Anna Murray's amazing post-election statement.

Trying to decide what to do next? Municipal election cycles are underway for 2019. Not all of Anna Murray's issues and principles pertain to mayors and city council persons, but a good number of them do, and these are the grassroots where change must begin if it is to occur.

I find her statement fascinating on multiple levels. Maybe mayor of Jeffersonville?

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I suppose it's about time for me to make a statement about the election. I've actually been fairly busy taking down signs, getting back to some cases, and so forth, but also needed a little time to process my emotions.

Honestly, it's a bit of a relief that I didn't win because going up to Indianapolis all the time was going to be a huge hassle and take a lot more time away from my family. Now I will have many fewer worries and obligations than I would have if I won. On top of all that, I knew that I wouldn't realistically be able to accomplish much in Indianapolis, especially since we only won one other seat in the Senate. I may have had a slight impact, but there is still an overwhelming Republican super majority, so all of the additional effort for me to be in Indianapolis would ultimately not create much real change. So there is definitely a silver lining to losing. Freedom.

I am very happy with the race that I ran. I am so thankful to everyone who helped me along the way. It has been a great experience meeting so many new friends, and I have definitely learned a lot about myself, about politics, and about people.

On the flip side, I am bitter about Ron's win because I do not believe he ran a better race. He spent a lot of money spreading outrageous lies about alleged plans which I not only did not have, but could not possibly have had, since Medicare is handled federally and I was running for a state position. So I do not respect his approach of lying and fear mongering to try and defeat me. And honestly, I don't think he won this race through his efforts. Republicans, generally, won this race. He won because of the party that he is affiliated with. Ron did not conduct himself as a gentleman, at one point knocking my materials off of a table onto the floor. But his "nice guy" image remained solid in everyone's minds. In reality, he's just a part of the good ol' boy network which has dominated politics forever and needs to be changed. I learned other things about him during this campaign which I will not share. But I'm not going to pretend like there are no hard feelings. I am an honest person and a human being, and that's just how I feel.

I am frustrated because I do not believe Ron will make the effort to bring the change that this state and this district needs, and I highly doubt he will have plans to run for a 4th term as he nears 80, so I do not believe there will be anything to make him feel accountable to his constituents. He will pander to his friends and leave those with food insecurity and who are homeless to fend for themselves.

I do hope that the strength of this progressive campaign sends a message to all Republicans throughout this state. That you cannot continue making it a crime to use medicine that helps you. That more poor-paying jobs are not going to fix poverty, nor are good-paying jobs that are inaccessible to people with limitations of many types. Poverty leads to poor education, child abuse and neglect, homelessness, untreated mental and physical illnesses. Stop maintaining a poverty class and allow everyone to live in dignity with a decent standard of living. That substance use disorder is a medical condition that needs to be treated medically. We don't throw people with medical conditions in jail. If they commit a crime like theft or DUI, sure. Make sure our insurance companies have to cover treatment, and if you need to bill somebody, send it to big pharma. They made a killing- figuratively and literally- on opioids and were a major contributor to our problem. If you need even more money for education or treatment, just fully legalize cannabis. We'll make millions in tax revenue and stop spending so much on jailing people for something that is safer than alcohol. Then we could fix our roads, too.

Beyond Ron, I am frustrated with our country as a whole. As we sit here being divided and fear mongering about poor people or people of color or people who aren't born here, or people with a different religion, we are letting the true risks- of climate change, pollinator endangerment, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and plain old hate; and the true villians- those wealthy beneficiaries of the status quo who continue to perpetuate these problems for profit, which those in power are ignoring or even covering up, and we don't have time to keep twiddling our thumbs and complaining about fake news. We are on the precipice of a planetary disaster. Our economy is on the verge of a rapid and dramatic change as a result of automation. Our healthcare system causes people to go bankrupt and become homeless or go without treatment and die while the insurance companies pay their CEOs tens of millions of dollars a year and spend hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying legislators to keep it that way. And yet so many people think that the reason they are struggling financially is because poor people are lazy. God forbid we tax those billionaires a little more to help our Veterans, seniors, disabled or hungry children. Stop taxing the wealthy and cut the benefits of those slackers instead! The wealthy need more boats and bigger houses so that we can have jobs cleaning them for less than a living wage! Don't regulate those big companies just to protect your drinking water or keep your children from getting asthma- it will tank corporate profits!

I am not giving up because these problems are not going away. These problems affect us all. It is time for us to find our common humanity and stop separating ourselves into different groups which we can then dehumanize, denigrate and ignore. It is time for us to listen to science- you know, that thing that lets you fly through the air and go up an elevator into a skyscraper. Remember science? It's quite reliable and we trust our lives with it all the time. Well it's telling us that it's time for change or the consequences may be quite dramatic for our and every other species. If you only respond to fear, then start paying attention to what the world's climate scientists are telling you. Start looking at the harm that OUR policies are causing our own people. Start looking inside of yourself. Are you making this world better for everyone, or are you full of hate and fear and allowing that to blind you to your humanity? Or are you just so well off that you don't feel inclined to pay attention? Very common, and an understandable position to take, but the epitome of privilege.

People are actively suppressing their ability to feel compassion- making fun of it by calling us snowflakes. Responding to expressions of genuine concern with hateful name-calling. Well what some perceive as our greatest weakness is actually our greatest strength. It's that thing that makes us human and differentiates us from machines. The ability to care and love and spread joy and to be able to acknowledge the suffering of others is what makes life worth living. We are more than consumers and there is more to life than just hoarding your wealth and buying new things. We are people and it's time for us to start living with respect for each other and respect for the planet.

I am still trying to decide what I want to do next. I don't know if I have the patience for any more of this politics business, nor if we have the time. I have to say my current mood is somewhat more on the revolutionary side of things. That's all for now..

Anna Murray announces for State Senate as Adam Dickey reminds us to remain suspicious of anything with his fingerprints on it.

The Random Inanity Generator strikes again.

There is no byline on this News and Tribune dispatch, just a staff photo credit.

Written by human or bot? Or Adam Dickey? Can someone from the newspaper clarify, please?

However, I'm delighted that shill-in-chief Dickey chose the occasion of this announcement to state the case against DemoDisneyDixiecratic Party favorite Jeff Gahan in 2019.

I've helped him with the rewrite. Trust me; his writing needs help.

"Ron Jeff is the incumbent and it will be a challenge," he said. "But all you have to do is look at the (governing) record of Ron Grooms Jeff Gahan. I don't think many folks feel like they are better off today than they were when Ron Grooms Jeff Gahan took office two terms ago. Do they want the same thing or do they want to move forward?"

Have you ever noticed how Adam is unable to speak publicly with any degree of genuineness?

Invariably he sounds like a programmed political robot -- like a random platitude generator.

Anyway, now the Murray announcement.

Her policy positions are hopeful, and I'd like to be able to believe the best, though she's surrounded by the usual underachieving local Democratic suspects, and she emphasizes a yoga event at Gahan's megabuck Silver Street Park TIF Taj Mahal, which symbolizes everything that's amiss with the usual underachieving local Democratic suspects.

Sigh. The circle remains unbroken, to our continuing detriment.

Jeffersonville attorney announces run for Indiana Senate

Republican Sen. Ron Grooms the incumbent

JEFFERSONVILLE — After the 2016 election, Anna Murray decided to stop talking, and to do something about her political frustration. And Thursday afternoon, she made it official.

Murray, a Jeffersonville-based attorney who operates Anna K. Murray & Associates P.C., announced her plans to run for the Democratic nomination for Indiana Senate District 46, the seat currently held by Republican Ron Grooms. The district includes New Albany, Jeffersonville, Clarksville, Georgetown and Greenville.

So Grooms is running again. Will Jeff Gahan "primary" Anna Murray?

I don't think Gahan will run for the District 46 seat, lest he suffer an electoral humiliation better reserved for 2019, and his botched bid to become Mayor for Life.

As for Jeffersonville resident and attorney Anna Murray's candidacy, I missed the announcement, but even Wikipedia says she's running.

State Senate

(Ron) Grooms was elected in 2010, very narrowly defeating popular Floyd County Commissioner Chuck Freiburger to take the seat held by retiring Democrat Connie Sipes. In 2014, Grooms successfully ran for reelection, besting Freiberger again. Grooms will be up for reelection again in 2018. Though he has not announced, he would be facing Democratic challenger Jeffersonville attorney Anna Murray should he choose to run.

Well, now he's formally announced, so here is Murray's Fb site:

Anna Murray for Indiana State Senate

Curiously for someone who has been posting since January, she has little to say in terms of an introduction and platform, though judging from her posts, she's pleasingly left-oriented.

Murray's candidacy is hopeful, even if Adam Dickey will attach himself to her like a starving leech and drain the lifeblood of principles from her campaign.

Anna should resist being transformed into a female Ted Heavrin.

Chuck Freiberger went drab Clintonista centrist against Grooms twice, and lost both times. Murray might do no better in our conservative paradise, but at least she'd be riding Dan Canon's potential coattails rather than mimicking the customary NEA-approved candidate -- not that I have a beef with the NEA, it's just that surely there are local Democratic candidates who aren't teachers?

Right, I know; now they're lawyers. Okay. We have to begin somewhere.

Conversely, with a Democrat finally running who actually appears to be democratic, NOW will be the time Gahan decides to "primary" her. If so, the primary debate will be vastly entertaining.

That is, if the agoraphobic Gahan bothers showing up.

Here's another one we already reported: Grooms will run again in 2018, because the US Chamber of Commerce needs a reliable voice.

Yawn.

The only real question is which Clark County Democrat will be chosen to act as sacrificial lamb. Heaven knows, there are few (if any) credible hopefuls in Floyd County.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Tea leaves say Grooms will run again in 2018, dooming NA to a third Gahan mayoral bid in 2019.

It has been suggested that the Green Mouse should receive a pay raise. Allow me to suggest that is isn't possible to "raise" what doesn't exist.

Meanwhile, it's another dreary press release rehash from the disintegrating chain newspaper. As such, here's the whole kit and kaboodle.

Was the original release this bad, or is it just the rewrite?

Grooms to seek re-election to Indiana Senate

Formal announcement to be held at Big Four Station

JEFFERSONVILLE — State Sen. Ron Grooms has announced his intention to run for re-election in Indiana Senate District 46. A formal announcement is expected at 10 a.m. June 23 at Big Four Station in front of the Walking Bridge in Jeffersonville.

Since Grooms was elected in 2010, the State of Indiana has made huge strides in employment, education support, and combating opioid use, according to a news release issued by the Grooms campaign. In fact, since Grooms' election the unemployment rate has decreased to 3.9 percent as of March 2017 from 10.7 percent in January 2010. More Hoosiers are working than ever before

It is also important that we continue to support increases in support for K-12 education in Indiana, like Sen. Grooms has over the past eight years, the release stated.

The public is welcome to attend Sen. Grooms’ formal re-election announcement, where he will be giving some remarks to supporters, friends and family.

Jeff Gahan's got an overly inflated opinion of himself and lots of leftover cash. Of course he's running for State Senate in 2018.

A while back, it seemed as though my Twitter parodist had taken an extended holiday, then two NAC posts in late June prompted another labored Rogar wheeze.

Truth is stranger than fact: A whole day before the vote, Jeff Gahan publicly urges greater transparency in the hospital sale.

Freiberger waxes defiant, Seabrook wheezes offended and Gahan daintily skips critical hospital sale meeting to raise funds for State Senate quest.

In s subsequent guest column, Nick Vaughn picked up the ball.

WITHIN CITY LIMITS: Episode X, A Look Ahead to 2019.

... I do not think Jeff Gahan will be running for a third term because he really shouldn’t be; three 4-year terms is slightly unprecedented, and only one Mayor has served more than two consecutive terms.

C. Pralle Erni served from 1948­-1963, enough time to make any follower of Jeffersonian Democracy shiver. (By the way, I found this cool excerpt about Mayor Erni from a book by Gregg Seidl, which you can read here. Beware though, annexation is mentioned!) So, although there is precedent for Gahan to run for a third term, I do not think he will. He will have been much too busy running for State Senate the preceding year.

Team Gahan specializes in soft, not hard evidence, and in politics, Viagra is money.

In 2010, with the District 46 State Senate seat open following Connie Sipes' retirement, the winning Republican Ron Grooms raised $183,000. When Grooms ran for re-election in 2014, his total zoomed to $527,000. Challenger Chuck Freiberger lost to Grooms both times. He raised $160,000 in 2010 and $149,000 in 2014.

The Green Mouse continues to be told Grooms will retire, and if he does, it's hard to imagine Gahan not trying to contest an open seat. It is Gahan's historic preference to compete when the seat is open (as both councilman and mayor), then rake in the chips for re-election, as Grooms did after four years.

Based on a reading of end-of-year 2015 campaign finance reports, Gahan had more money after last year's November election than before the campaign began. He probably already has about as much money as Freiberger raised in both his losing campaigns.

What's more, there is no risk. Gahan can run for State Senate in 2018, lose, and still remain mayor. He would be free to seek a third term as mayor in 2019, but anyone remotely familiar with hizzoner's resident megalomania knows that at present, he's daydreaming about brother-in-law Steve Bonifer somehow beating Ed Clere for the District 72 House seat in 2016, Gahan himself capturing Grooms' Senate seat in 2018, then enjoying the luxury of handpicking a new mayor from a list of underemployed relatives in 2019.

As Vaughn noted, this candidate might not be able to get past Al Knable, but this is another story for another time.

During the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu in communist Romania, there was a joke riffing on Joe Stalin's previous refashioning of Marxist doctrine in the USSR ("Socialism in One Country.")

In Romania, given Ceausescu's promiscuous habits of nepotism, people would say, "In Romania, we have socialism in one family."

My parodist "Rogar Bayler" is being disingenuous (sorry for five syllables, Shane -- and sorrier still that a whopping $466,494 of someone else's money couldn't win you Bill Cochran's old seat back in '10) when he/she/it says there is no hard evidence of Jeff Gahan running for State Senate in 2018.

Isn't a hard, swelled head and firm, bulging coffers always evidence enough when it comes to the ambition of the local political class?

(All dollar amounts are taken from http://www.followthemoney.org)

Freiberger - Grooms rematch. Maybe I'll run as an independent.

The first bout was in 2010, won by Grooms to the tune of 51% - 48%.

Freiberger to run for State Senate 46 seat; Floyd commissioner likely will face incumbent Ron Grooms again (News and Tribune)

FLOYD COUNTY — Democrat Chuck Freiberger, who is in his fourth term as a Floyd County commissioner, has announced plans to run for the State Senate 46 seat in 2014. The seat is held by Republican Ron Grooms, who Tuesday announced his re-election campaign.

Indiana Senate bows to superstition, but at least Ron Grooms votes no.

The best comment at the newspaper's site was from Wut:

"Teach the flying spaghetti monster! We are truly blessed by his Noodly Appendages."

Yet again we see state Republicans mass to advance legislation that isn't only irrelevant, but harmful to educational standards, and serves the side purpose of making Hoosiers look like buffoons. But thanks to Sen. Grooms for answering the question promptly and not clereting it from his FB page.

Meanwhile, originator Kruse's explanation astounds. What other of his personal beliefs need to be transformed into holy writ? What if he's into sado-masochism? Scourging? Lite beer?

This is what it means to be Republican?

Indiana Senate passes bill on teaching creationism; If measure becomes law, opponents wonder if suit versus state will follow, by Scott Elliott (Indy Star)

"I believe in creation," (Senate author Dennis) Kruse said, "and I believe it deserves to be taught in our public schools."

Also: Senate broadens teaching creationism proposal (The Associated Press)

Grooms on the job: I hesitate to insult the clueless dupes, but ...

OSIN's David A. Mann covered this week's Jeffersonville city council meeting and came away with this gem:

Indiana Sen. Ron Grooms, a former councilman, updated the council on the recent session of the Indiana General Assembly. He noted recent redistricting of assembly and congressional districts, education reform, looser gun laws and the passage of a $28 billion state budget as some of the assembly’s accomplishments in 2011.

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

Grooms drove regularly to Indy, yawned through debates in the knowledge that he'd be ticking the box next to "What Mitch Daniels and the state GOP apparatus wants" roughly 97% of the time, exceeding even Ed Clere's propensity to fall into ideological line, cashed a few checks, and then returned home to report to his former colleagues that even though it was a dirty damned job, he was able to help everyone carry guns everywhere, deny health care to underprivileged women, and make sure the oligarchs survived the recession with purses intact.

Breathtaking, isn't it?

New precedent: "Ron Grooms - Dick Cheney. What do they have in common?"

Ron Grooms: Profiles in abstentia.

Jeffersonville city councilman Ron Grooms, candidate for the Indiana Senate, was given a chance to shine last night, so let's take a look at candidate/council member Grooms, presumably in mid-season legislative form.

On a no-tolls resolution revised to specify "no tolls on existing bridges," as opposed to tolls on freshly built bridges:

Grooms ABSTAINS, and the resolution passes 5-1.

On a motion requesting that the council attorney convey to One Southern Indiana the body's concern with 1Si's political endorsements, and request clarification in light of the council's annual 30K level of support for 1Si:

Grooms ... ABSTAINS, and the motion passes 6-0.

Perhaps Grooms believes it to be a conflict of interest to annoy the political action committee that endorsed him.

Read all about it here: No action taken on Jeffersonville recycling resolution, by David Mann (News & Tribune).

By the way, in my unofficial capacity as part-time human, and on behalf of no known entities other than li'l ol' me, I'm voting for Chuck Freiberger. Someone bring me ale, and let the games continue!

Grooms opens Doublespeak Pharmacy (DP): “I support the Ohio River Bridges Project as it stands today ... "

... (but) will not encourage a project that puts a hardship on our local citizens.”

Me, too. I'm for capital punishment so long as we don't have to kill anyone.

Chuck Freiberger answers the Tribune's questions while Grooms gazes at the cheat sheets provided by St. Daniels.

Chuck, do you have any yard signs for papa?

Let the interpreters begin dissecting.

Thanks to Chuck Freiberger, Democratic candidate for the District 46 Indiana State Senate seat for responding to my question.

"I am in support of building and maintaining infrastructure, such as a bridge, to make it easier for Hoosiers to commute to and from work and other daily activities, however I do not agree with placing a toll on the bridge as it is currently presented. "

What do you think it means?