Cry Me a Tar Pit

Smoking is a disgusting habit to have. It will make you look older, smell bad and will likely kill you. I am a non-smoker. I should be on board with the smoking ban, right?

While it would be nice never to smell cigarette smoke again, my problem with this ban is clearly not the fact that I want to be able to smoke where I please. The argument that this legislation is intended to protect workers from the effects of second-hand smoke is BULLFART. I'm just calling it right now. If that is the case, then we should make smoking illegal all together! As a cable guy, I go into smokers' homes all the time. Does it bother me? Yes. Do I want to have written legislation banning their right to get their nicotine fix? NO. Who is looking out for my rights as an employee? Nobody. This is simply a case of protectionism and government trying to control the behaviors of citizens. Those who work in bars are usually smokers. Those who are not smokers know damn well what they are signing up for when they decide to work at a BAR!

What about the argument that patrons are subject to second-hand smoke? I don't frequent bars often. I don't drink. I don't smoke. What is the POINT?!?! There are several smoke-free bars popping up all over town. (Kudos to Brothers in Broad Ripple!) If there is a market for non-smoking establishments, they will flourish. Let the bar owners, and their guests, choose which direction they wish to take. If you have a problem with this, you have no business bar-hopping. I'm sorry, but that is just common sense. If seeing naked women bothers you, stay away from the strip clubs!

What would happen to the Cigar and Hooka Bars? There are at least 3 Hooka Bars in Broad Ripple. Without an exemption for these niche establishments, they would be forced to close their doors. Do we really need more job cuts?

My final point. The government relies heavily on the cigarette tax. When sales of these nasty little suckers start dropping dramatically, who do you think will foot the bill? We seem to target the smokers to pay for all of our pet projects and programs. Then we punish smokers further, for doing something that is completely legal, by banning them from smoking at their precious bar stools. . When we put the screws to them hard enough, they will eventually quit. While this would not be a bad thing, as their health would improve, it makes me wonder who will be the enemy next...

It would be nice to see folks stop pissin' and moanin' about the smoking ban. Instead of joining the ranks of Smoke Free Indy, how about starting your OWN smoke-free bar? We know that the market is hot for it right now! Oh wait. Most of these folks are Democrats who are used to sitting around waiting on the government to spoon feed them and wipe their behinds. Enough is enough. You got a compromise, which I am okay with. I don't think kids should be subjected to second-hand smoke. Grown-ups, however, have a choice. It SEEMS simple enough... but so does graduating high school and getting a job.

Get Your Vote On!

Thank you for stopping by today to check out my blog.

I am taking a break from the opinion side of the blog and showcasing a project that some friends of mine came up with. Tim & Chelsea from Ivy Tech came to me and asked if I'd help them make a video. I jumped at the opportunity and this is the end result. My pitures and voice, but all Tim on concept and execution. Bravo! Chelsea also created the poster to the left of the screen. These are two very talented individuals and it is an honor to work with them, yet again.

This is the same duo responsible for Mr. Keltner's Burnt Cookie add! We could not have done these things without them.

Check out the commercial and tell me what you think:

Campaign Update: Television Advertising in Full Swing

We have two ads now running on Comcast Cable in the 30th district. They can be seen on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Comedy Central, BET, AMC, Lifetime and VH1. I have also embedded them here on the blog to be seen by the masses. Please forward these on to everyone you know who resides in our district.

Teresa is fighting back harder as we move closer to election day. We are seeing our signs disappear from yards and be replaced by hers. What is she telling our supporters that would get them to switch their support??? Could it be that we are "spooky libertarians" that want anarchy? We must follow up with these people and keep our footing.

I am calling on each of you to step up. Offer ONE day of your time to help Steve and I reach sweet victory and put a Libertarian in the State Legislature. We need poll workers, canvassers, and for people to call every person they know in the district and get the message spreading like wild fire. We need more contributions to air more radio and television ads.

Check out both our ad that challenges Teresa to show up for the job interview, and the lighter-side-of-life ad about the REAL Steve Keltner.

Indy Star: Lubbers Gets Endorsement; Keltner Gets Nod

While it isn't the official endorsement we were hoping for, The
Indianapolis Star Editorial Board may have just given us something
better!

The article starts with:

"Voters in this Northside district have been presented with an
intriguing matchup between Republican incumbent Teresa Lubbers and a
well-qualified third-party candidate, Libertarian Steve Keltner."

Notice they say WELL-QUALIFIED for Steve, but simply INCUMBENT for
Lubbers.

They go on to say that the Democrat in the race is ill, which has made
it a 2-way race from this point-of-view.

After talking
about a few things Teresa Lubbers has done in the past,
and NOT mentioning ANYTHING about the future, they go on to say more
good things about OUR candidate and our party:

"Keltner, who works in emergency medicine and teaches at Butler
University, describes himself as a 'practical libertarian.' He's
developed thoughtful, reasoned proposals on healthcare, education and
taxes.
Keltner's emergence as a candidate is another encouraging sign that
the Libertarian Party in Indiana is begining to mature."

Of course, the last hoorah:

The Board says that with all that said they give their endorsement to
the incumbant. Not because of what she'll do but because she's been
around the longest. It's in writing.

Since when is being the incumbent a qualification?

This is a GREAT thing for all of us! We are getting people's
attention and growing the party every day.

While we congratulate Teresa on her endorsement, the underlying message is clear. She is getting a run for her money by a legitimate
third-party warrior. We will be reinforcing this message via radio
and television advertising up until election day.

HOOSIER-NOMICS 101: Horning Outlines Six-Point Plan

Gubernatorial candidate for Governor, Andrew Horning, held a press conference today to outline his six-point plan to help ease the effects of the struggling economy on Hoosiers.

This comes on the same day that stocks on Wall Street surged, and signs of an end to the economic crisis brought optimism to many Americans. Whether this is all over remains to be seen.

Andy's plan includes the following steps, none of which require new legislation because they are already in both the State and U.S. Constitutions:

• Cut property taxes by at least 50%.
• Halt foreclosures and tax lien sales on homes driven by property tax.
• Cut spending.
• Invoke Sound Money policy as outlined in the Indiana Constitution.
• Empower and mobilize Voluntary Service Organizations
• Hold politicians to their oaths and keep them on a leash.
  

I was skeptical at first of what Andy was going to come out with today. After hearing what he has to say, and speaking with him personally, I have come to the conclusion that this man is truly in this race to look out for every one of us. Here is a guy who faces near-certain defeat by the BIG TWO, but marches forward to bring sound reasoning and pragmatism into the foreground of a murky political battle of less-evils.

Below I have embeded the video of the press conference that aired on WTHR Channel 13 this afternoon. Pay attention, you will catch a few snippets of me in there!



Catch the full story by Kevin Rader at:
http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=9171844

Photos by Sergio Bennett:

10-20-LIFE and the Split My Ticket Rally

Steve Keltner, candidate for Senate District 30, has been pushing a new law that finally puts crime prevention back in the spotlight. In Florida they have implemented a law called 10-20-Life. It is accompanied by billboards and posters all over that state that send a warning message. Use a gun and you're done! The State website claims it has seen a 30% drop in crime over the last 10 years. This is just the kind of policy that we need in Indiana. Violent crimes are back on the rise and if we simply put fear of strict mandatory sentences in people, it will deter them from using guns in robberies, hijackings and other crimes. These mandatory sentences are put on top of the charges for the original crime and therefore make for long sentences. This will make an example out of a few idiots, but will eventually keep guns out of the wrong hands and save lives.

We are holding a "SPLIT MY TICKET" press conference about this issue and many others that hit home with the people of Indianapolis. Details of time and location will come! Save this date: Friday, Oct. 24th, 2008.
The theme of the event is a "split ticket," and the importance of being educated on ALL candidates down the ballot. Nobody should go into the voting booth this November and vote a straight ticket. What happens is you end up with a single party controlling your district, your state, your congress and your White House. There is no party, other than the Libertarian Party, that has the best interest of ALL people in mind. Unfortunately we do not control any governing bodies at this point and will not unless people stand together and break up the BIG TWO MONOPOLY.

The Huckabee Show

Governor Mike Huckabee has found himself as the host of his own television program on Fox News. It has a talkshow format with audience interaction that resembles that of Ellen or Tyra. The differnce? It's a politics-focused show!

I just caught an episode where Mike interviewed Niel Boortz about the Fair Tax plan, which he has been a vocal advocate for. You can catch this insightful interview, in full, right here on Silly Cuban Politics!

The show airs Sundays at 8:00pm on Fox News (Comcast Ch.69)


UPDATE: The markets continued to decline today. Wasn't there an emergency bailout package that was supposed to restore confidence in the economy? Wasn't there someone who predicted that a bailout would actually DEFLATE what confidence that was still hanging on in our markets? Ron Paul was one of them. Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Neil Boortz, and of course MYSELF! We've all warned people that this was a terrible mistake. We will continue to see this disaster unfold before our eyes until we realize that the government is not the cure to all of our problems.