What can I say about U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho)? How about here we go again with another “socially conservative” elected official who ran on “family values” and made part of his living pointing out the moral short comings in others, getting caught, metaphorically speaking, with his pants down. When will these people ever learn?

I know I should be talking about tax reform and government efficiency, but something happened at last night’s City-County Council meeting that I didn’t quite notice when it happened, but once I went back and checked, all I did was become livid.

City-County Council member Ron Gibson (D-At Large) said the prayer at the start of the meeting. During his prayer, Gibson asked for the usuals, guidance for the city, protection for public safety officers, etc., but it was the end of his prayer that caught my eye, ear, nose and throat.

He said, “Lord I pray that those who have judgment on me, I pray they will allow the truth to prevail.” Excuse me? Say that again? For those of you don’t know, Gibson was been charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and battery for allegedly shoving an officer last year outside a night club during Indiana Black Expo last year. Gibson has come under criticism for his actions and some have called for his resignation.

It’s one thing to have personal issues and to ask God for guidance and forgiveness, it’s another thing to do that in a public forum that’s meant for something else. Gibson’s interjection of his personal issues was uncalled for. The alleged incident was pretty much off of everyone’s radar screen until Gibson brought it back up. Maybe he should ask God for better timing.

Asking God to save you because of choices you make is one thing. Putting it on display for everyone to see is just sad. Maybe if Gibson had paid a little more attention to God he wouldn’t be in the situation that he’s in right now.

We had some problems this weekend with the blog but we have worked them all out. Post away.

I spent most of this weekend attending the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference. It’s a gathering of Republicans from across the Midwest where they talk issues and strategy and get visits from presidential candidates. The last time it was held in Indianapolis George W. Bush paid a visit. This year it was Former Senator Fred Thompson, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

I had the opportunity to talk to each of the candidates and on the fundamentals. There really isn’t that much difference. They all believe the United States should not pull out of Iraq until the job is done. They also believe in cutting taxes and they are “pro-family.”

Where the candidates distinguished themselves is in style and presentation. I found former Governor Romney to come across as someone who understood the issues from an analytical perspective, but he didn’t quite seem to have that ability to make an emotional connection. He came across as “programmed optimistic.”

Thompson suffered from the curse of high expectations. Although he hasn’t formally declared, he pretty much has. His campaign has been plagued with rumors of disorganization, which he acknowledged some mistakes had been made, but attributed that to a “changing of the rules.” There was also some private griping by GOP insiders about his staff and how they treated some of the Indiana delegation.

He did seem a little more frail than what I was expecting; the curse of watching him on “Law and Order.” And his speech at the Saturday night dinner, while touching on typical Republican themes, didn’t quite seem to deliver the punch I thought it would and really fire up the crowd.

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You’ve heard about Indianapolis Public Schools letting kids out early because of the heat. Now while I could break into my story of “when I was their age…” but I won’t. I have no desire to see kids swelter in unsavory conditions in 100+ degree temperatures, but I really think a lot of this could be avoided if Indiana schools started after Labor Day and went through the first week of June.

This would make everyone’s lives a lot easier. You wouldn’t have to worry about too many uncomfortable days of extreme heat and you would save on air conditioning because you wouldn’t need it. Everyone I speak with has told me schools start earlier to adjust for the I-STEP exam that’s given in the fall. Moving the test to the spring would make a lot more sense.

This whole issue of schools and start dates continues to show what is wrong with public education and why the whole system needs to scrapped and started over from scratch.

I had an opportunity yesterday to take a closer at the video of the incident involving IMPD Officer Adam Chappell and the 17-year old he’s accused of hitting and kicking. Chappell has been charged with misdemeanor battery for his reported actions. Like many of you I watched the tape on my computer. The video is compressed so you can’t see a lot of detail. This time I watched it on a 36-inch screen and in VHS form.

From what I was able to gather, I’m still not sure Officer Chappell punched the 17-year old. You see Chappell and the other officers surrounding the suspect, and you see the Officer raise his arm and lower it in an aggressive motion, but you can’t tell whether he made contact.

The kick is clearer and the Chappell admits he did kick the suspect. However, here’s the rub. Kicking is apparently allowed under IMPD’s training. Aaron Sullivan, the President of the Fraternal Order of Police, tells me that under the way Officer’s are training, using kicking to subdue a suspect is allowed.

The big question now, is did Officer Chappell “knowingly or intentionally touch another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner” as defined by statute. I’m still not convinced the officer was acting with any sort of malicious intent and if I were on a jury I would have a hard time convicting him. I have heard too much about his character from his fellow officers and they say he is not the type to act in a manner to abuse a suspect. And his demeanor on the full tape doesn’t indicate that either. Might things have been done differently? Sure. Hindsight is always 20-20. I would argue this all goes more to IMPD’s training than it does the Officer’s actions.

I also don’t think Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is acting with any ill will or political agenda. He’s doing the job that Prosecutors do. If they think a crime has been committed, they file charges. And at the end of the day a jury will have to decide all this. However if I were on the jury, with the information I have now, I don’t think I could return a verdict of guilty.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has filed misdemeanor battery charges against IMPD officer Adam Chappell. Chappell is accused of kicking a 17-year old male during Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration. You can watch the video clip here.

I’ve looked at it several times this morning and I don’t see what the officer did to have charges filed against him. I see a rowdy drunk teen and I see several see several officers trying to restrain him. There may be something on the tape that I’m missing, but I don’t see someone intentionally and maliciously trying to do harm to another person, but I do see an officer doing his job.

Take a look at the tape for yourself and tell me what you think you see.

And for the record, I honestly beleive that if the officer and 17-year old were of the same race, we would not be having this discussion right now.

I ran into Indiana State Senator Luke Kenley at lunch yesterday. I asked him how the property tax hearings were going and he told me they were getting a lot of ideas and jokingly asked me if I had any? So in typical Abdul fashion I offered up my own.

I told him since property taxes aren’t going to go away in Indiana, we may as well tax ALL property. Now before I am accused of heresey and violating my economic conservative principles, hear me out.

Part of the problem with property taxes in Indiana is that so much property is off the tax rolls. In Center Township in Indianapolis nearly half the property is tax exempt because it is government owned, a chruch, in a tax increment finance district an abatement, etc.

My preference would be to treat property taxes like condo association fees. Everyone pays a standard fee (maybe based on square footage and the type of property) and that’s it. With everyone paying into system the tax burden on the individual taxpayers is lowered.

Expanding the tax base to lower taxes is not a new concept. The equivilent would be friends going out to dinner and splitting the check. The more people who pay, the lower the individual bill. Of course this is all done in the backdrop of government consolidation and spending controls.

But since property taxes aren’t going away, the only way to lower them might be to tax everyone.

When I read about this on some local blogs, I didn’t believe it at first. Frugal Hoosiers and Indy Undercover reported the city of Indianapolis spent thousands of dollars on solar-powered trash cans.

According to the company that makes the trash cans, it’s a bargain because the cans don’t have to be emptied as often because they compact the trash. It says the cans pay for themselves over the course of their lifetime.

I’m not saying this is a bad idea, per se. It’s a good idea if the city was in good financial shape. However, in these tough times and rising property and income taxes, I don’t know if this is the best use of the taxpayer’s money.

And since it’s solar-powered, I wonder if these things will work in the winter when we don’t have as much sunshine.

I’ve been spending time looking out the fallout of now former City-County Council Member Patrice Abduallah’s resignation due to the fact that he did not live in his district. What is so disturbing about this is that it is turning out how many important individuals had knowledge of the problem but no one did anything about it.

Marion County Clerk Beth White’s office knew there was a problem. In fact her office told Abduallah in February that his candidacy address did not match his voter registration. Election Board Administrator Andy Mallon says they knew there was a problem, however the Clerk’s office could not do anything because no one filed a complaint. In fairness, they offered Abduallah a chance to amend his registration form but Abduallah didn’t do it. I’m having a hard time grasping the concept that the keeper of election allowed someone to stay on the ballot, who clearly should not have been there.

In addition, local community activist Abu Henderson tells me he informed City-Council President Monroe Gray on two occasions earlier this year that Abduallah did not live in his district and the Gray did nothing about it. Henderson says he is willing to testify to that fact under oath. You would think a Council President would at least investigate whether a member of his body would be lawfully able to serve.

And I would argue at the very least, Abduallah should have known he was not in his district. He says the Clerk’s office never called him but looking at the Council map and knowing that his home was on the border, any thinking candidate would have checked to make sure everything was in order.

Why does all this matter, when Abduallah no longer holds the seat? Easy, the integrity of the process and the public’s faith in the system. Tthere were a number of important votes taken this year on the Council. Votes to raises taxes, offer incentives, etc. These votes are all in question where Abduallah was the deciding factor. City officials cite case law from Indiana’s appellate courts that say even though Abduallah might not have lawfully held the seat, he was considered a “defacto” public official and therefore his votes should stand.

While the case law is designed to protect government decisions made improperly, I would argue the intent of the law is to protect honest mistakes, not the actions of bad actors who knowingly and intentionally run afoul of the law The evidence clearly points that not only did Abduallah know he was not in his district, but the Clerk’s office knew there was a problem and the Council President had notice there was a problem.

I cannot accept that fact that Indiana laws were drafted to protect this type of behavior done under this scenario. And I would not be surprised if either litigation is filed to change this, or the legislature changes the law to only apply to errors made out of good-faith. It would be a travesty if the voters were forced to live under decisions that were made under these circumstances. And I would understand why they have no faith in the government and even less in their elected officials.

Marion County city officials want to know what you think about the government they’re running. If you click here, you can go to the city’s website and fill out a survey and let them know what you think is important. This will help them craft the budget. I personally think you should do it. This is your government and you need to make sure they hear your voice.