The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the U.S. The Libertarian party is dedicated to strictly limited government, a pure free market economy, private property rights, civil liberties, personal freedoms with personal responsibilities, and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade. Libertarians of South Central Kansas (LSOCK) are an affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Kansas (http://www.lpks.org/) We meet every Tuesday night (except holidays) from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at Cathy's Westway Cafe located at 1215 W. Pawnee (just west of Seneca Street) in Wichita, Kansas. All who support personal responsibility and individual liberty are invited to attend!
LPKS/LSOCK P.O. Box 2456 Wichita, Kansas 67201
1-800-335-1776

Friday, December 28, 2012

A Libertarian’s New Year’s Resolutions
Written in 1998 by Harry Browne, 1996 & 2000 Libertarian Party Nominee for President
  1. I resolve to sell liberty by appealing to the self-interest of each prospect, rather than preaching to people and expecting them to suddenly adopt my ideas of right and wrong.
  2. I resolve to keep from being drawn into arguments or debates. My purpose is to inspire people to want liberty — not to prove that they’re wrong.
  3. I resolve to listen when people tell me of their wants and needs, so I can help them see how a free society will satisfy those needs.
  4. I resolve to identify myself, when appropriate, with the social goals someone may seek — a cleaner environment, more help for the poor, a less divisive society — and try to show him that those goals can never be achieved by government, but will be well served in a free society.
  5. I resolve to be compassionate and respectful of the beliefs and needs that lead people to seek government help. I don’t have to approve of their subsidies or policies — but if I don’t acknowledge their needs, I have no hope of helping them find a better way to solve their problems.
  6. No matter what the issue, I resolve to keep returning to the central point: how much better off the individual will be in a free society.
  7. I resolve to acknowledge my good fortune in having been born an American. Any plan for improvement must begin with a recognition of the good things we have. To speak only of America’s defects will make me a tiresome crank.
  8. I resolve to focus on the ways America could be so much better with a very small government — not to dwell on all the wrongs that exist today.
  9. I resolve to cleanse myself of hate, resentment, and bitterness. Such things steal time and attention from the work that must be done.
  10. I resolve to speak, dress, and act in a respectable manner. I may be the first Libertarian someone has encountered, and it’s important that he get a good first impression. No one will hear the message if the messenger is unattractive.
  11. I resolve to remind myself that someone’s “stupid” opinion may be an opinion I once held. If I can grow, why can’t I help him grow?
  12. I resolve not to raise my voice in any discussion. In a shouting match, no one wins, no one changes his mind, and no one will be inspired to join our quest for a free society.
  13. I resolve not to adopt the tactics of Republicans and Democrats. They use character assassination, evasions, and intimidation because they have no real benefits to offer Americans. We, on the other hand, are offering to set people free — and so we can win simply by focusing on the better life our proposals will bring.
  14. I resolve to be civil to my opponents, and treat them with respect. However anyone chooses to treat me, it’s important that I be a better person than my enemies.
###

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government, to do so in the most humane way possible, to greatly reduce taxes, and to slash high government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution.

   


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Monday, December 24, 2012

From The LPKS State Chairman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 21, 2012

REF: OPEN CARRY LAWSUITS PETITIONS FILED AGAINST UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF KCK, LEAWOOD, and PRAIRIE VILLAGE.

In February, 2012, the Libertarian Party of Kansas began publically challenging the unconstitutional bans of the open-carry of firearms in Overland Park, KCK, and other municipalities in Kansas. Some communities, like Overland Park, Gardner, and Wichita have already acted by amending their ordinances to comply with state and federal law. Some communities, like KCK, Leawood, and Prairie Village have indicated they have no intention of complying with the law unless they are forced to do so by the Courts.

Therefore, the LPKS has taken the step of requesting the Johnson and Wyandotte County Courts to review the ordinances, find them illegal and violative of fundamental constitutional rights, and force these communities to comply with state and federal law.

The LPKS has prepared a Petition against Lenexa, KS, as well, but has decided to hold off legal action because Lenexa has recently notified the LPKS that they would like to discuss a path toward compromise.

We believe our Petitions lay out our positions very well and we believe we have a compelling case, which will be successful in preventing governing bodies from illegally restricting fundamental liberties.

With the passage of the constitutional amendment to the Kansas Bill of Rights in 2010, every person who is a resident of Kansas has an unquestionable right to bear arms. The Kansas constitution states - ‘A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose’. In addition to the amendment, Kansas open carry law 12-16, 124 is clear that counties and cities may regulate open carry but not institute a complete ban.

This denial of inherent truth will not stand! Our efforts will continue until all law abiding citizens in Kansas have freedom from persecution to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights to bear arms by open carry.

The Libertarian Party openly and activity fights daily for individual rights/liberties of the citizens of Kansas. The legal right to personal security of life and property at all times are paramount.
 
For more information, contact

Al Terwelp
Chair, Libertarian Party of Kansas
785-665-7581
chair@lpks.org

Earl McIntosh
Second Amendment Chair
etmcintosh@cox.net
785-213-1715

Monday, December 17, 2012

End Of The Year Message

Dear Fellow Libertarian,
We are fast approaching Christmas and New Year’s Day. Days of hope and possibility. Days of thanks and new beginnings.
This is a time of love and good cheer. Of gratitude and giving.
Thank you for your commitment to liberty. Thank you for the many things you have done to advance the cause of liberty and small government.
Who you are and what you do fans the flames of freedom. Your support gives oxygen and fuel to the torch of liberty.
For the last 12 years, Big Government politicians have radically increased government spending, taxing, and borrowing. Republican and Democratic politicians have slashed and burned our liberties and our livelihoods.
But in 2012, in this darkness, our Libertarian Party candidates re-ignited America’s torch of liberty. We gave new heat and light for the America we could have and should have: a Libertarian America.
2012 was NOT the high point for liberty and the Libertarian Party.
2012 was a glimmer and a glimpse of what is possible for us: a New Dawn for freedom in America. 
“Freedom is not a fluke,” said Gary Johnson. “It’s the future.” 
We face choices and chances.
If you and I and our fellow Libertarians make the right choices, we can increase our chances.
Inaction is the wrong choice. Inaction gives aid and comfort to the opponents of freedom in America. Inaction paves the path to Big Government.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” wrote Edmund Burke.
Action is the right choice. Intelligent, rational action.
Small government is the right chance. The right path to liberty.
The only way to expand liberty is to shrink government. The only way to restore liberty is make government small.
Our 2012 Libertarian Party campaigns – and our results – prove that there is a huge untapped demand for individual liberty and small government.
But our 2012 Libertarian Party campaigns were just a taste of what’s to come for liberty…IF we embrace the hope and possibility of the Christmas Season.
It’s a season to celebrate and cherish - and give the gift of liberty.
Will you give a gift to the Libertarian Party – so we can give the gift of liberty to your family and friends and co-workers?
Why give a Christmas Gift donation to the Libertarian Party?
When you donate to the Libertarian Party, we give liberty to everyone you love.
The Libertarian Party exposes and informs more Americans each year on the nature and value of liberty than all other libertarian organizations combined!
Each Presidential Election Year, our LP candidates may well attract and enroll more new people into the libertarian movement than all other libertarian organizations do in a decade.
Week after week, year after year, the Libertarian Party advertises and publicizes the libertarian alternative on key issues in the news. We offer libertarian solutions to America’s social and economic problems.
We give hope to the discouraged – and possibility to those who haven’t seen the way out: liberty!
Isn’t liberty the gift you want to give?
The Libertarian Party isn’t a fad, isn’t a fluke: it’s the future.
Would you take a moment right now and affirm your love of liberty, your hope for liberty, your desire for liberty in your lifetime?
If 2012 has been a good year for you, if you’ve made your own “good fortune” through your thought and judgment and efforts, would you please donate $10,000 or $5,000 or $2,500 now, as your generous Christmas gift donation? 
If “It’s a Wonderful Life” for you and your family, if you are moved and inspired, will you please donate $1,500 or $850 now – in this Season of Giving?
Will you be the “Miracle on 34th Street” for the Libertarian Party? Will you please contribute $250 or $500 today?
Will you help the Libertarian Party “Make a Miracle” for liberty?
Please give the gift of hope and possibility today. Please click and donate now or mail your donation to the address below with "A Christmas Gift for Liberty" in the memo.
Thank you.
Live and let live, Give and Let Give.
Yours in liberty,

Carla Howell, Executive Director
Libertarian Party
P.S. We only have only 7 days left until Christmas, only 7 days to put your gift “under the tree.” Your Christmas gift donation to the Libertarian Party lets us share the gift of  liberty with hundreds of thousands of Americans. Will you please help us share the blessings of liberty with your donation of $250 or $150 today? Thank you. And may your Christmas and New Year’s be filled with joy and love.

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2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
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LSOCK NEWS December 17, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. From The Editor
  2. Tuesday LSOCK Meeting Last for 2012
  3. Joel Balam’s Vote Total sets National LP Record
  4. David Nolan on Essential Liberty

     1.   From The Editor
Hello everyone,
Have a joyous Christmas - if you celebrate Christmas – not all do (and not all  Christians do as well) or any of the other holidays that you might observe this winter solstice.
Much ado has been made lately regarding the 2012 Solstice due to the Mayan calendar ending on that date. We probably needn’t worry too much about the Mayan Calendar predicting the end of the world. It is just the point where their calendar resets itself. This does not mean the end of the world. It is from this point that the Mayans measured the 26,000 (actually closer to 25,920) year period of the cycle of the wobble of the Earth’s axis. This is known as the “Great” or “Sidereal” Year. The Winter Solstice in 2012 AD (or CE for those who are non-christians) is where in this cycle the sun is centered in the middle of the Milky Way as seen from Earth at dawn on the morning of the solstice.
The ancient Egyptians measured this period from when the constellation Orion is at its lowest height above the horizon at dawn on the vernal equinox., 10.500 BC was the last time that happened. This was the “beginning” or “end” time for the ancient Egyptians. I understand that 30 or more ancient cultures around the world were aware of this period of 26,000 years. That any ancient culture was aware of this cycle at all is staggering and calls into question what has generally been our accepted history of human civilization.
However, we certainly can readily see that “the time’s, they are a’changin” to use the words from a Bob Dylan song. This is obvious from a variety of current events. The states are standing up to the feds now for their (our) rights on many fronts, firearms, education, healthcare and cannabis laws to name just a few. The United States debt and the inability of our Congress to do anything but make government ever more oppressive and wasteful is now also coming to a head.
Whether our nation will change for the better or worse will depend on how the battle for liberty goes. We must do more to educate the public of the value and critical importance of individual freedom and free markets.
We must promote our Libertarian philosophy and policies and demonstrate that libertarianism is respect for others’ property and rights and decisions on how they wish to live their lives. That human freedom in the greatest human good and that it results in the greatest benefits to both individuals and society.
We are not alone in this effort as many grass-roots citizens groups are also working toward the goal of less government – more freedom!
Thank you and God Bless you all.
For Liberty
Steven A. Rosile
Editor, LSOCK NEWS

2.       Tuesday LSOCK Meeting Last for 2012

As the last two Tuesdays this year are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day the last LSOCK Supper Meeting for 2012 will be Tuesday, the 18th of December.

3.       Joel Balam’s Vote Total sets National LP Record
From Ballot Access News    www.ballot-access.org
At last month’s election, the only two candidates on the ballot for U.S. House, Kansas 3rd district, were Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder and Libertarian nominee Joel Balam. The district includes Wyandotte County, Kansas, which contains Kansas City, Kansas. In Wyandotte County, Balam polled 18,589 votes, and Yoder received 19,853 votes.
In the district as a whole, Balam received 92,675 votes, whereas Yoder received 201,087. Balam’s share of the vote in the district, 31.5%, is the best showing by a Libertarian for U.S. House in the party’s history. Here is Balam’s web page. He appears to have active involvement with veterans groups, and a church group. His mother was Hispanic and some of the content on the web page is in Spanish.

 4.       The Essence of Liberty by David Nolan
As a founder of the Libertarian Party and editor-in-chief of California Liberty, I am often asked how to tell if someone is "really" a libertarian.  There are probably as many different definitions of the word "libertarian" as there are people who claim the label. These range from overly broad ("anyone who calls himself a libertarian is one") to impossibly doctrinaire ("only those who agree with every word in the party platform are truly annointed").
My own definition is that in order to be considered a libertarian, at least in the political context, an individual must adhere without compromise to five key points. Ideally, of course, we'd all be in agreement on everything. But we're not, and probably never will be. Debate is likely to continue indefinitely on such matters as abortion, foreign policy, and whether, when, and how various government programs can be discontinued or privatized. But as far as I'm concerned, if someone is sound on these five points, he/she is de facto a libertarian; if he fails on even one of the five, he isn't.
What then, are the "indispensible five" -- the points of no compromise?
YOU OWN YOURSELF                                        
First and foremost, libertarians believe in the the principle of self-ownership. You own your own body and mind; no extermal power has the right to force you into the service of "society" or "mankind" or any other individual or group for any purpose, however noble. Slavery is wrong, period.
Because you own yourself, you are responsible for your own well-being. Others are not obligated to feed you, clothe you, or provide you with health care. Most of us choose to help one another voluntarily, for a variety of reasons -- and that's as it should be -- but "forced compassion" is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms.
THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE
Self-ownership implies the right to self-defense. Libertarians yield to no one in their support for our right as individuals to keep and bear arms. We only wish that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution said "The right to self-defense being inalienable..." instead of that stuff about a "well-regulated militia".  Anyone who thinks that government -- any government -- has the right to disarm its citizens is NOT a libertarian!
NO "CRIMINAL POSSESSION" LAWS
In fact, libertarians believe that individuals have the right to own and use anything- gold, guns, marijuana, sexually explicit material- so long as they do not harm others through force or the threat of force. Laws criminalizing the simple possession of anything are tailor-made for police states; it is all too easy to plant a forbidden substance in someone's home, car or pocket. Libertarians are as tough on crime- real crime- as anyone. But criminal possession laws are an affront to liberty, whatever the rhetoric used to defend them.
NO TAXES ON PRODUCTIVITY
In an ideal world, there would be no taxation. All services would be paid for on an as-used basis. But in a less-than-ideal world, some services will be force-financed for the foreseeable future. However, not all taxes are equally deleterious, and the worst form of taxation is a tax on productivity -- i.e., an income tax -- and no libertarian supports this type of taxation.
What kind of taxation is least harmful? This is a topic still open for debate. My own preference is for a single tax on land. Is this "the" libertarian position on taxes? No. But all libertarians oppose any form of income tax.
A SOUND MONEY SYSTEM
The fifth and final key test of anyone's claim to being a libertarian is their support for an honest money system; i.e. one where the currency is backed by something of true value (usually gold or silver). Fiat money -- money with no backing, whose acceptance is mandated by the State -- is simply legalized counterfeiting and is one of the keys to expanding government power.
The five points enumerated here are not a complete, comprehensive prescription for freedom... but they would take us most of the way. A government which cannot conscript, confiscate, or counterfeit, and which imposes no criminal penalties for the mere possession and peaceful use of anything, is one that almost all libertarians would be comfortable with.

*editors note - David Nolan passed away in late 2010 just a few weeks after the Congressional elections. Nolan had just ran for US Senator for Arizona against John McCain. I saw their Senatorial Debate and Nolan clearly won. David Nolan is sorely missed by us all.

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Libertarian Party: Halt the Massacre of Innocent Children by Ending Prohibition on Self-Defense in Schools :

Families throughout the nation mourn the horrific deaths of 26 people, including 20 young children, killed Friday during a Newtown, Conn., mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

“It’s impossible to imagine the depths of despair and grief that the victims’ families are experiencing right now,” said Geoffrey J. Neale, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. “Our hearts go out to every one of them.”

In the immediate aftermath of news surrounding the shootings, pundits and politicians called for new restrictions on firearm ownership, exactly the opposite of the approach needed to combat tragic gun violence in schools.

“We've created a 'gun-free zone,' a killing zone, for the sickest criminals on the face of the Earth," said R. Lee Wrights, vice-chair of the Libertarian Party. "We've given them an open killing field, and we've made the children of this country the victims."

Wrights pointed out that merely the knowledge that armed people will be present acts as a deterrent for would-be shooters.

"They're not going to walk into a police station, and why not? Because that's where the guns are," he said.

The Federal Gun Free Schools Zone Act prohibits carrying firearms on school grounds in most cases, effectively criminalizing the right to self-defense in places filled with the most vulnerable citizens. Without that federal prohibition, adults working at the school would have been free to defend themselves, very possibly saving the lives of many of the young children and adults who were slain in this horrific tragedy.

"We must stop blinding ourselves to the obvious: Most of these mass killings are happening at schools where self-defense is prohibited," said Carla Howell, executive director of the Libertarian Party. "Gun prohibition sets the stage for the slaughter of innocent children. We must repeal these anti-self-defense laws now to minimize the likelihood they will occur in the future and to the limit the damage done when they do."

Responsible gun owners can and do prevent mass shootings from occurring and escalating.

  • A 1997 high school shooting in Pearl, Miss., was halted by the school's vice principal after he retrieved the Colt .45 he kept in his truck.
  • A 1998 middle school shooting ended when a man living next door heard gunfire and apprehended the shooter with his shotgun.
  • A 2002 terrorist attack at an Israeli school was quickly stopped by an armed teacher and a school guard.
  • A 2002 law school shooting in Grundy, Va., came to an abrupt conclusion when students carrying firearms confronted the shooter.
  • A 2007 mall shooting in Ogden, Utah, ended when an armed off-duty police officer intervened.
  • A 2009 workplace shooting in Houston, Texas, was halted by two coworkers who carried concealed handguns.
  • A 2012 church shooting in Aurora, Colo., was stopped by a member of the congregation carrying a gun.
  • At the recent mall shooting in Portland, Ore., the gunman took his own life minutes after being confronted by a shopper carrying a concealed weapon.

For several years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, gun prohibitionists blocked pilots from carrying firearms. But after it became undeniable that guns are an essential line of defense against hijackers and other terrorists when the lives of innocent passengers are at stake, Congress finally passed legislation allowing it.

It's time to take the same approach with teachers, school administrators, and security guards, who should be allowed to carry the tools necessary to protect the students in their care. It's time to put an end to gun-free zones and make it much easier for responsible adults to arm, train, and protect themselves and the people they love from the violent criminals who seek to harm them.

"You can't depend on somebody else to take care of your own life for you," Wrights said. "It's too precious to put it into the hands of somebody else, particularly when the seconds count."

The Libertarian Party Platform on Self-Defense states: “The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the individual right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.”
###

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government, to do so in the most humane way possible, to greatly reduce taxes, and to slash high government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution.

   


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2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

LSOCK NEWS December 12, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE:
  1. From The Editor
Hello everyone,
I am going to give a belated thank you to our volunteers at the Kansas State Fair this year for all the effort they put in. They are Al Terwelp, Sharon DuBois, Robert Garrard, Steve Rosile, Shawn Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Mike Brincefield, Mike Wilson, Gordon Bakken, Jesse Bryant, Garrette Metzner and Dave Thomas.
The booth was a great success this year with many fair-goers showing a lot of interest in the Libertarian Party.
I also want to thank all of our LPKS candidates for public office. Our vote totals across the board were up significantly this election with a high of 31 % for Barry Albin in his campaign for Morris County Commissioner.
Nationally, Mike Fellows race for Montana Clerk of the Supreme Court set a new record for a Libertarian Party candidate in a state wide race of 42.9%. This was a two way race and Mike lost to the incumbent but that vote total shows that Libertarian candidates can (and should be) considered serious candidates.
As reported by Ballot Access News LP Presidential Candidate Governor Gary Johnson received 0.99% of the vote nationwide and his total number of votes –
over 1.200.000 (not all states have released their official totals yet) - is the highest ever for an LP Presidential candidate.

I want to thank Lacey Price and Jeremy White for organizing several sign waving events for the Gary Johnson campaign in the Wichita area. LSOCK Chair Gordon Bakken and I participated in one of these at US 54 and the Oliver Street overpass and the number of honks and waves showed that the LP has a lot of support from the people here in Kansas.

In other election news, Wichita voters again defeated fluoridation of its municipal water system despite a high level of advertising from the we-know-better-than-you crowd. I attribute this to a high level of opposition from several grass-roots citizens groups including some local professionals and national fluoride opponents that showed the public that fluoride is not supported by all the professionals and experts,.as is generally claimed by fluoride proponents.
The LPKS Executive Committee met in Council Grove Saturday, November 17 to discuss and plan the future of the LP in Kansas. One interesting fact brought out by LPKS Chair Al Terwelp was that the LPKS in the only political party in Kansas that has increased its registered voter numbers every year for the past six years and our current registration stands at  around 1300, an all time high. This despite the fact that many Libertarians changed their registrations to Republican this year in order to support Ron Paul’s Presidential Campaign effort in Kansas.
The LPKS Excom set the date for the 2013 LPKS Annual Meeting/Convention. It will be held Saturday, April 20. The location and other specifics are not yet set but that will be the day. Please plan to attend and mark your calendars now.

In what is a very exciting development several months ago the New Hampshire legislature passed a law requiring that trial judges must allow defense council to inform juries of their right to judge the law and circumstances of the case before them and render a verdict that they believe will result in a just result even if the prosecution and met all their burden of proof under the law. In a nutshell -  Jury Nullification.
This law had not even gone into effect yet when a defense attorney requested a trial judge to allow the jury to be informed of their rights as the new law would soon require. The judge agreed. This particular defendant was accused of growing several cannabis plants in his yard. The jury acquitted him outright.
Now remember that the law did not grant this right to the jury, the law just mandated that judges inform them, or allow the defense to inform them of their rights. This right under common law dates back at least to Magna Carta, 1215 AD. This  right and power is referenced in our Declaration of Independence where it says “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed” and it is in the jury box, not the ballot box, where this consent is granted or denied. This is one of the most precious parts of our common law heritage. It is how the people can control their government and protect their fellow citizens from bad law/bad government without resorting to violence.
The repeal of prohibition of alcohol came about when jurors, tired of the corruption and violence wrought by prohibition, began acquitting defendants charged with alcohol related crimes.
There have been other recent instances of Jury Nullification. In New Jersey shortly after the above defendant was acquitted another jury acquitted a defendant on cannabis charges. In Minnesota an Amish farmer/dairyman was charged with selling raw, unpastuerized milk by the state. The jury acquitted him.
These three cases are all just in the past three or four months.
In an August, 2011 case in Cook County, IL (Chicago) a woman was charged with eavesdropping/wire-tapping when she secretly recorded police internal affairs investigators as she was complaining about an officer that she alleged had sexually harassed her. The woman believed that the investigators were trying to dissuade her from pressing charges against the officer so she recorded the interview without the knowledge or permission of the investigators. In Illinois all parties being recorded must have knowledge and give consent. The jury in this case acquitted the woman. The jury here may have felt the law was proper but that in this set of circumstances the woman was justified in disobeying it. This is a proper use of Nullification that does not necessarily mean that the jury finds the law invalid, just that the circumstances are such that the law should not apply.
However, after this acquittal, the ACLU challenged the state law in federal court and the federal district court ruled it unconstitutional. On appeal the federal circuit court of appeals upheld the lower court ruling and the Cook County Prosecutor appealed to the US Supreme Court who refused to hear the case, letting the trial court and appeals court rulings stand. I learned of this case in the past week or two in the email newsletter Liberty Crier, published by a group of Ron Paul supporters.
The Fully Informed Jury Association (www.fija.org) has been educating the public nationwide about this for over twenty years and it is finally beginning to pay off as this power of jury nullification is being restored to the public’s mind. This will surely come into play if/when the federal government attempts to enforce their cannabis drug regulations in Colorado and Washington after those two states’ cannabis legalization efforts were successful in last November’s elections.
In Wichita LSOCK has been providing FIJA and other information about jury rights on a regular basis at the Sedgwick County Courthouse and other locations
since 1996. Please go to www.fija.org for more information and do some research on the 1670 trial of William Penn in London, England. Yes, that William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.

For Liberty,
Steven A. Rosile
Editor, LSOCK NEWS

Saturday, December 8, 2012

LSOCK NEWS Alert!
Hello everyone,
I am forwarding an important message from John Axtell of the local Campaign For Liberty to you at his request. He and others are protesting crony capitalism by city government here in Wichita. Please read John's message and support this effort.
Thank you.
For Liberty,
Steven A. Rosile
Editor, LSOCK NEWS

From John Axtell of Campaign For Liberty
Friends,

Our city council members have, more than once, voted to award no-bid contracts and high-bid contracts to their own campaign contributors, costing voters millions of dollars extra on these contracts.  In addition to this huge cost to voters, this practice pollutes the business environment in Wichita as it leaves honest businesspeople wondering if they will get fair access to building permits, to new roads and infrastructure near their property, to police and fire protection, or to liquor licenses for their new restaurant. 

Please consider attending next Tuesday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council (as described below), to help put an end to this public/private cronyism.  At this meeting, Brent Davis and John Axtell are on the Public Agenda to propose reforms to city campaign finance laws, reforms that would end this practice of council members awarding special contracts and favors to their campaign contributors.

Wichita City Council Meeting
Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 9 am (sharp)
Wichita City Hall , 455 N. Main, Wichita , KS

If you can, please attend, and if you represent a civic organization and are willing to stand and be counted in support of this campaign reform, please reply to this invitation with your name and the organization you represent.  If you are not able to attend, but would like to go on record in support of this reform, please also reply with your name and who you represent.  For more information, please feel free to call John Axtell at the phone number below.

Thank you for your support of honest local government.  Honest government demands eternal vigilance on the part of honest and informed citizens.

John Axtell
316-393-8174

Thursday, December 6, 2012

From our friend in liberty, John Todd!

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY 
FOUNDATION 
Advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity 
Wichita Area Chapter Meeting
Guests welcome!

Monday, December 10, 2012

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.


Spangles Restaurant, 612 S. Broadway
Wichita, Kansas

"Good Intentions Gone Wrong"
with JOHN STOSSEL
Copywrite by Stossel in the Classroom.  All rights Reserved.
Lemonade Stand: Consumer Protection Gone Wrong 9:48 minutes
What’s happened to freedom in America? Are there too many laws? Can the average American even know what’s legal and what’s illegal today? This segment looks at several examples of people unknowingly running afoul of the government, including children selling lemonade and Girl Scout cookies in front of their homes, a lobster importer, and people building a home on their own land.

Professional Panhandling: Charity Gone Wrong 8:31 minutes
How can we help those in need? And just who is in need? How do we know? Do people who panhandle really need money to survive? Do our attempts to help people really help them?

Food Police: Regulation Gone Wrong 4:32 minutes
Should people be allowed to eat whatever they want? Even if it’s bad for them? What are the limits on freedom? What are the limits on government power? This segment looks at some regulations on food and asks the question: Is it the role of government to protect me from myself?

Job Creation Gone Wrong 6:02 minutes
Who creates jobs? And who creates jobs the best? Can the government help, or do government attempts to create jobs lead to inefficiencies and waste? Do government regulations help or hinder job creation? This segment looks at job creation and the role of government.

Innovation: Private vs. Public 6:39 minutes
Can politics and politicians solve all our problems? Is government more effective than private enterprise?  Can’t we count on the entrepreneurial spirit to innovate and to develop solutions to the problems we face? This segment looks at several entrepreneurial endeavors.

Presentation of the DVD Videos will be followed by group discussion. 
For additional information on this program please contact:
John Todd, Wichita-area AFP volunteer coordinator at john@johntodd.net, (316) 312-7335
 Or 
Susan Estes, AFP Field Director at sestes@afphq.org, (316) 681-4415

          Americans for Prosperity Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal
Revenue Code.  Contributions to AFP Foundation are tax deductible.  AFP Foundation’s focus is to educate the general public about public policy issues, not to support or oppose specific legislation.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Libertarians Are the Only Hope For American Business, and Republicans, to Be Competitive Again

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Libertarians Are the Only Hope For American Business and Republicans to Be Competitive Again

History will show that right now we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Republican Party. The social agenda of the religious right, which dominates the Republican Party, is what caused Romney to lose, and the problem will get worse with time. 
To defeat big government Democrats, business needs to organize a new coalition of libertarians, business, and “Blue-Dog Democrats.” The Republican Party is fatally connected with the religious right’s rejected social agenda, and so the most plausible way to creating this new coalition is for business to leave the Republican Party and start providing serious financial support to the Libertarian Party.
This year, majorities of voters in four states approved marriage equality by popular vote. By large margins, voters in Colorado and Washington approved marijuana legalization. This tells us a tipping point has been reached on some serious social issues. Probably, it had already occurred when Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) lost in 2008; that was the year Michigan voters passed a medical marijuana initiative opposed by only 37% of Michigan voters. Similarly, The total percentage of Americans who believe abortion should be illegal under all circumstances is only about 20%. When it comes to war, a March, 2012 NY Times-CBS poll found that more than two-thirds of those polled — 69% — thought the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan. The number almost certainly is rising, not falling.
The Romney campaign showed that elections are now lost by talking about building fences along the Rio Grande and throwing illegal immigrants out of the country because that so angers all the immigrants — a growing voting bloc. Romney’s “etch-a-sketch” moment, where he tried to become more moderate on social issues, happened because he had to run away from all of the foregoing traditional Republican social agenda items to even have a chance of winning. Still, Romney lost. McCain lost too, and for the same reason: the non-economic social issues are killing any chance of Republicans to win national elections because it's not possible to put enough distance between anyone with an (R) label and the social issues. If Romney couldn't get a win in this horrible economy, no one can win (as a Republican).  
My Republican friends are shocked that any wealthy person would support the Democrats given their overt tax and spend programs. That doesn't seem strange to me. These people care more about social issues than money. They have gay and lesbian friends. They have immigrant friends. They have friends whose kids were arrested for possession of pot. They worry about their daughter's right to reproductive choice. Those issues are more important to them than whether their taxes go up. They don't care about the taxes because they have enough money to pay them. If you care more about money than these social issues, you join the Republicans; if you care more about these social issues than money, you are compelled to support the Democrats.
The 2012 election showed that if the choice were between more social freedom with higher taxes (the Democrat’s program) or less social freedom and lower taxes (the Republican’s agenda), most American voters would pick the Democrat’s program. Focusing on economic issues isn't enough to get a majority of voters if you are stuck with the Republican’s long history on social issues.
It was different even a decade ago. You would not, back then, have got majority votes to legalize pot and endorse same-sex marriage; a majority of Americans would not have voted for reproductive freedom or for immigration freedom. That's why a decade ago George W. Bush could win (although narrowly). Things have changed.

The Republican Party Can’t Be Fixed.
There are some who think the Republican Party can be fixed by moderating its stance on social issues. That’s not possible, because the Republican Party is a coalition of two big groups, business and the religious right, along with a much smaller group of libertarians.
If the libertarians take over, or if business uses its financial muscle to force a moderation of the party platform, then the problem no one's talked about is that the religious right will leave. Those people are true believers. They are not going to stick around in a party that proposes legalizing dope or endorses same-sex marriage, not to mention moderating the Republican platform on abortion.

Even Senator Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) solution of making abortion a state's rights question isn't going to work because the religious right isn't going to accept a platform plank saying: "the Sanctity of Life is in the hands of state legislatures, and they are free to allow women to choose." There is just zero chance that the religious right will accept that and stay on, voting for Republicans, and supporting that party.
And yet, Republicans need the votes of the religious right to win given the coalition that's been constructed and used for decades. George Bush needed — and got — their votes. But, there aren't enough of those votes to win any longer. That’s really why Romney had to "etch-a-sketch" even though that effort failed.
So, the bottom line becomes: If the Republicans don't change they lose; if they do change they lose. That's the truth given the shift in the electorate's thinking on key social issues as demonstrated by the popular votes on marriage equality and pot all around the country. That's the true message of the Romney campaign's spectacular implosion.

Getting Business to Underwrite the Libertarians.
For 40 years, the Libertarian Party’s chief stumbling block to getting serious money from business people is that, while many business people don't care about the social issues, maybe they even sympathize with libertarians, they nonetheless evaluate political contributions like other investments and they want some fair chance of a return on their investment. Given a choice between supporting Republicans or libertarians, both of whom talk about smaller government, business puts its money on the Republicans because Republicans win, libertarians don't. Everyone knows that, and to date, it's been true.
But, the message of this election is: "Republicans don't win any more than libertarians; both now lose."  And, given the social issue trends, Republicans will lose by larger and larger margins in the future.
If Republican's can't win, business should throw in with the libertarians, because libertarians can win in the future. Libertarians are on the same side as Democrats on all the changing social issues and are, therefore, not burdened the way the Republicans are with an unacceptable, outdated social agenda. In fact, libertarians have been in the vanguard on most of these issues.  
A New Coalition.

One thing the Romney campaign shows is that business alone can't win elections. That's why Republicans long ago crafted the coalition between business and the religious right. They needed the additional votes business found in church.
But, if business can't win alone, it’s also true there are not enough libertarian votes to make up the difference — even if all the supporters of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) came on board. However, the Libertarian Party can fracture the Democratic Party by peeling away wealthy people who are Democrats principally because of the social issues. These are the "Blue-Dog Democrats," who are fiscally responsible Democrats. There are a lot of wealthy people who don't particularly subscribe to the Obama-Pelosi-Krugman effort to socialize America. All those people can vote libertarian, even though they will never vote Republican.  
So, the way to win is to use the Libertarian Party to put together a new coalition of libertarians, business people, and "blue-dog Democrats" with the objective of defeating the Democratic leadership that is taking the America strongly in the direction of European-style socialism. Business has to supply the money to build this new coalition 
(by the way, the Blue-Dog Democrats currently don't support the Libertarian Party because ... Democrats win; libertarians don't. It's the flip side of the Libertarian Party’s problem with business and the Republican Party).
It’s well known that business generally doesn't want a free market — they want a "fair advantage." They want crony capitalism. Still, if the choice is between a free-market (meaning an end to the Warfare-State and the old crony capitalism offered by the Republicans) or letting the Democrats take everything business owns and earns, business has to choose the free market and throw in with the libertarians. They will do that if they realize Republicans just can't win national elections – and that’s the message business should discern from the wreckage of their most recent investment in a failed presidential campaign.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

We Wish We Had Posted This Before The Election!

Contra Randy Barnett on the Libertarian Party
Recently by Walter Block: Friedman on Intolerance: A Critique
 

Randy Barnett recently wrote this article in the War Street Journal: "The Mistake That Is the Libertarian Party; Voting the LP line could swing the election to the Democrats. That's not an outcome libertarians should hope for."
This is a frontal attack on the Libertarian Party. As a long term supporter of this organization (I ran for New York State Assembly in 1969, have addressed dozens of LP state conventions, and hope to do more of the same in future; I was an advisor to Gary Johnson in his 2012 campaign), I am happy with this opportunity to respond. Before I do, let me put matters in context.
This Georgetown Law School Professor says: "As a young libertarian, I was very enthusiastic about the formation of the Libertarian Party. I proudly cast my vote for Roger MacBride for president. I attended the 1975 national convention in New York that nominated him. But, while I am as libertarian today as I was then, I have come to believe that the Libertarian Party was a mistake. "
I don’t regard Randy Barnett as a libertarian any more, although I readily acknowledge that in his earlier truly libertarian days he made important contributions to our philosophy, and was a confidant of no one less than "Mr. Libertarian," Murray Rothbard.
With that background out of the way, what is Barnett’s case against the LP?
He states: "The reason is simple. Unlike a parliamentary system in which governments are formed by coalitions of large and small parties, our electoral system is a first-past-the-post, winner-take-all one in which a winning presidential candidate just needs to get more than 50% of the vote. This means each contending "major" party is itself a coalition that needs to assemble enough diverse voting groups within it to get to 51%. Hence the need to appeal to the so-called moderates and independents rather than the more "extreme" elements within.
 
"To the extent that a third party is successful, it will drain votes from the coalition party to which it is closest and help elect the coalition party that is further removed from its interests. The Libertarian Party's effort will, if effective, attract more libertarian voters away from the candidate who is marginally less hostile to liberty, and help hand the election to the candidate who is more hostile to liberty."
Let me make my own position clear before responding to these specifics. Although I am a staunch supporter of the LP, and have been for 43 years, I do not look upon this organization as any sort of end, in and of itself. Rather, I see the LP merely as a means. To what end? To liberty, of course. If the LP is the best vehicle for liberty, I support it. If the GOP turns out to the best one, as it was when Ron Paul was running for its nomination in 2008 and 2012, then I support him, and it. But, when Romney won the Republican nomination, then for me, the LP, and Gary Johnson, came into its own. (If, slim to none chance, Ron Paul had won the Republican nomination, beating out Romney, then I would have hoped and expected that the LP would also have endorsed him. That is why it is absolutely crucial for the LP to hold its convention after those of the two major parties.)
Barnett continues: "The small-"l" libertarians in the tea party movement identified the Republican Party as the coalition closest to their concerns about fiscal responsibility and the growth of government power, and they have gone about making the GOP more libertarian from the grass-roots up. They have moved the party in a libertarian direction, as has the Republican Liberty Caucus.
"Despite all this, some libertarians continue to insist that, because the Republican and Democrats are equally bad for liberty, it makes no difference who gets elected. However true this once was, in recent years Republicans have been better for liberty and Democrats have been worse."
Again I disagree. I concede to Barnett that the Republicans are slightly better on economics, and, who knows, maybe even, for the sake of argument, they are an improvement over the Democrats on personal liberties. But with regard to foreign policy, curiously not mentioned by Barnett, in my judgment, Romney was more of a war-monger than the war-monger Obama, and this is a more important issue than both of those others put together. (The anti war left, it would appear, only opposes unjust Republican wars, not Democratic invasions; a disgrace.)
 
Post election commentary
Now that the election is over, perhaps a bit of stock taking is in order. My own strategy is that if a Ron Paul or even a Gary Johnson or a Rand Paul is running for the nomination as president on the GOP ticket, I would support that person in the nominating process, and certainly in the general election. But if, as per usual, the winner of that run-off is a person like Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Giuliani, Paul Ryan or Chris Christie, then I would favor whoever is the LP’s candidate. That is why it is so important for the LP to hold its nominating convention after the conventions of the two major parties are held. In that way we can maximize the LP’s effectiveness. If we had done that this time, we might have had Ron as the LP’s candidate, again, and we would have had a far better chance of getting that very elusive 5% of the vote which would enable us to get matching funds (for more on this issue see here.)
My advice to Gary in this election was to take positions as close to Ron’s as he possibly could, so as to get the votes of Ron’s supporters.  He did do a bit of this in my estimation, but not enough. My hope is that if Gary, or Jim Gray, runs for the LP nomination in 2016, that they take the next four years, well, three years, to become more acquainted with libertarian theory. Here are the books, I think, to start with:
Note that the first three of these are available for free on the Mises web.  While I’m unburdening myself of post election thoughts, I think that the LP should spend the next three years on internal education for all its members. We could all do worse than start with these four books.
 
Our choice in 2008, Bob Barr, was an absolute disaster. This man didn’t have a libertarian bone in his body. As but one indication of this, Barr supported Gingrich in this election cycle, when he could have done so for Ron Paul. If that doesn’t indicate where his heart is at, then nothing does.
Last night, I was rooting, of course, for Gary Johnson to break that 5% barrier. But, as between Obama and Romney, I favored the former. I did so for precisely the same reasons as I supported Obama vis a vis McCain in 2008: foreign policy. My fear was that if elected, Romney would start a war with China, Iran, and who knows who else. In contrast, Obama had four years to do that, and refrained. Another reason: at least we can trust Obama to be the socialist, interventionist, moderate war-monger that he has proven himself to be. In contrast, with Romney, he has been on every side of every issue; you just can’t trust that man to cleave to any principle. Also, I’ll never forgive Romney for what he did to my man, Ron Paul. Yes, yes, Romney might have been better on economic policy than Obama. And I shudder at Obama’s likely Supreme Court nominations (although I’m not much of a fan of those chosen by the Republicans, either). But foreign policy is more important than domestic. It murders far more innocents. And, also, it informs domestic policy. As Randolph Bourne said, "War is the health of the state."
So, I look forward to four more years of Obama rule with some (small amount of) equanimity. Things could have been worse. We could have, horrors!, had Romney and his neo-con puppet masters. And this is the time for all of us, whether inside of the GOP or as supporters of the LP, to step up our efforts to promote liberty. We should do so, preeminently in my view, by supporting the Mises Institute, which just celebrated its 30 year anniversary, and has been an undeviating, uncompromising beacon for liberty in each and every second of those magnificent three decades.



November 9, 2012
Dr. Block [send him mail] is a professor of economics at Loyola University New Orleans, and a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He is the author of Defending the Undefendable, The Case for Discrimination, Labor Economics From A Free Market Perspective, Building Blocks for Liberty, Differing Worldviews in Higher Education, and The Privatization of Roads and Highways. His latest book is Ron Paul for President in 2012: Yes to Ron Paul and Liberty.
Copyright © 2012 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided full credit is given.