Bell Archive

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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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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Do as I say, Not as I do….

Rex Bell

Published: June 21, 2010

You’ve probably seen the above video. It’s North Carolina Congressman Bob Etheridge roughing up a person that approached him to ask some questions of the Congressman. I did some checking, and found out that assaulting a federal official, when bodily contact occurs, can be considered a Class D felony.

That means if the young man had done to Mr. Etheridge, what Mr. Etheridge did to the young man, that young man could be facing 20 years in prison, a $100,000.00 fine, and then deportation.

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A Penny for your Thoughts…

Rex Bell

Published: June 7, 2010

Sometimes things just have a way of working out.

Last week THIS STORY came out about a judge in the Hagerstown Town Court (who just happens to be my bride of 34 years and a twice elected Libertarian, Susan Bell), and a man who wanted to pay his seat belt ticket fine with 2500 loose pennies. The defendent was upset about the law that requires adults to wear a seat belt. And rightfully so. Wearing a seat belt belongs in the “Good Idea, Bad Law” category. Seat belt laws create and address another victimless crime, something Libertarians would like to see a lot less of.

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Rex Bell Wins the 2010 Thomas Paine Award at the LP National Convention

LPIN Editor

Published: June 4, 2010

Libertarian Party of Indiana leader, candidate, and frequent LPIN.org blogger Rex Bell Rex Bell has won the National Libertarian Party’s Thomas Paine Award for his literary efforts in communicating libertarian ideas.

The Thomas Paine award honors individuals within the Libertarian Party who have excelled in the area of communications. Hoosier Eric Schansberg won this award in 2008.

From the Richmond Pal-Item:

Bell writes a monthly newspaper column, “A Libertarian Perspective,” and a blog, “TheBellCurve,” which can be found at www.rexbell.com.

He also is a contributor to the Palladium-Item Viewpoints page and has a blog on the P-I’s website at www.pal-item.com/blogs/thebellcurve

Bell is a candidate for Indiana House District 54, and is chairman of the Libertarian Party of Wayne County.

What’s the Difference?

Rex Bell

Published: May 20, 2010

The stage is set for the U.S. Senate race in Indiana. There was quite a bit of hoopla when the Democrats appointed Brad Ellsworth, and Republican candidate Dan Coats stated that “Hoosiers will hear two dramatically different views about the direction our country should be heading, and about the future of Indiana.”

Well, Hoosiers might hear two dramatically different views, but it’s not too likely that they’ll actually see much difference between the two. We’ve all heard the GOP complaining about the runaway spending under President Obama. Last week, they PRESENTED A PLAN to cut some of that spending. By about .017%. That saves about $1.00 out of each $5800.00 that is being spent.

I’m not sure that qualifies as dramatic.

Of course, there are some different views out there. Chris Edwards over at CATO, a libertarian think-tank, offered THIS IDEA for cutting federal spending by over 10%, just by eliminating 10 programs. For starters, anyway.

So yes, Hoosiers can hear two dramatically different views about the direction our country should be headed. One of those views will come from the Republicans and Democrats.

The other view will come from U.S. Senate candidate Rebecca Sink-Burris and the Libertarians.

Know gain, know pain….

Rex Bell

Published: May 8, 2010

My old buddy Stinky Wilmont’s first car was a hand-me-down his older brother Leonard had given to him. It was an Oldsmobile, as I remember, as big as a boat, with an engine so big he could pull a hay wagon if he wanted to. But usually he just put the hay in the back seat or the trunk.

One Saturday evening we were cruising town in Stinky’s Olds and stopped in for a fill-up. This was back in the day when gas stations put the gas in for you. The attendant pumped for a while, and then walked up to Stinky’s window and stated “You’re going to have to turn this car off, sir. It’s gaining on me.” I always figured the attendant was just being a smart-aleck, but that old car did take a lot of gas.

There is an unemployment fund in Indiana that employers pay into every week, and if an employee loses their job, they get to draw some money out of that fund until they find another job. A while back, the people taking money out of the fund started taking more out than the people putting in were putting in. The fund was going broke, so Indiana started borrowing some of the money the federal government has borrowed in order to keep the fund funded.

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Don’t Force It…

Rex Bell

Published: April 12, 2010

One of the basic tenets of Libertarian thought involves the non-initiation of force.

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of people tell me that while they agree with most libertarian ideas, they just don’t believe they will work in the real world.
I disagree. They do work, for all of us, everyday, and as long as I can remember.

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LP of Wayne County 2010 Convention Reminder

LPIN Editor

Published: March 17, 2010

From Rex Bell, Libertarian Party of Wayne County Chairman and nominee for Indiana House District 54.
Greetings Wayne County Libertarians and Friends,
Just a reminder of our convention this Saturday evening. The Libertarian Party of Wayne County will hold its 2010 Convention on Saturday, March 20th, at 7:00 P.M., at the Jefferson Township Office Building, 47 East Main Street, Hagerstown.We will be electing officers for 2010, and nominating candidates for the 2010 November elections. Along with general business, we will also be discussing outreach and fundraising projects for the upcoming year.If you are tired of politics as usual by the old parties, and if you or someone you know would like to work for real change by running for office, or helping another Libertarian run for office, or if you just like to hang out with freedom-loving people for the evening, please join us.We’re going down the street to Dale’s Pizza for victuals and discussion afterwards.

RSVP at (765) 969-0086 or lpwc@msn.com

Thanks,

Rex

The Bell Curve: Beyond Repair…

Rex Bell

Published: February 17, 2010

I have a friend that runs an auto body repair shop. He can do some pretty amazing things with a dented fender, but sometimes the damage is so bad there is nothing to do but replace it. Sometimes there are so many problems with a car that it simply can’t be fixed.

There are a lot of things in this world that can’t be fixed. One of those things is property taxes. We’ve seen a good example unfold in New Castle over the last few years. The owners of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant on Memorial Drive saw their property taxes increase from $5751.26 in 2005 to $31,453.61 in 2009, based on the increased assessed value of their property.

Last week, the New Castle Courier-Times reported that after a two year battle, the Indiana Board of Tax Review has ruled that the property’s assessed value should be reduced by almost half. While that is certainly good news for the property owners, it points out just one of the many flaws in the property tax system.

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