GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain was in town this evening. He spoke to Indiana Republicans on a number of issues from the economy, national security, job creation, the debt, etc. I’ve embedded his comments below. Each cut is about 7 – 8 minutes in length.
My good friend and former producer Chris Spangle made a bootleg copy of my last official radio appearance on WXNT. Here it is. Our final list of guests included…
And I even got some well wishes from some Democrats, they were just done in the form of text messages. :-) My personal favorite was the second caller “Shane” an older woman who called frequently to tell me I was wrong.
It has been an interesting 72 hours. I’ve had a lot of calls and lots of irons in the fire. I even made an appearance on WIBC Saturday afternoon. What really struck me though was Saturday night’s tragedy at the State Fair and how it really drives home how important it is for communities to have good, reliable sources of local information they can turn to in times of crisis.
This morning four people are dead and more than 40 people are injured following the collapse of the State Fair stage at last night’s Sugarland concert. High winds that came through the area last night were responsible.
There isn’t much to comment on this politically, but it is a reminder about how tragedies can happen quickly and we should never take any day for granted. It is also a reminder about how dedicated public safety employees are, police, fire rescue, etc.
If you have time, take a few moments and reflect on what is really important in this world. You will be surprised at what you remember.
When I read about the scandal involving Indianapolis State Representative Phil Hinkle I was as shocked and surprised as a lot of other people. The Indianapolis Star has reported on e-mail exchanges between Hinkle and an 18-year old male which infer Hinkle offered him $80 via Craigslist spend time together at the JW Marriott downtown. You can find the details here.
Now before we go further a little full disclosure. The State Rep and I have had a very good relationship over the years. He was a frequent guest on my former radio program when it came to government reform issues and he and his wife Barbara were guests at my wedding nearly two years ago. With that said, if this all turns out to be true, I frankly don’t see how Hinkle can survive this episode politically and so he should go ahead and issue the public apology, resign from the Statehouse and go work to rebuild his relationship with his family and work out his personal issues. That’s the small picture.
Here is the bigger picture. While Hinkle was not a “rabid Bible thumper” I argue that these types of scandals will always hit Republicans and Conservatives harder than liberals and Democrats because of the usual Republican/Conservative stands on moral issues like homosexuality and same-sex marriage. And when individuals yell the loudest about defending “traditional marriage” and they do it with an almost a Torquemada-esque manner, as soon as something like this erupts all you know what breaks loose.
This is not to say that we should not adopt governmental policies that protect and strengthen families. I’ve always argued the best way to protect families is protect their pocketbooks from over taxation and increase economic development, protect their homes and streets from criminals with effective public safety and protect their children’s education by giving them more choice and accountability. Homosexuality has nothing to do with any of that. Unfortunately, there is significant vocal segment in GOP/Conservative circles that just can’t live and let live. And when that attitude is prevalent throughout the political selection and policy process, not only do you almost encourage situations like these to occur, because instead of allowing people to be who they are, you drive them underground and usually they don’t surface unless there is a major scandal.
It is high time for my GOP/Conservative friends to really do some soul searching on its policies and stands on these types of issues. Yesterday it was Mark Souder. Today it’s Phil Hinkle. Who knows who it will be tomorrow.
When I came to Indy on Labor Day 2004, the first thing I did was look up Indy Star stories on the city’s budget. One of things that struck me was then Democratic-controlled City-County Council’s decision to take $100 million borrowed to pay for police and fire pension funds and put it toward operating expenditures for the 2005 budget. I always thought that was odd since using one-time dollars to pay for recurring expenses is usually bad fiscal management. At the time unemployment was averaging 5.5 percent and we weren’t in a recession.
Fast forward 7 years later.
Unemployment has gone up, the economy has gone down and the city has property tax caps. However, the city has somehow managed to live within its means. It is about as pretty as a naked Marion County Democratic Chairman naked (I missed the roast and toast Wednesday night), but so far, the early picture is good.
Ballard administration officials say the entire budget will spend about $1 billion this year, total. Income tax revenue is down by $19 million and property tax revenues are flat. Administration officials also say they’ve had to deal contractual raises with police and fire, rising fuel costs and, increased health care and pension costs. The city is also dealing with $150 million less in property tax revenue than it had in 2007.
Mayor Greg Ballard says there will be no cuts in public safety and criminal justice agencies (IMPD, IFD, Sheriff’s Department, homeland security, the courts, Prosecutor’s and Public Defender’s office, animal care and control). However their budgets will be flatlined. The city expects to start a new recruit class of about 25 officers and crime prevention grants will be funded at 100% of 2011 levels; $2 million. However, all other agencies will face a 6% across the board cut. And the 2012 base budget cuts will total about $20 million. Ballard says no money from Citzen’s deal, Rebuild Indy or Fiscal Stability Funds will be used for operating expenses. However it did have to deplete most of its reserve fund to help balance the budget. The city is using $80 million from the water/waste water deal toward the stabilization fund which it says will allow it to keep its AAA bond rating. As the economy improves that money will be put back into roads and infrastructure.
However, to help pay for public safety the city had to to take $40 million from the downtown TIF surplus, leaving more than $20 million in the required reserve fund. Officials say the TIF is simply paying back the city for downtown improvements. In addition, the CIB will pay $4 million to cover the public safety costs of the Super Bowl. And the city expects to eliminate 200 positions through attrition.
Ballard says the 2013 budget will produce some challenges as well with declining income tax disbursements from the state, however the budget is expected to turn around by 2014.
Democrats have already criticized the budget saying the Mayor is using money from the water deal to prop up the budget and accused him of spending millions on consultant fees.
The official budget will be introduced Monday night.
In my capacity as a speech teacher at Ivy Tech Community College I give my students an assignment for their impromptu speeches. I tell them to take a situation that started out as a negative and turned into a positive. It’s amazing the stories that they tell me. I give them the assignment for two reasons. First, it helps them with their delivery skills, secondly, it’s a reminded in life that everything happens for a reason and you have to be either smart enough or patient enough to figure it out. The same applies with yours truly.
As you likely know by now, Friday will be my last day on WXNT-AM in Indianapolis. My morning radio is being canceled (a decision made by my corporate bosses, not locally). The reasons are simple the economy and the need for cost cutting measures. I don’t take it personally. In fact, when I originally came to Indy in 2004 I wasn’t expecting to be here this long. I figured 2-3 years tops and that would be it. However during that window, the girl I was seriously dating in Springfield called me to tell me my services as a boyfriend were no loner needed and we broke up. Of course I was a bit broken up over it, but shortly there afterward a good friend introduced me to the woman who eventually became the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz. The story of the Abdul life has been a series of turning lemons into vodka lemonade. Losing my government job back in 2003 gave me the kick in the rear I needed to go into talk radio which eventually led me here.
I don’t regret my time at WXNT-AM. We weren’t the biggest station in town, but I like to think we helped changed the dynamics of local and state politics. And I could not have done it without the help of great people like Andrew Lee, Chris Spangle, Gary Hummel, Tom Hervey, Bob Horner, Devon Scott, Scott Sands, Scott Roddy and Jenny Skodjt. You may not know them, but they were the people who helped make all this possible. I also have to thank my brother Jamil for all his support for the past 7 years. And no one tops the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz, the most awesome supportive wife a man could ask for. Of course after about an hour of consoling me, she started making a list of things I could do around the house in the morning. God love her.
Unfortunately for her, I plan to stay engaged. I still plan to continue my work with RTV 6, writing monthly for the Indianapolis Star and writing Indiana Barrister. I’ve actually got some plans in the works to expand what we do here. I’m working on a business model that will generate revenue and local content that is really needed in this town. I will keep you posted. Most importantly though is that, in the immortal words of my Uncle Richard, “I ain’t goin’ no place!!!!” So for all the people who thought, or hoped, this would be the end of Abdul, sorry to disappoint you. I am going to be here for a while. After all, if I left, where would you go to find out what’s going on this town?
Thanks again for all the support. See you on the next media platform and thanks for all the fish!
Editor’s note: August 25 was originally set for our Cocktails & Conversation at Champs at Keystone at the Crossing. I’m going to turn that into a leaving radio and doing something else party. Come hang out.
Yes, the rumors are true. I started them. Friday will be my last day as the morning show host at WXNT-AM. I’ll fill you in the morning. However, I can assure I was not caught in a company vehicle with three hookers and blow. If I had you would have seen the pictures because I would have posted them. Full scoop in the morning.
I was out all day yesterday attending funeral services for my wife’s aunt so I did not get a chance to put something together for this morning. I will have something up this afternoon. In the meantime, check out my column in today’s Indianapolis Star. I write about entitlements and how the people who get them need to get with the program if we’re going to turn this country away from financial ruin. I’ll be back this afternoon.
When I attended Monday night’s meeting between the Indianapolis Public School board and the Indiana Department of Education I expected some fireworks between the board and Dr. Tony Bennett and his staff regarding state intervention and possible takeover of six schools that did not make it off academic probation.
The meeting overall was pretty tame and uneventful (despite Board President Mary Busch’s inane questions). However one perpetual theme that carried itself through the meeting was Dr. Eugene White’s whining that IPS was being discriminated against because of its community schools: Arlington, Howe, Broad Ripple and George Washington. In a community school 7th and 8th graders are mixed in with traditional high school students. The logic is you an improve graduation rates by getting younger kids acclimated to the high school world. Although IPS has tried to use that method to improve graduation rates, Dr. White tried to argue, unconvincingly in my opinion, that the state should not count the 7th and 8th graders test scores because saying they skewed the scores of the high school students and had they been excluded the failing high schools would have made it off probation.
The two problems with Dr. White’s argument are first, there are more than 140 community schools in the state of Indiana and they were all judged by the same standards. Second, if IPS had a problem with the way its community schools were judged you would have thought the district would have done something about by now. But according to the Indiana Department of Education, since 2003 the school district has never filed an appeal until now. IPS says it never bothered to appeal state decisions because it never thought it would be penalized for its community school concept.
Throughout the meeting White repeated his claims that DOE’s system was discriminatory and penalized the district. In fact, as I left the board meeting I could hear him tell a small cadre of supporters that the state was discriminating against IPS. I think White should get a dictionary and look up the definition of discrimination and he would find IPS is not being singled out, but instead being treated just like every other school district that is similarly situated. But then again, I guess if a 63-year old black man who was born in Alabama doesn’t know the meaning of the word discrimination, I shouldn’t really be surprised several of his schools are in the condition they are today and on the verge of a state takeover. And by the way, throughout this entire ordeal, the IPS board never asked for a formal meeting with the State.
A final decision on IPS’ appeal is expected in two weeks.
Editor’s Note: Indiana officials told me Monday night the state will seek a waiver from No Child Left Behind. Tony Bennett tells me the education reforms passed out the General Assembly can help provide ample accountability for schools.
As you know I recently posted the overall crime stats for the City of Indianapolis. Although crime was slightly down in almost every area, the city saw an increase in aggravated assaults from 2009 to 2010. The number went from 5,271 to 5,726. Democratic Mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy has used those figures to argue the city is unsafe and as part of her overall crime-fighting strategy she would go after illegal guns. Noble goals, sure. However, the reality paints a somewhat different picture than what Melina would like you to see.
If you break down aggravated assaults by zip code, you will find that most of the aggravated assaults take place in 10 of the 37 zip codes in the city.* In fact, 60% of the assaults (3,516) occurred in the following zip codes – 46201, 46218, 46203, 46222, 46226, 46227, 46241, 46219, 46235, 46208. An issue, sure. Is Indianapolis Mos Eisley spaceport? I don’t think so.
And even if you breakdown how the assaults take place you will find that guns aren’t the necessary weapon of choice. In those same 10 zip codes the number of assaults with a gun was 616; that’s about 17% of the total assaults. A closer inspection of the numbers shows that 801 assaults (22%) were committed by someone using their hands, fists or feet. 478 assaults (14%) were committed with a knife. And 1,524 assaults (43%) were committed with “another weapon” i.e., baseball bats, tire irons, frying pans. Using Melina’s logic, illegal hands and fists are more of a problem than guns; not to mention those “other weapons”.
Can the city do better on crime? Sure, cities can always do better when it comes to crime prevention. Is Indianapolis Dodge City? No. Do some people running for public office wish it was? Probably.
*Editor’s Note: I’ve included a breakdown of assaults by zip code and types. As well as the most recent IMPD map of where they occurred.
