Eminent Domain Update

While Katrina's aftermath dominates news coverage and attention spans, the fight in defense of property rights and against eminent domain abuse is advancing.

Today I received a letter from State Rep. Dave Wolkins (R-18), of Winona Lake IN. He is the Chair of the legislature's Interim Study Committee on Eminent Domain.

In the letter, Rep. Wolkins advised that the next meeting on the eminent domain issue will be held Wednesday, September 21 at 1pm in the House of Representatives Chamber, 3rd Floor, Statehouse. The agenda for the 9/21 meeting has been posted. Public comments will be taken, so I urge supporters to attend and to speak out.

Don't be afraid to drive from the remote corners of the state. At the last meeting, the first comments taken were from those who drove the furthest. I thought that was rather respectful.

Minutes from the first meeting at which I testified are available. My comments, and those of Mike Sylvester are condensed into a paragraph each in the minutes.

I urge supporters of property rights to contact Rep. Wolkins and express your support. Phone: 1-800-382-9841. Email by visiting his website. Or, write:

State Representative Dave Wolkins
Indiana House of Representatives
Room 401-8, Statehouse
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Isabel At 3 Months!

Wow. 3 Months. Almost 100 days. It's amazing how fast the time goes. I wouldn't expect it to feel that way with the sleepless nights, and yet, it goes by faster that ever.
She smiles a lot and makes lots of expressive sounds. She loves her swing and any kind of motion, especially long walks through the neighborhood. She's becoming very observant, and especially likes the ceiling fans. She's also starting to notice that some of her toys play music when she grasps them. It's fun to watch her development unfold before our eyes!

Non-Partisan Katrina Report Card

Republicans have been eager to point out New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin's failings, along with those of Louisiana governor Blanco. Democrats have been eager to point out the failings of FEMA chief Brown and especially President Bush.

Guess what? The Republicans and Democrats are correct. All of these parties failed somewhere along the line.

The best analysis I have seen so far is on RealClearPolitics.com. They cut through the partisan red herrings and lay blame where it belongs- everywhere.

Tom Bevan's conclusions:

Having said that, it's worth noting that even a more competent, experienced FEMA director wouldn't have been able to stop the flooding or most likely to have foreseen the widespread looting and violence that followed and caused such havoc with rescue efforts. In fact, short of President Bush stepping in an using executive powers to order the National Guard to forcibly evacuate New Orleans (something I'm not sure is possible), a perfectly executed post-hurricane relief plan under the circumstances in New Orleans would have sped things up by maybe 24 hours. That's a lot of time in a crisis relief situation and certainly would have saved a few lives, but I'm not sure it would have drastically changed the dynamics of what we saw unfolding in New Orleans last week.

Katrina really was a perfect storm in that she struck a city that was extremely vulnerable to flooding; a city with significant crime, drug, and poverty issues that was effectively rendered lawless for three days causing a complete social breakdown, and a city (and state) government with a long and notorious tradition for corruption and incompetence. All of the tragedy resulting from these things was compounded by a less than perfect response by FEMA.

Comparing Disasters

Jesse Walker has an interesting article comparing various disasters and their accompanying reactions by the citizenry. Says Walker, in his Reason article "Disaster in New Orleans":

The civic breakdown we've seen in New Orleans is extremely atypical, not just next to smaller-scale emergencies like 9/11 but next to some of the worst natural and technological catastrophes of recent history.

Just so you haven't thrown in the towel on the human condition, tempting though it may sometimes be.

The Colts & Government Agree

Remind me to do business with the State where I have an asset the State wants to remain in Indiana, and I could threaten to move it- especially if I can get into a negotiation with the State.

In sum, the Colts got everything they wanted. A new stadium is on its way. The Colts will get a portion of proceeds from other events that use the building they will not own. The Colts will not put a $3 tax on tickets. I just have to enter into a negotiation with the State one day!

I have been complaining on this site for two years that public saftey and infrastructure should be higher priorities than stadium building. In the wake of Katrina, economist Bill Styring offers some interesting priority comparisons between New Orleans circa 1971, and Indianapolis today. From Styring's op-ed in today's Indy Star:

New Orleans' choice in 1971 was to spend money upgrading the levees or to build a Superdome for the Saints football team. The new dome cost $134 million. In today's dollars, that's not quite a billion bucks. They chose the Superdome. True, had they opted for levees instead of the Superdome, the Saints might have left for another city. And there might also today be a New Orleans.

and

So Indianapolis is about to make the same trade as New Orleans: a glitzy new sports palace in exchange for rotting basic infrastructure.

I'd wager that if New Orleans could do it over, the Saints would be in Los Angeles and today New Orleans would be dry. Are we making the same mistake they did?

Mr. Styring, please do not overlook the notion that the new stadium could be used one day as a shelter should floods equal to those of 1913 return to Central Indiana- just as the Superdome has been recently employed. That should bring you all the comfort you need. Just ask State Senator Luke Kenley. From another Indy Star story on the stadium deal:

"My expectation is they (the authority) will not only announce it, but also approve it and move forward," said state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, the architect of the stadium legislation and a nonvoting member of the authority board. "I feel greatly relieved -- it looks like we'll get it done and hold to the timeline of finishing by August 15th, 2008." (emphasis supplied)

It would have been a vastly nobler achievement to be regarded as the architect of a deal to make sure the sewers cease to back up with raw sewage and cease those discharges into the White River. It could have been done on the same timeline, at about the same cost.

Ah, well. A man's got his priorities.

Russmo Cartoons

I've always been a fan of political cartoons. Russmo is my current favorite. Here are two recent ones that I really like.

Price Gouging = Bad, Right?

Here are several columns on proce gouging, the mechanism of price, and general economics as related to the aftermath of any disaster.

John Stossel, from ABC News.
Iain Murray, of Tech Central Station.
William Tucker, with the American Enterprise.
Walter Williams, George Mason University.
Walter Block, Loyola University.

Everybody wants prices to be lower. Many argue that they should be lower. The question that must be asked is: who should correctly set the prices, the seller or the buyer? Those arguing for price controls is saying that the consumer is more important the the producer, and has no legitimate claim of ownership on what he produces. And we wonder why there is a struggle for property rights in this country.

If the Kelo v. New London decision angered you, for the same reasons that it did, you should not be in favor of price controls.

Also, the kook network is busy circulating emails urging a gas-out, or boycott. As usual, urban legend website Snopes sorts of these actions, and shows that they would do more harm than good. Supply and demand, as always.

Hamilton County Budget Time

I was surprised to learn today that the County Council moved their meeting to the first Tuesday of the month, whereas it is normally scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month. No matter. I attended and urged the Council to pass the most austere budget possible.

Actually, that's not much of a surprise. I always lobby for austere budgets, and local governing bodies seem to shift the days and times of their meetings regularly. Maybe this latter is why I wasn't too surprised that I was the only person who got up and spoke on the budget.

Get that.

Just me. Nobody else. It's a county of a quarter-million, and only one person gave the Council any input whatsoever.

I know that the Hurricane is on the minds of many, and is much more an issue of life or death. It's just unfortunate. The opportunity to speak up is there, and unexercised by the average citizen.

Happy Anniversary, Abdul!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the "Abdul In The Morning" show on WXNT. Congratulations go to host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz and program director Andrew Lee in bringing an outstanding talk program to Central Indiana.

Prior to Abdul's arrival, WXNT's "Morning Line" was a decent program, with fairly regular coverage of news events. Abdul took the coverage to a new level, by attending public meetings, interviewing elected officials at all levels, covering news in places long ignored and deemed too small by other media outlets, such as Lawrence and Beech Grove. And of course, I appreciate the inclusive coverage of the activities of the Libertarian Party, and being invited onto the show regularly.

Here's looking forward to several more years... or until we convince Abdul that he absolutely has to run for office as a Libertarian!

Full Weekend of Campaign Activity

The Kole Campaign was busy this weekend, making three appearances, reaching people in a wide range of the state.

Wayne County held their annual fundraiser garage sale, and I was on hand Saturday to say hello to friends, supporters, and bargain hunters alike. Chair Rex Bell and his organization raised over $2,300 on the weekend.

I discovered the joy of making cotton candy. Ame & Isabel met the cows across the fence in Rex's backyard. From Hagerstown to Greenfield as Hancock County held a tax freedom rally and cookout. Excellent fellowship with Chair Chris Ward, campaign team member Jenn Bradshaw, and all of the Hancock County folks. Labor Day weekend is a great time for a tax freedom rally. No better time to remind people that you should have the first claim on the fruits of your labor, and not the government.
This morning, I sat in with Abdul on the morning show on WXNT. Of course, most conversation centered on Katrina and New Orleans, although the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist was discussed, and President Bush announced his move to have Roberts start his tenure on the Supreme Court as Chief.

It wasn't all Federal issues, as we did get around to talking about what the Libertarian Party has been doing lately in Indiana- mainly, providing the only consistent opposition to higher taxes.

Tune In Monday Morning!

Here's the reminder, since tomorrow won't feel like a Monday morning. Catch me on Newstalk 1430-am WXNT, from 6-9am Labor Day morning. I'll be joining Brad Klopfenstein on the popular"Abdul In The Morning" show.

The original idea was that Brad & I would fill in for Abdul so that he might take a vacation day. We've done this before. See my profile picture for an 'action photo' behind WXNT's microphone.

Since Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath are still big news, management wants Abdul on the microphone. Instead of filling in, Brad & I will Abdul's guests.

Feel free to call in, on 317-228-1430. Those outside the Indy area can listen to the streamed signal via the website. We'll give the 1-800 number during the broadcast.

Awful Scene, Awful Selective Coverage

Why is it that an important story about the horrible conditions within the Superdome immediately after the Hurricane passed is under-reported in the US? Why did I have to go to a New Zealand newspaper's site to find such a story?

It seems that a sizeable effort has been made to try to hide the facts, and probably with the major media's complicity. Why? If only that effort was more properly spent- in assisting and protecting the refugees- the situation might have been improved to the point that it would be reported on here. For my own edification, I gave up on the major media for this story and checked out New Orleans bloggers, who were on or near the scene, and who did not mince words.

Let's not hide the embarrassing stuff. Let's get it out in the open. That's the only way you can ever begin to address it.

Blog links:

The Interdictor. This is the most amazing blog I have seen since the events of September 11. The sheer volume and journalistic quality of the photographs will stagger you. Fans of historian Howard Zinn should take note. History books will one day give facts and statistics about Katrina. Anyone really wanting to get a detailed human look at humanity on the ground can already get it, first-hand. Talk about a primary source. Beware- you could spend a lot of time here. It's hard not to get caught up in the real-life drama.

Dancing With Katrina. I think the writers thought it would be cute to blog the Hurricane. Yeah, cute. It's worth reading to see reality sink in over time, and starkly depicted.

Google Earth. The satelite images of New Orleans for the days of Katrina are becoming available. You could rebuild, but why would you want to risk duplicating this mess?

New Orleans Pics

Here's a link to amazing and voluminous pictures from atop a downtown New Orleans building. Let's hear it for the digital camera, the internet, and the blog!

http://sigmund.biz/kat/index.html

More Boortz

Check in to Neal's Nuze again today. It is excellent, as it has been all week. Some of the best commentary on Katrina and its aftermath can be found there. Here are links to the Nuze from the past few days:

Thu 9/1 Wed 8/31 Tue 8/30

New Orleans Anarchy

The natural disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina has often moved me. The scope of the devastation caused by it, and especially the human misery, has often given me pause over the past few days.

However, the subhuman reaction by many in New Orleans has also given rise to anger in me. There is enough human misery there already, and no need to compound it with the general lawlessness.

AP report on general lawlessness. Unfortunately, the police are a large part of the problem. Beyond participating in the looting themselves, this quote seems to sum up their attitude:

Tourist Debbie Durso of Washington, Mich., said she asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "'Go to hell - it's every man for himself.'"

Here, we are unfortunately seeing the result of actions by so many within a society that do not respect individual rights or property rights. These are most assuredly not libertarians looting and raping. Indeed, the justifications for the looting in particular offered by so many are classic socialism. As you can see, socialism unleashed is a frightening spectacle.

Pics from the scene. Pictures are worth 1,000 words. The one that shook me to my core is of a little girl abandoned by her family, who was overjoyed at receiving bottled water.

Let's get around to teaching property rights to the people of New Orleans once the rebuilding is reasonably completed. Natural disasters can occur at any time, and it is likely that New Orleans will again see flooding and hurricanes. The misery caused by natural disasters cannot be prevented. The misery caused by humans in the aftermath can- and should- be prevented.

As a Libertarian spokesman who often engages in debate over policy solutions, I so frequently hear that a move to a more libertarian society would bring anarchy. Well, New Orleans is experiencing real anarchy right now, and it isn't happening because there is a widespread belief that one's home is his castle, that any theft is theft no matter the reason, or that it is wrong to initiate force against another human being. Look on it well. This is the result of teaching socialism, that individual need trumps individual rights.

In fact, New Orleans could have used a libertarian mindset over the last few days.

Excellent Neal's Nuze

Every day, Neal Boortz posts his running commentary, that are equal parts show notes, mini op-ed columns, and reading assignments. Today's is excellent, and addresses many things I would like to cover in the wake of Katrina given unlimited time and energy. The following is all from Neal Boortz. I don't usually cut such large portions of other's work, but this is so good and really, I would just be duplicating him, so I may as well just step aside and give Boortz the floor and the credit.

Boortz on looting:

I saw a picture on Yahoo News yesterday. The picture showed two people wading through chest-deep water in New Orleans. The lady has some food with her. The caption says "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana" Finding? They found the food? Sorry ... they stole it. Just because they're white doesn't mean they "found" food. Another picture on Yahoo News showed a black person with food taken from a grocery store. This person was
identified as a "looter." White, black ... whatever. It's stealing.

Fellow Hoosier Libertarian Rob Beck has excellent commentary on looting.

Boortz on gas prices:

There has never in the history of the world been a better way to allocate scarce resources than to simply allow the law of supply and demand to take its course. Whenever government steps in to interfere, shortages occur and chaos often reigns.

The way to handle the gas panic in Atlanta yesterday was to RAISE PRICES! It's not price gouging. It's the law of supply and demand at work. Today there will be people in Atlanta who might not be able to drive their own cars to work, to doctors appointments or to buy groceries who would otherwise be driving if gas stations throughout Atlanta had raised their prices in response to the increased demand and limited supply.

Let me explain:

As the panic spread, and the demand increased, the prices at the pumps were pretty much unchanged ... for a while. As a result people decided to top off every vehicle they owned .. .no matter how much gas remained in the tank. The predictable result was that stations soon ran out of fuel. The word spread, and more people hit the streets to fill more cars. Today people in Atlanta will find that many gas stations still have their pumps shut down. Throughout the night tanker trucks were busy trying to replenish the stations, but there simply aren't enough trucks to meet this demand. Another supply problem.

So .. what was the solution? For the politician the solution may have been to pander to the electorate by talking about imposing fines on gas station operators who "overcharge", whatever that means, consumers. The real solution, though, was to increase prices in response to the increased demand and limited supply. This is what the uninformed and the political class call "price gouging."

Let's take a look at what would have happened if the free market had been allowed to do what it has always done so well -- when left alone -- and that is to allocate scarce resources. If gas prices had risen strongly yesterday (as they in fact did at some stations) then people would have given a second thought to filling every car they own. If the prices were, say, $5 a gallon, consumers would have purchased what they thought they might need to get through the next few days, and would have started making plans for conservation., Certainly few people would have been shuttling back and forth filling up every car they owned. As a result, the gas that one consumer didn't pump into his second or third car because the price was so high would have been gas available for someone to put into the car they actually needed to get to work.

Keeping the prices artificially low encouraged over-consumption and hoarding.

This is why we can expect to find shortages in Hawaii, California, or any other place that puts artificial price caps on gasoline. A dear price makes you think carefully about use. This is one thing environmentalists understand about the mechanism of price when they call for artificially high prices. I hope those folks are happy now.

Boortz on "price records" and refining capacity:

At long last, we finally have a gas price record. The media has been reporting for years about "record gas prices," but they never have actually been records. The left, in their never-ending quest to demonize the oil industry, doesn't adjust gas prices for inflation. You simply cannot compare prices from one era to the next without adjusting for inflation.

So what was the record? In 2005 dollars, gasoline cost an average of $3.08 a gallon in March of 1981. It only took almost a quarter of a century to break the record. So what about bringing down prices now?

Prices have shot up in the wake of Katrina because 10% of the United States' refining capacity has been knocked out. Those refineries are along the Gulf Coast. Since there are only 149 gasoline refineries in the United States, and since none have been built in the last 30 years, knocking a few offline means supply doesn't meet demand. Thus the price goes up.

The answer is to build more refineries...and fast. If we had enough refineries to pick up the slack and continue meeting the demand, the rest of the country wouldn't be paying so much at the pump right now. So who is to blame?

Your friendly neighborhood environmentalist, that's who. It takes years to get a permit to build a refinery, if it can be done at all. We haven't built any in so long because Democratic, liberal, leftist, socialist enviro-wackos are preventing the permits from being pulled. No new refineries means every last one is running at full capacity in the summer. A hiccup of any kind means an interruption in supply. It's made worse by the fact that the oil companies have to refine dozens of special environmental blends to satisfy the politicians in various cities.

So as you fill up today and tomorrow for your holiday weekend, just know that you are paying so much because of the radical environmental movement in this country.

Thanks, Neal!

Pump Prices

Yes, it's bad. It's to where the price per gallon is where we've never seen it before- even in California! This is my photo from the local Co-Op, in Noblesville:

For perspective, gasoline pump prices are now on par with where they were in the early 1980s. Adjusted for inflation, that is. The screaming is that the prices are the highest ever. That screaming was happening a dollar per gallon ago. Now it's finally true.

So, since it is finally true, perhaps we can start to address the root of the problem- the lack of refining capacity in the United States.

Mike On The Air

Here's a reason to wake up early on Labor Day. Libertarian Party Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein will fill in on the Abdul In The Morning show on WXNT 1430-am, from 6-9am, next Monday morning. I will be Brad's guest.

If you want to listen from outside the Indy area, go to WXNT's website and pick up the streamed signal. Remember that Indiana is on Central Time right now.

Victory Viewing

The Fishers Town Council Meeting will air three times today on Channel 19 (at least on Insight cable). I'll be checking it out to see my speech. I'd love to tape it and make it available somehow. Anyhow, here's the schedule: 1pm, 5pm, and 9pm.

Update: Total rip-off!!! The one-hour broadcast just happened to conclude with the end of Scott Faultless' remarks... and just before I took the podium!

In fact, none of the remarks of anyone but Council members and the Town Manager were aired. The non-vote on the food & beverage tax was not aired. The Council members' rationales for voting against the tax were not aired. What gives?!

These programs are supposed to be a public service, not merely a propaganda service on behalf of the members of government. I'll be looking into this nonsense.

Libertarians Have Solutions

What makes the Libertarian Party of Indiana distinct from some other state parties is that we offer solutions, not merely criticism.

Margaret Fette is the Chair of the LP of Monroe County. She recently submitted a proposal for a map redistricting for Bloomington. Her map meets the requirements for distributing roughly equal populations per district, but is free of electoral bias. It lets the voters decide who will be their representative rather than the party bosses.

From the Hoosier Times:

Libertarians' map merits consideration

August 30, 2005

The Monroe County Libertarian Party, not wanting to be out of the loop in the Republican-pushed mid-decade county redistricting process, has submitted a map for new county council districts that merits serious consideration by the redistricting committee when it meets Wednesday.

and

(T)he map makes a lot of sense - more than the one the Democrat-controlled
redistricting committee and county commissioners approved in 2001.

It's not enough to criticize. Offer a counter-proposal, submit it, and stand behind it. Margaret showed that even in a fairly hostile political environment such as in Bloomington, good ideas cut through the fog like a beacon of light.

Margaret's map is an important strike against the practice of gerrymandering, which serves the major political parties well, but is a major disservice to the people in such districts, and is damaging to the democratic process by ensuring unresponsive elected officials.

Note: I would include a link to the Hoosier Times story, but it is only available to subscribers.