More Banks Predicted to Fail

Credit Freeze Spreads Overseas | Pump prices to break back to $2.XX

———————
As of 10:30 am Dow falls below 10,000

Dow -405.48
-3.93%
9,919.90
———————

Obama taking illegal contributions

AWB

If it’s such a crappy deal, then why are they voting on it?

(The Politico) In a closed-door session with House Republicans, Minority Leader John A. Boehner just called the financial rescue deal a “crap sandwich” – then said he’ll vote for it when it comes to the floor Monday.

[...]

According to a source in the room, the plan has so far won endorsements from Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who negotiated it on behalf of the House Republicans; Eric Cantor, the chief deputy whip; and Paul Ryan, a hard-core conservative from Wisconsin who may hold more sway with conservatives on this issue than any other member of the House.

But like Boehner, Ryan wasn’t exactly happy about how things have unfolded. Referring to the situation facing the country – and not the bill itself – Ryan said, “This sucks.”

This whole rescue plans stinks, in my humble opinion. Members from both sides of the aisle should take a look at the opinion polls on this matter, only 7% of the public feels the bailout is worth it. The Federal Reserve is going to step in and rescue Wall Street, all the while stockholders will get screwed and 401K’s will take an heavy hit (regardless of what they do).

From PolitickerCO.com

Seventh Congressional District Republican nominee John Lerew, a financial planner from Aurora, thinks Congress’ motivation to quickly bail out ailing financial markets is to reassure voters with investments before quarterly statements are sent out next week.

Slumping stock values seen on voters’ 401K and investment plans when 3rd quarter statements are released Sept. 30 would be “a rude awakening that (members of Congress) are artificially trying to prevent,” Lerew said.

“All they’re trying to do is buy time,” he said.

And in the process, they’re bailing out the billionaires. Do you see them bailing out people that have through-the-roof property taxes? Do you see them bailing out people that can hardly afford to fill up their gas tanks?

Forget about those too stupid to read the fine print on their mortgages, that was caused by the Community Reinvestment Act and former president Bill Clinton’s executive orders demanding banks to make bad loans to the poor folk that couldn’t afford them in the first place. They should break up Freddie Mac and Freddie Mae privatize them.

The Government does not need to be in the finance business, and we shouldn’t be subsidizing Chris Dodd (D) and Barney Frank’s (D) screwups and negligence.

And now, a word from our sponsors..

AWB

The Indian firm Tata, which recently lost the IT consulting bid for Fort Wayne/Allen County recently experienced another loss.

Thousands of protesters recently forced Tata to halt work on the plant being used to produce the world’s cheapest car

Corporate India is in shock after a mob of sacked workers bludgeoned to death the chief executive who had dismissed them from a factory in a suburb of Delhi.

Lalit Kishore Choudhary, 47, the head of the Indian operations of Graziano Transmissioni, an Italian-headquartered manufacturer of car parts, died of severe head wounds on Monday afternoon after being attacked by scores of laid-off employees, police said.

The incident, in Greater Noida, just outside the Indian capital, followed a long-running dispute between the factory’s management and workers who had demanded better pay and permanent contracts.

AWB