When you see a Senate Resolution citing the authority of the 10th Amendment, you can pretty well guess that what follows will be an indignant rant about the right of the state to do what it damn well pleases and screw the federal government.
(I do count myself among those who feel that both the 9th and 10th Amendments have gotten a wholly unwarranted short shrift from the Court, but that’s a more nuanced discussion for another day…)
Indiana State Senator Kruse has proposed a Resolution “urging rejection in the State of Indiana of all unnecessary regulations imposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and asserting that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will provide environmental protections for the citizens of Indiana.”
There’s a sterling example of legislative drafting for you…
Perhaps ALEC or the Koch Brothers or one of Indiana’s coal companies will be so kind as to let us know which federal environmental regulations are “unnecessary”?
And perhaps the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will erect a barrier around the perimeter of the state, to protect us from polluted air and water from elsewhere? (Maybe we can have our own “border security”?)
Now, I realize this is a Resolution, with no legal effect. It’s just the legislative equivalent of a foot-stamping hissy-fit. But really–can’t the General Assembly take a few minutes out of its busy schedule of embarrassing the state to do something about jobs, education, child welfare….something that might actually benefit the citizens who elected them?
Sen. Kruse is old enough to have lived in the era of DDT, Acid Rain and the smokestacks from steel and coal plants, but obviously too old to remember. And he heads the Senate education committee.
Maybe its all the lead paint and leaded gas he inhaled in his youth?
Kruse is one of those “Creationists” that inhabit our Legislature. He also authored in 2013 – a Bill in the Senate – to allow the Schools to begin the School Day with the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer.
And now our legislature is committed to driving DOWN wages for Hoosiers.
Did ANYONE vote for that? Amazingly stupid.
Louie is right. Kruse also tried to have creationism inserted into the science curriculum and to give students the right to challenge teachers if they (the students) are taught theories that they don’t agree with, such as gravity and the Earth being round. I thought Scott Schneider couldn’t be topped, but…
We are truly in a race to the bottom. Someone should update the requirements for serving in Indiana legislature to include: “short attention span”.
And those big polluters are so diligent about protecting our citizens, to say nothing of their employees and their families. Remember, we have a IDEM that has to personally witness any environmental violation before any action can be taken against a polluter.
The IndyStar reported in November, 2014, that huge clouds of dust were blowing over people living around Peabody Coal’s Bear Run Mine, causing breathing problems for residents. Of course, IDEM had no regulators on site at the time the operators were using explosives to remove overburden from the coal seams, so it could not issue a citation when the mine operations were in violation. Mitch Daniels gave Bear Run (in the Wabash watershed) a pass on regulation of water quality, one of the most lax in the country for a mine of its size. The fact remains that big polluters get to do whatever they want right now. Why do they need further protection if they are have favored status now?
It’s easy to tell that the “extreme white” is a pathenogenic media spread contagion rather than a legitimate political position. It’s just as easy to determine that it offers no solutions only problems. It’s still easier to see what weakness in the immune system it exploits.
It’s based on a nonsensical lie. A foundation that is so obviously a self serving cultural delusion that the symptoms shout toxin.
That America suffers from dysfunctional Federal government.
That’s the virus. That’s the pathenogen that a few ground zero victims spread through the media that we have been unable to vaccinate against.
Perhaps Indiana is the Liberia of that infection. I don’t know.
There never has been any evidence to support the delusion of American legal and political inferiority. Just as reported in the upcoming movie “Merchants of Doubt” it is a condition that favors the very few who spread it by all possible means that exploits an inherent weakness in the body politic to hope that there is a path to power from equality. That by reallocating wealth power (wealth) will shift from the people to the person. Me. And that is an urgent priority.
Someday anthropologists will provide a complete diagnosis of the causes and treatment of the disease but for now we’ll just have to treat the symptoms.
As soon as you spot a person demonstrating the belief that America suffers from dysfunctional Federal government protect yourself. Ask for evidence. Ask from whom are you repeating that and more importantly why? Determine if you are being exposed to a virus or a legitimate self created thought.
Follow the money. Who benefits from being able to pollute the water and air without cost to themselves? Indiana has some of the most polluted water in the country. Look at the. Extraordinary rates of cancer and autism, along with respiratory diseases. Who is paying the cost of this pollution?
Of course the standard response to my rant above is “how stupid are you to think that our government cannot be improved!”
Not the point at all. After extensive research I have proven to myself that nothing is perfect. Not politicians, nor spouses, nor friends, nor religions, nor state and local governments, nor lovers, nor knowledge, nor sports teams, nor etc.
Here’s why so many miss that point.
https://youtu.be/bEULSwE5GEk
Of course the standard response to my rant above is “how stupid are you to think that our government cannot be improved!”
Not the point at all. After extensive research I have proven to myself that nothing is perfect. Not politicians, nor spouses, nor friends, nor religions, nor state and local governments, nor lovers, nor knowledge, nor sports teams, nor my writing, nor etc.
Here’s why so many miss that point.
https://youtu.be/bEULSwE5GEk
That our federal government is dysfunctionable cannot be denied; however, dysfunction didn’t start at the federal level or the state level, it began at the local level in our neighborhoods with voters who ignored local problems, issues and primarily local politicians. This state has ignored EPA standards for decades and gotten away with it; wasn’t it the waste water disposal plant that Goldsmith sold to a company from France, extolling the virtues of benefits received by both sides? Wasn’t it less than a year later there was a major waste water spill (or maybe treatment chemicals) into White River and Goldsmith was up in arms about the deplorable condition of that very plant? Isn’t IPALCO the worst polluter in the entire state; has been and it seems it always will be. There are laws, lawyers, lawsuits, courts and higher courts yet pollution levels continue to rise. But just let the federal government try to “stick it’s nose into our business” and the authorities at all levels in this state (and others) circle the wagons to prevent intrusion into environmental and life and death levels of pollution.
The federal government allowed states to make their own health care provider systems; in Indiana, applicants must be denied by ALL in the state system before they can apply to ACA. Does anyone have statistics regarding the number of Indiana residents actually covered through ACA? Laws are generally made to protect us from ourselves but we allow local and state level officials throw back the life preserver of EPA, public education, infrastructure repair/maintenance, jobs and public assistance, et al, when it is available and offered…and paid for by us with our tax dollars.
“That our federal government is dysfunctionable cannot be denied; ”
Yes it can be IMO. What cannot be denied is that it can be improved. I am not personally aware of another present government that is structurally better or whose laws provide for a better living condition overall.
The source of our present increased level of dysfunction is not it (Federal government) or them (politicians), it’s us. We elect celebrities. We don’t think for ourselves. We deny specialization and expertise. We worship comfort. We have the attention span of a puppy. We will do any trick for the right treat. All cultural issues.
There are definitely superior cultures in the world, I have first hand experience in a few of them.
I am not aware first hand though of demonstrablly superior government systems or law.
Let’s work on changing the bath water and keeping the baby that we have.
“That by reallocating wealth power (wealth) will shift from the people to the person.” Ugh. I wish that I was more compulsive before I push the button rather than after but I just can’t stand to let such a bad sentence stand unimpeached.
That by reallocating wealth, power will shift from the people to the person.
So this whole culture war thing has done a great job in INdiana. WHile our witless governor tap dances around the lost revenue from his latest blunder, Brandt Hershman is pushing through the bill to reduce construction wages to minimum wage. Works like a charm, folks. Works like a charm. Keeps us all snarling at each other instead of taking a cold hard look at where we all stand economically. Apparently poverty and insecurity is all worth it as long as we get to slap other people around. Ever since Reagan, that ‘other’ we are sticking it to is us.
You folks don’t seem to understand that keeping the EPA requirements from interfering with our coal burning which would only serve to eliminate jobs, will keep our death rate high. By keeping those EPA interferences out of the way, we increase jobs and keep the healthcare and funeral industry thriving. Of course, it also makes us candidates-at-large for the Darwin Award, because this is a very efficient way to get Hoosiers out of the gene pool which may ultimately lead in changes to our political makeup. It’s a fine balance.
Stuart. The Darwin Award is based on the Darwin Exam which determines if our species is equipped to survive in this environment. For the first time ever the environment is created by one species but will test all species.
There have been five or six great extinctions in earth’s history. The sixth or seventh is at bat next.
Another exam that we all wish that we had prepared better for.
Pete, and that we very well might fail. But the U.S. will certainly be “exceptional”.
If you purposely inject religion into the argument, then you have failed.
The coal industry argues that additional regulation will cost consumers and cost us jobs. I made the point to Dan Coats in my response to one of his “newsletters” that if we decided to move to alternative energy sources, that would create many jobs – designing, building and operating new facilities. The coal lobby doesn’t like that and is determined to burn every crumb of coal buried in the earth regardless of the damage it does during extraction,processing and burning. They can’t be swayed by reason or facts. Our only hope is to elect better qualified representatives that are open to new ideas.
I see that the legislature has set aside funds to hire a PR firm that will work to fix the damage of the “religious freedom” law debacle. The firm should call their campaign “lipstick on a pig”. Meanwhile, the legislature could do a lot to repair the state’s reputation if they would just stop passing stupid laws or close early. Any day the Indiana legislature doesn’t meet is a good day.
If the shrill whiners wouldn’t continue their war on religion and would allow people to act according to conscience, there wouldn’t have been a dust-up, and Pence wouldn’t have needed to hire a PR firm to correct the coastal media lies.
Hiring the PR firm is an expense solely caused by the Left’s histrionics.
Stuart Swenson; this city spent more than $1 million to ASK companies to bid the criminal justice center. How much did they spend on the package to bring a 2nd Super Bowl here, we didn’t geet it. Those PR dollars are to “fix” Pence’s reputation – not the City of Indianapolis.
Former Gopper; those “whiners” as you call them are trying to keep the current Goppers from passing any more laws based on THEIR personal religious beliefs and denying other’s rights as protected by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution. The GOP has the right to believe what they choose as their religious freedom – WE, the whiners – want that same rights honored.
“Those PR dollars are to “fix” Pence’s reputation – not the City of Indianapolis.”
Pence is governor of the State of Indiana. He has concerns far greater than the narrow interests of the Mile Square in the City of Indianapolis.
“Former Gopper; those “whiners” as you call them are trying to keep the current Goppers from passing any more laws based on THEIR personal religious beliefs and denying other’s rights as protected by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.”
Not their “personal” beliefs, and you know it. RFRA protects everyone’s religious beliefs. Going into business does not mean you have to surrender your First Amendment rights, and good for the Republicans for protecting the First Amendment.
Shame on the ACLU for attacking it.