The best part is that credit is given to Obama’s tremendous ground game here in Indiana. There is a definite upside to a long primary season — volunteers are already networked and ready to go.

We’re going to win, and this is how it gets done.

I apologize for my recent hiatus, but we will be posting again through the general election with a new look and fresh news and commentary.

The bill offers mild reform for farm subsidies by capping government payments to the wealthiest farmers, but this is just one of two main aspects as reported by Politico:

A stricter $40,000-per-year payment cap promises to reduce how much larger farmers can claim in annual direct payments. And with the high prices today, the cost of commodity programs is projected to shrink to about $35 billion over the next five years, just 11 percent of the total bill and less than half of federal expenditures for many of the same programs in a comparable 2002-2006 period.

At the same time, nutrition and conservation spending accounts for 76 percent of the bill’s costs, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, and this was enough to help hold together most Democrats. And new tax breaks are included to encourage development of new renewable energy sources apart from corn ethanol.

If you haven’t already, read up on this legislation, because the bill passed by big majorities in the House and Senate, making it likely to become law even if President Bush vetos it as he has been threatening.

“Earmarks,” said the Cheshire Cat.

After passing the House by more than a two-thirds majority, the latest Farm Bill is off to the Senate, where it is expected to pass by a large majority. This legislation is particularly controversial because, as the AP reports

The farm bill, one of the last major pieces of legislation with a chance of becoming law this year, was a natural magnet for lawmakers trying to advance legislation that might not get considered as individual bills. Often, accepting earmarks is a way for party leaders to reward the rank-and-file and secure their votes on the overall bill; on the farm bill it was more a case of the powerful — Reid, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Finance Committee Chairman Baucus and Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy — using their influence to help their states or constituents.

There truly is something for everyone in here, and that means there may be aspects of this bill that will take their time coming to light.

Ray McCormick says that this bill is not the conservationist bill that it appears to be.

[The] Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has been killed with multiple cuts by Colin Peterson. Sodsaver is dead, and CRP has big problems. This bill rewards farmers with crop insurance, and disaster payments for those that choose to break out native prairies in risky crop production areas, (the prairie pot-hole region) to grow commodity crops. The WRP program has been cut up so that no-one will enroll in the future and picks off current enrollments and makes them grandfathered-in so that current excepted WRP contracts (I know of three myself) are not now eligible. This Bill is good if you want production, not conservation.

The AP lists a few other special provisions:

• McConnell included a tax break for horse owners that would benefit horse farms in his state of Kentucky. His office asserted that the provision, which ensures that all race horses are depreciated over three years for tax purposes, regardless of when the horses start training, did not qualify as an earmark because it would affect tens of thousands of taxpayers in nearly every state. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this would cost $126 million over 10 years.
• Senators from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland succeeded in including $382 million for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Conservation Program.
• Baucus also got $1 million for a national sheep and goat industry improvement center.
• The bill authorizes $10 million a year for five years for a program backed by Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, that helps people in poor, rural areas find housing.
• It also authorizes funds for a drought mitigation center at the University of Nebraska, water systems for rural and native villages in Alaska and a congressional hunger center.

The National Association of Conservation Districts has supported the bill because it includes provisions for:

• Increases a financial commitment to working lands conservation programs, with increases to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Farmland Protection Program.
• Rewrites and streamlines the Conservation Stewardship Program (formerly the Conservation Security Program) to allow for nationwide participation. The elimination of the tier structure should ease program delivery and understanding by producers. New enrollment based on acreage providing for an annual enrollment of almost 13 million acres.
• Increases provisions for the eligibility of non-industrial private forest land in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Farmland Protection Program.
• Provides funding for the Healthy Forest Reserve Program and maintains a strong Forestry Title.
• Provides funding to continue the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program. These programs will expire without the provisions and funding in this bill. WRP appraisal issues are also address in the bill.
• Although the CRP acreage cap is decreased to 32 million acres, the bill allows for continued enrollment through continuous sign-up and CREP.
• Defines technical assistance as technical services provided directly to farmers, ranchers, and other eligible entities, such as conservation planning, technical consultation, and assistance with design and implementation of conservation practices and technical infrastructure, including activities, processes, tools and agency functions needed to support delivery of technical services, such as technical standards, resource inventories, training, data and technology, monitoring and effects analysis. This definition should strengthen our efforts to support technical assistance and broad impact of what is included in technical assistance.
• Clarifies third party technical assistance (technical service providers) and allows for eligible payments for technical services such as conservation planning, education and outreach and assistance with design and implementation of conservation practices.
• Allows for “technical assistance only” contracts for producers for the purpose of planning, design or installation of an eligible practice under the conservation programs.
• Exempts Local Work Groups from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This commitment to the locally led conservation program delivery process specifies local work groups in the law, and allows for greater transparency and participation in natural resources priority setting.

Ethnic slurs and derogatory comments were spray-painted on the unbroken glass, including a circle with a line through it over Senator Obama’s face that hung on a poster in the window.

We realize that this hate-inspired event does not represent Vincennes, Knox County, and especially not Indiana. Hoosiers are friendly and respectful even to those with whom they disagree, and this is all the more shocking because of that.

When volunteers saw the damage, they were all the more energized, and went out canvassing telling friends and neighbors that we as Hoosiers know better than to let something like this get us down or make us think less of who we are or of Senator Obama.

In fact, Knox county proved the vandals wrong by far exceeding expectations on primary election day, returning 33% (3260 votes) for Obama. That may not seem like a good result, but the expectations were that he would get considerably less than that.

The incident has been reported in many major news outlets including CNN, MSNBC, Wonkette, Politico, The Daily Kos, The Chicago Tribune, as well as local news in Evansville and Terre Haute. The Vincennes Sun-Commercial reported the story in the Police blotter along with a bicycle theft.

Photos courtesy Ray McCormick.

How often do ordinary voters get to talk to the advisers and other people in positions of political power to ask about the issues that affect our daily lives? He answered questions on how the effect of high fuel prices, the war in Iraq, and how the weakening dollar is hurting families that are already strapped.

He discussed how Barack Obama has plans to address every one of these issues that impact our everyday lives. Increasing the value of the dollar alone will go a long way towards reducing the cost of fuel for the trucking fleets the drive our economy. But he also pointed out that great countries make things. That means we need to create economic incentives for companies to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S., rather than outsourcing overseas. The U.S. has great potential to become a world-leader again in designing the next generation of great technologies for reducing energy consumption. We need our government to encourage that development so that manufacturing those technologies can create jobs here in the U.S., and not get beaten to the punch again by Japan, China, and Korea.

We also need to enforce trade agreements with China, Korea, and Japan. The problem is that they currently own over half of our country’s national debt. Try laying down the law with someone to whom you owe money. It’s nearly impossible. By eliminating that debt, we can negotiate with those growing Asian economies on a level playing field.

Mabus also discussed the war in Iraq, saying that a milittary-only strategy has never been successful in the middle-east. A coordinated strategy of military efforts with long-term diplomatic efforts can not only enable us to start drawing down our troops, but also create allies in the region that would prevent us from needing such a strong military presence in the region. Reducing our military spending would allow the U.S. to provide financial support to U.S. industry in much the same way that our economic competitors do now.

Mabus covered a wide range of topics, and emphasized that Barack Obama has practical solutions, not just the broad, sweeping statements that are his hallmark. By creating real solutions, Barack Obama can effect real change in the lives of ordinary Americans, and that’s what the people of Indiana heard.

This is the kind of face-to-face discussion that helped Obama beat the predictions, keeping Indiana competitive to the very end. A narrow 2-point loss in Indiana cemented Obama’s position as the front-runner, and we can honestly say that Indiana helped choose the Democratic nominee, and give him great momentum going into the November general election.

Photo credit: Barry Baldwin

Read the full article: Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear.

We’re all very proud of our team and everything we have and will yet accomplish here in Vincennes.

With less than 24 hours notice, a crowd of supporters filled the hall, over 8,000 according to NPR, and over 10,000 by other estimates. Regardless of the number of supporters, everyone in the room was ready to get to work to make sure that Indiana is the state that ensures he becomes the Democratic nominee.

John Mellencamp came out to warm up the crowd with a rendition of jis hit “Small Town” and offer his support. Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel also came out to offer his endorsement and to introduce the Senator from Illinois. When the Senator took the stage, the crowd roared to full volume. Obama graciously acknowledged his loss in the Pennsylvania primary held earlier in the day and explained that that is exactly why Indiana is a key primary for the first time in a long time, and for that we all have reason to be excited that Indiana has a say who the Democratic nominee will be in 2008.

Regardless, we have the opportunity to meet with Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy at the Warrick County 4-H Center, 133 East Degonia Road in Boonville.

Wednesday, April 30th
Doors Open: 4:30 p.m. CDT
Program Begins: 6:00 p.m. CDT

My wife and I will have to decide which we want to see, since unfortunately we can’t attend any of the Ray Mabus events except for the one in Washington.

Washington (Daviess County)

Gov. Mabus will be holding a “Community Conversation” at the Cherry Tree Café, located at 2020 State St.

The event will start is 6:00 PM EDT on Wednesday 4/30.

Vincennes (Knox County)

Gov. Mabus will be holding another “Community Conversation” at Zander’s located on 315 Main St. at 10:30am 9:30 AM EDT on Thursday 5/1.

Princeton (Gibson County)

A Community Conversation at Dick Clark’s, 702 N. Prince St.

The event is from 10:10 - 11:00 AM CDT on Thursday 5/1.

Boonville (Warrick County)

A community conversation at Yesterdaze, 101 S. 2nd St.

The event is from 12:10 – 1:00 PM CDT on Thursday 5/1.

Evansville (Vanderburgh County)

A community conversation at the North Main Street Annex, 701 N. Main St.

The event is from 1:50 – 2:35 PM CDT on Thursday 5/1.

For any of these events, please bring along friends who are undecided, Republicans or even leaning towards Senator Clinton and have questions about Barack and what he’ll do as our next president. This is a great change to ask questions!

This is also a great opportunity to let Governor Mabus and Senator Obama know that we support their focus on issues, and not on manufactured controversies designed to feed the presses.