By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

There are two things I will never understand:

Gun-toting rally attendees decided they needed to go stand next to a lone Black Lives Matter supporter after the rally.

• The desire to display guns at a peaceful rally.
  
  

That was the case with a few people Friday, July 17, at the Patriot rally in downtown Warsaw.

A handful of guys, including one who appeared to be carrying an assault rifle, stood together during the presentations and then felt the need to go stand by a single Black Lives Matter protester across the street. Clearly this is some form of intimidation, which doesn’t really seem to square with the concept of being part of a family-friendly rally.

While I support the Second Amendment and realize that it is everyone’s Constitutionally-provided right (not God-given) to possess and own a gun, the desire to show off your guns in public in such an obnoxious display really escapes any plausible rationale. Nothing good can come from it, in my opinion, other than a further hardening of extreme tribal opinions so many of us seem to embrace. Is that really what we need right now?

• The opposition to wearing masks.

A lot of this politicization of whether to wear masks started with President Donald Trump. He had a chance earlier this year to galvanize support for wearing masks when talk of mandates was very distant. Imagine if he had marketed MAGA masks when all of this began. Millions would have started wearing them and we’d be better off right now if they had.

On the bright side, it looks as if corporate America is taking the lead – and filling the void created by some political leaders – by requiring shoppers to use masks. Walmart and CVS are some of the latest companies to announce mandates for their shoppers. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to shop in many stores without one.

Walmart’s mandate arrives Monday, July 20.

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MOTIVATED – Democratic candidates appear to be more motivated than at any time in recent history in Kosciusko County. Here are two items to consider:

• On Sunday, July 19, the local group, Warsaw Area Voters, are meeting to discuss a voter registration drive with hopes of signing up 10,000 new voters. The meeting is being promoted by the group, People of Change.
• On Thursday, July 23, two local candidates (Noemi Ponce, who is running for county council; and Antony Garza, a candidate for Superior 3 judgeship) will participate in an event being billed as a chance to meet local Latinx candidates. The other candidate is Monica Casanova, who is a candidate for county council in Tippecanoe County. 

The online event is being sponsored by the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus. The panel discussion will be moderated by Lauro Zuñiga.

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BELT TIGHTENING — Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic fallout, Indiana finished the year with revenue down $1.4 billion, according to State Sen. Ryan Mishler in a news release sent out Friday, July 17.

“The silver lining to this difficult situation is that years of responsible fiscal management by the General Assembly and multiple governors have put Indiana in a much better financial position than we would find ourselves in otherwise. We started this economic downturn with $2.3 billion in reserves and had to use almost $1 billion in reserves to get us through the year. Having $1.4 billion left in reserves will allow the state to begin this upcoming year of uncertainty once again in a strong financial position,” he said in a news release.

Mishler said it will take “a variety of measures including reserves, federal stimulus funds and spending holdbacks to get us through the next year and beyond. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Holcomb administration in order to make the tough but necessary decisions to move our state forward.”

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Dan Spalding is the editor at InkFreeNews.com.
He covers city government and politics and always welcomes your input.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at (574) 855-7612.