Libertarian Party of Indiana

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Secretary of State Candidate Mike Wherry on Ballot Access

LPIN Editor

Published: August 19, 2010

The importance of the Secretary of State’s race to the Libertarian Party is well known to political insiders and long-time Libertarian supporters. Those supporters new to the political process might be surprised to learn that if Mike Wherry fails to achieve a minimum percentage of votes, the Libertarian party will lose its’ ballot status.

Wherry spoke about ballot access particulars and the value Libertarians bring to Hoosier voters when they challenge incumbents.

Plus, a new Mike Wherry radio ad debuts at the beginning of the podcast. Please contribute to putting this ad on the air through financial contributions at: www.mikewherry.com

Listen to the podcast here: 059 Mike Wherry on ballot access and the implications of the lack thereof

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US Senate candidate to attend Indianapolis Indians Game Monday

LPIN Editor

Published: August 19, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – Former educator Rebecca Sink-Burris will watch the Indians tear up the Louisville Bats on Monday night (8/23/2010 @6pm – 10pm) as she attends a candidate meet-and-greet at Victory Field. Sink-Burris, of Bloomington, is the Libertarian Candidate for United States Senate.

“We have been successful in fundraising and building a broad coalition to support Indiana from a runaway federal government. Like Indiana’s wage earners, I understand that the growth of government – even through so-called homeland security and stimulus – means less freedom, security and prosperity for everyday people.” said Sink-Burris. “I’m looking forward to hearing from fellow Hoosiers at Victory Field.”

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Fair Enough…

Rex Bell

Published: August 17, 2010

I spent last week campaigning at the Mooreland Fair. I’ve been attending the fair for 58 years. I don’t think I ever attended one that was as hot as this one. Mooreland isn’t a very big town, but they put on a heck of a fair every year. It’s kind of a big homecoming and getting reacquainted event for thousands of people.

Having a booth at the fair, I get to visit a lot of people I’ve known all of my life, but usually don’t see until the fair. I also get to meet and visit with people i didn’t know before.

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LPIN Podcast: Judge Bell’s Pennies, and Thoughts

LPIN Editor

Published: August 16, 2010

Second-term Libertarian Judge Susan Bell of Hagerstown had two interesting experiences recently as the Hagerstown Judge.

The first was of a man trying to get an audience via protest in her courtroom, and the other being the media covering his protest, but focusing on an odd detail he had considered. He wanted to pay in pennies.

The resulting media news reporting had the effect of painting Judge Bell in a tough “law and order” light, or of being unsympathetic to the man’s position.

In this special edition of the podcast, Bell tells her side of the story to clear up misconceptions and to explain her role as a Judge.

Listen to the podcast here: 056 Judge Bell’s pennies, and thoughts

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National LP: Libertarians call federal worker pay gap ‘appalling’

LPIN Editor

Published: August 12, 2010

WASHINGTON – Recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that federal government workers get compensation, on average, more than twice as high as private-sector workers. That gap has expanded dramatically over the last decade. Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle released the following statement today:

“The numbers are appalling. In 2009, the average private-sector worker received $61,051 in total compensation, but the average federal government worker received $123,049. There is no excuse for this enormous, and growing, compensation gap.

“I guess you just can’t beat a federal job. Very high pay, unbelievable benefits, extremely generous retirement plans, and near-perfect job security.

“And those retirement plans are often unfunded pensions, which will have to be paid by taxing our children and grandchildren, who never had the opportunity to vote when they were created.

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Mark Vogel featured in LaPorte Herald Argus Newspaper

LPIN Editor

Published: August 12, 2010

(LP Congressional District 2 candidate Mark Vogel was recently featured in the LaPorte newspaper, a key county in his district.)

“I think there’s an awakening going on,” Vogel said. “I think more people are realizing Democrats and Republicans aren’t as different as they thought.”

Vogel said he has a four-point plan for stimulating the economy and creating jobs which includes repealing NAFTA, taking power away from the Federal Reserve Board to inflate currency, stopping bailouts of large companies and stopping spending, particularly overseas spending.

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LPIN Podcast: Ed Coleman’s self-defense proposal shot down

LPIN Editor

Published: August 12, 2010

If the US and Indiana Constitutions uphold the right of citizens to defend themselves with firearms, why does Indianapolis and Marion County override these freedoms with ordinances? And, why in City parks?

Libertarian City-County Councilman Ed Coleman sought to restore what he calls ‘basic human rights’ with an ordinance that would permit those with concealed carry licenses to do so in the parks. Coleman’s proposal brought swift denunciations by Republicans.

Coleman explains the process and the politics that shot down his proposal.

Listen to the podcast here: 057 Ed Coleman’s self-defense proposal shot down

Audio can be used freely if attributed to LPIN and www.lpin.org.

The LPIN podcast is a feature of the LPIN, highlighting candidate and member efforts through direct interviews. The program is hosted by Libertarian Party of Hamilton County Chair Mike Kole. You can also subscribe through iTunes by clicking here. You can also search for this podcast in the iTunes directory.

The Real Cost of Network Neutrality

LPIN Editor

Published: August 6, 2010

Marc Oestreich, Legislative Specialist at the Heartland Institute

Dear Friends:

No doubt you have all heard net neutrality in the news recently. Many have taken to partisan lines and politicized this issue, but regardless of your ideological bent the economic outcomes of such a policy are inarguable.

I am writing to you because I think you might be interested to read a new Research and Commentary of mine. I examine much of the emerging literature on the economic downfalls of an FCC-run policy of neutrality. In short, the policy could cost the U.S. as much as $60billion in GDP and more than 500,000 jobs. It would stifle innovation and choke out emerging technologies like tele-medicine and the like.

Proponents of net neutrality argue that internet service is a duopoly, but an examination of trends in service show that wireless and satellite internet providers are growing at amazing rates. The market will soon be flooded with competition.

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Nicknames and Nullification

Rex Bell

Published: August 4, 2010

There used to be a guy up in Mooreland who went by the nickname “Banjo”. I don’t know why people called him by that name. There were a lot of people with nicknames when I was growing up, but I didn’t always know where the names originated. I was pretty sure how Stinky Wilmont got his name, and Fat Brown was pretty well self explanatory, as was Slim, Blubber and Shorty. I’m not so sure about Ginky, or Crowbar, or Skeeter.

However the names came about, after a period of time they became so commonly used that a lot of people didn’t know the person’s given name. I never knew Banjo as anything but Banjo.

Whatever his real name was, Banjo had a way of getting the better end of a deal. I recall a time when Banjo and another friend of mine, Charlie, (a nickname for Charles, I suspect,) decided to raise some chickens. The deal was they would buy 100 chicks, Charlie would furnish the feed, and Banjo would board and tend to the flock until they were big enough to be turned into fried chicken.

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LPIN Podcast: Young Gun TJ Thompson’s takes aim at Mike Pence

LPIN Editor

Published: August 4, 2010

TJ Thompson is one of three Libertarian candidates for US House under the age of 30 (the others are Jon Morris in District 1, and Chard Reid in District 5) calling themselves ‘The Young Guns’ in acknowledgment not just of their age, but their energy and passion for the work of turning the country around.

Thompson is interested at a very technical level, holding the belief that each member of Congress should read each bill before voting on them, and has written legislative proposals addressing topics such as Congressional pay.