On WXNT Wednesday Morning

Be sure to tune in to 1430-am Wednesday morning at 7am to hear me on the Abdul In The Morning show. I will be Abdul's guest to discuss my lawsuit against the Town of Fishers regarding failure to put the 'City or Town' question on the November ballot.

Where: 1430-am in Central Indiana
Online: http://www.newstalk1430.com/
When: Wednesday, 7-7:30am

Oh, What A Relief

I feel so much better on this news from CNN:

The Great Recession ended in June 2009, according to the body charged with dating when economic downturns begin and end.

But the news is little comfort to the millions of Americans still out of work, underwater on their mortgages or uncertain about the future.

Yeah, that's a great comfort. I've been "working" in my chosen field the past year, but if I clear more than 15% of what I cleared in 2007, I'll be astonished. I'm employed, but I'm underemployed, and the current political climate wherein business owners lack confidence in the economic recover such that they are not expanding has greatly impacted me. I began looking forward to new budgets for 2011 in February of 2010.

I hope the people on the margins like this are enraged by the news and show up at the polls to punish incumbents. I'm obviously motivated enough without this kick in the pants, but it does feel like insult to injury.

Speaking to a town hall meeting in Washington, President Obama said the announcement about the end of the recession is further proof that steps taken early in his administration, including the economic stimulus package, were the right ones. But he cautioned it does not mean that the economy has recovered.

"Obviously, for the millions of people who are still out of work, people who have seen their home values decline, people who are struggling to pay the bills day to day, [the recession is] still very real for them," he said.

Thanks for the acknowledgment, Prez. Now, if you could send some kind of signal, anything at all, that businesses aren't an ox to be gored, maybe, just maybe, we'll start to see the kind of confidence enter the picture that you thought a "stimulus" package might engender. Alas.

This tells the story on whether or not stimulus was the 'right move'.

Ballot Discrimination In North Dakota

I was infuriated at seeing this item in the news. From the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead:

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Al Jaeger that was filed by three Libertarian candidates for the North Dakota Legislature who sought placement on the November ballot.

Richard Ames of Wahpeton, along with Grand Forks residents Thommy Passa and Anthony Stewart, argued that North Dakota’s ballot access requirements are unconstitutional because they require candidates to get a minimum number of primary election votes, even if they run unopposed.

It isn't a partisan outrage. If these were Socialist candidates, I'd feel the same way. I detest the judge's reasoning:

In an order issued today, District Court Judge Ralph R. Erickson wrote that states can require candidates to demonstrate a certain degree of support in a primary election.

Primary elections serve as a mechanism to “winnow out and reject all but serious candidates,” and ballot requirements allow states to avoid voter confusion, overcrowded ballots and frivolous candidates, Erickson wrote.

He concluded that North Dakota’s ballot requirements for the general election are “non-discriminatory and serve a compelling state interest.”

That's bullcrap. What exactly does an 'overcrowded ballot' look like? And, what is a frivolous candidate? That's for the voters to decide!

We have to work hard to make sure Mike Wherry gets his votes here in Indiana so that the Libertarian Party can maintain its ballot access for four more years. It isn't safe to leave the matter in the hands of judges, as this example in North Dakota shows, and as we're aware affected the Libertarian Party in Ohio for several years.

(h/t: Patriot Paul)

Big Surprise! IndyGo Does Want More Tax Money

To no surprise whatsoever, the bus system that requires some 80+ of its funding to come from taxpayers, now wants even more. From the Indy Star:

IndyGo, another agency dependent on property taxes, also adopted a 2011 budget Monday, and it, too, will pursue a shortfall appeal as expected.

If approved by the City-County Council, the appeals would bring in $1.8 million for the library and $1.5 million for IndyGo. But for most homeowners, the increase combined would be only a couple of bucks.

The one-time levy, which would not increase the actual tax rate, would increase taxes by $1.21 for a $100,000 property, said library Chief Financial Officer Becky Dixon. The IndyGo increase would be roughly $1 per $100,000.

And just as typical is the Republican response:

Angel Rivera, a Republican who initially expressed opposition to the move, said because the increase was small, he "would give it a lot more consideration," though the council is still exploring other options.

"I don't like tax raises," Rivera said. "But if it's $2.50 per parcel, I think we'd have to seriously consider it."

Republicans are against tax hikes, until they are for them.

There are too many other things the Library and IndyGo can still do to generate revenue. They can charge their users for the services they use. Hike the fares, charge more for overdue videos, and charge to use the internet. Is this so hard to figure out?

I suppose it's easier to simply claw at the community as a whole.

IndyGo "Could" Nick The Taxpayer?

Way to go Indy Star headline writer! You gave me the chuckle that will carry me through this Monday! It read, "Action by IndyGo and library could nick taxpayers".

No kidding! Could nick the taxpayer? Bwaaahahahaha! That's about the only thing IndyGo does with any consistency!

As pointed out many, many times on this blog, IndyGo is heavily subsidized, with taxpayers making up a minimum of 80% of the bus service's funding. Fares, on the other hand, make up less than 20%.

As pointed out many times before, this represents a transfer of wealth from those who don't ride to those who do. What's that old saw about the sum of good government being not picking my pocket or breaking my leg? How's that go? Not IndyGo, that's for sure.

So here's the trick, per the Indy Star:

Municipal corporations that receive less tax money than expected can file what's called a shortfall appeal with the Department of Local Government Finance. If approved, that will raise how much the corporations receive the next year, but it also will raise property taxes for those who are not paying the maximum under the tax cap.

It's time to scale back our empire building. No, I'm not talking foreign policy in this case. I'm talking the empire of government. The money is not there. When the property tax reassessments happened a few years back, we were not in the midst of a down economy. Hit people now, with a 10% unemployment rate? For buses people don't ride?

Here's an idea: Raise the fares. Let the people who use the services pay for the services. Either that, or scale them back just as surely as families have scaled back on eating out or grilling t-bone steaks.

No More Free Speech for Philly

Got a blog in Philadelphia that maybe runs some Google ads for chump change? Then the city wants you to pay $300 for a business license. From the Philadelphia CityPaper:

For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she's made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it's a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.

This blog has never earned a penny. It is a hobby for me. If I were sent a bill, I would probably do one of three things- close the blog, ignore the bill, or build coalition with every other blogger or any stripe to go on the attack against the City on 1st Amendment grounds.

Yeah, the latter. Business licensing is plain wrong, and this case illustrates it as well as any. Who is protected by running out small-time blogs? Yeah, local governments.

(h/t: Josh Gillespie)

Indy Star Reports on Kole Campaign

Indianapolis Star reporter Carrie Ritchie interviewed me recently about the campaign and about Hamilton County politics. Here's a link to the report.

Though Republicans have a strong grip on county offices, Kole thinks he can take some votes from Levine on Nov. 2.

"I think I'm a little more aggressively fiscally conservative and I can step to the right on economic issues," Kole said.

Kole worries the county spends too much money and believes it could make deeper cuts, especially now that it's struggling to balance its budget.

The budget and number of county employees has always been too high. Now that the county cannot afford to keep a bloated payroll, it should be obvious to anyone that the time to cut deeply is now.

Campaign logo unveiled

My new campaign logo for this year's campaign is ready. Feast your eyes:Ready for use on literature and yard signs!

It's a departure from my 2006 image in that the colors are now in line with the broader Libertarian Party branding.

(h/t Chuck Grienert)

Photocopies = Housing Fund?

Stuff like this drives me crazy.

In my work, I often have to get copies of the deeds and easements of record that encumber a property. My current project is an acquisition of easements on 39 parcels on a run in Lorain County, Ohio. I get these documents because they detail any potential conflicts for the areas of land I am trying to gain rights to.

I'm a captive audience. I have to pay the fee, whatever it is, because I need the information.

In my home state of Indiana, copies are $1/page for deeds. In Ohio? They are $2/page.

Does it intrinsically cost more to make a copy in Ohio than in Indiana? Of course not. Look at the itemization on the receipt:

That extra dollar goes into something called the 'Ohio Housing Trust Fund'. Well, isn't that nice. Here I am, coming to get documents, not even an Ohio resident, and I am taxed to pay for someone's housing in Ohio. If this isn't taxation without representation, I don't know what is.

I guess I can console myself in the knowledge that Cook County Illinois (Chicago) charges $10/page. Yes, that's right 1-0, ten dollars per page. It used to be $50! No kidding. Apparently, Cook County figured out that for that money, you'll go to the title companies for copies, since they have extensive files in-house. The heavens only know what that money is going towards there. But to record a document in Cook County, they nail on a $10 fee for support of rental housing. Anything these governments can do to redistribute wealth, they will do.

I can also console myself that I am reimbursed on this cost. So, get off it, right? Well, that cost is passed on to my client, a utility, who will then pass the cost on to you, the consumer. This is about as hidden a tax as I can think of. It will never show up on any balance sheet. So many ways the state finds to make doing business more expensive- for a good cause, sure- but more expensive all the same.

Oops

One reason I don't like government dictating business policy- It makes mistakes.

Sure, business owners make mistakes too, but when it happens, it's on them. Nowhere to point the finger but at themselves. How about the auto dealerships that were hastily closed in trade for bailouts of the parent corporations? From CNN:

"Treasury made a series of decisions that may have substantially contributed to the accelerated shuttering of thousands of small businesses ... potentially adding tens of thousands of workers to the already lengthy unemployment rolls," said the report, released by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky.

GM and Chrysler were both required to submit restructuring plans to the Treasury's Auto Team in February of 2009, but the plans were rejected because Treasury deemed that the car makers weren't moving to close dealerships at a rate fast enough to keep their businesses viable.

So the auto manufacturers accelerated the process, with the help of bankruptcy laws that let them cancel dealer contracts. Chrysler terminated 789 dealerships last summer and General Motors announced plans to wind down 1,454 dealerships by October of 2010.

I'm all about the austerity and cost savings, wherever they may be found. Were the dealerships losing money?

Dealerships weren't axed to save money: The audit also found that dealerships weren't axed for the sake of saving money but for "far more amorphous reasons."

"Key members of [Treasury's] Auto Team stated ... that they did not consider cost savings to be a factor in determining the need for dealership closures," the report said.

It would be interesting to learn what those 'amorphous reasons' were. I don't like an amorphous government. It just doesn't breed confidence.

Sure, the automakers made the deal with the devil, and had to take Treasury's terms to get the money. But actions should have some reasons underpinning them.

If the government is acting to save jobs, this was a complete idiot's way of doing it.

Candidate Blog Posted

I had previously mentioned cutting back on posts here until I posted a campaign blog. That blog is up and running, with a handful of posts specific to the campaign. Please have a look, and if you like what I'm running on, please become a follower of the blog, or subscribe to the RSS feed.

I am running for Hamilton County Council, District 2. It's a large district, covering all of Delaware & Fall Creek Townships (Fishers, mainly) and Wayne Township (part of Noblesville). Map.

Now, back to posts of a more random nature here at the Kole Hard Facts.

Mystery Funding, Coming To Central Indiana

When the evidence shows us that things are done a certain way, in what rational world would we begin to think that it would be done differently, if only done here?

In California, they have the wonderful light rail transit that so many County Commissioners and central planners in Indiana drool over. Some of them at the same time think of themselves as 'fiscal conservatives'.

Nowhere does light rail make a profit. In fact, nowhere does light rail break even. The closest to break even is NYC's MTA, which recoups about 50% of its operating budget via fares, advertising, and other revenue. The rest is tax money. Indianapolis' IndyGo recoups about 20% of its' operating budget via fares. The rest is a transfer of wealth from taxpayers. Fiscal conservatives should run screaming from light rail faster than from virtually any other conceivable project.

President Obama's light rail showcase is in California. Tim Cavanaugh has some interesting takes of the whole phenomenon of light rail funding, "budgeting", and dreaminess.

The project is a high-decibel example of the magical thinking that takes hold when people talk about trains. A few years ago, when the rail bonds were being debated, I participated in the quaint ritual of an editorial board meeting at the Los Angeles Times in which we debated how to “weigh in” on this critical issue. While I, the team’s only mass transit rider, had the handicap of knowing what I was talking about, I was nonetheless pleased at the group’s readiness to acknowledge that the high-speed rail project offered only anemic ridership levels, endless subsidies, and a strong likelihood of never happening. But in the end, of course, we ran with an editorial titled “Believe in the Bullet Train.” The piece complained that “critics…base their arguments on the past, not the future.”

Here's the part that reminds me most of Indiana. The Metropolitan Planning Organization has been talking about this light rail boondoggle for the eight years I've lived in Indiana. While I am eternally grateful that it hasn't been built, nor does the bugger go away. From Cavanaugh:

Finally, the bullet train is a case study in the immortality of a bad idea. While the train itself may never become a reality, sheer political will makes the train project impossible to kill. “The project has been fighting every year to stay alive,” says Elizabeth Alexis, co-founder of Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design, a watchdog group that supports a rail project in principle but is critical of the Authority. “So they did what they had to do to stay alive, because that’s better than being dead.”

After 14 years of no life signs, how can you tell the difference? Amtrak used to try and lure riders with the slogan “There’s Something About a Train That’s Magic.” In reality, we know that magical trains exist only in cartoons.

As ever, The Simpsons' "Monorail" episode is instructive.

The High School Reunion I Will Never Have

Old friend Jim Lanza put on the weekend reunion show of my lifetime. I ran around in the Cleveland music scene as a young man and felt greater kinship with the folks in that bands and the supporting scene than with I did with my high school associates.

Jim assembled a showcase of around 10 bands that played this past Friday & Saturday nights in a dive called Now That's Class. The musical highlight was seeing Doug Gillard's guitar wizardry on display in Children's Crusade. Here's a great song of theirs called "Blue Venus Aflame".

Keep this in mind: While vocalist Fraser Sims wrote the lyrics to the songs, Doug wrote and recorded all of the musical parts. Everything, including the bass guitar and drums. Obviously, he couldn't pull that off live, and back in the day, Tom Miller played bass for CC, and Sean Saley played drums, as they did this night.

Jon Stewart Notices Bush's 3rd Term

I've been calling Barack Obama's Administration "Bush's 3rd Term" for about 15 of the 18 months of its existence now, due to the incredible continuity and expansion of Bush's policies by Obama. It's so obvious now that even Jon Stewart can no longer let it pass.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Respect My Authoritah
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Now, will Democratic supporters do what they criticized Bush for, namely, give their man a free pass?

Dialing Down A Bit

The frequency of the posts is down again, not because I'm burned out or have less to say. A couple of things:

After seven months without any new work, I finally have a job interview next week. I'm very excited, to say the least. It's a one-off project, but with enough to do that if I get the position, I'll be busy through about the end of the year. My focus has been on prep for this interview. It will restore my finances to where I can live in the manner I am accustomed to.

I'm pleased with my budgeting skills. I did not apply for unemployment, though I certainly could have added to the statistic. (President Obama, you owe me.) Despite having made half in 2009 of what I made in 2008, which was half again of what I made in 2007, I made my money last during that time, and did not suffer. A little anxiety, sure, but we still ate and generally carried forth. Well, no vacations, but then, I never felt owed a vacation. In fact, I'm itching to work. Itching.

Plus, I'm a candidate again. While the campaign is not as intense as my 2006 run for Indiana Secretary of State, I feel that my public comments need to be more germaine to the office I seek. That narrows things down quite a bit. I'm running for Hamilton County Council, in District 2. The County Council manages the county's finances, levying taxes and funding operations, so I feel I should be talking about such things, first and foremost. Foreign policy, monetary policy? These are important, but have not much to do with the County Council.

So, look for me to launch a campaign blog shortly. After I do so, I'll begin again posting things here that are of the usual random nature.

It Hurts To Watch

I love today's media tools. YouTube is such a beautiful thing. We see all the minute details that led to catastrophe, preserved forever.

Shame on me. When President Bush talked about the 'ownership society', I only caught the soundbites, and not the full substance. I liked hearing Bush say that our country would be better if more Americans owned their own homes. Who could argue?

Well, the details. The pesky details. I feel shame. This YouTube clip shows President Bush talking about broadening government involvement in making it so. Remember when the bubble burst and so many tried to lay all blame at the feet of the free market? It kinda surprises me that they weren't more eager to lay blame at Bush's feet. But then, the commitment is to government expansion, even more than attacking George Bush. The commitment is to pretending and lying about the existence of a free market. Crazy suicide. Government causes problems, so were going to solve those problems with more government. Yeah!

Wince as Bush talks about spending tax money to take away the requirement for higher downpayments. Watch the collapse begin!



Then, a few years later, Bush talks about how people bought homes they couldn't afford! Well, damn! Who encouraged that with nearly half a trillion dollars of taxpayer dollars? The free market?

Get a load of the first minute, talking up the strength of the economy. Please- get me a bucket.

When Economic Reality Steps In

IndyGo, Marion County's government owned and operated bus line, is not immune from dealing with fiscal reality. This is a remarkable statement when you consider that generally, IndyGo gets some 80% of its operating budget not from rider fares, but from government subsidies.

I'll give credit to IndyGo on this: With tax revenues down, and therefore their operating budget short, the bus line has decided to cut routes and hike fares. This is a sensible reaction, unless you can have a stable of unicorns pull the busses or fill the gas tank with fairy dust.

IndyGo has been holding public meetings, and the riders showed up in force to bitch. Reading the Indy Star account kind of reminds me of hearing my 4-year-old whine when I turn the TV off.

But in the end, emotion -- not figures -- seemed to rule the day.

Several riders shared stories about how they depend on the bus to get to work, school, grocery stores and doctors' offices.

"It took me an hour and a half to get from my house to Washington (Street to catch the bus)," said regular IndyGo rider Nora Wright, her voice shaking with anger. "I don't think that's right."

Another asked in amazement: "You expect us, the poor and disabled, to pay more while you actually make the service worse?"

I remind my little girl, "You just got a gift of watching some TV. You should be saying 'thank you', not stomping your feet and pouting".

The vast majority of citizens do not ride the bus, yet all pay taxes to subsidize the rides of a few. I don't think I've ever seen an example of a bus rider acknowledging the gift they get from the taxpayers. Not a gift? Pay for the full cost of your fair share of the operation, and it ceases to be a gift, when the riders pay a fare such that the operating budget requires zero tax dollars. Here's the telling quote:

They explained that the door-to-door paratransit service, known as Open Door, is far more expensive to operate than fixed-route service -- $35 per passenger versus about $4.

So, what are the fares for these rides? Per IndyGo's website:

Single ride: $1.75 (free ride of $2.25 per ride)
Half fare for those over 65, disabled, or under 18: $.85 (free ride of $3.15 per ride)
Open Door: $3.50 (free ride of $31.50 per ride!)

So, IndyGo is proposing to raise the fares? Great! It's about time. IndyGo loses money every time somebody hops aboard. Time to go the whole route towards fiscal solvency and sustainability. Pay for what you take.

Either that, or acknowledge the gift the taxpayers are giving and quit acting like 4-year-olds. This entitlement attitude is killing our country.

Oh, Schadenfreud, Mr. Souder!

I went through a long period of time where I did not enjoy revelling in the misery of others. Maybe I'm becoming an old man. Get off my lawn! See?

But today's news that 'Family Values' Republican Mark Souder, A US Representative from District 3 in Indiana, has me snickering. From Fox News:

Eight-term Rep. Mark Souder will announce his resignation Tuesday after it came to light that he was conducting an affair with a female aide who worked in his district office, Fox News has learned.

Multiple senior House sources indicated that the extent of the affair with the 45-year-old staffer would have landed Souder before the House Ethics Committee.

Elected as a family values conservative as part of the Republican revolution in 1994, Souder survived a tough re-election challenge in 2008 and survived a contested primary two weeks ago.

(Wait! This report came from 'Faux News'. It therefore cannot be true!!! Shouldn't we dismiss it out of hand?)

So why am I enjoying? Well, if you get elected on something I don't care for- legislating morality- you had better damn well be squeaky clean. I hate hypocrisy, from Al Gore's environmental crusade launched from a ginormous mansion via private jets, to this kind of thing. In and of itself, an affair is his personal problem, and in my opinion doesn't necessarily make one unfit to legislate. But I love the speed and finality that is apparently closing out this hypocrite's political career. It just makes me feel that there is some poetic justice in the world.

Now, if only Charlie Rangel had this kind of 'backdoor integrity'.

While the Republicans scramble to put somebody on the ballot, I'm pleased to note that Libertarian candidate Scott Wise is running. A former County Commissioner, he would serve northeast Indiana ably- and would NOT legislate morality.

Left Doesn't Walk The Walk, Disappointingly

By the miracle of Facebook, I've been catching up with a lot of old friends, some of whom are folks left off with in Cleveland, from 2002 (when I left for Indiana) or earlier then that, as lives changed. Some of these same friends are somewhat alarmed by my libertarian politics, for a variety of reasons. This has caught me somewhat off guard, since I've been plainly advertising myself as a Libertarian since 1995, and was doing a libertarian radio show in that year, and then again 2001-2002.

My experience has long been that those on the left think of libertarians as far right wing, despite vast shared interest in things like civil liberties and at times, foreign policy. Meanwhile, those on the right think of libertarians as being far left, despite common ground on economic issues or the 2nd Amendment.

But most of my 'old' friends are left of center, as I once was. My best guess is that the reaction is thanks to Glenn Beck, who often calls himself a libertarian. He's moving in my direction, but I wouldn't call him one yet. I like that he admits that he knew nothing about our country and its founding, and then read up on it. That's rare. But he's a lightning rod, and the left hates on him. I mean, HATES.

And that's one of the things that gets my reaction. I react against people on the left for using hateful speech about Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, et al, because the left likes to play the role of being on the high road will identifying hate speech. Problem is, too frequently, the left doesn't walk the walk. Plenty of talk, but I only really care about substance. Sure, we're human, and we have passions, but decent people will retract or at least acknowledge the passion of the moment. I find too little of the actual high road in the left these days. I find too much justification of the hypocrisy, and I just don't take that well.

Do I hold the left up to a higher standard? Heck, yeah I do! That's because I was there once upon a time, and was betrayed. Wasn't ever betrayed by the right, since I was never there. It hurts more when you feel hurt or attacked from inside your own camp, as opposed to from the outside, where attacks are what you expect.

The first betrayal was Tipper Gore and the PMRC, with their attack on music lyrics. When I was a young man, the issues that mattered to me were few: 1st Amendment, no draft, an end to interventionist foreign policy. So, when the wife of Al Gore was on the attack on music I liked? I felt totally betrayed. I couldn't believe it. Messed up the black & white picture I had created where Democrats were the good guys, and Republicans were the evil, repressive bad guys.

Over time, my confidence in the Democrats in particular, but also the left as a whole, was eroded in many strokes. But each time, it was a hypocrisy that got my goat. Clinton promised a middle class tax cut, then didn't following through, the Brady Bill, the Americorps 'volunteers', and then taking us to Bosnia? I was done with the Democrats politically. The more I started to see, hear, read and learn, the more I discovered that I was not really well suited to the left, and especially the Democrats. I was a huge fan of Thomas Jefferson, and had simply accepted that his party was still classically liberal, which I was. Alas. Wow, did I learn.

I learned how the left couldn't help but being what it decried. Sure, dislike Rush Limbaugh, or now Glenn Beck, but the vile hatred I've heard over the years directed at Limbaugh- by the people who decry hate speech?

Now I've seen the left, which was all about the anti-war protests while Bush was in office, but not so much once Obama was inaugurated. The plain, political opportunism was revealed at the expense of principle. I've seen this over and over again, and so, I've simply come to the conclusion that the left is completely full of it.

But hey- prove me wrong. Show me that you are holding the feet of your own to the fire about the wars, about indefinite detention, Gitmo, the Patriot Act, the war on drugs, spying on US citizens, and a host of other things that were allegedly important to you before January of 2009, and I'll begin to think better of your side of the spectrum, and even more so if you will take those on your own side to task for saying things like, "I'd like to see that Limbaugh (or Beck, Hannity, etc,) dead". Squash your own hate speech and racism, and I'll take your protests on it seriously. But not until.

Random Thoughts on the BMV

I got an email reminder from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), advising that my vehicle registrations will expire soon. About 40 flashes of irritation zipped through my mind.

I mean, I have to give them credit for automating the system. I greatly prefer doing the registration online, rather than standing in line at a BMV branch, burning time like it has no value. That said...

I was greatly irritated when I came to this line:

Choose a specialty plate to support your favorite college, not-for-profit group, or military organization.

I detest these plates. First of all, government shouldn't be a middleman for any non-profit organization. Seperation of church & state? Yes! But don't stop there. Seperation of non-profit organization & state sounds like an excellent idea, too. If someone wants to support a non-profit, great! Just do it entirely, 100% on your own. No state assistance.

Then, stop treating license plates like bumper stickers. The bumper is in remarkably close proximity to the license plate, so let the bumper be home to the propaganda, and let the license plate do it's job as an essential. If I were a law enforcement officer who dealt with traffic, I would be enormously irritated with the proliferation of license plates. There must be thousands of variations to get to know. I can't even tell all of the Indiana ones when I see them.

Lastly, and predictably perhaps, I resent the hell out of registering my car with the state. What makes it so special a piece of property that it has to be registered? What's the purpose? Do we just want the state to know? And, why does a registration expire? The car certainly doesn't expire on a given date. Is this anything more than make-work for BMV employees? I am not aware of any particular value I get out of the process. So, what does the state get out of it? Because if I don't get any value, and the state doesn't get any value...