Institute for Justice: Super Pacs, Occupy the Courts, Colbert & the Fight for Free Speech
Video of the Day: What is a Super PAC?
Published: February 8, 2012
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Video of the Day: Can the Government Make Entrepreneurs Do Useless Things For No Reason?
Published: February 7, 2012
“A victory here will not only free Verlin from an unconstitutional restraint on his economic liberty, but protect entrepreneurs across the state from pointless laws and bureaucracy.”
Goldstein: Run for Office, and Make A Difference
Published: February 6, 2012
Voters have a tremendous amount of frustration with America’s two-party system, and they are looking for alternatives. They are looking for fresh solutions and candidates with principles. Never has there been a moment where this country has been more open to the message of libertarianism, and it’s up to our party to seize this moment. We need libertarians like you to run for office.
By running for office, our candidates spread the libertarian message of limited government and personal responsibility through campaign activities like canvassing, media interviews, and debates.
Our leadership and staff work hard to ensure that developing a successful campaign is easy. Running for office can be intimidating but we prepare our candidates through websites like the Libertarian Training Center, LP 101, and LPIN.org, through training events like the one being held this weekend, and the consultation of our full-time Executive Director.
If you’re ready to make a difference, please fill out this survey and then check out our resources page to get and overview of our process.
Thank you,
Sam Goldstein
LPIN State Chairman
Kole: Too Desperate To Be Liked
Published: February 6, 2012
I’ve lived in two such cities with big inferiority complexes- Cleveland, and Indianapolis. They suffer from a self-consciousness that says, “We’re too small!” or, “We need to be more Big Time!” Or, to grab a great line from a Minutemen song: “How will others see me? I’m worried. Worried but I feel guilty.”
In many ways, having the Super Bowl is a real coup. Certainly, all the businesses in the downtown area near the Stadium and Super Bowl Village had to be real excited going into this week, ready to make sales on a scale never before seen.
And then, the code enforcers show up. From the Indy Star:
The Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square was bustling with customers Saturday night when owner Walter Bolinger saw someone walking off with his sidewalk menu board.
He ran outside and chased the culprit down. It was a city code enforcement inspector, who said Bolinger was the culprit for an illegal sidewalk sign displayed in violation of Chapter 635 of the municipal code.
“They still have it,” Bolinger said Tuesday of the 3-foot sign, which had been outside his restaurant’s front door on Virginia Avenue. “They refuse to relinquish it until February 6th, after the Super Bowl.”
This smacks of a certain desperation by the city to be liked by the NFL. Why was this sign not a problem prior to Saturday? Why will the sign be given back after the Super Bowl, when we can surmise it not to be a problem any longer?
I don’t believe in this kind of code enforcement generally. But this is silly. What a rotten way to treat the business owners- you know, the people who live here.
This action just screams a message into my ears, that the event is about the tourists, and the locals can go to hell. Not a very pleasant message. Way to go, Indy. Hardly Big League behavior.
Video of the Day: Three Supreme Court Decisions to Watch
Published: February 6, 2012
“The Supreme Court is back in session with major decisions coming on the legality of Obamacare, Arizona’s anti-immigration law, and the right of property owners to due process.”
LPIN Press Release: LPIN Chairman Sam Goldstein Calls for Charlie White to Resign
Published: February 4, 2012
Secretary of State Charlie White has been found guilty on 6 of the 7 felony counts brought against him. After about 12 hours ofdeliberation, a Hamilton County jury convicted White of three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft. Governor Daniels appointed an interim Secretary of State, Jerry Bonnet, while White awaits sentencing. White hopes a judge will reduce the felony counts to misdemeanors to remain in office.
“Charlie White’s situation has become untenable, and Indiana needs to move past this sad chapter in Indiana political history,” said Sam Goldstein, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. “White needs to remove himself from office by resigning, and focus now on his own personal issues. Indiana cannot afford to have a lame-duck Secretary of State for the next three years.”
Goldstein continued, “White’s situation shows the brokenness of our election law. From the murkiness of residency requirements to the potential loss of ballot access for the Republican Party for four years, Indiana’s election laws need serious reform to bring stability, openness, and clarity to our electoral system. White is not the person to lead this wave of reform.”
“It is heartening to see the Rule of Law and justice prevail,” said Jerry Titus, Vice Chairman of the LPIN. “A jury of his peers has found Mr. White guilty and regardless of the potentiality for the reduction of his convictions to misdemeanors, he should immediately resign. To delay this belies Mr. White’s primary consideration of his own self-interest, rather than that of justice and the people of Indiana.”
The Libertarian Party is America, and Indiana’s, third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. Its vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.
The Libertarian Party of Indiana was formed in 1974, and has maintained ballot access since 1994.
Video of the Day: “What’s missing education reform is courage”
Published: January 31, 2012
“What’s missing education reform is courage”: Former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty:
Tucker: Legislature should pass SB 0006
Published: January 30, 2012
(Joseph Tucker is a Hamilton County resident.)
“Knives with automatic blades. Removes a provision that makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase certain knives with blades that opens automatically.”
SB 0006 is a senate bill that removes an archaic law which effectively did nothing except prohibit law abiding citizens from purchasing, owning, selling or manufacturing knives that open through mechanical means. Knives that use a spring to open at the push of a button are a good example of this, these knives are commonly know as switchblades or automatic knives.
Automatic knives have been easily purchasable for the entire life of the law banning their purchase, sale, display, etc. I won’t go into the means through which they can be acquired, but any individual seeking to obtain them can accomplish it easily and fairly inexpensively.
The law has not been very effective at actually banning the sale and possession of these knives, but it has been effective at banning their sale in brick and mortar stores and their manufacture here in Indiana.
If you would like to see this needless and punitive law removed from our books; if you would prefer that people have the freedom of choice to manufacture and legally sell automatic knives here in Indiana; if you think people should be generally free to purchase any knife they choose, then I urge you to contact your state representative and ask them to support SB 0006.
As I write this the SB 0006 has passed the first house which means it is very close to fully passing, with your support it can fully pass the house to become law and give us back a little bit more of our freedom.
Supporting the bill won’t take long, here’s the step by step:
1. Go to this site to find out who your state representative is:
http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup
2. Go to this site to email your state representative’s email, just find their name and click the “Email Your Legislator” link:
http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact.pl
3. Fill out the form and in the comments all you need to say is: “I am writing you to ask that you support Senate Bill 0006.”
Feel free to add whatever else you would like to say in support of the bill. Click the “Email Representative” button and you are done.
Video of the Day: “The End of Liberty” Movie
Published: January 30, 2012
This (slightly more than an) hour long video is excellent and well worth watching. It makes some excellent points and, fascinatingly to me, my home state of Indiana gets mentioned twice as being a place where laws are getting out of control. One mention regarded the requirement to show ID to buy alcohol no matter one’s apparent age, the other mention was slightly more ominous.
Video of the Day: Cato Institute Responds to the State of the Union
Published: January 25, 2012
The Cato Institute responds to President Obama’s SOTU.
In case you missed it, here is President Obama’s speech:
And Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ Republican response:
LP Press Release: Shameless, Free Infomercials for Two Guilty Parties: Obama’s State of the Union and the Republican Response
Published: January 25, 2012
(Originally posted at LP.org.)
“Sponsors of even the most embarrassing, inane and fraudulent infomercials have to pay for their own air time. They can’t force TV stations to run their ads for free by threatening to shut them down.
“Through the Federal Communications Commission and other government coercion, Democratic and Republican politicians run their shameless infomercials on prime time TV free of charge. Tonight’s infomercial hand-outs were the State of the Union address and the ‘opposition’ response.
“But wait, there’s more!
“Unlike Ginsu knives, hair spray for men, and ripped abs in 30 days, the Republican and Democratic infomercials have no redeeming social value.
WASHINGTON, DC – Mark Hinkle, Chair of Libertarian Party, continues with:
Read the rest of this entry »
The Bell Curve: The Work Force…
Published: January 16, 2012
I heard Michael Cloud, one of my favorite libertarian speakers, say one time that if you can get people to ask the wrong question, it doesn’t matter what the answer is.
Yesterday, I read a story in a local paper in which Phil Pflum, one of our State Representatives, suggested a question concerning the “Right to work” legislation that will likely be discussed in the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly. Pflum’s suggestion: “Are we better off with or without unions? That’s what you have to ask yourself.”
I don’t have a problem with people asking themselves that question. I do wonder why the legislature should be asking itself that question.
Certainly everybody has the right to work. An employer and an employee, or an employer and a group of employees should be free to forge any type of agreement that they feel is beneficial to them. Whether or not that agreement requires, allows, or prohibits union membership should be entirely up to them. If they can’t reach an agreement, employees have the right to seek other employers, just as employers have the right to seek other employees.
As long as neither party is threatening or using force, the government shouldn’t be involved, or even asking a question.
Especially, considering if it does get involved, it will be the one threatening or using force.
Video of the Day: Help Stop SOPA/PIPA
Published: January 16, 2012
Found at WordPress.org’s post, “Help Stop SOPA/PIPA.”
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
Join Us for the 2012 LPIN State Convention!
Published: January 13, 2012
Every year, Libertarians from around Indiana gather to elect their candidates, select leadership, participate in training, select national convention delegates and enjoy each other’s company! This year, Hoosier delegates will select 2012 candidates for statewide offices like Governor and Senate as well as Congressional and state legislative candidates.
The 2012 state convention will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from Friday evening March 23 to Sunday March 25 at the family friendly Caribbean Cove Hotel & Water Park located near the Pyramids.
Visit our website to see all of the details, including the speaker lineup, package pricing, and hotel information. – http://lpin.org/events/2012convention/
Video of the Day: America’s Past Involvement in Iran
Published: January 13, 2012
A historical overview of the CIA’s operations within Iran, dating back to 1953.
