The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) held its annual State Convention on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Princess Ballroom of the Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference Center located at 77 East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. At that convention, Dr. Tom Stevens, the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Northampton County, was elected LPPA Chair with 60% of the credentialed delegates in attendance voting in his favor. Coming in second with 40% of the vote was Erik Viker, the Chair of the Libertarian Party of Snyder County. Twenty-five (25) delegates voted in the race. Also elected were Betsy Summers as Eastern Vice-Chair, Jim Fryman as Western Vice-Chair, Erik Viker as Secretary and Patti Fryman as Treasurer.
Speaking about his election, Dr. Tom Stevens said:
I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to serve as State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. I look forward to working with the other elected officers, the members of the Board of Directors, and all party members willing to put in a little time to help make the LPPA a more effective and influential political party. While much needs to be done, I am encouraged by the fact that I am not alone and that there are many knowledgeable party members willing to provide me with advice and support during the coming year. I intend to work hard every day to address the challenges and to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves. I am optimistic about the future of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. I am confident we can attract many new members and help them develop their leadership potential as they work to advance the cause of liberty.
Dr. Tom Stevens served on the national Libertarian Party's Judicial Committee (2006-2010), attended LPUS National Conventions as a Delegate (2004-2012), appeared as a commentator on over 200 national television shows, was the Producer & Host of a cable television show entitled In Focus, twice served as President of the Hofstra School of Law Alumni Association, was Campaign Manager for Libertarian Presidential Candidates Alden Link and Carl Person, and founded Rising Action, a Freedom Activist Network.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Gary Johnson Wins Presidential Straw Poll At New York Libertarian Party's State Convention
The Libertarian Party of New York held its State Convention on April 21, 2012 at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant located at 140 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. Gary Johnson, R. Lee Wrights, Jim Burns and Carl Person, all who are candidates seeking the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination in 2012, participated in a debate after which 41 of the delegates in attendance voted in the straw poll.
The results of the New York Libertarian Party's Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
Gary Johnson - 26 votes (63.41%)
R. Lee Wrights - 11 votes (26.83%)
Jim Burns - 3 votes (7.32%)
Carl Person - 1 vote (2.44%)
Sam Sloan, the elected Treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Queens County and the elected Secretary of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco, who is also seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President and maintains residences in the Bronx (NY) and in San Rafael (CA), flew in from California to participate in the debate but was not permitted to do so.
Mr. Sloan, told us during a sit-down interview at Cracker Barrel in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey on April 22, 2012, that he was told the Manhattan Libertarian Party that was hosting the State Convention had decided to exclude him from participation. Mr. Sloan said, "It is my belief the delegates attending the State Convention should have decided whether to allow me to participate in the Presidential Debate but apparently that is not the way they do things in New York. Given my past experiences with the the handful of individuals who have dominated the New York LP for decades, I cannot say I was surprised. However, I was disappointed I was not given an opportunity to share my ideas with the assembled delegates."
The results of the New York Libertarian Party's Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
Gary Johnson - 26 votes (63.41%)
R. Lee Wrights - 11 votes (26.83%)
Jim Burns - 3 votes (7.32%)
Carl Person - 1 vote (2.44%)
Sam Sloan, the elected Treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Queens County and the elected Secretary of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco, who is also seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President and maintains residences in the Bronx (NY) and in San Rafael (CA), flew in from California to participate in the debate but was not permitted to do so.
Mr. Sloan, told us during a sit-down interview at Cracker Barrel in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey on April 22, 2012, that he was told the Manhattan Libertarian Party that was hosting the State Convention had decided to exclude him from participation. Mr. Sloan said, "It is my belief the delegates attending the State Convention should have decided whether to allow me to participate in the Presidential Debate but apparently that is not the way they do things in New York. Given my past experiences with the the handful of individuals who have dominated the New York LP for decades, I cannot say I was surprised. However, I was disappointed I was not given an opportunity to share my ideas with the assembled delegates."
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
America's Economic Decline & Decreasing Dollar Value Cannot Be Reversed Without Full Recognition Of The Crisis We Face - An Article By LPQC Member Ed Konecnik
Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, submitted the following article for publication:
America's Economic Decline & Decreasing Dollar Value Cannot Be Reversed Without Full Recognition Of The Crisis We Face
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 9, 2012
I have reluctantly concluded that the economic, political, and cultural challenges we face may never be resolved. The truth about our country’s condition and prognosis is not reported by the media and is often misstated, obfuscated, edited or distorted. In addition to the uninformed, there are many who dismiss criticism of the administration as mean-spirited, bigoted and even racist. Few consider 16 trillion dollars of national debt and the unsustainable obligations of Social Security and Medicare a crisis portending economic calamity. How can we save our republic when there is no consensus that there is even a problem?
To make matters worse, there are those who will tolerate bureaucratic coerciveness as long as it meets their needs and agenda. To wit: there is no provision in the Constitution for unelected “czars”. Eventually a new mob of bureaucrats institutes their notion of “benevolence” and the cycle repeats ad infinitum. There can be no doubt our republic has succumbed to the rule of men and abandoned the rule of law.
The Constitution is not a document that limits the rights of man, but a document that limits the power of government over man. Intellectual honesty demands we recognize that without the constraints of the Constitution, we are subject to mob rule. There can be no agreement, no “reaching across the aisle”, no accommodation with those who reject the tenets of the Constitution. How does one negotiate with thieves who believe private wealth is community property and must be redistributed?
You may reject my propositions but the fact remains that nothing will be solved not because we can’t see the solutions but because we can’t see the problems.
America's Economic Decline & Decreasing Dollar Value Cannot Be Reversed Without Full Recognition Of The Crisis We Face
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 9, 2012
I have reluctantly concluded that the economic, political, and cultural challenges we face may never be resolved. The truth about our country’s condition and prognosis is not reported by the media and is often misstated, obfuscated, edited or distorted. In addition to the uninformed, there are many who dismiss criticism of the administration as mean-spirited, bigoted and even racist. Few consider 16 trillion dollars of national debt and the unsustainable obligations of Social Security and Medicare a crisis portending economic calamity. How can we save our republic when there is no consensus that there is even a problem?
To make matters worse, there are those who will tolerate bureaucratic coerciveness as long as it meets their needs and agenda. To wit: there is no provision in the Constitution for unelected “czars”. Eventually a new mob of bureaucrats institutes their notion of “benevolence” and the cycle repeats ad infinitum. There can be no doubt our republic has succumbed to the rule of men and abandoned the rule of law.
The Constitution is not a document that limits the rights of man, but a document that limits the power of government over man. Intellectual honesty demands we recognize that without the constraints of the Constitution, we are subject to mob rule. There can be no agreement, no “reaching across the aisle”, no accommodation with those who reject the tenets of the Constitution. How does one negotiate with thieves who believe private wealth is community property and must be redistributed?
You may reject my propositions but the fact remains that nothing will be solved not because we can’t see the solutions but because we can’t see the problems.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
We Have Abundant Energy For All Time
The following article entitled "We Have Abundant Energy For All Time" was published on April 2, 2012 by Melissa Brookstone, Author & Founder of "The Planetary Bill Of Rights Project":
For decades now, the United States has been bogged down in a futile and time-wasting debate between environmental extremists and more rational people, about what path to take for the "energy independence" we all long for. The environmental extremists have been winning, and we're still dependent on foreign oil. Gas prices are sky high, and experts in the industry tell the Planetary Bill of Rights Project that it has as much to do with refinery capacity as it does with crude oil prices. No new refineries have been allowed to be built in about the last forty years, and about twenty refineries have actually had to shut down because of more extreme environmental regulations.
We see the effect of having a refinery here in the Denver area, where our gas prices are often twenty five to thirty cents below the "national average", because we have our own refinery. Every time we drive by and see the cloud of steam rising from it on cold days, we think; There's 25-30 cents off our gas prices.
Intelligence experts also tell us that Iran's decades-old evil totalitarian dictatorship would soon collapse if oil prices fell too much, so their "leaders" are always stirring up tensions in the middle east, for profit and to retain their power and control over people who deserve to finally be free.
Yet "alternative" energy in the forms of wind and solar have yet to become economically competitive in the free market, and largely remain pet projects of government agencies, which waste tax slave money on them to no end, without any significant changes in this situation. Not to mention that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, so these are not consistent and reliable energy sources, and never will be. They could fill every square inch of space in the United States with solar panels and it would not be enough to power the whole nation's electricity needs alone, just during daylight hours with full sunshine over the entire nation.
And our current government, beholden to the environmental extremists, claims that "drill baby drill" is not viable either, because it would take years to see significant results. Yet they've been blocking it for decades - we could have seen results decades ago, but they were blocking it this whole time! And the current administration has blocked all drilling in the gulf, most offshore drilling, and the pipeline from Canada now, and then they're claiming credit for increases in production despite their policies, that were initiated during the last administration and this administration has been unable to block!
So what's an energy-weary nation to do?
Well what about nuclear energy?
"There is enough nuclear fuel to last far longer than man will inhabit the earth." - Physics Professor Emeritus Dr. Howard Hayden, author of The Energy Advocate.
But environmental extremists point to Chernobyl and post tsunami Japan as examples of why we should still fear nuclear energy, while they chant the tired old mantra of the 50's and 60's, "NO NUKES!".
But give reason a chance.
Chernobyl was a 1950's technology nuclear reactor and didn't even have a modern containment vessel. That design also allowed it to fail in the meltdown mode, also known as "China Syndrome" after the sensationalized but unrealistic anti-nuclear Hollywood propaganda movie.
The Japanese reactors that leaked were a little more advanced - 1970's technology. They leaked because they weren't designed for the stress that they underwent from the tsunami. No one ever expected it. And what was the ratio of people killed by them, compared to the numbers killed by the never-previously-experienced tsunami?
And the fact is that IPN has spoken with nuclear engineers and the technology has changed so immensely since the 1950's and the 1970's, that comparing nuclear reactor technology from then, to the safe clean designs of today, would be like comparing a 1950's ( all vacuum tubes ) or 1970's CRT TV set to a LCD flat screen HDTV of today.
In fact, we're told that today's nuclear scientists have safe clean and pre-designed and packed nuclear reactor designs that could be pre-approved and built en masse all over this country. They even found new methods to recycle the waste. If one were to be subjected to forces of nature that exceeded the Japanese tsunami, it might break off and roll down the street without ever leaking.
So the differences in technology are truly amazing.
In the 21st century, it would now be entirely possible to rapidly construct pre-packaged and approved safe clean nuclear power plant designs that could power this whole nation, every home, business and car for all time to come, without ever having to be dependent on foreign oil or other fossil fuels again. Yes, total independence. It need only be declared, and the obstructionists who seem to hate all presence of humanity on the face of the earth, would need to be swept out of the way, in the name of true progress and "the greater good".
In fact there's even better news. It could all be built with private investment money. All that would have to be done, is to clear the way for private entrepreneurs to be able to safely invest for the long term ( decades, even centuries into the future ), without the threat of environmental obstructivist lawsuits and government regulations that now harass them so badly that they won't even consider it. Then consortiums could be formed to gather private investment money and build safe clean nuclear power, that would work when the sun didn't shine and the wind didn't blow, for as long as humans would inhabit the earth.
We have the technology, the uneducated obstructionists and/or those with anti-human and/or socialist political agendas that don't want the United States to succeed and prosper, are the only things stopping us now!
For decades now, the United States has been bogged down in a futile and time-wasting debate between environmental extremists and more rational people, about what path to take for the "energy independence" we all long for. The environmental extremists have been winning, and we're still dependent on foreign oil. Gas prices are sky high, and experts in the industry tell the Planetary Bill of Rights Project that it has as much to do with refinery capacity as it does with crude oil prices. No new refineries have been allowed to be built in about the last forty years, and about twenty refineries have actually had to shut down because of more extreme environmental regulations.
We see the effect of having a refinery here in the Denver area, where our gas prices are often twenty five to thirty cents below the "national average", because we have our own refinery. Every time we drive by and see the cloud of steam rising from it on cold days, we think; There's 25-30 cents off our gas prices.
Intelligence experts also tell us that Iran's decades-old evil totalitarian dictatorship would soon collapse if oil prices fell too much, so their "leaders" are always stirring up tensions in the middle east, for profit and to retain their power and control over people who deserve to finally be free.
Yet "alternative" energy in the forms of wind and solar have yet to become economically competitive in the free market, and largely remain pet projects of government agencies, which waste tax slave money on them to no end, without any significant changes in this situation. Not to mention that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, so these are not consistent and reliable energy sources, and never will be. They could fill every square inch of space in the United States with solar panels and it would not be enough to power the whole nation's electricity needs alone, just during daylight hours with full sunshine over the entire nation.
And our current government, beholden to the environmental extremists, claims that "drill baby drill" is not viable either, because it would take years to see significant results. Yet they've been blocking it for decades - we could have seen results decades ago, but they were blocking it this whole time! And the current administration has blocked all drilling in the gulf, most offshore drilling, and the pipeline from Canada now, and then they're claiming credit for increases in production despite their policies, that were initiated during the last administration and this administration has been unable to block!
So what's an energy-weary nation to do?
Well what about nuclear energy?
"There is enough nuclear fuel to last far longer than man will inhabit the earth." - Physics Professor Emeritus Dr. Howard Hayden, author of The Energy Advocate.
But environmental extremists point to Chernobyl and post tsunami Japan as examples of why we should still fear nuclear energy, while they chant the tired old mantra of the 50's and 60's, "NO NUKES!".
But give reason a chance.
Chernobyl was a 1950's technology nuclear reactor and didn't even have a modern containment vessel. That design also allowed it to fail in the meltdown mode, also known as "China Syndrome" after the sensationalized but unrealistic anti-nuclear Hollywood propaganda movie.
The Japanese reactors that leaked were a little more advanced - 1970's technology. They leaked because they weren't designed for the stress that they underwent from the tsunami. No one ever expected it. And what was the ratio of people killed by them, compared to the numbers killed by the never-previously-experienced tsunami?
And the fact is that IPN has spoken with nuclear engineers and the technology has changed so immensely since the 1950's and the 1970's, that comparing nuclear reactor technology from then, to the safe clean designs of today, would be like comparing a 1950's ( all vacuum tubes ) or 1970's CRT TV set to a LCD flat screen HDTV of today.
In fact, we're told that today's nuclear scientists have safe clean and pre-designed and packed nuclear reactor designs that could be pre-approved and built en masse all over this country. They even found new methods to recycle the waste. If one were to be subjected to forces of nature that exceeded the Japanese tsunami, it might break off and roll down the street without ever leaking.
So the differences in technology are truly amazing.
In the 21st century, it would now be entirely possible to rapidly construct pre-packaged and approved safe clean nuclear power plant designs that could power this whole nation, every home, business and car for all time to come, without ever having to be dependent on foreign oil or other fossil fuels again. Yes, total independence. It need only be declared, and the obstructionists who seem to hate all presence of humanity on the face of the earth, would need to be swept out of the way, in the name of true progress and "the greater good".
In fact there's even better news. It could all be built with private investment money. All that would have to be done, is to clear the way for private entrepreneurs to be able to safely invest for the long term ( decades, even centuries into the future ), without the threat of environmental obstructivist lawsuits and government regulations that now harass them so badly that they won't even consider it. Then consortiums could be formed to gather private investment money and build safe clean nuclear power, that would work when the sun didn't shine and the wind didn't blow, for as long as humans would inhabit the earth.
We have the technology, the uneducated obstructionists and/or those with anti-human and/or socialist political agendas that don't want the United States to succeed and prosper, are the only things stopping us now!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
No Salt For You! - An Article By LPQC Member Ed Konecnik
Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, submitted the following article for publication:
No Salt For You!
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 1, 2012
Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged, warned “We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.”
Consider the following: New York City “food police” banned charitable food donations to homeless shelters because it does not meet governmental nutritional standards; some school authorities deemed lunches packed by moms brought from home as inadequate and confiscated them; and a proposed law in New York City states “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food…”.
To my dismay, e-mailing my friends and family about these and similar examples of bureaucratic coerciveness has cost me some friendships and caused some family strife. I was advised articles and editorials challenging government mandated beneficence are automatically deleted with an admonition to cease further contact and to consider anger management. Why is support of individual rights always dismissed as mean-spirited and hateful? Why does the defense of constitutional principles and individual liberty inspire such vitriol and alienation?
I’m not sure who poses the biggest danger to our republic: those who subscribe to authoritarianism or those who acquiesce and are unaware of the consequences on our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute my proverbial two cents. I am comforted by the occasional supportive phone message and that I have not yet been asked to cease contact with you. As long as I am not being “deleted”, I am grateful we can share ideas and even agree to disagree.
No Salt For You!
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
April 1, 2012
Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged, warned “We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.”
Consider the following: New York City “food police” banned charitable food donations to homeless shelters because it does not meet governmental nutritional standards; some school authorities deemed lunches packed by moms brought from home as inadequate and confiscated them; and a proposed law in New York City states “No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food…”.
To my dismay, e-mailing my friends and family about these and similar examples of bureaucratic coerciveness has cost me some friendships and caused some family strife. I was advised articles and editorials challenging government mandated beneficence are automatically deleted with an admonition to cease further contact and to consider anger management. Why is support of individual rights always dismissed as mean-spirited and hateful? Why does the defense of constitutional principles and individual liberty inspire such vitriol and alienation?
I’m not sure who poses the biggest danger to our republic: those who subscribe to authoritarianism or those who acquiesce and are unaware of the consequences on our lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute my proverbial two cents. I am comforted by the occasional supportive phone message and that I have not yet been asked to cease contact with you. As long as I am not being “deleted”, I am grateful we can share ideas and even agree to disagree.
LP News Rejects Solicited Statements Of Candidacy Submitted By Libertarian Presidential Candidates Sam Sloan, James Ogle, Leroy Saunders & Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire
Presidential Candidates running for the Libertarian Party nomination submitted 175-word statements for the upcoming issue of LP News, the national Libertarian Party newsletter. Carla Howell, Libertarian Party Executive Director, recently wrote an e-mail to Sam Sloan, James Ogle, Leroy Saunders and Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire, to tell them their statements would not appear in the upcoming issue of LP News.
That e-mail from Ms. Howell, which was forwarded by one of the rejected candidates, reads as follow:
I am writing to 4 of you whose candidacies had not qualified for inclusion on the LP.org web site (back when we posted POTUS candidates there - no longer).
While I am not permitted to post your candidacies at that web page, I offered to include you in the upcoming issue of LP News, and each of you made a 175-word submission - thank you.
Regretfully, we were short of space and forced to cut a good deal of the content we would have liked to include. So your submissions did not make the issue.
In order to give your campaigns some exposure to our members, I have posted a blog that includes you along with the other 6 candidates. You can see the blog post here:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/presidential-candidates-submit-statements-for-lp-news
I believe you all bring merits to the presidential race, and wish you the best of luck in your campaigns.
The 175-word Presidential Candidate Statements of Sam Sloan, R. Lee Wrights, James Ogle, Bill Still, Carl Person, Leroy Saunders, Jim Burns, RJ Harris, Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire and Gary Johnson, are the following:
Sam Sloan
In 2010, I was runner-up for the NYLP's Gubernatorial Nomination. I served as Media Relations Director and as State Representative for the Manhattan LP. I serve as Treasurer of the Queens LP and as Secretary of the San Francisco LP. I am a Book Publisher, Chess Champion and was the last pro se litigant to orally argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and win. I have eight children (one daughter who served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq & two sons in the U.S. Army who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan).
I will end the War on Drugs and the War on our Civil Liberties. I support our country’s right to self-defense but generally oppose any foreign military interventions.
I will use my candidacy to expand the base of the LP by adopting the Stevens’ Strategy (named after Dr. Tom Stevens), which involves reaching out to individuals alienated from the political system (e.g. polygamists, nudists, atheists, Buddhists, home-schoolers) and offering them a long-term home in the Libertarian Party.
R. Lee Wrights
The Libertarian Party can make a difference in 2012, but the only way we can do that is by being different. We can only make a difference if our presidential candidate is willing and able to present a clear, principled, unwavering and unequivocal libertarian message that offers Americans true choices and rational alternatives.
We can only make a difference if we're not afraid to offer a radically different answer to our nation's problems, not variations or modifications of the false solutions promoted by Democrats and Republicans.
The libertarian promise of peace and prosperity is a message Americans are longing to hear. We don't need to soften, refine or modify what we believe to win votes. Instead, we must embrace our beliefs and wear them proudly.
As the Libertarian candidate for President of the United States, I'll make this bold stand. I've never been afraid to speak truth to power, and I won't stop now. I'll guarantee that in 2012 the Libertarian Party is the difference that makes a difference.
James Ogle
My name is James Orlando Ogle. My logo is Joogle, and Google derived from my logo in 1997 because I started a virtual parliament that allows all voters to work in unity based on marked ballots kept as proof under ranked choice majority voting, while giving every voter more liberty to self-categorize as they wish.
I have innovated the ranked choice consensus voting system which guarantees that legislation can be approved by allowing multiple alternatives to be ranked, the more the better, so that items with 100% approval can be approved by consensus.
In addition, ranked choice majority voting can be used to find alternatives in Congress, where any item receiving 50% plus one vote can be considered approved by a simple majority, thus doing away with all the fighting and bickering that you're used to seeing in politics.
I won the Libertarian Party primary with 52.7% of the total votes cast on these planks, along with philosophy of the the non-initiation of force, smaller government and more liberty. Please see USParliament.org for more information: http://www.usparliament.org/google2012.php
Bill Still
The main problem troubling all Americans is the economy. Unfortunately, central banks (China, England, European Central Bank, and Japan) have pumped over $7 trillion into the world economy. This “hot” money is making all stock markets rise and this is the main “economic” number people pay attention to, unfortunately.
This makes Obama’s re-election much easier. But wait, wait: A hot money bubble is very temporary – typically 18 months – enough to get Obama through the election certainly.
The problem is that the quantity of money is not in the hands of we, the people. We have ZERO control over the QUANTITY. Banks and central banks are in complete control over the quantity of money in every nation on earth. I’m the only candidate anywhere who understands this and knows what to do about it.
1. No more national debt. A sovereign nation does not have to borrow. We borrow from banks and central banks and thereby we have a nation that has lost its sovereignty to the biggest banks.
Carl Person
2012 should be our year, but we need to sell our party to voters. Being against war, taxes, regulation and in favor of personal freedoms is insufficient. We need to show voters through specific issues of importance to them (i.e., jobs, homes, education, business opportunities) that Libertarianism provides the desired solutions for voters. My issues (targeted deregulation to let small business create jobs, provide needed vocational training and create prosperity, and option to stay in foreclosed homes) will attract millions of voters who have lost almost everything through their elected Republicans and Democrats. No candidate in any party except me has specific, workable proposals to reach voters and attract their vote. 20,000,000 jobs can be created through my plan “First 3 Are Free” (i.e., treated as independent contractors, as a head start for small business); preemptive legislation to let small business advertise for capital (now illegal), and preemptive legislation to deregulate higher education and vocational training, to train millions of unemployed, underemployed, retirees, disadvantaged to become highly-paid “Technical Assistant to Small Business Owner”.
Leroy Saunders
The American people are fed up with big government this is why I believe the time is right for us Libertarians to stand up and take the lead. We have the most powerful political message lower taxes, less government, peace and more freedom is not enough. Its not enough to put forth a different message you must also put forth a different candidate. Americans overwhelmingly do not trust politicians so why put forth another politician? We have to give the voters a clear cut choice. We must elect a game changer. An average American that can resonate with the people. An average American has the ability to tap into their emotions and the frustration of the people. If you do this you can and will inspire those same people to act and that is how we make history and elect the first Libertarian President! A candidate that can galvanize Americans and transmit to the people how through Libertarian principles their lives can be profoundly better. This is why I should obtain the Presidential nominee of the Libertarian party!
Jim Burns
Libertarians, I want to say thank you. Thank you because you are special: Special because you are chosen: Chosen because you made a choice. Your choice is libertarianism. Libertarians believe that people should be allowed to live as they choose so long as they do not initiate force, threaten to initiate force or engage in fraud. When Libertarianism is adopted, we will enter an age of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. You are special people because of your knowledge and with that knowledge you are among the only people who can bring us all: Peace, Prosperity and Progress. We are not better than anyone else. We are just people – but, because of our knowledge and choices, we do have it within our power to bring us all Peace, Prosperity, and Progress. Our task is not easy, nothing of value ever is. I am Jim Burns. I am seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for President. http://www.jimburnsforpresident.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000094450639
PO Box 1139, Beatty, NV 89003, 541-261-4163, 702-722-9494
RJ Harris
My name is RJ Harris and I am running for President of the United States to restore Freedom, Liberty the Constitution and the Republic. To do this as president I will end our foreign policy of interventionism, close GITMO and cease its tortuous activities, stop foreign aid hand-outs, end the drug war by pardoning all non-violent drug offenders, end the Federal Reserve System and restore sound currency, stop all unconstitutional federal spending and close all unconstitutional federal agencies, restore a Department of Justice which looks inwards towards our government instead of outwards towards We the People and I will place my oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States above all Congressional attempts to promulgate unconstitutional and freedom infringing legislation. To do all of that I need your support and your votes and I sincerely and humbly ask that from you today. In return I will fight for our freedom and defend our liberty message, without fear, in both the media and on the debate stage. Thank you.
Barbara “Miss Joy” Waymire
Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, employee, employer, sole proprietor, Jill of All, Master of None, self-sufficient, and a desire to serve the will of the people; by, for and with the people as a Team.
None look for the root of the issues; the trampling of Individual Freedom and the stripping of the State’s Powers.
I stand for Individual Freedom. Many have confused Freedom with equality under the law.
You cannot extend the “Olive branch of Peace” with military bases to enforce it. I support closing all foreign bases and reducing the size and scope of the military to protect the citizens and our borders.
I support abolishing the Federal Reserve and restoring a sound currency, backed by silver, gold and other precious metals.
I support Term Limits and per diem pay over Congressional salaries, perks and pensions. Politics was not intended to be a career choice, for then the career becomes foremost over the people.
I support closing useless departments such as: Commerce, Education, etc.; reducing government expenditures; a balanced budget.
Gary Johnson
America, for the first time in modern history, is poised to reject the tired two-party duopoly that has brought the nation to its knees economically, while firmly implanting government in every aspect of our lives, families and businesses.
After many months of traveling the country and hearing the concerns and aspirations of thousands of Americans, I am more convinced than ever that the real majority today consists of individuals who not only want a government which spends less, but also does less. Less management of our lives. Less manipulation of our money. And less involvement in wars and nation-building we can neither afford nor justify as clear national interests.
That majority wants and deserves not only a voice in this election, but a viable candidate who has governed – successfully -- on the basis of libertarian principles. I am that candidate, and I ask for the support of Libertarians across the nation as we make history in 2012. http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/
That e-mail from Ms. Howell, which was forwarded by one of the rejected candidates, reads as follow:
I am writing to 4 of you whose candidacies had not qualified for inclusion on the LP.org web site (back when we posted POTUS candidates there - no longer).
While I am not permitted to post your candidacies at that web page, I offered to include you in the upcoming issue of LP News, and each of you made a 175-word submission - thank you.
Regretfully, we were short of space and forced to cut a good deal of the content we would have liked to include. So your submissions did not make the issue.
In order to give your campaigns some exposure to our members, I have posted a blog that includes you along with the other 6 candidates. You can see the blog post here:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/presidential-candidates-submit-statements-for-lp-news
I believe you all bring merits to the presidential race, and wish you the best of luck in your campaigns.
The 175-word Presidential Candidate Statements of Sam Sloan, R. Lee Wrights, James Ogle, Bill Still, Carl Person, Leroy Saunders, Jim Burns, RJ Harris, Barbara "Miss Joy" Waymire and Gary Johnson, are the following:
Sam Sloan
In 2010, I was runner-up for the NYLP's Gubernatorial Nomination. I served as Media Relations Director and as State Representative for the Manhattan LP. I serve as Treasurer of the Queens LP and as Secretary of the San Francisco LP. I am a Book Publisher, Chess Champion and was the last pro se litigant to orally argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and win. I have eight children (one daughter who served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq & two sons in the U.S. Army who are about to be deployed to Afghanistan).
I will end the War on Drugs and the War on our Civil Liberties. I support our country’s right to self-defense but generally oppose any foreign military interventions.
I will use my candidacy to expand the base of the LP by adopting the Stevens’ Strategy (named after Dr. Tom Stevens), which involves reaching out to individuals alienated from the political system (e.g. polygamists, nudists, atheists, Buddhists, home-schoolers) and offering them a long-term home in the Libertarian Party.
R. Lee Wrights
The Libertarian Party can make a difference in 2012, but the only way we can do that is by being different. We can only make a difference if our presidential candidate is willing and able to present a clear, principled, unwavering and unequivocal libertarian message that offers Americans true choices and rational alternatives.
We can only make a difference if we're not afraid to offer a radically different answer to our nation's problems, not variations or modifications of the false solutions promoted by Democrats and Republicans.
The libertarian promise of peace and prosperity is a message Americans are longing to hear. We don't need to soften, refine or modify what we believe to win votes. Instead, we must embrace our beliefs and wear them proudly.
As the Libertarian candidate for President of the United States, I'll make this bold stand. I've never been afraid to speak truth to power, and I won't stop now. I'll guarantee that in 2012 the Libertarian Party is the difference that makes a difference.
James Ogle
My name is James Orlando Ogle. My logo is Joogle, and Google derived from my logo in 1997 because I started a virtual parliament that allows all voters to work in unity based on marked ballots kept as proof under ranked choice majority voting, while giving every voter more liberty to self-categorize as they wish.
I have innovated the ranked choice consensus voting system which guarantees that legislation can be approved by allowing multiple alternatives to be ranked, the more the better, so that items with 100% approval can be approved by consensus.
In addition, ranked choice majority voting can be used to find alternatives in Congress, where any item receiving 50% plus one vote can be considered approved by a simple majority, thus doing away with all the fighting and bickering that you're used to seeing in politics.
I won the Libertarian Party primary with 52.7% of the total votes cast on these planks, along with philosophy of the the non-initiation of force, smaller government and more liberty. Please see USParliament.org for more information: http://www.usparliament.org/google2012.php
Bill Still
The main problem troubling all Americans is the economy. Unfortunately, central banks (China, England, European Central Bank, and Japan) have pumped over $7 trillion into the world economy. This “hot” money is making all stock markets rise and this is the main “economic” number people pay attention to, unfortunately.
This makes Obama’s re-election much easier. But wait, wait: A hot money bubble is very temporary – typically 18 months – enough to get Obama through the election certainly.
The problem is that the quantity of money is not in the hands of we, the people. We have ZERO control over the QUANTITY. Banks and central banks are in complete control over the quantity of money in every nation on earth. I’m the only candidate anywhere who understands this and knows what to do about it.
1. No more national debt. A sovereign nation does not have to borrow. We borrow from banks and central banks and thereby we have a nation that has lost its sovereignty to the biggest banks.
Carl Person
2012 should be our year, but we need to sell our party to voters. Being against war, taxes, regulation and in favor of personal freedoms is insufficient. We need to show voters through specific issues of importance to them (i.e., jobs, homes, education, business opportunities) that Libertarianism provides the desired solutions for voters. My issues (targeted deregulation to let small business create jobs, provide needed vocational training and create prosperity, and option to stay in foreclosed homes) will attract millions of voters who have lost almost everything through their elected Republicans and Democrats. No candidate in any party except me has specific, workable proposals to reach voters and attract their vote. 20,000,000 jobs can be created through my plan “First 3 Are Free” (i.e., treated as independent contractors, as a head start for small business); preemptive legislation to let small business advertise for capital (now illegal), and preemptive legislation to deregulate higher education and vocational training, to train millions of unemployed, underemployed, retirees, disadvantaged to become highly-paid “Technical Assistant to Small Business Owner”.
Leroy Saunders
The American people are fed up with big government this is why I believe the time is right for us Libertarians to stand up and take the lead. We have the most powerful political message lower taxes, less government, peace and more freedom is not enough. Its not enough to put forth a different message you must also put forth a different candidate. Americans overwhelmingly do not trust politicians so why put forth another politician? We have to give the voters a clear cut choice. We must elect a game changer. An average American that can resonate with the people. An average American has the ability to tap into their emotions and the frustration of the people. If you do this you can and will inspire those same people to act and that is how we make history and elect the first Libertarian President! A candidate that can galvanize Americans and transmit to the people how through Libertarian principles their lives can be profoundly better. This is why I should obtain the Presidential nominee of the Libertarian party!
Jim Burns
Libertarians, I want to say thank you. Thank you because you are special: Special because you are chosen: Chosen because you made a choice. Your choice is libertarianism. Libertarians believe that people should be allowed to live as they choose so long as they do not initiate force, threaten to initiate force or engage in fraud. When Libertarianism is adopted, we will enter an age of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. You are special people because of your knowledge and with that knowledge you are among the only people who can bring us all: Peace, Prosperity and Progress. We are not better than anyone else. We are just people – but, because of our knowledge and choices, we do have it within our power to bring us all Peace, Prosperity, and Progress. Our task is not easy, nothing of value ever is. I am Jim Burns. I am seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for President. http://www.jimburnsforpresident.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000094450639
PO Box 1139, Beatty, NV 89003, 541-261-4163, 702-722-9494
RJ Harris
My name is RJ Harris and I am running for President of the United States to restore Freedom, Liberty the Constitution and the Republic. To do this as president I will end our foreign policy of interventionism, close GITMO and cease its tortuous activities, stop foreign aid hand-outs, end the drug war by pardoning all non-violent drug offenders, end the Federal Reserve System and restore sound currency, stop all unconstitutional federal spending and close all unconstitutional federal agencies, restore a Department of Justice which looks inwards towards our government instead of outwards towards We the People and I will place my oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States above all Congressional attempts to promulgate unconstitutional and freedom infringing legislation. To do all of that I need your support and your votes and I sincerely and humbly ask that from you today. In return I will fight for our freedom and defend our liberty message, without fear, in both the media and on the debate stage. Thank you.
Barbara “Miss Joy” Waymire
Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, employee, employer, sole proprietor, Jill of All, Master of None, self-sufficient, and a desire to serve the will of the people; by, for and with the people as a Team.
None look for the root of the issues; the trampling of Individual Freedom and the stripping of the State’s Powers.
I stand for Individual Freedom. Many have confused Freedom with equality under the law.
You cannot extend the “Olive branch of Peace” with military bases to enforce it. I support closing all foreign bases and reducing the size and scope of the military to protect the citizens and our borders.
I support abolishing the Federal Reserve and restoring a sound currency, backed by silver, gold and other precious metals.
I support Term Limits and per diem pay over Congressional salaries, perks and pensions. Politics was not intended to be a career choice, for then the career becomes foremost over the people.
I support closing useless departments such as: Commerce, Education, etc.; reducing government expenditures; a balanced budget.
Gary Johnson
America, for the first time in modern history, is poised to reject the tired two-party duopoly that has brought the nation to its knees economically, while firmly implanting government in every aspect of our lives, families and businesses.
After many months of traveling the country and hearing the concerns and aspirations of thousands of Americans, I am more convinced than ever that the real majority today consists of individuals who not only want a government which spends less, but also does less. Less management of our lives. Less manipulation of our money. And less involvement in wars and nation-building we can neither afford nor justify as clear national interests.
That majority wants and deserves not only a voice in this election, but a viable candidate who has governed – successfully -- on the basis of libertarian principles. I am that candidate, and I ask for the support of Libertarians across the nation as we make history in 2012. http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/
Sam Sloan's Foreign Aid Package Would Focus On Building Railroads In Afghanistan & A Road From The Port Of Karachi To Tajikistan Instead Of Giving Billions Of Dollars In Aid To Israel
Sam Sloan, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination, issued the following position paper with respect to his foreign aid priorities if elected President of the United States:
Sam Sloan on Foreign Aid
I believe that Ron Paul and most Libertarians want to abolish all USA Foreign Aid. I do not agree. I am in favor of some foreign aid. The difference is I make a distinction between true foreign aid, that actually aids the people, and foreign invasion that just kills some people on the pretext of “foreign aid”.
I have two pet foreign aid projects I will carry out if I am so fortunate as to be elected president. Both are big projects that only the USA has the resources to carry out, yet will cost far less than the billions the USA is using now to fight foreign wars.
The first proposed project is a railroad across Afghanistan. A little appreciated fact is there is not even one mile of railroad track inside Afghanistan, almost the only country in the world about which this is true. The reason is the old kings and tribal chiefs of Afghanistan were fearful of modern technology and the threats it would bring to their rule, so they would not allow a railroad to be built.
The result is all the surrounding countries have built railroads right to the border with Afghanistan, but never crossing the border. The Iranians have built a railroad track right to the border of Islam Qala near Herat. I have been there. The Russians have built a railroad right to the border of Termez near Mazar-i-Sharif. The British built railroads to the entry points at Landikotal - Torkham and Chaman near Kandahar. I have been to most of these places.
It is truly a shame that the Afghans have never allowed a railroad to be built in their country. If this Afghanistan railroad were built, then all of these lines would be connected together and goods, services and people could be transported all the way from Europe to India and beyond, as there are good rail links connecting all of these places except for in Afghanistan.
Since our occupation army is already there, we could build this railroad in a few weeks. We are already spending billions there and accomplishing nothing. This project would cost peanuts and have permanent value.
One problem is that all these different existing railroad lines have different gauges. The Russians use a wider gauge than the British and the Iranians. Naturally, it is desirable for railroad cars to be able to run on the same tracks all the way from Western Europe to India and China. This is a difficult problem but I believe there is a solution.
The second project I want to build is the Tajikistan Road. This is a new idea, already at the thinking stage. Just thinking about this is progress because until a few years ago this idea was unthinkable. The idea is to build a road from the Port of Karachi to Tajikistan.
The Tajiks have already been talking about this and have signed onto this project. I am not sure if they thought of it or if we thought of it but in any case the Tajiks like it because it would give them access to the Indian Ocean.
There are a lot of problems with this project. The first problem is back in the 1960s, the World Bank loaned a billion dollars to Pakistan to build a road from Karachi to Peshawar. The money wound up in the Swiss Bank Accounts of the military rulers of that time and thus the road was never built. We then forgave the debt. So, this time, we build the road. The Pakistanis cannot be trusted to build their own road.
A key link of the proposed Tajikistan Road had just been completed, or nearly completed. This is the Lowari Tunnel connecting Chitral to the rest of Pakistan. It is the Lowari Tunnel that makes the Tajikistan
Road feasible. Without it, the only way through the Hindu Kush would be up the Kunar River in Afghanistan, an area of heavy fighting both now and traditionally, making a road there unfeasible.
To get from Chitral to Tajikistan there are two possible routes. One is over the Dorah Pass to Badakhshan in Afghanistan. The other is over the Broghol Pass to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. Both routes have their adherents. The Dorah Pass route is the shortest in number of miles. However, the Dorah Pass is 2,000 feet higher than the Broghol Pass. It is 14,108 feet. This is about as high as the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United States.
Perhaps more importantly, the Badakhshan side of the Dorah Pass was the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Wars in Afghanistan. The wars were so intense that entire regions were depopulated. Only now people are starting to come back and live there. For this reason, I believe that the Dorah Pass is unsuitable.
Broghol Pass, which I favor, does not have these problems. The road would be about one hundred miles longer. It would go up the Yarkhun Valley. There has never been any fighting there. The terrain is relatively flat. It would not be difficult to build a road there. I know this because I have been there, by the way.
The extra hundred miles should not be a big problem in view of the importance of this road. The Broghol Pass is only 12,460 feet high. This might seem a lot but the good thing is the egress to the pass is relatively flat. There is not much danger of avalanche.
One may wonder why it was necessary to build a tunnel under Lowari Pass which is only 10,230 feet high but not under Broghol Pass which is 2,230 feet higher. The answer is Lowari Pass is surrounded by high
mountains and an avalanche can strike without warning at any moment.
Every Spring when the snows are melting a few people are killed trying to cross Lowari Top. Three people were killed by avalanche there just a few days ago. This is why it was necessary to spend a billion dollars to build a tunnel under there.
By the way, the Lowari Tunnel was built by the Koreans. The Pakistanis could not build their own tunnel.
The Broghol Pass is not merely the best way to cross. It is just about the only way to cross. It is 2000 feet lower than any other mountain pass in the area and takes you directly in about 12 miles from the headwaters of the Indus River to the head waters of the Amu-Darya River and Tajikistan. It is the only good route to cross the Pamir Knot. When the British discovered this pass late in the 19th Century, they were fearful that the Russians would use this pass for the invasion and conquest of India. There is no other suitable way for an
army to use as an invasion route to cross the Hindu Kush - Himalaya Mountain Range.
I think you will agree that these two are worthwhile projects, but you will no doubt be asking why should we bother with these people. Why not just let them stew in their own juice?
My response is that we are giving billions of dollars to a certain favored country* and, as far as I can tell, we are accomplishing nothing, zero, over there. What have we accomplished there, besides making enemies? These two projects I propose will change the demographics of the world for the better. The Afghanistan Railroad Project will connect England and France by rail with India and even points beyond if we can solve the Burma Problem. The Tajikistan Road will connect not only Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan and the other Central Asian Countries to the South Sea. These projects should be done and only the USA has the resources to do them.
Finally and most importantly, not one person will be killed by the USA in doing these projects, unlike most of the other USA so called “foreign aid” projects that involve killing lots of people.
* As far as defending Israel is concerned, our job is not to defend Israel. They should defend themselves. They have been getting billions of dollars from us every year and they already have every weapon of mass destruction known to man, including the A-Bomb, so they should be able to defend themselves.
Sam Sloan on Foreign Aid
I believe that Ron Paul and most Libertarians want to abolish all USA Foreign Aid. I do not agree. I am in favor of some foreign aid. The difference is I make a distinction between true foreign aid, that actually aids the people, and foreign invasion that just kills some people on the pretext of “foreign aid”.
I have two pet foreign aid projects I will carry out if I am so fortunate as to be elected president. Both are big projects that only the USA has the resources to carry out, yet will cost far less than the billions the USA is using now to fight foreign wars.
The first proposed project is a railroad across Afghanistan. A little appreciated fact is there is not even one mile of railroad track inside Afghanistan, almost the only country in the world about which this is true. The reason is the old kings and tribal chiefs of Afghanistan were fearful of modern technology and the threats it would bring to their rule, so they would not allow a railroad to be built.
The result is all the surrounding countries have built railroads right to the border with Afghanistan, but never crossing the border. The Iranians have built a railroad track right to the border of Islam Qala near Herat. I have been there. The Russians have built a railroad right to the border of Termez near Mazar-i-Sharif. The British built railroads to the entry points at Landikotal - Torkham and Chaman near Kandahar. I have been to most of these places.
It is truly a shame that the Afghans have never allowed a railroad to be built in their country. If this Afghanistan railroad were built, then all of these lines would be connected together and goods, services and people could be transported all the way from Europe to India and beyond, as there are good rail links connecting all of these places except for in Afghanistan.
Since our occupation army is already there, we could build this railroad in a few weeks. We are already spending billions there and accomplishing nothing. This project would cost peanuts and have permanent value.
One problem is that all these different existing railroad lines have different gauges. The Russians use a wider gauge than the British and the Iranians. Naturally, it is desirable for railroad cars to be able to run on the same tracks all the way from Western Europe to India and China. This is a difficult problem but I believe there is a solution.
The second project I want to build is the Tajikistan Road. This is a new idea, already at the thinking stage. Just thinking about this is progress because until a few years ago this idea was unthinkable. The idea is to build a road from the Port of Karachi to Tajikistan.
The Tajiks have already been talking about this and have signed onto this project. I am not sure if they thought of it or if we thought of it but in any case the Tajiks like it because it would give them access to the Indian Ocean.
There are a lot of problems with this project. The first problem is back in the 1960s, the World Bank loaned a billion dollars to Pakistan to build a road from Karachi to Peshawar. The money wound up in the Swiss Bank Accounts of the military rulers of that time and thus the road was never built. We then forgave the debt. So, this time, we build the road. The Pakistanis cannot be trusted to build their own road.
A key link of the proposed Tajikistan Road had just been completed, or nearly completed. This is the Lowari Tunnel connecting Chitral to the rest of Pakistan. It is the Lowari Tunnel that makes the Tajikistan
Road feasible. Without it, the only way through the Hindu Kush would be up the Kunar River in Afghanistan, an area of heavy fighting both now and traditionally, making a road there unfeasible.
To get from Chitral to Tajikistan there are two possible routes. One is over the Dorah Pass to Badakhshan in Afghanistan. The other is over the Broghol Pass to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. Both routes have their adherents. The Dorah Pass route is the shortest in number of miles. However, the Dorah Pass is 2,000 feet higher than the Broghol Pass. It is 14,108 feet. This is about as high as the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United States.
Perhaps more importantly, the Badakhshan side of the Dorah Pass was the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Wars in Afghanistan. The wars were so intense that entire regions were depopulated. Only now people are starting to come back and live there. For this reason, I believe that the Dorah Pass is unsuitable.
Broghol Pass, which I favor, does not have these problems. The road would be about one hundred miles longer. It would go up the Yarkhun Valley. There has never been any fighting there. The terrain is relatively flat. It would not be difficult to build a road there. I know this because I have been there, by the way.
The extra hundred miles should not be a big problem in view of the importance of this road. The Broghol Pass is only 12,460 feet high. This might seem a lot but the good thing is the egress to the pass is relatively flat. There is not much danger of avalanche.
One may wonder why it was necessary to build a tunnel under Lowari Pass which is only 10,230 feet high but not under Broghol Pass which is 2,230 feet higher. The answer is Lowari Pass is surrounded by high
mountains and an avalanche can strike without warning at any moment.
Every Spring when the snows are melting a few people are killed trying to cross Lowari Top. Three people were killed by avalanche there just a few days ago. This is why it was necessary to spend a billion dollars to build a tunnel under there.
By the way, the Lowari Tunnel was built by the Koreans. The Pakistanis could not build their own tunnel.
The Broghol Pass is not merely the best way to cross. It is just about the only way to cross. It is 2000 feet lower than any other mountain pass in the area and takes you directly in about 12 miles from the headwaters of the Indus River to the head waters of the Amu-Darya River and Tajikistan. It is the only good route to cross the Pamir Knot. When the British discovered this pass late in the 19th Century, they were fearful that the Russians would use this pass for the invasion and conquest of India. There is no other suitable way for an
army to use as an invasion route to cross the Hindu Kush - Himalaya Mountain Range.
I think you will agree that these two are worthwhile projects, but you will no doubt be asking why should we bother with these people. Why not just let them stew in their own juice?
My response is that we are giving billions of dollars to a certain favored country* and, as far as I can tell, we are accomplishing nothing, zero, over there. What have we accomplished there, besides making enemies? These two projects I propose will change the demographics of the world for the better. The Afghanistan Railroad Project will connect England and France by rail with India and even points beyond if we can solve the Burma Problem. The Tajikistan Road will connect not only Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan and the other Central Asian Countries to the South Sea. These projects should be done and only the USA has the resources to do them.
Finally and most importantly, not one person will be killed by the USA in doing these projects, unlike most of the other USA so called “foreign aid” projects that involve killing lots of people.
* As far as defending Israel is concerned, our job is not to defend Israel. They should defend themselves. They have been getting billions of dollars from us every year and they already have every weapon of mass destruction known to man, including the A-Bomb, so they should be able to defend themselves.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
R. Lee Wrights Beats Gary Johnson In Presidential Straw Poll Conducted At Libertarian Party Of Tennessee State Convention
The Libertarian Party of Tennessee (LPTN) held its State Convention March 23-24, 2012 at the DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel (Nashville Airport) located at 2424 Atrium Way in Nashville, Tennessee. The 33 LPTN delegates credentialed to vote at that convention participated in a Presidential Straw Poll conducted on March 24, 2012 after candidates seeking the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination in 2012 (or their surrogates) addressed the delegates in person or by video.
The results of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
R. Lee Wrights - 16 votes (48.49%)
Gary Johnson - 8 votes (24.24%)
N.O.T.A. - 5 votes (15.15%)
Jim Burns - 1 vote (3.03%)
Carl Person - 1 vote (3.03%)
Joy Waymire - 1 vote (3.03%)
Kelly Wall (Write-In) - 1 vote (3.03%)
R.J. Harris - 0 votes (0.00%)
James Ogle - 0 votes (0.00%)
Leroy Saunders - 0 votes (0.00%)
Bill Still - 0 votes (0.00%)
Carl Person addressed the delegates in person. Gary Johnson was not in attendance but was represented by Jay Hill, one of his Surrogate Speakers. R. Lee Wrights was not present but sent in a video presentation. Kelly Wall, the person who received the write-in vote, is a local activist who is the Voice of Freedom Editor and the Mountain Region Coordinator for the Libertarian Party of Tennessee.
The results of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
R. Lee Wrights - 16 votes (48.49%)
Gary Johnson - 8 votes (24.24%)
N.O.T.A. - 5 votes (15.15%)
Jim Burns - 1 vote (3.03%)
Carl Person - 1 vote (3.03%)
Joy Waymire - 1 vote (3.03%)
Kelly Wall (Write-In) - 1 vote (3.03%)
R.J. Harris - 0 votes (0.00%)
James Ogle - 0 votes (0.00%)
Leroy Saunders - 0 votes (0.00%)
Bill Still - 0 votes (0.00%)
Carl Person addressed the delegates in person. Gary Johnson was not in attendance but was represented by Jay Hill, one of his Surrogate Speakers. R. Lee Wrights was not present but sent in a video presentation. Kelly Wall, the person who received the write-in vote, is a local activist who is the Voice of Freedom Editor and the Mountain Region Coordinator for the Libertarian Party of Tennessee.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sam Sloan, A Candidate For The Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination, Shares His Views Regarding Bob Barr, Warren Redlich & The Libertarian Love Affair With Gary Johnson
On March 28, 2012, Sam Sloan, a candidate for the Presidential Nomination of the Libertarian Party, submitted the following article for publication:
The Libertarian Love Affair with Gary Johnson
by Sam Sloan
With the National Convention now approaching, more and more Libertarians are coming out in favor of making Gary Johnson our candidate for president, so much so that it seems to be a foregone
conclusion that he will be our candidate. Thus, the only question seems to be who will be his running-mate.
Gary Johnson seems to be in many ways the ideal candidate. He is seen to be extremely conservative on financial matters, which is good from the Libertarian point of view. He supports marijuana
decriminalization, which is also good. Better yet, he was twice elected to high office. He was twice elected Governor of New Mexico. Most Libertarians have never been elected to anything. Moreover, his record as Governor of New Mexico is solid. He vetoed more spending bills than any governor anywhere and he greatly reduced the rate of increase in government spending.
So, it seems that in just about every way, he is the ideal candidate. This explains the mad rush by Libertarians to endorse his candidacy.
I want to ask the question of whether we should not take a closer look at Gary Johnson and, more importantly, at ourselves.
What is our goal in running candidates for election? I believe that our goal is or should be to win elections or, failing that, to convert others to our cause.
How does running Gary Johnson as our candidate promote these two goals?
Right now it looks like Romney will be the Republican Candidate. Faced with the choice between Obama and Romney, I believe that most Libertarians would prefer Romney to be the president. In addition, Romney is electable. Obama has been a big disappointment in the eyes of many who voted for him.
We have to know that nominating Gary Johnson will hurt Romney's chances for election, because almost every vote that Gary Johnson would get would otherwise go to Romney. Also, Gary Johnson has no chance himself of being elected. He was at the bottom of the polls when he was running for the Republican nomination.
Still, if Gary Johnson can win converts to our cause, it might be a worthwhile to run him anyway.
I think we should take a look at other times we have run Republicans as Libertarian Party candidates.
Take, for example, running Bob Barr as our candidate for president in 2008.
We made Bob Barr as our candidate for one reason only: Name recognition. Bob Barr was famous primarily for two things: He led the proceedings to impeach Bill Clinton as President and he was one of the sponsors to the Defense of Marriage Act which was to deny gay and lesbian couples who had gotten married in one state from having their marriages recognized in other states.
However, both of the things for which Bob Barr was famous were anti-Libertarian. I believe that most Libertarians will agree that the President of the United States has a constitutional and human right to
get a blow job, provided that a consenting female (or male) is available to give him one.
In spite of these negatives, those Libertarians who voted to nominate Bob Barr felt that due to his name recognition he would get more votes.
The end result was that Bob Barr did not get more votes. He got about the same number of votes that non-name candidate Michael Badnarik had gotten in the 2004 election. More than that, Bob Barr did not stay with the Libertarian Party. He went right back to being a Republican after the election.
The end result was that the Libertarian Party got nothing, zero, from having Bob Barr as our candidate, plus we lost a wonderful opportunity to run a real Libertarian as our candidate. Mary Ruwart was a pure Libertarian, as pure as the driven snow. She campaigned hard for the nomination. She got into trouble for taking an extremely Libertarian position on one issue. (Some of you will remember what that issue was. I will not repeat it.) So, we sold our souls down the river by nominating an anti-Libertarian, Bob Barr, rather than a pure Libertarian, Mary Ruwart. Plus, I am sure that Mary Ruwart would have gotten more votes than Bob Barr did plus Mary Ruwart has continued to work for Libertarian causes ever since. She has never left our party.
Now I want to cite another example: Warren Redlich.
Most of you will not have heard of Warren Redlich. There is a good reason for that. He is truly a nobody. However, he was an “elected official”. When his campaign manager asked the New York Libertarian Party to ask him to become the Libertarian Party Candidate for Governor, many Libertarians were impressed by the fact that he had actually been elected to something. That qualification had not been exceptionally strong, as he had just been elected to the town council
of an unincorporated village and he had been elected as the running mate of a popular person.
We did not know that he had since become hated and indeed despised by a majority of the residents of the town that elected him and he was on the verge of being driven out of town. He actually left town and moved to Florida shortly after the election, vowing never to return.
Warren Redlich had refused to lower himself to ask the Libertarian Party to nominate him. Rather, his campaign manager asked us to beg him to become our candidate, saying that we should tell him how
greatly honored we would be to have him as our candidate.
I have before me a flyer saying that we Libertarians should ask Gary Johnson to become our candidate for President. This flyer looks exactly like one taken from the Warren Redlich Campaign.
When the word got out that Warren Redlich was asking us to ask him to become our candidate, there were several Libertarians that had come over from the Republican Party who knew Warren Redlich from there. They knew that Warren Redlich was a bad guy and they told us so. They should have been listened to, but they were not.
The result was a disaster for the New York Libertarian Party. In the first place, the nomination convention was rigged. Warren Redlich had never paid his dues to join the Libertarian Party, yet he was allowed to enter the convention hall late and was given the right to vote. It was announced before the convention that it had already been decided that he would be the candidate and other would-be candidates need not bother to come. Unknown persons were allowed to throw handfuls of votes into the hat that was passed around. Warren Redlich was never asked hard questions about his political views, and did not participate in the debates or in the meetings that were arranged for him.
Having secured the nomination without making any real effort to do so, Warren Redlich did no campaigning other than to participate in a televised debate, where even there he did not really participate in the debate but just read from the same stump speech.
More than that, the National Libertarian Party was told that Warren Redlich was a “great candidate”. They did not know that in reality Warren Redlich was nothing more than an Internet scammer who had posted a huge number of Internet websites and domain names mostly for the purpose of impersonating famous people and getting donations, fees and ad revenues from those who mistook his websites for the legitimate websites for those famous people.
Because of this scam, the National Libertarian Party donated $50,000 of your dues money toward the effort to put his name on the ballot. Thus, we party members became the latest victims of the many Warren Redlich scams.
Here is what Republican Party operative Roger Stone has to say about this:
“In the 40 years I have been in American politics, I have never met a more obnoxious or distasteful individual then Albany lawyer Warren Redlich”. http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=444
I realize that it is unfair to compare a scumbag lowlife like Warren Redlich to somebody who seems to have served with distinction like Gary Johnson.
Nevertheless, I think we should look closer at Gary Johnson. For example, right now the great political debate is going on over what to do about Iran.
Most Republicans are saying that we should nuke the mullahs right away. This should be done to protect Israel from Iran because, they say, in five years Iran may have the A-Bomb and they might drop it on Israel, so therefore we should bomb Iran now.
The contrary view, held by most Democrats, is that we should not bomb Iran right away. We should wait a little while and squeeze Iran more tightly with economic sanctions such as for example by stopping Iran from building a pipeline to Pakistan (which would benefit millions of impoverished Pakistanis). If these economic sanctions do not work, then we should bomb Iran, perhaps in a year or two. This is what the Democrats say.
However, the Libertarian view is we should not bomb Iran at all. Not this year. Not even next year. As far as defending Israel is concerned, our job is not to defend Israel. They should defend themselves. They have been getting billions of dollars from us every year and they already have every weapon of mass destruction known to man, including the A-Bomb, so they should be able to defend
themselves.
Here is one of the many areas where Gary Johnson is weak. Gary Johnson seems to be vacillating between the “bomb them right away” view and the “wait a little while before bombing them” alternative.
This will become a problem for our party if we nominate Gary Johnson and this or his many other anti-Libertarian views becomes known.
The Libertarian Love Affair with Gary Johnson
by Sam Sloan
With the National Convention now approaching, more and more Libertarians are coming out in favor of making Gary Johnson our candidate for president, so much so that it seems to be a foregone
conclusion that he will be our candidate. Thus, the only question seems to be who will be his running-mate.
Gary Johnson seems to be in many ways the ideal candidate. He is seen to be extremely conservative on financial matters, which is good from the Libertarian point of view. He supports marijuana
decriminalization, which is also good. Better yet, he was twice elected to high office. He was twice elected Governor of New Mexico. Most Libertarians have never been elected to anything. Moreover, his record as Governor of New Mexico is solid. He vetoed more spending bills than any governor anywhere and he greatly reduced the rate of increase in government spending.
So, it seems that in just about every way, he is the ideal candidate. This explains the mad rush by Libertarians to endorse his candidacy.
I want to ask the question of whether we should not take a closer look at Gary Johnson and, more importantly, at ourselves.
What is our goal in running candidates for election? I believe that our goal is or should be to win elections or, failing that, to convert others to our cause.
How does running Gary Johnson as our candidate promote these two goals?
Right now it looks like Romney will be the Republican Candidate. Faced with the choice between Obama and Romney, I believe that most Libertarians would prefer Romney to be the president. In addition, Romney is electable. Obama has been a big disappointment in the eyes of many who voted for him.
We have to know that nominating Gary Johnson will hurt Romney's chances for election, because almost every vote that Gary Johnson would get would otherwise go to Romney. Also, Gary Johnson has no chance himself of being elected. He was at the bottom of the polls when he was running for the Republican nomination.
Still, if Gary Johnson can win converts to our cause, it might be a worthwhile to run him anyway.
I think we should take a look at other times we have run Republicans as Libertarian Party candidates.
Take, for example, running Bob Barr as our candidate for president in 2008.
We made Bob Barr as our candidate for one reason only: Name recognition. Bob Barr was famous primarily for two things: He led the proceedings to impeach Bill Clinton as President and he was one of the sponsors to the Defense of Marriage Act which was to deny gay and lesbian couples who had gotten married in one state from having their marriages recognized in other states.
However, both of the things for which Bob Barr was famous were anti-Libertarian. I believe that most Libertarians will agree that the President of the United States has a constitutional and human right to
get a blow job, provided that a consenting female (or male) is available to give him one.
In spite of these negatives, those Libertarians who voted to nominate Bob Barr felt that due to his name recognition he would get more votes.
The end result was that Bob Barr did not get more votes. He got about the same number of votes that non-name candidate Michael Badnarik had gotten in the 2004 election. More than that, Bob Barr did not stay with the Libertarian Party. He went right back to being a Republican after the election.
The end result was that the Libertarian Party got nothing, zero, from having Bob Barr as our candidate, plus we lost a wonderful opportunity to run a real Libertarian as our candidate. Mary Ruwart was a pure Libertarian, as pure as the driven snow. She campaigned hard for the nomination. She got into trouble for taking an extremely Libertarian position on one issue. (Some of you will remember what that issue was. I will not repeat it.) So, we sold our souls down the river by nominating an anti-Libertarian, Bob Barr, rather than a pure Libertarian, Mary Ruwart. Plus, I am sure that Mary Ruwart would have gotten more votes than Bob Barr did plus Mary Ruwart has continued to work for Libertarian causes ever since. She has never left our party.
Now I want to cite another example: Warren Redlich.
Most of you will not have heard of Warren Redlich. There is a good reason for that. He is truly a nobody. However, he was an “elected official”. When his campaign manager asked the New York Libertarian Party to ask him to become the Libertarian Party Candidate for Governor, many Libertarians were impressed by the fact that he had actually been elected to something. That qualification had not been exceptionally strong, as he had just been elected to the town council
of an unincorporated village and he had been elected as the running mate of a popular person.
We did not know that he had since become hated and indeed despised by a majority of the residents of the town that elected him and he was on the verge of being driven out of town. He actually left town and moved to Florida shortly after the election, vowing never to return.
Warren Redlich had refused to lower himself to ask the Libertarian Party to nominate him. Rather, his campaign manager asked us to beg him to become our candidate, saying that we should tell him how
greatly honored we would be to have him as our candidate.
I have before me a flyer saying that we Libertarians should ask Gary Johnson to become our candidate for President. This flyer looks exactly like one taken from the Warren Redlich Campaign.
When the word got out that Warren Redlich was asking us to ask him to become our candidate, there were several Libertarians that had come over from the Republican Party who knew Warren Redlich from there. They knew that Warren Redlich was a bad guy and they told us so. They should have been listened to, but they were not.
The result was a disaster for the New York Libertarian Party. In the first place, the nomination convention was rigged. Warren Redlich had never paid his dues to join the Libertarian Party, yet he was allowed to enter the convention hall late and was given the right to vote. It was announced before the convention that it had already been decided that he would be the candidate and other would-be candidates need not bother to come. Unknown persons were allowed to throw handfuls of votes into the hat that was passed around. Warren Redlich was never asked hard questions about his political views, and did not participate in the debates or in the meetings that were arranged for him.
Having secured the nomination without making any real effort to do so, Warren Redlich did no campaigning other than to participate in a televised debate, where even there he did not really participate in the debate but just read from the same stump speech.
More than that, the National Libertarian Party was told that Warren Redlich was a “great candidate”. They did not know that in reality Warren Redlich was nothing more than an Internet scammer who had posted a huge number of Internet websites and domain names mostly for the purpose of impersonating famous people and getting donations, fees and ad revenues from those who mistook his websites for the legitimate websites for those famous people.
Because of this scam, the National Libertarian Party donated $50,000 of your dues money toward the effort to put his name on the ballot. Thus, we party members became the latest victims of the many Warren Redlich scams.
Here is what Republican Party operative Roger Stone has to say about this:
“In the 40 years I have been in American politics, I have never met a more obnoxious or distasteful individual then Albany lawyer Warren Redlich”. http://stonezone.com/article.php?id=444
I realize that it is unfair to compare a scumbag lowlife like Warren Redlich to somebody who seems to have served with distinction like Gary Johnson.
Nevertheless, I think we should look closer at Gary Johnson. For example, right now the great political debate is going on over what to do about Iran.
Most Republicans are saying that we should nuke the mullahs right away. This should be done to protect Israel from Iran because, they say, in five years Iran may have the A-Bomb and they might drop it on Israel, so therefore we should bomb Iran now.
The contrary view, held by most Democrats, is that we should not bomb Iran right away. We should wait a little while and squeeze Iran more tightly with economic sanctions such as for example by stopping Iran from building a pipeline to Pakistan (which would benefit millions of impoverished Pakistanis). If these economic sanctions do not work, then we should bomb Iran, perhaps in a year or two. This is what the Democrats say.
However, the Libertarian view is we should not bomb Iran at all. Not this year. Not even next year. As far as defending Israel is concerned, our job is not to defend Israel. They should defend themselves. They have been getting billions of dollars from us every year and they already have every weapon of mass destruction known to man, including the A-Bomb, so they should be able to defend
themselves.
Here is one of the many areas where Gary Johnson is weak. Gary Johnson seems to be vacillating between the “bomb them right away” view and the “wait a little while before bombing them” alternative.
This will become a problem for our party if we nominate Gary Johnson and this or his many other anti-Libertarian views becomes known.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Gary Johnson Wins Libertarian Party Of Michigan Presidential Straw Poll Obtaining 95.007% Of The Total Vote
On Saturday, March 10, 2012, the Libertarian Party of Michigan held its annual Liberty Festival & Libby Awards in addition to holding a Presidential Debate and Libertarian Presidential Straw Poll at the Delhi Cafe in Holt, Michigan. All the announced Libertarian Party Presidential Candidates were invited to participate.
Gary Johnson, Carl Person & Bill Still were in attendance and each gave a 20-minute speech. The results of the Libertarian Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
Gary Johnson - 6489 votes (95.077%)
R. Lee Wrights - 198 votes (2.901%)
Bill Still - 118 votes (1.729%)
Carl Person - 15 votes (.22%)
R.J. Harris - 3 votes (.044%)
James Ogle - 2 votes (.029%)
No other Libertarian Presidential Candidates received any votes and None Of The Above was not an option. Libertarian Party members in attendance were allowed to cast as many votes as they wanted for any candidate(s) they chose. Each vote cost $1.
The campaign committees of each candidate will receive the money collected for that candidate. Those in attendance received their money that night, while candidates who could not attend will receive their donations in the mail.
Gary Johnson, Carl Person & Bill Still were in attendance and each gave a 20-minute speech. The results of the Libertarian Presidential Straw Poll were as follows:
Gary Johnson - 6489 votes (95.077%)
R. Lee Wrights - 198 votes (2.901%)
Bill Still - 118 votes (1.729%)
Carl Person - 15 votes (.22%)
R.J. Harris - 3 votes (.044%)
James Ogle - 2 votes (.029%)
No other Libertarian Presidential Candidates received any votes and None Of The Above was not an option. Libertarian Party members in attendance were allowed to cast as many votes as they wanted for any candidate(s) they chose. Each vote cost $1.
The campaign committees of each candidate will receive the money collected for that candidate. Those in attendance received their money that night, while candidates who could not attend will receive their donations in the mail.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Are We Like Sheep? - An Article By LPQC Member Ed Konecnik
Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, submitted the following article for publication:
Are We Like Sheep?
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
March 12, 2012
It is disconcerting to think of our government as an embezzler cooking the books. The government is less likely a bank robber with a ski mask and pistol than an eloquent mild mannered enforcer of elitist paternalistic benevolence claiming to have our best interest at heart.
Originally the dollar was more than just a piece of paper with a picture of a president. It represented a fixed amount of a precious metal for which you would receive gold or silver upon demand. In 1913, the government created the Federal Reserve System and ceded its Constitutional power to coin money and regulate the value thereof to private bankers who are unaccountable to Congress. The result of their policies is unsustainable debt and the devaluation of the dollar; to wit, two Mercury silver dimes will still buy a gallon of gasoline.
The rise in inflation, debt, taxes, unemployment, crony capitalism and corruption has occurred slowly and incrementally making the fleecing process almost imperceptible. Many view this as general moral deterioration of our society yet their analyses are dismissed as crazy conspiratorial rants. We have become acclimated to our government conniving and defrauding its citizens. We accept it, take it for granted, don't get riled up any more than sheep get indignant about being sheared.
Few things have changed since Aesop observed 'We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office'.
Are We Like Sheep?
by Ed Konecnik
Flushing, New York
March 12, 2012
It is disconcerting to think of our government as an embezzler cooking the books. The government is less likely a bank robber with a ski mask and pistol than an eloquent mild mannered enforcer of elitist paternalistic benevolence claiming to have our best interest at heart.
Originally the dollar was more than just a piece of paper with a picture of a president. It represented a fixed amount of a precious metal for which you would receive gold or silver upon demand. In 1913, the government created the Federal Reserve System and ceded its Constitutional power to coin money and regulate the value thereof to private bankers who are unaccountable to Congress. The result of their policies is unsustainable debt and the devaluation of the dollar; to wit, two Mercury silver dimes will still buy a gallon of gasoline.
The rise in inflation, debt, taxes, unemployment, crony capitalism and corruption has occurred slowly and incrementally making the fleecing process almost imperceptible. Many view this as general moral deterioration of our society yet their analyses are dismissed as crazy conspiratorial rants. We have become acclimated to our government conniving and defrauding its citizens. We accept it, take it for granted, don't get riled up any more than sheep get indignant about being sheared.
Few things have changed since Aesop observed 'We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office'.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Gary Johnson Draws 72.9% In Presidential Straw Poll At California Libertarian Party Convention
The Libertarian Party of California held its annual convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura on May 2-4, 2012. According to a report submitted to the Libertarian National Committee by Daniel Wiener, a Presidential Caucus & Straw Poll was held. Gary Johnson, Scott Keller, James Ogle, Bill Still, Joy Waymire & Lee Wrights gave short speeches, which were followed by a Presidential Straw Poll.
The results of the LPCA Presidential Straw Poll were:
Gary Johnson – 43 votes (72.9%)
R. Lee Wrights – 12 votes (20.3%)
James Ogle – 2 votes (3.4%)
Joy Waymire – 2 votes (3.4%)
Scott Keller – 0 votes (0%)
Bill Still – 0 votes (0%)
There were reports that Jim Libertarian Burns, another announced candidate for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination also made an appearance at the LPCA Convention but that he was only there to hand out literature and left before the Presidential Caucus & Straw Poll was held.
The results of the LPCA Presidential Straw Poll were:
Gary Johnson – 43 votes (72.9%)
R. Lee Wrights – 12 votes (20.3%)
James Ogle – 2 votes (3.4%)
Joy Waymire – 2 votes (3.4%)
Scott Keller – 0 votes (0%)
Bill Still – 0 votes (0%)
There were reports that Jim Libertarian Burns, another announced candidate for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination also made an appearance at the LPCA Convention but that he was only there to hand out literature and left before the Presidential Caucus & Straw Poll was held.
Sam Sloan Backs Colorado's "Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act" Ballot Initiative
Sam Sloan, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's 2012 Presidential Nomination, has come out in favor of Colorado's "Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act", which will give the residents of Colorado an opportunity to vote in favor of ending marijuana prohibition in their state this November. The act was recently approved for the ballot on February 27, 2012 by Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler.
Colorado now joins Washington as one of two states where measures specific to legalizing cannabis will appear on the ballot this year. The Colorado initiative seeks to allow for the limited possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults age 21 and over. The measure would further amend state law to establish regulations governing the commercial production and distribution of marijuana by licensed retailers.The measure is supported by NORML, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, SAFER, Sensible Colorado, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the Objectivist Party of Colorado.
Mr. Sloan issued the following statement regarding his full support for the legalization of marijuana:
Marijuana should be completely legal. There should be no criminal prosecutions of any kind related to marijuana. Actually, where I am right now, Marin County, California, is a major place for the growth and production of marijuana. I do not grow it myself but there are a lot of marijuana farms around here.Government helicopters fly around here looking for these farms.
I believe that the way to sell this idea to the general public is to tell them that marijuana will be taxed and regulated just as alcohol is and therefore their own tax burdens will be reduced. So, legalizing marijuana will save YOU money.
An additional benefit to legalizing marijuana is it will end the drug wars over marijuana. The President of Mexico is complaining about the flow of guns from the USA into Mexico which has resulted in 47,500 people being killed. But the problem is not the guns. It is what the guns are used for, which is to fight wars over the drugs that are made and grown in Mexico and then imported into the USA. If the drugs were legalized, which I believe they should be, there would be no more wars fought over them and no more innocent children being killed.
The cartels are fighting over the right to import marijuana into the USA. If marijuana were legalized, our small but simple pot farmers here in Marin County would take over the market and reduce the USA's balance of payments' deficit.
Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, wrote a letter to supporters on March 2, 2012, which read, in part:
Never before has support for legalizing marijuana been so widespread or so out in the open.
Public support for making marijuana legal has shifted dramatically in the last two decades, especially in the last few years. For the first time, a recent Gallup poll found 50 percent of Americans support making marijuana legal, with only 46 percent opposed.
The New York City Council recently voted overwhelmingly (44-3-1) in support of a resolution calling for the New York State Legislature to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. While that is no doubt a worthy first step, many libertarian activists in New York State feel that only full marijuana legalization will do at this point.
Patrick R. Killy, Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians (a chartered chapter of Empire State Libertarians), commented on the need to legalize marijuana:
As a passionate critic of the failed "War on Drugs", I support the full legalization of marijuana. Smoking weed is as American as Apple Pie. Apparently, a number of our early Presidents and Founding Fathers grew hemp as a commercial crop and there is even some evidence that many of them may have smoked cannibis recreationally.
When marijuana is legalized, new businesses will spring up. Perhaps a new chain of "Bull Dog Cafes" where you can buy healthy treats such as yogurt, fresh squeezed juice and marijuana and then relax in a music video emporium before going about your daily business. Farmers and entrepreneurs will again begin planting hemp for the hundreds of uses it can be sold for.
It is outrageous that hundreds of thousands of Americans are arrested and given citations each year for marijuana possession and use. There are clearly better uses for our tax dollars in the current economic climate.
Colorado now joins Washington as one of two states where measures specific to legalizing cannabis will appear on the ballot this year. The Colorado initiative seeks to allow for the limited possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults age 21 and over. The measure would further amend state law to establish regulations governing the commercial production and distribution of marijuana by licensed retailers.The measure is supported by NORML, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, SAFER, Sensible Colorado, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the Objectivist Party of Colorado.
Mr. Sloan issued the following statement regarding his full support for the legalization of marijuana:
Marijuana should be completely legal. There should be no criminal prosecutions of any kind related to marijuana. Actually, where I am right now, Marin County, California, is a major place for the growth and production of marijuana. I do not grow it myself but there are a lot of marijuana farms around here.Government helicopters fly around here looking for these farms.
I believe that the way to sell this idea to the general public is to tell them that marijuana will be taxed and regulated just as alcohol is and therefore their own tax burdens will be reduced. So, legalizing marijuana will save YOU money.
An additional benefit to legalizing marijuana is it will end the drug wars over marijuana. The President of Mexico is complaining about the flow of guns from the USA into Mexico which has resulted in 47,500 people being killed. But the problem is not the guns. It is what the guns are used for, which is to fight wars over the drugs that are made and grown in Mexico and then imported into the USA. If the drugs were legalized, which I believe they should be, there would be no more wars fought over them and no more innocent children being killed.
The cartels are fighting over the right to import marijuana into the USA. If marijuana were legalized, our small but simple pot farmers here in Marin County would take over the market and reduce the USA's balance of payments' deficit.
Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, wrote a letter to supporters on March 2, 2012, which read, in part:
Never before has support for legalizing marijuana been so widespread or so out in the open.
Public support for making marijuana legal has shifted dramatically in the last two decades, especially in the last few years. For the first time, a recent Gallup poll found 50 percent of Americans support making marijuana legal, with only 46 percent opposed.
The New York City Council recently voted overwhelmingly (44-3-1) in support of a resolution calling for the New York State Legislature to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. While that is no doubt a worthy first step, many libertarian activists in New York State feel that only full marijuana legalization will do at this point.
Patrick R. Killy, Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians (a chartered chapter of Empire State Libertarians), commented on the need to legalize marijuana:
As a passionate critic of the failed "War on Drugs", I support the full legalization of marijuana. Smoking weed is as American as Apple Pie. Apparently, a number of our early Presidents and Founding Fathers grew hemp as a commercial crop and there is even some evidence that many of them may have smoked cannibis recreationally.
When marijuana is legalized, new businesses will spring up. Perhaps a new chain of "Bull Dog Cafes" where you can buy healthy treats such as yogurt, fresh squeezed juice and marijuana and then relax in a music video emporium before going about your daily business. Farmers and entrepreneurs will again begin planting hemp for the hundreds of uses it can be sold for.
It is outrageous that hundreds of thousands of Americans are arrested and given citations each year for marijuana possession and use. There are clearly better uses for our tax dollars in the current economic climate.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Applause! Applause! Review of Hairspray at Cultural Arts Playhouse by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of the musical Hairspray performed at the Cultural Arts Playhouse was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and was published in Volume X, Issue 2 (2012) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Hairspray
Cultural Arts Playhouse (625 Old Country Road, Plainview, NY)
Reviewed 3/2/12
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It ran for over 2,500 performances and closed on January 4, 2009. The story takes place in 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland, where it is plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and launches a campaign to integrate the show.
This revival of Hairspray at the Cultural Arts Playhouse is a high-quality, spectacular, audience pleasing production I guarantee you will enjoy. The cast, set and choreography are top-notch. The story is timeless. Love wins out in the end and justice prevails over bigotry, discrimination and segregation. What could be better!
There are a number of amazing performances in this show. Leslie Mantell is perfectly cast as Velma Von Tussle (former Miss Baltimore Crabs) as is Danielle Jenkin as her daughter Amber Von Tussle (Link's original steady). Both were very believable in their roles. Dalon Bradley was a sparky, soulful surprise as Seaweed J. Stubbs and Tanesha Corbin dominated the stage with her outstanding voice as Motormouth Maybelle (host of Negro Day on the Corny Collins Show). Mike Newman did an outstanding job playing the part of Edna Turnblad (Tracy's "mom"), knowing exactly how to express her motherly concern, insecurity and love for her husband without crossing the line to seek out cheap, crude laughs based on his playing the role in drag.
Katie Morra was Tracy Turnblad, the ambitious, rabble-rousing, firecracker who wants to dance, integrate the Corny Collins Show, and have Link as her boyfriend. She looked the part and got the audience to root for her success. Her girlfriend Penny Pingleton, played by Brooke Grossman, is a fine actress who transformed herself from bookworm to butterfly before the played reached its conclusion.
Who needs Zac Efron when I can have Jake Levy playing Link Larkin four feet from my seat in the first row. Mr. Levy was exceptional, charismatic and perfectly cast for the role. The best way I can describe how I feel about his performance is that if Link bumped into me, even I would "hear the bells" and I don't even believe in those damn bells but for this Link, I'd try to make it work!
Jesse Pimpinella played Corny Collins. In a review written about his performance in the musical 13 (also at the Cultural Arts Playhouse), it was said that Justin Beiber should watch out for this up-and-comer. I disagree. Clearly, Mr. Pimpinella is better looking and more talented than Justin Bieber. If there is any justice in the world, one day he will be much more successful. His performance as Corny Collins was spot-on and he successfully and flawlessly portrayed the older dance show host despite his younger age.
My favorite musical numbers were "Good Morning Baltimore", "I Can Hear The Bells", "You're Timeless To Me" and "You Can't Stop The Beat" but many of the other songs and performances will surprise and please you.
In the past, I had some criticisms with respect to the sound system, concessions, seating and the identification of the actors performing in any particular show. I am pleased to report that all those problems have been addressed and I had a perfect theater experience on the night I attended. The sound system had no flaws I could detect. Concessions was well-stocked. A new Keurig machine allowed me to have a White Hot Chocolate during intermission. There was candy and chips available as well. Seating occurred in the order in which people had reserved and most impressive, the Cultural Arts Playhouse had a video playing on a loop that identified by picture the various cast members playing the parts in this production. All I can say is, "well done!"
Hairspray is playing at the Cultural Arts Playhouse through March, 2012. It is an amazing show! Don't miss it! For only $20.00 a ticket, I recommend you see it more than once. To purchase your tickets, call 516-694-3330 or visit http://www.culturalartsplayhouse.com/
Hairspray
Cultural Arts Playhouse (625 Old Country Road, Plainview, NY)
Reviewed 3/2/12
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It ran for over 2,500 performances and closed on January 4, 2009. The story takes place in 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland, where it is plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and launches a campaign to integrate the show.
This revival of Hairspray at the Cultural Arts Playhouse is a high-quality, spectacular, audience pleasing production I guarantee you will enjoy. The cast, set and choreography are top-notch. The story is timeless. Love wins out in the end and justice prevails over bigotry, discrimination and segregation. What could be better!
There are a number of amazing performances in this show. Leslie Mantell is perfectly cast as Velma Von Tussle (former Miss Baltimore Crabs) as is Danielle Jenkin as her daughter Amber Von Tussle (Link's original steady). Both were very believable in their roles. Dalon Bradley was a sparky, soulful surprise as Seaweed J. Stubbs and Tanesha Corbin dominated the stage with her outstanding voice as Motormouth Maybelle (host of Negro Day on the Corny Collins Show). Mike Newman did an outstanding job playing the part of Edna Turnblad (Tracy's "mom"), knowing exactly how to express her motherly concern, insecurity and love for her husband without crossing the line to seek out cheap, crude laughs based on his playing the role in drag.
Katie Morra was Tracy Turnblad, the ambitious, rabble-rousing, firecracker who wants to dance, integrate the Corny Collins Show, and have Link as her boyfriend. She looked the part and got the audience to root for her success. Her girlfriend Penny Pingleton, played by Brooke Grossman, is a fine actress who transformed herself from bookworm to butterfly before the played reached its conclusion.
Who needs Zac Efron when I can have Jake Levy playing Link Larkin four feet from my seat in the first row. Mr. Levy was exceptional, charismatic and perfectly cast for the role. The best way I can describe how I feel about his performance is that if Link bumped into me, even I would "hear the bells" and I don't even believe in those damn bells but for this Link, I'd try to make it work!
Jesse Pimpinella played Corny Collins. In a review written about his performance in the musical 13 (also at the Cultural Arts Playhouse), it was said that Justin Beiber should watch out for this up-and-comer. I disagree. Clearly, Mr. Pimpinella is better looking and more talented than Justin Bieber. If there is any justice in the world, one day he will be much more successful. His performance as Corny Collins was spot-on and he successfully and flawlessly portrayed the older dance show host despite his younger age.
My favorite musical numbers were "Good Morning Baltimore", "I Can Hear The Bells", "You're Timeless To Me" and "You Can't Stop The Beat" but many of the other songs and performances will surprise and please you.
In the past, I had some criticisms with respect to the sound system, concessions, seating and the identification of the actors performing in any particular show. I am pleased to report that all those problems have been addressed and I had a perfect theater experience on the night I attended. The sound system had no flaws I could detect. Concessions was well-stocked. A new Keurig machine allowed me to have a White Hot Chocolate during intermission. There was candy and chips available as well. Seating occurred in the order in which people had reserved and most impressive, the Cultural Arts Playhouse had a video playing on a loop that identified by picture the various cast members playing the parts in this production. All I can say is, "well done!"
Hairspray is playing at the Cultural Arts Playhouse through March, 2012. It is an amazing show! Don't miss it! For only $20.00 a ticket, I recommend you see it more than once. To purchase your tickets, call 516-694-3330 or visit http://www.culturalartsplayhouse.com/
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sam Sloan, Candidate For The 2012 Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination, Supports 14 Now! Agenda
On February 28, 2012, Sam Sloan, a candidate for the 2012 Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination, came out in support of the five goals of 14 Now!, which are the following:
1. To Lower The Voting Age To 14
2. To Eliminate Restrictions On The Right Of Individuals 14 Years Of Age & Older To Work
3. To End Compulsory Education At 14
4. To Allow Individuals 14 Years Of Age & Older To Join The Military
5. To Set The Age Of Consent At 14
Sam Sloan said the following with respect to his support for the 14 Now! Agenda:
There is no doubt young people have more exposure to adult knowledge now than they have ever had and instead of trying to deny that fact, it is important we teach young adults to make responsible decisions with respect to their lives.
The 14 Now! Agenda, if adopted by policy makers and legislatures, would allow a young adult, 14 years of age or older, to vote, to become emancipated, to work, to quit school, to join the military and to have consensual sexual relations with anyone they wish who is also over the age of 14. I concede that age 14 is an arbitrary number and that some young adults mature more quickly than others. However, most major religions in the world consider a person to have achieved adulthood at 13 or 14 and this appears to be backed up by the evidence nature provides.
With respect to lowering the voting age to 14, you might argue a young adult age 14, 15, 16 or 17 doesn't have the knowledge or interest to make good decisions in the voting booth but given the ever-increasing size of Big Government, it is obvious to me that most voters lack common sense or vote only in accordance with their own narrow interests. On the other hand, I have known many intelligent young adults who are active in their communities and schools and who should be given the opportunity to vote.
Most young people will remain in school because they wish to learn, be with their friends, have a roof over their heads and get the support of their parents as they seek admission to colleges and universities. However, there are some young adults who are gay, who live in homes with emotionally and physically abusive parents and who need to get out of their living situation as quickly as possible. If a 14 year old young adult needs to get out of their bad situation or neighborhood, then giving that person decision-making capacity will enable them to choose to move into a grandparents' home or the home of a friend, to work, to join the military, to become an apprentice to a professional and to be treated as a responsible young adult in all respects. For an inner city kid facing gang influence, bad schools and a sub-culture of violence, giving that person an opportunity to join the military and attend a military boarding school can be a ticket to a better life. In addition, room and board at that boarding school can be provided for free in return for a commitment to serve 5 years in uniform after the completion of their education.
While it is true that having an education is an important tool for success in life, not every student should be expected to complete High School or College. Alternative educational opportunities should be made available for those motivated to learn special skills that can lead to a promising career in a trade. Many students are now being pushed through the school system and when they reach college, they lack the basic knowledge of a 4th grader. If compulsory basic education is ended at 14 years of age, a young adult can leave school, work, study for a G.E.D. and make decisions to get their life on track.
As for the age of consent, teenagers have been having sex at younger and younger ages and I don't think we should deny that reality by keeping the age of consent artificially high. Young people may wish to experiment sexually with partners older than they are, who may actually be more responsible when it comes to protecting themselves from pregnancy, A.I.D.S. and sexually transmitted diseases. As long as both parties consent to the interaction, the government should not criminalize such relationships.
I recognize I am breaking ground by taking these controversial stands on these issues. However, I do believe more and more people will start holding young adults more responsible for their actions. The criminal justice system is trying many more teenagers as adults and giving them adult sentences. In addition, even the identities of young people tried as juveniles are no longer being protected as they once were. This is the reality we must face and I am proud to be a trailblazer in support of Youth Rights.
14 Now! is a Youth Rights Advocacy Organization founded on December 20, 2010.
1. To Lower The Voting Age To 14
2. To Eliminate Restrictions On The Right Of Individuals 14 Years Of Age & Older To Work
3. To End Compulsory Education At 14
4. To Allow Individuals 14 Years Of Age & Older To Join The Military
5. To Set The Age Of Consent At 14
Sam Sloan said the following with respect to his support for the 14 Now! Agenda:
There is no doubt young people have more exposure to adult knowledge now than they have ever had and instead of trying to deny that fact, it is important we teach young adults to make responsible decisions with respect to their lives.
The 14 Now! Agenda, if adopted by policy makers and legislatures, would allow a young adult, 14 years of age or older, to vote, to become emancipated, to work, to quit school, to join the military and to have consensual sexual relations with anyone they wish who is also over the age of 14. I concede that age 14 is an arbitrary number and that some young adults mature more quickly than others. However, most major religions in the world consider a person to have achieved adulthood at 13 or 14 and this appears to be backed up by the evidence nature provides.
With respect to lowering the voting age to 14, you might argue a young adult age 14, 15, 16 or 17 doesn't have the knowledge or interest to make good decisions in the voting booth but given the ever-increasing size of Big Government, it is obvious to me that most voters lack common sense or vote only in accordance with their own narrow interests. On the other hand, I have known many intelligent young adults who are active in their communities and schools and who should be given the opportunity to vote.
Most young people will remain in school because they wish to learn, be with their friends, have a roof over their heads and get the support of their parents as they seek admission to colleges and universities. However, there are some young adults who are gay, who live in homes with emotionally and physically abusive parents and who need to get out of their living situation as quickly as possible. If a 14 year old young adult needs to get out of their bad situation or neighborhood, then giving that person decision-making capacity will enable them to choose to move into a grandparents' home or the home of a friend, to work, to join the military, to become an apprentice to a professional and to be treated as a responsible young adult in all respects. For an inner city kid facing gang influence, bad schools and a sub-culture of violence, giving that person an opportunity to join the military and attend a military boarding school can be a ticket to a better life. In addition, room and board at that boarding school can be provided for free in return for a commitment to serve 5 years in uniform after the completion of their education.
While it is true that having an education is an important tool for success in life, not every student should be expected to complete High School or College. Alternative educational opportunities should be made available for those motivated to learn special skills that can lead to a promising career in a trade. Many students are now being pushed through the school system and when they reach college, they lack the basic knowledge of a 4th grader. If compulsory basic education is ended at 14 years of age, a young adult can leave school, work, study for a G.E.D. and make decisions to get their life on track.
As for the age of consent, teenagers have been having sex at younger and younger ages and I don't think we should deny that reality by keeping the age of consent artificially high. Young people may wish to experiment sexually with partners older than they are, who may actually be more responsible when it comes to protecting themselves from pregnancy, A.I.D.S. and sexually transmitted diseases. As long as both parties consent to the interaction, the government should not criminalize such relationships.
I recognize I am breaking ground by taking these controversial stands on these issues. However, I do believe more and more people will start holding young adults more responsible for their actions. The criminal justice system is trying many more teenagers as adults and giving them adult sentences. In addition, even the identities of young people tried as juveniles are no longer being protected as they once were. This is the reality we must face and I am proud to be a trailblazer in support of Youth Rights.
14 Now! is a Youth Rights Advocacy Organization founded on December 20, 2010.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sam Sloan Continues To Expose Anti-Muslim Sentiment In The Libertarian Party
When Sam Sloan, a former candidate for the New York State 2010 Gubernatorial Nomination, announced he was seeking the 2012 Presidential Nomination of the Libertarian Party on January 13, 2012 (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/samuel-howard-sloan-aka-haji-mohammed.html) he was immediately listed as a Presidential Candidate on the national party's website at www.lp.org. However, when it was pointed out on January 17, 2012 that Sam Sloan's platform contained support for the legalization of polygamy (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/sam-sloan-candidate-for-libertarian.html, his name was removed from the national website and he was told that all listed Presidential Candidates now needed to obtain the approval of 5 Libertarian National Committee (LNC) members even though none of the other listed Presidential Candidates had obtained that approval (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-subjective-olicy-regarding-listing.html). Sam Sloan then demanded that Carla Howell, LP Executive Director, release the names of the 5 LNC members who had voted in favor of listing the Presidential Candidates appearing on the national website (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/sam-sloan-demands-carla-howell-release.html). Ms. Howell did not respond to Mr. Sloan's inquiry.
Samuel Howard Sloan a/k/a Haji Mohammed Ismail Sloan views the above implementation of a "Sam Sloan Rule" to keep him off the national website as just another piece of evidence that there are many in the Libertarian Party who hold anti-Muslim sentiments. Mr. Sloan stated his views on this issue as follows:
When I announced I was seeking the 2012 Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination and that I was a Muslim, many Libertarian Party members commented that I must be confused because I could not be a practicing Muslim and also be a Libertarian. It reminds me of the many people who said John F. Kennedy should not be elected President because he was a practicing Roman Catholic, who surely must owe his first allegiance to the Pope. I have come to realize that such prejudices exist and I just need to confront them as they arise. When I sought the New York State Libertarian Party's Gubernatorial Nomination in 2010, a major anti-Muslim whispering campaign was started against me and many incidents of anti-Muslim sentiment were expressed (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/08/is-there-anti-muslim-sentiment-in.html).
The most egregious of the anti-Muslim actions I witnessed was the institution of a "Call Your Dog Mohammad" campaign on August 26, 2011 by Dallwyn Merck, Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Queens County (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/08/dallwyn-merck-libertarian-party-officer.html). In a notarized statement, Dallwyn Merck explained what he wanted people to do: "Every time you see your dog or any dog licking or sniffing its own penis, testes, vagina or anus, or that of another dog, I urge you to say to the dog in a loud voice, “STOP IT MOHAMMAD”. On September 11, 2011, Mr. Merck followed that up with a private ceremony wherein he defecated on an open Koran he placed in a toilet and then burnt it.
Let me be clear. People in the Libertarian Party have a right to free speech and I would never support laws to criminalize what Dallwyn Merck did in support of his own right to free speech nor would I support laws to prevent people from expressing themselves as they see fit. However, I also have a right to shine a spotlight on these words and actions so others can condemn or support what has been said or done.
With the support of Dr. Tom Stevens, Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, Sam Sloan was elected on February 11, 2012 to serve as Treasurer of that organization for the remainder of the term of office of Ronald S. Ramo. Sam Sloan previously served as State Representative and as Director of Media Relations for the Manhattan Libertarian Party.
Samuel Howard Sloan a/k/a Haji Mohammed Ismail Sloan views the above implementation of a "Sam Sloan Rule" to keep him off the national website as just another piece of evidence that there are many in the Libertarian Party who hold anti-Muslim sentiments. Mr. Sloan stated his views on this issue as follows:
When I announced I was seeking the 2012 Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination and that I was a Muslim, many Libertarian Party members commented that I must be confused because I could not be a practicing Muslim and also be a Libertarian. It reminds me of the many people who said John F. Kennedy should not be elected President because he was a practicing Roman Catholic, who surely must owe his first allegiance to the Pope. I have come to realize that such prejudices exist and I just need to confront them as they arise. When I sought the New York State Libertarian Party's Gubernatorial Nomination in 2010, a major anti-Muslim whispering campaign was started against me and many incidents of anti-Muslim sentiment were expressed (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/08/is-there-anti-muslim-sentiment-in.html).
The most egregious of the anti-Muslim actions I witnessed was the institution of a "Call Your Dog Mohammad" campaign on August 26, 2011 by Dallwyn Merck, Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Queens County (reported at http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/08/dallwyn-merck-libertarian-party-officer.html). In a notarized statement, Dallwyn Merck explained what he wanted people to do: "Every time you see your dog or any dog licking or sniffing its own penis, testes, vagina or anus, or that of another dog, I urge you to say to the dog in a loud voice, “STOP IT MOHAMMAD”. On September 11, 2011, Mr. Merck followed that up with a private ceremony wherein he defecated on an open Koran he placed in a toilet and then burnt it.
Let me be clear. People in the Libertarian Party have a right to free speech and I would never support laws to criminalize what Dallwyn Merck did in support of his own right to free speech nor would I support laws to prevent people from expressing themselves as they see fit. However, I also have a right to shine a spotlight on these words and actions so others can condemn or support what has been said or done.
With the support of Dr. Tom Stevens, Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, Sam Sloan was elected on February 11, 2012 to serve as Treasurer of that organization for the remainder of the term of office of Ronald S. Ramo. Sam Sloan previously served as State Representative and as Director of Media Relations for the Manhattan Libertarian Party.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Patrick R. Killy Appointed Vice-Chair Of Long Island Libertarians, A Chartered Chapter of Empire State Libertarians
On February 22, 2012, Patrick R. Killy was appointed Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians, replacing Ronald S. Ramo, who previously served in that capacity.
Long Island Libertarians is a chartered chapter of Empire State Libertarians, founded by Dr. Tom Stevens on July 4, 2010 for the following purposes:
1. to encourage New York State residents who share libertarian ideals and principles to become politically active and to seek out avenues to promote a pro-liberty agenda;
2. to endorse candidates seeking elective office who support smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom;
3. to encourage patriotism, respect for our Founder Fathers, and a deep appreciation for the United States Constitution; and
4. to organize and charter chapters of Empire State Libertarians in order to promote local activism.
Commenting on his appointment as Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians, Mr. Killy said:
I am honored to have been given this opportunity to serve as Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians. Local activism in support of a pro-liberty agenda is essential so our elected officials will respect the individual rights of all Americans and govern within the limits placed upon them by the United States Constitution. It is also important for us to recruit candidates who support smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom.
While Long Island Libertarians is active in only 4 of the 62 counties that comprise New York State (i.e. Kings, Queens, Nassau & Suffolk counties), those 4 counties (as of the 2010 census) have a population of 7,568,304, making Long Island the most populated island in any U.S. state or territory. It is also the 17th most populous island in the world, ahead of Ireland, Jamaica and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. If it were a state, Long Island would rank 13th in population (after Virginia) and first in population density.
All I can say is that we won't run out of work to do in our efforts to promote liberty on Long Island.
You can visit the website of Empire State Libertarians at http://www.lpny.org
Long Island Libertarians is a chartered chapter of Empire State Libertarians, founded by Dr. Tom Stevens on July 4, 2010 for the following purposes:
1. to encourage New York State residents who share libertarian ideals and principles to become politically active and to seek out avenues to promote a pro-liberty agenda;
2. to endorse candidates seeking elective office who support smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom;
3. to encourage patriotism, respect for our Founder Fathers, and a deep appreciation for the United States Constitution; and
4. to organize and charter chapters of Empire State Libertarians in order to promote local activism.
Commenting on his appointment as Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians, Mr. Killy said:
I am honored to have been given this opportunity to serve as Vice-Chair of Long Island Libertarians. Local activism in support of a pro-liberty agenda is essential so our elected officials will respect the individual rights of all Americans and govern within the limits placed upon them by the United States Constitution. It is also important for us to recruit candidates who support smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom.
While Long Island Libertarians is active in only 4 of the 62 counties that comprise New York State (i.e. Kings, Queens, Nassau & Suffolk counties), those 4 counties (as of the 2010 census) have a population of 7,568,304, making Long Island the most populated island in any U.S. state or territory. It is also the 17th most populous island in the world, ahead of Ireland, Jamaica and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. If it were a state, Long Island would rank 13th in population (after Virginia) and first in population density.
All I can say is that we won't run out of work to do in our efforts to promote liberty on Long Island.
You can visit the website of Empire State Libertarians at http://www.lpny.org
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sam Sloan Slams Intactivists For Advocating Laws To Criminalize Circumcision
Sam Sloan, a candidate for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination in 2012, has strongly opposed all efforts to use government power to criminalize infant male circumcision calling such efforts "an assault on parental choice and religious freedom".
In 2011, a petition to put a referendum on the ballot in San Francisco banning circumcisions (except in the case of medical emergency) for males under the age of 18, obtained a sufficient number of signatures but was thrown off the ballot by Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi, who ruled that as "a widely practiced medical procedure", circumcision cannot be banned by San Francisco since California law forbids municipalities from regulating procedures allowed by the state. The proposed circumcision ban, if passed, would have resulted in a fine of $1,000.00, a year in jail, or both for all physicians and mohels who flouted the ban by performing circumcisions on males under the age of 18, even if called for by the parents' religious faith.
Sam Sloan, a Muslim who is also known as Haji Mohammed Ismail Sloan, made the following comment regarding this issue:
The name for male circumcision in Arabic is Khitān or Khatna. It's considered a sign of belonging to the wider Islamic community and is also referred to by the term Taharah, which means 'purity'. While Muslims are the largest religious group to practice widespread circumcision, it is not a condition for converting to Islam or carrying out religious duties. Nevertheless, circumcision is an Islamic rite and has been a religious norm from the beginning of Islam and no law should deny Muslims the right to practice their religion as they see fit or imprison physicians who perform circumcisions on Muslim boys. Such laws are an assault on parental choice and religious freedom.
Jewish religious tradition requires male children to be circumcised eight days after birth. If the San Francisco circumcision ban had been passed, Jewish parents in San Francisco who held a traditional bris, or circumcision ritual, could have been sentenced to a year in jail. It is my understanding that Jews who circumcise their sons trace the tradition back thousands of years and consider it a sign of their covenant with God and an affirmation that the Jewish people will survive.
It also appears that some intactivists (activists who want to keep the foreskin of male infants intact) may be motivated by deeply held anti-Semetic attitudes. One of the San Francisco referendum's key supporters wrote a comic book entitled "Foreskin Man" portraying a blond, Aryan-looking superhero doing battle with "Monster Mohel" (Mohels are people trained to perform ritual Jewish circumcisions.). The bearded, prayer-shawl-wearing mohel leers maniacally at defenseless infants.
Jews and Muslims are not the only religious groups opposing circumcision bans. The National Association of Evangelicals (which represents 45,000 churches) declared that while their faith neither requires nor forbids circumcision, "Jews, Muslims and Christians all trace our spiritual heritage back to Abraham. Circumcision begins with Abraham. No American government should restrict this historic tradition". Another group opposing the circumcision ban was the Committee For Parental Choice & Religious Freedom, which included a coalition of the following individuals and organizations: http://stopcircban.com/coalition/
California State Senator Mark Leno, commenting on the San Francisco referendum when it appeared it might be placed on the ballot in November, 2011, said: "As a gay man and a committed Jew, I am strongly opposed to this likely unconstitutional ballot measure to ban circumcision. It is an affront to religious freedom and to good medical practice, as there is overwhelming evidence that circumcision can be an important tool in reducing HIV transmission and other sexually transmitted diseases. San Franciscans should defeat this measure and protect parents' right to choose".
Dr. Laurence Baskin, Chief of Pediatric Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (Benioff Children's Hospital), called the San Francisco ballot measure "a bunch of nonsense" and said, "I am not going to stop doing circumcisions and this would never pass the First Amendment test". In addition to the AIDS studies showing circumcision significantly reduces the prospects of HIV transmission, Dr. Baskin cited published research "indicating that circumcision can reduce the incidence of other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as penile cancer and urinary tract infections". He also disputed claims that circumcision is mutilation or causes significant pain. The procedure causes "a minimal amount of pain if done properly so my recommendation is to use anesthesia".
Whether parents circumcise their male children for religious, health or aesthetic reasons, it is their choice and no government should dictate to parents, under the threat of imprisonment, what decisions they should make with respect to their own children.
Organized opposition to anti-circ activism was first led by a group called Roundheads United (Roundheads as opposed to helmeted Cavaliers) formed by members of the Libertarian Party of Queens County in 2006. Its stated organizational purpose, as listed on its original Yahoo! Group (now deleted), was the following:
Roundheads United is a project of Rising Action, USA, a freedom activist network, dedicated to publishing the positive aesthetic, cultural, religious, and medical reasons for encouraging routine infant male circumcision and to exposing the lies of the rabid, anti-circumcision fringe lobby that seeks to interfere with parental choice by trying to define infant male circumcision as sexual assault and child abuse, by trying to get insurance companies to stop paying for the procedure, and by trying to convince people that infant male circumcision has no benefits. Roundheads United takes an activist role to oppose the intervention of the state and to defend the rights of parents against radical anti-circ activists who are driven more by their emotions than they are by reason.
In April, 2006, anti-circumcision activists led by Chaz Antonelli allied themselves with Blay Tarnoff and Gary Donoyan (two members of the Nassau Libertarian Party), in an attempt to pack the Queens Libertarian Party's Annual Convention to elect officers that would defeat the Queens LP members who started Roundheads United. These efforts were promoted on the blog of Charles A. Antonelli, which is entitled "When Pigs Fly: The Life Of Chaz, The Travelling Leather-Biker-Bear". Mr. Antonelli, an Intactivist who nevertheless gets off on "circ talk, play and fantasy" wrote in March, 2006: "I am a self-admitted "circumsexual"; meaning that even the mere word "circumcision" will get me all horny. With my restored foreskin, which I had for 23 years prior to 10-JAN-05 (so it wasn't anything "new") I enjoyed "circ play" and foreskin torture. I've had (and own) many surgical instruments for circumcising. It was a serious fetish of mine to one day actually have a proper circumcision done". Antonelli, Tarnoff & Donnoyan planned to meet with their supporters at the Neptune Diner in Astoria, Queens to plan their strategy on the morning of the Queens LP Convention. Their efforts failed and the candidates they supported were not elected.
Soon after the Queens Libertarian Party's Annual Convention, many spoof e-mail accounts and Yahoo! Groups were created by anti-circumcision activists and soon thereafter, messages were posted in the names of Queens LP members with e-mail addresses that were almost identical to the correct e-mail address of the person but had an extra underscore or dash in it. Fake Roundheads United Yahoo! Groups were also formed with an extra underscore or dash and messages were posted there in support of keeping circumcision legal but containing information and links to provide false information to the reader in the alleged name of Queens LP members. "Rabid, anti-circ terrorists", as Jeff Grizlo called them, also started calling his grandmother and mom telling them he was "an advocate of child abuse", supported the "sexual assault of children" and most seriously, that he was "obviously obsessed with the penises of little boys". Other fake Yahoo! Groups anti-circumcision activists formed that appeared to be in favor of keeping circumcision legal were "Informed Citizens For Parental Choice", "Roundheads For Parental Choice", "Cut Them Clean", "Cut Them All", "Do You Swell With Pride" and "Clean Cut All-American Boys".
In 2011, a petition to put a referendum on the ballot in San Francisco banning circumcisions (except in the case of medical emergency) for males under the age of 18, obtained a sufficient number of signatures but was thrown off the ballot by Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi, who ruled that as "a widely practiced medical procedure", circumcision cannot be banned by San Francisco since California law forbids municipalities from regulating procedures allowed by the state. The proposed circumcision ban, if passed, would have resulted in a fine of $1,000.00, a year in jail, or both for all physicians and mohels who flouted the ban by performing circumcisions on males under the age of 18, even if called for by the parents' religious faith.
Sam Sloan, a Muslim who is also known as Haji Mohammed Ismail Sloan, made the following comment regarding this issue:
The name for male circumcision in Arabic is Khitān or Khatna. It's considered a sign of belonging to the wider Islamic community and is also referred to by the term Taharah, which means 'purity'. While Muslims are the largest religious group to practice widespread circumcision, it is not a condition for converting to Islam or carrying out religious duties. Nevertheless, circumcision is an Islamic rite and has been a religious norm from the beginning of Islam and no law should deny Muslims the right to practice their religion as they see fit or imprison physicians who perform circumcisions on Muslim boys. Such laws are an assault on parental choice and religious freedom.
Jewish religious tradition requires male children to be circumcised eight days after birth. If the San Francisco circumcision ban had been passed, Jewish parents in San Francisco who held a traditional bris, or circumcision ritual, could have been sentenced to a year in jail. It is my understanding that Jews who circumcise their sons trace the tradition back thousands of years and consider it a sign of their covenant with God and an affirmation that the Jewish people will survive.
It also appears that some intactivists (activists who want to keep the foreskin of male infants intact) may be motivated by deeply held anti-Semetic attitudes. One of the San Francisco referendum's key supporters wrote a comic book entitled "Foreskin Man" portraying a blond, Aryan-looking superhero doing battle with "Monster Mohel" (Mohels are people trained to perform ritual Jewish circumcisions.). The bearded, prayer-shawl-wearing mohel leers maniacally at defenseless infants.
Jews and Muslims are not the only religious groups opposing circumcision bans. The National Association of Evangelicals (which represents 45,000 churches) declared that while their faith neither requires nor forbids circumcision, "Jews, Muslims and Christians all trace our spiritual heritage back to Abraham. Circumcision begins with Abraham. No American government should restrict this historic tradition". Another group opposing the circumcision ban was the Committee For Parental Choice & Religious Freedom, which included a coalition of the following individuals and organizations: http://stopcircban.com/coalition/
California State Senator Mark Leno, commenting on the San Francisco referendum when it appeared it might be placed on the ballot in November, 2011, said: "As a gay man and a committed Jew, I am strongly opposed to this likely unconstitutional ballot measure to ban circumcision. It is an affront to religious freedom and to good medical practice, as there is overwhelming evidence that circumcision can be an important tool in reducing HIV transmission and other sexually transmitted diseases. San Franciscans should defeat this measure and protect parents' right to choose".
Dr. Laurence Baskin, Chief of Pediatric Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (Benioff Children's Hospital), called the San Francisco ballot measure "a bunch of nonsense" and said, "I am not going to stop doing circumcisions and this would never pass the First Amendment test". In addition to the AIDS studies showing circumcision significantly reduces the prospects of HIV transmission, Dr. Baskin cited published research "indicating that circumcision can reduce the incidence of other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as penile cancer and urinary tract infections". He also disputed claims that circumcision is mutilation or causes significant pain. The procedure causes "a minimal amount of pain if done properly so my recommendation is to use anesthesia".
Whether parents circumcise their male children for religious, health or aesthetic reasons, it is their choice and no government should dictate to parents, under the threat of imprisonment, what decisions they should make with respect to their own children.
Organized opposition to anti-circ activism was first led by a group called Roundheads United (Roundheads as opposed to helmeted Cavaliers) formed by members of the Libertarian Party of Queens County in 2006. Its stated organizational purpose, as listed on its original Yahoo! Group (now deleted), was the following:
Roundheads United is a project of Rising Action, USA, a freedom activist network, dedicated to publishing the positive aesthetic, cultural, religious, and medical reasons for encouraging routine infant male circumcision and to exposing the lies of the rabid, anti-circumcision fringe lobby that seeks to interfere with parental choice by trying to define infant male circumcision as sexual assault and child abuse, by trying to get insurance companies to stop paying for the procedure, and by trying to convince people that infant male circumcision has no benefits. Roundheads United takes an activist role to oppose the intervention of the state and to defend the rights of parents against radical anti-circ activists who are driven more by their emotions than they are by reason.
In April, 2006, anti-circumcision activists led by Chaz Antonelli allied themselves with Blay Tarnoff and Gary Donoyan (two members of the Nassau Libertarian Party), in an attempt to pack the Queens Libertarian Party's Annual Convention to elect officers that would defeat the Queens LP members who started Roundheads United. These efforts were promoted on the blog of Charles A. Antonelli, which is entitled "When Pigs Fly: The Life Of Chaz, The Travelling Leather-Biker-Bear". Mr. Antonelli, an Intactivist who nevertheless gets off on "circ talk, play and fantasy" wrote in March, 2006: "I am a self-admitted "circumsexual"; meaning that even the mere word "circumcision" will get me all horny. With my restored foreskin, which I had for 23 years prior to 10-JAN-05 (so it wasn't anything "new") I enjoyed "circ play" and foreskin torture. I've had (and own) many surgical instruments for circumcising. It was a serious fetish of mine to one day actually have a proper circumcision done". Antonelli, Tarnoff & Donnoyan planned to meet with their supporters at the Neptune Diner in Astoria, Queens to plan their strategy on the morning of the Queens LP Convention. Their efforts failed and the candidates they supported were not elected.
Soon after the Queens Libertarian Party's Annual Convention, many spoof e-mail accounts and Yahoo! Groups were created by anti-circumcision activists and soon thereafter, messages were posted in the names of Queens LP members with e-mail addresses that were almost identical to the correct e-mail address of the person but had an extra underscore or dash in it. Fake Roundheads United Yahoo! Groups were also formed with an extra underscore or dash and messages were posted there in support of keeping circumcision legal but containing information and links to provide false information to the reader in the alleged name of Queens LP members. "Rabid, anti-circ terrorists", as Jeff Grizlo called them, also started calling his grandmother and mom telling them he was "an advocate of child abuse", supported the "sexual assault of children" and most seriously, that he was "obviously obsessed with the penises of little boys". Other fake Yahoo! Groups anti-circumcision activists formed that appeared to be in favor of keeping circumcision legal were "Informed Citizens For Parental Choice", "Roundheads For Parental Choice", "Cut Them Clean", "Cut Them All", "Do You Swell With Pride" and "Clean Cut All-American Boys".
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Applause! Applause! Review of Annie at Cultural Arts Playhouse by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of the musical Annie performed at the Cultural Arts Playhouse was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and was published in Volume X, Issue 2 (2012) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Annie
Cultural Arts Playhouse (625 Old Country Road, Plainview, NY)
Reviewed 2/3/12
Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Ophan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. Annie became such a worldwide success that it is likely you know the story and will recognize most, if not all, of the musical numbers. It will be hard to restrain yourself because you will feel the urge to sing along with "Hard Knock Life", "Tomorrow", "Easy Street" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile". You will also be pleased with the ensemble numbers "N.Y.C." and "Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover)".
On the night I saw this production of Annie, there were a number of exceptional actors who were able to put a smile on my face.
The standout performer was Mel Newman, who played Miss Hannigan, the alcoholic orphanage matron who hates "Little Girls". I found her portrayal of the character to be very realistic. Ms. Newman is a fine actor with a great singing voice. Alyson Rogers, who is pretty and talented, excelled as Grace Farrell, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks' faithful Secretary. Paul Lichtman provided comic relief as Drake, the butler in the Warbucks Mansion.
Emily Gothelf played Annie and Mike Newman (with hair) played Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Both were fine in their roles but I just don't get why this street smart, needy eleven year old somehow was able to "melt the heart" of a billionaire businessman. What exactly does he see in this girl? She's not particularly bright. She's needy and demanding. Yet "Daddy" Warbucks somehow decides after only one week that he wants to adopt her as his daughter. If "Something Was Missing" from his life, it would be more believable if he fell for Grace Farrell, his Secretary, who he finally began to notice on Christmas Eve. There are also so many other problems with the story. Are we really to believe the F.B.I. somehow found the identity of Annie's parents based on an analysis of the handwriting in the letter they left her? I know I shouldn't look into things too deeply but in light of President Obama's trillion dollar stimulus plan to help lift the country out of its current economic slump, it is hard not to recognize how political this musical is, blaming President Herbert Hoover for the depression ("Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover)") and lauding President Franklin D. Roosevelt for coming up with the New Deal ("New Deal For Christmas").
There were some minor problems with this production. The static we heard during the radio broadcasts was too prominent, there was talking backstage that distracted me, and some of the actors misspoke their lines.
The program still lists all the actors playing the roles during the run of the musical so without a cast board, outsiders (people who are not family and friends of cast members) coming to the play have no idea who is performing unless they specifically ask. Also, while the program says "Refreshments can be purchased at intermission. Enjoy!", I was unable to buy anything to refresh myself. No coffee, no tea, no cold drinks. The Keurig machine they had was gone (I was told it broke) and all that was available was room temperature bottled water. It was suggested to me I should buy the warm bottled water, pour it out and then fill the bottle at the water fountain so I could bring it into the theater. I declined the offer.
I also had a problem with my reservation. I had reserved online for one person using a credit card. When I arrived at the theater to pay, I was down for two. The person checking me in had problems finding my name since, unlike in the past, he had a master list of people reserving for many performances. The rule is that if you reserve your tickets in advance, you will be called into the theater in the order in which you reserved. However, the person in front of me online reserved for one and was allowed to increase their reservation to include a number of other people with different last names and was permitted to cut to the front of the line when it came to seating. I didn't say anything but when the reserved were finally called in, I stood by while almost everyone was called in ahead of me. When I asked, "what about me", the caller could not find my name on the list and just said, "I checked you in. Go ahead." This is not the degree of professionalism I expect when I go to see a play. The prior two times I attended performances here, there was no problem. But someone needs to get on top of this so it doesn't happen again.
Theatrical Magic & Concepts (Tom McKenna) did a wonderful job with the Set Design. Leonidis Marmann was an attractive "stray dog" who visited me during the musical to say hello. His real life master, Michael Marmann, has charisma and did well in his various roles.
Annie is playing at the Cultural Arts Playhouse through February 26, 2012. If you go, I guarantee you will enjoy your evening and feel the value obtained was well worth the $20.00 you will be charged for the experience. To purchase your tickets, call 516-694-3330 or visit their website at http://www.culturalartsplayhouse.com/
Annie
Cultural Arts Playhouse (625 Old Country Road, Plainview, NY)
Reviewed 2/3/12
Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Ophan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. Annie became such a worldwide success that it is likely you know the story and will recognize most, if not all, of the musical numbers. It will be hard to restrain yourself because you will feel the urge to sing along with "Hard Knock Life", "Tomorrow", "Easy Street" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile". You will also be pleased with the ensemble numbers "N.Y.C." and "Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover)".
On the night I saw this production of Annie, there were a number of exceptional actors who were able to put a smile on my face.
The standout performer was Mel Newman, who played Miss Hannigan, the alcoholic orphanage matron who hates "Little Girls". I found her portrayal of the character to be very realistic. Ms. Newman is a fine actor with a great singing voice. Alyson Rogers, who is pretty and talented, excelled as Grace Farrell, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks' faithful Secretary. Paul Lichtman provided comic relief as Drake, the butler in the Warbucks Mansion.
Emily Gothelf played Annie and Mike Newman (with hair) played Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Both were fine in their roles but I just don't get why this street smart, needy eleven year old somehow was able to "melt the heart" of a billionaire businessman. What exactly does he see in this girl? She's not particularly bright. She's needy and demanding. Yet "Daddy" Warbucks somehow decides after only one week that he wants to adopt her as his daughter. If "Something Was Missing" from his life, it would be more believable if he fell for Grace Farrell, his Secretary, who he finally began to notice on Christmas Eve. There are also so many other problems with the story. Are we really to believe the F.B.I. somehow found the identity of Annie's parents based on an analysis of the handwriting in the letter they left her? I know I shouldn't look into things too deeply but in light of President Obama's trillion dollar stimulus plan to help lift the country out of its current economic slump, it is hard not to recognize how political this musical is, blaming President Herbert Hoover for the depression ("Hooverville (We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover)") and lauding President Franklin D. Roosevelt for coming up with the New Deal ("New Deal For Christmas").
There were some minor problems with this production. The static we heard during the radio broadcasts was too prominent, there was talking backstage that distracted me, and some of the actors misspoke their lines.
The program still lists all the actors playing the roles during the run of the musical so without a cast board, outsiders (people who are not family and friends of cast members) coming to the play have no idea who is performing unless they specifically ask. Also, while the program says "Refreshments can be purchased at intermission. Enjoy!", I was unable to buy anything to refresh myself. No coffee, no tea, no cold drinks. The Keurig machine they had was gone (I was told it broke) and all that was available was room temperature bottled water. It was suggested to me I should buy the warm bottled water, pour it out and then fill the bottle at the water fountain so I could bring it into the theater. I declined the offer.
I also had a problem with my reservation. I had reserved online for one person using a credit card. When I arrived at the theater to pay, I was down for two. The person checking me in had problems finding my name since, unlike in the past, he had a master list of people reserving for many performances. The rule is that if you reserve your tickets in advance, you will be called into the theater in the order in which you reserved. However, the person in front of me online reserved for one and was allowed to increase their reservation to include a number of other people with different last names and was permitted to cut to the front of the line when it came to seating. I didn't say anything but when the reserved were finally called in, I stood by while almost everyone was called in ahead of me. When I asked, "what about me", the caller could not find my name on the list and just said, "I checked you in. Go ahead." This is not the degree of professionalism I expect when I go to see a play. The prior two times I attended performances here, there was no problem. But someone needs to get on top of this so it doesn't happen again.
Theatrical Magic & Concepts (Tom McKenna) did a wonderful job with the Set Design. Leonidis Marmann was an attractive "stray dog" who visited me during the musical to say hello. His real life master, Michael Marmann, has charisma and did well in his various roles.
Annie is playing at the Cultural Arts Playhouse through February 26, 2012. If you go, I guarantee you will enjoy your evening and feel the value obtained was well worth the $20.00 you will be charged for the experience. To purchase your tickets, call 516-694-3330 or visit their website at http://www.culturalartsplayhouse.com/
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ed Konecnik Quotes Ayn Rand On Her Birthday & Wonders Whether We Are Doomed
Ed Konecnik, a member of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, who often writes Letters To The Editor and has articles published in local newspapers, sent me the following release on February 2, 2012, which is Ayn Rand's birthday:
The year 2012 promises to be a year of momentous and consequential events among them the end of the Mayan Calendar and the possible re-election of President Obama. Either event has the potential to cause some dismay, discomfort and suffering.
The disastrous effects of President Obama's economic policies are a matter of record. His intense relentless commitment to social justice and a redistributive agenda has added almost 5 trillion dollars to our debt in just three years. His spending, borrowing, stimulating, loans to benefactors and collaborators for investments in unproven green energy, TARP bailouts of banks and institutions have not increased employment or improved the economy. These policies are manifestations of an antipathy to the capitalist system and rule of law. Unfortunately, many Americans are oblivious to the consequences of unsustainable budget deficits in spite of reports from Greece and other EU countries whose welfare state economies have devastated them to the brink of ruin. Anyone with a modicum of intellectual honesty must acknowledge you cannot legislate the poor into prosperity nor multiply wealth by dividing it.
Are we as human beings not really responsible for our own acts and so we need a government to direct and control us? Must we yield our individual rights to a ruling elite that makes any laws it wishes and forces them upon everyone in any manner it wishes? Ayn Rand warned, "When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you, you may know that your society is doomed."
Should we prepare for more than one cataclysmic event in 2012? We cannot change the Mayan Calendar but we can vote.
The Libertarian Party of Queens County celebrated Ayn Rand's birthday at a luncheon held at the Aqueduct Buffet located at Resorts World NYC.
The year 2012 promises to be a year of momentous and consequential events among them the end of the Mayan Calendar and the possible re-election of President Obama. Either event has the potential to cause some dismay, discomfort and suffering.
The disastrous effects of President Obama's economic policies are a matter of record. His intense relentless commitment to social justice and a redistributive agenda has added almost 5 trillion dollars to our debt in just three years. His spending, borrowing, stimulating, loans to benefactors and collaborators for investments in unproven green energy, TARP bailouts of banks and institutions have not increased employment or improved the economy. These policies are manifestations of an antipathy to the capitalist system and rule of law. Unfortunately, many Americans are oblivious to the consequences of unsustainable budget deficits in spite of reports from Greece and other EU countries whose welfare state economies have devastated them to the brink of ruin. Anyone with a modicum of intellectual honesty must acknowledge you cannot legislate the poor into prosperity nor multiply wealth by dividing it.
Are we as human beings not really responsible for our own acts and so we need a government to direct and control us? Must we yield our individual rights to a ruling elite that makes any laws it wishes and forces them upon everyone in any manner it wishes? Ayn Rand warned, "When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you, you may know that your society is doomed."
Should we prepare for more than one cataclysmic event in 2012? We cannot change the Mayan Calendar but we can vote.
The Libertarian Party of Queens County celebrated Ayn Rand's birthday at a luncheon held at the Aqueduct Buffet located at Resorts World NYC.
Libertarian Party Of Utah Officially Endorses Gary Johnson For President
On January 31, 2012, Jack Shannon, Utah LP Chairman, made the following announcement:
The leadership of the Libertarian Party of Utah is excited to announce our official endorsement of Gary Johnson for the LP presidential candidacy.
We believe that Governor Johnson's experience sets him apart, and that he will best carry the torch of liberty in the 2012 election.
We wish him much luck at the upcoming convention.
The Utah Libertarian Party joins South Carolina and Nebraska in endorsing Gary Johnson.
On January 10, 2012, it was reported here that the South Carolina Libertarian Executive Committee endorsed Gary Johnson: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/south-carolina-libertarian-executive.html
On January 6, 2012, it was reported that the Nebraska Libertarian Party Central Committee endorsed Gary Johnson: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/nebraska-libertarian-party-central.html
The first Libertarian Party organization in the nation to endorse Gary Johnson for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination was the Libertarian Party of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, which endorsed him on December 28, 2011 seconds after he announced he was seeking the LP nomination for President. That endorsement was reported in the following article: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/12/libertarian-party-of-northampton-county.html
The leadership of the Libertarian Party of Utah is excited to announce our official endorsement of Gary Johnson for the LP presidential candidacy.
We believe that Governor Johnson's experience sets him apart, and that he will best carry the torch of liberty in the 2012 election.
We wish him much luck at the upcoming convention.
The Utah Libertarian Party joins South Carolina and Nebraska in endorsing Gary Johnson.
On January 10, 2012, it was reported here that the South Carolina Libertarian Executive Committee endorsed Gary Johnson: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/south-carolina-libertarian-executive.html
On January 6, 2012, it was reported that the Nebraska Libertarian Party Central Committee endorsed Gary Johnson: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2012/01/nebraska-libertarian-party-central.html
The first Libertarian Party organization in the nation to endorse Gary Johnson for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination was the Libertarian Party of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, which endorsed him on December 28, 2011 seconds after he announced he was seeking the LP nomination for President. That endorsement was reported in the following article: http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2011/12/libertarian-party-of-northampton-county.html
Jarrett Payne Dunning Appointed President Of The Objectivist Party Of Virginia
On February 1, 2012, Jarrett Payne Dunning was appointed President of the Objectivist Party of Virginia by the Governing Board of the Objectivist Party.
The Objectivist Party of Virginia was chartered on November 29, 2008. It has had four Presidents, who have been:
Heidi Gresko - 11/29/08 through 12/19/08
Jules Oscar Gaudreau, III - 12/19/08 through 8/10/09
Tyler Keylon - 8/10/09 through 2/1/12
Jarrett Payne Dunning - 2/1/12 to Present
Upon accepting the position, Jarrett Payne Dunning issued the following statement:
My journey to Objectivism began long before I realized it. As a student in primary school, I was constantly put in situations which went against my most basic values. These were values I did not have a name for at the time, but values none the less. I was used by others for my intellect and I despised this theft of my own talent. I was constantly told to help others with their work, simply because others thought I should. I was asked to neglect my own tasks for the sake of others and this was all done in the name of duty.
The formation of my Objectivist philosophy would not take root until secondary school. It was here I was able to name and refine the values I held for so very long. In secondary school, I discovered an area of competition in which I could serve myself. That area was debate and I soon began to excel at it. In my senior year, I would obtain two state rings. I would win a ring for Impromptu Forensics and one for Lincoln-Douglas debate. These accomplishments meant more to me than a team trophy could ever. These were jewels I had obtained with my own intellect and ability and were all the more beautiful for that very reason. While in my debate career, I came across the works of Ayn Rand and have not looked back since. Currently, I am working on my undergraduate degree in history and have every intention of pursuing my Doctorate.
I took this position of President of the Objectivist Party of Virginia to further my own values. Values that I have come to realize are shared by many.
The Objectivist Party of Virginia was chartered on November 29, 2008. It has had four Presidents, who have been:
Heidi Gresko - 11/29/08 through 12/19/08
Jules Oscar Gaudreau, III - 12/19/08 through 8/10/09
Tyler Keylon - 8/10/09 through 2/1/12
Jarrett Payne Dunning - 2/1/12 to Present
Upon accepting the position, Jarrett Payne Dunning issued the following statement:
My journey to Objectivism began long before I realized it. As a student in primary school, I was constantly put in situations which went against my most basic values. These were values I did not have a name for at the time, but values none the less. I was used by others for my intellect and I despised this theft of my own talent. I was constantly told to help others with their work, simply because others thought I should. I was asked to neglect my own tasks for the sake of others and this was all done in the name of duty.
The formation of my Objectivist philosophy would not take root until secondary school. It was here I was able to name and refine the values I held for so very long. In secondary school, I discovered an area of competition in which I could serve myself. That area was debate and I soon began to excel at it. In my senior year, I would obtain two state rings. I would win a ring for Impromptu Forensics and one for Lincoln-Douglas debate. These accomplishments meant more to me than a team trophy could ever. These were jewels I had obtained with my own intellect and ability and were all the more beautiful for that very reason. While in my debate career, I came across the works of Ayn Rand and have not looked back since. Currently, I am working on my undergraduate degree in history and have every intention of pursuing my Doctorate.
I took this position of President of the Objectivist Party of Virginia to further my own values. Values that I have come to realize are shared by many.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Objectivist Party Governing Board Accepts The Resignation Of Ronald S. Ramo As OPNY Treasurer & Appoints Paul A. Palombo, III To The Position
On January 27, 2012, the Governing Board of the Objectivist Party accepted the resignation of Ronald S. Ramo as Treasurer of the Objectivist Party of New York and terminated his membership in the Objectivist Party.
Dallwyn Merck, a member of the Governing Board, commented on these actions as follows:
Two incidents involving "conspicuous displays of ignorance" led to the Governing Board's unanimous acceptance of the resignation of Ron Ramo as OPNY Treasurer. The first was his public statement that he could not attend an event of the Objectivist Party of New York because he would be "in church" at the time. The second was a blast text message he sent out to friends reading, "May the peace and love of God that abides in this Christmas season be with you in the New Year and the rest of your life". Attempts to get assurances such incidences would not occur in the future were unsuccessful.
The Objectivist Party applies no litmus test with respect to who may join the party. Individuals who consider themselves nominally Christian or who have a general belief in God are welcome because the path to Objectivism is a journey and every person must travel it at their own pace. However, when an individual agrees to serve as an officer in one of the affiliates of the Objectivist Party, it sends the wrong message if that person engages in public displays of devotion to supernatural beings and/or belief in superstitions.
As our country rises above faith to embrace science and reason, the Objectivist Party is perfectly situated to lead our nation into a bright new future grounded in enlightened self-interest and purposeful living. Officers in affiliates of the Objectivist Party must reject mysticism and be an inspiration for all who look to the party to be an effective influence on cultural remnants that keep us tied to our past.
The Governing Board of the Objectivist Party appointed Paul A. Palombo, III to serve as the new Treasurer of the Objectivist Party of New York.
Mr. Palombo issued the following statement introducing himself to the members of the Objectivist Party:
I am 34 years old and married and have one child that is almost 3. I grew up in Buffalo, NY and I'd say my family was upper middle class. I went to Catholic School from 4th - 12th grade, mainly because Buffalo City Schools aren't very good. Somewhere during college, I realized I did not believe that Jesus Christ was God. I have made it clear to my wife I will not be endorsing religion. And if my daughter ever asks me questions about God or Jesus, she will get my honest answers. I want her to make her own decisions.
I have a Bachelor's degree from SUNY Brockport and an MBA from Canisius College. I was not very much into politics until about 2006 when I got an XM radio and started listening to conservative talk radio at work. I agreed with their fiscal policies, but not usually with their social policies. For example it has always boggled my mind why prostitution would be illegal.
I heard Atlas Shrugged mentioned on one of those shows and read it. And I loved it. Then I heard about Ron Paul and familiarized myself with Libertarians. I also like Gary Johnson a lot. I wish he would have had more opportunity to debate. I've also read The Fountainhead, Anthem and am currently reading We the Living, which I have to admit is hard to read because it is so depressing. I've also seen the documentary Ayn Rand in her own words. I don't mind talking politics and philosophy with people. I love debating altruists, they never have good answers.
I am a research analyst for a small health insurance company. I do statistical, clinical and trend analysis for our employer groups in an effort to curb their costs.
My reason for joining the Objectivist Party is my belief that the more this philosophy gets into the mainstream, the more people will like it. I'd like to be on the ground floor of this. Our country is drifting into the wrong part of the water and I'd like to try and help steer it back.
Dallwyn Merck, a member of the Governing Board, commented on these actions as follows:
Two incidents involving "conspicuous displays of ignorance" led to the Governing Board's unanimous acceptance of the resignation of Ron Ramo as OPNY Treasurer. The first was his public statement that he could not attend an event of the Objectivist Party of New York because he would be "in church" at the time. The second was a blast text message he sent out to friends reading, "May the peace and love of God that abides in this Christmas season be with you in the New Year and the rest of your life". Attempts to get assurances such incidences would not occur in the future were unsuccessful.
The Objectivist Party applies no litmus test with respect to who may join the party. Individuals who consider themselves nominally Christian or who have a general belief in God are welcome because the path to Objectivism is a journey and every person must travel it at their own pace. However, when an individual agrees to serve as an officer in one of the affiliates of the Objectivist Party, it sends the wrong message if that person engages in public displays of devotion to supernatural beings and/or belief in superstitions.
As our country rises above faith to embrace science and reason, the Objectivist Party is perfectly situated to lead our nation into a bright new future grounded in enlightened self-interest and purposeful living. Officers in affiliates of the Objectivist Party must reject mysticism and be an inspiration for all who look to the party to be an effective influence on cultural remnants that keep us tied to our past.
The Governing Board of the Objectivist Party appointed Paul A. Palombo, III to serve as the new Treasurer of the Objectivist Party of New York.
Mr. Palombo issued the following statement introducing himself to the members of the Objectivist Party:
I am 34 years old and married and have one child that is almost 3. I grew up in Buffalo, NY and I'd say my family was upper middle class. I went to Catholic School from 4th - 12th grade, mainly because Buffalo City Schools aren't very good. Somewhere during college, I realized I did not believe that Jesus Christ was God. I have made it clear to my wife I will not be endorsing religion. And if my daughter ever asks me questions about God or Jesus, she will get my honest answers. I want her to make her own decisions.
I have a Bachelor's degree from SUNY Brockport and an MBA from Canisius College. I was not very much into politics until about 2006 when I got an XM radio and started listening to conservative talk radio at work. I agreed with their fiscal policies, but not usually with their social policies. For example it has always boggled my mind why prostitution would be illegal.
I heard Atlas Shrugged mentioned on one of those shows and read it. And I loved it. Then I heard about Ron Paul and familiarized myself with Libertarians. I also like Gary Johnson a lot. I wish he would have had more opportunity to debate. I've also read The Fountainhead, Anthem and am currently reading We the Living, which I have to admit is hard to read because it is so depressing. I've also seen the documentary Ayn Rand in her own words. I don't mind talking politics and philosophy with people. I love debating altruists, they never have good answers.
I am a research analyst for a small health insurance company. I do statistical, clinical and trend analysis for our employer groups in an effort to curb their costs.
My reason for joining the Objectivist Party is my belief that the more this philosophy gets into the mainstream, the more people will like it. I'd like to be on the ground floor of this. Our country is drifting into the wrong part of the water and I'd like to try and help steer it back.
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