$250 permit to sell sexually explicit materials?

Because of this new law, almost every new bookstore that opens after June 30th will have to pay $250 to the Secretary of State. Supposedly this law is suppose to help counties track establishments that sell titles like "Boogie Nights", "Exit to Eden", and the Old Testament. I presume that this law is intended to protect the few children left who do not have access to the internet.

Mike Gravel joins the LP

Yes, this is the same Mike Gravel who wasn't allowed in the Democratic debates. I wholeheartedly and sincerely welcome Mr. Gravel into the Libertarian Party. However, he will have an even harder time getting nominated by the LP than by the Democrats. This is why:

OFFICIAL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN!

The LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF ALLEN COUNTY will be holding its Annual Convention across the months of April and May at the residence of Jack and Hillary Evans @ 4205 North Washington Road (West of Ardmore near Noll Park) in Fort Wayne on SATURDAY, April 19th 2:30-5:00 p.m. and WEDNESDAY, May 28th 7:00-9:00p.m.

Only State and National Party Members may vote during a LPAC Convention.

More details to follow.

Economic Stimulus

I got my letter from the IRS telling me that I will be getting $300 to $600. They should have sent me an email instead. That way they could have sent me $300.25 to $600.25. It would have been even cheaper if they had not witheld that sum from my paycheck in the first place. The government is trying to win my favor by bribing me with my own money.

A friend of mine is buying a Playstation 3 with his money. He is going to stimulate the economy by purchasing foriegn-built electronics. That is still a better plan than printing up millions of letters that will just end up in a landfill within a week.

Obama and his pastor

On this blog I have defended Ron Paul against what I felt were unfair allegations of racism. It could be considered hypocritical of me not to do the same for Barack Obama.

We all go throughout life developing relationships with other from all walks of life. Some of them, though they might be outwardly friendly towards you, may make negative and unfair remarks about people of other races. You can either choose to remain friends with this person while disagreeing with his racist remarks. Or you can sever all ties with this person. If all non-racists choose the second option, all racists will continue to surround themselves with those who share and reinforce their hateful beliefs. You don't teach a man to love by hating him.

Drugs in the water

Secondhand smoke is the reason that has been cited for outlawing smoking in public places. But it appears that when people do drugs in private, trace amounts of those drugs end up in the water supply. Air is a gas and water is a liguid, but they are alike in that it is impossible to remove all contaminant. No amount of filtration will remove all smoke particles, and no amount of filtration can remove all antibiotics, antibiotics, and caffiene.

So the question is, does my recreational use of caffiene infringe on the rights of those who must abstain from the drug? Just like secondhand smoke, caffiene can cause an increase in blood pressure.

The answer is no. Trace amounts of a substance do not cause any harm. Smoke from any fire anywhere in the world will spread throughout the entire Earth's atmosphere. Sewage discharged into any river in the world will spread throughout every ocean. While it is true that some of the molecules in your drinking water may have spend time in Robert Downey Jr's bloodstream, the amount is so tiny that it is not worth getting upset about it. In fact, getting upset will do more to increase your blood pressure than other people's tobacco and caffiene usage.

Follow up: Fifty minute Wait Per Dispatch

{COI=CONFLICT OF INTEREST}

In a previous post I wrote regarding the Fort Wayne City Council and the Fort Wayne Police Department there were certain facts given and assertions made that were trusted as documented but in fact were not completely or properly cited; so therefore, per my own journalistic integrity, I am following up that article now with some better information from several anonymous sources.

• FWPD only has budgeted one million dollars for overtime. The original cite was 3.7 million.
  
• FWPD has considered using sponsorship of the vehicles in the past but doesn't wish to do so yet as a COI.
• When an Officer works a separate job site they are in no way paid by the City.
• The City or FWPD does not know the hours worked by an individual Officer off the clock.
  
• The FWPD is aware however of the companies that Officers work for.
• When an Officer uses his police power off the job, on a work site, it opens the Department and the City as the issuing agency, as well as the Work Site, both up to at a minimum a civil liability if abuse of power is alleged, claimed, or pursued.

Please keep in mind that while certain information has now been updated it still does not change some of my initial concerns, which no one bothered to actually address directly, so here is a summary of my issues from that post:

• If you are paying any amount of regular overtime it is time to add at least one to five new employees rather than paying time and half or double time and overworking your employees.
• If you aren't paying them enough in the first place it makes the off the job work necessary as a supplement; however the practice of loaning out police officers should be curtailed.
• Charge the businesses or events for the Officers' time and service not to mention the wear and tear on the City owned vehicle but any work site employment should be done on the clock and as part of the Officers' normal schedule and pay. This step would remove some of the Conflict Of Interest between the Police Duty and Security Detail. This would also give some assurance to the Public Trust and Citizens that our Officers are not overly fatigued while on a normal duty shift.
  
• This one case, of Scott Morales (just cited by links above), happened right before last years general election. What makes it even more ironic is that the incident started at a local Fricker's franchise, which is owned by Chris Stewart, a Democrat Party candidate for City Council, who lost his bid for the 4th District race. This one incident alone has given the City a possible three hundred thousand dollar liability alone and there are more cases happening every day.
  

This post will be updated further as more information comes across my preview. I got the photo from Andrea, thank you!

Should performance artists be allowed to smoke?

Suppose a film company wanted to produce a biopic about the life of Franklin Roosevelt. The actor playing FDR would have to smoke in order to accurately portray his character. Could this movie be legally filmed in Fort Wayne? As soon as paid camera operators start filming paid actors, that location becomes a workplace and subject to the ordinance.

Minnesota has created an exemption for performance artists. Should Fort Wayne do the same?

Blast from the Past video post.

This is Doug's 2007 interview with Jon Bartels. Note that Doug refers to Jen as the current LPAC chair.

DST

Where does the government get the right to tell us what time it is? Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to set weights and measurements. A pound in Colorado should weigh the same as a pound in Maine. Time zones were first established so that railroads could have standard schedules. Congress should make DST universal or abolish it altogether. Does DST save energy? It did before air conditioners were invented. Changing the clocks twice a year only serves to disturb circadian rhythms twice a year. But if we are going to persist in having DST, the dates of the time changes should stay the same every year.

IUPUI janitor gets in trouble for reading the wrong book

Here is the link.

Politics Explained With Cows?

So you have two cows, they are cute, your kids give them names: Bertha and Daisy. But all of a sudden you remember that you live in a different society then what you grew up in thanks to Universal Health Care and other plans of Democrats, like Harrison Square, that slowly eroded your rights away and now America has become a Socialist society where you are required to give away one of your cows to your neighbor.

You think to yourself, "Hey no big deal. At least I don't live in a Communist society!" That is where the government takes both cows and then provides your family with just barely enough milk. Also be thanking God you don't live under a Fascist regime, then they would take both of them and try to sell you the milk.

As you are walking Daisy over to your neighbors down the back alley way you remember the days of Corporate Greed that lead to the necessity of giving away a years worth of income for the sake of your neighbor for if Corporations were still running everything you would be having to sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows, then act surprised when it drops dead.

The easiest solution to that would be of course a true capitalist society where you would sell Bertha the older heifer at the local town dinning establishment and buy Ricardo a nice young bull to keep Daisy grazing till the rooster cowled just in time for a "healthy milking" session.

But of course since Obama and Clinton got their wish your kids loose their pets because the government will tax you to the point that you must sell both Bertha and Daisy in order to pay the taxes to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow which was a gift from your government. What a Democracy, gotta love it!

Aren't you glad we live in a Bureaucracy where the government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours the milk down a drain? For by decreasing the supply you increase the demand and therefore the price goes up. That is market economics 101!

Sources: Wesley In Austin and F6 ~ Fun Fag FAQs From Father Fozy

Fat cows and lean cows

I was so sick last week that all I can remember is Tom Didier dressed like a Pharaoh. Which reminds me of the Bible story of when the Pharaoh dreamed about seven lean cows eating seven fat cows. Joseph interpreted this to mean that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.

Last year, the city council was coming up with new and exciting ways to spend our money. This year, the state is making the city cap property taxes, so the city has to cut back.

Once upon a time the state was running a surplus. The surplus problem was fixed by the Build Indiana Fund. After that, the sales tax had to be increased to make ends meet.

Governments should not treat surplus cash like a problem to be solved. When the economy is good and revenues are high, set aside money in a rainy day fund or cut taxes. Government and economy alike will be that much better able to weather the next storm.