United Liberty

Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints kicks off at 6:30pm.

This should be a good game between two great passing games. Expect a lot of scoring. Neither team has an amazing defense, but each has qualities (the Colts have a great defensive line, but the Saints have a good secondary and solid linebackers).

The Colts are the favorite, but…Geaux Saints!

Indianapolis already has a limited smoking ban. For the most part, the only places you can smoke are bars which do not employ or allow entrance to anyone under the age of eighteen, smoke shops, and bowling alleys. Smoke Free Indy, an anti-smoking activist group, is leading the charge to strengthen the ban and remove pretty much all existing exemptions.

Proposal 371, which would extend the ban, passed out of committee on October 14. It will go before the entire City-County Council on October 26. Potentially adding some strength to their position, a report from the Institute of Medicine was released the next day which supports smoking bans as an effective tool in improving public health. The folks at libertarian-minded Reason published a response to the report on their blog which questions the strength of their conclusions and provides other good background material.

I think it’s pretty clear that smoking isn’t the greatest lifestyle choice to maximize longevity. Second-hand smoke (apparently also called “passive smoking”) also has an adverse impact on health. We can all make our choices about smoking and, in today’s anti-smoking world, spend most all of our time avoiding second-hand smoke if we choose to do so. Smoking is legal. Adults should be able to congregate in public places to smoke.

Ed Coleman, an elected Republican, has officially switched his affiliation to the Libertarian Party. Coleman is a city-county councilman in the Indianapolis-Marion County government. The full story can be found here on the website for the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

This is an act of incredible courage by Mr. Coleman who has put aside his party allegience which helped him get elected. He will now have to face the unfair challenges of being a member of a third party if and when he pursues re-election. This is also an impressive coup by the LP of Indiana who have been making measurable strides towards being a legitimate threat to the establishment.

Congratulations to both Mr. Coleman and the LP.