Liberty Cafe

Election results

2006-11-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

The Present

Well the election is over and I'm going to take a few days off. I didn't receive the results I had hoped for but I'm not surprised or disappointed by the outcome. I recieved a little over 2 percent of the vote while the Dem. recieved about 55 percent and the Republican incumbent lost with 43 percent. It was easy to see who would win and lose about 6 weeks out simply based on the amount of activity and funding. The original purpose of my running has been fulfilled. Not only did people get to learn about the LP. They also realized that they had a choice.

The Future

Using the Data from the election I will be able to target people likely to join or support the Party and in future elections we will be able to get much better results. We will be seeking to organize a county party in Knox county in the near future, depending on the response from our mailings.

I will be running again in 2008 for State Representative in District 64. the next time I won't be so easy to overlook. More funding and volunteers are expected and starting now I really have a chance of building momentum and a first class campaign .

Election Update: Making an impact

2006-11-02T08:45:00.001-05:00

The Democrat and Republican stategists have for a long time used a tactic of ignoring 3rd party candidates. In the past it seems this was a way of not lending credence to the "outsider" views.
I have been experiencing the same tactic being used in my race. The effects of this attempt to ignore my views and that of the LPIN has been felt several times. I have been ignored by the media, left out of a couple of candidate events, and generally not listened to. I and the volunteers who have helped from time to time have put great effort into contacting the groups holding events so that we can be included. We have tried very hard to engage in all aspects of a "real" campaign. We send out constant barrages of emails to media outlets so as to be included in any articles.
It seems that the effort has paid off. Several papers now include my name when referring to the race. I have been interviewed 4 times by4 newspapers in the last 3 weeks. I am mentioned in every local radio broadcast of election related stories.
All of the above mentioned is great but I've saved the best for last. A friend of mine reported to me that Sunday night he received a call regarding a political survey. Several of the questions included the Libertarian Party and the one about who would you vote for if the election were today listed me as an option first. To top of this great news I noticed an ad in the local paper in which the incumbent no longer refers to just 1 opponent but used the word opponents.
All of the hard work and determination has finally paid off I'm actually being treated as a viable candidate and not just a novelty. My analysis is that this area is ready for a change. The people have seen that Libertarian ideas aren't radical. The people here are ready to have a real choice on the ballot.

Election Update: Making an impact

2006-11-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Political payoffs?

2006-10-26T08:53:00.000-04:00

Ihave been hesitant to bring up the subject in my campaign but due to the concern which has been expressed by the voters I have spoken to, I feel I must address the issue. The specific incident I refer to is a hiring by INDOT of Melissa Woodruff, wife of Destrict 64 rep Troy Woodruff. Previously information had been reported by the Evansville courier that due to a reorganization each INDOT district had created a Human Resources Manager position. In November of last year Mrs. Woodruff officially filled the position locally. I do not have any doubt as to her qualifications for the job as she had previously been employed for several years in a similar position with a large private company. I would like to state that I do not think that there was any intention by the Woodruffs to commit any wrongful acts. However the circumstances behind the hiring suggest that not everything was "above board".
The circumstances I refer to aren't in dispute and have been confirmed both publically through officials with INDOT, And through my own sources within the department.
1. The position was never advertised either publically or internally.
2. Only two people were interviewed for the position
3. Mrs. Woodruff was not seeking employment, rather, she was sought out specifically to interview for this position.
All of this came following Troy Woodruff's controversial vote in favor of Daylight Savings Time Legislation and just weeks before "Major Moves" legislation would be introduced.
The suggestion which comes to mind is that someone wanted to so make sure Troy knew who his friends were, so to speak. He had already cast one controversial vote and would possibly be asked to cast another. Many of the residents of this district believe that this was a payoff of some kind. Even Mr. Woodruff must have had some idea of the ramifications. When the offer was made, he sought advice from an Indiana House staff Attorney. If he believed that the offer was legitimate and posed no ethical questions why did he seek legal counsel?

The underlying facts of the hiring present the appearance of cronyism and the people deserve answers. People need to be able to trust that government officials are working in their best interest not simply furthering a political agenda. To that end, I will make every effort to ensure that this incident is investigated. If Iam elected it will high on my list of priorities. If this was a misguided attempt by officials within the Daniels Administration to gain votes at taxpayer expense, then those responsible should be made to pay for breaking the public trust in this manner.

The Economy...The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2006-10-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

I've been flabergasted recently by Mitch Daniels' Claiming the economy is in good shape. His evidence? Some Eonomic indicators which have been improving. Examples would include unemployment claims-- lower, State revenue--up, total amount of jobs--up. This is the supposedly good part. Of course the catch is that all of these figures are subject to interpretation.
Now for the Bad and Ugly portion...I have some recent knowledge and personal experience to prove that Governor Daniels, Troy Woodruff (my Representative) and all the other people touting the virtues of the economy, are blind, stupid, or just bullsh****** all of us.
I personally believe that the last one probably fits but then again I always believe the worst of people I don't trust. It was report several times over the last few weeks that Whirlpool Evansville would be laying off several hundred employees. The reasons for this are many.
1.New housing Starts--Down
2.Home purchases--Down
3.Home remodeling down.

These are the major indicators affecting household appliance manufacturers. Now this is bad news for those whirlpool employees but let me add suppliers into the formula to make this situation ugly. I happen to work for one of those suppliers. This week my employer announce that they will be laying off 48 emplyees. The reason: Whirlpool slowdowns, as well the fact that many of our products are now going to be manufactured in Mexico. I'm sure that my laid off coworkers and those in Evansville will be able to find employment in one of the many "new jobs" which the Daniels Administration has taken claim for creating. Unfortunately in my town those jobs pay about $6 per hour versus the $12.07 per hour they had been making. If my town is any indication then I would venture to guess the Evansville employees are in the same boat.
It might be a better idea if the Administration and its supporters start by actually implementing policies which are proven to promote a healthy economy instead of listening to lobbyists. How about listening to the little guy. The one who's affected when your economic indicators don't reflect reality. Here's an idea: Mitch should take his eyes away from the financial reports for a while and actually go out and talk to people instead of experimenting with "time-zone travel". I've always found that people are much more acurate than some report when reporting how their life is working out.

Watchdog Indiana results

2006-09-30T11:58:00.000-04:00

Watchdog Indiana, an Indiana based taxpayer Watchdog group, Has given me a Taxpayer friendly rating. While visiting theirr site I noticed 2 things right away
There are currently 8,084 Hoosiers who receive E-mail Updates from Watchdog Indiana and I noticed that less than 20 candidates for the legislature have received a Taxpayer Friendly Rating. I am honored to be among the few who this group trusts to protect the taxpayers of Indiana. You can view the Watchdog Indiana Website by visiting the links below:
I received the following correspondence:

Hello Candidate Thomas,

Thank you for your response to the Watchdog Indiana Candidate Questionnaire!

Your Watchdog Indiana Candidate Rating is Taxpayer Friendly.

Your Questionnaire response is posted online at http://finplaneducation.net/rating_thomas_ja.htm.

Good luck in your campaign!

Happy Trails,

Aaron Smith
www.watchdogindiana.org

P.S. Would you like for me to send a support letter to your local newspapers?

News from the campaign trail

2006-09-26T19:23:00.000-04:00

After a few delays, Yard signs have finally come in and are being placed as we speak. The campaign is progressing nicely even with a few hiccups and a late start. I predict the decision will definitely come down to the wire with a very close three way split of the vote. My Republican opponent seems to be following the advice of National leaders by running attack ads against the Democrat challenger. According to a publicized memo, this is the national GOP strategy with 90 percent of their advertising budget being used for this tactic.
I don't find negative ads a problem but I do question the wisdom of picking illegal immigration as hot button in this district. My Democrat opponent seems to be concentrating on gaining credibility in his advertising. I am rethinking some of my own AD strategy and will update when the ads begin running.

More Campaign Updates

2006-09-10T16:18:00.000-04:00

In conjunction with My last post I made a fundraising appeal to fellow Libertarians across the state. Since the response was not what I had hoped, I will be proceeding with the purchase of Radio time out of my own funds. I have spent about $1000 so far out of my own pocket and plan contribute $1000 more for Advertising. Fortunately, I already have Palm cards and Yard signs taken care of.

Plans are going forward with hosting a public events shortly before the election in both Gibson and Knox counties. This should alleviate some of the financial strain as well as boost support right before the election. The format has yet to be finalized and I keep you posted as plans progress.

Finally, I'd like to take the time to Thank the people who have volunteered to work the polls on election day and those who have volunteered their money, time and/or expertise to this endeavor. There are too many to name here but some have gone above and beyond the call and deserve recognition.
So without further ado I 'd like to thank: Stacey R., Gary W. , Sean K., Fred H., Terrence W., Chris D., Tim R., and James K., You all have been there whenever I 've called for help and have made a big difference.

Campaign updates

2006-09-06T01:49:00.000-04:00

Ordered Yard signs and they are already all reserved. I will have to order more at this rate.

Radio ads are ready for airing pending further contributions (come on guys I need a little help in this area) Donate here

The television interview I taped a few weeks ago aired this past weekend on WVUT. I had the first segment between three candidates and I think I came off as the most real, unrehearsed candidate. All in all a good showing because people have approached me to ask if that was me.

I was mistakenly excluded from the annual candidate forum hosted by Farm bureau and in order to make ammends they allowed me to address their monthly meeting.

Indiana court of appeals favors my position

2006-08-28T20:10:00.000-04:00

No, I didn't file any lawsuits. The Indiana ACLU did. In regards to a school construction remonstrance which took place in Indianapolis. None of that really matters. What matters is that I wrote on this subject in January of this year as part of another article. I wrote:

" I noticed that when an issue involves school projects, that the only people who have rights of recomstrance (protest) are real-property owners. Seems to me that financing of these projects affect all residents of a locality. If a landlord's taxes go up he must raise the rents charged to his tenants, if a retailer's taxes raise then he must pass on the cost to his customers, and the list goes on and on. It seems foolish to say that only those who own real-property have a financial interest in city financial affairs. "

The Indiana court of appeals took this exact same position. They ruled that the remonstrance petition process was a defacto election and as such had to include everyone in the process. In addressing financial interest, The court also recognized that as a landlord's taxes were raised those costs were passed on to the tenant in many cases.

I hate to honk my own horn, but once again I called it as I saw it and was proven to be correct.
If everyone would drop the political posturing for a while and just do what they know to be "the right thing" this world would be a better place and it would save everyone alot of hassle.

Senator Lugar Subjects Americans to Foreign Law

2006-08-13T12:05:00.000-04:00

In an effort to expand Big Government powers, Senator Richard Lugar (Ind.) along with Sen. Bill Frist (Tenn.), Introduced the Cybercrime Treaty for Ratification. The treaty Obligates the U.S. to gather information on U. S citizens at the request of Foreign Law inforcement. It not only covers tradition "Cybercrime" but also any suspected activity in which a computer may have been used by the suspects. Senator Lugar is showing his Big Government Fascist tendencies which may not be a good idea in an election year. Here is the original Article written by Bob Barr for the Atlanta Journal Gazette.

Congress cuts out, wrecks cyberprivacyBy BOB BARR
Published on: 08/09/06

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The most dangerous time of the year for America is right before a congressional recess, and it matters not whether the Republican Party or the Democratic Party is in charge.
Congress is now in its August recess, and at least the damage it can visit on the American people is on hold. Unfortunately, right before it took its latest break, the Senate adopted by voice vote a treaty that will stand as a tribute to Big Government and internationalism — the Cybercrime Treaty.
This treaty, drafted not by U.S. government lawyers possessed of at least a passing familiarity with our Bill of Rights, but by internationalists with the Council of Europe, had been awaiting Senate ratification since 2001. The Bush administration, long enamored of any instrument granting the federal government broader or expanded power to gather information on citizens, for years had been urging Republican Senate leaders — particularly Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) — to bring the document up for a vote. Thanks largely to opposition by a broad coalition of conservative organizations and other groups focused on privacy issues, however, the treaty languished.
Unfortunately, just last week before senators careened out of town for another recess — and despite having subjected this far-reaching treaty to but a single cursory hearing in June 2004 — Republican leaders succeeded in accomplishing the administration's directive and passed the treaty by voice vote, with virtually no substantive debate. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) mounted a last-ditch effort to stop or at least slow the cybercrime railroad. But he was unsuccessful due to lack of support from his conservative colleagues, who were eager to give the administration more power or who just didn't care in their rush to leave for vacation.
Now, thanks to the Senate's indifference, any person in this country who uses a computer in a manner that is of interest to a law enforcement agency of another country that has signed the Cybercrime Treaty may find themselves subject to our government collecting information on them and then sharing it with that foreign agency. The list of other nations that have already signed the treaty is not one that inspires confidence the data thus sought will be afforded proper privacy or constitutional protections. The list of signatory countries already includes Albania, Croatia, Ukraine, South Africa and dozens of others.
Why should this treaty, now part of the law of the land, concern the average American citizen?
For starters, its scope. The treaty covers not only crimes commonly considered "cybercrimes," that is, crimes of computers by computers. It covers any activities considered a crime by any signatory country that simply involves the use of a computer somewhere along the line. In other words, if the law enforcement officials in Croatia are investigating activities in their country that they consider criminal — political speech, or possession of a firearm, for example — they can now demand of U.S. law enforcement that it collect and turn over to them information they might demand which they allege involves a U.S. citizen, notwithstanding that U.S. citizen has done nothing deemed a crime under U.S. law. Of course, the U.S. citizen would be unaware his own government was thus snooping on him and sharing the fruits thereof with a foreign government.
Moreover, this latest treaty affords no privacy protections whatsoever for U.S. citizens. It also will force Internet service providers to comply, yet requires neither the U.S. government nor the foreign requesting government to reimburse Internet service providers for costs of such forced cooperation. In addition, if disputes under the treaty arise, the foreign requesting government is empowered to take the issue to the International Court of Justice. Even though the United States has not formally acceded to the court, it would be required pursuant to the terms of the Cybercrime Treaty to be bound by its decisions. Although Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in a letter to the Senate offering unqualified support for the treaty, promised the administration would not submit any disputes to the International Court of Justice, such promises are meaningless, because other nations will do so. Such fine points apparently were unfathomable by senators eager to do the administration's bidding.
The bottom line is that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including many who call themselves "conservative," were far more concerned with getting out of town for junkets than they were interested in protecting the privacy of their constituents and the sovereign interests of this country.
• Former congressman and U.S. attorney Bob Barr practices law in Atlanta. Web site: www.bobbarr.org.

Eliminate tax on Gas

2006-08-07T18:23:00.000-04:00

Libertarian Candidate announces plan to permanently repeal Sales tax on Gasoline
J.A. Thomas, Libertarian candidate for District 64 Representative issued the following statement today. “If elected to office the first piece of legislation I introduce will concern the immediate and permanent removal of the six percent sales tax on gasoline as well as the 18 cent per gallon excise tax which Hoosiers are forced to contend with. While I don’t believe that current prices are creating an emergency situation, I do believe that they will increase to a point that working families will struggle to simply find enough money to fill the gas tank. This is a real problem in a State which has a high percentage of the population living in rural and suburban communities which offer little in the form of mass transportation. It is also reprehensible that Indiana government directly profits from the increasing prices and, indirectly the sacrifices made by families to simply provide transportation for themselves. I have recently read that this kind of legislation may be considered “fiscally irresponsible”. I say that to think of the governments well being before the citizens is morally reprehensible and those who think otherwise do not deserve to be in a position of power in Indiana Government.” Democrat leadership in has announced a plan to pressure lawmakers to suspend the sales tax only and Republicans have promised a measured move towards removal of the sales tax as well. “If we only remove the sales tax the state is still contributing to the burden that working families bear. We need total removal of the taxes on gasoline. Also,The citizens of Indiana cannot wait another year for relief. Even 6 months is too long, but given that Governor Daniels and his supporters in the legislature have declared that this is not an energy emergency, the people will have to wait until after the elections.” Addressing the issue of Lost revenue to the state Thomas said “The Governor and the Legislature will have to deal with that when the new budget is submitted. Obviously there may have to be some shifting and cutting of bureaucratic functions. The key is to not make the people pay for the shortfall,”

Updates from the campaign trail

2006-08-06T10:44:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been quite busy campaigning. My efforts seem to be paying off a little. Over all, I seem to be getting a good reception from voters with only one or two voters who are die-hard party supporters refusing to talk to me. Most agree with my stances on issues regarding taxes, education, immigration etc. Unfortunately, it is hard without a local LPIN organization to get the word out. I have several pieces of material I have been handing out and recently I was interviewed for a cndidates edition of 22 magazine, A weekly television show produced and broadcast by Vincennes University. I have also been interviewed on Knox county Today, a local radio show, regarding Libertarian efforts in Indiana. The newspapers have provided a bit more coverage but in general are a bit less effective as they usually only mention me in passing as part of another story.
With media coverage so hard to attract and the cost of Advertising prohibitive, I am concentrating on door to door campaigning efforts. Unfortunately again, due to the district being so spread out this is proving to be difficult. In order to overcome these difficulties I will be seeking volunteers to help with the efforts.

I need volunteers to for the following activities:

Door to Door campaigning in the following communities: Ft. Branch, Princeton, Petersburg, Vincennes.
Fundraising: I need people to help in this effort in any way possible. I have alot of radio ads waiting to be produced and aired pending funding. These are not only for my campaign but also joint ads for Mike Kole, our SOS candidate. I have not sought his input or approval since finances are low and they may not be aired.
On election day I will need poll workers but that is still some time away. I personally have seen the effectiveness of having people at the polls. When local citizens became fed-up with the local school board, we ran write-in candidates. Without much media coverage and no advance campaigning both of our candidates won. I attribute this to the strategy of posting people at every polling place. The handouts simply told people how to vote for our write-in candidates. Our candidates won by landslides.

Anyone wishing to help with these activities should email me directly at hofmain@charter.net

If you are unable to help please contribute financially to the media efforts. Local rates are very affordable and a contribution of just 30 dollars buys 4 radio ads. Click the link to contribute online .http://www.donortownsquare.com/donate_redir.aspx?ai=225&qs=KJV96

Knox county Government Shows its Tendency

2006-07-18T23:48:00.000-04:00

This last week has been interesting here in Knox county. Normally things are pretty quiet with not much going on. Until the Knox county commisioners announced that a smoking Ban is being discussed although no formal proposals or discussions are forthcoming at this time. Given the recent tendency of localities to try with some success at restricting our freedoms, I was only surprised that it took so long for the Knox County Commisioners to follow suit. Public debate has been heavy since the news was revealed last week and to be honest the supporting arguments are idiotic at best. One Doctor had the nerve to say that freedom isn't the point because smokers do hurt non-smokers financially. He argues that the financial burden of caring for smokers is passed on to consumers through higher insurance rates. If this was the logic of my cardiologist I'd consider getting treatment elsewhere. Let me see...where do I begin?
1. It is about freedom. The freedom of a business property owner to decide what legal activities take place in his/her establishment. If I have a party in my home, I can allow people to smoke but the minute they step into my bar or restaurant I have no say?
2. Since the cardiologist pointed out groups who cost insurance companies alot of money how about cardiac patients. Or people with high blood pressure how about diabetes? Let's just ban everything which might cause a financial burden to be placed on the insurance companies. (sarcasm) I think the doctor was trying to think of something clever to say just to get his name in the paper. Unfortunately, alot of people won't think about the insanity in his statement and actually support the ban because of it.
Others argued that seperate smoking and non-smoking sections aren't effective deterents to the effects of second hand smoke. I think most people can figure that one out for themselves. That's the point, people who don't want to be exposed to second hand smoke won't allow themselves to be exposed. Let me illustrate: Certain foods have a tendency to elevate cholesterol. People who are concerned with that don't eat these food items. The same logic is applied here if you don't want to be exposed to second hand smoke, don't go to places where the chances are likely that you will be. If your entertainment options are limited, then complain to the local companies you would like to frequent. If enough people complain or express interest, business policies change. This is how businesses evolve to meet market demands: through feedback. They don't need government regulation to force compliance. They change or they suffer through the loss of customers who will frequent competitors who are responsive to the consumer demands. The logic behind these bans is shallow at best and only serve to further erode our freedoms. These type of forced compliance regulations need to be fought at every turn.

Lightening the mood a little

2006-07-09T18:58:00.000-04:00

Just for fun I picked up a couple of zingers to lighten the mood. Hope you laugh as hard as I did.

When asked what he thought about foreign affairs, Clinton replied, "I don't know, I never had one."

"The Clinton revised judicial oath: "I solemnly swear to tell the truth as I know it, the whole truth as I believe it to be, and nothing but what I think you need to know."

"Clinton will be recorded in history as the only President to do Hanky Panky between the Bushes"

The Declaration of Independance

2006-07-05T01:10:00.000-04:00

Today I read an interesting article in the local paper. It was all about what the Declaration of Independence means to different people. Considering this was the Independence day edition I felt it was an entirely appropiate article for the front page. As I read through answer after answer it became painfully clear that the meaning and scope of this pivotal document has been either forgotten or twisted. The answers ranged from it having no meaning whatsoever on one hand, to it granting us freedom on the other. No one got it. This one page document stated plainly what our county's founding fathers believed were fundamental truths which applied to all mankind. It contains the very principles on which our constitution was based. Most of all it was an act of defiance in the face of tyranny and oppression. It took great courage to send this letter since they faced the greatest military power of the time and a king who would not hesitate to use it.

This document is a shining example for all of us to learn from. The lessons we need to remember are that govenment derives its power to act by our permission only. That a persons' rights are undeniable because they are simply a part of being and cannot be granted or removed by legislation. That when people become oppressed by their government it is the duty and right of the people to demand that thier grievances be addressed.

I wish they still taught this in school . If more people remembered the truths contained in this document and that this country was founded on these truths, I don't think we would have many of the problems we have today.

Happy Independence Day!!

Bought and paid for

2006-06-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

The New York Times Reported today that Indiana Landed a new plant today.

"At a news conference yesterday, Honda said it would spend $550 million to
build the plant in Decatur County, in Indiana's southeast corner, a few miles
from Greensburg. Construction is scheduled to start this fall, and the plant is
expected to open in the fall of 2008.
The investment is greater than the $400 million that Honda initially indicated that it would spend on the plant. Honda said it would hire 2,000 workers; that, too, is more than originally expected.
The project will cost the State of Indiana about $140
million. Of that, $40 million will go directly to Honda; about $45 million will be spent on roads and other infrastructure to serve the plant, and another $50 to $55 million will go to improvements in the region in anticipation of growth caused by the plant."
Did you catch that? $40 million gets paid directly to Honda?!! Why is it that bribery has become common practice in order to grow the economy? I don't want to say that creating new jobs is bad. In fact that's exactly what our state needs. But come on!!

Radio appearance

2006-06-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

Today was a big day as I was invited to appear on WAOV the local talk radio station. Because of Federal FCC rules I was not able to talk about my campaign. The host Tom Lee was very open about the party and focused more on educating the listeners about the party and our activities across the state. I was able to plug Mike Kole and the importance of the SOS race. I was able to bill us as the party of principle and our dedication to achieving our objectives. We also talked alot about LPIN goals for growth and how the Party is working towards those goal and the current state of office holders in Indiana. Overall it was a good show, I would've wanted to talk more about issues and my race but this is a step in the right direction. I was invited back to a candidates' forum to happen in October. We're making headway and, I think, Gaining support.

speech pictures

2006-06-27T10:28:00.000-04:00

Here is one of the pictures I promised. If you look carefully you can actually see my heart in my throat!!

Steve Osborn Candidate for US Senate also spoke at the event.

Opponent reveals his campaign strategy

2006-06-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

Last night's meeting of the2nd amendment patriots went rather well. There were several candidates seeking different offices and each was given a few minutes to speak about themselves and thier beliefs etc... There was equal representation from Democrats and Republicans alike. My opponent , Kreg Battles, revealed to me his campaign strategy during his speach. Which came as quite a shock. You see, I have been distributing my literature for a few weeks now. Its really quite impressive considering I do my own design and layout. Aportion of the inside reads:
Its All About The Children

" I understand that we all want a better future for our children.
A future filled with opportunity to work, own a home, and raise a family.
I will work to ensure that our kids have a bright future and that they can do the same for thier children."

Imagine my surprise when these words, with slight changes , came rolling off of his silver tongue. It totally took me by surprise my speach had been prepared around this concept and now I would just end up sounding like a mimic. So I chose to adlib. I was told it went well but I have my doubts. I was way out of my comfort zone with nothing really prepared as a backup. I wasn't sure if he knowingly used my material until during a Q & A period he answered a question about the economy using almost word for word a recent post in which I discuss the recent jobs report and the possible meanings. I suppose that I should be flattered. After all he did choose to use my material rather than his own. He must feel that some of my positions are worthy enough to win the election. Of course I like to think that he just couldn't come up with anything better. Steve Osborn Libertarian candidate for US Senate gave a nice presentation and all were impressed. After the presentations we had a lengthy Q & A Session with most of the questions being directed towards Steve and myself. After the meeting was adjourned Steve and I hung out and talked one on one with a few people. I get the impression that this is a highly Libertarian group. The party would do well to concentrate more effort in this part of the state.

I will upload pictures in my next post. In order to keep my opponents in the dark, I will no longer post in advance my plans or viewpoints. I will report on them after I have made them public. Anyone who would like these in advance should email me electjathomas@charter.net.

2006-06-21T02:22:00.000-04:00

"We're cleaning up the mess we inherited," Daniels said, "and we've launched an Indiana comeback." Indiana has been on a downhill slide for quite some time. Daniels and his group of "yes men" in the legislature haven't stopped it, just slowed the rate of decline slightly. In recent years Indiana has lost 80,000 Manufacturing jobs although 80,000 fewer people were unemployed. At first glance many would say that the gain of 80000 jobs is a great sign. In some instances I may tend to agree. But when taken into account the loss of 80,000 manufacturing jobs my view changes. What I get from this data is that Manufacturing jobs have replaced at a rate of 2 to 1. Not really bad....yet. The picture looks worse when you look at the rest of it. There seems to be a surge in the construction and service industries as well as retail establishments. Hmm this seems to say that for every $11 per hour job we lose we replace it with 2 $5.50 per hour jobs. Of course these are not exact figures just one of many possible interpretations. Judging from my own area I would say that this is the case. I think that instead of trying to attract more manufacturing jobs we should maybe concentrate on encouraging communities and the people in them to be less dependent on outside employers. Maybe we should encourage the citizenry to support their local businesses and provide tools for development of the local small business community. Maybe we should provide better incentives for our younger generations to pursue higher education in professional fields. This is the path to a higher standard of living and there is no "quick fix" Mitch. It takes a legislature with imagination and vision to see the future outcomes of theirdecisions and many years. It takes a Governor who also shares in that vision. At this point Indiana has neither and if we continue to elect the same political parties to office we never will.

Major Event Announcement.

2006-06-19T02:42:00.000-04:00

I have been invited to attend the monthly meeting of a southern Indiana Gun Owners Organization called the 2nd Ammendment Patriots. This group is heavily involved in pro-gun legislation and is becoming very influential. At first glance this may seem to be a minor campaign event until the other guests are mentioned. Also attending this event will be Brad Ellsworth, Vanderburgh county Sheriff and Democrat Candidate for the 8th District congressional seat, Kreg Battles-Democrat Candidate for District 64 Representative, Troy Woodruff-Incumbent District 64 Representative, Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, And other local Gibson county candidates. This would be a great opportunity for The Libertarian P arty of Indiana to gain some ground here in Southern Indiana. This is an open meeting and I strongly urge Libertarians to attend.

The meeting will be held at The German Township Fire Dept. On HWY 65 Northwest of Evansville at the Flashing Yellow Light. The meeting will start at 6.pm. on Saturday the 24th. For more specific Directions contact me at hofmain@charter.net

My video is gathering quite a following

2006-06-15T20:32:00.000-04:00

Some of you may remember a while ago I created a video promoting The Libertarian party. Since that time it has been viewedseveral times. Here are some of the stats:
Viewed 824 times
9 ratings = 4.5 stars out of 5
9 people have added it to thier favorites
Libertarian Candidate representatives in Georgia Have expressed an interest in my creation of 30 second T.V. Spots

The Libertarian Party of Vermont Chair will be showing the video on a live Cable access show on Friday.

Below is the link to the video. Your comments here would be appreciated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOsDcngcP00

Typical Politics

2006-06-08T23:07:00.000-04:00

I received a visit to my house today. It was actually the Democrat whose running for the same position as me. I guess he never bothered to look up where I live because there he was talking to my wife and giving her a brochure. It actually gives me a clue as to what he plans on saying to voters so I don't mind. What I mind is the drivel he has decided to put in his material. I daresay that the incumbent and I will both tear his platform to shreds. For instance he says he supports the second ammendment because "hunting and fishing are hoosier traditions". What?! I don't recall hunting or fishing being mentioned in the second ammendment. How about what I say: "Gun ownership is the right of every law-abiding citizen. Indiana should continue to work to ensure that the right to bear arms is not infringed upon." How about saying that the constitution guarantees this right? How about mentioning gun ownership?
Another of his platform pieces is in regard to property taxes, stating that taxes are skyrocketing, and pledging immediate relief. I have no problem with that by itself but....in another statement he espouses is dedication to the public school system and vows to increase resources whenever needed. O.K. Mr. Battles let's see Schools are currently funded by property taxes, yet you want to cut the taxes AND increase spending on education. Kreg Battles says this his "New Battle Plan" I think he got his "plan" from the same book as the politicians who nearly bankrupted this state not long ago.
My point is this is typical, pandering to the voter, b.s. Mr.Battles only has those things in his handout because they sound good. If he had an ounce of sense he would read what he is putting out and see the folly. I on the other hand say that I want to restrict the state's control of local school systems putting the schools back in the hands of the communities they serve. I want to fund them without property taxes thus creating the property tax savings I promise in another section. Everything I have in my handout fits together, they are all good ideas, and formost they make sense. That's why the slogan says "J. A. Thomas for State Representative----The only choice which makes sense."

To Lead or to Represent?

2006-05-27T14:48:00.000-04:00

I was browsing my opponents website today and noticed that he constantly refers to strong leadership being needed. He's one of those politicians who believe that leadership is the role of every Representative. It seems that the right to self determination is very low on the list of priorities for him and other like him. On the other hand I feel that we elect "representatives" to the house to convey the positions of our community on issue which arise. Also to introduce legislation which concerns the communities represented.
The problem with leaders in representative roles is that nine times out of ten they don't feel that they must justify their position other than to say "I did it for your own good." Philosophically,
Leaders aren't fully accountable to the people they lead. The only person they must satisfy is themselves and their conscience. Alot of times this coincides with the will of the people they represent but in far to many instances the leader is serving his own purposes and not those ofthe people who elected him/her. Make no mistake the only true goal of the "leadership" based politician is to continue to lead. If it serves their purpose to retain the position. They will change stated positions, make deals, compromise, and do just about anything else to retain their "lead" role. The will of the people on enters into the equation when it serves this purpose.

Representatives tend to be just the opposite. They confer with those they represent on every issue which might affect them. They may try to"sell" what they feel is the best course to take but in the end the decision is based on the feelings of those in the community. They are fully accountable to those they represent and it shows in every stand they take. You can recognize these politicians by their actions in government. They never waver from a position, they are consistent. They make no deals, no compromises and never need to justify or apologize for their actions in government. For it is not their veiws which are represented but those of the people who elected him/her.

The Question to ask youself this election day is do you want to be led or to be represented?

Enforcers in our Midst...

2006-05-19T03:36:00.000-04:00

Fro the last two weeks I have been struggling with a bout of "writers' block". I would think of a great article to write for you folks but when the time came to write, the words would not come. Then this evening, I saw something which shattered the blockade and compelled me to write again. I witnessed a person at the side of the road standing outside of his vehicle surrounded by 4 other men. The man in the middle appeared nervous to say the least, while the others appeared prepared to pounce. What had this poor man done to deserve such treatment? Apparently he had violated some traffic regulation. You see the others I spoke of were "law" enforcers. Not paid by some secretive underworld crimeboss, but by our local and state government. Some of you might think that I'm a bit harsh in my calling them enforcers but isn't this the title by which they choose to call themselves? Let's discuss this "title" for a moment. Law enforcement officer implies that the function of the office is to force compliance with the set of rules we all live by. Unfortunately, not unlike their criminal counterparts they don't work for the citizens. They are employed by powerful men and women who make the rules. Like the criminal enterprises, the people in power offer us protection for a fee and the promise that we follow the rules they hand down. they then hire the enforcers to ensure that the rules are followed. When one of the protected breaks one of the rules, they may find themselves face to face with an enforcer. In both the criminal and political arenas, some of the rules make sense. Many other serve only to ensure that those with the power, keep it. The rules which seem to say "we're in charge and we know what's best for you" are nothing more than reminders to keep you in your place or to extort money when you get caught breaking one.

Casting the job of police officer in a negative light isn't my intention so I must explain further. I understand what the function of police officers should be. They were never meant to be used to enforce every legislative action. The police were meant to be the personification of the law. I think that their is nothing nobler a person can do if they that achieve that personification. Not all officers allow themselves to become enforcers Many individual officers believe that their function is to protect individual rights rather than to protect the law. If the police are to be the personification of the law, how has that evolved into the function of enforcer? It is the people in power who, by virtue of the employee/employer relationship, have demanded this change. The consolidation of power in government offices requires that they have muscle to enforce their decisions. You may ask, What about government by the people? Have you ever noticed that we don't elect representatives? We elect leaders. The difference being that representatives are servants to their communities while "leaders" play a more authoritarian role. The Republican and Democrat parties convinced America that people needed to be led. Both parties have been fighting over who should lead for over 100 years. Like any good leader there should be a method by which we can enforce our decisions on those who might not wish to comply. The problem arises when the "leaders" act in their own interest, whether it be to stay in power or to expand one's power. Laws are rarely written nowadays with the original purpose of protecting one persons' rights from being infringed upon by another person or entity. They are now adopted in order to hold the "leadership" positions, catering to groups of influence or in reaction to situations which arise.

I fear I have strayed far from the original subject so let's get back to the question of how to change our enforcers back into our protectors. The answer lies in electing people to "represent" us rather than electing people to lead us.

Libertarian Meeting in Knox county Last Night

2006-05-12T07:19:00.000-04:00

Last night I hosted the first ever Libertarian Meeting in Knox County. State Chair Mark Rutherford, Executive Director Dan Drexler, and Mike Kole attended as special guests. It was held at the 630 Restaurant in Vincennes. I'd like to thank Pat Redmond and Chuck Winkler for the great service and excellent atmosphere. Although turnout was lower than my personal expectations, a good time was had by all. It turned out to be a great opportunity for local Libertarians and Non-Libertarians to Meet our Candidates and Leadership. All who attended were impressed with us as a party and voiced support for ur efforts. I think we are making headway here in Knox county and hope to soon have a formal local affiliate.

Slight Confusion

2006-05-04T16:28:00.000-04:00

I have decided to host a organizing meeting of Knox county Libertarians. It will be held 5-11-06 at 7pm at the 630 restaurant 630 Kimmel rd in Vincennes. The confusion arises because I have invited some of our Leadership in the Party to attend. This will actually be a first get together for all of us. I hope to organize the local party out of those attending. The purpose of inviting our State leadership to the meeting is two-fold. First and formost, they have more experience motivating andencouraging people to participate. Secondly, Their presence will indirectly show that the State Party supports the formation of a formal entity here in Knox county. This not an actual affiliation convention and I hope that I did not mistakenly give that impression.

The speech not given

2006-05-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

I recently attended the Libertarian party of Indiana annual convention as a delegate. As a potential candidate time was allowed to give a speech. Since the rules stated that all candidates could be nominated as a whole and someone exercised this option, I felt that it was not prudent to insist on giving my speech. Since I am proud of what I wrote and want to give people the opportunity I will publish it here.

Over the last 18 years I’ve seen Democrats run the show and nearly bankrupt this state.
I’ve seen Republicans run the show and tell everyone how they should live.
Neither party represents the ideals this country was founded upon.
That all men are equal and free to live their lives as they choose; That the only goal of government should be to protect the rights of the citizens. I
nstead, both parties have expanded the role of our government well beyond the scope of which it was intended. The consequence is that the average citizen no longer cares about nor trusts the government or the people elected to represent them.
I was one of those citizens.
I felt that it didn’t matter what I did or said I had no voice. That the people elected to represent me only represented the big money. Then I discovered the Libertarian party and I had hope again.
That’s what I want to give to the people of this state …Hope.
Hope that they can have a choice in their children’s education.
Hope that they will no longer have to fear losing their property simply because the government feels it can be put to better use.
Hope that they can grow and prosper without being told when and how it is allowed by the government.
Hope that their very lifestyle will no longer be dictated by a self righteous majority.

If I am chosen to represent the Libertarian Party in the 64th district I will do my best to let the people know that there is hope for a brighter tomorrow and that hope is represented by the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

Reasons to support Small Business Growth

2006-04-26T19:09:00.000-04:00

Local governments have for years engaged in bidding wars to attract Big Box stores into their communities. Stores such as Wal-mart, Home Depot, Walgreens, and a host of others look for cities that offer economic perks. In the end these stores do little for the local economy. The increased tax revenue is often offset by increased infrastructure costs needed to support these megolithic businesses. Often local governments offer tax abatements or other tax incentives to attract these businesses resulting in an overall loss of revenue to the city or town. Cities and towns are then forced to spend millions in order to relieve traffic congestion caused by increased shopper traffic in areas not originally designed to handle the large flows of traffic. Another consequence is that these corporate stores are often located well away from the town centers drawing traffic away from the small "mom and pop" stores which are often located in these areas. As a result, the business owners suffer a devastasting loss of income and eventually many are forced to close. The resulting vacant buildings often fall into disrepair resulting in the lowering of property values in the town center.
Until this point I have only pointed out some of the negative impact big box stores can have on local communities. I will now endeavor to point out the advantages of supporting and promoting locally owned businesses. Local businesses tend to recycle a much larger percentage of their revenue back into the local economy thereby enriching the entire community. Studies have shown that the percentages are 40 to 50 percent for corporate chains versus 70-80 percent for local based businesses. Supporting the startup and growth of small businesses provides a means for families to move away from low wage jobs and poverty into middle class incomes. Small local business uses existing infrastructure and requires little to no investment by the community in order to deal with traffic congestion or utility access. Local businesses tend to add to the overall uniqueness of a town which in turn, can enhance the attractiveness of the community to visitors. The small business sector is the largest employer in America.

The list of advantages can go on and on but for the sake of brevity I will stop here. It seems simple to me that communities should band together and support the growth of their small business community rather than "giving away the store" to attract large, generic, heartless corporate entities whose only concern will be their profitability.

Working the polls this Tuesday

2006-04-25T13:43:00.000-04:00

In response to the recent School remonstrance, the local opposition team has put up a couple of write-in candidates for school board. I was very glad to see this considering the way this project was handled by the current school board. The problem arises that with the new voting machines people may be confused about how to choose a write-in candidate. I was approached, as well as several others, by the opposition to work the local polling places handing out instructional material to the voters. This will be excellent experience which I will then be able to carry into my own campaign. I also have learned that I have many supporters among the Save our Schools group. This is great news for me as these people have proven that they can influence the outcome of public debates. This campaign just looks brighter and brighter.

latest press release

2006-04-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:J.A. Thomas
102 South 8th Street
Vincennes, In 47591
Phone: 812-882-9128
Cell:812-830-8440
http://webpages.charter.net/lpknox
electjathomas@charter.net

Vincennes Man Moving Up In Political Circles
Vincennes, IN—April 23, 2006: Vincennes Resident J. A. Thomas has been chosen to represent the 8th congressional district on the State Central Committee of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. Although J. A. Thomas has been filling the position recently, the appointment does not become official until the Party’s annual Convention on Saturday, April 29, 2006. During a recent meeting of the central committee Mr. Thomas participated in a decision by the State Libertarian party to become an FEC registered organization as well as supported a resolution stating that the current oath required by the national Libertarian party should be eliminated as a requirement for membership to the national party. No oath is required to be considered a member of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. Ed Gluck, The former Representative for the district has stepped down in order to focus on County level Libertarian Activity in Vigo County. Ed Gluck is the Vigo county Libertarian Party Chairman. In addition to accepting his appointment J.A. Thomas is hoping to receive the Libertarian Party’s nomination as candidate for Indiana House District 64 Representative. The Libertarian Party does not participate in the Primary elections in Indiana and all candidates are selected at convention. Mr. Thomas will hold a campaign organization meeting should he win the nomination.

update on school remonstrance

2006-04-14T17:30:00.000-04:00

Well it looks as if the Vincennes Community school corporation will not be getting their new offices and teaching facilities after all. The final day has passed for the remonstrance and the initial count has about 4500 signatures against the project and only about 2300. Despite all the dirty tricks and political clout used to extract support for the new building the people of Vincennes did the right thing. I have heard several reasons that people were against the project a few of which I will list:
1> we pay enough in property taxes even a small increase is too much.
2> The issue wasn't handled in a fair manner, the school board listened to objections and justified the project rather than being open to suggestions and concerns of the community.
3> The current buildings are not yet beyond redemption. New buildings are not needed.
4> The School corporation has not yet finished paying off the previous bond issue for a new high school, not financially responsible.
5> The education system is failing our children and that's where the focus should be. New buildings will not increase teaching effectiveness.
6> The expenditure should be offset by a potential increase of outside investment in our City. No evidence that this would be the case.
This is by no means a complete listing of objections, just ones I have personally been privy to. Also it should be noted that the count is not yet official. Until the auditor completes the signature verification process the tally is completely unofficial. If this count holds up then 2 out of 3 citizens opposed this project which the school board stated had the full support of the majority of the community.

I can't help but think that this State would be a much better place to live if politicians would concern themselves with representing the wishes of their communities rather than "doing what's right" whether the voters want it or not. Troy Woodruff, Mitch Daniels, Lindel Hume, Dave Crooks, And most of the rest of you need to take note of what happened here in Vincennes. This election year, will Indiana Voters remonstrate against you with their ballots? I think that most Representatives in my neck of the woods will have a very tough time getting enough support to keep the positions.

Essay: Where has Freedom gone?

2006-03-28T03:00:00.000-05:00

Where Has freedom Gone?

Not many people ask themselves that question. They complain about the government interfering in everyday life. They gripe about the out of control spending habits of Democrats and Republicans alike. They worry that the country is heading towards disaster. Yet no one ever asks how did we get here. What set of events led us to this dangerous point in our history? Was it the Republicans? In part, yes. They don’t hold the entire responsibility. The Democrats? Again, partly yes. If not them, then who?
I cannot point my finger to any one point in time when we started on this path to ruin. It all begins when the Federal Government steps outside of its Constitutional Powers in order satisfy some special interest group or maybe to address a problem which is not specifically addressed in the Constitution. Therein lies the problem, the Constitution declares specifically that any power not specifically given to congress is reserved to the States or the people. When we ask congress to solve our difficulties we effectively waive our rights. In order to solve the problem of poverty congress, at the people’s request, created a set of laws which have evolved into the welfare system we live with today.
Whenever farmers were faced with falling prices for their crops they asked the Government to help. Now we have crop subsidies and price supports. After starting on this path of social and economic interference, the Federal government was faced with an economic crisis …how to pay for it all. The income tax seemed like the answer to everyone’s problem. It originally took from the most wealthy of individuals simply to pay for the cost of doing business on the Federal level. As programs were added and expanded so was the tax base, eventually taxing every cent every citizen managed to earn. Over the years as even more spending was required, the tax rate rose. Then the states got involved and added their own taxes. This theme repeats itself in many different areas of government. To address the original question of where the Freedom has gone: we gave it away. Rather our Great, Great Grandfathers gave it away. By asking the congress to step out side its intended function and solve their problems, they started the ball rolling. Sure the congress should have simply stated that these matters were outside its jurisdiction and pressured the individual states to act, but when faced with loss of office because they angered voters, most legislators will cave in. This short term satisfaction of demands and lack of vision led congress to take all the power it was given by the people. In present day America, we realize that something has gone wrong and complain but fall short of demanding action. Too many are unwilling or unable to shoulder the burden of freedom and responsibility which would be placed back on their shoulders should the government correct its past failures and return to the government mandated by the constitution. There are political candidates which advocate such a return and are gaining support slowly. Political parties such as the Libertarian Party have been formed around these principles. The problem is that today’s citizen must be weaned from their accustomed dependence on Federal and state governance. They have been raised in a world where there are laws governing everything they do, say, buy. Etc… When faced with the option of having almost complete responsibility for their own lives the ordinary person will suffer a “knee-jerk” response and angrily decline. The only way to return rights to the states and to the people is to do so as slowly as they were relinquished. Incrementally is how freedom vanished and that is how it must be returned.

Met Hostettler Tonight..Can't give my endorsement

2006-03-28T00:18:00.000-05:00

Toight I went to the local Townhall meeting put on by Congressman John Hostettler in Vincennes. Breaking with precedent, he was actually on time. I could tell this might be an issue when several reporters asked his staff if he would be on time as they would like to leave on schedule. The congressman arrived without any fanfare and only about 20 people present for his presentation. Surprising that so few were in attendance considering that Vincennes has a strong GOP base. Could it be that the Republicans are actually loosing ground? If so, I don't think that the majority of voters are quite willing to embrace Democrat ideology yet so I'll take it as a good omen for my own campaign. Hostettler covered the subjects of illegal immigration, preventing increased taxation, and energy cost reduction during his presentation. Afterwards the issue of illegal immigration weighed heavily in the discussion. His position is basically that we should enforce the laws currently on the books. When I asked how did he plan on paying for the enforcement he detailed the appropriations for manpower and detention resources that congress had asked for. Another item brought up was the ACLU and the recent rash of lawsuits filed against displays of the ten commandments. He held that these displays were basically a State's right issue and that Congress had no business interfering in religion or education or anything else not outlined in the Constitution. At this point I shifted focus and asked if that was the case did he support elimination of the Dept. of Education and preventing the Fed. Govt. from dictating education standards to the states and cutting Federal Education Spending. To which he quickly said yes and that he previously voted supporting that position. All in all I was not overly impressed but I was encouraged by the tough stand he takes on some issues. Hostettler seems to support expanding Government in some areas with corresponding budget increases, while not really addressing downsizing of Governmental functions in order to balance the additional spending. I wish we Libertarians had someone in the 8th district capable of running against him because while he is not a huge supporter of tax and spend republicans, he will do so if it suits his purpose. This says to me that he is just another politician unwilling to stick to his principles if they get in the way of passing his pet legislation. Another one of those "just do it , no matter the cost" types which have become so prevalent in Government today. I could be off base in my analysis and I ask that anyone who feels that I am leave a comment and any arguments supporting the congressmans' record.

Debate being planned

2006-03-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

Today I attended another meet your legislator function. It was very interesting to listen to our legislators discuss what they felt were the successes and failures of this session. Afterwards I again spoke a few minutes with Steve Thias. I also spoke to my Opponent Troy Woodruff. It was a brief exchange but he did agree to a debate as long as the Democrat challenger was also invited. I informed my supporters and have begun the process of arranging the event. I will keep everyone posted as the details solidify.

A look at abatements

2006-03-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

Recently there have been a number of communities in Indiana granting abatements to large employers in their respective jurisdictions. The reasons given are usually equipment purchase and/or expansion of the facilities thus more jobs. I wonder if any of these businesses would not expand or improve their processes to meet customer demand without tax abatements? I think the vast majority would still expand or purchase needed equipment if it was needed. Are the incentives possibly used as the governments way of promoting expansion where market conditions don't call for it? If so, then the financial gains made by increasing the workforce are temporary until the market catches up, if it catches up. Considering the rash of manufacturing sector shutdowns in Indiana I think that this may be the case. Local Manufacturers have expanded at the request of local government without real cost to the business because the tax abatements are far larger than the actual cost of the expansion over the period of time. Meanwhile market demand for the manufactured products has not risen to meet the need for the expansion. At the end of the abatement period the manufacturer is forced to into one of three options. They can apply for another abatement and artificially inflate their bottom line. The business can leverage their assets using conventional financing or they can downsize. This kind of meddling in the marketplace by the government always increases the odds of catastrophe.

The government at all levels should restrict itself to the preservation of rights and leave business to businessmen.

Indiana Top of the list!!

2006-03-19T13:21:00.000-05:00

The indy star reported on Saturday that the Hoosier state has retained it's number 1 ranking....the most people in forclosure. It appears that despite claims by our legislature that they have fixed what's wrong with this state, that we are no better off after 2 sessions with a republican controlled legislature than we were before. Let's me see....we're number 1 in forclosures...still, were number 18 in regards to tax burden.....still, we're number 38 in academic achievement....still. If our State is so much better with Daddy Mitch and his group of nannies, then why have we failed to see any improvements in these rankings? Just like the Democrats who ran things before, the Governor and his yes men don't have a solution. Thier idea of tax relief is to shift the burden from one group of tax payers to another or as an alternative, allowing local governments to become the main taxing agents shifting public focus off of the failures at the statehouse. Here's a unique idea, for tax relief let's actually eliminate taxes In order to eliminate taxes we must eliminate the expense of government, so let's downsize.

Some of of the reason's cited for our high forclosure rate are high tax rate, job loss and lack of access to high paying manufacturing jobs. Another idea is forming in my mind, let's directly address those issues instead of worrying about where to get more money to build more roads. By actually downsizing government the cost will be lowered which equals less need for taxes. Lower taxes means that the cost of doing business in Indiana will drop thus businesses and the population itself will not seek to migrate to less costly locations. Lower taxes also directly affects the cost of housing thus fewer people will fall into financial dire straits due to increases in their property tax bills.

Now let me address Education. by not allowing the parents and schools the freedom of how best to allocate their education resources we will be doomed to mediocrity at best. The private/charter school model of competitive education has proven to be far more effective than government dictated education. The reason high tech jobs are outsourced to other countries is because, in part, their population is far better equipped educationally for these types of jobs. Even in manufacturing the trend towards automation and computerized tracking demands a higher level of comprehension. There will always be a need for manual , unskilled labor but the majority of employers are demanding higher levels of learning ability.

My state Rep., Troy Woodruff has said that no-one else has a plan to address the issues which affect this state. I think I've demonstrated that not only can I just gripe and moan but I also have a plan. A plan which offers real solutions.

Favorite Second ammendment Quotes

2006-03-16T07:10:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my favorite Quotes regarding the 2nd Ammendment.

“The laws that forbid the carrying of arms can only tend to encourage homicide.”- Thomas Jefferson
“The sword and the terrible weapon of the soldier, are the birth right of every American.”- Tenche Coxe (Philadelphia newsletter circa 1791)
“Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self defense.”- John Adams
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms in his own lands.”- Thomas Jefferson
“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”- Thomas Jefferson
“The great object is that every man be armed, everyone who is able may have a gun.”- Patrick Henry
“The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.”- Noah Webster, 1787
“To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”- Richard Henry Lee, 1788
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty, teeth and keystone under independence.”- George Washington, address to the first U.S. Congress
“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity.”- Sigmund Freud
“An armed citizenry is a safe citizenry.”- George Washington
“The right of self defense is the first law of nature”- St. George Tucker, 1st major commentator on the Bill of Rights
The purpose of the fourteenth amendment is to “protect personal rights such as the right to keep and bear arms from state infringement”- Senator Jacob Howard, 1866
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic”- Chief Justice Joseph Story, 1820
“Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is an armed sheep contesting the vote.”- Benjamin Franklin
“When citizens fear their government you have tyranny. When government fears its citizens you have freedom.”- Thomas Jefferson

Major Moves- final words

2006-03-16T06:23:00.000-05:00

I agree that leasing the toll-road will bring in cash. I agree it can help pave the way for improvements to the state's ifrastructure. I even agree that the road could have been managed better and been made profitable. I however take issue with entering into this lease for those reasons. Just because past mistakes have been made isn't justification for selling, or in this case leasing, off our assets. This would be similar to me agreeing to house-sit for you and while I'm there I run up the utilities, cause damage to your house and generally make a mess of things. In order to correct my mistake I'll just rent out your house and let the new tenents take care of the damage. I'll give them a long term lease and require them to make a few improvements in addition to repairs. After-all you still own your house you just don't have control anymore and you now don't have to worry about the expense of up-keep. Since this is such a great deal for you I'll do the same thing as soon as you buy a new Home.

As ridiculous as that sounds is how ridiculous this legislation is.

More examples of Government interference

2006-03-15T01:16:00.000-05:00

At last night's city Council Meeting, an item on the agenda was the adoption of the Knox county "Master Plan". For those unfamiliar with this type of legislation, it is basically a complete set of Zoning ordinances dictating the approved uses of your property. I will not go through the entire document , Only offer an example to illustrate the total control the Government likes.
One item listed for which a person must obtain a permit for is a hot-tub. Now ridiculous as this seems let's look at all the ramifications before we judge this little piece of the entire picture.
1> I purchase a portable hot-tub afor let's say $2000. I immediately pay $120 sales tax. I am then required to report my purchase to the assessor to pay another $30 personal property tax which will be assessed annually. In order for me to place my newly aquired and taxed property on my property I would be required to immediately obtain a $15 permit from the city inspector's office. After which I may be required to then apply to the zoning board to obtain their permission to operate my hot-tub.
In other words I would hypothetically have to deal with the department of revenue, the county assessor, the city inspector and the local zoning board in order to enjoy the comforts of owning a hot-tub. I would have to pay an additional $165 dollars above the actual cost of my property. Not to mention the real-property tax consequences should I permanently install the Hot-tub.

And the Government always wonders why people are always broke.

Vincennes Backs Main St. Project

2006-03-14T05:03:00.000-05:00

For a number of years the Vincennes Main Street Business District has been neglected and ignored. As a consequence, Half of the buildings in the area lay vacant. In arecent move a myriad of local business groups have teamed up to do something about it. They are applying for Federal Government aid in the form of a rural Economic developement Grant. The city, while not recognizing it's failure to promote this area of town, has decided to jump on board with not only it's regulatory support but financially also. The city is using EDIT funds to help fund the matching grant program. The project will be an attempt to enhance the atmosphere of the district including Sidewalk redesign, landscaping, sitting benches, an entryway into the area, and various other visually appealing projects. While I support the project itself, and recognize that something of this nature has been needed for quite some time, I take issue with the method by which it is getting done. Why were the business owners forced to take it upon themselves to push this project through? Most of the aspects of this project fall well within the duties of local Government. The City council would rather hand out Tax Abatements like they were candy to large multi-million dollar operations than to fund basic city enhancing services such as side-walk maintenance. Considering the City's decision to join IACT, nothing surprises me.

More Remonstrance Stuff

2006-03-10T07:23:00.000-05:00

As everybody knows who follows this blog Vincennes Community schools is dealing with a remonstrance over building 3 new Schools. Well Signature collection has begun. Yesterday I received a visitor from the head of the commitee against the construction. We stated, again that while we were not for this project, we could not take sides in a process which is unfair to all. The gentleman caller appeared upset and proceeded to give us the speil. Previously the group was selling their position in a very straightforward way and willing to hear alternatives to the planned construction. Recently they have changed their tune. While they recognize that the schools are in disrepair and that much needed maintenance has been neglected, they are unwilling to even consider a proposal to fix the problems. They have taken the unpopular position that the schools can crumble to the ground before they allow another cent to be spent. Of copurse the other side of the issue has taken a page from Daddy Mitch and stated that if your against the project that you are against our children's future. Hmmm, sounds familiar.
However, this process turns out, I fear that their will be a split in the community that will be difficult to repair. I blame the entire property tax system but placing blame is not going to help the community heal. The only course of action is to immediately work towards the elimination of the property tax system before this happens again and another community is torn.

This is ridiculous

2006-03-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

In the town of Vincennes, IN there is a remonstrance being conducted against the building of new school facilities. As we all know this is the only process which the Indiana Laws recognize as binding in these matters. The people siding against the building project have legitimate concerns which they feels were never addressed before the approval of the project. The Pro construction side have "poo-pooed" these concerns and have pushed for an immediate start to the $50 million plus proposal. Both sides feel strongly about the matter and up until recently have only used half truths to advance their positions. This last week it was revealed that the Pro side has been adding their minor children to the deeds in order to gain more signatures.
What?!!
Since when has it been ethically acceptable to use our children as tools in a political maneuver. This is a perfect example of why the current property tax system needs overhauling.

I am asking everyone who feels this behavior is reprehensible to write a letter to the local paper at and explain your views on the matter of taxation and please make sure to address this behavior.
vscnews@suncommercial.com

Golf Scramble

2006-03-07T07:02:00.000-05:00

We will be organizing a golf scramble here in Vincennes to raise funds for the campaign. This should be a fun, all day event for all who participate. This area is home to some very avid golfers and the Scramble should attract a large crowd. Anyone interested in participating in ANY stage of the event should contact me at electjathomas@charter.net

Daddy Mitch?

2006-03-05T23:30:00.000-05:00

The Indianapolis Star reported today the results of their latest poll. It found overall most Hoosiers don't approve of the Governor's action, They don't support Major Moves legislation, and they think Mitch should slow down in his changes. Now the interesting part, when confronted with the results of this poll he basically said oh well. He said that he was doing what was right for the state and the citizens would have to get used to it. Gee, I didn't know we elected my father to parent the citizens of Indiana. I think people have been quite clear and this poll serves to confirm what the they want. I have always believed that our elected officials are bound by a duty to represent our wishes.I cannot stand a legislator who believes his job is to play nanny to the citizens and at times force feed them his ideas. This kind of behavior drove me to embrace the Libertarian party. Here's another item to add to my agenda when I'm elected to the legislature; Drastically Restrict executive branch powers.
Daddy Mitch needs a spanking to remind him who he serves. We should lead the way and organize a protest on the steps of the Statehouse. We could invite everyone who opposes tthe toll-road lease and all the other questionable decisions Mitch has made. I think we would have quite a showing. Let him ignore the people's wishes then.

Libertarian Video Promotion

2006-03-03T18:28:00.000-05:00

I recently designed and produced a video to promote libertarian candidates. It can be viewed
here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xOsDcngcP00
If you like it let me know and sign up on utube so you can rate it. The higher the rating the more views it will get. If you want to use this for television or need it customized for a specific candidate let me know.

Welcome Jared

2006-03-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

This is the most recent addition to my family. Jared Eli Thomas was born March 1, 2006 at 8:33 am. Talk about a big baby he's 8 pounds 14 oz and 221/2 inches.

Taking Action

2006-02-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

The next time your Government does something you feel is wrong what will you do? Most people will bombard their friends and family with angry words about the misconduct. Maybe make a phonecall or two to a legislator to let them know how you feel. Some will take to the pen and write letters to newspapers or even a blog like this one. That's about as far as anyone will go. It is a worthy activity to publicize bad government in every way possible. What do you do if someone actually takes up the cause and takes action? We see demonstrations everyday. Commercials are produced in order to reach a wider audience. Newspapers run the ads which inform the public. Most people sit back and relax in the knowledge that the issue at hand has been addressed. I know because I was one of those people. Last year was a turning point for me. I was tired of endlessly complaining and writing letters and making phone calls. I was seriously considering taking my family and moving to an isolated place in another country. My wife changed my course. In her feminine wisdom she pointed out that I never really did anything about my greivances Sure I was vocal and wrote letters but that in the end I never backed up my words with action. I realized at that point everything I thought I was accomplishing meant nothing if I weren't ready to act; which lead to my initial frustration.
My first action was to contact Mark Rutherford, The State chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, and offer some advice as to some marketing the party was going to engage in. The second thing I did was to join the Libertarian Party. The party is weak in Southern Indiana so I had to resign myself to communicating via email, phone and this blog with people who felt the same as I. Then it hit me I was doing it again. What I was doing was essentially the same as before but with like minded individuals as the recipients of my tirades. The LP has stated that it needed an active party presence here in southern Indiana so I became determined to do something about it. The most logical step to inform and publicize the LP was to run for office.
Had there been an active organization here I would have participated in demonstrations, fundraising, voluteered for campaigns etc.... Which brings me to my point. What will you do when the request for help is issued? Will you vocalize what you feel or will you support the cause with which you identify, in whatever capacity is needed? When money is needed, will you donate or maybe organize a fundraising activity? When asked to protest, will you answer the call with your physical participation? When asked to campaign, will you Volunteer?

The question really is does the Libertarian Party support your causes or do you support the cause of the Libertarian Party?

Election reform

2006-02-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

Ask yourself, Why would anyone in their right mind spend $100k to $300k to get elected to a position which pays a little over $11k a year? Even with benefits and perks the compensation amounts to about $45k. This happens every 2 years when we elect our legislators. It would be wise for us to determine what is the motivation. If we ask each individual legislator, we would get a myriad of responses referring to duty, obligation, desire to serve. I wonder if these same people would be so eager to serve if they had to pay for their campaign out of their own pockets? This is the true measure of their desire to serve. I think true campaign reform would be to limit the individual cash contribution size to $100 from individuals only and that the total amount of money accepted/spent cannot exceed the annual salary of the position sought. I would not prevent individuals from creating and paying for ads for the candidates. Same with companies. These individuals and commercial enterprises have the right to endorse whomever they want. I would require that the ad disclose who is paying for the ad and that it is an endorsement and whether or not the candidate approved the ad. I think we would see a whole new breed of legislator. People who see elected position as a service and a duty to be performed. Of course, people who oppose such measures wouls say that this opens the door to temptation. Again, we would see the measure of the legislators desire to serve. I would support a law that would provide for the speedy removal of an elected official who is proven, in court, to be acting in a criminal manner in respect to their official position.

How does this translate to my campaign for District 64 Rep.?

As a result of my beliefs on this matter, I will not accept any cash contribution in excess of $100. The funds collected will be used for travel expenses, promotional items such as palmcards and fliers, and other direct campaign expenses. Any and all advertising will be only be paid for by individual contributors directly. I will announce and collect funds for specific advertising activities on an individual basis. The contributions for these ads will not be limited to the $100 limit. However, once the specific ad goal is met no other contributions will be accepted for this purpose. On my campaign donation page I will give donors the option to donate to a specific campaign. The donation page and site will reflect these changes within the week.

Want to eliminate elected Positions?

2006-02-28T10:47:00.000-05:00

As a libertarian, I have to look for ways to make government smaller. I don't think I've found a way to make the government smaller , just smarter. Have you ever noticed that the Chief Financial officers in Indiana are all elected? The positions of auditor and treasurer are elected every 2 years same as the the rest of our county officials. Now here's the big question, what happens if the people elect complete incompetents? It can happen, depending on how a campaign is conducted. Someone totally unqualified for the position can be elected if a great campaign is conducted. It's happened before. Where is the accountability? If the people are dissatisfied then 2 years pass of financial problems and possible longterm credit damage to the county. In a private company as soon as an employee is found to not be competent, that person is replaced before they can cause serious harm. On the other hand a treasurer or auditor who isn't capable is secure in their job for 2 years. I won't even mentionthe possibilities for criminal conduct. The only incentive for doing a good job is the possiblity of getting re-elected. What if that doesn't matter to the person elected? I think that if we are going to look at eliminating elected officials, we need to look at these positions. The benefits would be numerous with very little downside.

Latest Position Release

2006-02-27T09:51:00.000-05:00

Major Moves: Concept Great, Execution Poor

Indiana Libertarians support the concept of public private agreements if executed properly. We even agree that I-69 has spent too much time on the drawing board and needs to move forward. However we take issue with the current proposal. Major Moves asks us to give the governor in essence a blank check to do as he pleases to move these projects and all future projects in whatever direction he sees fit. The people of Indiana deserve to be informed and have approval of major commitments such as these when they arise. This bill proposes to eliminate all safeguards currently in place to prevent government action without the approval of the citizens of Indiana. Hoosiers overall may trust Governor Daniels to act in accordance to their wishes but what if he doesn’t? What about another Governor? If we pass this legislation we will have no recourse under the law.
We also have to ask ourselves if this bill is so great why try and sell this bill based on false hype? The Governor, Troy Woodruff, and various other legislators have been touting this as “the jobs bill of a generation”.
They throw out 130000 as the amount of jobs to be created when in fact this is a perversion of a federal study.
The truth is the study says that we would create about 130000 “man-years” of work. Meaning that if all money were spent in 1 year then true, 130000 jobs might be created….. for 1 year. Business people are all familiar with the man-hour conversions; same thing but with years. Another item not being disclosed is the myriad of consequences should a bankruptcy occur in the leasing company. We would not be able to keep the proceeds from any tolls. Instead they would be seized by a Federal court in order to satisfy the bankruptcy. In fact it is conceivable that the Federal Court could take over operation of any obligations of the leasing company thus handing over our road, in essence, to the Feds. We Libertarians do support the concept Governor Daniels has proposed but not this plan. Just because there is no other plan on the table, doesn’t mean we can’t come up with another or change the current one to reflect the current needs of the Hoosier state. We need to step back, slow down and realize that this is not an emergency situation that can’t wait until a better plan can be formulated.

Meet your legislators

2006-02-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

Channel 22 WVUT shot a segment involving local legislators today. Five legislators appeared to field questions from the studio audience and phone in viewers. Attending were Troy woodruff, John Waterman, Dave Crooks, Lindel Hume, and Bruce Borders. Topics covered included I-69, Major moves, National guard troops, ISTEP, and some local BMV closures. I posed a question about moving ISTEP testing to the spring in order get accurate information. During the major moves portion Reps Borders and Woodruff monopolized all of the time accorded to the issue, thus dening the opposition a chance to speak. Typical. All in attendance were in favor of I-69 but not the direction to proceed. The other subjects were merely clarification of existing programs and law. After the program the audience and legislators met in the hallway to continue discussion. I was able to speak to Dave Crooks and Lindel Hume. Who, while nice guys, will never get my support on most issues. I also spoke to a Steve Thias who is on the Knox county council and is running against Waterman on the Democrat ticket. After speaking with him I got the impression, that he may be a closet libertarian. I think he was very impressed with my grasp of the local and state issues and how well developed my platform was. I also had the opportunity to speak with my Democrat opponent for District 64 Rep. I think he respects my views even if he doesn't agree. On a side note my prediction for his race is that he will get alot of the teacher vote but not make much impact on my vote totals otherwise. I honestly believe after some informal polling This race is between me and Woodruff. If I can raise enough funds I should be in a position to win. Speaking of Woodruff, he appeared to avoid having to engage in a discussion with me. He spoke to an individual from the audience for about 5 minutes and exited the building. His performance while professional, seemed rehearsed and stiff. He has got to be the most insincere politician I have ever met. When answering questions he reverted to spewing hype and half truths. I am going to look forward to ridding the legislature of this menace.

Officers working hard to keep us safe?

2006-02-24T08:33:00.000-05:00

Week ending Feb.18 Vincennes officers catch 118 criminals

According to Chief Dunham, last week officers of the Vincennes police department were out in force keeping citizens safe. They actually managed to bag 118 seatbelt violators. I don't know about you, but I know I feel safer knowing these dangerous criminals have been ticketed. At the same time the police logs in the paper reported a couple of dozen complaints of theft. I wonder how many complaints there might have been had these same officers been patrolling the neighborhoods and parking lots where the thefts occurred? The chief reported that the City police department almost wrote as many tickets as the state police post in Terre haute during the same period. Is there some kind of competition going on? If so I would like to see the ongoing stats. What are the prizes? Is there a golden seatbelt award? I think the officers involved should get a combat ribbon for their uniforms. After chasing down all these dangerous drivers they deserve something. If you believe Dunham, The city is much safer now that this major criminal influence has been dealt with. I guess we shouldn't worry about the serial arsonist who's torched 6 or 7 different buildings, The full range of thefts and burglaries, the car thieves , domestic violence, child abuse, child molesters, Armed robbers or any other less dangerous criminal than the scofflaw who forgets to buckle up.

Different laws for different counties

2006-02-23T07:41:00.000-05:00

Setting aside special set of laws aside from State Law

I've noticed lately that there seems to be a growing trend towards writing laws which apply to only one county. Recently, bills were proposed regarding the consolidation of county and city government. One bill proposed was specific to Vanderburgh county the other established Statewide procedure. Talk about inefficient government. Since when do counties get to set aside special state laws for themselves. In this case, let's imagine potentially 92 state laws regarding 92 counties with different procedures for each county. I know that all government starts locally but give me a break. A state law should apply to all counties equally. Inthe case where it is forseeable that different counties may need special adaptations of the law, it should be vague enough and contain provisions which would allow the county to adopt it to their circumstance. Otherwise the counties need to just adapt to the existing laws or have their representatives propose the changes they want. We have 1 state and 92 counties. Not 92 mini-states.

A new snake in the grass

2006-02-21T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns promotes Government Powers

After Visiting the website of IACT I am utterly speechless. Every measure this organization supports infringes on the liberies of individuals. They support granting local government broad power over taxes, property, and zoning while limiting the rights of individuals to protest. Many of the laws which they would have repealed or revised were put in place to protect the rights of individuals. IACT represents the very government policies which have left Hoosiers feeling frustrated and oppressed by their government. I was actually shocked to see that my town of Vincennes is a member of this organization. After all the Mayor and our Representative both seem to publically support tax relief (although it is not true relief, just deferment) and more restrictive eminent Domain legislation. I guess their public position was just a smoke screen after-all.
Well, it's time to write a column for the newpaper and reveal some well camouflaged snakes.

Education Vouchers split Republican Party

2006-02-20T08:18:00.000-05:00

I personally favor the voucher system of allocating funding for schools for many reasons. The voucher system would allow parents or school counselors to choose educational facilities which best meet the needs of the child. In order for schools to survive they would have to compete for enrollment thus driving improvement and implementation of new, innovative teaching techniques. Competition in any industry has been proven time and again to drive progress. The republican party in general is in favor of vouchers but here in Indiana it's a different story. The Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction was reported to have said that Vouchers were a risky experiment and she would be concerned about lawsuits. Our Top Official, Mitch Daniels has his own recipe for education reform and vouchers just aren't a part of the mix. It seems Mitch supporters are against the proposal while those trying to represent their party are in favor. Of course my favorite target, Troy Woodruff is mouthing his man Mitch's sentiments(as usual). I wonder if this guy ever had an original thought of his own? Of those in favor, Brian Bosma, the house majority leader. He sponsored a bill that would allow vouchers for autistic children. While admirable, it just doesn't go far enough and got nowhere in the legislature.
If I'm elected to the house this year one of the pieces of legislation I will introduce is an all-encompassing voucher system. I believe this will have more support as it does not single out one groupof children. It has been reported that one objection to Bosma's bill was that it would take money away from the education of the children in public schools. An all-encompassing bill would alleviate those fears and put every child on the same playing field.

Even Mitch Can't support Major moves

2006-02-19T12:18:00.000-05:00

Governor Mitch Daniels is grasping at straws whenever he is criticized about major moves. He can't come up with one benefit other than $3.8 billion dollars. I think he is realizing that he may have been blinded by gold fever when writing this proposed bill. The only unwavering support seems to come from the the Indiana House Republicans. Once it reached the Senate, all of a sudden his own party leaders are criticizing the bill. In public meetings across the state he is hard pressed to justify any aspect of the bill other than the $3.8 billion. I think Daniels should back off this plan and re-evaluate how to privatize properly. He needs to take the money out of the equation for a moment and take a hard look at what this bill actually does.

1. Other than delivering $3.85 billion to the State immediately, it is not guaranteed to create any jobs. The 130, 000 job figure is based on a perversion of a US DOT study. It says that $1 billion spent on highway construction will generate 47,576 people years of work. if you take that figure and multiply it by $2.7 billion you come out with 130,000 people years of work. in other words if the work were over 1 year then yes we would need 130,000 people to perform the newly created work. But since we are talking about 75 years we are looking at a figure closer to 1700 people doing work as a result of the highway spending. Now these are rough estimates provided by the US DOT, this is not fact, and actual results may vary in different circumstances than what was used for the study.
2. It does take control of public private agreements out of the pervue of the legislature (the people's representatives) and give it exclusively to the executive branch. This county's government, and this state's for that matter, were designed with a series of checks and balances in place so that no one branch of government could impose its wishes without the consent ofthe others. In this way, our founding fathers attempted to guarantee that we would always have a government which represented the will of its citizens. Governor Daniels is attempted to upset that balance just a little by seizing exclusive control of the states highways and public private agreements for the governors office.

3. It does give control of the Indiana Toll Road for up to 99 years (the current high bidder only wants it for 75 years) to a foreign corporation. It is absolutely unthinkable that we would attempt to enter into an agreement that would obligate the citizens of this state for generations to come. Yes I agree that we need revenue in order to fund Road projects in Indiana. I agree that infrastructure is important to the economy of this state. I do not agree, however, that we need to obligate our children to suffer what may be a mistake on our part. A much shorter lease should be entered into initially and then we can look at the success and failures of the plan. We can then evolve our policy in further agreements, if needed.

Over all it seems that this is all about money. If that is the case then our elected representatives may need to look at possibly spending our money a bit more responsibly and directing the funds where they are needed most.

Thanks to Brian J Maloney

2006-02-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

Brian recently visited my campaign website and had the following to say:
"Now that has got to be the number one best Indiana Libertarian web site I have ever seen. You actually look like you're serious about running for office. "
Thanks Brian for visiting and for caring enough to send feedback. I'd like for Brian and anyone else that reads this post to realize that I am serious about running for office. I am serious when I say that the Incumbent has a good chance of losing. I am serious about promoting the Libertarian principles during my campaign and, I hope, from the Statehouse.

I understand that in the past the idea has been to run as many candidates as possible in order for voters to see the Libertarian name. A sort of election year marketing campaign for the Party. I have been assured that this is no longer the case. We are looking to win some elections and actually compete in the political arena. Play time is over for the Reps. and Dems. They no longer get to sit back and laugh when they see a Libertarian on the ballot. If we approach this with an attitude of defeat but in a good cause then we will be defeated. If we approach this with the goal of winning then we candidates may stand a chance. If we say to ourselves "I don't really stand a chance of winning" then what is the motivation to try? We as party members and supporters need to realize that we aren't a minority voice. That most people agree with our philosophy. The obstacle to overcome is our past habit of running to lose. We have to make people believe that we are serious.
Hopefully, I have sparked a sense of purpose in a few of you who read this article. I hope that you will take that spark and turn into a serious devotion to winning a campaign.

Secretary of State

2006-02-15T20:25:00.000-05:00

In order to further the goals of the LPIN, I will be promoting our Secretary of State Candidate in all of my Campaign Materials and Media buys in the area. I will do every thing I can do as a part of my own campaign to help reach the 10% goal and drive The Libertarian Party of Indiana into major Party status. I have begun the reformatting of my campaign materials and media to reflect this. I was recently in touch with Mike Kole and should he win the Parties Nomination we will hold a joint organizational meeting here in the 8th district. Anyone interested in helping should contact me at electjathomas@charter.net

Republicans Switching sides?

2006-02-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

As the current legislative session continues, I hear of more Republicans every day unwlling to follow the party line to institute costly new programs. I think some of these Republicans are remembering what fiscal responsibility means. It seems they are even willing to side with Democrats to live up to their responsibilities. I think they are realizing that they have not been effective at shrinking government. They have not lowered spending, just reigned in growth in spending a little. Of course the problem is that there are only a handfull who feel this way. The rest like Troy Woodruff haven't seen a Republican bill they didn't like.

Regarding school remonstrance

2006-02-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Does the end justify the means?

During the current remonstrance and petition process which the Vincennes School Corporation is involved, activities have been conducted which, while legal, test the limits of ethical thinking. For instance, the School system is allowed, up until the time when a second notice is run regarding a proposed bond issue, to conduct any activities it sees fit to promote its position. The question we must ask is it ever ethical to use our children to deliver the political propaganda of a third party organization? Is it ever ethical to release the names and addresses of our children to a third party for the purpose of delivering political propaganda? The thing that our current school administrators have forgotten is that the school is a government entity. It exists at the convenience of and to serve the taxpayers. If a dispute arises among taxpayers regarding an issue affecting the School, it is between those taxpayers. The school administrators represent all taxpayers, not just the ones which favor the position of the school recommends. It comes down to one point, it is the duty of the school administration to act on recommendations from the community and make recommendations to the community. The Administration needs to allow the community to work this out amongst themselves and then abide by the outcome. The only thing the School administration accomplishes by lending its resources to one side or the other is to ensure that an attitude of animosity is created among the parties which did not receive the extra support. In the end there will be a divide among the members of the Vincennes Community which will be difficult to overcome. But that’s O.K. if the end justifies the means.

Lets look at the schools

2006-02-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

While I'm criticizing the other Governmental inefficiencies, let's give the schools a quick glance.
Don't worry, I'm not trying to say that a quick glance is all they deserve, just my way of injecting a little humour into a serious subject. The figures released by the statehouse says we spend about $10,000 per student per year. Of that a little less than 75% is actually applied directly toward classroom learning. Let's just for the sake of this discussion say it is approximately $7000 per student not including textbooks. Why is it then that results from our public school system are so poor? For that kind of money I can send my kid to one of the better private schools in the state and he would get a much higher level of instruction. This is another example of the inefficiency that governmental influence fosters. Someone actually proposed a bill which would pay a public school system for a student when the student has left the school system in favor of an alternative learning enviroment. Gee let's not only burden the property owners with paying for an inefficient school system, but let's make them pay for students who aren't even there. HUH?! I switched my house to total electric ending my reliance on natural gas, do you think I'm still going to send the gas company a check? Apparently in comments on the radio today my opponent supported this ridiculous notion. He was very remorseful that the bill containing this measure was defeated. He also stated that when we start talking about vouchers or something like vouchers and the school corporations are faced with losing funding, they(the school corporations) get nervous. Who cares?! The school corporation is a governmental agency. They only use the money we the people give them. They only exist at the convenience of the citizens of this state. If we allow funding to be pulled and placed where it is doing more good, we are living up to our responsibilities. I could go on for days about this subject but I'll end here for now. Feel free to comment.

Apparently I'm right again!!

2006-02-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about "major moves" being a slush fund for the governor. It looks like at least 1 Indiana senator agrees with me, saying the the bill is full of "pork". I hate to be on the same side with the current republican legislature, but as long as they're admitting I'm right I'll accept their support! Now, if they would only see the correctness of the rest of my views we wouldn't have as many problems. Unfortunately, the majority of today's elected officials are more concerned with advancing their party platform or staying in office. They have no sense of what it means to represent their community. Maybe if we can elect a few Libertarians like myself, we can set the example for the rest of the elected officials.

Immigration issues update

2006-02-10T17:17:00.000-05:00

Arizona is proposing to do the exact thing I suggested in my previous post on immigration. It seems that a lawmaker there has decided that immigration enforcement shouldn't be left to the feds alone. Apparently the proposal would dispatch state police squads to catch the illegals who get past border security. I have always believed that while border security is the venue of the federal government, illegal residency and employment is a local issue which directly impacts local and state economies. It would be absolutely insane to expect the federal government to employ enough immigration enforcement officers to deal with all of the illegal residents we have in this country. Apparently they (the feds) feel that way also or this wouldn't be any kind of issue. The corraling of illegals should be dealt with locally as with any other crime. Once detained the illegal should be handed over to the proper agency for deportation (providing this is the only crime that they have commited).

Look, it boils down to a single solution, whether we are dealing with immigration, education, employment, or taxes. Local communities need to stop being dependant on higher government agencies and take care of themselves. This country was founded by independant, strong willed, free thinkers. Somehow we have lost track of those ideals and become dependant on the federal government to take care of us. If we are ever to be truly free we need to let the feds do what they were intended to do which is run the country, and we as citizens need to take care of our own communities.

Lesson in dealing with newspapers

2006-02-08T14:10:00.000-05:00

Check your facts before speaking to a reporter

I learned that lesson the hard way today when i picked up a copy of the local paper. I had made the mistake of thinking that the remonstrance cooling off period, which is mentioned in the article, had begun already. I had genuine concerns that the School Corporation was engaging in illegal activities under Indiana Code. Well, the article is here you can judge for yourself.

Immigration Issues

2006-02-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

Over and over I hear people refer to immigrants as if they are all unwelcome. We have to remember our country was discovered and built by immigrants. Today the word immigrant seems to be almost an insult. For the remainder of this article I will use the word "alien" instead.
Does this country have problems securing its borders..Yes
Is there a flood of illegal aliens crossing our borders...yes
Are they a drain on the economy...Yes
Is there a lack of immigration investigation and enforcement...yes
All of the above being considered, what is to be done? here's a plan but remember we are talking about foriegn nationals who are residing within our borders illegally, not the resident aliens who have been approved to reside within the US.
1. The immigration requirements need to be revamped so that it is not as difficult for decent, hardworking , intelligent foreignors to obtain Temporary Visas.
2. Local Law enforcement-- officers need to be trained and equipped to enforce immigration law. Federal department needs to coordinate with local police dept. on investigations of illegal alien activity.
3. Temporary Resident aliens should have no access to State run services except for emergency healthcare and the education system, for which tuition must be paid.
4. No state issued Id. including licenses until citizenship has been established.
5. introduce legislation making it a Criminal offense to knowingly employ illegal aliens
6. make system easier for employers to verify immigration status.
7. immediately deport any illegal alien upon discovery providing that illegal residency is the only crime they are charged with.
8. Impose economic sanctions against any country actively encouraging the illegal immigration into the US by its citizens.

I'm sure alot more can be done but this would be a start.

The Right to Speak and Be Heard

2006-02-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

In recent days I've read and heard many views which I do not agree with. Some of these opinions are so shockingly uninformed that I couldn't stand to completely h ear them out. That's O.K. though. I don't have to agree with these people to respect their right to their own views. I guess that's what most attracted me to the Libertarian Party of Indiana. After speaking with Mark Rutherford and Dan Drexlar I found we didn't agree on everything but they respected my right to disagree. I guess it comes down to the basis of Libertarian beliefs; the non initiation of force. I don't force my belief system on anyone and I expect the same respect.

Some may ask If I don't believe in forcing my beliefs on someone then how can I enter the political arena? After all passing legislation is a form of force. If all legislators operated the system the way it was intended, then that would not be the case. We elect our representatives who should represent the views of all the people in their district, but too many elected officials believe it is their job to lead. Too many everyday citizens believe this also. The legislators which actually do think of themselves as representatives only believe they represent the members of their political party. What about the rest of us? The way it is supposed to work is that the congressman stays in touch back home through the State reps. in their district. The State reps stay informed though the various council members who should be in direct contact with thier constituents. I don't know about you but I want to be represented. I have no desire to be lead.
If I am being lead then my voice is only heard at the convenience of the leader. If I am represented then my voice must be listened to by my representative.

The bottom line is while we don't all agree, we all have a right to speak. We need to quit electing the people who only listen to some and ignore the rest. Our Representatives need to remember that the citizenry is who they serve and not a particular political party. Until we as citizens demand this we will get politics as usual and have nothing to complain about because this is what we asked for.

New Campaign Website up and running

2006-02-05T17:21:00.000-05:00

As the headline reads, my website is up and running. I would appreciate feedback from my readers as far as the look and feel of the site. You can get to the J. A. Thomas for State Representative site by clicking here. If you like what you see then click that contact or donate button on the site.

More on campaign funding

2006-02-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

I found out today a possible reason for Troy Woodruff's disregard for his constiuents. He receives most of his funding from the Republican Central Commitee. It seems to me that he has sold his services to the highest bidder. I wonder how many phone calls he receives when there is controversial legislation to be decided. This absolutely disgusts me. When we elect a legislator, we elect the man not his party. Unfortunately it seems the Republicans have a tight hold on their office holders. They seem to care more about representing the platform of their party than representing their district. This seems to be a case of the legislator fitting his views to the party rather than the party fitting their views to the membership.
God it's good to be Libertarian.

Fundraising

2006-02-02T07:54:00.000-05:00

Well it seems I will have to get on the ball with my fundraising. It seems my republican opponent is starting out the season with $122,000 in funding. Of course very little of his funding comes from individuals directly. He tends to depend on other organizations to collect donations for him. As always there are also the PACs . I don't like the idea of soliciting funding from PACs. There is always the threat that they will pull out of funding your next campaign and I think that this would significantly affect anyone's judgement when voting on legislation.I like the idea of collecting monthly/weekly/ bi-weekly pledges from supporters. If I can get 100 people to donate $75 per month for 8 months I will be able to Raise $60000 over the life of the campaign. Of course I will still accept any and all amounts including one time only donations. I am in this one to win, even if I lose I will fight down to the wire. I believe this is the perfect election to get a Libertarian in the State Legislature. The incumbant has alienated a large portion of the population including his own party, The Democrat candidate only has one thing going for him and that is that he is a local sports figure and well known. If I follow a strategy of allowing the to major party candidates slug it out I can campaign quietly in the background and in the final weeks of the campaign hopefully have the resource in place to come out full bore.
If anyone wishes to donate they can do so directly by contacting me at
hofmain@charter.net and I will send you information about where to send your donation.

Nothing to fear

2006-01-31T11:06:00.000-05:00

My computer started having problems this weekend so I wasn't able to post. Also, as I spent alot of time on that I didn't prepare much to post. Here goes a little thought I had while I was working on my p.c.

When I was in grade school my teacher played a recording of JFK's "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" speach. She then asked us to write a paper on what that statement to us. To the very last child we responded that it meant everything would be alright and don't be afraid. I don't know why this memory came to me when it did but it struck me at how true JFK's words were (and how wrong I was). He realized that being creatures of instinct we tend to behave irrationally when frightened. When afraid, we don't think about the long term just about getting out of danger. We don't really think at all. This is evidenced by the messes we have allowed our Government to get us into over the years.
I won't go to far back, let's just look at the last few years. After 9/11 our congress enacted the Patriot act. Many of us were totally in favor of such a piece of legislation after all we were afraid of the foriegn terrorists and this would help protect us from them. We allowed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, another cumbersome agency who's very name made us feel safer. We invaded Afghanistan to feel safer from the terrorists then Iraq to feel safe that WMDs would not be used again in our lifetime.
The point is that we as a nation have willingly given away our rights, jailed innocent U.S. citizens, invaded sovereign nations, and have become a target of intense criticism just to feel safe. We live in a society based on fear. Fear of death and disease. Fear of ridicule. And now, fear that we may have acted in haste.

The next time you feel compelled to act, ask yourself "what am I afraid of?"

Publication to be put on hold until after elections.

2006-01-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

The publication I was planning will be put on hold until after November, The website will be converted to my campaugn website. I believe this will be a more efficicient use of my resources.

Property tax deferal and increase caps

2006-01-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

HB1001 is another bill which while on the surface is worthy it does nothing to provide true property tax relief. (abolishment) I should note that before it left the house an ammendment was made to the bill to abolish taxes by Jan 2009. It has already been reported that the ammendment will be stripped from the bill.
It contains a provision that the rate increase increase per hundred dollars in valuation shall not exceed 3% over the preceeding year. What if you home goes up in value? Oh well this cap does not apply. It only applies to the tax rate no the final amount owed or raises in valuation.

Another provision of this bill is the tax deferal for people over 65 blind or disabled or who are gouged by the current reassessment. Guess what?! In five years you still must pay. Also a deferal is a fancy way of saying that you allow the county to put a tax lien on your property until the deferred taxes are paid.

These bills are sold based on the summaries. They don't tell you the specific language or methods contained within each bill. There's the catch. They say that the bill will provide this and that but not how. If you want to know that, you have to actually read the bill and be able to and have a basic legal understanding. Our Legislators also don't tell you the other nifty little clauses such as with this bill which Transfers to the county assessor the property tax assessment duties performed by township trustee assessors. Daniel's said he wanted to eliminate the township positions and while this doesn't completely do so it is one step closer.

$150 million bribe

2006-01-28T07:35:00.000-05:00

Governoer Daniels, as well as several supporters including Troy Woodruff, announced on Thursday that should HB1008 (Major Moves) pass every county would receive a portion of $150 million. They never mention that this is one time only, over a perod of three years. The only conclusion I can Make is that this is meant to ensure the passage of this bill. Anyone who opposes this bill will be said to be robbing Indiana communities which need the money.If you read the actual bill it is covered under Section 3 which adds IC 8-14-14 as new law. The provision is under section 6(b). For the purposes of verification I include the section of HB1008 that I mentioned. Also please note the rest of this section as it contains very disturbing language.

Chapter 14. Major Moves Construction Fund Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "authority" refers to the Indiana finance authority established by IC 4-4-11-4. Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "department" refers to the Indiana department of transportation. Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the major moves construction fund established by section 5 of this chapter. Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "transportation plan" has the meaning set forth in IC 8-23-1-41. Sec. 5. (a) The major moves construction fund is established for the purpose of: (1) funding projects under IC 8-15.7 or IC 8-15-3; (2) funding other projects in the department's transportation plan; and (3) funding other highway facilities and transportation infrastructure considered appropriate by the department. (b) The authority shall hold, administer, and manage the fund. (c) Expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from money in the fund or other sources considered appropriate by the authority. (d) The fund consists of the following: (1) Distributions to the fund from the toll road fund under IC 8-15.5-11. (2) Payments made to the authority or the department from
operators under IC 8-15.7. (3) Appropriations to the fund. (4) Gifts, grants, loans, bond proceeds, and other money received for deposit in the fund. (5) Revenues arising from: (A) a tollway under IC 8-15-3 or IC 8-23-7-22; or (B) a toll road under IC 8-15-2 or IC 8-23-7-23; that the department designates as part of, and deposits in, the fund. (6) Interest, premiums, or other earnings on the fund. (e) Money in the fund shall be deposited, paid, and secured in the manner provided by IC 4-4-11-32. Notwithstanding IC 5-13, the authority shall invest the money in the fund that is not needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the manner provided by an investment policy established by resolution of the authority. (f) The fund is not part of the state treasury and is considered a trust fund for purposes of IC 4-9.1-1-7. Money may not be transferred, assigned, or otherwise removed from the fund by the state board of finance, the budget agency, or any other state agency. (g) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert to the state general fund. Sec. 6. (a) The authority may distribute money from the fund for any of the following purposes: (1) The payment of any obligation incurred or amounts owed by the authority, the department, or an operator under IC 8-15-2, IC 8-15-3, IC 8-15.5, or IC 8-15.7 in connection with the execution and performance of a public-private agreement under IC 8-15.5 or IC 8-15.7, including establishing reserves. (2) Lease payments to the authority. (3) To the treasurer of state for deposit in the state highway fund, for the funding of any project in the department's transportation plan. (4) The funding of other highway facilities or transportation infrastructure determined to be appropriate by the department. (b) In addition to the distributions permitted by subsection (a), the authority shall distribute from the fund fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) per year during 2006, 2007, and 2008 to the treasurer of state for deposit in the motor vehicle highway account established by IC 8-14-1. Notwithstanding IC 8-14-1, the auditor
of state shall distribute the amounts deposited in the motor vehicle highway account under this subsection to each of the counties, cities, and towns eligible to receive a distribution from the motor vehicle highway account under IC 8-14-1 and in the same proportion among the counties, cities, and towns as funds are distributed from the motor vehicle highway account under IC 8-14-1. Money distributed under this subsection may be used only for purposes that money distributed from the motor vehicle highway account may be expended under IC 8-14-1.

New Publication

2006-01-27T08:30:00.000-05:00

In an effort to further the Libertarian Party of Indiana, I have begun publishing the Knox Libertarian Spotlight. The online edition contains short summaries of news and events pertaining to local Libertarian activities. Soon there will be an online store to purchase merchandise. The print edition (available through subscription) will contain articles focused on Libertarian issues and interviews with noteworthy Libertarians. Other Sections will include Campaign tips, Fundraising advice, and lessons in leadership. All profit from both the website and the Monthly publication will be directed towards funding the campaigns of Libertarian candidates in Indiana.

A little Joke by our Legislature

2006-01-26T19:14:00.000-05:00

I read in today's paper that the legislature ammended a bill with a provision to end property taxes by 2009. The punchline is that it's purely symbolic and carries no weight whatsoever. That's the between The LPIN and the rest. When we say we're going to do something we come to the table with a plan not just pie in the sky promises. I can promise to do a hundred things during my campaign but without commitment nothing can happen.
Here's another funny thing this meaningless piece of legislation was attached to a bill that offers 7% tax relief. With property tax revenues almost doubled we get back 7 percent?! This is comparable to a thief who steals a dollar, gets caught, and offers to call it even if he gives back 7 cents. There's the real joke.
As I have said before and now again, if the government has the money they will spend it. The only way to shrink government spending and the overall size of goverment is to take away some money.

Monday's Press release-Major Moves

2006-01-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

Libertarian Candidate Supports Privatization Concept but Opposes “Major Moves” legislation

J. A. Thomas issued the following statement in response to Rep. Troy Woodruff’s support of “Major Moves” legislation on Monday, January 23, 2006:
“ I stand firmly opposed to the legislation introduced to the general assembly entitled ‘ Major Moves’ for many reasons. While The ‘Major Moves” private funding concept is fundamentally sound, this particular plan is not. On one hand it does provide revenues for the building and maintenance of Indiana infrastructure but on the other those funds are disproportionately allocated among Indiana communities. It provides that only counties through which a toll road passes are eligible to receive funding from the proceeds of that toll road thus leaving out Knox County, among many others. It also allocates that thirty four percent of all proceeds are to be paid to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority further depriving this region of much needed funds. Major moves would establish that The Indiana Finance Authority would have sole authority to negotiate into contracts with private companies for the purposes of operation and construction of toll roads. It actually forbids any oversight of the process. This legislation establishes that the approval of a contract rests with the Governor thereby bypassing the General Assembly. At the same time it morally obligates Indiana for any debt that results from the operation of the projects. Thus, allowing one man the power to potentially bankrupt the state without approval from the citizens or legislature. It provides that in no way shape or form are revenues to be reverted to the Indiana general fund yet, allows the IFA the authority to solicit money from the general fund. As for the 75000 jobs to be created, Hoosiers need to understand that these figures are akin to guessing lottery numbers. The only jobs that can be directly linked to this legislation are those which are created in the operation and building of the toll roads. Hoosiers have the right to know that any numbers above and beyond those figures would be pure speculation. I do not believe it is responsible for any representative of the communities in Southwest Indiana region to support this bill. I can only conclude that those that do are doing so to garner support from their party or the Governor in an election year. The people of Southern Indiana need to be informed fully of the impact of “Major moves” rather than being sold on a concept.”

Major moves or political slush fund?

2006-01-26T07:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday major moves passed back to the house for final reading and a vote. Democrats and even myself have pointed out that the bill contains language that takes away legislative oversight. This would allow Indiana Fund Authority to dole out proceeds at its own discretion, only answering to the executive branch. I hate to be on the same side as the Dems but when someone says I'm right I don't argue. I think releasing the amounts that counties and cities would receive was a way to strengthen republican support which has been faltering as of late. It also would put anyone who criticizes the plan (or God forbid, vote against it) in a negative light. I see this bill as a kind of slush fund. For example, The Governor will want support for a bill so he calls all his Rep. buddies. They all jump on board and as a reward INDOT approves funding for some project in thier district. Funding is delayed for projects in a Dem. district until the last moment then it is revealed it was delayed in someway by the actions of thier representative. Wow, Mitch has his own perfectly legal political slush fund legislated to him and it's not even funded by Taxpayer money....yet. My next post will be the press release I sent out 3 days ago regarding much of this.

Stay tuned for more.

Took a break---updates

2006-01-25T07:49:00.000-05:00

I've been absolutely exhausted as of late and it began to take a toll on me. Between job, family, the blog, and campaigning and promoting I was only sleeping 2.5 hours a day. well I'm back and here are a few updates
1: I officially anounced my run forDistrict 64 seat rather than type the article here it is. http://www.suncommercial.com/articles/2006/01/21/news/news08.txt

2. I sent out a release about the major moes legislation which I will post later. Nothing got published but it seemeed to spur a flurry of articles in the news media promoting the idea.

That's it for now.

Alternative to my property tax solution suggested

2006-01-23T10:59:00.000-05:00

I have had an associate float the idea of increased income tax as a measure to pay for schools. While fundamentally I am against the idea of withholding large amounts out of someone's earnings I can see the advantages. The advantages include 1. no collection hassles 2. minimal avoidance issues 3. the added tax could be designated as solely for the specific purpose of school and local government funding. 4. still gets rid of the property tax and spreads the burden of government finance over a wider population group. 5. if set on a graduated percentage basis each wage earner pays according to his or her means.

I would hesitate to place control of the amount of tax charged in local hands as this can lead to abuse. The recommendation I would make would be that a bi partisan commision be established to review the budgetary needs of each county and statistical demographics of the communities and then establish a separate tax rate for each.

I hesitate to impose more taxes but the goal in this issue is to shift the revenue base from property owners to the general population. I need input on these issues so don't hesitate to post.

Well the newspaper caught up

2006-01-23T07:32:00.000-05:00

In Sunday's edition of the Vincennes Sun-Commercial appeared an article in the local and state section. 'Thomas seeks State House Seat' They included a photo of me which thier photographer took. He took several and it appears that they selected the worst for publication.
The reporter goes on to quote my press release and give a little bio. info. All in all it was a pretty good read. I will be sending a copy to LPIN Executive Director Dan Drexlar for a keepsake.
So far I think I have exceeded my 15 min of fame limit. We'll see how much longer I can keep up the pace.

On another note I have started to work on legislation which would eliminate the property tax here in Indiana, in favor of a direct assessment on residency. It would spread the cost of goernment functions including schools evenly among residents of communities. It is not tied to property at all therefor no loss of property in case of non payment. It is a very complex piece of legislation and anyone who has a suggestion or comments is welcome as the help is needed.

Well gotta go see a lawyer friend about a bill........(get it?)

Newspaper Coverage

2006-01-21T12:33:00.000-05:00

The Local newspaper, The Vincennes Sun-Commercial, has informed me that I will be in the Sunday edition along with other local candidates. I was asked about my position that property taxes should be eliminated but I'm not sure how they will play that. It sounds as if the reporter keeps comparing me to the Republican incumbant. I will update tomorrow after I read it.

Another example ...Taxes Bad

2006-01-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

I read a story in the Evansville courier this week about two business people named Richard Lamb and Kathy Stieler who own Challenge Properties, LLC, a local properties development company. It seems they had put up a building on a tract of land and went on to purchase the adjacent property all within the Vanderburgh county Industrial Park. Recently, a company who will supply a Toyota plant here, entered into a 10 year lease agreement with Challenge. The partners offered to sell the land and building but the company opted out of that option. It seems to me that with Toyota planning a multi-million dollar expansion to thier facility that the outlook would be bright and ownership of the building and adjacent land would have many advantages.
How puzzling until you look at the property taxes which would be attached to the ownership of the building. Under the new market value based tax system, the sky is the limit on how much this bit of property would eventually cost. My bet is that in ten years the company will relocate thier facility to a county which has lower property values and probably continue to do so until the system is changed. The property tax system does not encourage ownership of property it in fact, discourages the purchasing of land by burdening the owner with ever increasing costs.
Just think of the new homeowner. If they have invested wisely They have bought an undervalued property in a growing neighborhood. They make repairs and improvements and thier taxes go up. The neighborhood becomes more desireable, the taxes go up. Time passes and naturally the value of the property rises....and taxes go up. What advantage is there to improving a building or building a new one if your costs just rise in step with the value. This system is silly and benefits nobody except government entities.

Apologies

2006-01-20T08:03:00.000-05:00

My apologies for not posting as often as I should. Between work, my two boys, the pregnant wife and a campaign to run, my time is in short supply. After the baby arrives next month the wife will be home full-time so that may free up alot of time. Until then I will post as often as I can.

Radio coverage

2006-01-20T07:57:00.000-05:00

Today I heard Dan Drexlar on 4 different radio stations promoting LPIN in Knox county. My clip played all day on Tuesday. So far nothing from the newpaper but that's not too surprising. The local paper tends to run a little behind everyone else. They might have the stories slated for a certain day of the week. Well, time to work on getting a meeting together here in Knox county.

Illustration of modern day feudalism

2006-01-18T07:35:00.000-05:00

Here in Vincennes, IN; the school board has approved a major construction project totaling $56 million dollars. There was a small vocal group opposed to the way in which the project was structured. In Indiana once the school board has run a notice in the paper regarding the financing of the project opponents can start a process called remonstrance. It is basically a petition process. The catch is that the petition initiator must be a property owner, all carriers of the petition must be property owners and all signatures must be those of property owners. As a libertarian I do oppose this school project on principle. The project plan does have several flaws which only add to my displeasure.
However.....
It is our state system of taxation which created this conflict in the first place. It is to be expected that when property owners have to foot the bill for the bloated education system, they would be given the opportunity to protest. As stated in my previous post, disharmony in the community has arisen. Not only between those for or against the project but also among those who feel left out of the process. After all, we are talking about every child's education whether thier parents are owners or not. I attended a meeting last night of the group attempting to stop the project and I was shocked by the attitude taken towards nonproperty owners. They were talked about as welfare moms, criminals, drug users, and in general leeches upon the resources of the community. It was said that if we allow "those people" a say they would naturally vote in favor of the project so that they could suck some more out of "our" pockets. However much I want the project stopped I cannot say that the means justify the end. I refuse to use a system which encourages attitudes such as those I witnessed. I'm sure it would suprise those who made the comments listed previously, that most of the non owners I've spoken with are also opposed to the new construction.

I feel I must act in a manner which will satisfy both my desire to stop this project and my sensibilities. Accordingly I will publically challenge each side to allow it to be decided by the ballot. I would point out that while the law only accords rights of remonstrance to property owners it does not prohibit the school board from voluntarily placing the choice in the public arena. I will also publically challenge anyone opposed to the plan to stand up and state why they feel non-owners are not worthy of having thier voice heard.

Why do away with property taxes?

2006-01-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

Why should property taxes be eliminated? The proponents of taxation will say that this is a complex issue that would take years of research and debate. I've always found that things are as simple or complex as you make them. As is my style, I will try to keep it simple. Property taxation places a disproportionate burden of financing government on the property owner. As would be correct in this situation owners are given more influence in matters concerning governmental finance . This situation creates a special "class" of voter thus creating disharmony amongst non-owners. This reminds me of the European feudal system during the middle ages wherein there were landholders(lords) and tenants(peasants).
Any attempt to give relief to one class of taxpayer puts a larger burden upon others, i.e. business vs residential.
Eliminating taxes will create the following advantages: Economic growth: businesses of all sorts will be clamoring to relocate to Indiana because of the lower overhead. Developers will increase construction. Mortgage payments will be lower thus making more people qualified for , and actually able to afford, purchasing. Government would be forced to dramatically downsize to match the decreased "revenue" Schools would be forced to compete for students thus improving quality of education. Of course some additional legislation would also need to be passed in conjunction with the repeal but this would only enhance the benefits.

This is as simple as it gets....freedom good.....Taxes bad.

Lesson learned

2006-01-16T09:11:00.000-05:00

After gearing up to oppose a new school building project (including preparing/sending press statements) I found out there is already a group leading the charge to do this. How embarassing for me. Lesson learned...... do a little more thorough research first. I will however still be leading the way to have this put to a vote during the next election.

Speaking of research I noticed that when an issue involves school projects, that the only people who have rights of recomstrance (protest) are real-property owners. Seems to me that financing of these projects affect all residents of a locality. If a landlord's taxes go up he must raise the rents charged to his tenants, if a retailer's taxes raise then he must pass on the cost to his customers, and the list goes on and on. It seems foolish to say that only those who own real-property have a financial interest in city financial affairs. If I win in the upcoming election, this will be one issue that will bear significant further study.

The Truthful lies about Eminent Domain

2006-01-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read an article on the front page of the Evansville Courier that stated the city had listed properties in their economic redevelopement zone for aquisition. The paper went on to explain that these were properties that were deemed not to be living up to their " economic potential" the article then quotes a source as saying that this is a required step that simply allows the city to purchase the property. Sounds feasable and innocent, right?
Well here's what really happens.

The city designates an area for "redevelopment". The area is usually mostly small business properties. The city has "developed" a part of the city by attracting large corporate retail chains and encouraging large retail centers, thus attracting customers away from another part of the city. The small businesses in the area not being "developed" struggle to survive, buildings fall into disrepair, closings are not uncommon. The city government then designates this other area as a redevelopment zone. The next step is the listing of properties that don't meet their full economic potential. (Gee....I wonder who makes that determination?) The paper was correct when it printed that it allows the city to aquire the properties, but what they don't say is that the property owners don't have a choice. They must sell and have very few price negotiating rights. This area is then sold to large corporations and developers thus attracting customers from another part of the city. The city can then attach a higher tax value to the newly developed areas thus generating more "revenue for the city government. This cycle continues until Eventually the "little guy" is squeezed out of the picture; all in the pursuit of the mighty tax dollar.

Doesn't sound so innocent anymore..........

I made the big time today

2006-01-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

This was in Friday's edition of Indiana Legislative Insight:

"Jeff Thomas (L) of Vincennes, who authors the Liberty Café blog, is contemplating a run for the HD 64 seat held by Rep. Troy Woodruff (R)."

Amazing how the news gets around. I also emailed the Fox News Dayside Program on which Troy appeared, to respond and offer my own commentary on the subject of abortion. We'll see if the show's producers will be objective and get the other side of the issue by inviting me to the show.

Since a prestigious publication has let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, I guess I will formally announce that I will be seeking the Libertarian Party's Nomination to run in the District 64 race. I will file the required forms with the election commision by the end of January.

Troy Woodruff again

2006-01-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

I read in today's paper that Troy liked what Governor Daniels had to say. Gee with all that consolidating Daniel's wants to do maybe Woodruff is just trying save his position. If we start eleiminating locally elected officials why not keep going? We could make everything more efficient and streamlined by just having one elected official... the governor. Oh wait, I just remembered that was tried several times before and failed. Let's just look at some examples:
1: Soviet Union
2: Nazi Germany
3: Panama (under Noriega)
4: Iraq

I know these are extreme examples but they illustrate a point. When the income tax was first being touted people were told that it would allow the government to tax the wealthy and corporations. Nobody thought that it would ever be applied to the earnings of the working man. Less than one hunred years later There are so many taxes taken from my paycheck that I barely get 75% of what I earned. Basically " give'em an inch and they take a mile" should be the stance taken .
Maybe Woodruff should look at the long term consequences of the Governor's proposed efficiency changes before he goes throwing his support around.

New Taxes and view of the budget

2006-01-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

Let's take a look at just a couple of things he said in his state of the state speech. He wants to increase cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack and use the money to fund tobacco education programs. I'm assuming he hasn't read his executive summary on tobacco use among Indiana children and adolescents it states that in 2005, 82,280 fewer children smoke than in 1996. These are the figures put out by the IPRC. The Indiana Prevention Resource Center is funded, in part, by a contract with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
These figures indicate the programs in place are working so why spend more? He says to deter youth at the cash register hmmm. I don't know but 25 cents doesn't seem like much of a deterent.
Daniels says the budget is balanced and I'll give him that but it is still far to large. Under the current budget in 2006 and 2007 there is an expected growth in revenue. along with this growth is a corresponding growth in spending. If this state, or any other for that matter, is to be profitable the budget cannot increase with revenue unless it is justified in order to maintain the increase in revenue. Another thing I don't like is the term revenue. It tends to make one forget that in this case we are talking about your earnings i.e. taxes. Currently the budget is in excess of 12 billion dollars (12,000,000,000). Indiana's population in 2004 was a little over 6 million.
Do the math. That puts a tax burden of $2000 on each and every man woman and child in Indiana. The suggested solution to ease this tax burden would seem to be to attract more people to Indiana in order to spread the burden among more people. Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else? What we need to do is to force the downsizing of the state budget by downsizing the revenue. If they don't have your money they can't spend it.
Just wanting some common sense in government isn't asking for too much.

Lunch Meeting

2006-01-11T14:33:00.000-05:00

Today I met with Libertarian Party of Indiana State Chair, Mark Rutherford and Executive Director Dan Drexler. We met at Applebee's in Vincennes and discussed many issues near and dear to me. I filled them in on the local political climate and a few of the local isuues. They informed me on the stance the LPIN is taking on several issues. Mark and Dan also expressed interest in getting a local affiliate organization up and running here in Knox county. For my part I told them that it may be possible but not without a little more marketing of the Party locally.
I 've floated the idea of me running against my least favorite legislator, previously and this was also discussed. They seemed favorable to the idea but I didn't get a definative reading. All in all it was a very informative and, I think, productive meeting. These guys seem to be setting realistic goals and directing the LPIN on a path to success.

Be Satisfied ....Vote Libertarian

2006-01-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

It's a new election year and the fight is already heating up between the Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats want to balance out the power structure by winning the majority in one house. The fight isn't just in Washington it's here in Indiana. The problem is that we Hoosiers don't seem to be happy with either. When the Democrats were in office we complained about the loss of jobs and the state budget. When the Republicans are in office we complain about higher taxes and Government interference in our lives. Yet, the people of this great state never stop to consider third party candidates. We say we don't want to waste our vote, and “I’ve always Voted for the.... (Insert party here)"
As long as we vote for who we always have, or vote based on personality, we will never be happy with who’s in office. It's time we all opened our ears to what is promised and look at the recent track record of ALL the parties. Just because a candidate isn't a member of one of the major parties doesn’t make their platform less worthy. personally, I'm voting with the party that supports personal liberty and less government....Libertarian.

Taking another shot at Rep. Woodruff

2006-01-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

In the Vincennes Sun-Commercial appeared a Letter overflowing with praise in support of Troy Woodruff. The writer also derides the critical editorials the paper has published recently. I took this opportunity to take anothe shot at my least favorite legislator. Following is the letter from his friend and then the response I wrote which has not yet been published as I sent it about 15 Minutes ago.

"Give Troy Woodruff a break

Your last editorial about Troy Woodruff should have appeared on the cartoon page, given its cartoon-like representation of Troy's record and personality. For some reason you have developed a rather unhealthy obsession about Troy, with one negative column after another. Perhaps you need to take up a new hobby or find a new interest
People should meet and hear Troy and then decide for themselves what kind of man and legislator he is. I have found Troy to be highly intelligent and hard working, an ex-Marine strongly devoted to his country, his family, and his constituents. He is working with our governor to bring a new competence to state government. Has everyone forgotten 12 years of drift, of scandal, of record deficits, and stagnation?
Of one hundred real issues facing Indiana, I personally rate the time issue at either 99th of l00th in importance. I think the governor put entirely too much emphasis on it, and Troy can be legitimately criticized for flip-flopping. As far as the governor possibly spending a lot of time in Knox County helping Troy get re-elected, is that such a bad prospect-the most powerful man in the state spending so much time here?
You sneer about Troy's possible support of the governor's toll road proposal. Why not consider that approach? It's been used all over the country with great success, and might be a creative way to finance a road that could cost the taxpayers billions.
You sneer about Troy's pro-life record. A lot of people in this district share that outlook. In an earlier column you called Troy and other Indiana legislators "bigots" for believing that same sex marriage should not be accorded the same recognition as traditional marriage. Since the vast majority of voters in Troy's district probably share the same belief, this must give you a thrilling sense of moral superiority over the unenlightened masses.
My point is this. I appeal to the .citizens of the county to be open minded about Troy Woodruff, and look at the whole person and total record, and not judge him strictly on the basis of one unfortunate vote, involving (I think) a rather trivial issue. And by all means,
Please don't judge Troy Woodruff by the opinions of one editor grinding a personal ax.
Bob Slayton Vincennes"

Now Mine:

"
Everyone is entitled to an opinion as Mr. Slayton demonstrated in his letter to the editor on Friday. I have no doubt that Troy Woodruff is a hard working, intelligent, nice guy all round. That is not the issue. I also encourage people to look at his record in the legislature. I see a legislator who broke his campaign promise by voting for a bill he promised to oppose. Whether or not it was major legislation is not the issue. A broken promise is not a trivial matter. I see a legislator who is trading his vote in order to garner support from influential Republicans during the upcoming election. I see a man who would support pushing his personal and/or religious beliefs on everybody in Indiana. Mr. Woodruff has demonstrated what kind of legislator he is. He is the kind that believes that they know what is best for everybody (even if they don’t agree). I also agree with Mr. Slayton that the state was in no better shape when Democrats were in control. He also says we should be open minded. I think we should all follow that advice and vote for a Libertarian candidate this year.

Jeff Thomas
Vincennes, In 47591"

Funding New Projects

2006-01-01T17:33:00.000-05:00

Imagine a large company such as IBM or Microsoft wants to expand. The project will cost billions of dollars which the company does not have. What should they do? Now, imagine what would happen if they told their shareholders that they would have to pay for it. That they would have no choice and if they refused there would be legal penalties against the individual investors. Do you think anyone would invest in a market which allowed this insanity?
Back to the real world. The same situation. The company has several choices they can make.
1: finance the expansion through conventional lending thus saddling the company with more debt.
2: issue more stock thus devaluing the existing stock by an equal percentage.

3: Find the money in the current budget, shut down poorly performing divisions, cutting expenses, discontinue wasteful spending practices, thus increasing profit.

What would you choose? Number 3 seems logical. If we applied the same strategy to Government spending just imagine the difference. Unfortunately our legislators, local up to federal levels, feel that choice 1 or 2 would be best. Somehow saddle the citizenry with more debt and increasing taxes is the way to pay for govt. programs/projects. Why don't we elect people who think like businesspeople? People who realize that when gross revenue is steady that the responsible thing to do is cut costs to increase profit and reduce debt. Republicans want to spend Democrats want to spend but on different things. Libertarians want to increase profit and reduce costs.

Who would you choose to manage your finances?

On a lighter note..Slightly off topic

2006-01-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

Last week I read that a land developer in Texas had taken a trip with his son to a town outside of a military base. I won't go into detail about when or where and I won't include his name because the details aren't important to the story. They stopped at a major shopping center in the area and began approaching military members. The Dad didn't go on about his opinions of the military or its campaigns. He didn't attempt to discuss politics or the soldiers experiences. What he did do was give each one a $20 bill and a thank-you. The father and son duo brought $5000 and passed it all out just to thank the members of our military for serving.

This should be an inspiration to us all.

Abortion

2005-12-31T15:21:00.000-05:00

Abortion is a political and moral minefield for almost everybody. Personally I am totally against abortion as there are a multitude of alternatives. Having said that I would never attempt to impose my moral values upon others through legislation. Those who take the anti-abortion position believe it is murder. Thus they believe there should be laws enacted against the procedure. The issue of when life begins seems to be what fuels the debate. Troy Woodruff, Republican Rep. from Vincennes, IN believes it is at conception. Why stop there? Why not outlaw the vasectomy or hysterectomy? Maybe we should outlaw all forms and methods of birth control, afterall, aren't we attempting to stop life from being formed by such practices? Doesn't that amount to denying the right of sperm and eggs to join and create a life?
The issue is a moral one that is too complex to simply wave a pen, write a law, and have a solution. This is why we need to keep the Government out of debates of moral value. Abortion is an issue for a person to decide for themselves and not have the Govenment dictate. By passing a law such as this all we accomplish is making a new class of criminal. Women will still find a way to abort their pregnancy. There will be people (not necesarily doctors) who will perform abortion procedures. The only difference is that it will be done in secret, without safeguards, without any control whatsoever. Use your imagination and picture a 15 year old in a dingy motel somewhere about to have an untrained person without the benefit of medical education or tools rip a 7 month fetus from her womb. This will be just one of the consequences
If Rep. Woodruff's law gets enacted. I call on all people who believe in Liberty to contact Troy Woodruff as well as thier own Representatives and stop this proposal from becoming law.

Simplistic view of the Economy

2005-12-30T06:33:00.000-05:00

I'm not an economist or an expert on any aspect of the subject, just a guy who prides himself on common sense. I do understand that inflation happens when the cost of goods and services raises quicker than the average income. In other words, the dollar just doesn't go as far. (I did say simplistic) It appears to me that the focus in Washington has been to put more money back in my pocket. While I appreciate the effort, inflation keeps growing. Now here's the really simplistic solution: let's lower the cost of doing business in this country. Eliminate alot of the fees and taxes associated with doing business and the cost of goods go down. When companies make more profit several scenarios emerge. 1: Lower Prices= less inflation
2: Higher wages=less inflation 3: expansion=more jobs, lower prices, more small business start-ups all of which equal less inflation. Seems simple to me.