Our monthly open thread. Post news tips about alt parties and independent candidates, discuss any story that should be posted here but has not yet been posted, or even delve into completely off-topic stuff….just avoid quarantined thread subject matter and things that could get us and/or you into legal trouble such as threats, libel, and copyright infringement.
News tips can also be sent to the IPR writers who have chosen to make their contact info available at https://independentpoliticalreport.com/about/.
It’s also become an IPR tradition to post videos in the open threads. A perennial favorite is Juice Rap News. Here’s their latest:
I could be wrong, maybe it was just some people who were trying to draft him.
“paulie Post authorFebruary 28, 2014 at 10:17 am
I think there was some talk of him running this year; not sure what happened with that.”
The above interview with Glenn “Kane” Jacobs is from February 26th of this year, and in it he says that he is not interested in running for office at this time, but that he may change his mind in the future (which is the same answer he has been giving to that question for several years).
I think there was some talk of him running this year; not sure what happened with that.
I’d love to see this guy run for office some day.
Glenn “Kane” Jacobs: Why I Became A Libertarian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hniIFhHAjAE
From Rodger Paxton:
I wrote the following in response to several Republicans who are asking us why we are running against so many “good Republicans” in Arkansas. Enjoy!
___________________________________
We Are Libertarians
We are not “Republican-light.” We are not “Democratic-light.” We are Libertarians.
It is tiresome to continually be asked why we would want to run a Libertarian candidate against a “good Republican” or “a good libertarian leaning Republican.” Would this same person ask that of the Democratic Party? Would this same person expect the Democratic Party to not run someone against a “good moderate Republican?” Of course not. So why do they ask us?
I believe Republicans and conservatives do this because they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be a Libertarian. They believe we share some sort of camaraderie with them but can offer no proof of what makes them think this way. They throw around words like “Republican-libertarian,” and “conservative libertarian,” and “constitutional libertarian” like these word salads have some sort of meaning. They do not.
A libertarian is someone who believes in the non-aggression principle, plain and simple. Simply put, the non-aggression principle states that no man may initiate force or fraud against another person or his property. This is also called “classically liberal” in many circles and fits just as well as the word libertarian. The political party that upholds these libertarian principles is conveniently named The Libertarian Party. Republicans and Democrats have no such moral compass. This is evident in the sort of legislation both parties have brought us. However, since I am talking about the Republicans today, let’s see what they have done to this state and country recently.
· Republicans have brought us, in the last legislative session in Arkansas alone, a bill that steals $125 million from the taxpayer’s pockets to give to a for-profit steel mill.
· The Republicans also passed legislation in the last session making it more difficult for the Libertarian Party to get on the ballot, restricting our freedom of speech and freedom of choice.
· The Republicans also passed legislation increasing an already ridiculous burden for the citizens of Arkansas to bring ballot initiatives to the people to vote on.
· The Republicans also brought us a bill to be voted on that will double their term limits.
· The Republicans have also brought us a bill making it much more difficult and expensive for a person to get certain body modifications to their own body. And this was all just in the last session alone!
· Now, in the current fiscal session, the Arkansas Republicans are trying to ram the private option funding through the House any way they can! The private option is the largest expansion of Medicaid in Arkansas history and was passed initially last session in our Republican-controlled legislature! And one of the biggest supporters of getting this passed in this fiscal session? Nate Bell, the supposed “libertarian Republican!”
And you wonder why these word salads like “libertarian Republican” have no meaning.
Federally, things are just as bad, if not worse. Republicans brought us the PATRIOT Act, Homeland Security, TSA, Medicaid Part D, multiple stimulus packages to prop up private companies, multiple wars to massively increase the military budget, pork, etc. I could keep going, but you get the point. All of these programs stole money from our pockets and stole freedom from our lives.
These are supposedly the “fiscally conservative” Republicans. And yet you wonder why Libertarians candidates run against “good Republicans.”
As independent reporter Steve Brawner said in the Times Record today, “”Libertarians are the party of less government — really less government…That sounds like Republican rhetoric, but Libertarians are a lot more serious about it, and the party’s less government philosophy lands it to the left of many Arkansas Democrats on social issues.” Mr. Brawner gets it. Why don’t the Republicans get it?
This is the reason the Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing party in Arkansas, because we get it. We get that the people of this great country and great state are fed up with the false choices they are being given at the ballot box. We get that people are finally saying, “ENOUGH!” The Libertarian Party is giving these voters real choice, a real difference from the eerily similar Republican and Democrat parties. People every day are fed up, looking around, and realizing that they too are Libertarians.
R. Lee Wrights, the Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, said today on his Facebook page, “Libertarians do nothing for America or themselves by joining and supporting our oppressors! WE gain nothing and America loses every time someone falls for this load of elephant droppings. Republicans cannot be trusted. We have learned even the Democrats have more integrity than Republicans. Not by much, mind you, but by a degree. Democrats tell us they are going to take our money and give it to others, then, they get elected and do it. Republicans lie through their teeth and tell us, “Vote for us, we are not like that!” Then, they get elected, take our money, and give it to their friends. Republicans and Democrats are two wings on the same bird of prey.”
I could not have said it better myself. We are no longer content with elephant and donkey droppings. We are no longer content pulling the lever for these people who campaign one way and then legislate another. We are no longer willing to play their games and allow them to run roughshod over us. We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats. WE ARE LIBERTARIANS! And, in Arkansas anyway, we are here to stay and to win.
Amanda Billyrock @ “The Babes of Bitcoin” panel (from the 2014 New Hampshire Liberty Forum)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NPI4K-h4pk
The regular open thread works fine for all subjects for me.
Does anyone have an interest in running an open thread to talk about Bitcoin? There’s always news, and it seems to interest many people here.
Could the troll or trolls on IPR be getting paid by the government to troll here? It may sound crazy, but it is quite possible that they are.
http://www.infowars.com/yes-there-are-paid-government-trolls-on-social-media-blogs-forums-and-websites/
“Jill Pyeatt February 27, 2014 at 12:21 pm
I don’t believe I’ve heard of him, either, and I’m in LA County. It’s a big state, though.”
I heard of him through a traveling Libertarian petitioner who was in Los Angeles and worked on the petition to put him on the ballot for the city council race. He mentioned the guy’s name to me and said that he said he’s a Libertarian and I said that I’d never heard of him before.
I don’t believe I’ve heard of him, either, and I’m in LA County. It’s a big state, though.
“José C February 26, 2014 at 8:27 pm
Paulie:
Mark Herd is our candidate for the 33rd Congressional District in California. He says he is in the same line of work as you which is a paid signature petitioner. He has been involved in state wide petition drives to get propositions on the ballot, petition drives to get candidates on the ballot, and so on. Have you heard of him?”
I’ve heard of him, but I do not know him.
Jose C, the name Mark Herd is not ringing any bells. Maybe I’d recognize him if I saw him, or maybe not – I’ve mostly been off the California petition scene the last few years.
“MA: If the LPMA runs for a minor statewide office (Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer or Auditor) and earns at least 3% of the vote (which is highly likely) in 2014, the LPMA would be ballot qualified for 2016. It would take only a 5,000 valid sig petition drive for one of these offices. LPMA Chair Dave Blau thinks this would be good to do and requests $10,000 from the LNC for successful completion of the petition drive. ”
This comes up every four years. Every time we explain to the LNC slowly and in words of few syllables, that they cannot give to a Massachusetts non-Federal campaign because of campaign funding laws. Also, doing this mostly causes problems for Massachusetts Libertarians, so the LAMA board once again asked the LNC to drop the idea. By the way, our chair doesn’t remember saying anything that would indicate this was a good idea, but sometimes words mean different things to different people.
I have just posted a brief essay on “Why is Government So Punitive” at The California Libertarian Report http://calibertarianreport.com/2014/02/26/why-is-government-so-punitive/
Paulie:
Mark Herd is our candidate for the 33rd Congressional District in California. He says he is in the same line of work as you which is a paid signature petitioner. He has been involved in state wide petition drives to get propositions on the ballot, petition drives to get candidates on the ballot, and so on. Have you heard of him?
Libertarian Mark Herd has anounced his candidacy for the 33rd Congretional Distict in California which is in the West Los Angeles area of Los Angeles. He has has taken out petition papers, turned them in, and has untill March 7 to make an official decleration of candidacy. He is the third Libertarian candidate that is a candidate from Los Angeles County. The other candidates are José Castañeda (Secretary of State) and Jonathan Jaechs (Attorney General).
Here’s an update about Bitcoin:
http://youtu.be/6phynr2fdVU
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2014-02-25/why-trolls-start-flame-wars-swearing-and-name-calling-shut-down-ability-think
Here’s another story of the police beating an innocent man to death and the incident being on video. Will the cops get away with it again, or will they all get the lengthy prison sentences they deserve?
http://www.infowars.com/report-cops-continued-beating-dead-unarmed-suspect/
“William N. Grigg posted in Restore the Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest”
This reminds me of an idea I had a while ago for a constitutional amendment. It would go something like this:
“It shall be lawful for any individual to resist, or otherwise use violence against, any government agent or elected or appointed official that violates any section of the Constitution, even if the act of resistance or violence results in the death of a government agent or elected or appointed official.”
I bet that this would make the government goons think twice before they decide to violate the Constitution.
“A cop butted into a family argument, then committed battery by laying hands on the father. The father shoved the offender’s hand away — which is ‘resisting,’ doncha know.”
It’s a shame that the guy didn’t punch the cop in the nose and break it, and then tell the pig to mind his own fucking business.
William N. Grigg posted in Restore the Right to Resist Unlawful Arrest
William N. Grigg
William N. Grigg 3:36pm Feb 25
A cop butted into a family argument, then committed battery by laying hands on the father. The father shoved the offender’s hand away — which is “resisting,” doncha know. So the privileged goon and four of his buddies very professionally beat the innocent man to death in front of his pleading wife. The local police chief insists that this was an “appropriate” response.
http://newsok.com/cellphone-video-in-fatal-warren-theatre-incident-made-public/article/3937085
Man Assaulted By Maryland Police For Filming Arrest
http://www.infowars.com/man-assaulted-by-maryland-police-for-filming-arrest/
I agree.
“ME: 4,000 valid sig petition for Independent for President that cannot start until Memorial Day 2016, as there is no substitution for President or VP in Maine.”
A new law was recently passed in Maine that says that a party can gain full party ballot access (which is better than just getting the Presidential ticket on the ballot) if it can get at least 5,000 to register to vote under their party label.
It would be a wise move for the Libertarian Party to start a voter registration drive in Maine with the goal of getting over 5,000 Mainers registered to vote as Libertarians. This would give the Libertarian Party ballot status in Maine for 2016 and they could run a slate of candidates.
A small correction on Alabama – the contract is with Ross Lowe (Alabama LP state party treasurer and local petitioner with experience from the 1980s and from last year collecting signatures in Jefferson County paid for by Booster PAC) .
I am one of several subcontractors who is planning to work for Ross Lowe on this petition drive. If my participation on this drive and on LNC at the same time is going to be much of an issue, I can either cancel my plans to be one of the subcontractors working for Ross Lowe or I can resign from the LNC.
My estimate on the state legislative seats that this will give us access for was 10-20, but I actually forgot to figure in the State Senate with that calculation when I talked to Bill about on the phone. I think 20 is closer to the mark, maybe even slightly more.
With all county commission seats in 6 counties, multiple county executive positions in each of the counties, and judicial positions in all of the counties it could be as many as a hundred candidates, which is not to say LPA will recruit that many.
I am in the process of seeking statewide candidates with the financial resources to fund the remaining 61 counties.
LIBERTARIAN PARTY BALLOT ACCESS ACTION REPORT
Libertarian National Committee meeting
Alexandria, Virginia
March 1-2, 2014
Dear Colleagues:
If we lived in a nation with just election laws, we wouldn’t have to pursue ballot access. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The following memo addresses petitioning opportunities for the LNC in 2014, and through 2016.
I want to thank Bob Johnston, LP of Maryland Chair and an Independent Contractor to the LNC, for his work in contacting various state parties and their Chairs, and his preparation of the table that is a part of this report, and Richard Winger and Paul Frankel for their assistance in updating this report.
We currently have ballot access in the following 32 states (plus DC): AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IN, HI, KS, LA, MD, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR, SC, SD, TX, UT, VT, WV & WY. This assumes that all paperwork will be filed on a timely basis.
Current petition drive updates:
States in which we could be circulating a petition in 2013 or 2014 are:
AL: Petitioning (not subsidized by the LNC) has been ongoing for local candidates in AL. Since the December 2013 LNC meeting, the EC encumbered $12,500 of LNC funds to complete sufficient petitioning to allow the LPAL to run one US House candidate, about ten State House candidates, and several score candidates for lower offices in 2014. The petition contract with Paul Frankel has been circulated to the LNC, but it has not been approved. Accordingly, none of the $12,500 has yet been spent by the LNC.
The AL legislature has, historically, been horrible on ballot access, and it might behoove us to get a candidate on for US House to send a message and to help develop the LPAL. There has been only one LPAL candidate for public office (other than President) after 2002.
In AL, no Democrat is running for four (4) statewide offices in 2014: US Senator, Supreme Court Justice (a partisan office), Public Service Commissioner Seat One and Public Service Commissioner Seat Two. Also, the AL House Elections Committee has passed HB 327, lowering the number of signatures from 44,829 to 22,415. If it passes it will take effect immediately. The petition deadline is June 3, 2014. The vote test is 20% for any statewide office. If the bill passes we should consider petitioning in Alabama this year. In 2000, there were two Alabama races with no Democrat in a statewide race. We were on the ballot as a party that year and we got over 20% for one of them. If we got at least 20% in one of those four elections this year, we would retain ballot status through 2016, at which time we would likely be in some more two-way elections. Also in 2012, in the three states in which we were in two-way statewide races, we got 34% in Georgia, 43% in Montana, and 22% in Texas.
IL: The LPIL request for funds from the LNC is $66,500. I have not asked the EC yet to encumber funds for IL, but, if that is going to be done (either by the EC or the LNC), it needs to be done by March 2, as the start date of the IL petition drive is Tuesday, March 25, and the drive lasts only 90 days. I (Bill Redpath) will be in Illinois from Memorial Day 2014 through the following Friday to work as a volunteer on this petition drive, hopefully doing petitioning.
MA: If the LPMA runs for a minor statewide office (Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Treasurer or Auditor) and earns at least 3% of the vote (which is highly likely) in 2014, the LPMA would be ballot qualified for 2016. It would take only a 5,000 valid sig petition drive for one of these offices. LPMA Chair Dave Blau thinks this would be good to do and requests $10,000 from the LNC for successful completion of the petition drive.
NH: Governor and US Senate candidates can get on in 2014 with Independent petitions for 3,000 valid sigs each. If either candidate would receive at least 4% of the vote, the LP would get party status again in NH.
NM: If the LP completed an 6,018 valid sig petition drive for a candidate for statewide office, and that candidate got at least 5% of the vote in November 2014, the LPNM would be entitled to its own primary, and we would no longer have to complete such arduous candidate petitions to run candidates for office in NM (except President, which requires zero sigs). We got 8.5% for Land Commissioner in 1998. There are about seven “low level” statewide offices in NM in 2014, and the petition deadline is in late June 2014. We would also need to increase our voter registration percentage to 0.3333333%. We now have about 3,541 voter registrations in NM, and we would need to increase that number by about 625.
I have spoken with LPMN Chair Mike Blessing, but he does not know of someone in the LPNM who wants to run for one of these “low level” statewide offices.
NY: There will be a 15,000 valid sig petition for our statewide candidates (including Governor) in 2014. Our Governor candidate in 2010, Warren Redlich, received 48,386 votes for Governor. Gary Johnson got 47,256 votes for President in New York in 2012. 50,000 votes are needed to retain ballot status for the next four years. LPNY Chair Mark Axinn says that LPNY plan includes volunteer petitioning, and (as I recall) $10,000-15,000 of LPNY funds. He says that $25,000-30,000 from the LNC will be needed to successfully complete this petition drive. The drive occurs during a six week period from about July 10 to about August 20.
OK: Richard Prawdzienski is filing as an independent for Governor of Oklahoma in 2014, so in a sense we will be “on” the ballot in Oklahoma this year. He just needs a filing fee and it isn’t too high. He will be the first Libertarian on the ballot for Governor of Oklahoma in history, but without a “Libertarian” label.
PA: Ken Krawchuk got the LPPA nomination for Governor, and Henry Haller got the nomination for Lt. Governor on 2/22/2014. The results of those elections will not qualify the LPPA for the 2016 ballot. We need to do a petition in 2016. About 16,625 valid sigs will be needed on the 2014 petition. The LPPA will attempt to do this on an all volunteer basis, with the petition drive starting on March 12, 2014 and ending on August 1, 2014. Emphasis will be put on Primary Day petitioning on Tuesday, May 20. We can assess the situation after Primary Day to see if paid petitioning will be needed in PA. I attended the LPPA convention on 2/22/2014 and told the delegates not to expect financial help for the petition drive from the LNC this year
VA: Rob Sarvis, the 2013 Governor nominee, got the LPVA nomination for US Senate in 2014. 10,000 valid sigs would be needed, with ballot retention if that candidate received 10% of the vote. I do not think the LNC should subsidize this drive, given that vote percentage retention requirement.
WI: I intend to work with the LPWI Chair to lobby to make a minor change to the law that would get the LPWI ballot status (the Constitution Party has ballot status now because they got over 1% for US Senate in 2010, and the LP got over 1% for US Senate in 2012, but only the vote for President applies in Presidential election years). If that does not work, we would have to do 2,000 valid sigs on a separate petition for each office, but if we got 1% for Governor/Lt. Governor, or Secretary of State, or Treasurer or Attorney General, the LP would have ballot status for the next four years in WI.
2014 Summary: IL for $66,500, plus NY for $25,000-30,000, plus MA for $10,000 equals $101,500-106,500, plus the $12,500 encumbered for AL equals $114,000-119,000. The Ballot Access expense budget for 2014 currently stands at $120,900, which would allow $1,900-6,900 for other uses during the year.
2016 Petitioning:
AL: 5,000 valid sig petition for Independent for President that cannot start until Memorial Day 2016, as there is no substitution for President or VP in Alabama. Early September 2016 deadline.
CT: 7,500 valid sigs in 2016 for President. The LPCT is working with the ACLU to possibly litigate the out-of-state petitioner ban in CT. This drive will likely need some subsidization from the LNC.
IA: 1,500 valid sigs in 2016 for President. This needed LNC subsidization in 2012.
KY: 5,000 valid sigs for President in 2016, with a petition that can start to circulate the day after Election Day 2015. There is a US Senate race in KY in 2014, but ballot status cannot be gained through the results of that election.
ME: 4,000 valid sig petition for Independent for President that cannot start until Memorial Day 2016, as there is no substitution for President or VP in Maine.
MN: 2,000 valid sig petition for President in 2016. This needed LNC subsidization in 2012.
NJ: 800 valid sigs in 2016 for President. Unfortunately, this required LNC subsidization in 2012. And, it is my understanding that the LPNJ could not get the 800 valid sigs needed for the recent US Senate election in NJ. In my opinion, the LPNJ has some bad habits in the operation of its petition drives, and I will work with the LPNJ Chair in 2016 or before to change that.
OK: Unless something changes through litigation or lobbying, this will be a 40,000+ sig petition drive.
RI: 1,000 net sigs for a Presidential petition. The LPRI needed LNC help for this petition in 2012.
TN: Because the TN ballot access law has been found to be unconstitutional, the LP may be a ballot qualified party in TN, just as has been the case in OH over the past few years. If not, it is 275 net sigs for a Presidential petition. The LPTN needs to work to get this done well ahead of the deadline in 2016, not let it go to a last day fire drill, as in 2012.
VA: In 2016, VA will require only 5,000 valid sigs for a Presidential petition. I do not know if this can be done totally volunteer or if the LPVA will have funds for this, as the LPVA’s cash minus liabilities now is only about $9,000. Some small LNC subsidization may be necessary.
WA: The LPWA handled the Presidential petition on its own in 2012, and I anticipate that it will do so again in 2016.
New Hampshire is one of the strongest Majority-Majority states in the union, which makes it fitting for the Free State Project, since Liberty only thrives among the Race that invented the idea. Unfortunately the Free State Project has failed to market the racial homogeneity of New Hampshire as a selling point or it would be a lot further ahead of where it is today.
http://nh-liberty.info/2014/02/nh-liberty-party-convention-roundup/
February 24, 2014 – The NH Liberty Party, formed in September 2012, held its second annual convention during the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Nashua, NH. Party members voted to make 3 bylaws changes, which included allowing the State Committee to nominate candidates outside of the convention; extending the period of time in which party members can renew their membership; and reducing the percentage of members needed for a quorum during the annual convention. All bylaws changes were adopted unanimously.
Members also nominated two candidates for four positions. Ian Freeman was nominated for Keene School Board, the election for that race will be held March 11, Freeman was also nominated for State Senate (District 10) and Governor. He was nominated for both offices, since he has not yet decided which of the two races he will enter. The other candidate nominated at the convention was Darryl W. Perry, who will launch a bid for New Hampshire Secretary of State. That race is unique in that the New Hampshire Secretary of State is elected by the New Hampshire Legislature, not the voters. Perry will begin lobbying members of the legislature this Summer in the race that is decided during the House Organizational meeting. William Gardner was first elected in 1976, and has been reelected without opposition every two years since at least 1997, with the House Speaker instructing th Clerk to cast one ballot for William M. Gardner and declared him elected. Secretary of State Gardner is also opposed to any meaningful changes to the ballot access laws.
Finally, party members elected a new State Committee, with co-founders Ian Freeman and Darryl W. Perry being re-elected, and Jason Denonville being elected to replace co-founder Conan Salada. The new State Committee would like to thank Salada for his work in helping form the party, and his almost year and a half of service on the State Committee.
The zionists are lurking in the shadows pulling the strings of the “Federal Reserve” puppet corporation. They are manipulating our money with usury and stealing our Gold and Silver.
The Federal Reserve Explained in 3 Minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP9H5fADC0E
Good job!
Jill:
I created the write-up myself.
Glad to hear you’re still going forward, Jose! Where did you find the write-up you just posted?
José Castañeda and Jonathan Jaech have taken out petition papers for the office of attorney general and secretary of state representing the Libertarian Party of California. Seventy five petition signatures will be needed and a filing fee of about $2,600 will have to be paid by March 7, 2014 in order for their names to be placed on the ballot.
José Castañeda’s campaign will focus on electoral reform. He wants to abolish the “top two” primary system. He believes the voters of California should have a variety of voices from which to choose on Election Day and the “top two” primary system limits the voices of alternative political views.
Jonathan Jaech’s campaign will focus on reforming the legal system especially as it relates to victimless crimes.
José Castañeda and Jonathan Jaech decided to become candidates for office because both believe the purpose of the Libertarian Party is to have candidates for office giving voters different views from which to vote for on Election Day. If the Libertarian Party has no candidates the voters will not hear the voice of Libertarian solutions to the issues effecting voters. José and Jonathan believe the Libertarian Party should have candidates for office no matter how difficult the Democratic and Republican parties have made the process.
José Castañeda concludes by mentioning there are some states with very difficult ballot access requirements where every two years a ballot drive has to be conducted in order to get the party on the ballot thus allowing Libertarians to run for office. In 1980 Presidential candidate Ed Clark was on the ballot in 50 states, Washington DC, and Guam. Jose asks, “Should Libertarians have said because in some states ballot access requirements are difficult, voters of those states should be deprived the option of having Ed Clark on the ballot? Should Libertarians of states with difficult ballot access requirements be deprived of the option of voting for Libertarians?” José answers, “No. Voters should not be deprived of the option of voting for Libertarians. There should be Libertarian candidates no matter how difficult are ballot access requirements.”
The latest video from Stormcloudsgathering:
Obama’s Next Assassination Target
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGy3ap-eAXU
Here we go, this is more like it. Again, in case anyone missed Richard Wolff’s Feberuary Global Capitalism talk, here it is. 2 hours of sweet Marxian economic analysis. Professor Wolff is a great speaker and the leading Marxian economist in the United States.
http://youtu.be/vMXfBm0IPd0
Judge Napolitano: DHS To Spy On Every License Plate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueRHc1yJk80
http://www.Infowars.com reporter Jon Browne hits the streets of Austin, Texas around the University of Texas campus to ask people passing by if they could name the Bill of Rights. See what happened.
Millennials Are Dumb Slaves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYZOsOnSWgg
A school safety expert has been researching what happened in regard to the Sandy Hook shooting incident, and has come to the conclusion that the incident was a hoax.
School Safety Expert Threatened for Questioning Sandy Hook Hoax
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6roDPt1WYYY
Oops! I should make it a rule not to post comments after midnight, since that’s when I seem to make most mistakes. Here’s Julie’s video:
http://youtu.be/bPReWYtd_2U
I enjoyed the additional dog pictures after the original video.
“Jill Pyeatt February 19, 2014 at 3:31 am
Here’s one of Julie Borowski’s better videos. If you like it, too, please share it everywhere.”
???
Here’s one of Julie Borowski’s better videos. If you like it, too, please share it everywhere.
Today is President’s Day. Let’s remember one of the greatest: Millard Fillmore
http://th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/081/0/d/Millard_Fillmore_Bad_President_by_jimmyemery.jpg
He was a handsome man. Note the resemblance to Newt Gingrich.
Mark Dice is back with another great video.
Bill of Rights Quiz FAIL – College Students Don’t Know Their Basic Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7ElP4Q2LJw
“Mark Axinn February 17, 2014 at 8:58 am
Starchild–
There is no such thing as too many fundraising letters.”
Some people say that getting hit up for donations is annoying. I don’t really look at it that way. Organizations need money in order to operate. If I receive a fundraising letter or email or phone call and I don’t feel like donating for whatever reason, I just ignore it, or decline. The fact that an organization is trying to raise money at least shows that they are doing something (now whether or not what it is that they are doing is effective is another issue).
Just for fun:
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/presidents-songs/
Andy–
Thx.
Starchild–
There is no such thing as too many fundraising letters.
I personally draft, sign and mail 300 letters three or four times a year to update and thank my membership and ask for more support; if I could do it monthly I would.
Every mailing I send is always cost-positive, resulting in membership renewals, generous donations and even nice notes. The funds we take in far exceeds the postage costs (and my time is of course at no charge to the Party).
Oh, for those who get too many emails/direct mail, I recommend the delete key and trash can.
David – I can’t tell you to what extent national LP fundraising efforts may be interfering with state or local fundraising, if any. But that issue aside, many people simply feel that the Libertarian Party sends too many fundraising letters.
The LNC voted to move forward with moving us toward the increasingly popular crowdfunding approach (see e.g. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227212 ) that has the potential to significantly reduce this tide of correspondence (spam in the eyes of many), while empowering our supporters and giving them more options and greater say in decision-making.
Unfortunately the effort seems to be dragging. If you’d like the party to send fewer letters begging for money, and instead establish a web page that lists a good number of approved projects at any given time for donors to read about, evaluate, and choose among when sending in their donations, while sending out occasional updates about the projects on this page and inviting supporters to visit the page and make their choices, please let your LNC members and staff know how you feel.
LNC members are listed at https://www.lp.org/lnc-leadership and can be reached via email by clicking on our names (I’ve pushed for our phone numbers to be listed too, but so far unsuccessfully). Staff members are listed at https://www.lp.org/staff and can be reached by email or phone.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee
RealReform[at]earthlink[dot]net / (415) 625-FREE
Regarding the amswers from everyone – fair enough. Normally I don’t have a problem with multiple causes working and fundraising together, either. It just seems National’s been getting a little nuts with the direct mail lately, and, with admittedly anecdotal individuals claiming burnout from the LP, I figured I’d check to see if this was happening elsewhere.
“Mark Axinn February 16, 2014 at 8:28 pm
Andy–
Is the Marianne in the excellent Bureaucrat in my Beer video a few comments above the same Libertarian Girl who comments sometimes here at IPR?”
No.
Andy–
Is the Marianne in the excellent Bureaucrat in my Beer video a few comments above the same Libertarian Girl who comments sometimes here at IPR?
Kudos to her for an excellent video on why free markets need to be free (esp. of cronyism).
So what if we are competing over member dollars? I don’t have a pie-chart mentality (for that, go to the statists) which wrongfully believes that there is limited wealth available and people won’t contribute more than X to any cause.
To the contrary, people who are willing to contribute to one part of the LP are most likely willing to contribute to another.
Accordingly, I have and will continue to urge my membership to contribute to my state party, to our chapters, to our candidates, and always to the national party. I also urge them to donate to really good non-party institutions like FEE, MPP and IJ. There are many good ways for people to donate money and we should not denigrate any one of them which is promoting liberty and moving us closer to freedom in this totalitarian world.
Clearly I am not the only state chair who sees value in urging one’s membership to also join National; just look at the explosive growth of national members from Ohio in the last year for more evidence. And then ask, has Ohio LP suffered significant losses because Kevin urged LPO members to also contribute to National?
Of course not.
With respect to Dave Colborne’s remarks, I gather that the alst frewe LNC fundraisers have not been stunningly successful.
Ewwww, There’s a Bureaucrat in My Beer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2gJX_zZJk
Rs and Ds send stuff out every single day.
I just ignore what I get from National. Of course, there’s nothing hardly at all coming from the California Executive Committe, though, so I guess I can’t compare us with what’s happening in Nevada,
I’ve not heard anything like that David. I’d bet that people who are saying things like that are just looking for a reason not to give you their contact info.
I asked this question in the IPR Facebook group and didn’t get a lot of responses – maybe here would be a better spot.
For those of you here that are in the LP, are LP National outreach efforts crowding your state or local outreach? I ask because I, along with a few others in Nevada, are starting to see push back from libertarians that don’t want to be on our list since “the LP already sends me too much junk”. I know the repetitive fundraising letters get tiresome after a while and Google decided long ago that the LP’s mail blasts belong in the “Promotion” ghetto, at least when it doesn’t mark them as spam.
This is a problem for us since we’d like to actually talk to Nevadans about local races and issues; if national is taking all the air out of the conversation, what can we do? Are we alone in this?
Thanks for any input the rest of you can provide.
Manhattan LP will broadcast the recent Snowden interview on cable TV (MNN, also accessible on the internet) on Monday, Feb. 24 at 10:30 pm EST.
More info to follow.
US Military Trains for War on the 2nd Amendment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nue_tM9hqXw
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/10/lights-out-for-nsa-maryland-lawmakers-push-to-cut-water-electricity-to-spy-agency-headquarters
Snowden German TV Interview Jan 2014
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Rhjeg21YOvRGdCVnoyQUdHR3M/edit?usp=sharing
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GXWI6ISkzlI
Me earlier:
Jill today on another thread
Great minds think alike 🙂
Here’s something else I believe will be of interest to our readers:
http://libertycrier.com/legal-pot-coming-soon-50-state-marijuana-law-roundup/?utm_source=The+Liberty+Crier&utm_campaign=4cad7264e7-The_Liberty_Crier_Daily_News_2_9_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_600843dec4-4cad7264e7-284901389
I am able to access IPR through Google Chrome today, BTW.
Here’s an excellent article, which might be of interest to IPR readers. If you’re not familiar with the Tenth Amendment Center, I suggest you follow them. They’re a fairly new group, but they’re extremely effective!!!
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2014/02/07/supreme-court-offers-opinion-doesnt-make-law/?doing_wp_cron=1391954450.4788720607757568359375#.UvfS87X2a3F
Yes, it’s a play on “open” thread.
Mine is not (in ubuntu).
I have the problem too, Steven, and some other people are. Warren is aware of it, too. I don’t think any other browsers are affected by it.
My Google Chrome is blocking IPR.
“Google Chrome has blocked access to this page on http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com.”
I can get on with Opera w/o the warning, but folks @ IPR might want to be aware.
PEACE
The first image reminds me of goatse.
Yeah, in many ways I liked their early work better. But they still have their moments…check out the real Assange in this one for example @3:45:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWU6tVxzO1I
And here’s an explanation from Giordano re: episode 21 (in the article above)
I very much enjoy the Rap News videos. If they’re not posted here, I don’t often remember to check them out. I must say though, I think Rap News was at its peak about 2-3 years ago. They’re still doing good work, but it just doesn’t seem quite as cool as it used to be. Maybe its just getting old.
http://thenewsdoctors.com/nice-job-conservatives/
Good news!
On FB Dennis says the are in the process of filing.
Seems like it would be stupid to run as a write in when he could be on the ballot. I hope he doesn’t get snagged over the 4pm/5pm issue, I’ve seen that happen.
No word. Like I said he still has some time, and I believe he can run as a write-in in the primary. Richard Winger would know better than I do about what the requirements for that are.
Interesting. What about Spisak?
Libertarian Charlie Earl has officially filed paperwork to run for Governor of Ohio. http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/02/kasich_campaign_files_candidac.html
The deadline is 4 p.m. today. The only other candidates to file so far are Republican incumbent John Kasich & Democrat Ed FitzGerald.
And in other news:
Jeff Daiell posted in Libertarians of Harris County
Jeff Daiell
Jeff Daiell 9:34am Feb 4
Dear Libertarian,
After the tremendous surge in voter support for the LP of Texas in
2012, we have the chance to capitalize on that momentum this year. We
have candidates running for offices at every level and all across our
State.
Of course, attention will, as always, focus on the top of the
ticket. But if we want our best possible nominee representing us, we
need to act within the next few days.
Lee Wrights and his staff have focused on reaching out to
LPers all around Texas. That hasn’t left much time to build a campaign
treasury.
Because Lee is such an effective candidate, the campaign
began with a very generous ($7,000) donation from one
of the most respected of all libertarian PACs. Now Lee needs help
from you and me. If he gets it, he can continue his efforts to
make 2014 a breakthrough year for us.
I’ll be making the largest contribution I can. I hope you’ll join
me in doing so.
Here’s what we get if Lee is our nominee:
Effectiveness. Lee and his team know how to reach out,
persuasively, to voters all across the political spectrum. They know
how to spend campaign funds effectively.
Principle. Lee Wrights is a consistent libertarian.
Respect for LPTers. Lee will work cooperatively with LPT
candidates, activists, and staffers.
Respect for contributors. He knows that you worked hard from the
funds you contribute to him.
That’s a combination that only Lee Wrights will bring to the
nomination. He can’t do it without our help.
Please join me in making the most generous contribution you can.
Simply go to:
https://leewrights.nationbuilder.com/
or, if you prefer, mail your check or money order to:
Lee Wrights For Texas Governor 2014
4606 Shoalwood Avenue
Austin, Texas 78756
and help Lee Wrights make 2014 a breakthrough year for the LPT.
For Texas and Liberty,
Jeff Daiell
Paulie Cannoli Does this mean that Lee has dropped back in?
21 minutes ago ? Like
Jeff Daiell He never actually dropped out. He just put the campaign on hold pending the arrival of more funds.
Jeff
8 minutes ago ? Like
Paulie Cannoli From my email: Thomas Hill
Jan 20
to me, Independent, iprtwo, lee
Sad but true my friend.
Thomas
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 13:34:07 -0600
Subject: Fwd: [The Libertarian Party of Tennessee] Farewell And Best Wishes | Lee Wrights 2014
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
I am assuming this means Lee is dropping out? Please correct that if I misunderstood.
paulie
7 minutes ago ? Like
Paulie Cannoli Lee was copied on that exchange, which led to this article https://independentpoliticalreport.com/…/lee…/ that got 184 comments but no correction that he was not in fact dropping out
Lee Wrights Drops Out of Texas Gubernatorial Race
http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com
R. Lee Wrights has ended his campaign for the Libertarian Party nomination for g…See More
5 minutes ago ? Like ? Remove Preview
Jeff Daiell I contacted Mr. Wrights before sending out the fundraiser. He has not dropped out.
Jeff
3 minutes ago ? Like
Paulie Cannoli If he is still running, I think this advice from Marc Montoni may help: Were I managing a campaign like Lee?s, my first act would have been to rent the national LP database (or perhaps start cheap and just get the last couple of databases of LP convention delegates ? those lists are free) and send out a mailing extolling the campaign and seeking buy-in.
The next thing for him to have done would have been to contact every FB ?like? and ask them to provide their full contact info. Not all would supply it, but a percentage would, and those are the people to whom you send a letter asking them to invest. For that matter, **every** LP candidate should be doing that anyway, and passing the contacts along to LPHQ. Some prospects may not be ready to contribute to a campaign, but they might be interested in local LP activities, or investing in a state ballot access drive, or something ? and if we enroll them some other way this time, next time some of those *will* be ready to invest in a campaign.
2 minutes ago ? Like
I long for the day when a US President gives a state-if-the-union speech like the one George Phillies posted here. Reality-based policy? What a concept!
A constitutional response to the SOTU: The President pointed out the disparity between wages of those at the top and the average worker, during a time that large companies are earning good profits and the stock market has hit record highs (thus bolstering the stock value of many companies). He rightly promoted the general welfare, as written in the opening statement of the US Constitution, by implying that this disparity of pay is too much and that workers need to be paid higher wages to keep up. He is right! He then said, “So our job is to reverse these trends.” (1). By talking to business leaders and encouraging them to raise the salaries of workers during times of large profits, he may have a positive impact on the overall financial outlook for employees in America if enough decision-makers agree with him. However, there is not to be found in the reading of the US Constitution a place where the President (or Congress, since he said ‘We’) is responsible or has been given the authority to determine wages. The 10th Amendment states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.” This means that the States could determine a minimum wage (if their State’s Constitution allows) for workers in their respective state. North Carolina, for example, could pass a minimum wage of $14.80/hr. In order to (possibly) keep its citizens from moving, the Commonwealth of Virginia could pass a min. wage of $15.50. This would create a competition between the States and each State could decide what is best for its citizens. For those who are proponents of raising the minimum wage, I ask that you go through your respective state legislature to do so and not to ask your US Congressman, since the Federal Gov’t has not been given authority in the US Constitution to determine the wages someone is to be paid for working.
(1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-obamas-2014-state-of-the-union-address/2014/01/28/e0c93358-887f-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html
Tweet from independent Florida gubernatorial candidate Kyle K.C. Gibson (@KCN2014):
Please keep my family in your prayers. My baby brother Khristopher died in a car accident yesterday.
George Phillies writes
A Libertarian State of the Union
Fellow Americans.
We Libertarians come to you to report on the state of our Union.
The state of the Union could certainly be much better. Replace Democrats and Republicans with Libertarians, and the state of the Union will by and by improve.
Let’s consider a few of the more important questions our country faces.
Civil liberties:
On the most fundamental of all issues, our civil liberties, the situation is appallingly bad. The Fourth Amendment, indeed our entire Bill of Rights, is being trampled underfoot by national security agencies, not to mention state and local law enforcement and other agencies. The NSA and its fellow agencies are tapping every telephone line and email link they can reach, using them to record your every word and text message. [For sure, you do not need a 5 yottabyte data center, and its still-secret data backup center, if you are only recording metadata.] Those messages are being seized not via legal search warrants but by unconstitutional writs of assistance.
Some people will claim that ‘if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.’ These claims are totally in error. If your romantic interest works for the NSA, she may be peeping on you as I type. Are you going up for a promotion? You may be better than the other gal, but if the other gal’s uncle works at a spy agency, uncle may be blackmailing your boss to promote the other gal. Do you invest? That wiretap information is the ultimate in illegal inside trading information. You may be pure as the driven snow, but that spying operation still endangers you, your family, your friends, and your community. That spying operation is a menace to every American.
Fortunately, there is a sound libertarian solution to this problem. Impeach Clapper. Impeach Alexander. They lied to Congress. They’re spying on you right now. They’re waging electronic warfare on all of us. Impeach them both. Then impeach their counterparts at every other agency that shared in the establishment war on America. That’s two down, lots to go. The judges who violated their oaths of office by issuing writs of assistance, a crime against the Constitution, should also be impeached. The PRISM operation and its diabolical parallel tools were all criminal conspiracies against our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The people who put them into effect should be subject to fair trials for their evil deeds.
Civil liberties are doing poorly at the state level, too. State after state has passed laws intended to hinder or destroy the right of a woman to have an abortion. Libertarians have a simple answer: We’re 100% pro-choice. The Federal government should defend the right of every person to make their own choices on this issue. Thanks to the Fourteenth Amendment and Civil Rights laws, the Federal government has the tools needed to protect the civil rights of every woman in America. Those tools should be vigorously employed.
We see some progress on freedom of religion. The Supreme Court struck down the Republican Defense of Marriage Act. That unconstitutional law tried to suppress freedom of religion for faiths that wished to marry gays and lesbians. Real Libertarians opposed DOMA and its legal relatives from the beginning, back when that opposition was radical and controversial.
There is no right more fundamental than the right to vote. There are few attacks on democracy more effective than voter suppression. In state after state, Republican voter suppression laws target students, the aged, the poor, and the non-European. Americans properly expect the Federal government to protect their civil liberties. The Department of Justice should engage in vigorous litigation and prosecution against schemes — voter ID acts, remote polling places, huge lines at the polls — whose intent is manifestly to deny our fellow Americans the right to vote.
The notion that Americans need travel papers to ride on busses or trains or sit as passengers in automobiles is totally unAmerican. Even Justice Taney, writing in the anti-liberty Dred Scott decision, recognized that American citizens did not need papers to travel where they wished or bear arms when they travelled. The civil liberties of American citizens should be restored. Federal agencies that interfere with those liberties should be closed.
Finally, Congress should end the racist war on drugs, whose major effects have been to criminalize a generation of you people and to enrich a generation of foreign crime bosses. That war has been ongoing for decades. It costs us tens of billions of dollars a year to keep people in prison. It has substantially failed to ned drug use.
Foreign Policy
We launched our war on Afghanistan to capture Osama bin Laden. Mister bin Laden is dead as a doornail. It doesn’t matter how many Afghanis you shoot. It doesn’t matter how many Afghani homes you bomb. It doesn’t matter how many Afghani children you dronify. There is absolutely no possibility that the Afghanis will hand over bin Laden. They can’t. He’s dead, and buried at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Worse, we have inflicted on the Afghani people that chief menace to the civil liberties of every free person, a standing army. We can’t undo what we did, but we can stop making it worse. The War on Afghahistan should be stopped immediately. Our troops should come home. Arms shipments to Afghanistan should end. Every soldier now dying in Afghanistan has had his life thrown away by the establishment warfare state, because the establishment war on Afghanistan cannot possibly succeed.
The Democratic Administration has launched military operations in Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines, and a host of other nations around the world. These are undeclared wars. They are unconstitutional. Most knowledgeable commentators agree that these operations, by blowing up schools and weddings, serve primarily as recruiting operations for groups who now have grudges against us. These military operations should be brought to an end. Also, it is a violation of the laws of war to use non-military groups to conduct military operations. The use of mercenaries and spy agencies to wage war should be ended.
Some Democrats and Republicans will claim they are waging war against ‘radical Islam’. That war is a war on a religion. That’s Congress passing a law pertaining to establishment of religion, an act forbidden by our Constitution.
Establishing a world spy regime, in which you spy not only on your enemies, people with whom you are likely to be fighting, but on everyone in the whole world, is not a legitimate national defense activity. It is a crime against civilization. That’s why we have the Nuremberg protocols. Judges who sanctify such crimes are also covered by the Nuremberg protocols. The persons who launched these criminal campaigns against the world should be prosecuted to the full extent of national and international law.
As Libertarians, we should support legitimate free trade. That’s the opposite of the managed trade of Democratic-Republican “Free Trade” corporate welfare agreements.
Domestic policy
Jobs, jobs, jobs. Because unemployment is high, there is little pressure to increase wages, to the great disadvantage of many Americans. As Libertarians, we do not expect the Federal government to manage the economy. We do propose policies that will reduce government economic mismanagement. We should set a target. If China can manage 10% growth a year under a system of crony communism, America ought to be able to manage 5% a year under a system of honest, open libertarian capitalism. What should we do?
All Americans are equal before the law. All Americans are equally entitled to retain the money they earned. The tax on the farmer who grows and sells $40,000 of wheat, and on the commodity trader who sells $40,000 of stock in the wheat marketing company, should be the same. Republicans and Democrats have circulated vast numbers of lying points about why their donors are entitled to lower taxes than are donors to the other party. We should reject all of them.
All Americans are equal before the law. The tax status of money spent by your employer for your health insurance, by you for your health insurance, and by you for your medical expenses should be the same. The tax status should be ‘pre-tax income’.
All too many Americans cannot find work. We should encourage people to be able to create a job, not just to find a job. Other political parties will take this line, and throw it in the face of the unemployed. They will blame the unemployed for not having solved the extremely difficult challenge of creating work for themselves. The libertarian perspective is quite different. There are some people who through being in the right place with the right skills and resources at the right time will be able to create jobs for themselves and others. Most of these people are already employed. We should create friendly circumstances for these people, so that they create new jobs for themselves, leaving openings with their former employers for their fellow Americans to fill. One of the largest obstacles these people faced has been removed, surely not the way many libertarians would have done it, but removed, by the Affordable Care Act, namely potential entrepreneurs now have possibilities for health insurance. In particular, millions of young people are now covered by their parents’ plans.
What do we Libertarians propose for the future?
Congress should make the District of Columbia a bastion of entrepreneurial capitalism.
*People should be allowed to open their own businesses freely. Congress makes DC a capitalist bastion by eliminating irrational licensing and permitting schemes.
*People should be allowed to raise money for their companies. Congress makes DC a capitalist bastion by making it far easier for small companies to issue bonds, notes, or shares of stock, at least to a moderately limited number of investors.
*People should be able to expand their venture firms. Congress makes DC a capitalist bastion by enacting some variant of ‘The First Two are Free’ scheme. Under this scheme , due to one of our 2012 Libertarian Presidential candidates, if you start a new company, the first two persons you hire can be treated as independent contractors. You pay them an amount you have agreed upon.
The Federal Budget
Once upon a time, Ronald Reagan went on at great length about ‘welfare queens in Cadillacs’. He was literally right, except he forgot to mention who the welfare queens were. They are the CEOs and CFOs and Boards of Directors of corporate welfare beneficiaries. They are defense welfare queens. Agricultural welfare queens. Bank welfare queens. They are the companies that profit mightily, not by supplying a superior product at a better price to willing customers, but by supplying an expensive, inferior product to a Congress purchased via campaign contributions and post-retirement lobbying and speaking deals. Defense? The United States maintains in the Atlantic Ocean the second most powerful fleet in the world, a fleet second only to our Pacific Fleet. The Atlantic Ocean borders on no significant hostile countries. This massive defense of the Atlantic Ocean is a welfare program for ship builders and arms manufacturers. It makes no more sense than would a massive naval defense of Lake Erie.
On the bright side, since George Bush’s last (2008-2009) budget and its 1.5 trillion dollar deficit, Federal spending has not increased appreciably, so increasing Federal tax revenues have progressively reduced that budget deficit toward the half trillion dollar mark. Federal spending as a fraction of GNP has decreased progressively over the past few years. This trend should be encouraged to continue.
We should systematically and methodically reduce Federal spending. Defense Welfare should be brought to an end. Our standing army should be progressively reduced to a third or a quarter of its current size. We have a substantially useless missile defense system. It should be closed down. Our aircraft carriers should be reduced from 12 to 3. Army and Marine Corps divisions should be shrunk to brigade size, heavily cadred so that they can be rapidly expanded with reservists if need be. A sensible part of national defense is a set of mutual defense treaties that protect our commercial trading partners. However, we should stop propping up foreign dictators. Our foreign bases should be greatly reduced. Our military establishment in Europe should be withdrawn. Agricultural welfare should be stopped. In particular, the corn ethanol program, which is simply a payoff to corporate interests, should be ended. As a simpler example, one of very many, people in the rest of the world pay far less than we do for sugar. Import restrictions on cane sugar are another corporate welfare payoff. They should be ended, thus greatly reducing the price of sugar.
The last decade revealed massive fraud and illegal acts in the management of mortgages and other financial instruments. Fraud is a crime. It should be systematically prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Civil litigation that leaves criminals free to repeat their crimes is an inappropriate solution.
Education
Congress has school districts for which it is already solely legally responsible. I refer to the Washington, D.C. school district, the Indian schools, schools for children of diplomats, and schools for armed forces dependents abroad. The D.C. and Indian schools are national disgraces. Until Congress shows that it can deliver good schools when no one else is in the way, it should stop trying to tell other people how to run their school systems. When the Washington, D.C. school system is the bright shining star of the Republic, into which children from neighboring places eagerly try to transfer, then Congress will have supplied an example for others to follow, no further expenditure of Federal funds being needed. Until then, No Child Left Behind and other bits of foolishness should be repealed. We should, however, avoid snake oil salesmen peddling quack nostrums having little to do with educational quality and much to do with rendering unionized teachers unemployed so as to weaken one political party or the other.
Science, Technology, and Culture are the glories of the Republic. Congress should honor them by affording reasonable but short protections for intellectual property. The perpetual expansion of copyright beyond all reason should be ended, no matter how much certain corporate interests pay off Congress.
It is unfortunate that we have some political interests who completely deny physical reality, who deny global climate change, evolution, or the heliocentric model of the solar system. We guarantee freedom of religion. We do not allow any faith to impose its beliefs on everyone else. Libertarianism is the philosophy of sound reason. We should make our reality-based policy decisions on sound scientific evidence, for which there is now overwhelming support. Science and technology, as we learned in World War 2, are the true basis of national defense. For this reason, just as we sensibly maintain large arsenals for the production of artillery that we do not currently need, so also do we we sensibly invest in maintaining our technical research base.
That’s just a surface sampling of the State of Our Union.
Maybe we should have a separate open thread for bitching, moaning, whining and complaining.
Are free obnoxious pills being dispensed every time some people click on IPR? I’m sure getting tired of all the whiners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXernENvc3k
“They are. And the funny thing is that the more people bitch the more videos will get posted.”
Works for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u6KXgjLqSTg
They are. And the funny thing is that the more people bitch the more videos will get posted.
” thread allegedly devoted to miscellaneous independennt / third-party discussion.”
Who alleged that? I thought open threads were open. For anything.
It’s not confined to such topics and never was.
We’ve been over this; no need to bitch, if you feel like the thread is getting too long or too slow to load we can put a new one up as often as needed. If that doesn’t work, just keep complaining, and I’ll keep doing this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffR1qdiSdEQ
Electoral watch other than for the harsh phrasing is right. George
One who leans Green in Texas offers a list of specs.
socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2014/02/dear-democrats-you-want-my-vote.html
Site functionality would be improved if there were a dedicated thread for the narcissist’s off-topic spam, separate from the thread allegedly devoted to miscellaneous independennt / third-party discussion.
“It’s also become an IPR tradition to post videos in the open threads”……..
……..or an example of Narcissistic Personality Disorder