Happy New Year !!!

To all of the readers of the BatBlog may you have a prosperous Happy New Year !!!

Special Election ??? We Don't think So...

 It would be nice to know who actually won the City Council at large seats in the recent Jeffersonville city elections. Unfortunately we will probably never know for sure. Steve Webb (R) was named winner today by Judge Adams who declared the results certified by only two of the three  recount Commissioners was still valid by Indiana law. Both the recount as well as the counting of votes on absentee ballots on election night appears to be seriously flawed...Accusations of miscounting, sleeping counters and all  six of the candidates votes not being counted in the recount are being leveled and appeals by several candidates to Judge Adam's decision will reportedly be filed.

 Dustin White representing candidate Ron Ellis(D) reportedly will ask for a special election.  In theory Mr. White's request sounds good, but the BatBlog also doesn't think it would be fair or feasible. The chances of getting everyone who voted back to the polls for a "special" election is ZERO. It's hard enough to get voters to vote no matter what, so chances are the turnout would be minuscule for a Councilman at large race only. A poor percentage turnout would  skew the original results and also nullify the voters who voted in Nov. but couldn't make the special election, plus the prohibitive cost of putting on another election...

 In the end the BatBlog wonders why "Toxic" John Perkins signed the original tally then refused to certify what he already signed ???  The BatBlog also feels Judge Adam's ruling will stand ...but we will never know who actually won ala Bush vs. Gore  2000......

Feliz Navidad from the BatBlog

Recount ...Update

*******************************BREAKING UPDATE ************************************
Exclusively released to the BatBlog comments by Josh Rodriquez's and Goliath's lawyer David Mosley on the just concluded recount for the Jeffersonville City Council at large seats. When questioned about John Perkins not signing the certification of the Recount Commission. Mr . Mosley responded (See below)
**************************************************************************************************************************************

In this case Perkins' concerns are legitimate.
I have the spread sheet from both election night
and the recount. In 27 of 30 precincts, it looks
like the machine tallies were quite accurate.
The precincts at Maple Elemenatry (4 and 5)
together showed Josh losing 100 votes and
Webb gaining 20. That's insane. I did this
last year and saw how variations occur over
more than 80 county wide precincts. Something
really really wrong happened.

Mr. Mosley went on to say :

Meanwhile, it is quite clear that the Recount
commission did NOT credit votes that were
tallied by their own count teams. This was just
stupifying since it's very hard to understand
how you can see 18 tally marks,  see '18'
beside them....see the number initialed by the
count team, see that 18 is the exact number
from election night....and simply refuse to
count those 18 votes. But...that happened.

I also feel that the bulk of the ballots that
Mr. Webb challenged and which will be reviewed
by the judge will be found to be valid and added
to the count. We'll see.

Please note, that this was 1. Wadsworth R
nominated by Webb.  2. Mobley R (and sheriff's
employee) nominated by Webb. (I nominated Susan
Clark who did the recount last year as a 'neutral'
from the machine mfr.)  and 3. Perkins. D nominated
by my client.

The Fly in the Ointment...Toxic John and the Recount

 

Whenever there is controversy in the local political scene usually "Toxic John" Perkins is somewhere close around. Whether it's being appointed to a position he has no chance of winning (County Commissioner) to filing for an election in a place he doesn't reside. or "Toxic" John just being Toxic....

 The latest is J.P. refusing to sign the certification of the recently completed recount by the Recount Commission for the in question Jeffersonville City council at large seats. The question is.... Is this just another case of "Toxic" John being toxic or does he have a legitimate complaint about the process ???
In the N/T article Perkins complains of changing counter teams that were unsure of the process to sleeping counters and vote total discrepancies.

 The BatBlog has no insight or inside information from the recently completed recount process so we like everyone else are left wondering. Is "Toxic John" just being difficult as he has a tendency to be ???  Are his complaints legitimate ?? Is the whole process flawed ???  Who and why in the hell knowing Perkin's history why would anyone appoint him to anything including a recount commission ???   Sherrif Jamey Noel went as far to say "John Perkins is the most unprofessional person I've ever seen in a hearing of this type of hearing."Is this just politics as usual ???  Finally is this another Bush/ Gore election to be decided in court ???

 Hopefully our friend Goliath's lawyer who represents one of the candidates and was involved in the process will weigh in...He may be limited to what he can say due to the on going court process but it would be nice to here from someone involved and in the know....

Democratic Christmas Carol

The local Democrats present their traditional presentation of a Christmas Carol....

To view:
CLICK HERE:

Woo Declines Wall of Fame Spot...

 Woo has relinquished the prestigious  honor of being named to the BatBlog's  CCC "Wall of Fame." Whatever his reasoning he wants a Chatter Chick to replace him ....Since there are already several chatter chicks on the wall...We'll leave it up to Woo to choose his replacement..

 Woo needs to realize the position is non refundable and he also forfeits the prize package that goes along with the honor...The balls in your court Woo...Who will it be ???

The CCC Wall of Fame...

The "Award Winning" BatBlog proudly presents The Clark County Chatter Wall of Fame....

It was a tough decision narrowing it down to just 10 people, there are a lot of interesting people in Jeff and Clark Co. and who are great contributors to the CCC past and present. Don't be offended if you didn't make the list it's a combination of people the BatBlog finds most interesting, people who have been an important part of the history of the CCC, long time members and those you voted on in the poll...Congratulations to the winners...

Top (From Left to Right)
_______________________

SuperMike - Founder and creator  and 1st Administrator of the CCC. SuperMike was outstanding with the technical work thru several changes in the software and fair moderator who allowed individuals to be themselves...

Professor No. 2 - Along with GG took over Administrator/ Moderator when Supermike stepped aside. A kind, gentle. polite man who was the nicest, most considerate poster in CCC history and an educator in real life...
Rest In Peace Professor....

Grumpy Granny - Belies her screen name she's really a teddy bear who took over the reins and has been a fair and conscientious guardian over the CCC for a long time now. The BatBlog and GG has had their differences, but I still have great respect and regard for her and consider her a friend...

Jules -  A member from the very beginning, she is the voice of reason who brings everybody down to earth when things have gotten crazy...A thoughtful, kind lady who speaks from the heart from her many life experiences...

Chopperwoman - Always polite, Chopper has been there from the beginning as well. This nice lady along with Jules set a great example for those who get boisterous and helps keep the CCC well grounded and respectful....

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bottom (L to R)

BikerDude - A tough, talented man with a big heart... especially to our four legged friends. Dude tells it like he sees it ,in his own incomparable way....

RiverFox - He's the CCC's research and historical expert, who has a sharp and biting sense of humor the kind of which the BatBlog loves...

Person non Grata/ TrackRat -  A Master of witty sarcasm has always been one of the BatBlog's favorite posters...

Pesty Ver.1 - Goliath's not so loyal minion, who has kept the local internet scene interesting to say the least...hopefully GAW will rise once again...

Cindi Loo Hoo - One of the original "Chatter Chicks",  a very nice lady but you don't want to get on her wrong side...Her biting , satirical sense of humor sets her apart and likewise has been a BatBlog favorite...

Woo - Did a good job as moderator early on, an ally of the BatBlog on the local political scene...if I could just could convince him Obama isn't that bad (LOL)...Woo is a good poster on a lot of different subjects (some that we don't agree on)...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________


Honorable Mentions: As I said before a lot of intelligent, thoughtful people on the CCC and I know I'm forgetting some (I'm old) that could just as easily made the above list and might be on yours. Just to mention a few...

Kelley - Always well written and informed Kelley's work on behalf of the homeless should be commended

Tina - "Tinacious" aka Tina will be a great public servant in what ever her future holds, she does her homework, is determined in her beliefs and informs the people like she has on the Chatter on the issues....

NSBHM - He probably would have made the Wall as he along with SuperMike were responsible for starting the CCC. For whatever his reason's were, his personal tirade's against the mayor really hurt  his credibility. I know he had a tough year personally and hopefully he can find some peace...

Snowman - Give him credit he's outnumbered but he keeps the good fight alive for all the liberals and those like myself who realize Obama has been pretty good all in all...

Donna - You can always count on Donna when the Chatter's floundering to keep it alive and she is very open minded to all opinions...

Savile Row - You can count on SR to provide a plethora of useful and some not so useful information in his own classical style...

Integrity Matters and Captain Picard -  I grouped them together because they are the champions of keeping us informed on the School board and education...Thank you for caring and sharing about the kids and the schools...

Rick Stephenson and Kevin Vissing - As elected officials thank you for the courage to post on the CCC and BatBlog. Many have promised before to keep the public informed but you two continue to answer the tough question and sometimes criticism from the public////

Merry Christmas to Us

Early Christmas presents were in order for a body of local government...presented to themselves.
As predicted earlier by the BatBlog  the Jeffersonville City council unanimously voted themselves hefty pay raises. In the process proving once again what hypocrites they are. This is the same council that in the name of fiscal responsibility eliminated Jeffersonville City court and has de-funded positions and jobs in Jeffersonville in the guise of being responsible and prudent caretakers of our tax dollars.

 This self serving move exposes them more as liars and thieves, than the civil servants  they were elected to be. They have insulted  the taxpayer's intelligence by pretending to be something they are NOT.... responsible guardians of tax dollars and true public servants...

 The two councilmen who abstained Webb and Samuels look more like cowards by abstaining to vote. Surely they have an opinion on the matter and if they didn't feel comfortable voting on their own pay raise they should have had the courage to vote NO.....

 The BatBlog believes elected officials should never be given the right to vote themselves raises. The BatBlog would also like to see pay deducted from the councilmen/ women who don't always show up for meeting. They already are paid more than what they're worth, not attending is a form of theft in our opinion....Are you listening Matt "Lapdog" Owen ?????

The Recount...City Council Races..

Kevin Vissing has informed the BatBlog that the recount for his Dist. 3 City council race with Callie Jahn and the council at large races will begin Friday Dec.11 at 4:30 P.M.with an expected completion day of Sat. Dec. 12....Stay tuned.... hopefully Kevin can fill the BatBlog in with details and allow us to post the final results first.....

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge ....Come On.... Really ???

The BatBlog loves Abraham Lincoln and what he stood for as much as anyone...but come on... something else named after Lincoln. The state of Kentucky (and by the way what gives them the right to name the bridge) used virtually no imagination or originality in coming up with the new Abraham Lincoln Bridge. The BatBlog has found at least two other Lincoln bridges one already in Indiana and there are numerous other thing named after ole Abe. .

 Reportedly KFC was lobbying for the Colonel Harlan Sanders Bridge which would have been a marketing jackpot...."It's finger lickin good"...Muhammed Ali has been over used as well and both Kentucky and Indiana seem to have a shortage of people deserving to have a bridge named after them. In actuality the Colonel Sanders Bridge doesn't sound too bad after all,,,Any better ideas ???

Gun Violence, A Sign of The Times

Once again gun violence,mass shootings and terrorism where in the headlines this week. While the Republicans said the victims and families are "in our prayers" and the Democrats cried out for stronger gun control laws the sad matter is nothing will change, violence will continue...

  Lets face facts, human beings are a violent species. Since the time of Cain and Abel humans have killed each other and will continue to do so. There is fighting and terrorism in nearly ever corner of the world. It is a sad and tragic for the innocent victims unfairly targeted but let's be realistic it's a sign of the times ...terrorism, war , and mass murders are part of who we are.

   While gun laws could use a little tweaking and background checks need to be more stringent they will never stop  hate and violence from occurring. Hate among religions, cultures and ethnics  is too widespread and will continue to grow. Unfairly or not, distrust of all Muslims by Americans is prevalent and growing stronger as is the faction of Muslims that hate Americans. Black Americans mistrust police and police are just as distrustful of young black men....It is a viscous circle that can't be legislated or removed, it would nice if we could come together and sing Cum by yah but it will never happen...Hate, violence and war are here to stay, that's just who we are....