Fair Tax Event Tuesday

Here's another reminder that the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County will be hosting a Fair Tax event this Tuesday at 7pm, at Barley Island in downtown Noblesville.

Tom Wright, Executive Director of Americans for Fair Taxation will be speaking, along with Abdul Hakim-Shabazz from WXNT 1430-am, Ball State Economist Cecil Bohannon, and Ron Ranking, CPA of the Indiana Policy Review. I'll also speak, starting the evening off with a welcome.

Go if you are a supporter of the Fair Tax. Go if you are skeptical about it. Go if you just want to hang out with fiscal conservatives and supporters of limited government. Just make sure to go!

Where's The Courage?

Although I did not write this morning's short Indy Star editorial, I could have:

No guts in Congress to make needed cuts

Our position: Failure to vote on spending cuts is another sad reminder of Congress' lack of courage.

Republicans in the U.S. House aren't listening.

With the federal government's expenses soaring, in part because of the billions of extra dollars needed to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the wake of three powerful hurricanes, Republicans who control the House by a healthy majority have put off voting on much-needed budget cuts. Majority Leader Roy Blount hopes to round up enough support in his caucus next week to finally stage a vote.

But there's clearly little appetite in Congress for making hard decisions when it comes to the budget. In the summer Congress passed a highway bill loaded with waste, including giveaways to private enterprises like The Children's Museum in Indianapolis. Despite widespread appeals, congressional leaders have steadfastly refused to reopen the bill and shift money to more pressing and appropriate needs.

The federal government simply can't afford to do it all. Sadly, the folks running Congress show little evidence that they have the courage needed to make the choices.

Well, the GOP has gotten to enjoy throwing pork to people back home - the bridge to nowhere in Alaska is the quintessential case-in-point - because unfortunately, throwing pork buys votes.

The Star should have put Indiana state government on par with the Congress, though. Just as the Federal government features a Republican chief executive and Republican domination of both houses, so goes Indiana. Did we even cut the Indiana budget by a measly 1%?

No. Where's the courage, indeed.

Only one party has the appetite for cutting budgets- the Libertarian Party. If you want smaller government, the Libertarian Party is your only real choice.

Indiana Wesleyan Libertarians

I met with another excellent College Libertarian group last night, in Grant County, on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University. It was my distinct pleasure to speak with them about my campaign, the role of the state party in beginning to be a player in shaping public policy, and strategies to win constituents.

This group will raise the bar. They recently had a National Debt Party, which was designed to show their fellow students how serious the debt problem is. Their preseident, Derek Reimenschneider, declared the event a mediocre one. After all- they only had 160 students visit, and of that, merely 60 took the World's Smallest Political Quiz.














Indiana Wesleyan University Libertarians surround me

Yeah- I want "failure" of this magnitude! By the way, the event was held on campus, on a Friday night. I remember my own college days. No student organization staged events on Friday nights unless it involved bands and/or copious amounts of beer. This crew did it on the strength of the content alone. Hats' off!

Let us hope that Libertarian economic policies begin to shape Indiana sooner rather than later. I want these students to make Indiana their home upon graduation. It would be a pity to lose them to the Brain Drain that afflicts our state thanks to the economic policies of Democrats and Republicans.

Another Day, Another Smoking Ban

Today, it's West Lafayette. This one comes to us from the Department of Redundancy Department, courtesy of an AP story in the Indy Star:

The City Council gave preliminary approval to a ban on smoking in most workplaces.

Council members voted 6-1 to approve the ordinance on its first reading Monday as about 100 people packed the council chambers.

"This ordinance will do no harm," resident Marshall Crawford said. "The most it will do is inconvenience smokers."

No harm? As a minor side note, could we please consider that it will further erode property rights, as business owners are increasingly told that they cannot set their own policies in their own establishments, as a matter of law? Is that too much to ask? In America?

I am very interested in working with the Libertarian Party of Tippecanoe County to reach out to business owners to let them know that somebody out there is interested in defending their property rights.

Blogcritics Pick Of The Week

I am honored that Blogcritics, an excellent dynamic blog site I contribute to, has chosen one of my recent entries as a Pick of the Week in their Politics category. The item is a re-cap on the trials and tribulations of speaking my mind off-topic on my blog while as a candidate for public office.

Follow this link to the entry on Blogcritics

Follow this link to the Blogcritics Picks of the Week page.

I have linked Blogcritics on my own blog nearly since I launched it. If you want to know what bloggers across the political spectrum are writing about, there's no better place to check in than Blogcritics.

Trail Schedule Notes

I'll be on the trail throughout November, and have four event dates to pass along to you:

Tuesday, 11/8, 8pm: Non-Election Night Party. Celebrate the fact that no Democrats or Republicans were elected in Indiana this year, at Bearno's in downtown Indy. I'll probably speak, but we can certainly enjoy good pizza and talk politics! RSVPs to Allison McGuire by email: maguire_ar@hotmail.com, or by phone: 317-372-6436.

Thursday, 11/10, 9:30pm: Business meeting of the Indiana Wesleyan University Libertarians. I'll speak about my campaign and the role the Libertarian Party has in shaping policy statewide.

Tuesday, 11/15, 7pm: Fair Tax Event at Barley Island, in Noblesville. I'll speak briefly and introduce speakers. Open to all, especially if skeptical or if you have questions. Sponsored by the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County.

Satuday, 11/19, 11-4pm: Small Business Forum, sponsored by the Libertarian Party of Allen County. I'll speak at 3pm on Libertarian successes in defeating taxes in Fishers and making very restrictive laws affecting business policy and smoking less restrictive. The event is at Don Hall's Guest House and Conference Center in Fort Wayne. Follow this link for more info.







It's not too late to host a TV party for Monday Night Football, when the Colts finally defeat the New England Patriots. Invite 10-15 friends, family, and co-workers. Introduce me at halftime and I'll speak on my campaign and libertarian principles for 3-5 minutes. Contact me for more details: mikekole@msn.com

Free Speech On Blogs Is Toast

This is some bewildering stuff. First, let me say that I have never had any use for the so-called campaign finance 'reform' hogwash out there. I don't care if you are talking about Shays-Meehan or McCain-Feingold, it's all bunk that purports to try to take the effect of big money out of politics. In fact, both laws have the effect of empowering big money, as only the biggest campaigns and political parties can easily the management of the regulations and paperwork created by those bills and still have plenty of money left to get the message out. Most smaller campaigns decide not to raise any money at all, so as to not be troubled by the paperwork nightmare. So, as you see, it is in fact the little guy's voice that get squashed, not big money's.

Today, the House of Representatives considered a bill, HR 1606, that would have exempted blogs like this one from being treated as campaign contributions. In the near future, any blog- left, right, or center; Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian- will be treated not as mere political speech, but as a campaign contribution.

A majority was in favor of passing the exemptions, but the bill was defeated, because infuriatingly, the majority was less than the required 2/3rds needed for passage. From CBS News:

Online political expression should not be exempt from campaign finance law, the House decided Wednesday as lawmakers warned that the Internet has opened up a new loophole for uncontrolled spending on elections.

The House voted 225-182 for a bill that would have excluded blogs, e-mails and other Internet communications from regulation by the Federal Election Commission. That was 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed under a procedure that limited debate time and allowed no amendments.

The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.

Fortunately, some in the House still get free speech and the First Amendment. Sadly, not enough.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said the federal government should encourage, rather than fetter, a phenomenon that was bringing more Americans into the political process."

The newest battlefield in the fight to protect the First Amendment is the Internet," he said. "The Internet is the new town square, and campaign finance regulations are not appropriate there."

Without his legislation, Hensarling said, "I fear that bloggers one day could be fined for improperly linking to a campaign Web site, or merely forwarding a candidate's press release to an e-mail list."

I do hope and pray for a strong backlash from across the political spectrum in response. Unfortunately, the response to Shays-Meehan and McCain-Feingold was somewhat muted, as the forces on the left especially found that restricting campaign money was a good thing. Now, hopefully, they are seeing more and more how it affects the smallest political voices, and especially their own.

But regardless of political leanings, any blogger is affected, no matter what candidate you may wish to speak freely about. Posting a link on your blog may be a crime. In America!

Update: Reason Hit & Run has an entry with several comments already. The best comes from Stephen Macklin:

We already have an "Online Freedom of Speech Act." We call it the First Amendment.

Brad Moves On

My friend Brad Klopfenstien is moving to a new challenge. He leaves the Libertarian Party of Indiana as Executive Director to take a similar position with the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association.














Brad Klopfenstein filling in on 'Abdul In The Morning' on WXNT 1430-am

Brad's move has gotten a fair amount of media attention, which is gratifying. He has done great things to elevate the state party from fringe party status to respected third party player. He built great relationships with the media, and also in the Statehouse.

From South Bend Tribune:

The Libertarian Party of Indiana will enter the crucial election year of 2006 with new leadership, the party said Thursday.

Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein will resign next month to accept a lobbying job and will be replaced by interim director Daniel Drexler.

From Indy Star:

A rumor spread last week: The executive director of one of Indiana's major political parties had quit. One lawmaker asked: Was it the Democratic Party's Mike Edmondson, or the Republican Party's Luke Messer? Neither. It was the
Libertarians' Brad Klopfenstein.

From Nuvo:

On Nov. 4, Brad Klopfenstein is stepping down as the executive director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana to take a similar position with the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association. Klopfenstein has served longer (five-plus years) than any previous Indiana state director and during his tenure the party set new highs for both votes and percentages of votes; saw seven Libertarian candidates elected to local offices and eight more appointed to boards and commissions; and in 2002, the Indiana Libertarians hosted the party’s national convention.
...
NUVO: The party hit some new highs under your leadership. What did you do differently?
BK: I think the two things that I did differently were, from day one, I went around and made sure that everyone in the media knew who I was and who the Libertarians were. We made it clear that the party had viable candidates and that we should be a part of their political coverage. Secondly, we changed our message. Previously, too many Libertarian candidates got caught up in the philosophies of the parties, which are important, but we encouraged our candidates to take the next step and use those philosophies to develop solutions to address the problems affecting their local constituencies.

We also did a detailed analysis of who our natural constituents should be. What we found was that small business owners were being ignored by both the Republicans and Democrats and we began actively courting those individuals. We felt that they were a natural fit for our party.

It was my pleasure to serve Brad as his Campaign Manager for his 2003 bid for City-County Council. In truth, there is very little managing I could do for the guy who managed the whole party. It was astonishing to watch him zero in on his home precinct in an overwhelmingly Democrat district. His Democratic opponent won with about 83% of the vote, but Brad took nearly 40% at home. He showed me what could be done with a plan, determination, and a small budget, when coupled with good libertarian ideas.

A Butterknife, Property Taxes, and a Doctor's Legacy Lost

Rob Beck has really been sharpening his pen knife in his blog "Shall Not Perish". His latest entry is excellent in its scathing challenge to Republicans to honor the memory of Doc Bowen, who capped property taxes when governor. Bowen stands in contrast to Mitch Daniels, who may be known as 'The Blade' in reputation, but to Beck, is merely 'The Butterknife'.

Doc Bowen is a revered figure in the Party. A stately old gentleman who really felt like the kindly family Doctor you visited or your grandfather, Bowen was a great and classy governor. He saw Indiana through its earliest attempts to step out of its long-standing rural image and develop a more diverse economic base. He also seemed to genuinely care about the plight of Hoosiers, seeing that the role of government should be limited, but encouraging.

This sort of thinking spits on his legacy. The Republicans should hang their heads in shame. There's a strong chance that if asked, Bowen would identify ideologically more with Libertarians than our current Republican Party. Daniels, of course, sees room to justify the cut in the citizen's relief.

Fiscal conservatives- had enough yet? Get on board with the Libertarians once you have. After all, as regards trusting Republicans to cut the size of government: fool me once...

Another Day, Another Smoking Ban

This time, it was Greenfield. All the characteristics remain the same: a largely Republican governing body proposed a ban on smoking in private places of public accommodation, without consulting with affected business owners or employees as to the effect a ban might have on them, in disregard of property rights. Link to Greenfield Daily Reporter report.

Today's GOP: Anti-small business. Anti-property rights.

Who is pro-small business and pro-property rights? The Libertarian Party.

The LP of Hancock County appeared before the City Council meeting wearing blue to counter the pro-ban forces who were wearing red. The Libertarians met with affected business owners to offer support for their right to run their business their way.

I spoke with Ann Tomey before the meeting. She owns Annie's Restaurant, and she permits smoking in a section separated from a no-smoke section. She's just devestated by this ordinance. Her job is to serve her customers. Some of them smoke, some of them don't, so she tries to accomodate them all. She's concerned that her smoking patrons will dine out in Greenfield less upon the passage of this law.



Observe some of her comments from the Greenfield Daily Recorder article that preceded the vote.

Tomey said today has been especially difficult because, not only could the city vote the proposed ordinance into law, it is the anniversary of her husband’s death. He died of cancer.

“I don’t want people to have sympathy for me, I want them to support that I’m a business owner and I have a free choice,” she said on the verge of tears. “I fight every day to stay in business and make a living and these people are looking at the smoking issues, but there are worse things then this.

“Cigarettes are legal; the government hasn’t made them illegal. This is what (ticks) me off.”

Tomey said if the city is concerned about health issues and wants to ban smoking perhaps they should also prohibit the sale of cigarettes.

“Then tell all the taxpayers they have to pick up the bill for all the taxes raised by cigarettes,” she said. “They need to stop and think about a lot of things. It’s not just the smoking.

“I’ll stand here and yell about it until the day I die, and I’ll probably die of cancer because it runs in my family. But I invest my life in my business and this is my life they are talking about.”

Tomey said prior to owning her restaurant she and her husband had owned a construction company, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“This is a fight and it shouldn’t be,” she said. “I could have done anything, but this was my dream. I’m fighting a losing battle where I can’t even run my own restaurant.

So, in order to pass a feel-good ordinance, the Republican-dominated Greenfield City Council makes Ann's life harder. She invests her life in her business, and she is treated like a criminal.














Annie: Over-taxed, and now, over-regulated.

Let's be clear on this. I do not smoke. In fact, I don't like second-hand smoke. But, I'm an adult with enough common sense that when I walk into a restaurant or bar that is too smoky for my liking, I turn around and head for the exit. Let the smokers have it, I'll go elsewhere. Why is it that so many people perceive that can only get what they want by imposing their will on others forcibly?

This is the shame of our nation and the demise of our freedom.

The Lessons Continue

Why do political campaign advisors urge against having an active blog or engaging in dialogue with opposition? Because it's bad enough to have negative linkage to one of your blog entries, but worse if they start hammering you with repetition. Most advisors will tell the candidate- dump the blog and ignore the blogger.

Consider the dialogue. I said I thought his analysis was too literal, extracting a few words at the expense of the spirit of the commentary. He turned that around to suggest that I should therefore never be taken literally, on anything, especially on policy issues. His third post willfully ignores the fact that my comments were on a radio network, which is an interest of mine, and tied it to my candidacy. It's a ridiculous stretch, but that's what opponents will do, which is why you shut up; stick to the talking points; be an empty suit; and if you're going to blog at all, keep it to tales from the trail and pictures with farmers, auto workers, and retirees.

Oh well, I guess it's just not my style. For one thing, I tend to agree with the Oscar Wilde wisdom on being talked about or not. I have faith that many of the readers of his blog will read what I've said and not find it a reason to actively campaign against me. True, others won't be so open minded, but that being the case, I probably never would win them over anyway.

Really, if anyone wants to put my picture and name in a prominent place on their blog, all I ask is that you link back to this blog or my campaign site and spell the name correctly: K-O-L-E. I'd be delighted if a 1,000 bloggers assailed my comments on Air America within the next three days. Or, perhaps Daily Kos could. That would be delightful!

Lesson For A Candidate?

Quite a few people have advised me to kill this blog, or at least turn it into milquetoast, such as most other candidates have.

I don't especially like that advice. I'm not most candidates. I don't like their empty suit presentations that are long on smiling pictures and anecdotes about places they've been, and very short on what they think. I have a wide variety of interests, and I like to talk about them. I like to talk about social and cultural trends, too. What's the harm? Must I only offer safe, boring fare, devoid of taking a position? Must I always and only speak on-message, and in soundbites?

I found out today why candidates do avoid speaking freely:

• The more you say, the better the chance someone will disagree with you.
• Many people will dismiss you on just one area of disagreement.
• Some will even dismiss you despite 99% agreement elsewhere.

A blogger found one article I penned on Air America, found my source biased, and dismissed me out of hand. (There was irony in the dismissal of my right-wing source, while touting left-wing Al Franken's new book in the same entry.)

What about the several hundred other articles I've written? Nevermind that. There's this one area of disagreement.

The lesson most candidates will learn from an experience such as this is to shut down the blog, to shut up as regards innocuous topics, and speak only on message.

As I said, I don't like that lesson. I want well-rounded candidates. Do you?

Don't you want well-rounded candidates? Aren't you completely underwhelmed by soundbite speak and empty suits that try to limit their entire dialogue to three talking points vetted by polling data? I know I am.

This isn't unrealistic, is it? I don't expect to get total agreement from people. My own experience is that I've never met a single person I held complete, 100% agreement with. Should I shut them down because of the differences? Isn't it better to build bridges on the areas of agreement?

I say 'YES' to that latter question, but the reality is that most people zero in on disagreements with candidates for office. This blog entry helps illustrate the point.

Because I am committed to being the best candidate I can be, I really have little choice but to seriously consider my presentation. I have to consider streamlining my subject matter and my words, lest I unnecessarily alienate potential supporters and voters.

I am very interested in public comments on this. Please chime in!

What Does Your Team Stand For?

Several months ago, I was repeated observing that the two major political parties were ignoring the wishes of their bases, and crossing over to the other side. The main point was that when you vote, you give 100% of that vote to whomever it is cast. If you give $100 to a candidate, they got 100% of that money. Are you getting 100% value in return?

OK, politics is a game of compromise. So, are you getting 50% value in return? Remember, you still gave 100% on your end. If you are a Republican, keep in mind that I penned this column prior to the Bush nomination of Harriet Miers, and prior to all of the smoking bans that have been proposed for imposition on Hoosier businesses.


You Have To Know What Team To Root For

The beauty of being a sports fan is that it is always easy to root for your team. Whether you pull for Purdue, IU, or Notre Dame, for the Pacers, the Colts, or the Komets, you’ll root for the team wearing the right colors, no matter what players are wearing them.

That’s important, because players come and go. College teams completely turn over every four years. Colts fans have been pretty lucky in that the high-flying offensive nucleus of Peyton Manning, Reggie Harrison, and Edgerrin James has been powering an exciting team together for six seasons.

Five years down the road, the blue and white could become a defensive juggernaut. A problem for Colts fans? No way- they will be thrilled and will cheer the Colts, hopefully to a Super Bowl victory.

It doesn’t matter who is on the team or how the game is played. As long as your team wins, you’re happy.

That’s a fair summation of Hoosier politics these days, too.

For 16 years, faithful Hoosier Republicans have been pulling for their team in the hopes of an electoral Super Bowl victory. For 16 years, the Democrats retained the governor’s office, even while slowly losing their grip on the legislature. Finally, this past November, the GOP won all the trophies, with Mitch Daniels elected governor, and a Republican majority in both statehouse chambers.

Republicans were ecstatic- at first. But, just eight days after his inaugural, Daniels used the platform of the State of the State address to announce his support for a temporary tax hike on Hoosiers earning $100,000 or more. Republicans in the club seating were stunned by the move.

While there is nothing quite so permanent as a temporary tax increase, they swallowed hard and cheered, but because they support their team, and their team is in charge!

The Indiana Constitution requires the state’s budget to be balanced. This posed the new governor with a challenge, as the outgoing government left Daniels with a $600 million deficit. The quickest way to erase a deficit is to cut spending, and with Daniels earning the nickname ‘The Blade’ while on President Bush’s staff, this seemed like a lock. However, Daniels’ budget would have spent $1 billion more than with the previous budget. The two highest percentage increase items? Teacher retirement up 73%, and something called ‘general government’ up 29%.

Hmm. Well, Daniels is just the quarterback, and he’s a rookie. Why dwell on him when the Republicans have a whole team of players on this winning team to idolize?

Early in the legislative session, Senator Beverly Gard (R-Greenfield) authored a tax on food and beverages. Not to be outdone, Representatives Tom Saunders (R-Lewisville) and Matt Whetstone (R-Brownsburg) co-authored two bills that would tax food and beverages. Republicans leaving their seats thought about heading for the concession stand after the first quarter, but then chose to mill around the hallway instead.

Representative Timothy Brown (R-Crawfordsville) authored a bill giving the green light to counties to raise taxes on gasoline from 4 to 8 cents per gallon. Jeff Espich (R-Uniondale) introduced another gas tax bill, but with a tax per mile formula that makes the tax specific to your vehicle. Senator John Waterman (R-Shelburn) has even written a bill that would forbid retailers from selling gasoline at below cost. If someone wants to sell gasoline at a loss right now, I want to declare him a hero, not send the Attorney General after him. Can we go back to the huddle?

Politics and sports goes together so well that Peyton Manning stopped by the Statehouse and threw passes to the lawmakers. Soon afterwards, several Republican lawmakers forwarded a game plan of tax packages in support a new stadium for the Colts.

Reps Luke Messer (R-Shelbyville), Michael Murphy (R-Indianapolis), and Ways and Means Chairman Espich all issued plans that combined taxes and gambling. Senator Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville) offered yet another plan, minus the gambling, but including taxes on most service industries in Marion County. Not one of them thought of leadership as using the prestige of their office to bring prospective investors together to create a private investment. All went straight for tax packages.

When the fiscal conservative looks at the GOP team in their uniforms, they will see that the familiar elephant logo is there, but the Gipper’s government-off-my-back players are on the sidelines. Those are the Libertarians.

Governing is not sports. When governing, the policy is far more important that the colors the winning team is wearing. If you are a fiscal conservative, what is the point in continuing to back the Republican Party? The GOP has run the ball to the wrong end zone and scored a safety for the Democrats.

Learning From Others

Some are complaining that Tom DeLay's mug shot is too upbeat, glib, or stinking happy to befit the occasion of his booking.



















Let's just assume that Mr. DeLay has taken the opportunity to learn a lesson from others who have found themselves in the unfortunate position of having their mug shot taken.




















Lesson: Just because you are the Senate majority leader, you shouldn't lose sight of presentation just because you've been indicted on money laundering charges. The day in court means the opportunity to debate what the meaning of the word 'is' is, so the charges may or may not stick. The mug shot, however, is forever.

Interesting Perspectives on Sewers

There is a word I would not choose to describe Mayor Peterson's sewer initiative: timely. The the letters to the Indy Star are full of praise for the mayor, despite the fact that this is an ages-old problem. I'll take just one of the recent ones, a glowing letter of praise from today's Star:

Improving Kids' Environment commends Mayor Bart Peterson for taking a crucial step toward reducing the threat to Indianapolis' children posed by overflows in the city sewer system. His plan would provide resources, through increased sewer fees, to pay for much-needed upgrades.

The streams in our neighborhoods often contain human waste where the bacteria count can be more than 100 times the standard and kids are exposed to raw sewage. Whenever there's more than 0.1-inch of rain, these overflows of human waste threaten kids as well as the integrity of our neighborhoods. That's not what we want for our city or our children. You're doing the right thing, Mr. Mayor!

Janet G. McCabe
Executive director
Improving Kids' Environment
Indianapolis

True enough, the Mayor is doing the right thing. But, how long has he been Mayor? Since taking office on January 1, 2000. Five-and-three-quarters years is a long time to go between starting the job and identifying a major problem that affects the entire Central Indiana region.

Of course, the Peterson Administration shouldn't have had to deal with this at all. It should have been tackled by at least the two prior administrations- of Mayors Goldsmith and Hudnut. All this means is that no matter if we're talking Republicans or Democrats, we're talking about a lack of diligence in identifying and solving major problems.

The Libertarian Party had been talking about the third-world condition regarding Indianapolis sewers whereby any time more than a quarter-inch of rain fell over a short time span, the sanitary system would overflow and discharge raw sewage into the White River.

Although many Libertarian candidates made this an issue over the past several years, major media ignored them, as did mayors and city-county councilors.

So finally, Mayor Bart Peterson announced an initiative to fix the sewers, once his top priority- the Indianapolis Colts- was satisfied. Great, but let this be the start of a new day where actual priorities are identified and tackled first, not last.

Another Intrusion

I generally don't have a problem with carrying a picture ID. I am who I say I am, and am not affronted by proving it occasionally.

I am affronted by the idea that anybody can get ahold of my info. Hence my indignation at the ability of anyone to take a peek at my driver's license.

I just searched for it and there it was.. . picture and all!! Fortunately, you can remove yours from the searchable archives. I certainly did. Link to remove.

Just enter your name, city and state to see if yours is on file. After your license comes on the screen, click the box marked "Please Remove". This will remove it from public viewing, but not from law enforcement.

Another Day, Another Smoking Ban

Debbie Harbeson reports on Clark County's introduction of anti-smoking legislation, and tackles the personal experience method of advocacy used by one Jefferson City Councilor.

As with all laws that would regulate personal behavior, we have to ask how far you want to take this? To it's logical conclusion? From Harbeson's report:

Since she brought her personal experience up as important to her reasoning for promoting more government interference in our lives, we now have to consider how her situation has any relevance to banning smoking in other’s private businesses. If we follow her reasoning, then her proposed law makes no sense whatsoever. She should have introduced an ordinance that a non-smoker cannot marry, or live with, a smoker. Do you think she would have liked to see a law like this in place when she was choosing her mate?

I'd like very much to hear this Councilor's response. I mean, it's a health issue!

Meeting Tonight

The Libertarian Party of Hamilton County will meet tonight at Barley Island in Noblesville, with the honorable Chair Rob Place presiding. Meeting start time is 7pm.

Two topics for discussion tonight: candidacies for 2006, and the proposed smoking ban in Carmel.

Update: Sneaky Carmel is at it again. They've already had the first reading of their smoking ordinance, at yesterday's inconvenient dinner time meeting.

Hat tip, Rob Beck.

What? Revenues Are Down?

This morning's Indy Star report had me laughing out loud. It seems the suburban counties tax haul from the new food & beverage taxes is less than was expected.

No! You're kidding! Combine higher gas prices with higher menu prices and add a flattening housing market, and you just might have people thinking twice about going out to eat as often as they were when the projections were made. Throw in the perception that patrons might not be able to smoke in bars. I said this all along- if you want to grow revenues, you have to create incentives for people to participate in the taxed activity, not disincentives. Well- duh.

But nobody should be given to panic on this. Any time the Colts want to kick in that user fee- the $3/per ticket tax they stubbornly refused to abide by as 'their share'- they can easily replace any revenues not generated by the food & beverage taxes. From the Star:

State finance officials are counting on $3.5 million a year from the new 1 percent restaurant tax in six surrounding counties, or about $300,000 a month, to help pay for the new stadium. But this month, when money was distributed from August restaurant visits, the stadium project netted a little more than half of that, or $164,376.

Remember that we've been told that the ticket tax was unnecessary, that there was plenty of money to go around without it. It was once considered crucial, but then the government's negotiators went weak at the knees, caving in to the Colts on the ticket tax. But, if there is concern, consider this:

The RCA Dome has a seating capacity of 57,890. At $3/seat, revenue of $173,670 would be generated per game. The average month has 2 games, which would mean generating $347,340.

Do the math. The ticket tax could replace the food & beverage tax. It would have been more fair to tax the actual users of the football product, and would have left diners alone. And apparently, donut county restauranteurs need the disincentives removed.

TV Time in Fort Wayne

Big thanks to Doug Horner, Jeanette Jacquish, and Robert Enders for their efforts on producing their Libertarian Perspectives TV show, and for inviting me to return for my second and third appearance on the program.

The shows were taped yesterday, and will air over the next couple of months. The topic on the first show is the Libertarian Party of Indiana's Small Business Initiative, which is being employed in the defense of the owners of small businesses such as restaurants & bars, as shown in the previous two blog entries. The topic of the second was regulation and the construction and development industries, and the labor market.

Watch Libertarian Perspectives in the greater Fort Wayne area on Comcast channel 57, Saturdays at 4:00 pm.














Two shoots require two suits.

The first shot reveals the whole set. It's amazing how the two minutes prior to beginning the programs drag endlessly, as shown in that shot, and yet, the 30-minute program zips by and is complete before you know it. Even though I've always been a radio guy, I really like TV.