LEAP Becomes Latest Victim of Government Censorship
DATELINE: 8.26.2008
Arlington: Virginia – Retired police detective, Howard Wooldridge, representing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) was ousted from the National Asian Peace Officers Association (NAPOA) Conference in Crystal City because he was representing a view contrary U.S. government policy.
LEAP is a 10,000-member organization of police, judges, prosecutors, DEA & FBI agents, and others who know ending drug prohibition will reduce death, disease, crime, and addiction, while saving billions of our tax dollars each year.
On Tuesday (8.26.2008) acting under pressure from unnamed federal officials, Reagan Fong, President of the NAPOA, insisted on the immediate removal of LEAP from the conference vendor roster. It appears that some of the event’s other exhibitors took exception to the LEAP message and put pressure on the event organizer to expel LEAP from the event. While the incident was civil and took place prior to the second day’s session it represents a serious violation of Constitutional rights as cited within the First Amendment.
Federal agency representatives manning booths at the conference included DEA, Federal Air Marshals, NCIS, and Coast Guard. The prior day LEAP’s spokesperson had visited the DEA booth and described the agent as “decidedly unhappy” with an opposing viewpoint. In sharp contrast at 37 national and international law enforcement Conferences where LEAP has been allowed to exhibit, 80% of booth visitors agreed with LEAP’s stance for ending this failed drug war.
As for the Crystal City NAPOA incident, the appearance of impropriety is almost as bad as the real thing. LEAP has attempted to establish contact with Mr. Fong, NAPOA President, to confirm the details of the incident but we have received no response so we can only conclude it is blatant censorship originating from a judgmental “Big Brother” mentality. LEAP believes that this group owes us an apology. We ask that Mr. Fong identify the individual, agency or group that lobbied for our eviction from the event.
If this was an independent effort then he or she was acting outside the scope of authority and should receive administrative punishment for unprofessional actions. If this action was sanctioned by upper level management then the managers need to explain their behavior in an open forum. If this was sanctioned official action by the U.S. Government it is a serious matter which requires serious and immediate attention.
Terry L. Nelson 817-573-6927
Jack A. Cole 617-792-3877
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Seth Cohn has resigned in protest from the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Executive Committee, as a result of the committee’s vote to join the LNC in its lawsuit.
According to an excellent source, the New Hampshire ballot lawsuit has been authorized by Libertarian National Committee Chair Bill Redpath, and will be filed in the morning (Friday 8/29).
As previously discussed, the lawsuit is expected to seek the removal of George Phillies from the ballot, and the placement of Bob Barr on the ballot. New Hampshire ballot law does not allow for substitution, and George Phillies is currently the LPNH presidential nominee.
Professor Phillies is already ballot-qualified, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State. However, Professor Phillies says he will not step down, because he feels he has an ethical obligation to those who signed the petitions placing him on the ballot.
LFV will update as more information becomes available.
The Flight of the Barbarous Relic puts, in novel form, virtually everything every American needs to know about the Federal Reserve, fiat-money central banking, and monetary history, and it does so following an unadulterated Austrian line, without any conspiracy mongering or Antisemitism — two curses that plague the Honest Money movement. Author George Ford Smith is unique among popular Fed critics in his understanding that the Fed is not bad because it’s a “private bank” that generates “windfall profits” for its “shareholders” — the Fed is bad, truly evil, because it is a government institution designed to provide a blank check for the unbridled growth of the federal government at the expense of liberty.
Oh yes, there has been a conspiracy — but it’s not a “theory,” it’s historical fact. George F. Smith reveals this indisputable truth throughout the course of this 274-page, impossible-to-put-down thriller, and also clearly demonstrates how the Federal Reserve redistributes wealth from the poor to the rich, all within the context of a gripping plot.
The story focuses on a gold-loving, free-market economist who seemingly “sells out” and joins the mainstream, eventually rising to the position of Fed chairman. But his “sell out” was false — he only put on Keynesian/Monetarist (as if there’s a difference) garb in order to infiltrate the Fed so that he could expose and destroy it! I’m not giving anything away here since this happens very early in the book. The heart of the book is how the government reacts to having its deception exposed.
George Ford Smith’s knowledge of monetary history, the nature of government, and the unfortunate ignorance and apathy of the American populace is truly peerless. This book should be heralded by the Mises Institute, LewRockwell.com, and the Ron Paul R3VOLution as the first of hopefully many great works of fiction exposing the truth about the Federal Reserve and the government it sponsors by secretly stealing from the productive class. Five stars are not enough for this heroic effort!
The next LNC meeting is in Washington DC on September 6-7.
LNC At-Large Representative Angela Keaton asks that members please make it a point to attend. It is the first and last meeting before the general election.
Anyone who would like their LNC representative to place an item on the agenda must submit those items ASAP to Bill Redpath ( wredpath at his dot com ) with the words AGENDA ITEM in the subject line.
The following was submitted to LFV by Steve Kubby. The blogger notes at the end are part of what Steve sent us, and were not written by LFV.
Friends,
As most of you know, I had the court’s permission to move to Canada, I returned voluntarily to clear up an alleged probation violation, I was never extradited, and was I never convicted for “Narcotics production.”
Despite these facts, the Placer County Republicans continue to lie about me as well as their own criminal and dopey response to the passage of California’s historic Prop. 215.
It’s time the Placer County Republicans grow up and do what former Republican Congressman and now Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Bob Barr has done — declare that the drug war was a mistake and must end now.
Auburn Journal Took up Case of Celebrated Pothead
Posted by Aaron Park on August 23, 2008 at 06:32 PM
Remember Steven Kubby?
He was extradited from Canada to the USA when he ran to avoid prosecution for Narcotics production. (at least Rothe stuck around)
Before and after Rothe had his civil rights restored from his prior Drug Trafficking conviction – the Auburn Journal took up the cause of Stephen Kubby.
In 2003, Kubby’s felony conviction was reinstated as reported by the Auburn Journal
There was a follow-up story trumpeting Kubby’s plight as he applied for refugee status in Canada
And another in 2006 when his ‘stay’ in Canada was about to run out
And this is basically a commentary printed in the AJ taking Kubby’s side
And this year a follow-up story was run:
By Gus Thomson
Journal Staff Writer
A Mendocino County court has dismissed the remnants of a 1999 Placer County prosecution of medical marijuana proponent Steve Kubby.
The ruling – which sees Kubby’s misdemeanor convictions for possession of a magic mushroom stem and peyote buttons expunged under California law – came last week.
Full erasure of the conviction would take a governor’s pardon, but Kubby said Tuesday that the court decision to dismiss the case leaves him “fully vindicated and in possession, once again, of my inalienable, inseparable, non-transferable rights.”
Mendocino County Chief Probation Officer Wesley Forman issued a statement said that he had no objection to the dismissal by Judge David Nelson because Kubby had complied with the terms of his probation.
Kubby’s legal challenges started after a January 1999 raid on his Olympic Valley home in Placer County. The raid netted 265 marijuana plants from an indoor grow.
Kubby was a chief proponent of medicinal marijuana law Prop. 215 when it was passed by voters in 1996 and ran for governor as a Libertarian two years ago. He was also a candidate for Libertarian Party presidential nominee this year.
Kubby’s chief defense at the trial was that he and his wife had a doctor’s recommendation for medical use of marijuana and that his use kept a rare form of adrenal cancer at bay.
In one of the most contentious trials in Placer County legal history, a mistrial was declared after a jury leaning 11-1 for acquittal on possession-of-marijuana-for-sale charges remained deadlocked after
five days of deliberations and four months of testimony.
Kubby would eventually serve 20 days of a 120-day jail term in Placer County on the jury’s peyote and mescaline possession convictions, both misdemeanors.
Kubby, 61, now lives in Mendocino County. He said that he has fond memories of much of his life in the county but that he wouldn’t return as long as the district attorney who prosecuted the case – Brad Fenocchio – was still in office.
The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.
A more detailed story will appear in a future edition of the Journal.
Blogger’s Notes – I can hardly wait to see the full story. What I have read thus far looks pretty biased in favor of the pothead. While Rothe didn’t write any of the stories, he has a responsibility to make sure his paper isn’t used to pimp an agenda.
Even worse – a reporter by the name of Ryan McCarthy wrote some of the stories. McCarthy was a known pot user himself. Given how Rothe and the journal have reported on crime over the years – why should anyone be surprised?
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/LXIII/652/652-11.htm
652:11 Party. – “Party” shall mean any political organization which at the preceding state general election received at least 4 percent of the total number of votes cast for any one of the following: the office of governor or the offices of United States Senators.
Source. 1979, 436:1, eff. July 1, 1979. 1997, 253:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1999.
Note that date: in 1997 (effective by 1999), the percentage required was raised from 3 to 4 points. The LPNH lawsuit brought in 2005-06 has more details for those who want them… lots of juicy legalese, and lots of failure to make a dent, by legal means.
In 2000, Don Gorman, of NH, loses the LP nomination with 166 votes (19%) for second place, to a second attempt by Harry Browne at 56% of the convention voters.. The “Browne Cloud” affair ends up being both an ethical and financial sore point for the LP for many years to come. George Phillies, a professor of physics, would be the central force in excising the Emerling (aka Cloud) influence from his own state several years later. (Those wondering why George is the preferred target of certain people still in LP, your question is answered – if you name names and point out the dirty laundry, and those names and those who worked alongside them remain in the org after you’ve done so, they certainly will hold grudges in the future.)
NH election results – http://www.sos.nh.gov/general2000/index.htm *Effect in NH: Due to Harry’s failure to campaign in NH (or much of any place else), Ballot Access as a party is lost, when the only qualifying downstream candidate, Governor candidate Babiarz gets no supportive bump from a active Presidential Candidate, in fact, Browne does worse than Babiarz by more than 2 to 1. As a result, party status is lost, and won’t be regained thru 2008, present day. *
Babiarz doubles his numbers to over 13K votes, but still short of 4% Senate candidate Blevens does over 9K, but also not enough.
2004 – Badnarik fails to make the ballot at all, due to short petition numbers. Blevens also fails to make the ballot for the other Senate seat, makes 100+ tallied write in votes. *LP National complains, for years later, that Babiarz and others are solely responsible for the ballot failure (which should have ‘easy petition drive’, in part because Babiarz won’t run against Gov. Benson (who has friendly to libertarian causes, like the Free State Project).*
Benson loses, as well.
2006 – Gov candidate Kahn fails to make the ballot. Blevens, despite not being the convention nominated candidate for Congress District 2, petitions, and successfully makes the ballot as Libertarian. The ‘official’ LPNH nominee, Lapointe, FAILS to make the ballot. *The question of renaming Blevens from L to Indep is raised. The Sec of State, refuses to do so, saying there is nothing he can do… the petition said Libertarian, so that is what Ken will be listed as.* Ken makes 3K votes.
Post 2006 – In the light of past petition failures, and *National’s insistence that a post Denver convention group of local petitioners, perhaps with some paid help, can make the ballot ‘easily’, the stirring of the current issue are created.*
When I say “National”, I include Shane Cory, Stephen Gordon, Sean Haugh, and others who in various conversations with me, either via email or phone, all either questioned WHY NH failed in 2004 with a eye to blame NH folks like Babiarz, and repeated that NH petitioning wasn’t hard as we claimed, after all it was only 3000 sigs required, far short of states with 10x that amount needed. Oh how little they understood….
To be continued in part 2 (at the least, since this is going to get long and drawn out as we delve into the current mess and find the realities that few want to admit..)
Yesterday, Ballot Access News reported, and the Texas LP and Bob Barr’s presidential campaign followed up with press releases on, the fact that Barr is the only ballot-qualified candidate for president in Texas. It seems that the Republican and Democratic parties couldn’t be bothered to nominate their tickets by the statutory deadline.
This is a great issue for the LP and the Barr campaign to jump on. When Texas certifies John McCain and Barack Obama for the November ballot — and yes, that will almost certainly happen, the law be damned — protesting and possibly even litigating the matter will be a great way to highlight both the absurdity of ballot access barriers and the political establishment’s bias, even to the extent of breaking the law, toward preserving the power of the “major party” duopoly.
That said, I just got an interesting email, sent over the signature of Barr’s Deputy Campaign Manager, Shane Cory.
The letter makes appropriate hay with the Texas ballot fiasco. Cory notes that Texas’s Secretary of State now claims that “upon further checking,” the GOP and the Democrats did, in fact, file their paperwork before the deadline and will be free to amend said paperwork as their national nominations become official.
Cory then launches into a (well-deserved) excoriation of ballot access barriers, using the “upon further checking” theme to sarcastically “remove” all of the barriers to 50-state ballot access for Barr.
As it turns out, upon further checking , we were able to collect 10,000 more signatures in West Virginia a few days after that early deadline passed.
Upon further checking, we found that ballot substitution is permitted in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Also, upon further checking, we found that Maine stopped accepting our petitions a week earlier than they had done in the past.
Not to mention that, upon further checking, we do object to the state of New Hampshire insisting that two libertarian candidates for president be listed on the ballot.
Whoa. Stop and hold. There’s something wrong here.
Upon further checking, the Barr campaign has until September 3rd to collect its nomination certifications from the various locales and get them turned in to the Secretary of State, but that apparently hasn’t happened yet.
Did some of those supervisors take until the last possible minute to issue those certifications? Or did the Barr campaign drop the ball in New Hampshire? Given the precedents in West Virginia and Maine, a wait-and-see attitude — and some further checking over the next few days — would seem to be in order.
All the talk about Barr’s ballot access difficulties, as well as the problems of name substitution in several states and the Republican anti-Barr gambit in Pennsylvania, has me wondering: Why not move LP nominating conventions back to the year before the presidential election?
If I recall — and I may be wrong, please let me know if I am — the main argument for having the conventions in the year of the election was that it looked more “major party” and more confident. But there are many reasons to do it a year earlier, besides just ballot access. It allows more time to campaign, fundraise, and gain publicity. It also is more of a media draw — not much more, granted, but given how little mainstream media coverage the LP convention gets anyway, even a small increase is significant. I remember C-SPAN using the LP convention in 1991 (and ‘87 too, I think) as the kickoff of its “Road To The White House” for the next year. It’s just a dead time politically, and the LP could conceivably benefit from the hungry news hole.
Are there reasons NOT to nominate the ‘12 ticket in the summer of 2011?
A recent release from the Barr campaign discusses a recent proposed agreement between the Bush administration and the government of Iraq regarding troop levels, and urges Congress to “demand to see the proposed agreement and should approve, disapprove, or modify it.”
Most of the release is very much get-out-now sort of stuff, which is great. But there’s one passage I find disturbing:
“The administration has treated the war as a presidential prerogative from the very beginning,” notes Barr. “It is time for Congress to insist on fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. If the president refuses to comply, Congress should cut off money for any bases in Iraq.”
I’m open to different interpretations, and I do realize I may view this through something of a non Barr-friendly filter, but my read on the line “If the president refuses to comply, Congress should cut off money for any bases in Iraq,” is that Barr thinks that there are at least some conditions where the U.S. building new military bases in Iraq is a good thing. Put another way – if he wants to use non-base-building as punishment for Bush’s non-compliance, it seems to me that implies that he is willing to use base-building as a reward for Bush’s compliance.
As a traditional noninterventionist Libertarian, I don’t want any U.S. military bases overseas. And, yes, I’d like a lot fewer of them on this side of the ocean, too.
Perhaps someone close to the Barr campaign – or Barr himself – can clear this up by answering a simple question: Does Barr unequivocally call for an end to U.S. military intervention in Iraq, including building and staffing new military bases in the country?
Earlier this week, in an interview with the Washington Post, Tommy Chong was asked what the average citizen can do to further the cause of decriminalization. “Check out the people you’re voting for,” Chong replied. “For instance, Joseph Biden comes off as a liberal Democrat, but he’s the one who authored the bill that put me in jail. He wrote the law against shipping drug paraphernalia through the mail – which could be anything from a pipe to a clip or cigarette papers.”
Obama's running mate Joe Biden doesn't want anyone to have fun
Barack Obama’s V.P. selection Sen. Joe Bidenalso sponsored the Rave Act, which targets music events where drug use is allegedly prevalent.
About medical marijuana, Biden said iin 2007: “We have not devoted nearly enough science or time to deal with the pain management and chronic pain management that exists. There’s got to be a better answer than marijuana. There’s got to be a better answer than that. There’s got to be a better way for a humane society to figure out how to deal with that problem.”
Biden coined the term “drug czar” and has championed the Office for National Drug Control Policy.
On a more positive note, Biden introduced a bill that would eliminate the discrepancy between crack and cociane sentencing in federal cases. The curent ratio is 100:1. In other words, 500 grams of cocaine equals five grams of crack; possession of either is punishable by a five-year sentence
“I have long regarded Biden as an opponent of the cause for reasons like Tommy says, and more,” offers Drug Policy Alliance executive director Ethan Nadelmann, “but I was surprised when he was the one who introduced the 1:1 crack/powder reform bill this year, which leapfrogged the more modest reforms put forward by Sens. Kennedy, Hatch and others. I’m not sure whether to take it as a sign of a more general opening up on his part, or just a play for the African-American vote in the primaries. But at least Biden isn’t entirely bad news for drug policy.”
What do you think of Obama’s choice of Biden for his running mate?
Many thanks to Steve Kubby for sending this item to LFV!
Mark Anthony Parks thinks a lot about systems, what makes them work and what fouls them up.He has to:the 34-year-old Bear resident is a helicopter mechanic.But Parks is also running as the Libertarian Party of Delaware’s candidate for the US House of Representatives, and in that effort he’s thinking about systems as well.
“Throughout history,” Parks says, “the free market has been the best system for distributing goods, services, and resources, and assuring the best standard of living for the most people.”American politicians’ failing to recognize this basic truth, he insists, has led to a staggering national debt, rising food and energy costs, and cascading failures in the banking system.
Parks speaks deliberately, as if wrestling with the concepts each time he addresses his subject.He admits to having been apolitical until invigorated by Ron Paul’s campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination.“Ron Paul taught me about the Federal Reserve, foreign policy, and the dangers of globalization,” Parks says.
“It was a political education, too, watching the media closing him out of the New Hampshire debate after he had done well enough in Iowa to earn a place on stage,” he continues.Disenchantment with the major parties and a growing commitment to protecting individual liberty from continually encroaching government led him to the Libertarian Party.
For Parks, and for a growing number of Americans across Delaware and the nation, the Libertarian message of individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government resonates strongly.He says, “Look at the two big parties, and they’re competing to buy your with giveaways to keep their power.It doesn’t really matter which one wins; nothing changes except that the power of the government keeps increasing.”
After that revelation, filing a challenge to Delaware’s long-standing Representative Mike Castle was a decision made fairly quickly.Parks understands the odds involved opposing Castle’s electoral juggernaut, and is realistic about what he can achieve.“I’ll wage as vigorous a campaign as possible with the resources I can muster,” he says.“The important thing is not me, but the issues.If people start talking seriously about the issues, I’m doing my part.”
Signature issues for Mark Anthony Parks include the national debt, international trade agreements, American foreign policy, and the war on drugs.
On the debt, he asks, “How do we justify putting the wealth and liberty of future generations up for sale to China and countries in the Middle East?”He sees multilateral trade agreements like NAFTA and participation in the World Trade Organization as eroding American sovereignty.
As for foreign policy, Parks’ prescription is simple:“Freedom should be spread by example, not by the barrel of a gun.Free trade with all, entangling alliances with none.”
The Federal war on drugs, he notes, has never worked and cannot succeed:“The fallacy of criminalization is that it has exponentially increase the value of the product to make it worth killing and destroying for.”
News from Libertarian Party of New York
For more information contact: Eric Sundwall, Ph: (518) 857-1731
Email:eric_sundwall@hotmail.com
Libertarians on New York Ballot
Presidential Nominee, Bob Barr, offers real choice.
ALBANY, NY (08/26/2008; 0000)(readMedia)–
As Democrats gather in Denver to anoint their choice for President this week, Libertarians have already decided. After their own taxpayer-neutral national convention in Denver this past Memorial Day weekend,Libertarians throughout the country selected former Congressman Bob Barr from Georgia and businessman Wayne Root, a former New Yorker now in Las Vegas, as their nominees for President and Vice-President.
State Chairman Eric Sundwall says that Barr and Root will be on the ballot in New York:
“While Democrats and Republicans enjoy their coronations in the next few weeks, Libertarians are happy to know their candidates are on the ballot after weeks of grueling work, in the hottest days of the year, securing our place on the ballot.”
In addition to Barr and Root, Libertarians will field three Congressional candidates and one New York Assembly candidate. Both Steven Vasquez (www.stevenforcongress.com) and David Gay (www.davidgay2008.com) are Ron Paul endorsed candidates for New York’s 21st and 25th Congressional Districts (Albany and Syracuse respectively). Isaiah Matos (www.operation-liberty.com)is seeking the U.S. House seat in District 14 on Manhattan’s East Side and Bill Buran (www.billburan.com)will be running as a Libertarian in NY’s 72nd Assembly District in northern Manhattan.
Sundwall continues:
“The Libertarian Party of New York is proud to have these freedom supporting candidates on the ballot. Without their hours of dedication, personal contributions and sacrifices, New Yorkers would be stuck with the same stale choices that have choked New York and our country far too long. We look forward to seeing these positive campaigns do well in November.“
Since I wrote my column entitled “The Barr Campaign at Halftime” on August 14, I have received a number of e-mails and phone calls from people offering comments and additional information on what is happening with that campaign. Based on what I’ve learned since writing that column, I am providing this update. Along the way, I will try to address points that were raised in the 30-plus comments generated by that column.
First, the good news. Polls by the Zogby organization show Bob Barr pulling as much as 5% of the popular vote nationwide, and double that in some states. If this materializes we should all be excited, but early polls usually show third-party candidates getting two to four times the vote they actually receive in November. I still hope and expect Barr to receive the highest vote total of any Presidential candidate to date (i.e. more than 921,000) and think he is likely to exceed our best percentage showing (1.06% in 1980). This will require about 1.3 million votes, but I think it could happen.
Unfortunately, the good news pretty much ends there. As of August 25 — three full months since Bob Barr became the nominee — the campaign still has not done a single direct-mail fundraising letter to the LP membership. The figure for “funds raised to date” on the Barr 2008 website as I write this is at $727,000 — which seems odd, given that it was at $685,000 on July 31, and the “big push” to raise money during the Olympics raised $140,000. If both of those figures were accurate, the total should be well past $800,000 — but still short of $1,000,000, a pathetic amount for this point in time.
As we head into the next few weeks that will be dominated by the RNC and DNC conventions, we assumed that we would not be able to break through the media until at least mid-September.
Thankfully, we were wrong.
- Tomorrow night, Bob Barr will appear for his second time on the Colbert Report.
- On both Wednesday and Friday mornings, Bob will be appearing on CNN.
- And on Thursday, Glenn Beck will be taping another full hour with our candidate!
In addition to the unexpected media, we had another boost this past Friday when we learned that we’re actually climbing in the polls!
Right now, things are looking good for our campaign, but if we’re able to get into the debates, the sky is the limit.
If you put John McCain, Barack Obama and Bob Barr behind the podium, my money will be on the only candidate who can speak with honesty and sincerity in the interests of liberty — Bob Barr.
Unsigned rap artist Tahir Jahi recently added an anti-Fed song, “Man Make Da Money,” to his MySpace page.
Verse 1 If you don’t know where this nation is headed
our nation is controlled by a system of credit
Woodrow Wilson is the one you can thank
birthed the federal reserve a privately owned bank
took cash and signed that like he never knew
gave control of the states to a chosen few
each dollar bill includes interest from lender
got rid of gold, paper is legal tender
Verse 3 The Fed produces currency for the nation
they control the money, interest rates, and inflation
What I can give in this song is just a fraction
banks owed the gov since the days of Andrew Jackson
make it rain on that stage, claiming you are paid
but you owe interest on those dollars that was made
no Constution, will use our little clause
control the nation’s money who cares about its laws
Tahir Jahi is the fiance of Donyell Jones, a 2006 finalist on So You Think You Can Dance, the most pro-individualist show on network TV.
Although Tahir is clearly more influenced by the Aaron Russo “conspiracy” wing of the anti-Fed movement, his stance reveals the under-the-surface anti-statism, pro-individualism, and pro-capitalist entrepreneurialism of hip hop that is often obfuscated as far Left figures co-opt the “movement” and libertarians do nothing to reach out.
Below is interview footage of Prodigy of the legendary Mobb Deep, in which the interviewer tries to steer him into saying something positive about Obama, but Prodigy insists that Ron Paul is his candidate.
One of Mobb Deep’s album covers prominently featured the dollar bill’s “Illuminati pyramid.”
Also: Prodigy is currently confined in a government animal cage for the “crime” of “unlawful gun possession.” Since it was his “third strike,” he faced 15 years, but plea-bargained to serve 3.5. Conveniently, this has silenced him and his questions about 9/11.
Al Jazeera is always good for laugh in its coverage of US social issues, and the Middle Eastern news outlet didn’t fail to deliver with this latest piece on US health care.
Meet one Gibson Glass, a Manhattanite who is too poor to afford health insurance:
Gibson Glass, 58, enjoys his jogs though New York City’s Central Park.
But he is not just running for fun. Gibson is one of more than 40 million Americans who does not have health insurance.
So, for Gibson, regular exercise is a form of health insurance. He is a freelance picture framer, and he says he simply cannot afford to pay about $600 each month on insurance.
He says that the United States’ healthcare system is “totally messed up” because, as he puts it, “everybody should be able to afford health insurance, whatever their income, and I have a pretty good income, I just can’t afford it.”
Gibson has worked out the odds and is making a rational decision, based on his circumstances.
Poor guy. Surely he’s scrimping every penny and living on the edge, right?
In the meantime, he would rather spend his precious money on going to the theatre and concerts and seeing friends for dinner.
These are things that give his life quality, and, as he says, “make him a healthier person”.
Oh.
So he chooses to live in the most expensive borough of the most expensive city in the country and instead of purchasing health insurance, he’s going to regularly purchase Broadway tickets (which are about $150 on average), dine out in Manhattan’s Zagat-rated restaurants with friends, and see Liza Minnelli in concert.
And if he *does* get sick after living this life of luxury in the playground of the wealthy known as Manhattan, he’s going to hand the bill to those of us who cannot afford to live in Manhattan, feast at Zagat-rated bistros, or enjoy the latest musical starring Mario Lopez.
I know many whiny people who earn decent incomes yet claim they “cannot afford health care.” All of them are just like Mr. Glass — they have sufficient income to purchase insurance just like the rest of us, but they instead prefer to spend the money on luxuries like iPhones with high-end service contracts, concerts, meals out, new cars, and vacations. No, they’re going to buy the luxuries and pass the bill for the necessities on to you and me.
Too bad this “inconvenient truth” has yet to be inserted into the Great Healthcare Debate.
Meanwhile, Gibson, it’s time to move to New Jersey, get a room-mate, learn to cook, rent some Broadway DVDs, and pay your own damn health insurance bill.
He reviews several LP candidate websites, including a couple of current and former LFV writers, pointing out the good and bad aspects of their website presence from a political advertising viewpoint, and provides a number of general purpose tips.
The following is an excerpt; the full post contains what appears to be a commercial for the author’s potential web design and management services.
I would recommend current and prospective candidates visit the original article to get an idea of what such services cost, regardless of whether they end up employing the author or a competitor.
While doing research for Libertarian Party Candidates earlier this month, I noticed that most of the more than 550 LP candidates running this year do not have websites. And of those who do, few are effective. By effective I mean:
Effective Candidate Websites are
professional-looking and aren’t straight out of 1995.
highly readable: good-looking large fonts and plenty of white space. Not overly “busy”.
well-organized: clear navigation. Put the important information on the front page.
interactive: the candidate communicates regularly and visitors can leave comments.
easy to remember: a short domain with the candidates’s name and desired office.
Why are Candidate Websites Important?
Good candidate websites are critical! A website doesn’t cost much and once it’s created, it doesn’t require much work to maintain it. But it has a wide reach and can be a fantastic resource for press and bloggers who want to write about you. Without a website, your candidacy may as well not exist, but if you do it right – investing some thought and creativity – the impact can be breathtaking.
The Political Newbie who Raised $100,000 with his Website
Take the case of political novice and Democratic candidate for Kansas State House Sean Tevis, who produced a brilliant cartoon about running for office. Interest generated by Internet visitors resulted in $100,000 in contributions and positive nationwide press. Imagine if you could get these kinds of results from your website.
Let’s take a look at some LP candidate websites, what they got right and where they went wrong.
I’ve been back in the Libertarian fold for about four months now, and I have a few questions I’ve yet to be able to get answered. First of all, does anyone know if LP News still exists? I have received not a single issue so far, and my e-mails to LPHQ have been ignored. Actually, I did get a reply to one message that addressed multiple topics — but my LP News query was not addressed.
Also, whatever happened to Jo Jorgensen? Art Olivier? Richard Boddie? etc. etc. — where do former LP candidates go?
Libertarian Party of Delaware holds state convention, nominates three candidates
For further information, contact LPD State Chair Jim Rash
jim@rashteam.com
“It’s time for government to stop regulating the American people,” said attorney Tyler Nixon, accepting the Libertarian Party of Delaware’s fusion nomination in the 4th House District (Wilmington), “and time for the American people to start regulating their government.” Nixon, already the Republican candidate for the seat, was one of three individuals nominated by the Libertarians at their annual convention on Saturday in Newark. He identified government transparency, eminent domain abuse, and renewable energy as key campaign themes.
Fusion nominations, legal in Delaware despite an attempt to kill the practice last year, allow candidates to accept the endorsement of two or more parties in the same race.
Nearly two dozen delegates also voted to nominate Mark Anthony Parks of New Castle County as the Libertarian candidate for the US House of Representatives. “Ron Paul’s candidacy energized me,” he said. “His campaign convinced me that people would respond to the message of personal freedom.” Delegate Brad Thomas called Parks “a man who thinks carefully about the government’s impact on the lives and freedoms of everyday citizens.”
“I’m going to wage as vigorous a campaign as my resources will allow,” Parks promised.
Jesse Priester, the GOP candidate in the 23rd House District in Newark also received a fusion nomination from the LPD. “The Libertarian ideal is personal freedom,” Preister said, “and that’s my ideal as well.” He cautioned that effective politicians must work with the system as they find it, however, not as they would like it to be. “That’s why I’m making the establishment of Sunday bus service into Newark one of my issues.”
The convention elected Jim Rash of Milford as State Chair, Paul Thompson of Pike Creek as Vice Chair, and re-elected Brad Thomas of Newark as Secretary-Treasurer.
“We’ve built a strong foundation today for communicating our message of personal freedom and limited government,” Rash told delegates. “From this point forward we need to be a strong presence in policy debates at every level.”
In May, Vice Chair Thompson represented Delaware at the national Libertarian Party convention in Denver, where the party nominated former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr for President. Barr, who broke ranks with the GOP several years ago, has become an advocate of curtailing government intrusions against individual civil liberties and a critic of Bush administration foreign policy.
Criticizing both major party candidates for not protecting the freedoms of American citizens, Barr is polling 3% nationwide, but scores 5-11% in ten “battleground” states, where only a slim margin separates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Pointing to Ron Paul’s internet-based fundraising, “Libertarians across the state and across the nation will have to depend heavily on new media,” said Steve Newton, publisher of the Delaware Libertarian blog.. “Libertarians in North Carolina and Texas are proving the power of blogs and meet-ups to challenge the major parties.”
Convention delegates also chose Rash, Thompson, and Brian Shields of Seaford as presidential electors.
Established in 1970, the Libertarian Party is the nation’s third-largest political party.
In a recent e-mail sent out by the LP, Barack Obama’s selection of Joe Biden as his VP runningmate is criticized… NOT for Biden’s votes for the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, and DOMA (all of which LP presidential usurper, Bob Barr, voted for as well), and NOT for advocating a “surge” in Afghanistan (like LP VP wannabe W.A.R. told a self-described Zionist newspaper he supported), but for:
Opposing English being made the nationalist language
Opposing energy socialism/fascism in ANWR
Opposing special rights being given to gun manufacturers
Supporting McCain-Feingold, which the thuggish Barr junta tried to use to muscle its way on to private property just a week or so ago
Worst of all, the LP criticizes Biden for being a lifelong government employee — just like Bob Barr, who went from the CIA (where he’s still an asset) to federal prosecutor (where he jailed who knows how many innocents) to Congress (where he did more to destroy liberty than most) to being a lobbyist (hardly a “private sector” job). And besides, is being a scamdicapper and Boiler Room-style fraudster/bilker of investors (W.A.R.) any better?
Sorry, couldn’t resist that headline after LNC Treasurer Aaron Starr (in LFV comments) made a reference to libertarian “bloodsports”.
The following are comments left on the latest LFV exclusive regarding George Phillies having been contacted by an outside attorney, about a potential lawsuit brewing for New Hampshire.
Aaron Starr, LNC Treasurer:
This might be interesting if it were accurate.
However, the LNC has been informed on more than one occasion concerning the potential opportunity for a lawsuit in New Hampshire to establish for our party the permanent right for candidate substitution, so that we will not have this problem again in the future.
No lawsuit has been filed yet.
On May 22nd, during the LNC pre-convention meeting in Denver, staff presented in its report the possibility of our needing to sue in New Hampshire.
The report is included in the minutes. Members of the LNC board members who are purported to not know anything about this received copies of these minutes and voted for their approval.
In addition, in a cursory search of e-mails to the entire LNC, I was able to find a ballot access update dated June 29th that further discussed the legal situation in New Hampshire. There are probably other updates, should I care to look for them.
In the case of Bill Hall, our legal counsel, the LNC has been updated by him as recently as today as to the status of this potential litigation. Of course, attorney-client privilege issues prevent me from sharing the contents of this communique with anyone else.
Aaron Starr
Treasurer
Libertarian National Committee
Professor George Phillies, qualified NH LP presidential candidate and probable defendant in said not-yet-filed lawsuit:
Starr’s claims about the suit are disingenuous. There are indeed representations in the LNC Minutes and other places about discussing litigation as a possible alternative path in New Hampshire. There is no indication that an attorney had been retained or was going to be retained.
That’s entirely different from having an attorney, not Bill Hall, telephone interested parties to make statements rather more positive than discussing alternatives.
As an analogy, as late as 1936 the War Department updated its plans for war with Canada, a fact that Congress could have determined. South Park notwithstanding, telling Congress this minor fact did not constitute asking Congress to approve war with Canada.
There is no representation in those statements to the LNC about actually spending money to pay the attorney in question, seeking the LNC’s approval to spend money or discuss litigation with interested parties, or having the attorney discuss with affected parties while representing himself as the LNC’s attorney, which he assuredly would not have done if he had not been retained, whether for pay or pro bono.
I should point out that the sort of phone call that I heard might or might not already have led other interested parties to retain their own counsel.
As to whether the LNC is paying him for something, well, the most recent LNC FEC filing shows a large sum of money going in his direction, so there is no question that the LNC has already actually spent money, without notifying the LNC itself that that money is actually being spent.
Angela Keaton, LNC At-Large Representative:
A.) What is the proper LNC procedure in the initiation of a lawsuit? Does a mention of the possibility of such in a staff report released between LNC meetings constitute proper notice to the board? Do Haugh and Kraus have the authority to initiate a law suit without putting it to a vote of the entire LNC? If Redpath has the sole authority, what is the fiduciary duty with regard to financial priorities during severe shortfalls?
B.) Is the suit a political payback stemming from a confrontation between Carling/Karlan/Sundwall and Macia and Phillies/McMahon at the LPNY ‘07 convention? Did that confrontation result as of Carling overstepping what was agreed upon by members of the LNC? Is it a relevant fact that M Carling proposed to strip George Phillies of his life membership at the July ‘07 LNC meeting? Is it a relevant fact that Aaron Starr proposed an affiliate agreement which singled out LPNH for a daunting level of control by the LNC? (Starr lated withdrew after I made the case that it would lead to infighting and bitterness. Who knew?) What does the ExCom of LPNH want?
C.) What is the responsibility of the Barr/Root campaign for handling ballot access? Is it a mis characterization to state that LPNH has no ballot access when the drop dead date was August 6th and the signature validity is known? A mis characterization that there is no LP ballot access if Phillies/Bennett ticket has made the ballot? Does it matter if both are on the ballot? Does it make any difference who is on the ballot as long as the libertarian label is on it?
Get back to me via email (angela at angelakeaton com) if any of you have serious answers so I don’t have to wade through this most worthless thread.
Angela Keaton
At Large Rep
Libertarian National Committee
I have to respectfully disagree with Ms. Keaton. The thread covered everything any redblooded libertarian could ever want to discuss …. from whether state parties overrule the national party on ballot access issues, to whether a qualified candidate must bow out for the nominee in a state which does not allow substitution, to necrophiliac fellatio, and everything in between. We even had self-described “Libertarian Republican” Eric Dondero calling out to his preferred diety, during a profanity-filled rant in which he threatened to come through the computer and rip LFV Contributor GE Smith’s head off. Now, ripping off heads is what I call a “bloodsport”, though of course making threats on LFV is never, ever acceptable, nor is it ever tolerated.
What do you think, folks? Anyone want to have a little weekend fun, and lay some bets on any of the players? Starr vs Phillies? Keaton vs Starr? Hogarth vs Phillies? Dondero vs GE? ElfNinosMom vs Dondero? Place your bets here!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08/21/08
POC Thomas L. Knapp
media@bostontea. us
314-750-6993
BOSTON TEA PARTY COMPLETES TENNESSEE BALLOT DRIVE
Nashville, TN – America’s new libertarian alternative wrapped up its first-ever ballot access petition drive today as Boston Tea Party representatives turned in petition signatures and other paperwork to state election officials.
Once the signatures are certified by Tennessee’s Secretary of State, presidential candidate Charles Jay and vice-presidential candidate Thomas L. Knapp will be set to appear on Tennessee ballots in November. The petitioners turned in more than 400 signatures just before today’s deadline. Tennessee law requires 275 valid signatures.
“Our ambition is to give freedom-lovers in the Volunteer State a libertarian alternative to John McCain and Barack Obama,” said Jay, 47, of Hollywood Florida. “Our petitioners, the voters who stepped forward to put us on the ballot, and the electors who agreed to cast their Electoral College votes for us should we carry the state made that possible today, and they have my heartfelt thanks.”
Jay and Knapp were nominated in June by the party’s national membership, which conducts its operations entirely online. The party was founded in 2006 and campaigns on a single-sentence platform: “The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.” In addition to Tennessee, the party’s presidential slate will appear on the ballot in Colorado, Florida and Louisiana. A volunteer petition drive is ongoing in Alabama and the party may seek ballot access in other states as well.
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3915 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
For Immediate Release: August 18, 2008
Contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) or
Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org
Harrisburg, PA – The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) today announced its candidates for the November 2008 elections. LPPa Chair Michael Robertson said, “The Libertarian Party offers Pennsylvanians political choice.That choice is a first step in restoring public confidence and fairness to a political system poisoned by the unfolding criminal allegations of the Bonusgate scandal.”
Libertarian candidates for public office in Pennsylvania include:
Ballot access for Libertarian Party candidates didn’t come easy. This year Libertarian candidates for statewide office collected 51,345 ballot access signatures to insure a challenge cushion.
Throughout Pennsylvania, the threat of being “Bonusgated” was clearly evident by the tally of uncontested races for other offices. The current tally has two uncontested Congressional races of 19, three uncontested state senate races of 25, but 101 uncontested state house races of 203. The Bounsgate revelations didn’t come soon enough for the 2008 election season.
“Our Libertarian candidates represent a return to the fundamental principles of American government; individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government,” indicated Robertson. “They offer a real choice for voters in a time of ever increasing government authority.”
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania and the United States. More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Republicans want Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr booted from the state’s ballot, alleging shady dealings by local Libertarians. Meanwhile, the Barr camp blamed Republican presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain for trying to shove him off the ballot and demanded that McCain personally intervene.
Cumberland County GOP chairman Victor Stabile, an attorney who filed suit to remove Barr, said he’s fine with third-party candidates, but is crying foul because Libertarians listed Rochelle Etzel of Clarion County as their prospective presidential candidate when gathering petition signatures to put a nominee on the ballot.
Stabile acknowledged that state law allows parties to replace a candidate who withdraws, but said Pennsylvania Libertarians never intended for Etzel to run.
“The problem we have is that, as we understand it, and based upon the evidence that I’ve seen is that they circulated these petitions with Etzel’s name, never intending her to be the candidate,” Stabile said. “They went to the convention, nominated Barr, and then she withdrew.”
Stabile said his court filing cites internal Libertarian e-mail indicating that they intended to nominate Barr, not Etzel, and likened it to voter fraud.
But Pennsylvania Libertarian Party Chair Mik Robertson decries the allegations based on the timeline of the Libertarian nomination process. Robertson said the state party decided to nominate Etzel in February, at which time the party started gathering the 25,000 signatures necessary to put a candidate on the ballot. Barr announced his intention to run for president in mid-May, and the Libertarian national convention wasn’t held until the weekend of May 26.
“There was no way to know that (Barr) was even in contention,” Robertson said. “Much less the national party nominee at the time we started gathering signatures.
”What’s more, Robertson said the ballot access laws in Pennsylvania are “heavily, heavily stacked” against third-party candidates.
“They require us to have a candidate in May,” Robertson said. “And (Democrats and Republicans) don’t have a candidate yet.”
PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred Arizona from using a state law to prosecute an online merchant who sells shirts that list names of thousands of troops killed in Iraq.
U.S. District Judge Neil Wake did not strike down the 2007 law against selling products that use of military casualties’ names without families’ permission. But he ruled that using the law to prosecute Dan Frazier would violate the Flagstaff man’s First Amendment rights because his “Bush Lied — They Died” shirts are “core political speech.”
“It is impossible to separate the political from the commercial aspects of that display,” Wake wrote. “For example, the state argues that Frazier can sell his shirts without displaying the soldiers’ names. But Frazier’s product is his message, and his customers’ message.”
POINT MARION, Pennsylvania (AP) — An 85-year-old woman boldly went for her gun and busted a would-be burglar inside her home, then forced him to call police while she kept him in her sights, police said.
“I just walked right on past him to the bedroom and got my gun,” Leda Smith said.
Smith heard someone break into her home Sunday afternoon and grabbed the .22-caliber revolver she had been keeping by her bed since a neighbor’s home was burglarized a few weeks ago.
“I said ‘What are you doing in my house?’ He just kept saying he didn’t do it,” Smith said.
After the 17-year-old boy called 911, Smith kept holding the gun on him until state police arrived at her home in Springhill Township, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.
IF you have a pair of sympathetic talk-show hosts who are popular, you can hold you own on-air Shadow Debate.
Dr. Mike Munger, North Carolina’s Libertarian candidate for governor, conducted a “shadow debate” today on the Brad & Britt Show, which airs on WZTK FM 101.1. The format was to replay the questions and answers from the Democrat and Republican candidates’ debate last night on WTVD-TV 11, then air Dr. Munger’s comments.
Audio of the entire 30 minutes is at the (newly spiffy-ized) Munger08 site.
Munger is an extremely engaging interviewee – which is no doubt why he gets invited back to shows like this so often. He even got to take questions form the audience, which the other candidates did not!
If you want to be on Mike’s campaign update email list, either fill out the contact form on his site, or email me directly (at munger08@gmail.com)
The following is a statement written by LNC At-Large member Angela Keaton.
Without a discussion as to the merits of this lawsuit, the members of the Libertarian Party should have an open debate as to whether the officers of the LNC have the necessary integrity to lead the party of principle.
Angela Keaton
At Large Committee
Libertarian National Committee
The Libertarian Party (Libertarian National Committee, Incorporated) is apparently preparing to file suit against the New Hampshire Secretary of State. The lawsuit will demand that the state place Bob Barr on the ballot, and remove George Phillies from the ballot.
This suit is separate and distinct from the ACLU lawsuit in Massachusetts to substitute Bob Barr in place of George Phillies on the Massachusetts ballot.
Strangely, many who should have been informed of this action seem to have not been informed at all. The list of those who were not informed appears to include LNC members Angela Keaton, Lee Wrights, Mary Ruwart, Rachel Hawkridge, and even LNC Vice-Chair Michael Jingozian.
Even more strangely, it appears that the LNC’s retained attorney, Bill Hall, was not apprised that the LNC is taking this action through another attorney.
Professor George Phillies, as well as the LPNH State Chair, received calls late yesterday from the attorney handling the planned lawsuit for the LNC. However, while Dr. Phillies has agreed to cooperate with the lawsuit to place Bob Barr on the ballot in Massachusetts, Phillies will oppose any effort to remove him from the ballot in New Hampshire, due to an ethical obligation to all the New Hampshire voters who signed petitions.
Dr. Phillies is currently the only Libertarian presidential candidate on the New Hampshire ballot.
When nominated, Bob Barr and the LNC faced a choice if they wanted Barr to be on the New Hampshire ballot. They could either do their own petitioning in New Hampshire, or litigate. They petitioned, and have filed over five thousand nominating papers in New Hampshire. News of a separate LNC lawsuit came as a surprise, since they had already filed the nominating papers.
Why is the LNC litigating? It is not clear, but it is possible that they wish to make an example of the outspoken Dr. Phillies, who has openly opposed Barr and the LP on a number of issues, by actually removing him from the ballot. However, since Dr. Phillies met all state criteria for ballot inclusion, and has already been formally qualified by the Secretary of State, it is extremely unlikely that any court would ever remove him without his agreement.
It is unknown at this time exactly when the suit will be filed, or when or if LNC Chair Bill Redpath is planning to tell the LNC members and the LNC’s regular retained counsel about the suit. It is also unknown how the LNC intends to fund the lawsuit, in light of its recent fundraising weakness.
Atlanta, GA – “The Bush administration is talking about pumping aid into the damaged Georgian economy, after that nation’s short war with Russia,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “The conflict between Georgia and Russia was tragic, but it’s time officials in Washington stopped treating the Treasury Department like an ATM for the world. The deficit rose last month after Uncle Sam had to bail out several failed banks and the total federal deficit this year is going to run about $400 billion. It’s time to say enough!”
“The U.S. spent $21 billion on foreign aid last year, not counting money for Iraq,” explains Barr. “Over the years Washington has shipped hundreds of billions of dollars overseas, with much of it wasted. The Third World remains poor, only with a larger debt. Indeed, U.S. aid programs often subsidized socialist and undemocratic regimes.”
“The Saakashvili government in Georgia made a foolish mistake by initiating hostilities in its breakaway province of South Ossetia,” notes Barr. “American taxpayers should not have to pay for that mistake. After all, they already are paying $10 billion a month for the administration’s mistaken invasion and occupation of Iraq. They cannot afford to pay the price for other people’s wars as well,” says Barr.
“Instead of increasing foreign aid, the U.S. government needs to cut the amount of taxpayer money that it sends overseas,” insists Barr. “Most important, it is time to start saying no more. No more international welfare clients. No more foreign governments treating America as a cash cow. We need to put our own fiscal house in order rather than constantly bail out irresponsible governments around the world.”
Comments: A thoroughly libertarian press release and one libertarians can rightfully be proud of. The problem — they should all be this way and should pass without comment.
College presidents from about 100 of the nation’s best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.
Of course, the socialist/fascist MADD wants to make the drinking age your life +1.
The “national drinking age” of 18 is a great example of the tyranny imposed on the states by the federal leviathan. For there is no “national” drinking age — it’s just that the feds withhold highway-funding money from any state that deviates from its rule of 21.
Libertarian solution: Privatize the roads, eliminate drinking ages at all levels, and let freedom reign.
The following was authored by Dr. George Phillies, and is published on LFV with his permission.
Bob Barr is worried about all the men being discriminated against in college athletics .... wait, what?
At some point, you have to draw a line
Bob Barr Advocates for Discrimination Against Women
Of course, Bob Barr calls it “Title IX Reform”. And he doesn’t say the rest out loud. You have to read between the lines.
Three decades ago, Congress imposed a requirement on educational programs and activities that received Federal Financial assistance. If a school accepted both men and women, it could not have programs that discriminated against men or against women. In 1972, this was a very radical idea. College athletics meant ‘college *men’s* athletics, and at many universities programs for women were very much second rate in their support, even when women outnumbered men on campus.
Now there comes to us Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr who in a August 11, 2008 press release calls for “an end to Title IX’s gender quota system that has devastated so many of our collegiate sports programs” and his claim “…In turn, this has forced colleges and universities to either cut men’s teams or shrink their roster size in order to comply…” He then signed an online petition found at http://www.petitiononline.com/csc2008/petition.html and quoted below.
Barr quotes College Sports Council President Leo Kocher as claiming “…If the state’s schools were simply allowed to use online surveys to measure actual interest, they would be able to add wrestling programs without fear of running afoul of the law…”
Of course, a real libertarian might have advocated for ending those Federal programs, because if there were no Federal program, Title IX would have no effect. Many of the more purist readers on this list can even enumerate the Federal programs in question. But that’s not what Barr did.
A few will note that some of those programs are Veteran’s benefits, that the Veteran’s friends have already paid for, paid for by dying for their country*.
A Federal candidate who was actually interested in the health of future Americans might have advocated for intramural athletic participation, by voluntary choice, as opposed to varsity athletic programs. My alma mater did this, and in one year my dormitory fielded volleyball teams Burton House A, Burton House B,… on through Burton House VV. Barr didn’t advocate a policy that would substantively benefit America, either.
Instead, Barr inveighed against Federal antidiscrimination rules, using Republican reactionary dogwhistle language about ‘quota systems’. Dogwhistle? A reasonable libertarian reads ‘quota’ and hears ‘a Federal program. Where is the call to repeal it?’. A sexist Republican reads ‘quota’, starts foaming at the mouth, notes the references to ‘wrestling’, and hears ‘discrimination for good old boys! Yes!’.**
And that ‘a simple survey’? Does anyone know how to lean a survey?
In fact, what Title IX requires is that male and female students — most of whom are taxpayers who paid in part for the Federal programs in question — not have their tax dollars be used to subsidize discrimination against them.
The actual outcome of Title IX has been an enormous burgeoning of athletic teams for women in colleges across America. There has been an end to second-class treatment of women. I can see the result at my own university, where the fraction of women who choose to participate in varsity athletics now matches the fraction of men participating. Also, it has been extremely visible that team athletics are much more positive in their benefits for women than for men, which is not to say that many men have not benefited form intramural or varsity athletics.
Having said that, a school that wants to discriminate against its coeds without crossing Title IX has but to decline the Federal money paid by female taxpayers.
The Barr Press release “Barr signs petition for academic sports freedom” should be seen for what it is. It’s not a call for liberty. It’s a dog-whistle appeal to southern white male chauvinists.
Finally, as a college professor, I assure readers that wrestling programs are perfectly legal. I should know. My university, WPI, has one, not to mention one and a half dozen other varsity teams, and around 20 — depending on interest — club sports, many coed.
Oh, yes, the petition:
To: U.S. Congress
WHEREAS … Today, June 23, 2008 marks the 36th anniversary of the passage of Title IX …
WHEREAS … Men’s collegiate athletic teams are being eliminated and rosters are being capped at an alarming rate in order to comply with the “proportionality” enforcement prong …
WHEREAS … Women collegiate athletes are being robbed of their training partners, teammates and biggest supporters when men’s teams are eliminated …
WHEREAS … Straightforward and common-sense fixes to the enforcement mechanism are already available – such as a simple survey that would allow any student, male or female, to express interest and be given opportunity …
WHEREAS … The law’s current method of enforcement is discriminating against male athletes and artificially limiting opportunities to participate …
WHEREAS … The current tenor of the debate over the future of Title IX sets up a zero sum contest pitting men against women that hurts the collective cause of all college athletes …
BE IT RESOLVED … That men and women across the country come together to discuss and implement a set of common sense reforms to Title IX enforcement that maximizes the opportunities of all college athletes regardless of gender.
*One of my drill sergeants in basic showed me how to use this line, for which I am most grateful.
**Mind you, some football and wrestling teams have simply allowed coeds to join.
Sharon Harris reminds us that libertarians need to keep investing in longer-term vision even — or especially! — during difficult campaign battles.
She points out the hard facts for organizations like hers during campaign season:
THE ELECTION SEASON PARADOX
First, we have the “election season paradox.” During election times, the demand for our services drastically increases. Yet, ironically, covering the costs of these services becomes more difficult, because so many libertarian resources flow into political campaigns — campaigns that are great for our movement, campaigns that are helped immensely by the work of the Advocates. But this cuts into the pool of donations from which we depend upon.
And now there’s a second big problem we’re facing. As you know, the economy is in real trouble right now. Many people are worried — and rightfully so — about their financial future. And they’ve cut back on donations — even to organizations they strongly believe in, like the Advocates.
At a time when our cash flow is critically low, the movement for liberty needs us more than ever.
And, of course, you can donate directly here, or by calling 800-932-1776, or by Paypal from here.
Andrew, you’ve asked for our help in finishing the ballot drive (for Bob Barr, apparently; not-so-much the LP, but that’s a discussion for another day). You write:
Getting Bob on the ballot in as many states as possible is a great way of gaining attention for all Libertarian candidates & helps build the numbers! However, even after the LP and Bob’s campaign spent almost $500,000.00 on ballot access, we are still coming up $50,000 short and we need to finish the job in the next two weeks.
Well, Andrew, many Libertarians do want to help get the LP’s candidates on the ballot. However, given the recent string of misses, mis-steps, and we’re-going-to-court letters from the LP and the Barr campaign, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a written account of how the money will be spent. Would you share with us the plan for spending this $50,000 to get the remaining states on the ballot? A simple back-of-the-envelope calculation would be fine. For example: with 50K, we would spend 35K on paid petitioners to get 20K signatures in states X, Y, and Z, and the balance would be spent on administrative and overhead costs.
Donors are much more likely to give if they trust that their contributions will be effective – and much of that trust has been eroded over the past month. Just asking for the money at this point seems like an invitation to throw good money after bad. LPers need something more to go on; to give confidence that the job will get done (as much as it’s possible for it to get done at this stage). And, to be brutally honest, hand-waving about Barr polling 15% and getting into the CPD debates isn’t inspiring. The only news bump Barr is likely to get from the ballot drive at this point is stories wondering why an ex-congressman like Bob Barr couldn’t get on as many ballots in 2008 as a relative political novice like Michael Badnarik in 2004.
So, please: share the LP’s plan for ballot access in the remaining states. Let us know in which states Barr is handling the drive and in which the LP is overseeing it. Let us know how many petitioners have been lined up, and what the costs for their services will be. Let us know what the administrative costs are for this final push. Let us know where we’re OK and where we’re in danger, and if any of this money will be spent on legal fees. In other words, please give us something to go on.
Bob Barr Fails to Make Ballot in Maine
Ballot Access News ^
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/08/18/bob-barr-fails-to-make-ballot-in-maine/
Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 10:51:08 AM by mnehrling
On Friday, August 15, the Bob Barr campaign attempted to have the Secretary of State authorize local clerks accept late filings of signatures. Don Cookson of the Secretary of State’s office indicated that there is no provision to authorize such a late filing.
The signatures filed by the August 8 deadline amounted to 3,200, short of the 4,000 valid signatures required.
The Libertarian Party is expected to go to court to force the state to accept the late signatures.
Here’s another topic for discussion: Are there principles, libertarian or otherwise, that you are willing to die for? If you have a spouse or partner, did you feeling about this change when your relationship began? What about if and when you had children?
I saw the bit below in a comment on a youtube video and thought it’d be interesting to start a thread to collect some of the more vivid distortions of libertarianism. I’ve often thought it’s be cool to have a shirt or bumper strip that said “Libertarians: We don’t Eat Babies”. Anyway, here’s my entry for distorted views of libertarianism; feel free to add a quote you’ve found in the comments:
I wouldn’t follow the libertarians because they’re whackos. The libertarian party is for the secessionists, polygamists, pot-heads, baby-sellers, and for those who want to privatize the air, sideways, and roads. and for those who want to abolish democracy. It is not, however, a party for the decent people.
The following was written by Robert Milnes, and was forwarded to Last Free Voice by the author.
The libertarian movement is complex; there are many schools of libertarian thought. One argument is between the “purists” and “reformers”. However I believe the main division is between “right” and “left” libertarians, the purists v. reformers being on the left. On the right we have among others the “Dixiecrat” conservatives. http://knappster.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html Bob Barr and Ron Paul are in this area. It could even be argued that this area is so far to the right as to be no longer libertarian. Unfortunately, right libertarians have a lot of support and influence within the party. According to Libertarianlist poll, 72% of LP members supported Ron Paul’s candidacy. At the LP convention Barr barely but clearly got a majority over “purist” Ruwart. Ruwart then refused to consider the vice presidential position so great are the differences. I say unfortunately because libertarians cannot win the GOP nomination. The Ron Paul campaign in which he did not win a single primary demonstrated that. Also an all libertarian LP ticket cannot win an election. See: The Libertarian Vote study by the Cato Institute. There is simply not enough votes. However a fusion LP ticket, one libertarian one green(leftist) man and woman just might win by combining their inclusive vote rather than split it. Unfortunately again this involves working with leftist progressives which right libertarians are loathe to do. This would forfeit any chance of Libertarian Party presidential election victory. Now there is a Libertarian National Committee(LNC) meeting coming up. September 6 & 7 in the Arlington, Virginia Hyatt Regency Hotel. This represents a clear and possibly final opportunity in 2008 to suspend the candidacy of Bob Barr pursuant to party bylaws for cause. And to then install a fusion ticket to try to win the election via The Progressive Alliance Strategy. The question to be answered is: Does the Libertarian Party want to pursue the candidacy of a non libertarian Dixiecrat conservative that cannot win or try to win with a fusion ticket?
HARROLD, Texas (AP) — A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.
The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff’s Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.
“When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying ’sic ‘em’ to a dog,” Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Web site.
Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.
Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.
Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.
“The naysayers think [a shooting] won’t happen here. If something were to happen here, I’d much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them,” Thweatt said.
Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.
It isn’t clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.
Another topic for discussion, to be filed under “Peter Orvetti Is An Idiot” along with the others, if you like.
In a very broad sense, there are three domains of policy that libertarians and all political actors try to influence: social policy, foreign policy, and economic policy. Personally, I am fervently libertarian regarding the first two, less so regarding the third. My own primary concerns are in increasing the reach of personal freedom, and in reducing the overreach of the United States worldwide, more than in decreasing the overall size of government (though I want to do that too).
My question: It seems to me that most Libertarians, or at least the most vocal ones, focus far more on the economic arena — eliminating taxes, making radical cuts in government spending, and so on — rather than in the social and foreign policy arenas. Is this a misconception on my part? If not, why does the economic sphere dominate for so many?
Posted by Fred Church Ortiz at Independent Political Report
According to the LA Times‘ Top of the Ticket blog, the judge deciding on the Barr campaign’s last-minute lawsuit against Saddleback Church’s two-party forum was deliberating until at least 8 PM Friday night. According to an update recently posted, the judge has declined the campaign’s request for an injunction, and the event will proceed as planned.
Hooray for the judge heroically striking down the odious Barr’s attempts to use state violence to muscle his way into a private event.
How sad is it that a loss for the LP’s presidential candidate can be celebrated as a win for freedom?
Denver delegates who voted for Barr on any ballot: Hang your heads low in disgrace. Denounce this usurper at once and, in time, you may reclaim your dignity.
“Libertarians” who work for this cretin: Resign if you have any integrity whatsoever.
Elsewhere some comrades were discussing how they would chart Barr on the Nolan chart. I thought it’d be fun to have the discussion here. So – put Barr on the political map. Go for it.
Can you find Bob?
Rules:
Ya gotta back up your rating with quotes or other material.
This should be rating Barr since he joined the LP, not before.
Just kidding – there are no rules! (But those are good guidelines).
Thanks to ex-comrade Carl, from whose essay I lifted the pic.
No surprise coming from the lifelong thug for the state and parasite feeding off taxpayer blood.
I’ll let Lew Rockwell do the talking:
Barr, Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, Krazy Alan Keyes, and Totalitarian Tom Tancredo will be meeting with the Minutemen in Denver to advocate a bigger police state.
Jeez. I wonder why people think Libertarians are really just pissed-off conservatives.
Oh, and P.S. Michigan Libertarians: When I agreed, under duress, to be an elector for Barr and to vote for Barr in the electoral college “if” he won the state of Michigan, I did not agree to give up my right to free speech. Any libertarian with an ounce of integrity would be outraged by Barr’s repeated betrayals of libertarian philosophy.
Murray Rothbard loved Kurt Vonnegut’s libertarian short story Harrison Bergeron, a dystopian vision of the year 2081 in which everyone is equal. The beautiful must wear masks, the strong and graceful must be hobbled, the brilliant must have their thoughts electronically interrupted, all by decree of the egalitarian State. Here is the trailer of 2081. And you have to love the name of the website: finallyequal.com. Who says the cause of liberty is not making progress? (Thanks to John Hall.)
It looks pretty awesome.
Oh, and is that R. Lee Wrights in the chair? (joke)
According to pollster.com, Bob Barr is actually polling nationally at an average of 2.3%, which is only about a third of what he claims to be polling, and only 15.3% of the nationwide 15% support he needs to show in order to participate in the debates. That same provably false assertion was made yesterday as well, by LP Media Director Andrew Davis.
Yet Barr is going to sue a church, for not including him in a debate for which he is not even close to being minimally qualified, and which is being held on private church property.
I’m sure Saddleback Church is shaking in their pews right about now. From laughter.
“I would not ask for your help if the circumstances were not so dire.“
No, those are not my words; those are the words of John McCain in a letter he sent to supporters this week, despite having raised $27 million in July.
If Sen. McCain thinks his situation is dire, he would not get out of bed in the morning if he were dealing with our situation.
- We’ve raised less than $1 million
- We’re blocked from upcoming debates
- We’re polling at 6% nationally
No, John McCain could not handle our situation.
But our man, Bob Barr, isn’t slowing down and now he’s fighting mad.
This Saturday, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will take the national stage for their first combined national event.
It will take place at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California.
For the past several weeks, we have put in requests and phone calls to the church’s pastor, Rick Warren, who was quoted this week in Time Magazine as saying, “I want what’s good for everybody, not just what’s good for me. Who’s the best for the nation right now?”
Unfortunately, Pastor Rick Warren doesn’t care to know the true answer to that question as he has willingly excluded Bob Barr and other candidates from his forum on Saturday.
After weeks of negotiations and calls to Saddleback Church from leaders from every corner of the political spectrum supporting Bob Bar’s inclusion, we’ve been left out in the cold.
The only people getting into the event are Obama, McCain and those who reportedly paid $500 to $2,000 to the church to sit in the audience.
Yesterday, I reported to former Congressman Barr that we’ve exhausted every avenue. I told him, “We’ve had calls placed to Pastor Warren from very powerful leaders from the left and the right, we sent in our personal request, and placed numerous phone calls that have not been returned. You are not going to be included.
“Our only option left is to threaten to file an temporary injunction as our attorney’s believe they are in violation of the law.”
Bob responded by saying, “No, don’t threaten to do that . . . Just do it.”
As you read this, our attorneys are filing an injunction against Saddleback Church to include Bob Barr in their forum this Saturday.
You are the first to hear about this.
The complaint is based upon a violation of McCain/Feingold campaign finance legislation.
While we’re no fans of that legislation. However, we don’t write the rules, we’re just forced to play by them. In this case, we’re using McCain/Feingold to our advantage.
The reason I am disclosing so much to you is because this is just the beginning.
At every way you look at it, we’re at a disadvantage.
- We are being blocked from the national stage by the media, debate commissions and now even groups like Saddleback Church.
- Both the campaign and our party have put most of its manpower and money into getting on the ballot in every state.
- And we have our hands tied behind our backs by laws like McCain Feingold that benefit the two major parties.
But none of that matters.
We have a candidate who is worth fighting for and that’s is exactly what we’re going to do.
One way or another, Bob is going to get his message of liberty out to our nation.
We now have lawsuits active in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Massachusetts and now California to challenge the obstacles thrown in our way by the two-party system.
We’re also waging media battles as Bob continues his Midwest tour in Chicago and St. Louis this weekend that will be interrupted by a trip to Orange County, California.
And we’re not slowing down.
The only way to break through the two-party strangle hold is to fight them at every opportunity.
I need your help to continue our efforts.
Our ballot access battles have left our coffers nearly dry and I need you to make a donation today.
Please make a donation right now and help us continue our efforts and fight with every step that we take until Election Day.
Please make your most generous donation today and give as much as you can up to the maximum limit of $2,300.
Thank you for your loyalty, your generosity and for your commitment to liberty.
Sincerely,
Russell Verney Campaign Manager
P.S. According to campaign finance law, our campaign is still in “primary election” season and donations made before the Republican Convention will be counted against the primary limit of $2,300. You can give another $2,300 for the general election. If you can, try your best to reach or get close to the $2,300 limit today or at least before the Republican Convention. If you want to know how close you are to the limit, please call us right now by dialing 1-800-Bob-Barr.
The Barr campaign (in the person of Russ Verney) sent out an email appeal today focused on getting into the forum at Saddleback Church this Saturday. His old foe, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, gives their take on the story here, suggesting that it’s hypocritical for an LP candidate to sue to be included in a private forum.
From Russ Verney’s email:
As you read this, our attorneys are filing an injunction against Saddleback Church to include Bob Barr in their forum this Saturday.
You are the first to hear about this.
The complaint is based upon a violation of McCain/Feingold campaign finance legislation.
While we’re no fans of that legislation, we don’t write the rules, we’re just forced to play by them. In this case, we’re using McCain/Feingold to our advantage.
The appeal itself seems to have been written in haste and, although it asserts that the church is breaking the McCain-Feingold campaign finance rules, doesn’t really describe the basis of the injunction being sought.
The email is reminiscent of Monty Python’s tragic black knight:
Black Knight: ‘Tis but a scratch! King Arthur: A scratch? Your arm’s off! Black Knight: No, it isn’t! King Arthur: You liar! Black Knight: Come on, you pansy!
[They fight again. Arthur cuts off the Knight's right arm] King Arthur: Victory is mine!
[Kneels to pray] King Arthur: We thank thee, Lord, that in thy mercy -
[Cut off by the Knight kicking him] Black Knight: Come on, then. King Arthur: What? Black Knight: Have at you! King Arthur: You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine! Black Knight: Oh, had enough, eh? King Arthur: Look, you stupid bastard. You’ve got no arms left!
Russ Verney writes:
- We’ve raised less than $1 million
- We’re blocked from upcoming debates
- We’re polling at 6% nationally
No, John McCain could not handle our situation.
But our man, Bob Barr, isn’t slowing down and now he’s fighting mad.
And, of course, there’s some question about the validity of saying Barr is polling at 6%. However, there is evidence that a large number of Americans do want to see Barr and Nader participate in debates.
David Nolan gives Barr a midterm report card, which looks like a ‘C’ to me. Average in fundraising, average in media, below average in message, Party-building, and management. Nolan’s charge is that the campaign has failed to engage and inspire Libertarians, and that such energizing has to be the basis for any strong Libertarian campaign.
I’d like to see a campaign focused a little more on the possible than the windmill-tilting Barr has been playing at (last-minute petitioning in WVA, costly lawsuit in OK, etc.). What can Barr do as a Libertarian candidate? He could spend time meeting with Libertarian activists and candidates around the country, motivating them to become and stay engaged in local activism. Instead, he attends the same tired ‘conservative’ events he attended before, where he is tolerated but not welcomed, and hardly spends any time engaging Libertarian activists. He could work with other third-party candidates to engage those who are hyper-politically aware and win them to our cause. Instead, he eschews any sort of third-party candidate appearances, preferring to pretend he is somehow more relevant than Nader, for instance. He could engage thinkers and idea-spreaders with bold and principled proposals. Instead, he continues to waffle between the attractions of the populist appeal of Perot – but without the charisma (and yes, Perot had lots of charisma compared to Barr), and the more-conservative-than-McCain spoiler game.
Neither of those approaches seem to be working for Barr. He tried the start-with-a-bang approach and is finding that, for various reasons, it isn’t working. What remains to be seen is whether he accepts that fact and modifies his campaign to align with more realistic goals – growing and strengthening the Libertarian Party for the next election, for instance – or whether he persists in recklessly squandering the small amount of Libertarian capital (not just money, but credibility and consistency of message) painstakingly accumulated by hardworking activists who will still be here after November. I hope he chooses the long-term health of the LP over his current quick-burn course.
Did you know that Cheech Marin (of “Cheech and Chong” fame) was Steve Kubby’s college housemate? Me either.
Following is the High Times article about Steve Kubby (in pdf format). Written by Alexander Zaitchik as part of the “High Times Interview” series, it’s a definite must-read.
When stacked together, the Massachusetts state Libertarian Party’s nominating papers were more than two feet high. The signatures were collected by both volunteers and paid petitioners, and the state party spent more than $40,000 to collect, verify, and file the signatures, including printing, shipping, and transportation costs.
Other states could learn a lot from Massachusetts’ example. Great job, LP-Mass!
Boston, August 14. Libertarian Party U.S. Senate Candidate Bob Underwood and Libertarian State Party officials have filed nominating papers with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. “We filed over 15,000 certified signatures,” said State Chair George Phillies. “That’s far above the legal minimum of 10,000, enough to make our statewide slate immune to any credible challenge.” The nominating papers guarantee that Underwood and a Libertarian Presidential candidate will be on the Massachusetts ballot this November.
Underwood says of Iraq: “The end result was that militant Moslems sympathetic to Bin Ladin are more powerful today than ever. A vote for the major parties is a vote for the war. Bring all troops home. We are expending our wealth keeping troops abroad.” Underwood is a former Democrat. He says of his political past: “At age 21 I became a Democrat. Democrats were the part of the working class who stood against the Republican party, which by and large served the interests of the millionaire class, old money. Then, in the North, state governments shifted from funding education to increased regulation. Most of the Democratic Leadership did little to improve our lives. So I became a Libertarian.”
Nominating papers list the Libertarian Presidential team as George Phillies and Chris Bennett. The Libertarian Party is working vigorously to replace Phillies and Bennett with national Party nominees Bob Barr and Wayne Root. “We promised we’d do replacement,” Phillies said. “Then Massachusetts changed its rules. We’re trying to change them back. I hope we succeed, because I want to keep my promise on replacement. If we fail, Chris Bennett and I will wage a vigorous campaign across Massachusetts. We’ll campaign for the Libertarian goals of peace, liberty, and prosperity. We’ll campaign against Democratic and Republican achievements: Perpetual war. Ever-fewer civil liberties. A bigger national debt. Falling standards of living.”
For more on the Libertarian Statewide slate, contact the candidates directly:
George Phillies
campaign@phillies2008.org
508 754 1859
New news at the top 12 August 2008 The Boston Tea Party’s national committee has voted to endorse Tom Knapp for Congress in Missouri. Tom represents the Libertarian Party in that race. Our Indiana affiliate has voted to endorse Rex Bell in Indiana.
10 August 2008 Our ranks continue to swell. We now have 222 members on this site, 276 on our main Facebook group. We added a Kansas group to our set of affiliate groups on Facebook. http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27131827190
Invite your friends to join the party today!
8 August 2007 The Boston Tea Party national committee has unanimously endorsed George Phillies for president of the United States and Chris Bennett for vice president in the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, where the two are on the ballot representing the Libertarian Party. The vote was six in favor with one not voting (Chris Bennett is an at-large member of the Boston Tea Party’s national committee and chose not to vote given his conflict of interest in the result).
Commenting on the news, Boston Tea Party chair Jim Davidson said, “We nominated Charles Jay and Tom Knapp for the offices of president and vice president of the United States because we did not find the nominees of the Libertarian Party to be suitable. We did not do so because we have any essential objection to the Libertarian Party, nor to many of the fine people working within it. We did so because we wanted a libertarian candidate to be on the ballot. Obviously, we don’t have time to get our candidates on the ballot in every state. So, we were especially gratified to learn that actual libertarians who favor smaller government on all issues and at all levels are on the ballot in New Hampshire and in Massachusetts.”
Charles Jay may qualify as a write-in candidate in either state for those Boston Tea Party enthusiasts for whom there are no substitutes. New Hampshire has officially declared that George Phillies will be on its ballot, and unless a lawsuit brought by the ACLU changes things in Massachusetts, George and Chris are also on the ballot there. While it is clear that neither Charles nor George is going to be president at the beginning of next year, it is essential that there be presidential candidates to carry the message of libertarian values to the American people in this election year. The national committee of the Boston Tea Party regards it as excellent news that there happen to be two presidential candidates qualified to carry that message this year.
7 August 2008 BTP at-large representative Chris Bennett has accepted the request of George Phillies to be his running mate in New Hampshire. The national committee is considering an endorsement for the two in NH and Massachusetts, where they’ll be on the ballot.
29 July 2008 Good news everybody! We’re officially a party in Florida, so members there can register to vote as Boston Tea Party-goers. We have a team in Florida putting together electors for the ballot application there. The same is true in Tennessee and in Louisiana. The Jay campaign is raising funds for ballot access work in other states – visit CJ08.com for details.
We have affiliates forming in several states. If your state isn’t listed on our contact page, please contact the chairman for help in forming one! We now have over 200 members on this site and nearly 250 members on our Facebook group.
UPDATE: It appears that the Maine town and county clerks are using their discretionary powers and are accepting the slightly late filing by the LP. The actual state deadline is August 15, so the petitions will still meet that more important deadline.
The Barr campaign petitions now have 5,520 signatures, which should be enough to make the 4,000 valid requirement.
In order to make it better, I would like to serve as the Executive Director of the Libertarian Party. Please find my attached resume.
I believe my proven experience with strong results working as a volunteer and paid staff for the Libertarian Party makes me an excellent candidate. I’ve routinely been able to motivate Libertarians in Texas by bragging about what we’ve already accomplished. Nationwide, I think the Libertarian Party has been suffering from a credibility crisis with too much bragging about what’s going to happen, only to be followed up with excuse after excuse for failures.
I have dual master’s degrees in business and engineering, have bought, run and sold my own company, and have consulted all across America and internationally for businesses people have actually heard of.
I have thick skin, thrive on attacks from opponents, and don’t care what the press or blogs are saying about me. In fact, I love the smell of flame wars in the morning! Read the rest of this entry »
On the deadline date of August 8, Bob Barr submitted a total of 3,200 signatures to various town and city clerks in Maine. State law requires 4,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot.
Over the weekend, petitioners obtained another 2,000 signatures, which they had hoped to turn in to the clerks on Monday. The signatures are not due at the Secretary of State’s office until Aug. 15. If the local clerks choose to take the late signatures, Barr could still qualify, since the additional signatures would potentially give him 5,200 total.
If the officials fail to accept and certify the late signatures, LP officials plan to go to court.
Maine joins Oklahoma, Massachusetts and West Virginia among states which the Barr campaign is suing to be on the ballot. The Barr campaign also raced to the deadline in Connecticut, as well as in New Hampshire, where the LP failed to qualify in 2004 and 2006 and where George Phillies will be on the ballot either alongside or instead of Bob Barr as a Libertarian Presidential candidate. The results of the last-minute pushes in Connecticut and New Hampshire are forthcoming.
Another possible concern for the campaign is the District of Columbia, which pre-nomination LP ballot access plans had written off (along with West Virginia and Oklahoma). According to the chart at Ballot Access News, with a week left to go, DC reports only 300 signatures gathered for Barr. Although the District requires only 3,883 valid signatures, petitioning in the district is made more difficult than in other places because non-DC residents make up a substantial portion of the DC workforce and nightlife, and because of the high prevalence of tourists, people who are disqualified (or believe they are disqualified) from voting by reason of a criminal record, and those who are not (or believe they are not) allowed to sign petitions because of their government job.
The LP has been on the ballot in 48 states or more plus DC in every election since 1992.
These are hard times, and not only for antiwar activists. The country is falling into a massive recession that threatens daily to turn into something far worse. Charitable contributions are way off, and we’re feeling the pinch.
Yet we’re counting on you to come through for us when all else fails, because being right should count for something.
We were right that Iran’s regional influence would be increased exponentially.
But where has being right gotten us?
We’re right back where we started, warning of the consequences of yet another war, this time against Iran – and asking our readers to help us survive for the next quarter.
We don’t have the big foundations, the limousine liberals, and the George Soroses of this world showering us with money. We depend on the generosity of our readers – yes, you! – to get by.
We’ve told the truth, without fear or favor. For over a decade, we’ve served our readers well. But we can’t continue to bring you the unvarnished truth if we don’t make our fundraising goal of $70,000. It’s as simple as that. Please make your tax-deductible contribution today.
For more information, please contact Angela Keaton at akeaton@antiwar.com or call donor development at 323-512-7095.
Our online team has been working day and night to get the word out about this campaign. We have a great team of volunteers who help us every day on a site called Digg.com. We have been posting comments, submitting articles, and voting those submissions up. Its hard netroots activism and now it’s paying off…
We are within 1,500 friends of surpassing John McCain on Digg.com.
Its support like this, early on in the race, that will help our campaign surge towards success in November. As we continue to show strong support on sites like Digg , YouTube , Facebook , and MySpacemore people will be turned to our message of Liberty for America.
Check back regularly for new campaign articles at our Digg profile , it’s always changing with new submissions. The more ‘diggs’ you give us on our articles, the greater chance we have to increase our exposure to a huge audience by hitting the Digg.com front page.
The more we operate on Digg, the more we notice users converting from other campaigns. We are seeing people change their profile icons from Obama, Huckabee, McCain & Ron Paul to Bob Barr!
Thank you so much for taking 60 seconds out of your day for Bob.
Your Friend,
Martin Avila
eCampaign Manager Bob Barr for President
P.S. Below is our daily update, with the progress since the last message following the plus sign. Keep in mind that these numbers only improve with your help and I greatly appreciate your efforts.
Daily Campaign Update:
Funds Raised in August: $39,545* + $14,614
Number of Donors: 5,896* + 90
Email Subscribers: 24,394 + 4,390
Meetups: 6,204 members + 394
Volunteers: 3,913* + 55
For Immediate Release
POC, Todd Andrew Barnett, BTPMI Chair
ToddAndrewBarnett@ gmail.com
(586) 725-9218
New Baltimore, MI (Cyberia) — A new political party, spun off from the Libertarian Party of Michigan, is now in existence, and it is another libertarian party. It is called the Boston Tea Party of Michigan, an affiliate of the national Boston Tea Party that was formed in July of 2006. The state party, which has been in existence since June 11, has announced that it has opened its doors to the masses at large.
The party, which is also known as the BTPMI, has a website and boasts a platform which states the following:
The Boston Tea Party of Michigan supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.
It is quickly becoming the fastest libertarian alternative in the already-established third party movement. There is even a Facebook group, which has 16 members to date.
“When LP presidential candidate Bob Barr got the nomination and Wayne Allyn Root got the vice presidential nom as well, the ball was dropped the minute it was announced that they came out of the convention as victors,” said Boston Tea Party of Michigan Chairman Todd Andrew Barnett. “The results of the convention energized libertarians and all advocates of liberty to resurrect the moribund Boston Tea Party, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
The BTPMI, which was recognized as an affiliate of the Boston Tea Party on June 11, now showcases its bylaws and platform. While membership is very low in the new party, Barnett hopes to bolster support for this new vehicle. “My plan is to recruit as many new Boston Tea Party and Boston Tea Party of Michigan members as possible,” he said. “My hope is that, if we get more former Libertarians, former Republicans, former Democrats, many Independents, and people from all walks of life into this party, we will become a stronger force to be reckoned with. I hope we can achieve that. I certainly won’t get my hopes up, but it is my belief that some good things will happen from now until in the future.”
Barnett hopes that a founding state convention will be held later this year but before the November elections. He even hopes that membership will go up, although he’s not expecting a huge increase in its first year. “I’m not expecting long lines to show up at the door,” he said. “But I’m confident that more people will see us, like what we stand for, and support us financially and politically.”
He hopes that the Boston Tea message will reach Michigan voters and other citizens in the state. “If you’re concerned about high taxes, too many regulations, the state’s economy going down the tubes, and the government intruding in your wallet and personal life, this is the Party for you,” he said. “We, the members of the Boston Tea Party of Michigan, want the government out of your life as much as possible. If you agree with us, you’re a perfect fit for the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Tea Party of Michigan.”
The Boston Tea Party was organized in 2006 in the aftermath of the LP’s Portland, Oregon convention, in which over 80 percent of the party’s platform was scrapped. The Party boasts a platform which reads the following:
The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.
For Immediate Release
POC, Todd Andrew Barnett, BTP Vice-Chair
ToddAndrewBarnett@ gmail.com
(586) 725-9218
New Baltimore, MI– Boston Tea Party Vice-Chair candidate Todd Andrew Barnett praises Hollywood actress Mary-Kate Olsen, twin sister of actress Ashley Olsen, for refusing to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) further investigation into the recent death of actor Heath Ledger. Barnett, who is currently the Party’s recently-appointed Vice-Chair, issues his comments hours after the former star of “Full House,” who recently portrayed Tara Lindman on Showtime’s “Weeds,” had requested immunity from federal prosecution via her attorney. She even has denied any involvement with the drugs that were found near his body after his death.
“Mary-Kate Olsen deserves a lot of credit for taking a stand against these vile and diabolical agents of the state who, if for no other reason, want to prosecute anyone for any reason whether they did have anything to do with Mr. Ledger’s death or not,” he said. “She’s absolutely doing the right thing by refusing to cooperate with them. She has already told them everything she knows regarding the circumstances behind his death. What part of “I’ve-already-told- you-what- I-know” don’t they understand?”
Olsen’s attorney Michael C. Miller issued a statement to the press on August 4, stating that he and his client have already cooperated with the government long enough. “We have provided the government with relevant information including facts in the chronology of events surrounding Mr. Ledger’s death,” he said. “[A]nd the fact is that Ms. Olsen does not kow the source of the drugs Mr. Ledger consumed.”
Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead in his Manhattan, New York apartment on January 22 by a masseuse who came over to give him a massage. A bottle of sleeping pills was found nearby. Later, the coroner at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York, who performed an autopsy on Ledger’s body, issued a report in which he documented evidence of an accidental overdose of a combination of painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.
“What happened to Ledger was a tragedy; that’s a given,” said Barnett. “It’s been long accepted since the release of the coroner’s autopsy results that he died of a lethal yet accidental overdose of drugs that his body couldn’t handle. We can reasonably conclude that he was abusing those drugs, even though they were, except for two fake prescriptions, legally prescribed. But the truth of the matter is that, despite this horrible tragedy, it was Ledger’s fault for getting himself killed. He could have gotten help at any point in time before this happened. He’s to blame for his own death, not Mary-Kate Olsen or anybody else for that matter.”
Press reports indicate that a federal subpoena could strong arm Olsen into coming to court and stand before a grand jury if talks between the federal authorities and her attorney fail. Other witnesses, such as Ledger’s ex-girlfriend actress Michelle Williams, doctors, and others who were near his apartment at the time of his death, have cooperated with the government “voluntarily.”
“The fact that these federal goons want to coerce her to stand before a federal judge and a grand jury on the suspicion that she might have had something to do with his accidental death shows exactly how self-righteous and repugnant these people are,” said Barnett. “She had nothing to do with his death. There’s no evidence proving that she is somehow guilty of any involvement in his death. All the rumors and claims to the contrary are purely circumstantial.”
Barnett furthermore urges Americans not to cooperate with the cops by refusing to cooperate the same way Olsen has done. “Today’s cops in the United States and everywhere else are trained to arrest people whether they commit any crimes or not, not to keep the peace or provide assistance as they used to do decades ago,” he said. “Not only that, they are trained to use anything against you whether you’re under arrest or not. Also, their interrogation techniques are devised to make you incriminate yourself, whether you’re guilty or not. Mary-Kate obviously understands this; therefore, she deserves the accolades for her action there. I hope other Americans will do the same thing that she did.”
Aside from the obvious fact that Ledger was irresponsible with his out-of-control drug use, said Barnett, the state pursuing Mary-Kate Olsen is a clear-cut indicator of the War on Drugs gone mad. “The state’s obsession with Olsen is positive proof that the War on Drugs has become out of control, and it needs to stop,” Barnett said. “It’s time to end the War on Drugs at the federal, state, and local levels. This unnecessary further investigation of Ledger’s demise is not an investigation at all, but rather a government witchhunt against a Hollywood actress whom they think must be guilty because of her platonic relationship with Ledger and that she must have supplied him with the drugs. It’s time to pull the plug on this program now, once and for all.”
The Boston Tea Party is the fastest growing libertarian alternative. Formed in 2006, it bears the World’s Smallest Political Platform, which reads the following:
The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.
The following is a press release from LP Senatorial candidate Christopher Cole.
In a speech to the US House on September 5, 2002, Texas Congressman Ron Paul announced a deadly prophecy: “Russia, now licking its wounds and once-again accumulating wealth, will not sit idly by and watch the American empire engulf this region. When time runs out for us, we can be sure Russia will once again be ready to fight for control of all those resources in countries adjacent to her border.”
Then-Russian President warned in April that he would consider US policy in Kosovo as a template for his own policy in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (see this BBC story, http://tinyurl. com/5nuweu).
Those two speeches alone gave clear evidence that the policy of the American government to interfere with ethnic and political conflicts far from our shores would lead to an increase in death and instability was easily foreseeable. Yet the warnings were ignored. And now, Georgians, Russians, Ossetians, and probably soon Abkhazi, watch their homes burn, their neighbors die, and their homelands descend into anarchy.
In contrast, Libertarian Christopher Cole advocates a policy of non-intervention, the longheld Libertarian position of foreign policy, which was also the policy of historical American governments, as the ONLY path to peace and international amity. For example, two-time US president Grover Cleveland said, “It is the policy of peace suitable to our interests. It is the policy of neutrality, rejecting any share in foreign brawls and ambitions on other continents, and repelling their intrusion here. It is the policy of Monroe and of Washington and Jefferson: Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”
The US Senate plays a special role in foreign policy, since all ambassadorial appointments and treaty commitments require Senate confirmation. In addition, the Senate shares with the House control of the fiscal purse-strings. Cole is committed to using those Constitutional powers to push for a foreign policy in the interests of Americans in peace, prosperity, and international amity.
“The left has a massive agenda for the state at home, and yet complains bitterly, with shock and dismay, that the same tools are used to start wars and build imperial structures abroad. The right claims to want to restrain government at home (at least in some ways) while whooping it up for war and global reconstruction abroad.”
– Llewellyn Rockwell
Of the Big Three Democrats who sought their party’s 2008 nomination, there is no doubt that John Edwards was the worst. But had he won the nomination and the presidency, his hard-line socialism would have gotten virtually nowhere, and we would be none the worse for it. Still, we can thank our lucky stars that Edwards, the Great White (male) Hope, did not score an upset over Obama/Hillary, as it is clear he would not have won the presidency had he been the Democratic nominee.
This extramarital affair has been a poorly kept secret for a while now. But just think of the incomprehensible arrogance Edwards must possess in order to have done what he did. And I’m not talking about the affair — it should never be a surprise when politicians, criminals by trade, commit fraud against the spouse to whom they have contractually agreed to remain faithful — but having that affair and then continuing with his longshot bid for the presidency.
How could this have played out in Edwards’s head? Did he really think it wouldn’t get revealed? Come on! If he had scored the Dem nomination, this revelation would have helped elect McInsane. Did Edwards care?
Of course, the worst part of all this is that Edwards had an easy out. When his wife — the one he cheated on — was diagnosed with cancer, I remember listening to CNBC’s coverage. Everyone was expecting his presidential campaign to come to an end. Reporters were shocked when his statements seemed to say otherwise, and had to ask him for clarification. Yes, he was still running.
Now there can be no debate; no defense of this man. He’s beyond redemption, a slime ball. He moralized, preached the socialist Christian gospel, condemned gay marriage… I revel in his fall from grace.
George D. J. Phillies is a reluctant candidate. Actually, he says he’s not a candidate at all.
The Worcester man, a physics professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is so unwilling to stand for office in November’s election that he is taking part in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts against Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office seeking to be removed from the ballot as the Libertarian Party’s standard-bearer for president.
Mr. Phillies, 60, says that while his party’s state committee chose him as its nominee here, he told state election officials in Mr. Galvin’s office last spring that if he did not win the national nomination at the party’s convention in Denver last May, he would want the winner to substitute for his place on the state ballot.
Former Georgia congressman Bob Barr eventually won the party’s nomination, besting 13 other candidates, including Mr. Phillies, who came in fifth.
After the May 25 convention, Mr. Phillies asked the Secretary of State’s office if he could substitute the names of Mr. Barr and Mr. Barr’s running mate, New York businessman Wayne A. Root, for his name. But in June, election division officials denied the request.
They said the party would have to repeat the signature-gathering process to get the new names on the ballot, according to ACLU officials and Mr. Phillies, who also happens to be the vice president of the Worcester County chapter of the state ACLU.
Brian S. McNiff, a spokesman for Mr. Galvin, declined comment, saying the matter is in litigation.
Mr. Phillies is not a big fan of Mr. Barr, even though he says he plans to vote for him and supports him as his party’s nominee.
The two diverge significantly on political matters. Mr. Phillies, who styles himself a “centrist” Libertarian, calls Mr. Barr a “right-wing Republican” Libertarian whose stances against same-sex marriage and for the war on drugs are, to him, contrary to basic Libertarian principles of individual freedom.
“I think most of the state members of the party will not be heartbroken if this suit is not settled until after Nov. 4,” Mr. Phillies said. “But if you want to be a good man or a good woman, you have to keep your word.”
Meanwhile, the ACLU sees the issue as a case of ballot access freedom and the state squeezing a small party’s ability to field the candidate it chooses, depriving voters of the right to vote for the candidate they prefer.
John Reinstein, the state ACLU’s legal director, said that the state’s rules for ballot substitution appear to be “totally arbitrary,” arguing election officials have allowed similar substitutions in the past.
“It’s much easier for Republicans or Democrats to get on the ballot than a third party,” he said.
But what would be the harm of Mr. Phillies keeping his place on the ballot?
“He’s not the candidate,” Mr. Reinstein said. “Obviously, the candidate they’ve nominated is much better known.”
Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman, failed to submit enough signatures to be considered for a ballot spot, said Sarah Bailey, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Betty Ireland.
Under West Virginia law, third-party candidates for president must submit by Aug. 1 the valid signatures of 15,118 registered state voters who have signed a petition requesting the candidate be placed on the ballot. Barr’s campaign submitted only 13,036 signatures, Bailey said.
“I understand they are still collecting signatures,” Bailey said.
Barr’s campaign is continuing, said Mike Ferguson, a campaign coordinator. He hopes to have more than the 15,118 by next week.
“We’re continuing to collect signatures and next week we’re going to be filing [in court] for an injunction,” Ferguson said.
The party objects to the “arbitrary date” established by state law for having petition drives completed, he said. He said Republicans don’t have to officially file until their convention ends in September, “so there’s no compelling reason” to have independents submit signatures sooner.
Ferguson said he will meet with a lawyer Monday and expects to file a legal suit challenging state law shortly thereafter.
The Following is an email from the Bob Barr campaign. Yesterday’s “60 Seconds” email reflected that they lost 360 meetup members overnight, and today’s shows that they lost 72 email subscribers overnight.
Dear Friend,
It’s been a great first week for this exercise. Since we started, we’ve had over 700 people subscribe to our YouTube page; we’ve had dozens of people go on the air to talk about Bob Barr; now we have thousands of e-mails whizzing around the Internet promoting our candidate.
Not too bad for a few minutes of work for the week!
Here’s today’s task: Join a Bob Barr Meetup!
In yesterday’s email, you may have noticed that we took a hit on the number of Meetup members that we have. That loss came on the heels of an article on Tech Pres that touted our recent success on Meetup.
We need to get our numbers back up so that our Meetup Coordinators and activists can have more to work with.
Don’t worry, this one is really easy.
So here’s the task:
1. Go to bobbarr.meetup.com.
2. Enter your zip code and search.
3. Find a nearby Bob Barr Meetup and join it!
4. If there are no nearby Meetups you can either fill out the form to get invited when one starts or your can start your own. To start your own, contact Shana Kluck and she’ll walk you through the process.
5. Once you’re part of a local Bob Barr Meetup, you’ll be informed of upcoming meetings and events so please stay active and attend!
That’s it!
In Liberty,
Shane Cory Deputy Campaign Manager Bob Barr for President
P.S. Below is our daily update with the progress since yesterday following the plus sign. Keep in mind that these numbers only improve with your help, and I greatly appreciate your efforts.
Daily Campaign Update:
Funds Raised in August: $24,931* + $2,596
Number of Donors: 5,806* + 100
Email Subscribers: 20,004 - 72
Meetups: 5,810 members + 18
Volunteers: 3,858* + 21
* Funds raised online only.
To donate by mail:
Barr 2008 Presidential Committee
P.O. Box 725007
Atlanta, GA 31139
To donate by phone:
Call 1-800-Bob-Barr
Paid for by Barr 2008 Presidential Committee.
Federal law requires us to report the name, address, and name of employer and occupation for any individual whose aggregate contributions total over $200 in a calendar year. Corporate contributions and gifts from foreign nationals are prohibited. Personal Credit Card gifts only. Contributions are not tax deductible for income tax purposes. Limit of $2,300 per person per election and $4,600 per couple if signed by both parties and drawn on a jointly held bank account.
A package of marijuana was sent to an unsuspecting mayor’s wife, in a scheme in which drugs are mailed to people who are not in any way involved, then intercepted by those in the smuggling ring. She hadn’t even seen the package, and it had not even been opened, when a SWAT team burst in without knocking, killed their dogs immediately, and terrorized the mayor, his elderly mother-in-law, and his innocent wife. The cops refused to show a warrant when asked, and furthermore, no-knock warrants aren’t even legal in the state of Maryland. Not at all surprisingly, the cops claim they did nothing wrong.
Why did they raid these people at all? Had they done even a little bit of background, they’d know it was the mayor’s home, and that they could have just knocked on the door and asked for the package, and it would undoubtedly have been turned over without question.
(CNN) — A Maryland mayor is asking the federal government to investigate why SWAT team members burst into his home without knocking and shot his two dogs to death in an investigation into a drug smuggling scheme.
“This has been a difficult week and a half for us,” Cheye Calvo, mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, said Thursday. “We lost our family dogs. We did it at the hands of sheriff’s deputies who burst through our front door, rifles blazing.”
The raid last week was led by the Prince George’s County Police Department, with the sheriff’s special operations team assisting, after a package of marijuana was sent to Calvo’s home.
Authorities say the package was part of a scheme in which drugs are mailed to unknowing recipients and then intercepted.
Calvo said he had just returned home from walking his two Labrador retrievers, Chase and Payton, when his mother-in-law told him a package had arrived for his wife, Trinity Tomsic.
Moments later, Calvo was in his room changing for a meeting when he heard commotion downstairs.
“The door flew open,” he said. “I heard gunfire shoot off. There was a brief pause and more gunfire.”
Calvo said he was brought downstairs at gunpoint in his boxer shorts, handcuffed and forced onto the floor with his mother-in-law near the carcass of one of dead dogs.
“I noticed my two dead dogs lying in pools of their own blood,” Calvo said.
Calvo said his mother-in-law is still recovering from the incident.
“She got the worst of it,” Calvo said. “She was literally in the kitchen, cooking a lovely pasta dish, and they brought down the door and shot our dogs.”
While he was being held, Calvo said, he told police he is the town’s mayor, but they didn’t believe him.
Berwyn Heights has its own police force, he said, but Prince George’s County police did not notify the municipal authorities of their interest in his home or the package.
“They didn’t know my name. All they knew was my wife’s name. They matched that to the registration of the car,” Calvo said. “It was that lack of communication that really led to what has really been the most traumatic experience of our lives.”
After the raid, arrests were made in the package interception scheme.
The incident has prompted the couple to call for a federal investigation because, they say, they don’t believe police are capable of conducting an internal investigation.
“They’ve said they’ve done nothing wrong,” Calvo said. “I didn’t sign up for this fight, but I think what we have to do now is make changes to how Prince George’s County police and Prince George’s County sheriff’s department operate.”
Calvo said authorities entered his home without knocking and refused to show him a warrant when he requested one.
But Prince George’s County Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Taylor said legal counsel had informed her that “no-knock” warrants do not exist in Maryland.
Taylor said authorities were acting on a warrant issued based on information available to them at the time.
“This warrant was for permission to search the premises,” she said. “The special operations team that supported us made a decision about the necessity of entry at the point of being on the scene.”
“No-knock” warrants have drawn criticism before. In Atlanta, Georgia, Kathryn Johnston, 92, was shot to death by police in a botched drug raid involving such a warrant in November.
Taylor, a self-described dog lover, expressed sympathy for the loss of Calvo’s dogs, but stopped short of apologizing for the incident.
“We’ve done these similar kinds of operations over and over again, to the tune of removing billions of dollars of drugs from the community and without people or animals being harmed,” she said. “We don’t want any of our operations to result in the injury or loss of anybody, and certainly not animals.”
The deputies have said they killed the two animals because they felt threatened.
“I would say that the dogs presented a threat, I would imagine, to the special operations situation,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, Calvo and his wife said members of the community have expressed sympathy and concern about the incident.
At a news conference Thursday, Tomsic tearfully recalled a recent encounter with a neighbor who used to wave at the couple as they walked Payton and Chase.
“She gave me a big hug,” Tomsic said. “She said, ‘If the police shot your dogs dead and did this to you, how can I trust them?’ “
Hottie 1, Wes Benedict, Hottie 2; South Padre Island, Texas
“Hi! Are you registered to vote in Texas? Did you vote in the primary? Of course not! Can I get your name, address, and signature, and if you don’t have your voter registration card on you (where would you put it?), can I get your date of birth for verification purposes? Put your phone number and email, too, if you feel comfortable with that.”
Repeat a million times or whatever until you get 45,540 valid signatures. That’s enough to drive anyone insane!
In 2004, I volunteered full-time to help the Libertarian Party of Texas collect 45,540 valid signatures for ballot access (just happened to be available). I started off by getting training from a veteran Austin-area petitioner who was working for Ralph Nader petitioning at the University of Texas at Austin campus. Students are known to be more willing to sign petitions than the average voter.
Wasn’t long before UT officials kicked us off campus. But, since it was March and Spring Break week was coming up, I ventured down to South Padre Island, Texas, thinking it would be easy pickin’s hitting up students on the beach. Wise move.
Back to reality.
It’s hard to find volunteers who will collect signatures. Even if you have plenty of money to spend, it’s hard to find people who will collect signatures regardless of the pay. We didn’t have plenty of money in Texas. We went into unsecured debt because our by-laws prevented debt but several of us provided un-guaranteed debt.
While I started off on the 2004 Texas petition drive as the volunteer coordinator, I ended up helping to organize the paid petitioners and manage the verification and counting process. I still have photocopies of all 80,107 signatures in storage.
At times I was placing ads and hitting up almost anyone to collect signatures. Lots of people tried, but almost everyone without experience failed despite extensive training and hand-holding.
I think I wrote checks to over 70 different people. Most of those people wasted more of my time than they were worth.
I also dealt with many of the veteran professional Libertarian Party petitioners who travel the country collecting signatures wherever needed. Some of them are commenters on this blog.
I found dealing with them to be incredibly challenging, but finally resigned myself to realizing that while collecting signatures may sound easy, most good petitioners are nearly insane and difficult to deal with. Yet, trying to get signatures from anyone else was mostly a waste of time. I’m not sure whether collecting signatures makes you insane, or whether only insane people can collect signatures, or a combination. I do know I found myself bordering on insanity during our 2004 Texas petition drive and it took over a year before I could see a group of people standing around without reflexively sizing it up for its petition worthiness.
I do think veteran LP petitioners get screwed over often by the the petition organizers. That’s partly because it’s rare for organizers to have clear lines of authority, partly because those organizers are usually inexperienced, often they don’t have definite funds available, and partly because the experienced petitioners know how and often do exploit the inexperienced organizers.
I’m not surprised to hear about the recent problems with the West Virginia petition drive. They had an inexperienced organizer who didn’t have an appreciation in advance of how hard it is to find productive petitioners and match them with productive places to collect signatures.
This post is to give a disgruntled West Virginia petitioner a place to air controversies. I trust that will be covered at length in the comments section since I don’t have first hand knowledge of the issues.
I expect people will find little of substance in what I’ve written here. I mostly wanted to post the pictures.
Here’s a picture of the Texas turn in of signatures in 2004.
BOSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit asking state election officials to place the Libertarian Party’s national presidential candidate on the ballot.
The ACLU said today the state Libertarian party put a local presidential contender on its nomination papers after officials at the Massachusetts Elections Division said they could substitute a national candidate later.
ACLU legal director John Reinstein says officials later rejected the party’s requests to substitute national Libertarian candidate Bob Barr for the local nominee, George Phillies.
Libertarian National Committee Now Seeking Applicants for 2010 Bylaws Committee
The National Committee will be selecting the 2010 Bylaws Committee at its September Meeting. Anyone interested in serving should email LNC Secretary Bob Sullentrup by mid-August at rwsully@att.net.
Demonstrable expertise, such as membership in the National Association of Parliamentarians, is desirable but not required. Members should expect to travel at least one face to face meeting prior to the 2010 convention.
The following was written by Robert Milnes, and is reproduced with permission of the author.
Several months ago I said that the most important development in Third Party politics in 2008 has been the Cato Institute study The Libertarian Vote. It was spectacularly verified by the Ron Paul campaign. There is a glass ceiling of the libertarian vote of 13%; 20% if you include the crossover vote as in the ongoing Gallup Governance Survey. Hence Ron Paul did not win a single primary. Winning the republican nomination by a libertarian is all but impossible. Further, under the American system an all libertarian ticket cannot win either. Multiple third party endorsements of a ticket have been tried unsuccessfully also. http://www.rangevoting.org/Fusion.html However what has not been tried is a ticket comprised of two persons of different parties or inconsistent political philosophies. A Progressive Alliance ticket consisting of a libertarian and a green, man and woman could possible add their inclusive vote, estimated at 40%, instead of splitting it. That combined with the Libertarian Party’s reknown ability to get onto 100% or nearly of ballots, could actually win. However winning the White House would be problematic if such a progressive administration has a democratic and republican Congress. Therefore a complete Progressive Alliance Strategy would be to coordinate the downticket vote by encouraging only one Libertarian OR Green on Every ballot. That should get many such ballots elected. Hence it is up to the Libertarian Party to recognize its limitations in an all libertarian ticket and potential to win by installing such a fusion ticket.
Yesterday, we asked you to subscribe Bob Barr’s YouTube page. After a few weeks of being stuck at around 2,700 subscribers, we now have 3,280 subscribers. We gained 528 subscribers nearly overnight! Good job!
Now for today’s task: Call Talk Radio!
We need to hit the local airwaves to let people know about our candidate, Bob Barr! Bob stands for maximizing individual liberty and minimizing government power.
Give the following task a shot and get back to me by e-mailing feedback@bobbarr2008.com and let me know how it went.
Also, feel free to save this task for tomorrow morning if you have a favorite morning program to call.
So here’s the task:
1. Go to Radio-Locator.com and enter your zip code to find a local talk station.
2. Visit your station’s Web site to get the call-in number.
3. Tune in, get the topic of discussion and dial.
4. If you get through, you’ll probably be connected with the call screener. Say you want to weight in on the topic being discussed.
5. When you get on the air, address the topic if you wish, then say something along the lines of, “That’s a great issue to discuss but let me tell you about a real choice in the race for the presidency, Bob Barr.“
6. Finally, and this is important, before it’s too late, plug our site: BobBarr2008.com.
7. Shoot a quick note to me at feedback@bobbarr2008.com and let me know how it went.
That’s it!
I’ll report back to you tomorrow with feedback from others.
That does it for today’s “60 Seconds for Bob!”
In Liberty,
Shane Cory Deputy Campaign Manager Bob Barr for President
P.S. Below is our daily update with the progress since yesterday following the plus sign. Keep in mind that these numbers only improve with your help and I greatly appreciate your efforts.
Daily Campaign Update:
Funds Raised in August: $18,715* + $7,982
Number of Donors: 5,644* + 68
Email Subscribers: 19,881 +118
Meetups: 6,152 members + 47
Volunteers: 3,809* + 40
* Funds raised online only.
To donate by mail:
Barr 2008 Presidential Committee
P.O. Box 725007 Atlanta, GA 31139
To donate by phone:
Call 1-800-Bob-Barr
Paid for by Barr 2008 Presidential Committee.
Federal law requires us to report the name, address, and name of employer and occupation for any individual whose aggregate contributions total over $200 in a calendar year. Corporate contributions and gifts from foreign nationals are prohibited. Personal Credit Card gifts only. Contributions are not tax deductible for income tax purposes. Limit of $2,300 per person per election and $4,600 per couple if signed by both parties and drawn on a jointly held bank account.
What is the difference between potential future First Lady Cindy McCain and a MARIJUANA dealer?
Cindy deals a more harmful drug: ALCOHOL
That’s right, Cindy McCain — wife of presumptive presidential candidateSen. John McCain (R-AZ) — is an alcohol dealer. As the the chairperson and majority shareholder of Hensley & Co., one of the nation’s largest distributors of Anheuser-Busch beer, she made a fortune dealing more than 23 million cases of beer last year.
Whereas selling millions of dollars worth of alcohol could land Cindy in the White House, selling just a few hundred or thousand dollars worth of marijuana continues to land countless Americans in the big house (prison, that is). This is despite the fact that marijuana is FAR less harmful than alcohol both to the user and to society. “Cindy McCain: Drug Dealer” is a provocative new campaign designed to highlight this hypocrisy and spread the message that marijuana is safer than alcohol and should be treated that way.
Featured on the site is a short yet hilarious Web ad called “Drug-Deal-Er,” which is a play on the old Budweiser frogs commercials. (A huge thanks goes out Paul Saurini for helping us produce this great video.) Also on the site is information on Cindy McCain’s lucrative drug dealing empire, the facts about marijuana compared to alcohol, and PDFs of the Cindy “WANTED” poster that we would love to see posted everywhere!
Word of the campaign has already traveled quickly, spreading from the blogosphere (such as this piece on The Raw Story) to the mainstream media (such as this story in today’s Denver Post). We expect it will continue to grow, especially after our press conference today in front of the Hensley Cartel’s Headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona!
- Sign the on-line petition and forward it to all of your friends, family, and coworkers.
- Download and print Cindy “WANTED” postersto hang around your community, in your office, or simply on your refrigerator. We need to get these up EVERYWHERE!
- Watch SAFER’s original “Drug-Deal-Er” video and share it with everyone you can.
- Contact us to find out how you can do more to spread the word in your area and/or on the Web!
- Make a donation to help us buy more ads and reach a larger national audience. Cindy “WANTED” poster ads are currently featured on some major national blogs and on more than a dozen of the most popular statewide political blogs around the country (click HERE for an example). We only had enough in our budget to buy ads for one week, though, and we need your help to keep them (and new ones) up and running.
This is NOT an attack on Cindy McCain or alcohol!
SAFER certainly realizes the “Cindy McCain: Drug Dealer” campaign will raise some eyebrows. After all, that’s the point. But we trust you — and the public in general — will understand that this is NOT a personal attack on Cindy McCain and it is certainly not a partisan thing (as you may recall, SAFER also labeled Denver’s Democratic brewpub-owning mayor John Hickenlooper a “Drug Dealer”).
Cindy is proud of her job and her industry, and alcohol use and sales are widely accepted in this country. Why is highlighting them an “attack” or negative in any way? In fact, we hope to get the public and the media thinking about just why it seems so crazy to call someone who sells alcohol a “drug dealer,” whereas there seems to be no problem using the term for those who sell marijuana.
We should also point out that SAFER is NOT attacking alcohol. As we’ve said time and time again, we respect the right of adults to use alcohol responsibly. We are simply standing up for the millions of Americans our government punishes and considers criminals just because they make the SAFER choice to use marijuana for relaxation and recreation.
PLEASE FORWARD this message widely!
Many thanks to Steve Kubby for forwarding this to LFV!
The following is a press release from the Phillies/Bennett campaign.
Chris Bennett to be Libertarian VP Candidate
Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Presidential candidate George Phillies today gained a running mate. Chris Bennett of Springfield, Illinois completes the Libertarian Party ticket. “I am delighted to have Bennett on board,” Phillies said. “He is a wonderful campaigner. His fine Libertarian positions speak for themselves.”
Bennett, speaking on his positions, said “I am strongly against the invasion and the ‘police action’ in Iraq. I am against a Fair Tax and I will continue to fight to decrease the tax burden for all Americans. I
will continue to fight to restore our civil liberties and constitutional rights and fight to eliminate the Patriot Act, the Real ID Act, and the Military Commissions Act. As an African-American, I will use my
candidacy to recruit more minorities and women into the libertarian movement. As a recent college graduate, I will continue to convince younger voters and non-voters that the Libertarian Party is the future.”
Bennett has been a Libertarian Party volunteer since 1991. In 2004 he was active in the Libertarian Presidential campaigns of Aaron Russo and Michael Badnarik. He is currently the campaign manager for Larry Stafford, the Libertarian candidate for US Senate in Illinois, and is the Libertarian Party of Illinois Legislative Chair. He serves as a campaign adviser for the Boston Tea Party’s Jay/Knapp Presidential Ticket.
Christopher Dean Bennett, 35 was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1972. He now lives in Springfield, Illinois with his wife Evonne and children Charity, 9, and Brandon, 7. Bennett was graduated from the University of Illinois at Springfield on May 10th, 2008, with a political studies degree with a minor in economics. He had previously attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, class of 1990.
Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Presidential candidate George Phillies today gained a running mate. Chris Bennett of Springfield, Illinois completes the Libertarian Party ticket. “I am delighted to have Bennett on board,” Phillies said. “He is a wonderful campaigner. His fine Libertarian positions speak for themselves.” Bennett, speaking on his positions, said “I am strongly against the invasion and the ‘police action’ in Iraq. I am against a Fair Tax and I will continue to fight to decrease the tax burden for all Americans. I will continue to fight to restore our civil liberties and constitutional rights and fight to eliminate the Patriot Act, the Real ID Act, and the Military Commissions Act. As an African-American, I will use my candidacy to recruit more minorities and women into the libertarian movement. As a recent college graduate, I will continue to convince younger voters and non-voters that the Libertarian Party is the future.”
Bennett has been a Libertarian Party volunteer since 1991. In 2004 he was active in the Libertarian Presidential campaigns of Aaron Russo and Michael Badnarik. He is currently the campaign manager for Larry Stafford, the Libertarian candidate for US Senate in Illinois, and is the Libertarian Party of Illinois Legislative Chair. He serves as a campaign adviser for the Boston Tea Party’s Jay/Knapp Presidential Ticket.
Christopher Dean Bennett, 35 was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1972. He now lives in Springfield, Illinois with his wife Evonne and children Charity, 9, and Brandon, 7. Bennett graduated from the University of Illinois at Springfield on May 10th, 2008, with a political studies degree with a minor in economics. He had previously attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, class of 1990.
The fallout from a former Texas Republican making phone calls begging Libertarian Party candidates to drop out of their races continues to spread. The press release which started it all is here: Republican Suzanna Hupp phoning Libertarians to quit House races
A follow-up meeting with LP Texas State Chair, Pat Dixon, and LP Texas Executive Director, Wes Benedict, with the Texas Speaker of the House’s office was reported in the Austin American Statesman here: Libertarians meet with speaker’s staff
Tonight, the Associated Press picked up on the story which spread to lots of media outlets. This Google search displays many of them: libertarian location:tx
No new Texas Libertarian candidates have indicated a willingness to withdraw from their races.
Texas has 171 candidates (173 if you add Bob Barr and Wayne Root) on the ballot for the November 2008 election.
If this site, which attempts to list all Libertarian Party candidates in the US, is correct, http://libertarianpartycandidates.us/ , then the Libertarian Party of Texas currently has 171 out of 546 total candidates or 31% of the total.
Wes Benedict is one of those 171 candidates, running for County Commissioner in Travis County, Texas.
I have just finished the third volume of the ongoing series “Others“, an encyclopedic history of American third parties and independent political movements by my friend — and onetime Pennsylvania Consumer Party U.S. Senate nominee — Darcy Richardson. The series is captivating for a guy like me, and I eagerly await the day when Darcy finally gets up to the Libertarian Party’s history. (The first four volumes, those that are published so far, only go up to 1928, and the LP did not come on the scene until 1971.) Perhaps by the time he gets to the modern day, in Volume 15 perhaps, I will have done something worth a mention.
The books leave me both hopeful and pessimistic as someone who has dipped in and out of alternative parties for years and who has cast his lot with one. I am hopeful because the books show that despite the rarity with which they actually win elections, alternative parties do change the debate and can impact policy. The best example of this is the Socialist Party, which had much of its agenda implemented in a bastardized form under Franklin Roosevelt (my Socialist grandfather, a Norman Thomas man, despised F.D.R. for this until the day he died). The Prohibitionists also had their agenda implemented after their rise threatened the established parties throughout the 1910s. Even today, though not so much on the national level, we see Republicans trying to win over Libertarians and Democrats trying to win over Greens by giving lip service to aspects of their agendas.
I am pessimistic, though, because the books imply the heyday of the third party is over. It used to be comparatively easy to start up a new party, get on ballots, and win over voters. New parties rose and fell throughout the post-Civil War era with great regularity, but even those that were doomed still often attracted governors and senators to their ranks. That is very rare today. True, both the Libertarians and the Greens are running former members of Congress for president this year (both from Georgia, and both voted out of office in 2002, interestingly enough), but this is an anomaly. In 2004, the parties nominated a software engineer and a lawyer, respectively. And ballot access laws adopted since the 19th century party boom now make it nearly impossible for a new party to form, unless it has a celebrity candidate or a billionaire behind it.
I do not really think the Libertarian Party will ever achieve high office, but I do think the party plays a role in getting an otherwise little heard message out to the public. It also provides a home for people like me who have no place in the R-D duopoly. I plan to stay with the party — though whether or not I’ll ever actually be a candidate for anything remains to be seen. I’d probably be awful at it.
The meeting will be held in Arlington, Virginia at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in the Jefferson Room, located on the third floor of the conference center. A light continental breakfast will be available in the meeting room beginning at 7:30 a.m.
For those who don’t travel a lot, “light continental breakfast” means that you probably want to get some real food before attending.
For reservations, call the hotel at 800-233-1234 and mention that you are attending the Libertarian Party Meeting, group reservation code LBTN. The group rate is $99 per night, and a block of rooms has been reserved for September 5th through 8th. It is unclear whether the group rate is available to non-LNC members, but it’s worth a shot since the meeting is open to interested observers.
If you run into problems with reservations, or are in need of special accommodations, the concierge is Andrew Riley, telephone (703) 413-6753 or email ariley [at] hyatt.com
The LNC will be given a tour of the conference center as a possible location for a future convention. If interested in the tour, the group taking the tour will meet at 5:30 in the Lobbibar.
YouTube.com is an incredible place to get the word out about our campaign. They have even created a special section, YouChoose, to highlight presidential candidates. Unfortunately, they are currently choosing to highlight only John McCain and Barack Obama.
All other candidates, including Bob Barr, are listed under “More Campaigns” and are mixed in with congressional and state campaigns.
Before we start complaining to YouTube about evident bias that favors the two-party system, we need to do our part and show that we deserve the same treatment as McCain and Obama.
So here’s the task:
1. Go to YouTube.com and login or create an account.
2. Visit Bob Barr’s YouTube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/BobBarr2008
3. On the left hand side, click on the yellow “Subscribe” button.
4. Hit play on one of Bob’s videos.
That’s it!
Later today when you have more time, watch as many videos as you can. The more video views that we have, the higher we climb on the “YouChoose” page. Right now we are in 19th place with 379,675 views.
That does it for today’s “60 Seconds for Bob!”
In Liberty,
Shane Cory Deputy Campaign Manager Bob Barr for President
P.S. In order to get you more involved in the progress of the campaign, I want to include a few campaign statistics at the bottom of each day’s message. These are some of the numbers that I personally review each morning to measure the strength of our campaign.
Some are impressive, others are not, but with this transparency and reporting, I hope that it will help you be more effective in your activism for our presidential candidate.
Daily Campaign Update:
Funds Raised in August: $10,733*
Number of Donors: 5,576
Email Subscribers: 19,762
Meetups: 136 groups, 112 cities, 6,105 members
Volunteers: 3,769
* Funds raised online only.
To donate by mail:
Barr 2008 Presidential Committee
P.O. Box 725007
Atlanta, GA 31139
To donate by phone:
Call 1-800-Bob-Barr
Paid for by Barr 2008 Presidential Committee.
Federal law requires us to report the name, address, and name of employer and occupation for any individual whose aggregate contributions total over $200 in a calendar year. Corporate contributions and gifts from foreign nationals are prohibited. Personal Credit Card gifts only. Contributions are not tax deductible for income tax purposes. Limit of $2,300 per person per election and $4,600 per couple if signed by both parties and drawn on a jointly held bank account.
The following is a message from Charles Jay, Boston Tea Party Presidential Candidate.
Dear Liberty Lovers,
When I ran for president in 2004 on the Personal Choice Party ticket, people would ask me, “Why are you running? There’s already a libertarian in this race.”
Certainly they had a point.
But now, four years later, as the nominee of the Boston Tea Party, I could give you 100 reasons why I’m in this race. And every day, it seems like there’s a new one.
I believe, as I’m sure you do, that we need a presidential candidate who champions liberty. After all, how many people became libertarians thanks to the presidential campaigns of men like David Bergland, Harry
Browne, and Ron Paul?
In its thirty-seven year history, the Libertarian Party has had some great candidates and some who were just “good.” Some LP standard-bearers — like Browne and Paul — were tremendous spokesmen for liberty, while others were merely average. But never in the LP’s history has the party’s presidential candidate actively spread a non-libertarian message — that is, never until now.
Republican Bob Barr managed to narrowly win the LP presidential nomination on the sixth ballot, with 51% of the convention vote. Rather than being humbled by the narrowness of his victory, Barr — much like Bush with his narrow presidential “wins” — interpreted his nomination as a “mandate” to redefine libertarianism in the mold of Dixiecrat “States’ Rights” conservatism, unilaterally casting aside long-held libertarian principles like last week’s garbage.
Yes, Bob Barr is getting a certain amount of media coverage — but to what end?
Barr is using his mainstream-media platform to advocate Bush Republicanism in the guise of libertarianism — he is no threat to the statist quo.
For example, when given the stage to make the libertarian case for laissez-faire free-market capitalism, Barr said that the government “has to do something” to prevent millionaire investors from losing money in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks. “Doing nothing would be inadvisable,” Barr said — in direct opposition to a press release put out earlier by the LP entitled “Let Them Fail!” Republican Ron Paul, a true champion of economic liberty, later made the case that Fannie and Freddie should be allowed to go bust — not propped up with taxpayer dollars and then “privatized” as Barr suggests.
Sadly, Ron Paul will not win the GOP nomination. The Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin, though probably preferable to Barr, is a social conservative who doesn’t respect the personal choices of all Americans. And Bob Barr, though a Libertarian, is no libertarian.
So who will champion liberty from now until November?
The answer is me, Charles Jay.
In 2004, I saw the writing on the wall, and I left the LP. As it turned out, there were still enough true libertarians in the party to ensure the nomination of Michael Badnarik — a fine candidate — and I admit, one who articulated the philosophy the party was supposed to represent.
But now, I understand why I needed to run then — so I could run all the better now.
You see, I gained invaluable experience as the Personal Choice Party’s candidate for president in 2004. Now in ‘08, as the nominee of the upstart Boston Tea Party, I can build on the lessons learned four years ago and give you the best libertarian campaign possible for your buck. This ain’t my first rodeo.
The Boston Tea Party was formed in 2006, in response to the evisceration of the Libertarian Party’s principled platform by the so-called “Reform” Caucus. Like I said, I saw this coming two years earlier, so it was no surprise to me. Then, after Bob Barr secured the LP’s nomination in May, the BTP experienced a huge growth spurt as disgruntled libertarians fled the former “party of principle” for a new, truly principled libertarian alternative. Every time Bob Barr opens his mouth, the Boston Tea Party gets more new members.
* Where do I see the Boston Tea Party going?
* Do I see it eclipsing the LP in the next few years?
* Will the LP continue its rightward drift towards statism until it merges with the GOP?
I can’t say for sure. What I do know is that the Boston Tea Party is growing and there are plenty of “dual citizens” — members of both the BTP and the LP. Some Tea Partiers have renounced the LP and want to
devote all of their energies to our new party. Others see the BTP as a backup, or as a vehicle to “keep the LP honest.” I see both views as having merit.
But in order to really make a difference, we need to be able to reach beyond the diehard libertarians who know all about the BTP and Charles Jay. Yes, a vote for Jay is an anti-vote for Barr, and it’s important for true libertarians to have their voices heard. But we don’t want these voices to fall on deaf ears.
That’s why I need your help.
Look, I have no delusions of grandeur. I’m not going to raise $40 million like Bob Barr says he plans to. But the good news is, I don’t need to.
You see, in addition to being a libertarian agitator, I have a real job in the private sector: I create wealth rather than receiving a taxpayer-funded paycheck. And how I make my money is by making money for others via Internet marketing.
Bob Barr may be getting a lot of press from the dead-tree media and on the military-industrial complex’s cable networks, but the people who read and watch the old media are set in their ways — they’re not likely to become libertarians anyway. The Internet, my friends, is where the action is, and I know how to use the Internet to advance a message.
With your help, the Charles Jay for President Campaign will:
* Reach millions of voters via Search Engine Marketing
* Target “convertibles” by age, interests, geographic location, etc.
* Run economically efficient banner ad campaigns at leading libertarian and constitutionalist sites and blogs
* Hit the social networking sites with effective ad campaigns and viral marketing
* Make fun and informative YouTube videos that users will gladly distribute for free, rather than spending tons of cash of commercials no one will watch
* Present a real, uncompromising libertarian message through articles and press releases that will get notice in the blogosphere and indexed with high page ranks by search engines
This is what I do for a living, and I’m damn good at it. With your help, our message will be heard by people to whom it will actually matter!
We can’t afford to run a campaign crisscrossing the country in private jets or even Greyhound buses. We plan to run a national campaign on a shoestring budget — will you help us afford the laces?
Please make your most generous contribution today. Whether your gift is $2300 or $23; $1000 or $100; $500, $50, or even $5 — every bit helps. Contribute online at:
And make no mistake about it — although I’ve got an Internet-based business, and we’ll be harnessing the cost advantages of cyber-marketing to our advantage, this is a REAL campaign, not a Web-based fantasy. We also have to get on the ballot where that’s still possible, and coordinate effective write-in campaigns where it’s not. In order to do this, we need your help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you believe that we do need a candidate to champion liberty, and if you agree that Internet marketing is the future of political campaigning, then I trust you will make an investment in the building of a true libertarian alternative by supporting my campaign.
Yours in liberty,
Charles Jay
Boston Tea Party Candidate for President
P.S. A gift of $100 could help us reach up to 2,000 potential libertarians with a targeted marketing message. http://www.cj08donate.com/
P.S.S. A gift of $1,000 could make the difference between getting on the ballot in one or more key states. http://www.cj08donate.com/
P.S.S.S. A gift of $25, $10, or even $5 would be greatly appreciated. I understand that, like our campaign, many libertarians are on a shoestring budget themselves. This is all the more reason we need a champion of libertarian economics to spread our message. http://www.cj08donate.com/
The following is from the Jason Gatties For Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees campaign website. Please note that Jason has not asked for this to be posted; quite the contrary, he suggested the information only be passed along to five friends via email, because he is not doing this for campaign attention. However, since it is indeed a good cause, I took it upon myself to post it here where it will be seen by thousands, rather than just a few. I personally think it’s wonderful that Jason makes sacrifices of this nature during an active campaign, so I also think he should be recognized for his humanitarian charitable activities.
From August 8th-August 24th, the attention of world will be focused on China, as they host the 2008 Olympic Games. The Olympic spirit calls for “goodwill” between all nations of the world. However, thanks to the Chinese Government & the Myanmar Junta, two countries & their citizens feel only suffering.
Human rights conditions in Tibet & Myanmar (Burma) remain dismal. Under the Chinese occupation, the Tibetan people are denied most rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights including the rights to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression and travel.
The people of Burma are continually calling for a protection of freedom and human rights and an end to attacks against ethnic minorities. China however continues to send weapons and funds to the Burmese dictatorship, allowing attacks against civilians to continue.
To help draw local attention to what I see as major global issue, I will not accept campaign donations for the duration of the Olympic Games. Instead, I encourage you to join me in support of the citizens of Tibet & Burma. With your support, we can not only help the people of Tibet & Burma, but also send a message to the Chinese Government.
Don’t Take Freedom For Granted. Please Donate To One Of The Following Charity Organizations:
Kris Hermes at Medical Cannabis: Voices From the Frontline has further covered the recent raid on a California medical marijuana dispensary. LFV readers will recall that we also covered the raid, complete with photos and pointed out that one of the heavily armed people involved in the raid was wearing a Blackwater t-shirt. Here is an excerpt from Kris Hermes’ excellent article:
I was able to speak today with Tami Abdollah, the Los Angeles Times (LAT) reporter who wrote the article associated with the photo of the agent wearing a Blackwater t-shirt. First, Abdollah explained that at the time of the raid (when the photo was taken) she had asked about whether the agent in question was a Blackwater employee, but was not given a straight answer. After the raid, and after the story had been published by the LAT, Abdollah was contacted by Sarah Pullen, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles office of the DEA. Pullen requested that the face of the agent wearing the Blackwater t-shirt be blurred because he was an undercover agent and the photo might jeopardize his apparent anonymity. At the same time, Pullen assured Abdollah that the “undercover” agent was in fact an employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration and has never been an employee of Blackwater. Pullen also felt it necessary to explain to Abdollah that the request to blur the agent’s face and the fact that he was wearing a Blackwater t-shirt was completely coincidental. In a subsequent conversation with the DEA, Abdollah was told that the agent was not undercover for the raid, but does routinely engage in undercover operations.
This raises some interesting questions, not the least of which is why an agent who regularly works undercover would be involved in a very high-profile raid, especially during broad daylight when he is likely to be seen and photographed? Why does their alleged “undercover” agent even look like a cop, since undercover work is “routine” for him? And even if, for the sake of discussion, we believe the DEA’s explanation of why he was not wearing a DEA shirt, why on earth would anyone think that his wearing a Blackwater t-shirt would draw less attention to him, rather than more? Why didn’t he wear a plain t-shirt, or a t-shirt depicting a band or something similar, if he just didn’t want to be seen, photographed, or recognized wearing a DEA shirt?
Since the DEA claimed he works undercover, they can also claim that his identity cannot be revealed for security reasons, and thus avoid any demands for proof that he is really with the DEA and not with Blackwater.
He’s a bit annoying, but if you can stand to listen to him, there’s an important message for Libertarians here. He points out that, despite the fact that many *conservatives* are good and decent people who really do believe in making government smaller and less intrusive, the Conservative political movement has *never* been about those things. From the introduction to his book:
Fantastic misgovernment of the kind we have seen is not an accident, nor is it the work of a few bad individuals. It is the consequence of triumph by a particular philosophy of government, by a movement that understands the liberal state as a perversion and considers the market the ideal nexus of human society. This movement is friendly to industry not just by force of campaign contributions but by conviction; it believes in entrepreneurship not merely in commerce but in politics; and the inevitable results of its ascendance are, first, the capture of the state by business and, second, all that follows: incompetence, graft, and all the other wretched flotsam that we’ve come to expect from Washington.
His thesis – and I agree with him – is that Conservatism as a political movement isn’t so much about laissez-faire as it is about enlisting government on the side of business. By yielding to the temptation – and it’s a powerful one – to get a few more votes in any particular race by painting ourselves (or perhaps worse, allowing ourselves to be painted) as ‘true conservatives’, we Libertarians deeply alienate the people who see easily the naked emperor of corporate greed through the curtain of ‘constitutional conservatism’.
We also put ourselves at the REAR of a movement that is clearly at outs with perhaps the majority of the population, and certainly with the majority of youthful idealists that we must set ourselves to attract in the next decade. Our party becomes a refuge for ‘true conservative’ politicians who either can’t get elected as Republicans or (to their credit) can no longer stomach the Republican Party. We get branded as yet another “Party of Big Business” without even getting any of the money that flows so easily to both Republicans and Democrats from big business. That’s a rotten deal! And what do we gain? Not as many votes as we might expect – because as flawed a vehicle as it may be for conservative values, the Republican Party does have the thing that most conservatives really crave – political power. The Libertarian Party simply cannot offer that to voters at present, so to stay with us people need to have a strong ideological commitment and belief that real change is possible – and a reasonably long time-horizon for change. So we’ll get perhaps a few votes from disaffected conservatives looking to punish their home party or a few recruits who (again, to their credit) can no longer believe that the Republican Party shares their values. The new folks are welcome, and we should work hard to help those who can make the transition from ideological conservatism to libertarianism. But for many the gulf will be too wide to leap, because conservatism really isn’t about individual freedom. It’s about better government, not self government.
And, yes, the same criticisms and observations apply to liberalism or ‘progressivism’ (as understood in current American politics). However, at this moment the conservative movement is on the ‘outs’ in American politics. Perhaps not coincidentally, as we political Libertarians seem to have a talent for catching a wave after it’s broken, the Libertarian Party is (arguably) fully embracing the conservative label at the national level at least. If we simply wanted to jump in front of the biggest and bestest parade, calling ourselves ‘progressive’ would seem to make more sense than calling libertarianism ‘conservative’.
This tension between libertarianism and conservatism plays out large and small. At the national level, the obvious example is Bob Barr. Whether he is an example of the first sort of conservative described above (washed-up Republican politician) or the second (deeply disaffected Republican), or some combination, is irrelevant. The fact is that Barr consistently sells himself as a ‘true conservative’ and is consciously targeting voters who find John McCain too ‘liberal’. Whether he does this out of conviction or because it makes using his old fundraising lists a more attractive proposition, is again irrelevant. Already we see the weakness of this strategy – Barr is simply “McCain’s Nader” to the media. When given a chance and when isolated from fawning uber-conservatives, Barr can do a decent job of representing the libertarian position on many issues. But he will always stick at ‘conservative values’. It’s not the state’s interference in abortion or drug rights that Barr is fighting – it’s simply the federal government’s attempts to control state governments that he objects to. Since when is THAT a libertarian value? Sure, smaller, more local governments are better than a federal behemoth, and almost any Libertarian would say so. But the NEXT words out of his mouth damn well ought to be “And those smaller, more local governments MUST place individual rights at a premium.” Barr consistently fails this test, even acknowledging that he would vote against individual rights in his state, in order to further his ‘conservative values’.
But even at the local level, the flailing conservative movement is pressuring the Libertarian Party to help carry its guttering torch. In my own home district where I am running for State House, for example, there is no Republican candidate against the Democratic incumbent. So naturally I have been approached by Republicans who want my campaign to stand for conservatism against my opponent’s liberalism. These are almost universally fine and dedicated people, strong in their beliefs and welcoming to me personally and (as they see it) as a ‘fellow conservative’. I like them. I want their help in spreading my message. I want them to embrace – fully – the ideals of freedom which keep me so engaged. It is incredibly tempting to simply go along with their understanding of me as a ‘fellow conservative’. Tempting and simple. After all, I just need to avoid the ares where we disagree – the death penalty, immigration, drug legalization, to name a few – and stick to the areas where we agree. The trouble is that these issues are important to me – and, more than that – they’re a big part of what it means to be L/libertarian. What good do I do – myself or them – by collecting a few votes and failing to shake them from their comfortable notions that Libertarians are just too-trusting conservatives who think the proles should be allowed to have actual opiates, rather than just religion, as their opiate?
So whose votes – and whose loyalty – do we get by sticking to the term – and the ideas behind the term – ‘libertarianism’? The answer sounds tautologous, but here it is: libertarians, of course! Whenever I talk to 25 people in one room, perhaps as many as 23 or 24 will have decided that they are ‘conservatives’ or ‘liberals’ – and I can try to get the votes of either group by carefully casting my message to suit the audience. Of course people are not generally stupid, and a closer examination should reveal to them that I’m not really either ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’. But say several of them, for one reason or another, accept me as ‘conservative enough’ and vote for me on that basis. Their votes will not win me the election, and their interest in me – and whatever message they thought they heard from me – will quickly fade. They’ve delivered their ‘message’. But what about the one or two folks I didn’t account for above? Those are the libertarians – those who value individual freedom as a governing principle. They may not call themselves libertarian, and they may not be completely libertarian – but the germ of the idea is there. And they care! There’s nothing that moves humans to greater passion than the longing for and love of freedom. It’s pure oxygen, waiting for a spark to ignite it. If I’m carefully selling myself as a ‘conservative’, they hear blah-blah-more-of-the-same, the oxygen gets sucked out of the room, and they then associate “Libertarian” with “Republican Lite”. If I stand up and actually SAY what I mean by ‘libertarian’ and the conditions are right, the spark falls, the oxygen ignites, and another passionate activist for freedom is found. He may simply vote. He may – at that time or later – become active in the libertarian movement. But he’ll know he’s not alone, and he will know there is a mechanism – several, many! – for him to help move the freedom movement forward. And he will – finally! – actually be represented by someone he chooses to cast a vote for.
That is, incidentally – and I was not thinking of it when I started this bit of writing – the effect that hearing Ron Paul (in that room of about 25 people) had on me back in ‘88. I’d like to think that Bob Barr is having that same effect on at least some folks, but I am not confident that is the case. In my campaign, though, that is what I will aim at. I will ‘preach to the choir’, because so many of the choir members don’t even yet know that they can sing.
PolitickerKY reports that Sonny Landham, the controversial Kentucky candidate who advocates economic nationalization, culture wars, and the use of a tax-funded military to conduct a war of genocide so that the US can appropriate other people’s oil, has been repudiated by the LP a second time. It appears that Sonny Landham will not be on the ballot at all this year.
For anyone who is not familiar with this story, Independent Political Report previously covered it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Many of the same Landham stories, and a few others, received additional comments at Last Free Voice:
An effort to re-nominate former actor Sonny Landham as the Libertarian Party of Kentucky’s U.S. Senate candidate was rejected by a vote of the party’s executive committee, chairman Ken Moellman told PolitickerKY.com today.
“The motion to put Sonny back on failed,” said Moellman. “At this point, it appears he will not be our candidate.”
After a month as the prospective Libertarian candidate, Landham was stripped of the party’s support after he made a string of anti-Arab comments topped by what could be interpretted as advocacy for a potential Arab genocide.
The Party’s executive committee initially voted unanimously to withdraw Landham’s nomination on July 28, after earlier launching a petitioning campaign to gain ballot access for both Landham and Libertarian presidential nominee and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, of Georgia. That campaign gained 7,700 signatures, according to Moellman, which is more than required for ballot access.
After losing the nomination, Landham said he would continue as an independent candidate, but it became clear he would have to collect 5,000 “original” petition signatures for ballot access – a task deemed “impossible” by Moellman, given the limited time window.
The vote to re-nominate Landham as a Libertarian came about because Moellman said it was not the party’s goal to kick Landham off the ballot entirely when removing their nomination.
“There are other factors involved here. It’s more for the third party and independent movement in general,” said Moellman during an appearance last week on the Weekly Filibuster radio program. “While that is not directly related to the LP, we have some concerns in that regard.”
Still, the Party’s executive committee ultimately did not embrace those factors, rejecting the efforts to renew Landham’s ballot slot.
Moellman said the second vote came after the party received comments about Landham’s candidacy from across the country after his controversial remarks about Arabs. A “majority” of the feedback was received from outside of the state, and Moellman said “100 percent” of that communication was opposed to Landham.
From within the state, Moellman indicated responses were “pretty minimal,” noting 60 percent of them were against Landham’s continued candidacy as a Libertarian, with 40 percent supporting Landham. Moellman noted that those Kentuckians contacting the party were largely not Libertarian Party members.
With petitions for ballot access due in to the Secretary of State’s office by August 12, the Libertarians are armed with signatures but no Senate candidate.
Moellman said the party was investigating their legal options and the possibility of replacing Landham, though early indications from the Secretary of State’s office were that the signatures could not be applied to another candidate.
We Libertarians need to know how many candidates we’re fielding for office. Which states are fielding full slates? no slates? Who are the candidates, what do they look like, what is their history, what are their positions and motivations?
This is all very basic but, before Libertarian Party Candidates (LPC), you could not find all this information in one place.
It’s important to see how well (or poorly) we Libertarians are doing at challenging the Republicrat duopoly at the ballot box. Hopefully LPC will serve as a measuring stick and as an incentive to run more and better candidates in 2010, 2012 and beyond.
So, after chatting with Paulie, I decided that Libertarians might like a website where they can find all LP candidates in one convenient place.
Thanks to Paulie, the state parties and others that have collected the raw information presented here. All I did was design the site and enter the data.
Future Years
The site was built in a hurry during my spare time in the last couple weeks of July 2008, but I plan to significantly improve it for 2010 and beyond. Your sugestions and comments will help make that a reality.
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Please feel free to contact me, George Donnelly, at me@georgedonnelly.com with any suggestions, ideas, complaints or whatever. I’m open to developing the project in new directions. I’m also interested in other strategies to advance the cause of liberty.
According to the site, the LP is running
* 15 for US Senate
* 109 for US House
* 5 for State Governor
* 4 for State Lt. Governor
* 1 for State Treasurer
* 3 for State Attorney General
* 2 for State Auditor
* 22 for Other State Offices
* 42 for State Senates
* 216 for State Houses
* 3 for Local Executives
* 26 for Local Legislatures
* 6 for Judge
* 12 for Sherriff or Constable
* 78 for Other Local Offices
* 546 Total LP candidates
I received the following in my personal inbox, and thought it may be of interest to LFV readers.
Subject: Chat Live TODAY with GITMO Expert on Firedoglake! Please join Alliance for Justice in a live web chat with Vince Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights TODAY, August 4, at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Vincent Warren has been the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) since 2006. He spearheads CCR’s “Beyond Guantanamo: Rescue the Constitution” campaign and is widely praised as one of the nation’s most knowledgeable experts on issues related to detainee policy. We expect Monday’s discussion to provide a frank and lively exchange about the future course of Guantanamo policy.
Last week, Attorney General Michael Mukasey urged Congress to pass unnecessary legislation that would “sharply reduce the possibility that any Guantanamo prisoner could have a fair hearing.”
The attorney general’s remarks are indicative of the Bush administration’s failed detainee policies. These policies are the topic of Alliance for Justice’s upcoming “First Monday” web chat, brought to you in partnership with FireDogLake.
To read more about the attorney general putting political gain over the best interests of the American people, please visit our Justice Watch blog (afj.org/blogs). To participate in Monday’s conversation, simply go to www.firedoglake.com and create a free user profile.
From the campaign of Christopher Cole, Libertarian nominee for US Senate
704-605-5905
Elizabth Dole recently changed her position on offshore drilling. In response Democrat Kay Hagan complains that production from new fields offshore or in ANWR won’t come in to the market for approximately ten years. Dole was right in changing her position, and Hagan is right about the time lag for new gasoline at the pump.
But where Hagan is wrong and Dole is silent is about the impact of such a policy change on CURRENT prices at the gas pump. Only Libertarian Christopher Cole explains how that FUTURE production can
lower CURRENT prices, prices which are dragging down our economy and strangling the family budget.
What Hagan ignores is the role of expected FUTURE supply on current price. Due to OPEC intransigence and possible interruptions due to Bush policy against Iran, speculators fear interruptions to oil supply for years to come. They have therefore bid up prices on present shipments, in order to assure their future inventory. With that future supply assured by increased access at home, that price pressure will be removed, resulting in immediate easing of pump prices.
Cole supports open access to offshore oil and natural gas deposits, as well as those under federal lands, such as the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve. Not only would that assure future oil supply, but
it will provide economic growth and high-wage jobs in such regions as North Carolina’s coastal plain. Cole also disputes the alarmist response of some on the left who complain of ecological risks,
pointing out that major spills, such as the Exxon Valdez in Alaska, have always come from tankers, not rigs or modern land-based pumps.
For further information, Cole recommends this article from the Ludwig von Mises Institute, a free-market economics think tank, based at Auburn University: http://mises.org/story/3047
“The left has a massive agenda for the state at home, and yet complains bitterly, with shock and dismay, that the same tools are used to start wars and build imperial structures abroad. The right claims to want to restrain government at home (at least in some ways) while whooping it up for war and global reconstruction abroad.”
– Llewellyn Rockwell
America’s Department of Homeland Security is a draconian beast.
It says that shampoo, toothpaste, Diet Coke and deodorant are dangerous chemicals which must be restricted and banned from aircraft in quantities above 3 oz.
It says that if you wish to board an aircraft in any part of the USA, you’re basically subject to humiliating sexual harassment and groping, including strip searches, trouser-drops, and x-ray scans of your entire body — including full views of your genitals.
It demands that if you wish to travel between two points within the USA, that you must produce a government-issued ID — much as Soviet citizens were required to in the bad old days.
But perhaps the most astonishing accomplishment of these guys is the effective termination of the Bill of Rights at every port of entry/exit in the United States.
The government is now asserting that it has an unlimited right to confiscate and search through your laptop, cell phone, or other personal electronic device whenever you enter or leave the country.
Federal agents may take a traveler’s laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.
Indefinite confiscation of your personal effects without reasonable cause is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. But when did these boys ever care about the Constitution?
It gets better.
officials may share copies of the laptop’s contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons
Got your business’ general ledger on your PC? Better hope your big competitor doesn’t know someone at DHS who can snatch a copy of your hard disk while you leave the country, to churn through it and hand over confidential trade information.
Got your tax and medical records on your laptop? Well, they’re public now, baby! DHS can copy and share them for translation, decryption, or any other “reason” it decides.
Got photos of you and your significant others dressed in vinyl suits doing God-knows-what at Burning Man? Imagine the fun and laughter the good folks will have at DHS as they print and hand out copies of your photographs and giggle at the video clips! Fun will be had by all!
DHS officials said the newly disclosed policies — which apply to anyone entering the country, including U.S. citizens — are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism.
Oh, of course they are.
As will be the mandatory strip searches complete with probosces. After all, you could be hiding a stick of dynamite, plans to bomb St. Louis, or a film roll of obscene material in those intimate body cavities.
That’s the headline article in today’s Metro & State section. I also just taped an interview with KLBJ News Radio 590 AM about this. Suzanna Hupp was probably the most libertarian-leaning Republican when she served in the Texas House. She recently lobbied to reduce victim-less crimes along with a Libertarian Party member. She’s famous as an advocate for gun rights and as a survivor of the Luby’s massacre.
Weaker Libertarians might have gone easy on her. We spanked her hard with this press release Friday evening which alerted the media:
“When Republicans call and ask Libertarians to drop out, they almost always say, ‘But this guy is a good Republican.’ I guess they mean ‘a fiscal conservative, unlike all the other Republicans.’ The Republican Party has complete control of Texas government, but it keeps sticking Texans with ever higher taxes and spending, and more regulation of our personal lives. Republicans gave us the $3 billion cancer research debt. Republicans proposed a statewide smoking ban last session. Republicans created the horrible new business margins tax. I love Suzanna to death, but it’s too late in 2008 to repent the sins of 2007.
I wasn’t going to let her get away with trying to sweet-talk our candidates into quitting. “Stand firm,” but don’t blow your wad, at least not after just one phone call!
The following was written by George Phillies, and is reproduced with permission of the author.
Bob Barr Press Release writes about his opponents
So, please, tell us something we don’t know! The bigger fact is that NEITHER campaign is talking about the important issues that affect the lives of Americans. Neither has a real plan that would result in lower energy costs. Neither is going to do anything about $4 a gallon gasoline, the inflation that looms ahead as well as the overall weakening of our economy….
in other words
The President should do something about prices! The President should carry out economic planning!
As afar as I can see, this is a call for socialism.
I’m sorry, but when did Libertarian Socialism become a new wing of our party?
Jake Porter wrote an entry a couple of days ago, in which he mentioned Gene Chapman’s song “Missed the Gist of Jesus’ Promised Land”.
Gene Chapman is, of course, the self-described “American Gandhi”, the world’s only living multiple death-faster, and a self-styled exorcist of inanimate objects who once tried to set himself on fire to “end the IRS”. He is also formerly a wacky LP presidential candidate who had absolutely no clue what libertarians believe, and he claimed on his presidential blog (among many, many highly questionable claims) that he was told in college that he is a “musical genius”.
As a result, it was one of the funniest campaigns ever, and one about which I made an entire blog, called “Gene Chapman for President of the United States of America, Incorporated“. Unfortunately Gene nuked all of his old campaign blogs, but the best of it (or worst, depending upon how you view it) is on the blog I made anyway.
At any rate, I just happened to still have that song (which he sang in an audioblog more than once) saved on my laptop, so I thought I’d put it on LFV for laughs. The song was written to the tune of “Okie From Muskogee” by Merle Haggard. Don’t worry, Gene says Mr. Haggard won’t mind, since God told him to steal the man’s music.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t upload just the audio file, even though WordPress has a link to add audio; apparently they haven’t brought that up to speed quite yet. So instead, I taught myself how to make videos this afternoon, and turned “Missed The Gist of Jesus’ Promised Land” into my first-ever YouTube video, LOL. Make sure to visit the video on YouTube so you can rate it and leave a comment. Surely, it is the greatest YouTube video ever.
When will the feds get it through their heads that it is legal to use marijuana medicinally in California?
Note the first photo below, which clearly shows that Blackwater also had a hand in the raid, and that their employees were heavily armed. This is a disturbing element in and of itself, because mercenaries are not held to the same standards as regular law enforcement.
This raid came on the same day that a judge in San Diego ruled that federal law does not preempt state medical marijuana laws. Were the feds waiting for that decision, so they could immediately show that they will still do whatever they want to do?
This would be an excellent time for Bob Barr to speak up. Perhaps this would be taken more seriously if someone long known as a “drug warrior” thoroughly condemned the action.
Federal agents raided a Culver City medical marijuana dispensary where they spent more than four hours this afternoon, serving a search warrant that resulted in no arrests but left the shop in disarray.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrived about noon at Organica Collective in the 13400 block of Washington Boulevard, said Sarah Pullen, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles office of the agency.
“Marijuana remains a controlled substance, and it is illegal under federal law to possess, dispense or cultivate marijuana in any form,” Pullen said of the purpose of the raid.
The federal operation came on the same day an appellate court in San Diego ruled that federal law does not preempt the state’s law allowing the use of medical marijuana — a ruling touted by supporters of California’s medical marijuana law as a significant win.
A 1:54 AM note from the Tarrant County Libertarian Party Chair, John Spivey:
Announcing a new Meetup for The Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup!
What: Fort Worth Libertarian Barbeque Joint Meetup
When: August 16, 2008 1:30 PM
Where: Click the link below to find out!
Meetup Description: Come to the world’s greatest Barbeque joint! It’s not my opinion. It’s a fact. And they don’t take credit cards. Period.
Meetup up with us on Saturday August 16th at 1:30. If you’ve never been to Angelo’s, you’re in for a treat. The rips are just great, tender, big, and juicy. The chopped beef samiches are actually my favorite. Order the ‘chopped beef all the way’ and you get the black tar heroin of bbq sandwiches: Mrs. Bairds Hamburger Buns (white), magical chopped beef, chopped onions, pickles and mustard. I just drooled.
Sadly, our days of visiting FW’s favorite bbq joint are numbered – if we don’t act! Angelo’s is one of the businesses that will be ‘under water’ as part of the land grab associated with Kay Granger’s monument to herself, the Trinity River Vision. Although this project is very important to the future of her son’s employment… it will spell the end of “chopped beefs all the way” that have been a part of Fort Worth since 1958. Fifty years – down the drain. Literally.
This meeting will be more of a social time… I promise not to stand up and blather on – - too much. I’ve got stuff to catch you up on, but I won’t speechify. Seriously, let’s get together; eat a few CBATWs and enjoy their schooners of beer (goldfish bowl size) and a good conversation. Angelo’s has a wonderful charm that you just don’t find outside of 1960 Fort Worth. I enjoyed going there while they still had sawdust floors. Although I haven’t asked and can’t/won’t verify this, my theory is their fantastic flavor comes from never cleaning their smoker in 50 years.
Seriously, don’t let that scare you off. Where else will you find 100 stuffed animal heads and a bear, various basses and trouts and John Wayne memorabilia. You may also see celebrities too! Stars spotted in the past includes: Legendary pianist Van Cliburn, ‘Leave it to Beaver’s’ Tony Dow (Wally), Paris Hilton, Bob Segar… Heck, even Kay Granger has been spotted in here (but hasn’t popped in since – oh 2004).
As usual – if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Since we’re having an ‘unoffical meetup’ in Grapevine with the ‘IOUSA’ film event on Aug 21, I thought I’d like to spread this “Official Meetup” around to the other side of the county. Please bring a friend or two. They will thank you for it.
If you forget cash, they have an ATM. If you didn’t bring an ATM/Debit Card, you can watch me eat.
Note: This is the first meetup we’ve had in a long while without the prospect of free beer. The giant schooners are $2.50, so stop whining.
Here’s a discussion-stoker for this first weekend of August: Here’s my ranking of the libertarian-ness, or lack thereof, of the U.S. presidents of the past 100 years (starting with 1909), from most to least. What’s yours?
Calvin Coolidge
Warren Harding
William Howard Taft
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
Jimmy Carter
John Kennedy
Dwight Eisenhower
Herbert Hoover
George H.W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Harry Truman
Woodrow Wilson
George W. Bush
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
I still need all LFV contributors to contact me, in order to get the information necessary to join the new private contributor group. While several contributors have joined the group already (thanks, guys and gals!) most have not done so, though of course I’m sure you are all very busy outside LFV.
As previously stated, the group is mandatory for LFV contributors, because it was formed so that all contributors will receive the reader tips, press releases, news, etc sent to LFV. It will also allow contributors to engage in private or group discussion with other contributors, without the necessity of gathering and keeping up with individual email addresses. The group itself is limited to current LFV contributors, though all reader mail is forwarded automatically to the group.
If you have not already done so, please contact me at your earliest convenience, so I can give you the information you need to join. enm.lastfreevoice@gmail.com
Also, just a reminder, a few of our contributors still need to provide us with a short bio and photo for the “about” page.
According to a field report by one of the Libertarian petitioners on the ground in West Virginia, as of tonight’s final turn-in of signatures by petitioners to the campaign, the LP gathered only around 12,000 raw signatures, falling short of the 15,118 required by state law. While additional signatures would be required to survive a challenge, the bare minimum required by law would have been enough if there was no challenge.
Richard Winger reports in Ballot Access News, “No other state is like Illinois, where even a petition with a number of signatures below the legal minimum is sufficient if no one challenges”.
If this field report is accurate, it would mean that Bob Barr can be on the ballot in at most 48 states, unless he wins his lawsuit in Oklahoma.
The Nader and Constitution Party petitions appear to have enough signatures, and the Green Party is on the ballot through its affiliate, the Mountain Party.
West Virginia and North Carolina are tied for having the nation’s second-highest presidential petition requirements (each requires a petition of 2% of the last vote in a presidential election year). Only Oklahoma is worse, at 3% of the last presidential vote.
Both the Libertarian and Constitution Parties are making a massive effort to finish their West Virginia petitions, which are due August 1. This newspaper story about the Libertarian petition says 40 to 50 circulators are working in the state. The story doesn’t feature the Constitution Party, but it also has many circulators in the state this week.
West Virginia was one of 4 states in which Ron Paul didn’t get on the ballot in 1988, when he was the Libertarian nominee. The Constitution Party has never been on the West Virginia ballot for president, but the party has more organizational strength now than it has ever had. In 2000, its presidential nominee, Howard Phillips, was only credited with 23 write-ins in West Virginia, but its 2004 presidential candidate, Michael Peroutka, was credited with 82 write-ins in West Virginia.
Nader did his West Virginia 2008 petition earlier in the year, collecting 30,000 signatures, double the requirement. The Green Party’s affiliate in West Virginia, the Mountain Party, has been ballot-qualified starting in 2000.
— In lpradicals@yahoogroups.com, “Rachel Hawkridge” wrote:
Last nite, I was reading one of the blogs, and someone called paulie a whore for helping to get Barr on the ballot, when he’s not a supporter of the nominee.
I roared with laughter . . . paulie gets paid. I did it for free.
Guess that makes me . . . a slut? ;o)
BTW, paulie said “Thank you.”
p] Actually, I’m both a slut and a whore. For instance, I got Barr on the ballot in Arkansas for free. To make matters even worse, I didn’t even know it was for Barr at the time, since he wasn’t nominated yet and hadn’t even announced, so I guess that makes me a glory hole slut to boot, in addition to being a whore.
Also, I’m a pimp, in addition to being a slut and a whore, because I make part of my living collecting overrides for managing crews of petition gatherers sometimes. And I am in no ways faithful to the Libertarians. Right now I’m doing a three-way, and negotiating to add one or two more clients at the same time. And I’m not using a condom with any of them! I guess that makes me a dirty whore.
Not only that, but I kiss and tell: I offered to write either pro- or anti- Barr polemics to the highest bidder. I’m thinking of selling my vote, too, although I guess the buyer would just have to trust me that I stayed bought.
Political Futility / Endless Conflict / System Worship / Big Government Reagan / Leave Us Alone / Fall of Communism / Civil Disobedience / Anti Immigration Protectionist / Standing Armies / The Roads / Ron Paul Joins Us / Keene Visit / Immigration / Whiners? / Slavery / Public Exposure / Freedom
Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zones / Taking Risks / Freedom to Travel Activist Arrested Again / Drug War Deaths / Campaign Advertising / Acetone Gas Tank Bunk / Things Everyone Needs to Know / North Korea / License Plates / Salvia Prohibition
Shelly Roche joins us to discuss bringing women to liberty, her personal path to freedom, and more. / Govt Assuming Responsibility / Minarchy vs. Freedom / Using the System / Liberty-oriented Lawyers? / InjusticeEverywhere.com / Comfort Zones / Auditing the Fed / Agorism
UK Socialist Dental Care / Police Harassment and Standing Up For Your Rights / Socialist Health Care / Unemployment / Health Care Prior to Government Intervention / Black Man In KKK Robe Disrupts City Council Meeting / Miltary Man Refuses to Deploy / Swat Team Called to Back Yard Crew / Nightmare Story
Jim Babka joins us from Downsize DC / Failblog / Persuasion vs Arguing / Minimum Wage / Stamped Dollar Bills / Billing a Court? / Magic Incantations / Fully Informed Juries / Paytriot Scam Artists / More Extraordinary Claims Without Proof / Violent thugs don't care about words. / NH Hard Sell
Cutco Update / Disturbing Internet Speech Regulations Proposed / Government, Tool of Violence / Flag of Distress / Tax Freedom / Free Speech and Private Property / Excited Delerium / Unemployment / Abomination? / China and Freedom / Big Activist Weekend in NH / Police Chief Advocates Lowered Drinking Age / Medical Marijuana Failure / Guns and Canada / Las Ve […]
Mind Meld With Miles… Over Migas! Back in the day… when I was fresh out of high-school and working at Austin’s downtown public library, my boss had a party for me. To promote the little day-job shindig she’d created a flyer with a picture of Star Trek’s Jean Luc Picard all Borged-out with the caption, “Mind [...]
ANOMALY Magazine Welcome’s Brian Worsham! In late 2001, some friends and I were talking about our desire to see more and better quality paranormal and parapolitical TV shows on broadcast and cable television. We wanted our own Anomaly TV Network. We felt certain we had the drive, the skills, the equipment and the network of real [...]
Watching the ARGonauts Play If you’ve followed the Elfis Network from the beginning then you know of my early interest in Alternate Reality Gaming and their potential for “mucking up the works” for paranormal and parapolitical researchers. You may also know that my interests were rekindled in 2007 by the provocative hypotheses of blogger D […]
Anomaly TeleVision » Blog Archive » 60 Minutes - Mind Reading Tech 60 Minutes - Mind Reading (video) cnettv.cnet.com/2001-1_53-50004855.html How Technology May Soon “Read” Your Mind www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/31/60minutes/main4694713.shtml www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4697682n
Big news regarding evidence of evolution: Fossil Discovery Is Heralded In what could prove to be a landmark discovery, a leading paleontologist said scientists have dug up the 47 million-year-old fossil of an ancient primate whose features suggest it could be the common ancestor of all later monkeys, apes and humans. Anthropologists have long believed that h […]
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The Devil’s Dictionary
Incumbent,n. A person of the liveliest interest to the outcumbents.
Sorry, couldn’t resist that headline after LNC Treasurer Aaron Starr (in 
A 1:54 AM note from the Tarrant County Libertarian Party Chair, John Spivey:
I’ve got stuff to catch you up on, but I won’t speechify. Seriously, let’s get together; eat a few CBATWs and enjoy their schooners of beer (goldfish bowl size) and a good conversation. Angelo’s has a wonderful charm that you just don’t find outside of 1960 Fort Worth. I enjoyed going there while they still had sawdust floors. Although I haven’t asked and can’t/won’t verify this, my theory is their fantastic flavor comes from never cleaning their smoker in 50 years.
