No To the GM Bailout

What do I think about the proposed bailout? No. Never. Nada.

As someone who has a college education, I find it ridiculous that someone who never attended college makes more than I do. Doesn't this send a mixed message? I thought college grads were supposed to make more money than people who aren't college grads. It doesn¢t take a college degree to operate a robotic machine, and doing that task doesn¢t warrant a job that pays upwards of $25 an hour.

In an article in the November 12 Journal Gazette, Nancy Pelosi said any assistance to the auto industry should include limits to executive compensation. If the factory workers expect huge buyouts, do you think the executives are going to be any different? Hell no!

A free enterprise system doesn't rely on government to bail out businesses. If you can't run your business competently, you deserve to go under.

Terrorist attack in India

This is a horrific and tragic attack. At the same time, we need to realize that terrorists intend to have a psychological impact beyond the actual physical harm that they cause. It's important to understand their methods, motives, and mindsets just as a doctor strives to understand a disease.

This is early speculation, but I'm guessing that these particular terrorists have a bigger axe to grind against the Indian government than they did against the Americans and British that they were ostensibly targeting. I think that their goal is to scare Americans and British and keep them from traveling to India, thus damaging the Indian economy. According to the article, eyewitnesses said that the gunmen asked who had US and UK passports. Did they really expect everyone with those passports to raise their hands? Probably not, so I'm guessing that they wanted terrified survivors talking to reporters.

Despite the hype, there does appear to be a real threat

I've avoided linking to the sponsor, but here is some info on IN House Bill 1260:

http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2008&session=1&request=getBill&docno=1260

It's being pushed by an anti-2nd amendment PAC. Their slogan is, "Saving lives one bullet at a time". What this bill is proposing is that all ammunition have an encoding, in rough terms a serial number on each bullet, and that the cost of said encoding and tracking be passed on to the purchaser of the ammunition.

Off the top of my head the faults are:

1) Just because the bullet might be traceable to a particular batch of ammo or even a purchaser does not mean that its going to prevent anyone from being shot. It only offers a slim thread to track down the shooter after the fact

2) Criminals don't care. They're going to get ammo and they're going to use it to harm people. 

3) People who want to hide will always be able to manufacture their own ammunition and purchase old ammunition. Bullets keep for a long time and people have been making their own lead bullets for centuries, its not going away.

I expect this to die in committee, but its worth keeping an eye on. Write your House Rep and ask them to make this die. Its an excessive and unnecessary piece of legislation with a high cost and low benefit.

Sunday humour

Quick before our guns get banned! http://truckbearingkibble.com/comic/2008/11/17/character-assassination/

With the holiday season fast approaching, what better to get as a backhanded compliment for your ultra-liberal cousins or a horrendous gag gift for your right-wing nut job in-laws!! Give a gift of laughter and pain with the Brack Obama Commemorative Plate! http://www.victoryplate.com/

Bush warns against protectionism

Whatever you think of Bush, this is still sound advice. His influence has reach a nadir, and the first impulse of a lot of people is to oppose anything Bush supports. Personally, I am disappointed that he didn't do more to promote free trade when he was popular. Subsidies to American agriculture and industry do almost as much damage to our image in other countries as the occupation of Iraq and detaining people without trial or POW status in Gitmo. Obama will have a very hard time making friends out of foreigners if he takes the advice of his SecState and takes a "free trade timeout".

Free trade is a tool and a weapon. If we don't like a country, our options prior to armed conflict is imposing an embargo. Countries that are economically interdependent are less likely to go to war. For that matter, a foreigner with a full time job is that much less likely to become a terrorist.

Is the GOP too big to fail?

This is hilarious.

F6 FWD: Michigan cant tell where Indiana is?

This is part of an F6 post I am working on still. This is the first portion.
I encourage you to go read the rest at your leisure, it should be completed sometime tomorrow.

Yes you heard correctly fellow Libertarians, according to a recent post over at Indiana Law Blog, sourcing a story from The Associated Press, Michigan told Indiana that after four years it cant figure out where the 104 mile long border is between the two States. They lost most of the wooden survey markers due age and degradation over time. Who was the idiot, even back in 1827, that decided to mark out the Border of the State with wooden stakes? Especially in this climate, at least use concrete and metal to begin with.

Apparently the only thing signifying where the border is a possible few marker posts and one lone confirmed marker they found in the middle pointe of the border. Here are some statements of interest from the article:

• Michigan reset its lines in the early 1900's with Wisconsin and Ohio.
  
• Professional surveyors can only recover and confirm original markers.
  
• Those that are lost can only be replaced by a joint action of the Indiana and Michigan legislatures or, if those bodies cannot agree on the border's location, the U.S. Supreme Court.
  
• Once that happens, property that for years was believed to lie in one state could turn out to be in another, creating quandaries regarding property and income taxes, police jurisdictions, school districts and numerous other matters.
  
• When the state line is re-established, it could end up moving north or south up to a few hundred feet

Why did Michigan wait until an entire century later to refortify its border with Indiana? Also another statement from the personal interest profile part of the story, The State of Michigan does not charge income tax on disability checks but Indiana does. Isnt that just wrong? The very nature of a disability check is already a. taxpayer money and b. a reduced rate of income so why are we charging people income tax on very little to begin with, they can barely survive on disability income. Yet we say as a State we want some of it back?

Sounds a little hypocritical to me. Then again I am a Libertarian and we dont believe in high taxes or income taxes or government assistance. Which I do disagree with The Party on the last one in most situations. Poor relief doesnt belong primarily in the Churches either because of historical and current ritual abuse and proselytizing. It belongs in the Township level of government but as Citizens never fund it fully, well that is another discussion for later.....

Uncertainty is bad for the economy

Note: This video was posted on ReasonTV on Halloween, so when he talks about 6 weeks ago, he is talking about September.

Uncertainty is bad for the economy. Some parts of the future are easy to predict: The sun will rise in the morning. The Detroit Lions aren't going to the playoffs. And prices, wages, and the stock market usually go up. Crisis and disasters, whether real or imagined, can cause investors to be a whole lot more cautious with their money. They pull their money out of stocks and put it into bonds. Or they pull it out of bonds and put it into gold.

To give a example from the 90's, remember when Clinton finally admitted to the affair? In hindsight, that was a big nothing. But as he was confessing his sins on TV, CNN had a stock ticker with a red arrow pointing down. People didn't know what was going to happen, so they expected the worst.

One thing that Obama can do to promote corporate responsibility

Having the current Congress and administration teach fiscal responsibility to companies would be like Bill Clinton teaching a course on abstinence. The government can and should lead by example. Obama gets to start with a clean slate. If he can keep spending under control and reform the government's accounting practices, that will go a longer way towards reforming Wall Street than any new regulation would.

The experts debate the bailout

In The Know: Should The Government Stop Dumping Money Into A Giant Hole?

Smoking ban may go statewide

From the Journal Gazette

Folks, if they can outlaw smoking in private establishments on public health grounds, they can outlaw outdoor grilling on the same grounds:

Melissa Etheridge says she won't pay California taxes anymore

Hat tip to the Reason Hit and Run blog

A majority of California supported Prop 8, a state constitutional ban on gay marriage. So Melissa Etheridge says she refuses to support California's social programs. She certainly has a right to be upset. She is being refused a marriage license in a state that normally allows Hollywood celebrities to get married.

I would imagine that rather than openly flout the state's tax codes, she'll probably just claim residency in another state. Anybody serious about attracting young people to a state should be talking about granting recognition to same-sex marriages. (Speaking of which, CFW has been silent for a while. All this history taking place and not a peep out of him.)

The End of the War to End All Wars: 90 Years Ago Today

Cessation of operations by land and in the air six hours after the signature of the armistice.
Ninety years ago, an armistice was signed that ended combat in the First World War. One year later, November 11th was celebrated as Armistice Day. Two wars later, the day became known as Veterans Day.

Veterans are like mothers. Nowadays, some people are both. Often, people become veterans or mothers through the failure of diplomacy or contraception. But you don't have to be one to honor them.

LPAC blog listed as 17th top 100 Libertarian blogs across the Country!

I just received word that a non political blog Web Designs School Guide listed this blog, yes this blog!, as the 17th Best Libertarian blog in the Country....woohooo! and yehhaw! We also made the top of the list for Local Libertarian Blogs.

Pardon me while my inner black woman and ghetto redneck queenish self parties down like there is a barn in the way and a church roof that needs a raisin'! I'm such a blog whore. Thank you Kelly.

To be fair and balanced though other Libertarians in the State also made the list:
4th, The Bell Curve by Rex Bell; 24th & 100th, Electing Libertarians by Mark Rutherford; 90th, We Declare and 91st, Horning for Governor by Andrew Horning; 94th, Angleton's Rants by Ed Angleton; 95th, Justice and Fortitude by Timothy Maguire;

STATE NEWS - Technically Jon should be writing this as he is in charge of the Third District for the State.

For other information for all Libertarians across the State of Indiana, as most insiders and avid bloggers already are aware Chris Spangle former Producer for the Abdul In The Morning Show on AM1430 in INDY is now the Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. He hit the ground running approximately three weeks before the election and has been working hard to network the County Parties and Local Libertarian organizations together.

Recently, Chris started a new networking site FREE HOOSIERS with NING software and hosting for the entire LPIN Network that has already garnered the different County Parties officials to start talking to each other with greater ease of communication and exchange of resources. The Libertarian Party of Indiana is in a direct line to make a massive wave of change in 2010 and 2012. Watch out because here we come!

I would also like to take this time to welcome Howard County into the fold.

Sophmore graduation

I like this idea. Letting kids graduate early would save money, reduce the dropout rate, and would provide an additional incentive for academic achievement. If a felon can get a 4 year sentence cut in half if he behaves himself, why not make the same offer for high school students?

'Marks For Distinction' Left By Libertarians In Races This Year

Folks this election may not be over we are still missing up to a third of the nationwide and statewide race results across the State. If anyone knows of updates to these lists below please let me know promptly via comments on this post or email. There is more election information on my personal blog F6.

Thank you to all those whom put their honour on the line to make our State a beacon of Liberty! The fight doesnt end here it is just beginning. I have two questions for you all. Does this years results help or hurt us for 2010? What can we as a Party do to improve upon the presentation of our message, especially for 2010? We have a year to figure out a plan and work hard to implement it folks. Lets get to work and win!

Now for the NEW RESULTS!

They are still Tentative but please right click here and open the new chart into a new tab. If anyone knows of updates to these lists enclosed please let me know promptly. Again to the Citizens of Indiana, thank you for your vote and all the support of the party for the people!!

No votes? What happened?

There are several contest which do not have data yet on the Secretary of State's website among them are State Representative Districts 37, 41st, 99th, and 100, and the twenty Counties of Bartholomew, Crawford, Delaware, Hancock, Harrison, Jennings, Madison, Marion (INDY), Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Noble, Parke, Posey, Putnam, Spencer, Tippecanoe, Vermilion, and Vigo.

Favorite catchphrase of the year

"Injecting capital" became the new way of saying "pay". This is often used in conjunction with "incentive".

Example:

DEFENDANT: All I did was inject capital into her subprime market.
PROSECUTOR: So you are admitting that you paid her for sex?
DEFENDANT: That was the incentive for participation in the program.

The bailout happened in October in a presidential election year; not the best time for level-headed thinking. A lot of people, and this probably includes Souder and Obama, supported the bailout out of fear. Now that the dust has settled, let's hope that the corporate gravy train makes its last stop.

Best Resource for Judicial Retention Info

http://www.in.gov/judiciary/retention/

Cases and supporting and dissenting opinions written by the justices up for retention. Great resource.

Take an hour and hear the other 3 candidates for POTUSA

For those whom care to watch here is the Presidential Debate from earlier this week between Bob Barr (L), Ralph Nader (G), and Chuck Baldwin (C) @ the City Club in Cleveland, Ohio.



Reminder you can still vote early on Monday between 8a-Noon @ City County Building Room 136

3rd District Congressional Debate

Screw it. The election is over and I got tired of hearing commercials for auto mechanics, so I took down the video.

JUST TO UPDATE NEWS COVERAGE: THE NEWS SENTINEL ACTUALLY HAD A REALLY GOOD ARTICLE COVERING THE DEBATE. SHAME GOES TO INDIANA'S NEWS CENTER FOR REPEATEDLY NOT PROVIDING COVERAGE OR BLATANTLY IGNORING WILLIAM LARSEN'S CANDIDACY. <=F6'S EDITOR wrote this part out=

Fozy, we have been getting more media coverage than we have in the past. As we start running more active campaigns, we will be getting as much coverage as the Democrats.