"How can John McCain fix the economy, when he doesn't think it's broken?"

Hat Tip to Thomas:

A nice spot that specifically targets Indiana while painting out John McCain's delusional out of touch views regarding the problems facing Hoosiers today -

Notes on the IN Dem's State Convention

From: ACDP Vice-Chair Deb Morrone:

Have I MENTIONED that it is a GREAT YEAR to be a DEMOCRAT? (It is Always a great year to be a Democrat in fact)

I am very pleased to announce that Allen County has filled our allotment of delegates to the Indiana State Democratic Convention--AND we currently have a waiting list. Allen County will be sending 110 (our max allotment) of the 220 total Third Congressional District delegates to the convention!

This will be an exciting event--we have a great mix of first time and experienced delegates. Allen Co. also has several outstanding candidates running for many of the National Delegate slots. We have people running in the District Delegate Race, in the At Large Delegate race, in the Party Leader Elected Official Race, etc. We wish them ALL well.

The convention is the evening of Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21 at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott. An agenda has now been posted online at www.indems.org. It is very informative-try to take a look at it prior to the conference.

For those of you with National Delegate aspirations, there is a link to very informative site detailing what to expect, etc. If you are elected, you will get many more details from the Party.

Delegates: PLEASE be sure to attend the next breakfast meeting on June 14. We will have all up to date information for you there. Also, we have had many inquiries about car pools to the event. Just after the breakfast meeting we will provide you and opportunity to get together with other delegates and explore sharing transportation. Whether you plan to go down on Friday OR Saturday, you should be able to find someone willing to share a ride! (Remember, parking is in excess of $25 and gas may be Over the $4.00 mark...this may be a great idea for many!!)

If you plan to stay over on Friday at the Marriot, remember to mention the convention to get the reduced rate. (A link to the Marriott is also on the INDEMS.ORG site) Some convention-goers have had great success with the travel websites and have been able to find 4-star downtown hotels at a much lower rate)

The Third District Caucus begins at 9:00 am on Saturday!

If you have additional questions--or even want to try your luck on the delegate waiting list, please let us know. Email us at information@allencountydemocrats.org.

Fort Wayne City Inaugurations

This afternoon I attended the City Inaugurations at the Performing Arts Center in Downtown Fort Wayne, where the new mayor, Tom Henry, City Clerk - Sandy Kennedy, Police Chief - Rusty York, Fire Chief - Pete Kelly, and the City Council - Tom Smith, Karen Goldner, Tom Didier, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Glynn Hines, Marty Bender, Liz Brown, John Shoaff, were sworn into office.

The Master of ceremonies for the event was the Chief Judge of the Allen County Superior Court, Stanley Levin. After a short introduction by Judge Levine, the Fort Wayne Police Department Color Guard and Pipe and Drum Brigade piped their way onto the stage and back off. City Clerk, Sandy Kennedy’s granddaughter, Kaitlyn Kennedy led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and Father Joe Gaughan of the Most Precious Blood Catholic Church gave the invocation.

This led to one of the highlights of the afternoon. The Voices of Unity Youth Choir under the direction of Marshall White sang perhaps the best version of “The Star Spangled Banner” I have ever heard. You can see the Pipe and Drum Brigade followed by this stirring rendition in the following video.

The choir also performed a nice little version of “America the Beautiful”.

At this point, the oaths of office were given. Here are Police Chief Rusty York and Fire Chief Pete Kelly taking their oaths.

The next video is Mayor Tom Henry taking his oath, the City Council being sworn in, and Mayor Henry’s inaugural address.

After the ceremonies, there was a meet and greet in the gallery. All in all, it was nice afternoon.