Bell Archive

The Bell Curve: Well, I’ll Swear….

By
Rex Bell
Published: December 29, 2010

On January 1st, 2011, you will have the opportunity to witness an event that has only happened once before in recorded history.

You may remember that on January 1st, 2007, in Hagerstown, an elected Libertarian Judge swore in two more newly elected Libertarians. It had never happened before, and it has never happened again. Until now.

This Saturday, January 1st, at 1:00 P.M., twice elected Libertarian Judge of the Hagerstown Court, Susan Bell, will swear in newly elected Libertarian Clay Township Advisory Board member Cheryl Heacox, and newly re-elected Libertarian Liberty Township Advisory Board member Steve Coffman.

If you would like to join us in witnessing and celebrating this historic event (again), come on over to the Hagerstown City Building, 49 East College Street.

The Bell Curve: Show me your papers…

By
Rex Bell
Published: December 22, 2010

I haven’t done a lot of traveling in my life. Outside of an occasional convention or meeting in some distant state, I stay pretty close to Indiana, and I work pretty close to Hagerstown. Susan and I did manage to take a short cruise for our 30th wedding anniversary a few years back, and we’re planning on another one for our 35th anniversary next year.

The first one wasn’t too big of a big deal. We got on a plane and flew to Florida, and then we got on a boat and floated around the ocean for a few days. Then we got on a plane and flew back home.

The next time, they say I have to have a passport. It kind of looks like my drivers license, so I thought maybe that would work. But they said it wouldn’t, so I gave them some money and they sent me some more papers. I’m not sure if I need it to get on the boat or off of the boat. Maybe both. And we’re supposed to have some more papers to show them at the airport if we decide to fly to the boat again. I’m still up in the air about that one.

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The Bell Curve: Santa is Real

By
Rex Bell
Published: December 14, 2010

I absolutely love watching my grandchildren interact with Santa Claus. From their first Christmas, they all started out not wanting to have much to do with him, but by last Christmas, they were comfortable enough to sit on his lap and place their orders, except for Dawson, who even this year prefers to shout his requests from a safe distance. I wonder how long it will be before once again they decide they don’t want much to do with Santa.

Many years ago, on one particular Christmas, I remember receiving a CO2 Gas Powered Crossman BB and Pellet Rifle. It had a wooden butt and fore stock, and a canvas sling, and was, I believed at the time, the most powerful weapon mankind had ever created. I couldn’t believe my good fortune when I opened it on Christmas morning.

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The Bell Curve: A Growing Concern…

By
Rex Bell
Published: December 9, 2010

It sounds simple enough. Senate Bill 510 is called the “Food Safety Modernization Act”. I think somebody decided we needed a new law because of some bad eggs that made the rounds this year. People that like a whole lot of government claim that it will protect us from bad eggs. People that don’t like quite as much government point out that it will give the the government more power to regulate roadside vegetable stands and farmer markets.

In true government form, the Senate passed it the other day, before discovering that it should have originated in the House of Representatives. So now the House has to pass it, and send it back to the Senate to pass it again. And then, according to some people anyway, the states will have to agree to enforce it.

It’s a shaky law that’s getting off to a shaky start. But we know from experience it will probably somehow survive, and sometime in the future we’ll start to notice the bills effects.

A few years ago, Harry Browne wrote some thing he called “The 7 principles of government”.

Here’s principle #4:

“4. Every government program will be more expensive and more expansive than anything you had in mind when you proposed it. It will be applied in all sorts of ways you never dreamed of.“

Regardless of how or when the Food Safety Modernization Act is adopted, and regardless of its good intentions, and regardless of its effect roadside vegetable stands and farmer markets, we know it’s not going to turn out like anything the “limited government” crowd would want, or even imagine.

You’ve come a long way, baby…..

By
Rex Bell
Published: October 24, 2010

“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”…. Galatians 6:9

Back in 2004, when the Libertarian Party was still new in these parts, the Wayne County party had three solid candidates for the county council seats that were up for election that year. Two were business managers, and one had worked in production in Wayne County for over 30 years. A couple of weeks before the election, one of the Democratic Party candidates for council was arrested for shoplifting cold medicine at a local drugstore.

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Volunteer Opportunities This Weekend

By
Chris Spangle
Published: October 15, 2010

Campaigns will be working hard to reach out to voters over this weekend, and need your help to make a difference. We will update with new information through the weekend. Check out the LPIN resources page for canvassing tips: How to Canvass for Votes

The State party will receive 30,000 World’s Smallest Political Quiz door hangers on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. We will mail you as many as you need to walk your own neighborhood to put these on your neighbor’s doors. Please email Chris Spangle at lpinhq@lpin.org with requests.

Click below to about planned outreach opportunities with campaigns:

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Rex Bell Launches Radio Ads in House District 54 and Wayne County

By
Chris Spangle
Published: October 15, 2010

Rex Bell, a candidate for Indiana House District 54 has launched radio spots for Wayne County (Richmond) and the surrounding counties through multiple radio stations. Between now and election day, Bell intends to run hundreds of spots before the November 2, 2010 elections. This adds to the 10 billboards, hundreds of yard signs and banners, and multitude of volunteers canvassing for Bell throughout the district in the close of this Election cycle. Learn more about Rex at his website: http://www.electrexbell.com/

Hear the Rex Bell ad by clicking here:  Elect Rex Bell!

Hear a more generic ad for all Libertarian candidates by clicking here:  Vote Libertarian

Fair Enough…

By
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

By
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….

By
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…

By
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

By
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?

By
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….

By
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…

By
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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