fun in the District

Tonia and I just got back from three days in the eastern half of the District. We were fortunate to be able to drop our oldest two kids with her parents and the youngest two kids with mine-- for a little time away! ;-)

We were going to go to the Dearborn County Fair on Monday night, but some thunderstorms caused us to postpone that until Tuesday night. So, we went to Columbus for a day-- and thoroughly enjoyed that gem of a city. I remember reading that Columbus was a top city for architecture and thinking that it must be Columbus, Ohio. Someone corrected me at the time. Now, we've seen why. Wow! And what about Mill Race Park? That was incredible too! We also had a fabulous dinner at Bistro 310 and some "Doggone" good ice cream. Quite a night!

On Tuesday night, we went to the County Fair and took the opportunity to meet a bunch of people and hand out some campaign literature. We also met four people at the Democrats' tent and enjoyed talking with them for awhile. (The Republican tent was vacant all night long!)

On Wednesday, we visited Milan and saw the museum for the 1954 high school basketball champs-- the Indians. Then, we spent the rest of the day in Aurora and Lawrenceburg, walking around, shopping, and meeting some friendly small business owners. Both towns are lovely. And it was amazing to imagine how much that area has grown in the past few years!

speaking in Seymour

Thanks to the folks at CHOICE who arranged today's rally on illegal immigration. It is always encouraging to see people who are passionate about an issue in politics. Thankfully, we live in a country where we aren't required to pay attention to politics. But there are still many important issues that make a difference-- especially in the lives of the working poor and those in the middle class.

It was interesting to hear Mike Sodrel speak at the rally-- and to compare/contrast our views. Both of us are fans of legal immigration. He didn't speak to this, but presumably, he is not in favor of illegals receiving welfare.

Both of us want tighter border security. But Sodrel seems more optimistic about our ability to do this effectively. In contrast, as politicians usually do, a lot is being promised-- and at low cost. Instead, with government activism, we're likely to get less than we were promised and at a far higher cost.

Interestingly, Sodrel is not at all excited about enforcing our immigration standards on business-- unless a business actively solicits illegals. Although I am concerned about the cost of monitoring businesses effectively in this manner, I wouldn't dismiss this tool out-of-hand.

Thanks again to those at CHOICE-- for allowing us to spend some time on this important issue.