Back from fishing, unfortunately. Sweet, sweet reality. Today's posting will be short and sweet because of the backup of chores needing accomplished on this end of things.

We know AT&T and some others have come clean on what they turned over to the National Security Advisory Committee. We are still urging citizens to fill out the following form and mail it to your communications company, no matter whom they may be and ask the following:

Are You Helping The Government Invade My Privacy?

Revelations regarding the Bush administration's illegal and warrantless spying on Americans have shown that some major telecommunications companies are enabling this illegal spying by allowing the National Security Agency to directly tap into their information pipelines.

As your customer, I expect you to treat my personal communications as totally private - no different than a letter that I write in a sealed envelope. This is my right under the U.S. Constitution. I do not intend to forfeit it and I don't expect you to forfeit it for me.

The content of my communications should not be read by anyone without a warrant issued by a judge. No warrant, no information.

Please write me at the address below to let me know what you are doing to safeguard my privacy and assure me that you are not allowing the NSA to tap into your information pipeline or helping the government violate my privacy in any other way.

Please make your company's policy on this critical issues crystal clear with a prompt response.

NAME:______________________________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________

Personally, I think this may be worth a lot of people's times and energies. Thoughts for the day. Gotta catch up from all that fishing. Have a good one New Albany.

Our musings today go towards the Courier-Journal and Mr. Provano being able to reprint those important articles today so all ratepayers and taxpayers and property owners know what is going on downtown.

Getting away from the prior postings I have put down, eternally I guess, my reactions again this morning from reading about the sewers ONE MORE TIME makes me physically ill.

Will someone answer me, especially Mayor James Garner, why are we not laying the blame for this failed "PLAN" at someone else's feet, not ours. Why after you swore this "PLAN" would not work are you so vigorously defending it? Why do you not go after the Engineers and whomever else that led us down this path? Why?

You and I both know where we stand on these issues, Mr. Mayor. Neither one of us can distance ourselves from the issues of the sewers or the monies; because of their entertwinement.

We are looking at the financials now that were released to the public and to the Sewer Board. I'll have to get back to you on that one; gonna go "fishing" and figure it out.

Meanwhile New Albany, have a great Memorial Day Weekend. PLEASE remember Memorial Day morning and the celebrations held in honor of our Veterans on Market and the back side of the VFW on Main. It is truly inspiring to watch the ceremonies and the wreaths laid in honors of all Veterans, from all Wars, including fallen Nurses.

We have the honor of knowing a lady on our street whom lays the wreath for the Nurses. This is one event I will miss while I go "fishing" this weekend!

Twas just another day in the City of New Albany regarding politics. The Tribune read bad enough, but when the Courier articles are republished tomorrow (cos their presses went down last night), town will truly be chirping

Where was I on how I got into this thing call New Albany politics. Yeah, that's right -- my very first vote was challenged (and gotta admit, I didn't even know what that meant). From then on, I have taken the right to vote seriously.

After leaving Flatwoods for Lexington, KY and then Louisville with a couple of children by then, I have to admit I didn't have time for politics. When I moved to Jeffersontown and joined a bowling league in order to meet people in the area, I got involved with the ex late Mayor Potts Mayoral election campaign (his daughter was on my team). Mayor Potts won.

My next foray into politics came when John Y. Brown ran for the Governor of Kentucky. So strongly did I believe in this man's ability to govern, I volunteered front row and center for his first campaign. His re-election campaign -- right there, front row and center, but not feeling too good about things this time around. Kentuckians seemed to resent John Y for what I considered a foolish reason, and that would have been his trips to Vegas. All I could say was at least he was spending his own monies! But no, Wallace Wilkinson promised the lottery to solve all Kentucky's problems. Dismal night that election night.

The next political campaign came about through my computer consultanting contacts. Harvey Sloane was running for re-election as Mayor for Louisville and they needed someone to handle the PAC monies. Tapped for the job, and admiring Harvey Sloane as a politician and as a person, it was a different type of experience. You win some and you lose some -- life in general.

Thoughts for today.

Seems everyone in New Albany has a blog these days. Looking through all of them, they sure are pretty durn interesting.

A couple seem to deal with issues, the others (to me, of course) seem political in nature.

Never having planned on ever getting wrapped up in New Albany (or anyone else's, for that matter) politics, I have come a long way, baby.

Don't get me wrong. All of the cities I have lived in, alone? The only two ways, as a consultant, I knew in order to make friends would be to join a bowling league and join my local Democrat Party.

My parents were split - 1 Democrat, the other Republican. I came down on the side of Democrat because of my very first election. 1972, oh what a good year. Nixon was running -- he even came to little ole Ashland, KY and promised us all up there he would build us a new National Guard Armory. Looked like he had it locked up to me, which he did. It is what happened the first time I voted, and I gotta admit, I was leaning towards Nixon.

As I approached the polls, a neighbor of my grandmother's was head of the Republican party and I had stayed with my grandmother for a few months and had recently married and moved. It had not been even been 3 weeks since I had moved. Unfortunately, my path as an 18 year old was blocked at the polls and I was told by this person my vote would be challenged unless I went in and voted straight Republican.

Well, you know, I gotta say I found that to be kind of odd, and extremely intimidating. I asked on what grounds and she named because I had moved and it had been longer than the 30 days. I told her that just was not true, and she told me it didn't matter what I said, either or.

Well, I went in to that poll booth and got to thinking about some things. The one thing which crossed my mind was -- how is she going to know how I vote? And, if she does know, we have a serious problem here. 18, and already trying to figure it out. Needless to say, I pulled the other switch, straight Democrat and have not looked back since.

I'm still looking at all members in all parties, because I think you can find them if you look for them.

As you can tell, this will be a political blog; the difference being I am being straight up about it.

Take care New Albany, and we'll be talking more.