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2008 comes to a close

Are we prematurely putting 2008 to 'bed'? Will the final count remain at 123 or will we see another of our neighbors taken from us before the clock strikes midnight? Well, on a positive note, right now the death toll is 2 fewer than last year.

On a pessimistic note, we recall the count for this year BEGAN in the wee hours of January 1st - perhaps before many of you even made it home from your parties - with the death of Ronnie Croom Jr.

Be careful, watch your back, and let's look forward to a happy, properous and safer 2009.

January 5, 2009: 4220 Village Trace Dr
3
Shot Dec 21st 2008. Died Jan 5th. Police are looking for two teenaged suspects.

See the homicide list here

So far in 2009, the number of dead is: 3

From now on...
... just hand one of these out to panhandlers.
We suspected the GOP had it's head there for awhile... Now there's proof.
Oct 7th: Well, that bailout is working really well.... Another 500+ point drop in the Dow today.

10-20-LIFE: Such a simple idea!

Florida developed this tiered approach to dealing with gun-related crime. It has apparently worked well. Indiana Senate District 30 candidate Steve Keltner is pushing for a similar law in Indiana. Given the crime rate we continue to see in Indianapolis alone, there's ample reason to pursue it. Of the 96 homicides so far in Indianapolis during 2008, 74 have been by firearm. Just stop and think: How many of those 74 might still be alive if their killers had been given an extra 10 or 20 years because they used a gun in a previous crime? Instead of being out in 3-5 years, they would have still been behind bars.

Gun control laws are wrong on their face and they don't work anyway. They only affect the law-abiding citizen. The 10-20-LIFE program targets the criminal element. That's what we need. Spread the word about 10-20-LIFE

10-20-LIFE has helped to drive down Florida's violent-gun crime rates by 30%. The state's 2004, "Index Crime" rate is now the lowest in 34 years, and the violent crime rate is the lowest in a quarter century.

The 10-20-LIFE public information program continues. The Florida Department of Corrections, in conjunction with the Executive Office of the Governor, and the Florida Legislature continue to inform the public that Florida's tolerance for crime is over. Staff from the Department of Corrections has provided several community presentations on gun violence, and distributed materials about 10-20-LIFE.

In 1998, criminals in Florida used guns to commit 31,643 violent felonies, including 13,937 armed robberies. That year, the mandatory punishment for using a gun to commit a violent felony was only three years in prison. During his campaign for Governor in 1998, Jeb Bush proposed the toughest gun-crime law in the nation: 10-20-LIFE. Under 10-20-LIFE, a felon who used a gun to commit a crime like armed robbery would face at least 10 years in state prison.

The 1999 Florida Legislature passed sweeping legislation that provides for enhanced minimum mandatory prison terms for offenders who commit crimes with guns.

10-20-LIFE

  • Mandates a minimum 10 year prison term for certain felonies, or attempted felonies in which the offender possesses a firearm or destructive device
  • Mandates a minimum 20 year prison term when the firearm is discharged
  • Mandates a minimum 25 years to LIFE if someone is injured or killed
  • Mandates a minimum 3 year prison term for possession of a firearm by a felon
  • Mandates that the minimum prison term is to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed

The ten-year track record in Florida has shown that the idea works. Contact Steve, or whomever is your senator or representative, to voice your support. Steve is actively recruiting volunteers to help spread the word on this concept. Contact him at either votekeltner@comcast.net or (317) 352-2220, contact your friends, contact the media.

Steve Keltner's blog page on 10-20-LIFE

DefenseHelp.com - Details on how Florida's law works.

C'mere you big lunk

(Lovingly photoshopped, just like "Obama's Certification of Birth")

I don't want a pickle...
Senate at work

Sooo-eeee!

Congress at work

You really think you're making progress here?

O Hail the Messiah
Mayor's budget proposal on Monday August 11.

See Hoosiers for Fair Taxation for more on this, but it's a call for a 1 year reunion for all the folks who raised their voices and placards in opposition to the Peterson Dynasty and also the Property Tax debacle.

Pray for Officer Fishburn's swift and complete recovery

The news continues to be good, and Ofc. Fishburn improves everyday. This has been a miracle.

Good Minton - Bad Minton
"Once established, harder to get rid of than Kudzu"
Put the Bart Lies homicide widget on your website!
Just add this code to your page:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://bartlies.com/homicide_widget.js"></script>
New kid on the block

The Indy Blue Rollcall blog surfaced a few days ago. Their aim seems to be to carry on the 'cleaner' side of IndyUndercover. We need a source of the straight scoop without the rabblerousers. Looks like this could be it.

Bart's parting shot - massive document shredding

IndyStar January 6, 2008

Behind closed doors
Mayoral transition anything but smooth
Both parties apparently ran into some transition friction in the final days before Bart Peterson surrendered the mayor's office to Greg Ballard.

Ballard this past week said Peterson wouldn't let his people enter the 25th-floor offices. But the level of animosity between the two camps went beyond that, though not quite reaching the legendary removal of W's from the keyboards in the White House at the end of President Bill Clinton's administration. John Cochran, Ballard's transition director, said the Peterson team became less cooperative toward the end. As one example, he led a visiting reporter on a tour of a disheveled office supply room on the 25th floor that looked as if a sour grape had exploded inside it.

Several employees in the City-County Building said the shredding machine was going nonstop in the final week of Peterson's tenure, with the remains hauled directly to waiting city trash trucks. Justin Ohlemiller, Peterson's former deputy chief of staff, declined to comment on the question of whether the staff destroyed documents willy-nilly. He said the outgoing administration acted "professionally." He offered this statement: "File cabinet after file cabinet there is full of public records. Everything they need to run city government is there."

Greg Wilson, the city's new director of minority business affairs, was unhappy about the situation. "The sad thing is that they were acting like those were their documents," Wilson said. "Those records are the citizens' documents. Tax money paid to produce them."
Man that's beautiful
A new year arrives

Well, it's 2008. We start a new homicide count today. The number for 2007 was 125. We've already got #1 for the new year. The 2007 total ends up at 18 less than 2006's 140 killings, but we all know that year was an exception, a big spike. The count was a mere 96 during Bart's first term, and never reached 110 - except for last year.

Let's hope 2008 sees that number drop way down under the watchful eyes of Scott Newman and Greg Ballard. Keeping this list updated is really not any fun.

Another hat in the ring?

We hear rumblings that Melyssa Donaghy is considering running for the 7th District congressional seat as a Libertarian. Melyssa recently won the Sam Adams Alliance's "Sammie" award for her tireless efforts protest the ever-increasing property tax burden in Indiana. She also worked many long hours as part of the grassroots effort that successfully replaced the evil Bart Peterson with Greg Ballard. Perhaps it's time we sent a fighter to Congress, instead of a ♥'er

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