A House A Mess

It's a sort of trouble in paradise for the Republican Party here in Hamilton County. On the one hand, they are the dominant party here. On the other, they are coming unglued in embarrassing ways. Matt Tully's column in the Sunday Star.

The battle is being fought by a pair of Hamilton County's top political names -- new county GOP Chairman Charlie White and longtime County Commissioner Steve Dillinger.

White calls Dillinger an annoying "Boss Hogg" who is too friendly with firms doing county business. Dillinger counters that White has betrayed former allies and doesn't have the trust of many county Republicans.

Concerns over this battle are spilling beyond Hamilton County's borders. Gov. Mitch Daniels won the GOP stronghold by nearly 50,000 votes last year, and state Republican leaders fear a party split heading into the 2006 elections.

That suits me very well. Throw in the Libertarian strategy of exposing the tax-and-spend ways of the Hamilton County GOP, and voters turning up their noses at these childish, amateurish displays, and we may well see the whole thing come apart, with voters going Libertarian.

They're only a heartbeat away right now. Certainly several small business owners -restauranteers mainly- are making the jump. That will happen so long as the GOP abandons its fiscal conservative side in favor of toeing the line for the Governor, or in balancing budgets through tax increases.

The next chance to see the GOP step on their tails is when Fishers votes on a 1% food & beverage tax, Monday, August 29.

My Local Libertarian Newspaper?

Last week, I discussed how much I was enjoying the local Hamilton County newspaper scene, and in particular, the Noblesville Daily Times. The sentiment only has grown this week.

Since my comments were posted, they ran another of my letters, which is always a wonderful thing. Yesterday, they also had an article on Social Security by Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Institute, and another today on the three-party political campaign dynamics by Kenn Gividen, the 2004 Libertarian candidate for governor.

My fellow Hamilton County Libertarians, I urge you to enjoy the local newspapers, and these days, especially the Noblesville Daily Times.

Gratuitous Post

This is a gratuitous post designed to drive website hits. I have to say that it pleases me already that when someone does a google search for the "Geist Annexation", this blog comes up on the first page. Likewise for "Mitch Daniels Sucks". That one's amusing because I have never actually said that, except in referrence to others doing searches on that phrase, and this blog getting hit as a result.

Anyway, I like having the blog come up high on search pages, so here goes!

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Schools Experiment

The Indianapolis Public Schools are undertaking a sweeping change- taking their five high schools and making 20+ high schools out of them. The theory is that smaller is better, that it means more attention for students, more of a community feel, and less falling through the cracks. Indy Star story.

IPS is carving its five high schools into 24 small academies in a sweeping bid to boost test scores and improve abysmal graduation rates.

The wholesale overhaul is the largest of its kind in the nation and one that state officials will watch closely as they consider similar changes for the rest of Indiana's high schools.

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is putting up several million dollars to help fund the project. If you've ever cursed Microsoft and the wealth of Bill Gates, this is what you have cursed, by the way.

On the surface, I think it's a wonderful development. However, I am only cautiously optimistic for results in areas like graduation rates and test scores. Reason? Teachers can give students all the attention in the world, but the real issue is always parents.

If the parents do not hold the child accountable for producing good grades or completing to graduation in a big school setting, the only thing that changes here is the school setting. At the end of the day, the parents aren't changing their accountability standards.

Too many parents take the attitude that educating children is solely an educator's job, and in no way a parental responsibility. Homework isn't going to be done by children who have the distractions of the television, friends, video games, etc., if the parents fail to see to it that it gets done.

Then there's the community. If the community attitude is that brainy = geek, and D+ = cool, then no amount of time in a classroom of 12 students is going to matter. Moreover, no amount of Bill Gates' money will matter, if the parents and the community are lazy or worse.

Sadly, what I've seen of IPS students and community is laziness and worse.

When my son Alex was at IPS, he had a wonderful teacher. She had a cell phone and wasn't afraid to use it. She called me directly any time Alex was out of line. It was great, because I knew exactly what was going on, and what needed to be corrected.

I sat in her class one day, to get a feel for things. It was appalling. The teacher spent most of the time trying to gain order. At the break, I asked her why she wasn't on the phone with the parents of those couple of children who were causing disruptions. She said that she had given up on those, because their parents were unresponsive or worse. Those parents would either throw the call back in her face ("You're the teacher, so it's your job to get him to shut up.), or were resentful of her punishments ("How dare you single out my little angel!").

Where discipline is not a tool in the teacher's workbench, and where parents refuse to impose discipline, there will only be chaos.

My concern is that it will now be spread over 20+ schools instead of just 5. But hey- it's Bill Gates' money and an attempt at improvement, so let's see how it goes. I swore I would never send my son back to IPS schools, and we moved out of Indianapolis for Fishers, where the parents insist on achievement. I still think that latter will always carry the day.

Radio Appearance

I had a nice, lengthy radio interview yesterday, which Hoosier probably missed. The reason? It aired live on WRUW in Cleveland. Fortunately, you can download the streamed signal for the next few days on WRUW's website. We talked about the progress of the Libertarian Party in Indiana, the value the LP could bring to Ohio if it were on the ballot there, and eminent domain.

Big thanks the Stella, who hosts the show; and her husband AP Magee, who scheduled the interview. Thanks also to Alchemy For Dummies, who blogged the appearance and reminded me that the stream is available.

Welcome Fellow Blogger

Welcome to Rob Beck, who recently launched his blog "Shall Not Perish". Check it out.

Rob ran for Hamilton County Auditor on the Libertarian ticket, and showed very well in his debates and in the local media. I will have to invite him to lunch sometime soon, as we had great conversations over chow during his campaign.

Tools For Ending Eminent Domain Abuse

The Castle Coalition is leading the charge for ending the theft of property from people unwilling to sell their land, with a campaign called, "Hands Off My Home".

One tool is to ask for pledges from state governors that they oppose the practice of using eminent domain for commercial uses. Tell your governor that you want them to sign the pledge. Link. Here's the pledge:

Pledge For Governors

I pledge to the citizens of this State that I will:
Oppose efforts by my state government or municipalities within my state to use the government power of eminent domain for private development.

Support legislation and other efforts to ensure that the citizens of this State are safe from eminent domain for private development.

Also consider forwarding the Castle Coalition's model legislation to your State Representative or State Senator, especially if you have the idea that they are pro-property rights, or even somewhat awake.

Un-SuperSize Me

You all know about SuperSize Me, where filmmaker Morgan Spurlock exclusively ate food from McDonald's for 30 days and put on a bunch of weight.

In reaction to this, some people are now doing the same thing angling for different results. From CNN:

One person went so far as to make her own independent film about dieting at McDonald's. "Me and Mickey D" follows Soso Whaley, of Kensington, New Hampshire, as she spends three 30-day periods on the diet. She dropped from 175 to 139 pounds, eating 2,000 calories-a-day at McDonald's.

Actually, McDonald's strikes me as a very forward thinking company. While many Americans are indeed sleepwalking through their lives, ordering burgers and fries meal after meal, others are taking advantage of McDonald's ever diversifying menu, which generally gets healthier as the months pass, not worse.

As might be expected, McDonald's also objected to the impressions left by Spurlock's film. Walt Riker, the company's vice president of corporate communications, said Oak Brook, Illinois-based company is pleased -- but not surprised -- that some customers have lost weight eating only at the fast-food giant.

Spurlock's film "really spurred a backlash based on common sense," Riker said.

Like anything else in life, the glass is either half empty or half full. McDonald's offers all sorts of selections, but ultimately, it's the choices the consumer makes that dictate weight gain or loss, health or ill health. It's just a cop-out to abdicate that self-responsibility.

I Love My Home Town, But...

Another Hamilton County GOP Sneak Attack Tax

Remember: I speak up about my home town's policies because I love it, and want it always to improve, and never to drift from the things that made it great.

So it was said, on Page 4 of the Republican Party's pamphlet, "How To Govern," that the best thing to do when considering a tax at a public forum is to make sure the public has as little notice about it as possible, so as to minimize the opposition.

I got an email this afternoon from a Fishers restaurant owner advising me that the Town would be considering a 1% food & beverage tax at their Monday, August 15 meeting. He got the email from the Town Manager.

As of this post (date and time stamped below), the agenda is not yet posted on the Town's website.

The meeting is merely 4 days and 22 minutes away, and the public has not been notified, except by me, via a restaurant owner.

That's very convenient, if the objective is to minimize opposition attendance. It's very convenient if the objective is to make sure that the Libertarian Party can't stage another one of its pub crawls. Clearly, the objective is to minimize public input and participation.

That's just lousy representative government.

In the meantime, write the Council and tell them you are opposed to any increase in the food & beverage taxes. Here are the email addresses for the Fishers Town Council Members:

Scott Faultless, President - faultless@fishers.in.us
Stuart Easley, Vice President - easley@fishers.in.us
Timothy Lima - lima@fishers.in.us
Eileen Pritchard - pritchard@fishers.in.us
Daniel Henke - henke@fishers.in.us
Charles White - white@fishers.in.us
David George - george@fishers.in.us

It didn't take long for me to have to work against my own letter of praise. *sigh*

I Love My Home Town

I was absolutely delighted when my home town of Fishers, IN was named one of the Top 25 places to live by Money Magazine. I had heard criticisms of Central Indiana from some friends and family based on their vastly outdated notion that this is 'flyover country'.

Guess what? New York City isn't on the list. Neither is Cleveland.

The Fishers Topics printed my letter in today's edition. It is reprinted below:

As a Fishers resident, I took a great deal of pride in the town's recent ranking as one of the best American communities in which to live. This ranking is a tribute to those visionary people who helped create what we see in Fishers today, from developers to civic leaders.

I believe my experience is fairly typical of so many other Fishers residents. After living in Marion County and comparing notes on the communities throughout the region, my wife and I made Fishers the place to live and to raise our family, as a matter of first choice.

The excellent school system, the parks, the friendly people, and the relative laissez-faire approach to government are but a few of the qualities that make Fishers so attractive.

While town residents and officials revel in this ranking, let us all keep in mind the difficult task that lies ahead: making a great community even greater.

Many communities experience declines after years of ascent. This is because they drift from the things that made them great in the first place.

Let us never lose sight of the things that make Fishers great: high standards for quality of life balanced by low taxes.

Let us be mindful, too, that when people speak in support of the things that make Fishers great, and in opposition to policies that would set us adrift, they do so because they love their community, and want it continue the climb to No. 1 in the rankings.

Mike Kole, Fishers

Tell Me Why We Need NASA?

NASA's been dragging along with the Space Shuttle program -1970s technology, by the way- and not getting around to real human achievement in some long time.

Here's the real deal: private trips to the moon. It won't cost taxpayers a thing. Those who want to play astronaut can do so for the princely fee of $100 million. All the while, humans get closer to the day where our Universe more literally expands. From the AP story:

"For the first time in history, a private company is organizing a mission to the moon," Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said at a Manhattan news conference Wednesday, a day after space shuttle Discovery safely returned to Earth. "This mission will inspire countries of the world, citizens ... our youth."

Anderson said he already has prospective "private explorers" who are interested in the trip and could afford the ticket.

How lame is NASA's track record in my lifetime? It started so well, with landings in the late 1960...

The initial travelers would be the first to orbit the moon in more than 33 years, according to the Arlington, Va., company. Only 27 people have ever made such a journey.

This is the clarian call for the end of the directionless black hole for money that is NASA, and the encouragement of more private entities to explore at their own expense, and yet to all of our benefit.

Opponents to Eminent Domain Heard

Yesterday's legislative study committee hearing was a libertarian dream come true. Citizens from all backgrounds- rich, poor; black, white; Democrat, Republican, Libertarian- expressed a common understanding of the slippery slope that is the doctrine of the common good. Legislators listened earnestly. The lead speakers were from the Institute for Justice and the Reason Foundation. Indy Star story.

Dr. Sam Staley spoke for the Reason Foundation. This link is text to his remarks.
Stephen Anderson spoke for the Institute for Justice and the Castle Coalition. CC provides model legislation, much of which I hope becomes law in Indiana.

For my part, I spoke off-the-cuff, abbreviating my prepared comments to focus on two concepts:

• Your home is your castle
• Your home is the very American Dream itself

I really loathe zero-sum games, but through the obvious injustice of Kelo v. New London, libertarian principles have at last been clearly illustrated to the average American. The danger of not acting in defense of the individual, but for the so-called "common good" has been laid bare.

Municipalities such as New London have indeed been acting in the interest of what they call the common good, which is to say, a fatter tax roll. If the tax roll is fatter, more people can be better served with those tax dollars. If sacrificing the homes of a few homeowners is what it takes, so be it.

It's all good, until you become the sacrificial lamb. The sacrificial lambs are the handful of individuals who own their properties. They are pitted against the collective whole of the society.

Libertarians defend the individual because we believe no person should be a sacrificial animal. No person. No matter how seemingly powerless or small. Ever.

Let us hope that finally, a good percentage of Americans come to understand that there is no such thing as the common good. More importantly, let us hope that they have come to understand that the individual must be defended in every area of life, but especially in the right of property.

Please continue to communicate with your State Senators and State Reps. Urge them to enact a total ban on the use of eminent domain for commercial purposes. Based on what I observed yesterday, Indiana lawmakers are very receptive. Let us take full advantage. The committee meets again in October, and the more they hear from foes of eminent domain, the better the chances of getting the most restrictive law.

The Libertarian Party needs to track the legislators carefully, and make it a point to run strong candidates against any State Rep or Senator who would vote to permit cities to help steal private property.

Hearing Wednesday Afternoon

The issue of eminent domain abuse will be discussed at a public hearing Wednesday afternoon, at the Statehouse. I will attend, and intend to speak before the study panel. The text of my prepared speech follows below.

If you can attend, please do. If you can call or write your representative, please do. Your home should be your castle.


Good Afternoon. My name is Mike Kole. I reside at 7916 Turkel Drive in Fishers. I am a Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State.

I’d like to thank the members of this study panel for the opportunity to share my views with you on the important subject of eminent domain.

The US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kelo versus New London left most Americans stunned, and the reason is very simple. Like never before, most Americans, and most Hoosiers, are property owners. Unfortunately, like never before, property owners feel threatened.

This issue isn’t like so many other political issues you will consider. It doesn’t matter if one is rich or poor; a Democrat, a Republican, or a Libertarian. If you are a property owner, your stomach sank when you learned about the Kelo decision, because you knew at that moment that you were vulnerable in the one place you want security the most- in your home. In your property.

The idea that your home is your castle is probably one of the most deeply held, most typically American sentiments that define us as a free nation, and separate us from the rest of the world. The Kelo decision flies in the face of this principle.

There is a reason that American society has stood as the most stable society on this earth for more than 200 years. It is not our system of government, per se. It is the fact that our governments have been instructed to respect the property rights of the people. American citizens were secure in the knowledge that nobody, no matter how poor or relatively powerless they might appear, were the absolute owners of their properties, and that nobody, no matter how wealthy or powerful, could take that property from them.

Perhaps you have been to Atlantic City. If you have, you may have seen the home in the middle of the casino parking lot. A widow named Vera Coking owns her home in an area where Donald Trump wanted to expand a casino and a parking lot. Mrs. Coking refused. Her home still stands, surrounded by the parking lot. She stayed as a matter of principle. She simply did not care to sell at any price. Her home is her castle. Fortunately, her property rights were upheld in a court of law.

When property rights are upheld, not even Donald Trump can get your property from you, unless you agree to sell.

That’s no longer true, thanks to the Kelo decision. There now exists the very real threat that Hoosiers can lose their properties to re-development, whether or not they agree to sell their land; whether or not it was even for sale. And it isn’t merely smaller property owners who are at risk.

Because taking land by eminent domain for commercial purposes is driven by the tax revenues produced by the property, current owners are threatened by any project that could be proposed that would fatten the tax rolls faster than the current user does.
Hoosiers who own small parcels in genuinely blighted areas, or those merely declared blighted, are now at very much at risk of losing their property to any developer who would bulldoze the old and build the new.

If you think that change is a good idea, be certain to consider your own home. You might live, as I do, in a nice suburban home, in an affluent community. We are at risk all the same. If a developer proposes a redevelopment for your neighborhood that would bring more tax dollars to your town or city, you had better be ready to pack your bags. You are at risk.

The neighborhood of modest homes is at risk of being replaced with upscale homes. The neighborhood of upscale homes is at risk of being replaced with multi-use, residential / commercial complexes. The residential / commercial complex is at risk of being replaced with a 12-story office building. The 12-story office building is at risk of being replaced with a 20-story building.

Churches produce no tax revenue whatsoever. Are they now at risk? This Statehouse produces no tax revenue. In fact, this is where the tax revenue disappears from. Could we get a redevelopment project here?

I digress… But the point is clear. There is always somebody out there with a bigger bankroll, with a bigger plan, and with more political pull. At any moment, absent new legislation that would ban eminent domain for commercial use, a plan could come along and pull any Hoosier out of their home… their castle.

While it is important to fund our municipalities for their core functions, it is more important to protect the property rights of each and every citizen, as a matter of principle.

The greedy appetites of our towns and cities are beginning to run amok in the quest for more and more revenue. In order to grab more money, some Indiana municipalities have shamefully run roughshod over the rights of property owners and allowed others to take their lands. In the home of the free. Where the home is the castle. It’s disgraceful.

Fortunately, the Indiana Legislature has the opportunity to return the sense of security to all Hoosier property owners- rich or poor, large or small- by banning the use of eminent domain for commercial purposes.

Let Indiana join states such as Alabama in banning eminent domain for commercial uses. 31 states, including Indiana, are studying the issue of eminent domain abuse. Let us be certain that Indiana is not a state where property owners have to fear redevelopment, where they have to look over their shoulders. Let us not drive property owners who want to be secure in their ownership away from Indiana.

I urge the Legislature to act to ensure that Indiana is one state where property rights are protected and secure.

I urge you to pass legislation that bans the use of eminent domain for commercial purposes.

I thank you for your consideration.

Membership Changes at National LP

The membership structure of the national Libertarian Party has long been criticized. Mainly, there are thousands of people who vote Libertarian, but for every 1,000 who do, only one person has joined the party. The membership fee has been cited as the primary obstacle.

Because those fees led to a funding program for state affiliates (in addition to supporting the national office), a doubling of the fees was recently considered. Price elasticity and all.

Today, the Libertarian Party announced the end of membership fees altogether. The best thing is that focus will shift from trying to build membership to winning elections. There's a novel idea! From the LP's website:

The shift to a zero-dues structure will essentially move the National Libertarian Party from an organization heavily focused on membership to an organization that is focused on winning elections above all else. The national staff has already started planning to make a seamless transition to zero dues and is beginning to develop training programs to assist the states.

The membership drive was carrying on over the last few months. For my own part, I have struggled with the renewal of my national membership. Mainly, I would like the focus to shift to property rigths and fiscal issues. But, I only have so many dollars to ladle out, and because I believe so solidly in the Libertarian Party of Indiana, for the most part, my money has stayed at home, supporting my state affiliate.

I am pleased that membership remains a feature for those who wish to declare themselves members. With the cost barrier removed, I think we'll see a good many who've resisted come to us.

Gardening Results

Now that Ame & I own our home, I have been interested in gardening again. This year's effort was pretty modest and experimental in nature. I was mainly attempting to find good locations for the kinds of plants I wanted to grow, namely: several varieties of Sunflowers; herbs such as cilantro and basil; vegetables such as cucumbers and bell peppers. I planted green, yellow, orange, and red peppers.

Of course, that means that I found places that were not well suited for certain plants. Also, despite a good amount of area, very little of it gets direct sunlight, which limits production. The front of the house gets the most direct sun.

The sunflowers thrive in direct sunlight, and look great in front of the house to boot. The Mammoth Sunflowers grew ridiculously tall. I thought 8 feet would be enough room under the roof line!

They are heavy with seeds, many of which will be saved for next year's plantings. That's a big deal, because ten of the sunflower plants sprouted on the day Isabel was born. I'm very excited about propagating those plants by saving the seeds. We'll always have Isabel sunflowers!

This fits in with our tradition of planting our Christmas trees. We planted the first one this year on New Years Day, and it has thrived.

I planted four cucumber plants, and have reaped the first five cucumbers. Beware, my co-workers. You will soon have cucumbers for your salads to last the next month. I know I do already.
The peppers are really late. The reason is that I left my starter plants in flats, and happened to be away from home in April when we had an unexpected heat wave, with 80-degree temperatures. They all died. In fact, only the herbs and sunflowers survived that heat. I learned the lesson: Get the plants into the ground! The second flats of peppers are now beginning to produce fruits. In about two weeks, I'll be overwhelmed with peppers.

I will plant more basil next year. I planted ten of the lemon basil variety, and they are only now really full with leaves. I've only enjoyed the leaves sparingly, because I've wanted to make sure there would be enough to make a pesto. Next year, it will be ten traditional basil and ten lemon plants. Now I have enough for the pesto.

See me for cucumbers and peppers!

Sites To Check Out

For those very interestedly following eminent domain issues in the wake of the Kelo v. New London decision, I recommend checking out the Eminent Domain Watch blog. EDW has links to several eminent domain notable sites and tracks news articles and cases from all 50 states. Great source!

Also, check out the Institute For Justice website. IJ litigated on behalf of Kelo in the sadly losing effort, and is probably the most prominent of those sites.

Republicans Do What They Are Good At

They're good at raising taxes. Well, that's how you balance a budget, right? Well, you can also hire a consultant. Don't follow? Keep reading.

Because Republicans aren't fiscal conservatives, they are only dimly aware that the other way to balance a budget is by cutting spending.

As professional politicians, they completely understand one thing about cutting spending- it leaves interested parties howling. Interested parties often contribute funds to campaigns, which means they could contribute to campaigns of other candidates. Never mind the taxpayers. The taxpayers don't howl quite so loud, or so close to the ear of the professional politician, so they can be easily enough ignored.

Fortunately, the Libertarians in Hamilton County have been tenacious in their criticism of these GOP flaws. It will be hard for Republicans to raise another tax in order to balance the budget. They already raised one this year.

All of this leads to why the all-Republican Hamilton County Council hired a consultant to examine the budget and to find cuts. They could do as I did- look over the budget, and in about an hour, they could come up with the necessary cuts in the area of about $1 million. However, that would leave them open to the howling. Better for the Councilors to have a consultant point to cuts to make so that they can hide behind him. I can just see the conversation between a Councilor and a Department Head now...

Department Head: "How could you cut my budget by 5%? I helped you get elected! We've been through the wars together. How could you do this to me?"
County Councilor: "You know I wanted to save your budget. Heck- I wanted to give you a 5% increase. But that lousy consultant told us we have to cut your budget. You know how bad it would look if we failed to act on the consultant's advice. We paid him close to $50,000."

The Department Head goes away steamed, but knows she can't make too great a fuss. It would be foolish. She goes back to her office looking for a way to create an 'emergency' by which she can be given an appropriation of funds at a later date. The County Councilor knows that he will vote for the appropriation at that time.

The Republican Party will crow to the media that the Libertarians are all wet, that they know how to balance a budget without too many tax increases, and that besides, the consultant was a real value, turning up $1 million in cuts for the low price of about $50,000. Over time, the budget will be overspent by 'emergency' appropriations, so that there is no real-life savings at all. A consultant will get fat. The County Council will be spared an angry mob of insiders. The taxpayers will get rooked.

Business as usual, brought to you by the Republican Party.

My letter to the Noblesville Daily Times on the subject was printed today.
The Daily Times article on the hiring of the consultant.

Great Newspaper Reading

Few places I know of have as great a newspaper environment as Hamilton County. There are two local papers. The Noblesville Daily Times is a daily, while the Noblesville Ledger is a twice-weekly. Each has a special weekly edition for Fishers, where I live.

Both papers have real news staffs who cover actual news. Don't laugh. Look at your local newspapers and see if the majority of the front page isn't comprised of AP, New York Times, or other stories. Our local papers write about actual local news. Moreover, it isn't fluff. The Times and the Ledger cover Council meetings and goings-on that truly impact people.

The Indy Star gives Hamilton County more real news coverage than Indianapolis at times. The Star doesn't cover every council meeting within Marion County, but they do frequently manage to cover Hamilton County events. Well, this is where the high-dollar demographic can be found. Ergo, the coverage.

Anyway, today's Noblesville Daily Times is outstanding. Here are some links, for your pleasure.

• My letter to the Daily Times on the GOP's hiring of a budget consultant.
• The Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision is front page news as the Indiana Legislature studies the topic, with a hearing Wednesday. I could have been quoted in this article since I will attend, but the Reason Foundation was cited, and that's very good.
• Raymond Keating's editorial offers a brief personal responsibility quiz. It should be published in every newspaper across the country.

Which leads me to recommend this to you: Forward a link to this blog entry to the editor of your local paper. Tell the editor that you want real news, and to cut out the fluff, and that you want a libertarian viewpoint at least occasionally represented. As with politicians, editors need to hear from you if you believe their direction is misguided. Likewise, if you like what you see, offer compliments. I subscribe to the papers. I tend to think they like that as much as a note of praise.

Eminent Domain Hearing Approaches

Here's the reminder: Go to the Statehouse Wednesday to be seen in heard by a House study panel. The House seeks input on the issue of eminent domain. Many Libertarians, including myself, Mike Sylvester of Fort Wayne, and Margaret Fette of Bloomington will be on hand to make our case for restricting the use of eminent domain in the most severe way.

Kenn Gividen, former Libetarian candidate for governor, made his case on the pages of today's Indy Star.

The motive to abuse eminent domain is simple: It will increase revenue by reassigning real estate to those who will pay higher taxes. Low-income families are the logical targets.

One example was seen in New London, Conn., where local residents were forced to sell their modest homes. The city handed over its power of eminent domain to the New London Development Corp., a private body, to take the entire neighborhood for private development. One resident, Susette Kelo, sued NLCD for the right to retain her home. The case was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Kelo lost her case.

This decision threatens every property owner in Indiana. Local government can force you to sell your property to a private enterprise. Unless, that is, Gov. Daniels and the Indiana legislature take the necessary steps to prevent it. On Wednesday, your voice can help make the change.

It isn't just low-income families who could suffer. Sure, the high-end homes in the Lockerbie Square neighborhood are fabulous. But what if a developer came up with a mixed-use plan for higher density luxury condos and retail space- all of which would generate greater tax revenues? Poof! That's what would happen. The City of Indianapolis would gladly facilitate the theft of those older homes in favor of re-development. So, Kenn's right. This threatens every property owner in Indiana.

If you can't attend, make sure to email or call your state Representative. Follow this link to find out who your legislator is: http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/

Let you rep know that you oppose the use of eminent domain for any commercial purposes, and that you oppose the widespread abuse of eminent domain in general.

If they don't hear from you, they assume it doesn't matter to you.

Boortz Commentary

The Kelo backlash and the Fair Tax dovetail nicely. They aren't perfect libertarian solutions. If they were, they would eliminate virtually all eminent domain and would eliminate most federal taxes. Again, these are steps in the right direction, which I support.

Boortz identifies the one thing that is especially appealing about these remedies, in today's edition of Neal's Nuze:

With the implementation of the FairTax politicians would lose power.

This is what political solutions to perceived problems invariably do: build personal power in politicians. I'm 100% in favor of policies that serve to strip away this power. More from Boortz:

During the fully expected delays at LaGuardia airport last night I was looking at a USA Today story on eminent domain. Politicians across the country and in Washington are working to pass laws to protect private property rights in light of that hideous Kelo vs. New London Supreme Court decision. Now just why are politicians suddenly so worried about private property rights? The Supreme's decision on eminent domain was a boon to politicians! It increased their power! Now they're trying to give that power back to the people? When is the last time you saw politicians act on their own, without any provocation, to surrender power? Answer ... probably never. So why now? Voters, that's why. The people were so outraged over the Supreme Court decision that the political class new they had to act, or risk losing support.

And so it is with the FairTax. With the implementation of the FairTax politicians would lose power. They would no longer have the ability to easily manipulate the tax code to curry favor with one class of voters over another. The class war aspects of tax policy would be over since the poor would essentially be relieved of the obligation to pay any federal taxes at all. Under the FairTax there really is no way for any politician to manipulate federal tax policy for votes or to elicit huge campaign contributions from favored business or individual taxpayers.

States Respond To Kelo

Whether you like the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. New London (I don't), some states are taking appropriate steps to respond- correctly, in my view, to limit eminent domain abuse.

I've chronicled below how Indiana is considering the issue in a House Study. A hearing will be held August 10, and I encourage supporters of property rights to attend and to speak up.

Blogger ProfessorBaimbridge has chronicled efforts in other states, where legislation is already passing into law, curtailing eminent domain. Backlash link.

Interesting quotes in a related USA Today article:

In Washington, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said his office received more calls from constituents angry about this case than it did for the Supreme Court ruling that limited displays of the Ten Commandments on public property. Cornyn is proposing a bill to bar cities and counties from using federal funds for economic development projects that involve seized property.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a liberal who rarely supports Republican bills, has signed onto two GOP bills and proposed two of her own. "The people who get hurt are the many poor people and working people who don't think they can fight City Hall," she said.

In fact, anybody can be hurt by commercial eminent domain takings. Even if you are someone as huge as Simon Malls, Donald Trump could come along with a bigger project proposal for Simon's property. Etc. There's always someone bigger.

It's great that a property rights issue has stirred up such a fuss. It's about time the average American began to take note of how property rights have eroded over the years.

Hat tip to WXNT's Andrew Lee for these items.

Force Over Reason, Again

It was yet another case of well-intentioned citizens using government to force others to change their behavior when the City of Columbus, Indiana passed it's smoking ban yesterday. From the Indy Star:

The City Council has banned smoking in all public places in the city except bars and private clubs.

So, owners of hybrid restaurant-bars are out of luck if they wish to provide a place for their customers to smoke. The owners may have thought that since they owned their establishments, they had the right to enact their own policies within the four walls. They found out differently yesterday.

Forget about conducting educational campaigns designed to convince people to quit smoking. Why bother when you can just force compliance?

Fortunately, there is one Councilor in Columbus who gets property rights and reason.

Councilwoman Ann DeVore, the sole dissenting vote, said businesses should have
the right to decide, without government interference, whether to be smoke free.

Sadly, she is outnumbered by six others who prefer force and the threat of law enforcement.

These bans are so unnecessary. There are markets for smoke-free restaurants, as there are markets for restaurants that permit smoking. Customers who detest smoke -like me- quickly learn to find the smoke-free variety. I have never needed to compel some business owners to change their ways to suit my desires. Such as shame that the Columbus City Council, and so many others, are incapable of taking the high road.

Keep on the look-out for more smoking bans throughout Indiana, and more threats to property rights.

Support the Fair Tax

Pity Neal Boortz. He's been the champion of the Fair Tax for many years, and his book is now on the shelves, and is a top seller.

So, why pity Neal Boortz? Because now he has to deal with every tiny exception anyone has ever had with the plan, H.R. 25.

"But Neal! The Fair Tax doesn't challenge the levels of Federal spending!"
"But Neal! The Fair Tax doesn't reduce our tax burnen necessarily!"
"But Neal! I have a minor, arcane exception that I can think of that would affect 0.0000037 percent of the population!"

Etc. The Fair Tax isn't perfect. It's a step in the right direction. Libertarians and other fiscal conservatives need to embrace this plan for the good things it does. Mainly, it brings the hidden, embedded taxes we pay in the products and services we buy out into the open so that people can actually see them, and know how significant they are. Also, it eliminates the IRS, and makes paying taxes a breeze. Even if I continue to pay the same amount in taxes in 2006 as I did for 2004, I will at the very least be spared the $275 I spent on a tax preparer, and will stop saving so many receipts in my file cabinet. That's a real gain.

Remember: if public policy is an all or nothing proposition, Libertarians and fiscal conservatives are bound to get nothing.

A small rollback is better than no rollback, and certainly better than tax increases. Back the Fair Tax!

Interesting Experiment

In the past few days, I sent two letters to a local newspaper. One was highly complimentary of the private and public leaders in my hometown of Fishers, which was recently ranked the 24th best community in the U.S. by Money Magazine. The other was my biting take on the GOP candidate school, which is blogged below.

Guess which letter was run?

http://www.thenoblesvilleledger.com/articles/8/055241-9848-093.html

No complaint, but interesting to note that the sensational stuff gets the nod over the nice and complimentary.

Eminent Domain Hearings Imminent

While a tiny handful of libertarians approved of the Supreme Court's land-theft authorizing decision in Kelo v. New London, the overwhelming majority of libertarians were terribly dismayed, if not angered. Fourth Amendment, anyone?

4th Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The right of the people to be secure in their houses, against unreasonable seizures. Taking one person's private property and giving it to another person so that it may be re-developed is now considered "reasonable" in the United States. Disgusting. So disgraceful of the Supreme Court.

Like the Kelo decision or hate it, the wind up is that the issue is passed off to the states. Fortunately, Indiana is going to take a good look at eminent domain soon. From State Rep. Kathy Richardson's article in the Noblesville Daily Times:

The final issue that I would like to mention is eminent domain and the effect of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. The power of eminent domain allows units of government to buy the property of private citizens when that piece of land is required for a public project. The most common example of this would be buying a piece of property to build a new highway. However, recently the Supreme Court ruled in Kelio v. City of New London that government may also take property under eminent domain laws if the project results in economic development for the community.

Even though economic development is good for our community, we must always take into account personal property rights. The good news is that as a state we regulate just how eminent domain is used and limit its use. In this respect the Summer Study Committee on eminent domain will spend time this summer examining this complex issue. The committee's first public meeting will be held on at 1 p.m. Aug. 10 in the auditorium of the Government Center South.

I'd like to think that I had something to do with this making the study list. I personally spoke with Rep. Richardson and advised her that the Libertarian Party has a deep interest in defending property rights, and would back any legislation that limits eminent domain powers statewide. I think that the possibility exists for us to draft model legislation and have a State Rep. introduce it in the 2006 legislative session.

In the meantime, plan to attend the hearing. More importantly, contact your State Reps and State Senators and let them know that you demand a very restrictive eminent domain law for Indiana.

Podcasts?

It was suggested to me that maybe I should look into doing podcasts that I could make available on this blog.

It's an intriguing idea. I have years of radio experience, but as a candidate for statewide office, I can't get a show on regular broadcast radio unless I buy brokered programming. I know- the 'equal time' laws don't exist anymore, but most stations choose to honor the principle, generally. I know that podcasts are the cutting edge like blogs were five years ago, and everyone knows I like to be a cutting edge kind of guy.

You tell me: If I go to the effort, would it interest you enough to listen?

GOP Candidate School

I've seen news articles in the local papers about the Hamilton County Republican Party's candidate school. It's designed for students, to give them the insight into what it takes to be a candidate for office, and into how the process works. From the Noblesville Ledger:

Model County Government will be a five-month program designed to let students explore civics interactively. Participants will be divided into Federalist and Nationalist parties to learn how precinct committeemen and party leaders participate in and influence the election process.

Some highlights were left off this list. Allow me to fill in the blanks. Students will learn how to:

• Campaign like a Libertarian, but govern like a Democrat
• Vote against your conscience to placate your Governor
• Face a room full of citizens who want you to vote 'nay' and then vote 'aye'- and not blink
• Find ways to make other elected officials vote for a tax constructed in such a way that you benefit without having to go on record in favor of the tax
• Accept campaign contributions from engineers and contractors and then steer work to them
• Step on fellow party members as you climb up the ladder of personal power

I was wondering why it would take five months to show students how the system works. Well! It's not easy to show all the nuances of conniving in any less time than that! It's a bargain at $35.

Pre-Emptive Strike Fired

Fearing that suburban municipalities would duplicate the recently passed Indianapolis smoking ban, opponents are organizing in advance of any solid proposals. Yesterday's meeting at Claude & Annie's was front page news on today's Noblesville Daily Times, placed above the fold.

In attendance were two members of the Hamilton County Libertarian Party, the
president of the Restaurant & Hospitality Association of Indiana, executive director of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, the ILBA attorney and two others associated with area bars.

One of those was Mark Imgrassia, owner of the Sandpiper in Noblesville. A smoking ban would affect his business "very negatively," he said, which is why he decided to
attend the gathering.

and

"If we want to live in a free society, at some point we need to allow people to make their own decisions for themselves," (Restaurant & Hospitality Association of Indiana President John Livengood) said.

Libertarians Brad Klopfenstein and Mike Kole agree, which is why they are lending their support to the group."

We believe it's the right of the property owner," Kole said.

Bill Smythe from Claude & Annie's is a property owner who was burned in his Marion County establishments by the approval of a smoking ban there. Together with the Libertarian Party, Bill was one of the most outspoken opponents to the ban as it was being discussed.

He lamented that it was tough taking the defensive position, reacting to a proposed law. He believed it would be easier to stake out a position in Hamilton County in advance of any proposals to ban smoking than to repeat the defensive position again.

The only political interests present were the Libertarians. The other two parties are the ones diminishing property rights in this country, after all. We'd love it if Republicans or Democrats were in favor of property rights, personal choices, individual liberty, and individual responsibility, but if we have to be the only ones to make the case, so be it. We're proud to be taking the high road.

It's Real!

The NHL really will have a season this time around. The League just released the schedule within the hour and I've had a look at it.

Good fortune smiles on me in my quest to check out San Jose Sharks games in the midwest, as the Sharks visit the midwest in October, and on weekend dates! They return to the region in March. This means the chances of freezing rain and huge snow drifts in the Interstate are slim at best. Road trip!

Now, if we could one day lure the NHL, or even top-flight minor league action here to Indianapolis once again, I'd be absolute ecstatic. The highest level of hockey in Indiana is third-tier UHL action in Fort Wayne.

It's About Time!

The return of major league hockey will finally become real tomorrow at Noon, when the NHL releases its 2005-06 schedule.

I will eagerly check for San Jose Sharks games in Columbus, Chicago, Nashville, and St. Louis. All are within a four hour drive. I'd add Detroit, which is three hours away, but the tickets for Wings games are too expensive, even if you can get them.

Off to the Wilds!

Kole Hard Facts will by seriously underproducing over the next few days as Alex & I join fellow roughriders Steve and Greg in the Adirondacks.

From left: Steve, me, Ame, Shasta, and Greg. We're standing on a rock peninsula that juts into one of the several finger lakes in the Adirondacks. The flat top of the rock is our usual camp site. The lake is called Long Pond, and is in a wonderful, pristine area north of the tiny town of Speculator, NY.

This will be my seventh trip to Long Pond, and Alex's second. Stories and pictures to follow next week.

Bambi

I was walking along an open ditch north of 146th Street in Noblesville at the new Brenwick development, and I nearly stepped on Bambi.

She was left behind by her mother in the high grass. I just happened to look down before placing the step that would have been on her. She darted out, but only a few feet away, which allowed me to get these pictures.

Welcome!

Hello to those jumping over from the Club For Growth's Carnival of Capitalism! The Club For Growth performs a valuable service- backing fiscally conservative candidates for office. That's an increasingly difficult task. While conventional wisdom points pro-growth, anti-tax voters to the Republican Party, the actual policies enacted by elected Republicans makes some folks wonder what point there is to Democrats.

The Club is essentially doing what I am doing in my own way- working to steer candidates away from the intoxicating power of taxation and the spoils of looted tax dollars, and back to the principles this country was founded on: limited government and self-responsibility.

I do it a little differently, though. I have been thoroughly convinced by the Republicans themselves that they have no use for smaller government. I am a philosophical libertarian who is a Libertarian Party member, and Libertarian candidate for office. I'm running for Secretary of State, which is the Libertarian Party of Indiana's ballot access race. See www.mikekole.com for details.

If you have the time, scroll down through some of the posts from the last two months, where I chronicle the wreckage of Republican domination here in Hamilton County, IN.

This county enjoys the reputation of being the most Republican county in the state of Indiana, and yet the all-GOP County Council, and all-GOP city or town councils of Carmel, Noblesville, and Westfield have all passed new taxes within the last six weeks. Read the rhetoric of the elected Republicans. If you didn't know better, you might think you were seeing the words of Ted Kennedy of Nancy Pelosi.

Thanks for your visit! I hope you enjoy what you find here... at least in terms of my writing and the points I make.

Isabel's First Smile Pics

Proud Papa interrupts this political blog once again with another picture of precious little Isabel. This time, it's her first smile picture.

She had been starting to form little half-smiles over the past week, but today we saw the first full-fledge smiles and grins. Isabel has great facial expressions. We just kind of hold her and talk to her, watching her reactions.

Estate Taxes = Bad Policy

Eric Schansberg recently penned a very sensible article on the delerious effect the "death taxes" have, punishing thrift and investment, and limiting the ability of one who passes on to exercise fully their right to give what's theirs to whomever they choose.

Where Schansberg surprised me is on his charge that these taxes greatly affect the poor.

It has been said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. It seems that Democrats are fond of combining the two-- especially for the wealthy and the working poor.

Schansberg's article at the Libertarian Writers Bureau.

I'll be looking forward to making a campaign issue of the death taxes in Indiana. I was astonished to learn that my home county, Hamilton County, has a division of the Assessor's Office that does nothing but oversee the appllication of Indiana's death tax! From the County's website:

The Hamilton County Assessor’s Inheritance Tax Division's main function is to determine the Indiana State Inheritance Tax liability of each heir or beneficiary in a decedent’s estate. The Indiana inheritance tax is not a tax on the property itself, but on the transferee’s (heir’s) right to receive or succeed to property.

The transferee's right to receive the property? Wow. Correct me, but this is the United States of America, right? There's more:

The tax is imposed at progressive rates with exemptions decreasing and the rates rising the more distant the relationship of the decedent to the recipient of the property.

So, if I want to leave my money to my son, it's taxed at lower rate than if I leave it to my grandchildren for their college education. What kind of bone-headed policy is that? If I want to leave it to my best friend, who is no blood relation to me, it is taxed at the higest rate. Likewise if I leave it to charity or a church, which is again no relation to me. No wonder elderly people move to other states.

This is stupid law. Stupid policy. Some wonder why there's a brain drain in this state.

Here's an idea- let's make Indiana a wealth magnet by repealing the death taxes. Let's attract people with means rather than send them away.

I Am An Unrepentant Dreamer

I look forward to reading columns by Morton Marcus. The man gets it. He was described recently as an "unrepentant dreamer". I am his kindred spirit. I long for a world of individual liberty and personal responsibility.

Read Mr. Marcus' latest column.

A Most Worthy Debate

The national Libertarian Party is right now engaged in a dialogue that should have been out in the open at least 10 years ago on the pages of the LP News, and in its conventions.

Purism and Pragmatism. Link to dialogue.

Thumbs way up, LP! This is the white elephant that's been avoided for too long. Here's my take on the discourse:

I think the thing to focus on here is the purpose of a political party, which is to get people elected to office and to move public policy in the party's direction.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that this party has been effectively more of a philosophical debate society than a political party, and that the purists actually enjoy the fact that Michael Badnarik's highest percentage was 0.76%, in Indiana, because by gosh he was 100% platform.

We take a lot of scorn here in Indiana for being possibly the most pragmatic state affiliate of the bunch. We elect candidates in *partisan* elections, and have an effect on public policy- just like a political party should. We don't talk about Iraq if we are running for offices that have nothing to do with foreign policy, such as County Commissioner.

Notice that we do not compromise on our principles. We merely choose carefully which positions to enunciate, starting in the places where we believe we have agreement with the local electorate.

For example, in a Republican-dominated county, we often speak almost explusively on taxes and budegtary issues. There we can present ourselves as the true fiscal conservatives, showing how Republicans are tax-and-spend.

In Democrat-dominated counties, we often speak almost exclusively about areas of personal life. There we present ourselves as the true defenders of individual liberties, showing how Democrats are as interested in curtailing liberties as the Republicans.

This is called strategy.

I have seen far too many Libertarian candidates, all full of themselves and drunk on the platform, rush into debates or other public discourse leading on an issue precisely where we have known disagreement with the electorate.

You can be the professional iconoclast if you want to, but you should ask yourself if taking that tack is in the best interest of advancing the philosophy you say you cherish so deeply.
Purism and Pragmatism must co-exist, with the principles underlying the action.

http://www.lp.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/42

Another Day, Another GOP Tax

This evening the Westfield Town Council finally got to hear the voice of the people, and it was overwhelmingly against the 1% food & beverage tax.

So, naturally, the Town Council passed the tax.

Conceded, it was by a narrow 3-2 margin, which was the closest yet in Hamilton County. But it did pass, and add to the burden of restaurant owner, employees, and patrons. Westfield joins Carmel, Noblesville, and the County itself in levying taxes on all manner of prepared foods.

This sums up the Republican Party: Tax & Spend, and disinterested in the will of the people.

The Libertarian Party was again the only voice of opposition to this tax, speaking on record at the meeting, but more importantly, in contacting the restaurant owners and managers to get their opinion. The wide consensus among these business people is that they were not consulted by their Republican officials, and if they had been consulted, they would have been glad to offer their opposition.

But the will of the people isn't what interests Republican official holders. The only thing that matters is more and more money coming in. If you want a change, you have to start voting Libertarian.

A Mayor Who Gets It

Kudos to Mayor John Zumer of Crwafordsville, who bucked the trend toward the Nanny State here in Indiana by issuing his veto to a smoking ban recently passed by the City Council there. Indy Star story.

He vetoed the ordinance for the right reasons.

The council last year imposed a smoking ban in all city-owned property and considered the ban for all places of employment throughout the city after a campaign by a local anti-smoking group.

Zumer, however, said he was against such government regulation on legal products and that people were not forced to work at or visit places that allowed smoking.

“Adults naturally concerned about their health and the health of minors entrusted to them are not required to patronize establishments that allow cigarette usage,” Zumer said.

The Chamber of Commerce doesn't get it- in a huge way.

The Chamber of Commerce in the city about 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis had backed the tighter restrictions, saying health concerns outweighed arguments for personal and business owners rights.

Good grief, but the Chamber of Commerce is supposed to be the advocate of local business, and here they are advocating interference in local business owners setting their own policies. If I were a restauranteur in Crawfordsville, I'd withdraw from the Chamber immediately.

Way to go, Mr. Mayor!

Finally, a Hockey Season!

At long last, it appears that the NHL is on the verge of a return to play on the ice. Before this happy moment could come, hockey fans have had to endure more than 300 days of sheer stupidity. From ESPN:

This lockout was worse than any in sports, dwarfing the one that cut the 1994-95 hockey season nearly in half and resulted in the agreement that expired last September.

In February, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, making the NHL the first North American sports league to lose a year because of a labor dispute.

Stupid, pointless greed. Idiotic lowlights:

• Players who complained the NHL deal was unfair left their million dollar contracts to play for one-tenth the amount in the minor leagues or in Europe. If it was okay to play there for less, why not in the NHL?
• Owners complained about the spiraling salary costs. Well, who offers thos contracts to the players? The Tooth Fairy?

What's really stupid about all this is that hockey has traditionally been a distant fourth in the minds of sports fans, way behind baseball, football, and basketball. To make a whole season disappear was to make the game invisible when it was already the least visible, except that it was most visible only in the worst way- when either side was crying like the spoiled brats they are. As ever, Wayne Gretzky got it right in his comments:

"At the end of the day everybody lost," said Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's career scoring leader and the managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes. "We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened."

Time to close up the deal. Put this ugly chapter in the past and get on the ice.

Courage That Gets Applause

Sometimes, you just have to dig in and refuse to obey. Hats off to Charlie's Drive-In Restaurant in Martinsville, where the owners are refusing to abide by a smoking ban ordinance. From RTV-6:

Bob Williams and Linda Dunigan, owners of Charlie's Drive-In Restaurant, have been fined $200 for refusing to comply with the ordinance. A note posted on the restaurant's door spells out their position.

"This restaurant allows smoking. If this offends you, please feel free to visit one of our competitors," the sign reads. "If you choose to come in, then you enter at your own risk. Thank You."

Really, their position is, "We own this place. We reserve the right to set our policies in our place". Americans used to better understand that the home was the castle, and that one's business was merely an extention of the castle. Alas.

I hate cigarette smoke, but next time I'm near Martinsville, I'll go out of my way to eat at Charlie's.

Thanks to Kevin Fleming for the heads-up on the story.

Another Look At Kelo V. New London, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court

Rex Bell is the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wayne County, and penned an excellent look at the Supreme Court's recent offensive ruling on eminent domain, and the nature of an 'evolving' Constitution. The column was run in the Muncie Star Press, and other papers. From the column:

The "living document" interpretation by all three branches of government has given us the free speech censorship of the McCain-Feingold Act, over 22,000 gun control laws across the nation, and the near nullification of the entire Bill of Rights by the Patriot Act. It has also allowed Congress to abdicate its responsibility for declaring war, and has allowed the federal government to play doctor in another recent Supreme Court snafu.

Check it out. Rex's thoughts are well-reasoned in explaining important distinctions that seem like semantics to far too many.

Westfield Update

The front-page article on today's Noblesville Daily Times was at once frustrating and illustrating.

It was frustrating in that it turned out that I couldn't attend Westfield's Town Council meeting, as Isabel got cranky right as I was about to go to the meeting. Worse, nobody else attended. I could have had the stage to myself.

It was illustrating in that the charge I made was that the Town was rushing the whole process, going from announcement to vote in under seven days. Nobody else showed up thanks to the short notice.

My letter in the same issue of the Daily Times, with my charges is essentially the same as the one in the Ledger, and the blog entry below.

Taking Action in Westfield

In trading emails with Town Council members, I have found that at least one intends to vote against the proposed food & beverage tax. If we can sway two more, we'll beat this thing in Westfield!

Check here for info on the pub crawl. In the meantime, write your letters or call your Councilor. Here's my letter, in Tuesday's Ledger:

The onward march of arrogant, elitist local Republican officials continues to plow over Hamilton County like a steamroller.

Despite significant popular opposition to any new taxes, the all-Republican councils for Hamilton County, Noblesville and Carmel have voted to enact individual 1 percent food and beverage taxes. ("Some have trouble digesting food, beverage tax" Page A16 July 1 Noblesville Ledger.)

Now it's Westfield's turn.

Westfield's council members have clearly attended the same GOP school of governance as Noblesville's and Carmel's councils. These cities are cramming
ordinances through the entire process, from announcement to vote, within a mere
seven days. This time frame makes it obvious that their intention is to minimize
organized opposition and public input.

Republicans have argued that the tax is really very small, and doesn't hurt terribly much, which makes it rather like getting hit on the head lightly with a ball peen hammer, then. You can take a few hits, but why on earth would you want to?

And there's the arrogance. Our councilors didn't bother to ask restaurant owners, workers or patrons whether or not these were hits we would like to take. They just feel that they know best, and that your job is to shut up and take it.

Join in showing support for the restaurants and taverns in Westfield by attending the public meetings, contacting the council members and by participating in the Libertarian Party's pub crawl Wednesday evening. It's time to stop this ravenous Republican tax machine in its tracks.

Mike Kole
Fishers

NPR as an American Pravda?

I actually hadn't thought of NPR or PBS so clearly before, as a parallel to the old Soviet nationalized newspaper Pravda, but that is exactly what NPR (especially) is.

Today, David Boaz of the Cato Institute made the sort of arguments that I never quite so clearly enunciated myself. From Boaz's statement, as found on the Cato website:

We wouldn't want the federal government to publish a national newspaper. Neither should we have a government television network and a government radio network. If anything should be kept separate from government and politics, it's the news and public affairs programming that informs Americans about government and its policies. When government brings us the news -- with all the inevitable bias and spin -- the government is putting its thumb on the scales of democracy. Journalists should not work for the government. Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize news and public-affairs programming.

I had always marveled at the left's embrace of NPR. Sure, NPR espouses their viewpoint, but apart from content, it really is the most repugnant sort of news source, the sort that the left should stand against- in opposition to the Official Truth, and in favor of genuine, independent journalism.

What is also fascinating is his report on the demographics NPR and PBS reach out to: wealthy, white, and suburban.

One dirty little secret that NPR and PBS don't like to acknowledge in public debate is the wealth of their listeners and viewers. But they're happy to tell their advertisers about the affluent audience they're reaching. In 1999 NPR commissioned Mediamark Research to study its listeners. NPR then enthusiastically told advertisers that its listeners are 66 percent wealthier than the average American, three times as likely to be college graduates, and 150 percent more likely to be professionals or managers.

Now It's Westfield

The onward march of liberal, tax-and-spend Republicans continues to plow over Hamilton County like a steamroller.

First, the all-Republican Hamilton County Council voted to enact a 1% food & beverage tax. The next day, the all-Republican Noblesville Common Council voted to enact a 1% food & beverage tax of its own. Three days later, the all-Republican Carmel City Council voted to enact its own 1% food & beverage tax.

See a pattern here? Republicans are enacting taxes. The hospitality industry is the whipping boy.

On Monday, the Westfield Town Council will introduce an ordinance for -you guessed it- its own 1% food & beverage tax. Then on Thursday, July 14, Westfield will vote on the new tax.

Westfield's Council members must have gone to the same school of governance as Noblesville's and Carmel's. Both of those cities introduced and voted on their ordinances with lightning speed, so as to minimize organized opposition and public input. Westfield posted the item to their website late Friday afternoon. Thanks for the lead time, and your deep interest in the public viewpoint!

The Libertarian Party will again mount the only organized opposition. Please attend these meetings, especially if you are an owner of an establishment that serves food and beverages, or if you are a Westfield resident, or someone who frequents Westfield restaurants & taverns.

Meeting info:

Monday, July 11, 2005 at 7:00pm
Town Council Meeting
Town Hall - Assembly Room
130 Penn Street
Agenda

Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 7:00pm
Town Council Meeting
Oak Trace Elementary School
16504 Oak Ridge Road
Agenda

If attending, be early! These items can blow by in a matter of seconds. If you are late, you lose your opportunity for public comment. The meeting on Thursday features the food & beverage tax as the first of only two items on the agenda, so it could be over in as little as 5 minutes.

Call or write the Council members immediately. Be polite and friendly, but firm in your opposition.

Jack Hart / 317-896-5707 / hartjb@insightbb.com
David Mikesell / 317-896-5147 / dmikes4860@aol.com
Teresa Otis Skelton / 317-896-2636 / teresa@taos-westfield.org
Bob Smith / 317-896-3728 / bsmith@westfield.in.gov
Ron Thomas / 317-867-5318 / ronthomaswf@cs.com

If they don't hear the voice of opposition, they assume that there isn't any, and they will proceed with this tax. Be heard!

One Month!

Isabel is already one month old. I know this month seems to have passed very slowly for Ame, but it has zipped by for me. It just doesn't seem possible that she's already been with us a month. The birth seems like it was just a few days ago.


Here's one-month-old Isabel!

Cultural Item #2

I've become quite a fan of AJ Quinnell's thriller novels. Many thanks to co-worker Val Swift who turned me on to Quinnell's best-known title, "Man on Fire." That one has been made into a Hollywood film twice, most recently in one starring Denzel Washington as the burned-out mercenary John Creasy.

I enjoyed "Man on Fire" so much, that I began to seek out Quinnell's other books at nearby bookstores. No luck. Then I turned to Amazon. No luck. Only "Man on Fire".

After about two months of fruitless searches in bookstores, I finally found two Quinnell titles: "In The Name of The Father," and "Siege of Silence". I was delighted to find them on the shelf! Problem is, I only get to that bookstore once a year. It's in Gibraltar!

The books were so good that I read them both before my plane touched down in Indianapolis.

"In The Name of The Father" was actually fairly timely, as it depicts a fictional struggle between the Vatican and the Kremlin to assassinate the other's leaders- Pope John Paul 2, and Yuri Andropov. Of course, Andropov died in 1981, but he utters a great line in Quinnell's book- "I'll be damned if that bastard Priest outlives me!" And, as it was, the Pope was dying at the time of my trip.

"Siege of Silence" is unique in that it is written in the first person, with chapters alternate back and forth between the two main characters. One is an American spy, the other a Cuban interrogator. There is far less action in this book than in the other two, but wonderful intellectual and emotional tension between the two characters engaged in a mental chess match.

If you venture into any American bookstore, you will find "Man on Fire" on the shelves with other thrillers. The still from the movie is now the cover, with Denzel Washington shielding a little girl. What you will not find on the shelf are any other books penned by Quinnell, not even the two I found in Gibraltar. You would think that even if the other books were awful, a reprinting would be warranted on the heels of one of them being made into a film, with Denzel Washington as the star. Book publishers are in the business of selling books, after all, and the film had to highten interest in Quinell.

I decided that I'd have to go to dreaded Ebay to find other Quinnell books. Don't get me wrong- I always love to sell things on Ebay, and sometimes I like to buy things there, but it's hit and miss, and if what I want is in demand, it's often expensive for what it is.

Well, the Denzel Washington film did highten interest in Quinnell, who has written some 10 other books, including a handful that feature the Creasy character. Those books, "The Blue Ring" and "Message From Hell" show up on Ebay from time to time, but are always bid ridiculously high.

Three copies of "Message From Hell" recently sold. The lowest winning auction bid for any one used, ragged copy sold on Ebay was $42! For a used paperback! One copy is available now for $83- no picture, only a discription claiming, 'good'.

Ame gave me two Quinell books for my birthday- "The Mahdi" and "Snap Shot". She bought them on Ebay and won't tell me the price she paid. One came from Australia. This all scares me, so I try not to think about it when reading the books.

Hello, publisher! If there are 10 people out there willing to pay better than $30 for a paperback by one of your authors, there are 1,000 people willing to pay $7 for the same book. Fire up the presses! Quinnell bibliography.

If you enjoy Tom Clancy's books, but occasionally wanted a lighter, less thoroughly detailed thriller read, check out "Man on Fire" or any other Quinnell book you are lucky enough to find.

Seat Belt Nannies March Onward

For years, pick-up truck drivers had been exempt from Indiana's seat belt laws. This year, the nannies in the Statehouse removed that exemption so that all Hoosiers might be free from having the choice. This is in line with most other states in the Union, so how much further can seat belt laws go?

Turn to Pennsylvania, where a Republican is suggesting that dogs should be strapped in. Full story.

Stevenson said the bill will protect "not only human lives, but pet lives. I think it's going to be a great idea because it's going to cut down on driver distractions."

This Stevenson is one Rep. Tom Stevenson (R-PA), who holds an annual "There Ought to be a Law" contest. Don't listen when conservative talk radio hosts yammer that it is only the Democrats committed to creating a nanny state. Both major parties share the commitment. Libertarians should hold an annual, "Here's a Law that Ought to be Repealed" contest.

I can hear Stevenson grandstanding, saying, "it's for the... dogs," or, "anything we can do to save just one dog". I know this- if we have to strap in our dog Sasquatch, we won't be able to drive anywhere. He'll fight against the strap for the entire drive and pee all over the seat. Dog and human will be miserable together, but lorded after by some mindless nanny law.


Sasquatch. Yes, he can jump the fence.

Fighting the Good Fight

Three cheers for the people of Home Place, who appear to be on their way towards repelling Carmel's forced annexation attempt. Indy Star story.

I'm not against annexation that occurs because the citizens want it. I'm against it because I am against the use of force, and because I am in favor of self-determination. Home Place residents don't want to be a part of Carmel, so they remonstrated against the city's unwanted overtures.

Stephen Buschmann, the attorney representing the Home Place property owners, said the trial isn't expected to last past Friday.

"The people in Home Place have done a tremendous amount of work, and now it's down to two days," he said. "I admire citizens like them who are willing to stand up.

I admire the residents of Home Place, too. I hope they ultimately win.

Light Rail and Terror

It seems that when terrorists want a target, they look to mass transit. Witness the carnage in London today. CNN story.

The other place that comes to mind is Madrid's Atocha Station. Ame & I passed through Atocha five weeks before the bombings that hit there when we went to visit Alex. On my last trip, I avoided Atocha. It's a known target, after all.

What seems clear is that busses, trains and rail stations make for excellent collection points for terrorists who think in terms of assembling the most human targets.

Jarvis Medhurst told CNN: "I was working at the Tavistock Hotel and the bus exploded literally 40 meters away from me. There was a massive explosion and a
cloud of smoke, and then when the smoke stated to die down, you could see the wrecked bus, which was on fire.

"There were bodies everywhere. Heads and bits of bodies, heads and arms and legs all ripped away.

and

Another man, clearly shaken by his experience, described being on a smoke-filled carriage on the same train, he and his fellow passengers afraid to try to leave the train.

"We were all trapped like sardines waiting to die," said Angelo Power. "I honestly thought I was going to die, as did everyone else."

A police spokesman urged Londoners to "stay where you are."

"There's no way to travel around London at the moment," he said.

Isn't it the point of public transportation to eliminate congestion? Well, thanks to reliance on public transportation, London is frozen.

These events provide yet another very sensible reason for opposing public transportation. While 1-3 people in a car is fuel inefficient, it is very efficient in making commuters less appealing as targets for would-be terrorists.

Thursday's Cultural Item #1

The superhero movies, most of which have been grand productions over the years, have consistently left me flat- with one notable exception: the first Christopher Reeve Superman film.

I have consistently ignored the Batman movies, especially as they have increasingly featured the darker side of the Bruce Wayne character. Now it turns out that I'll want to see the current Batman film, thanks to a Washington Post review.

'Batman' flies right for some
Movie about the comic-book hero resonates with libertarians, others.

... "Batman Begins" has become something of a cult hit among fans of free markets, individualism and Ayn Rand, among other things. Perform a cursory Google search with the terms "Batman Begins" and "capitalism," for instance, and you come up with a blogosphere love-fest, with conservative and especially libertarian commentators praising the film's pro-business, anti-statist themes.

and

David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, saw "Batman Begins" recently at the encouragement of a friend at the Objectivist Center, which according to its Web site champions "reason, individualism, freedom and achievement."

Looks like a trip to the multi-plex is in order! I will keep in mind that one pro-capitalism think tank, the Ludwig von Mises Institute has written it's own review, warning that the film does not live up to the Post's hype. All the more reason to see for myself.

Nice Letter, Dennis!

Fellow Libertarian Dennis Derrick of Avon submitted a fine letter to the Indy Star, who printed it today.

As you know by now, the Hendricks County Council voted 7-0 to pass the Colts tax onto us. These are all "fiscally responsible" Republicans that represent us, the taxpayers. The 7-0 vote means we have no one who will even attempt to keep our taxes low.

Taxpayers and small business owners who spoke against it were ignored. Is this true representation of Hendricks County taxpayers? I do have to applaud the Morgan County, which rejected the tax, as having the only County Council that truly represents its taxpayers.

Well said, Dennis! Now it's up to those taxpayers to remember how their Councils voted, and to act accordingly.

Brother, Meet Sister

Yesterday was an outstanding day, as I picked up my son Alex in Cleveland and brought him home to Fishers to meet his sister Isabel for the first time.