View of State of the Union tells if you are a Libertarian

In the State of the Union you may notice that it is all about corporate welfare. Hard-earned property is given to special interests.

Research on new fuels is stealing from the workers and giving to many special interests, including Big Oil.

Medical savings accounts will purloin from the poor and middle class to enrich the wealthy and medical interests. Healthcare is already a reverse laundry where instead of making drug money clean, it defrauds the sick and rewards drug pushers and makers.

War swindles from the productive in the country bestowing profits on the special interest of what Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex.

Where Smedley Butler said, “War is a Racket” we can now say “Government has become a Racket.”


Definition of a Libertarian

This seizure and transfer leaves many poor and middle class workers finding holes in their socks. This irritating feeling is similar to the irritation felt by Libertarians when they see government divvy up treasure from the cheated to the pockets of the well connected.

Tax Abatements = Jobs Scams

Even socialists know tax abatements are wrong. Some know they are jobs scams.

Freedom Now!

The Heritage Foundation has the U.S. ranked 9th (tied with two others) in economic freedom. It is interesting to view the whole list.

Please Sir, I Want Some More - Property Taxes

Watch out for higher property taxes. State government is getting freaky.
Notice the home owner pays 47% of those taxes. A very good article.

I Don't Suport Unconstitutional Laws, Especially Bad Ones

This story is making much news. Although Libertarians can’t really support H.B. 1237, it is better then the current laws on the books. You’ve probably heard the story which I have attached below. (The law probably changes felonies to Class B Misdemeanors.) You may also find more from this story and thread.

Things to remember: Indiana Constitution Article I Section 23. Equal privileges. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.

So a law letting special people kill with a license and not others is unconstitutional. H.B. 1237 is also unconstitutional since Indiana government cannot give out rights based on fees or licenses. Civil fines and fees we can dispute, but criminal offenses must be fought when there is no intent to do harm. When a child delivers a sibling because no one else is around do we charge that person with a crime?

If the prosecutor brings this case in April, the jury should use Indiana Article I Section 19. Right of jury to determine law and facts in criminal cases. In all criminal cases whatever, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts.

The judge should explain Article I Section 19 to the jury.

This (jury instruction) might be a case the Indiana Libertarian Party might want to pursue. I once fought a case (albeit a traffic ticket) where the prosecutor presented “standard” jury instructions (big surprise it was chosen over my instructions) that included that the jury was responsible for judging the law and the facts. I did some explaining as to what that meant in my summation.


I think we should at least make the party if not others aware of H.B. 1237 and this case.



Courthouse rally supports midwife

Kris Kirschner/Eyewitness News

Shelbyville, Jan. 20 - Outside the Shelby County courthouse was an event that turned out to be a family affair. Mothers, a few dads and their children were hoping to send a message from downtown Shelbyville all the way to the Statehouse.

Andrea Tian believes, "If midwives are prosecuted, home birth families will have nobody to attend to them."

The rally Friday centers around Jennifer Williams, a midwife charged with practicing medicine without a license. Williams assisted a minister and his wife during the birth of their child at their home last June.
According to court documents, the baby became "physically distressed" and later died despite Williams' attempts to resuscitate and medically treat the child.

Williams led the rally after she pleaded not guilty in court Friday. "Licensure in Indiana is something we've been trying to get done since 1993."

Unlike certain religious groups which believe in home birth without medical treatment, Williams says she is nationally certified as a midwife and has helped with nearly 1,500 births in her 17-year career. "We interact and work with the medical community and we do very low risk home birth."

In the state of Indiana only registered nurses can be certified as midwives.
Many of Williams supporters, like Bonnie Sydow, consider it a matter of choice. "I think home birth is safe and legal and I want it to be an option that I can always have for childbirth. It's a legislative issue, not a criminal issue."

It's an issue that will come before lawmakers before Williams makes her way back to court. Williams and her supporters hope to get House Bill 1237 passed. The bill would establish a board that would develop review procedures; require the purchase of liability insurance and adopt rules limiting the scope of practice by midwives in home births.

Currently 30 states grant licenses to Certified Professional Midwives.
Williams trial is set for April.

Hours of Entertainment

Slightly to the left but lefties will probably be more offended than libertarians.

Mark Fiore's Animated Political Cartoons!

Vigo County Prosecutor Race

Sent this to the paper before Ellis got into the race. Clicking on unproductive below will bring up an interesting book on the failure of government schools.

Ed


We are entering another election year, which is easily noticeable from your articles on the local (Terre Haute) prosecutor race. The candidates are addressing some form of fairness, which I believe means equitable sentences before we lock them up. But half of these prisoners are political prisoners. They have not harmed anyone.

These political prisoners are thrown into populations highly infected with tuberculosis, hepatitis C, and AIDS. Their care is questionable, and I have even heard of a local person going to county jail and not receiving his penicillin. It is one thing to kill the convicted; it is another to create a resistant form of disease to unleash on an innocent public. Overcrowding from our police state is creating an unintended biological WMD.

Informed juries may be part of the answer as was highlighted in a Life Extension Magazine article in August 2004. Education, which has become more than unproductive, can’t do much in the short term even if corrected.

For now we are at the mercy of our prosecutors. Some of these political prisoners go to work and take care of their families. They are treated the same as irresponsible violators. Certainly much of the problem is in our prisons, but we need prosecutors who care more about the public health and safety and less about the money and power game.

Deceptive talking 101

Here is a post by Gordon Prather. He mentions how Bush referenced that Saddam's son-in-law, while in the U.S., said Saddam had WMDs and when he returned to Iraq Saddam had him killed. Many take from that statement that Saddam's son-in-law was killed because he told the U.S. that Iraq had WMDs. But while Saddam's son-in-law said Iraq had WMDs, he also said they were destroyed and Iraq no longer had them. With this information we might just as well conclude the son-in-law was killed for saying Iraq did not have WMDs. This game of tenses and incomplete information made it very difficult when people asked, "How come our guys are the liars and your guys ain't?" My answer was to not answer that question since even now the administration doesn't think they lied or are now lying. I answered by explaining why Iraq had no WMDs. It may sound like I was calling the Fox news people (and others including the White House Press) liars but that is not true either. Those folks were misled by the administration and in turn misled others.

This would no longer be important except the administration is continuing its deception. Watch out for tenses. Ask yourself if the continued use of had is for a reason. The press should really press the matter and ask questions like, "Does this power currently have these weapons?"

Rumsfeld uses a similar technique in explaining torture. He redefines torture which may in itself be one deception while saying U.S. forces do not torture. The questions should be about the CIA and "special ops" from "contractors." Are these considered U.S. forces? The rest of the world has lost much respect for this country because of these unnecessary antics.

When exposed, these masters of verbal ledgerdemain may label you by saying, "You think you're slimier than snot on a wet frog." I've always taken that as a complement.

Vigo County Shopping Corporation

We need to start a Vigo County Shopping Corporation. This VCSC is needed because our shoppers need the best stores available with the greatest employees in the world. To do this we will have to raise property taxes to pay for this service. Also, for every employee working in the stores, we need one in our administration building. Many administration employees will be paid over $50,000 per year and will have jobs like telling the public that the Corporation's money does not depend on the number of shoppers in the VCSC. The VCSC will of course be getting money based on how many shoppers visit its stores. More shoppers means more taxes. If you live in Vigo County you will have to pay for shopping there even if you choose to shop at a private store. We'll elect a board that only makes $3000 per year and spread this board's members through at least three elections. To make things rough on folks who want to upset this apple cart (pun intended) we will load the corporation with debt.

The Vigo County School Corporation is run under a similar scheme. I hope to see voters unite behind a candidate for vouchers. Obviously, the first paragraph is satire.

I'll send this to Max.

Why Vote Libertarian?

You're a socialist:

You don't want to lose your benefits. And Libertarians will not take the basics of room and board from you. Many things, including what some see as the "Social Security Problem," will work themselves out with less corporate welfare and advanced technology leading to the singularity. I don't agree with all of Ray Kurzweil's book, "The Singularity is Near" but its predictions are real enough that Libertarians should assure folks they won't be kicked out in the street to starve. Social Security will not be touched.

Indeed, healthy beings who live very long, perhaps eternal, lives need not worry about retirement. These beings will not have intestines as we know them but will have synthetic blood allowing extraordinary breathing and athletic feats. Kurzweil (over 50) is hoping to make it to the singularity. We can all hope, that with life extension, we can all make it. This is realistic for those just being born but very optimistic for us with a few years past. Nonetheless, the same optimistic reasoning of Kurzweil will lead to a future perhaps even beyond his dreams. This exponential growth in technology is amazing! Let's not let fear steal a brilliant future for our children. And Libertarians will steal less of your hard earned property and freedoms than the anti-Libertarian alternative.


You're afraid in the short run Libertarians will allow immigrants to take your job with open boarders:

Unlike the anti-Libertarians, the Libertarian Party is not run by corporate interests. (yet??) You're the type of person the Libertarian Party needs to call for property rights allowing limited immigration. The philosophy is already there. Yes, limit the immigration while we have socialism, then come the singularity, things will take care of themselves. Prosperity at home will keep most folks there.When the Articles of Confederation came into being, States could keep out poor people. By the time of the Constitution, immigration really didn't matter between States allowing us to become a Federated Republic. Before the end of this libertarian century, immigration probably won't matter. Right now open boarders has Libertarians split 50/50 much like the issue of abortion. Both problems will be gone with the singularity.


You're a rich person and fear the libertarians will steal your corporate welfare:

They will end your corporate welfare. But think about this. The richest person one hundred years ago lived like a pauper compared to a poor person today. Indeed, Libertarians will allow business to flourish in the free market. You may have a smaller mansion with the Libertarians, but healthcare will improve faster along with life improving devices. Your standard of living will actually improve more without the corporate welfare as long as other "corporate programs" are also ended. Corporate programs like war, the AMA, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Farm, and the teacher's union steal much more than is provided to the poor and endanger the future of funded programs like Social Security.

Libertarians believe in ending welfare to schools. They would give you vouchers to send your children to schools of your choice. By 2007 MIT will have all its courses on line for free. Now we must make our children capable of taking what is there.Right now (2006) Vigo County Libertarians are looking to place a person who favors vouchers on the school board. Then after the next school board election, we might be able to make some changes in the system. Think about it. Schools that teach rather than make money and power for a union and elites. Competition of the free market is the answer.

Guest Blog From State Chair

Here is a Guest Blog titled, "LPLP Vice-Chair Andy Wolf's Comments on Representative Whetstone's Tax Raising HB 1400"

Up to : is from State Chair Mark Rutherford.

Andy Wolf is the Vice-Chair of the Libertarian Party of LaPorte County. He also serves on the fundraising committee of the LPIN. He's also a lawyer. Andy has been studying "Tax and Spend" Republican Matthew Whetsone's HB 1400. Here's what he wrote about it to many of his friends the other day:

"The government reorganization legislation presented in the General Assembly this month needs our attention. Introduced by Republican Representative Matthew Whetstone, HB 1400 eliminates more than a hundred county level positions, including township assessors, small claims judges and small claims constables. It additionally allows for the consolidation of adjacent counties, townships, municipalities and school districts. Most alarming, however, are the new taxes that are buried in the legislation's fine print. If the bill passes, Hoosiers already drowning in taxes will have been thrown an anchor by Governor Daniels and his lapdog General Assembly.

The bill allows counties to implement several additional taxes, called "Supplemental Local Taxes," including a local sales tax, a local food and beverage tax, and a local innkeeper's tax. If adopted, the law would also permit the introduction of a supplemental local income tax. Of course, these taxes would be in addition to, and not in replace of, any taxes Hoosiers are currently paying.

The local sales tax would be applied to all transactions within a county that are already subject to sales tax, which would include all retail transactions other than for food. The local food and beverage tax would apply to all eating and drinking establishments within the county, and the local innkeeper's tax would be levied on hotel guests. The supplemental local income tax would be calculated on each county taxpayer's adjusted gross income. Each of these taxes would be imposed by the county's fiscal body at an initial rate of 0.1% apiece., with room for increases.

While the bill legislates how the Supplemental Local Taxes can be used, there's a catch. The county will be required to form two funds, a property tax replacement account fund and a miscellaneous revenue shares account fund. Eighty percent of the revenue from the combined taxes will be placed in the property tax replacement account, and twenty percent will go into the miscellaneous revenue shares fund. The money that is deposited into the property tax replacement account will be credited proportionally to the county's property tax payers as credits to their property taxes due. This sounds like much needed relief for property owners. However, it is a hollow provision. The distribution from the property tax replacement account is made only if the county does not have any bonds, leases, obligations, or other evidences of indebtedness. Only after the county's obligations are paid will monies from the property tax replacement account be credited to the county's property taxpayers.

HB 1400 also mandates that each county impose a county family and children property tax levy, a child psychiatry property tax levy, and a county probation services fund levy. Of course, these taxes are in addition to the property taxes already assessed against property owners.

In addition, the bill would allow all funds allocated to cities and towns from the motor vehicle highway account to be used for land acquisition, and, in fact, requires it. This opens the door even wider for more eminent domain abuses. With more money with which they can use to buy land, municipalities will be even more inclined to grab land owned by hard-working Hoosier families.

This bill, being introduced under the guise of government reorganization, is in reality a massive tax increase. Rather than reducing the size and increasing the efficiency of government, it creates a larger bureaucracy and takes even more money out of the voters' wallets. Today's Hoosiers are paying more taxes than under any previous state administration, driving them further and further into debt. This legislation cannot be allowed to proceed without public scrutiny. The insanity must end. Tell them to say no to 1400."

SMOKING BAN COMING TO VIGO COUNTY?

Although the following is not entirely true, it does point out that some folks like to control their neighbors.

"The same people who want to force change in their neighbors through laws, are the same people who think they can save the world through war. Whatever their beliefs and ideals may be, I don't want to be like them. Those who not only have it all figured out, but also would force their conclusions on others, are the worst people on earth. True liberty is knowing that we don't have all the answers. Which is why it ain't nobody's business what you do, and it ain't nobody's business what they do."
by James Leroy Wilson

Here is some truth.
Second hand smoke has not been proved to cause harm and those who seek to regulate it are regulating an annoyance. Unlike the annoying blogger law, these laws do not include an intent. (Yes, you may be enraged by what I say, but since that is not my intent, I am not guilty. Your rage is just my icing on the cake. And what is cake without icing!) What annoyance will we outlaw next? Perhaps we can ban purple haired people from restaurants. It hasn't been proved that they cause harm to your children either. Which reminds me, don't use your children's supposed health to ban something you do not care for.

For those who like to see the humor in this, check out Penn & Teller, but I warn you it does have adult language and if you view other topics it does have nudity. Their Showtime series is very informative for those who like to decide issues on the facts. The show on second hand smoke is on the tape (or dvd) available at the main Vigo County Library.

All logical folks should support the property rights law Terre Haute City Councilman Ryan Cummins is proposing. This is indeed a matter of government once again telling businesses how to operate. Isn't it enough that government takes and squanders too much of their money already?

It is sad that fear and greed will probably force an idiotic smoking ban law not only through the county but watch out for a statewide ban next. Then don't even think of leaving your house with purple hair.