Dear Friend of Liberty,
Many thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal of $4,725 for our Legal Offense fund in less than 24 hours. That will help with our current appeal to the United States Supreme Court — and will help for the next fight we pick.
On another positive note, last week our Libertarian Party Facebook page reached 400,000 "Likes."
Those are great numbers when you consider that the Republican Party only has about three times more, and the Democratic Party has about 1.5 times more, despite their gargantuan budgets compared to the LP.
Our Facebook fan page was first set up by former LNC Vice Chair Chuck Moulton. Later it was run by LP headquarters interns or staff members. For a while, I managed the content myself, during which time — I promise you — innovation suffered.
If you haven't looked at our Facebook page lately, I encourage you to do so now. I think you'll find that the quality, creativity, and effectiveness of the page has soared! Credit crowd-sourcing, grassroots, bottom-up organizing, or whatever you want to call it.
There is an incredible team of more than 50 active volunteers facilitated by LNC At-Large Representative Arvin Vohra. The group generates hard-hitting, humorous, and professional-looking graphics and phrases (aka "memes") that help promote our ideas and candidates.
Some of the stuff is quite edgy — edgier than I can get away with in our emails and press releases! Maybe that's partly why I like our Facebook page so much.
Have a great week! And don't forget to check out and "Like" our Facebook page!

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

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LSOCK NEWS: September 29, 2013

Libertarians Of South Central Kansas (LSOCK) meet for Supper and discussion every Tuesday at Cathy’s Westway Cafe located at 1215 W. Pawnee in Wichita, Kansas at 5:30 PM. If we have official business to conduct or a featured guest speaker, that will begin at 6:00 PM. All who support personal responsibility and individual liberty are invited to attend.

To receive the LSOCK NEWS and LSOCK NEWS Alerts! via email please contact Steven Rosile at sarasile@att.net or 316 618-1339.

Contact the Libertarian Party of Kansas or LSOCK at:

LPKS / LSOCK
P.O. Box 2456
Wichita, Kansas 67201

Ph. (800) 335-1776

On the Web please go to LPKS.org  or to the LSOCK Blog at:

www.libertariansofsouthcentralkansas.blogspot.com

Also see: Sedgwick County Libertarians on Facebook for their meeting time and location.

LSOCK NEWS

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. From The Editor
2. Tuesday Supper Meetings At New Location
3. Kansas State Fair Outreach Booth Great Success
4. What SwedenCare Can Teach Us About ObamaCare

     1. From The Editor

Interest in the Libertarian Party is the highest it has ever been! In Kansas and across the country as well. The public seems to be waking up to the fact that the two major political parties are more interested in maintaining their power and enriching their corporate masters than obeying the Constitution and serving the American people.

The opportunities for Libertarians to advance liberty and win elections have never been greater. The LPKS is actively recruiting candidates and developing strategy for the 2014 elections.

We need your help! Get involved with your local libertarian group (or start one yourself) and help promote the party to your friends and relatives. Contribute financially at LPKS.org or mail a check to the LPKS at the address listed above.

If you are interested in running or assisting in campaigns of our candidates please get in touch with me by replying to this email or calling Steven Rosile at 316 618-1339.

For Liberty,

Steven A. Rosile

Editor, LSOCK NEWS

4^th District Coordinator, LPKS

2.       Tuesday Supper Meetings At New Location

Due to Mike’s Steakhouse unexpected closing LSOCK Tuesday Supper Meetings are now at Cathy’s Westway Café, 1215 W Pawnee, every Tuesday at 5:30 PM. We will usually be in the Meeting Room which is in the southwest corner of the restaurant.

Please join us at our new location.

3.       Kansas State Fair Outreach Booth Great Success

The LPKS Booth at the Kansas State Fair this year was the most successful we have ever had. Interest in our party and positions was the highest I have seen in my 20 plus years of volunteering there. We received the most new contacts and had the most positive interactions with the fairgoers that I can remember.

The LPKS was recognized by the Kansas State Fair for 20 consecutive years of participation at the fair. Actually, we have been there for at least 23 consecutive years, since 1991 that I personally know of.

James Pruden attended the Exhibitor Breakfast Tuesday, September 10^th and received the Certificate and Ribbon awarded to the LPKS.

I want to thank all of our activists that helped staff the LPKS booth. They are:

Al Terwelp, Overbrook

Steven Rosile, Wichita

Rick Koehn, Cimarron              

Mike Wilson, Salina

Mike Brincefield, Wichita   

Gordon Bakken, Wichita

James Pruden, Wichita

David Loomis, Wichita

Rob Hodgkinson, Stillwell

Sharon Dubois, Topeka

Robert Garrard, Edgarton

Matthew Standridge, Eureka

Sara Joy Standridge, Eureka

Jeremy White, Wichita

John Kostner, Murdoch

Keen Umbehr, Alma

James Kilpatrick, Wichita

Drew Holland, Wichita

Shane Whitehead, Wichita

4.       What SwedenCare Can Teach Us About ObamaCare

July 15, 2013

By Klaus Bernpaintner

url: http://libertycrier.com/what-swedencare-can-teach-us-about-obamacare/

As a Swede currently living in the United States, with actual experience of Swedencare, I must reply to the delusions propagated by professor Robert H. Frank in his June 15 article in the New York Times, titled “What Sweden Can Teach Us About Obamacare.”
It is surprising to read something so out of line with basic economic theory from an economics professor. But theory aside, it would have sufficed for professor Frank to have taken a field trip down to the nearest public emergency room to have his illusions irreparably shattered. The reality is that Swedish healthcare is the perfect illustration of the tragedy of central planning. It is expensive and — even worse — it kills innocent people.
Free universal  came about in the 50s as part of the Social Democratic project to create the “People’s Home” (Folkhemmet). This grand effort also included free education on all levels, modern housing for the poor, mandatory government pension plans and more. Let us grant benefit of the doubt and assume that some of its proponents had good intentions; as so often, these intentions paved the road to a hellish destination.
It has taken awhile, but it is now becoming obvious even to the man on the street that everyaspect of this project has been a disaster. He may not be able to connect the dots, but he can see that the system is definitely not working as advertised, and it is rapidly deteriorating.
Before the utopian project got under way, Sweden had some of the absolute lowest taxes in the civilized world and, not surprisingly, was ranked at the top in terms of standard of living. The project changed Sweden into a country with the second highest tax rate in the world (Denmark is higher), periods of rampant inflation, and a steadily deteriorating economy.
There is nothing economically mysterious about health care — it is just another service. Like any other it can be plentifully provided on a free market at affordable prices and constantly improving quality. But like everything else, it breaks down when the central planners get their hands on it, which they now have. To claim that the problems are due to a “market failure” in health care is like saying that there was a market failure in Soviet bread production.
Let us look at what happened when health care was provided for free by the Swedish government (i.e., taxpayers). Note that the same economic principles and incentives apply to any service that the government decides to take over and provide for free. The same principles will apply to Obamacare, with some slight variations.
First it was understood in Sweden that free healthcare was only for the poor. It would not affect those who were happy with their existing provider. But when government suddenly offers a free alternative, many will leave their private practitioner in favor of the free goods. The public system will have to be expanded, while the private doctors will lose patients. The private doctors are then forced to either take employment within the public system or leave the profession. The result is one single public healthcare monolith. Can one find economies of scale within its operations, as professor Frank claims? Maybe. But if they exist, they will be dwarfed by the costs and inefficiencies of the bureaucracy that inevitably grows to manage the system.
These results are clearly visible in Sweden. There are very few private practices left. Of the few that are left, most are part of the national insurance system. A huge bureaucracy has been erected to take on all the necessary central planning of public and pseudo-private healthcare.
When Swedes go to the polls every four years, they vote on three levels of government: national,landsting, and kommun. A landsting is a regional mid-level type of government and there are 20 of them. The landstings are almost entirely devoted to managing public healthcare. They are always short on funding and regularly make losses.
The advantage of a free market system, as I am sure the venerable professor Frank knows, is that supply and demand meet to form prices. These prices are signals to the practitioners and tell them what their patients need and value most. If there were a sudden surge in demand for open-heart surgery, the price of that service would, ceteris paribus, rise. The practitioners would be motivated by the rising price to move into fields where they can make higher profits. More doctors would move to provide open-heart surgery, the capacity for open-heart surgery would increase, the increased demand satisfied and the price would drop again. Some people protest and think that it is immoral for doctors to maximize profit and live well on other people’s medical problems. But why is it any more immoral than farmers profiting from peoples’ hunger?
Thus, free-market systems systematically allocate capacity (“supply”) and reallocate it quickly to satisfy patients’ needs (“demand”). Due to competition it has the added advantage of always striving for lower prices and higher quality. This principle is as true for medical services as it is for cell phones or gardening services.
The bureaucracy of a public healthcare system cannot use market prices to allocate resources. It must use some other means. First it will try to plan according to estimated demand. It will try to guess the number of bone fractures, open-heart surgeries and kidney transplants in the coming year. The estimates will invariably be wrong, causing shortages in some places and overcapacity in others — at the same — which translates into human suffering and economic waste.
Without the profit motive, there is no incentive to adapt to reality, to utilize expensive equipment to the optimum capacity, to improve the level of service, or treat patients with dignity. All change will have to be pushed down from the planners above by decree. Doctors and nurses will be frustrated because they are not free to exercise their art to the best of their ability and help people as much as they would like to. Many of the best leave for other fields.
It is impossible to put a number on it, but it is obvious that the level of energy in the medical professions in Sweden is low compared to America. It can be seen on several levels, from doctors and even down to students. An American medical student and friend of mine spent a year at a major Swedish hospital. He was shocked when he realized that students never spent any of their spare time in the operating room; there was no drive to become the best. There are of course enthusiasts who love their work regardless, and do a fantastic job, but the system is not conducive to this attitude.
Planning always fails. The planners come to realize that the market is superior but they will not back off. Rather they will try to mimic a market, using trendy techniques such as “New Public Management,” voucher systems, or healthcare exchanges. The results of these solutions are usually even more disastrous than outright planning. In order to work, they will have to reduce every medical condition to a code, every patient to an ID number, and every procedure to planned (arbitrary) cost and income numbers.
It was recently revealed in one of the major newspapers that doctors were told to prioritize patients based on their value as future taxpayers. Old people naturally have a low future-taxpayer-value, so they naturally became low priority in the machine and less likely to receive proper treatment. In a private healthcare system you can make your own priorities, you can for example sell your house and spend the proceeds on becoming well. In a socialized system somebody else sets the priorities.
As we know, every planner-induced action gives rise to five equal, opposite, and unintended reactions, each of which will be met with yet more planner-induced actions. Eventually you end up with a broken system such as the Swedish one, where service is “free,” but not accessible.
For non-emergency cases in Sweden, you must go to the public “Healthcare Central.” This is always the starting point for anything from the common flu to brain tumors. You must go to your assigned Central, according to your healthcare district. Admission is by appointment only. Usually they have a 30-minute window every morning, when you call to claim one of the budgeted slots. Make sure to call early or they run out. Rarely will you get an appointment for the same day. You will be assigned a general practitioner, probably one you have never met before; likely one who does not speak fluent Swedish; and very likely one who hates his job. If you have a serious condition, you will be started on a path of referrals to experts. This process can take months. Contrary to what professor Frank believes this is not a “feature” of the system, to ensure maximum capacity-utilization. This is an unavoidable characteristic of central planning, analogous to Soviet bread lines, which nobody refers to as a “feature.”
This healthcare “bread line” is where people die. It happens regularly that by the time a patient gets to see an expert, his condition has progressed beyond remedy. It also happens frequently that referrals get lost. Bureaucracies create listless employees, who don’t care, who refuse to go the extra mile, and who are never responsible for failures.
If you have an emergency you will go to the emergency room at one of the huge Soviet-size hospitals. Professor Frank praises these monstrous facilities for providing “economies of scale.” Stockholm had two huge hospitals. In 2004 they were merged into one by a big-name consulting firm. Of course the “merger” was a failure, so for many years there have been discussions about splitting them up again.
The emergency room is a different experience altogether. Unless you are suffocating or are hemorrhaging profusely, you should expect to wait 5-7 hours to see a doctor. You can only hope for this “high” level of service if you arrive on a workday and during office hours. After hours, or on weekends, it is worse. Doctors are mostly busy filling out forms for the central health care authorities, scribbling codes in little boxes to report services rendered, instead of seeing patients. There have been cases reported where patients have seen a doctor immediately, but such cases are rare.
It is important to plan any major health problems you intend to have outside of June, July, and August, because during the summer months, hospitals are virtually shut down for vacation.
Due to a lack of profit motive, free services not only become bad but also very expensive. One of the major banks (Swedbank) recently came out with a report stating that the average earner pays about 70 percent tax of his income to the government, including the invisible big chunk withheld from his paycheck. Because free systems become more expensive with time and it is impossible to compensate by constantly raising taxes, every year more conditions are classified as non-life-threatening, and are therefore no longer covered.
In the final stage of a central planning failure, the planners simply give up. They want to wash their hands of the whole thing, and decide to “privatize” the services. In practice, this means that they unload hospitals at fire sale prices to well-connected “entrepreneurs.” The planners turn themselves into overseers and guarantors of quality. This creates a highly protected “market” wherein the “entrepreneurs” are only required to deliver government-quality services at prices determined by what it would cost government to do the same. Obviously this creates permanent margins so huge you could drive an ambulance through them, and there is no competition to stop it.
This is a general pattern that is seen not only in healthcare but also in all pseudo-privatized and heavily regulated industries, such as education, pharmacies, and old-age care.
When people find out that the enormous profits are moved to tax havens they promptly demand that profits in healthcare be outlawed and that government nationalizes the industry. And then we have come full circle.
This process is obvious in Sweden where there is now broad consensus across the political spectrum and among media pundits that profits in healthcare, especially on tax funds, are immoral and should be outlawed. It is likely that, in time, there will be legislation to this effect.
The market for private healthcare in Sweden is small. Few people can afford it since they already pay 70 percent tax for all of their “free” stuff. The politicians have private health care, though, naturally paid for by taxpayers. Apparently they are such special people that the healthcare systems they have designed for others are not good enough for them.
When I moved to the U.S., our family health insurance took three months to kick in. One of my family members broke a leg in this period. We found a “five-minute clinic” half an hour away, had the leg X-rayed, straightened and casted, with no waiting time — all for $200 cash. That kind of service is non-existent in Sweden. It is an example of how a market, not yet totally destroyed by the state, can create affordable and high quality services.
The reason American insurance-based healthcare is so expensive is that it is heavily regulated and legally connected to the equally-regulated insurance industry. Both are well protected from competition by regulation. Obamacare will make them even more expensive, bureaucratic, and inaccessible. The way to fix U.S. healthcare is by excising the central planners and regulators from it, not by implanting droves more of them.
I have seen (and lived in) the future of American health care, and it does not work.

Published under Creative Commons License Agreement - Ludwig von Mises Institute

News Release
September 28, 2013
 
Libertarian Party calls for permanent government spending slowdown, defunding Obamacare

There is no impending government shutdown — only a government slowdown. The threat of a "shutdown" is designed to scare voters while avoiding scrutiny of reckless government overspending.
If federal lawmakers do not pass a budget or a "continuing resolution" (CR) by Oct. 1, a government spending slowdown will take effect. This could halt almost $1 trillion in annualized spending that the CR would authorize, which is the size of the current federal deficit. If made permanent, this would cut annual federal spending by approximately 27 percent to $2.7 trillion — the current level of revenues coming in.
In other words, a federal slowdown — if allowed to take full effect — would balance the federal budget. This would greatly benefit the U.S. economy.
"Elected Republicans in the House can stimulate the productive private sector by slowing down Big Government," said Geoffrey J. Neale, chair of the Libertarian National Committee.
"Why?" Neale asked. "Because a government-sector slowdown equals a private-sector growth speedup of small businesses and jobs. Americans should welcome a government slowdown — and fear the opposite: allowing politicians to continue irresponsible, reckless government overspending."
Do politicians properly prioritize spending cuts when a slowdown takes effect? Yes and no. Functions that affect life or property generally remain funded, but many needed cuts — such as lucrative government perks, Obamacare, and large volumes of waste marbled throughout government spending — remain intact.
Furthermore, lawmakers have made numerous exceptions to the slowdown. Only a portion of the $1 trillion that would be authorized by a CR will be blocked if a slowdown takes effect.
While the particulars of the impending slowdown are far from perfect, any serious spending cuts are a welcome change from wildly irresponsible government overspending and growing government debt.
Every American should ask himself one question: Is my family better off with a government slowdown that cuts federal spending by 27 percent? Or is my family better off with another trillion dollars in federal government debt?
Transferring wealth out of the government sector and into the private sector creates jobs. Every government-funded job loss is matched by roughly two private sector job gains — a panacea for jobseekers.
"The Libertarian Party calls for a permanent government slowdown," Neale said. "Cutting taxes, removing regulations, ending failed Big Government programs, and cutting total government spending is the only way to revive the American economy and save it from further decline."
"Americans should be very afraid every time politicians pass another 'continuing resolution,'" he said. "It's their latest method for keeping government spending high, adding to government debt, devaluing the dollar and putting the American economy at risk."

Republicans tie less spending with more spending

The U.S. Constitution requires all spending bills to originate in the House of Representatives. Members of the U.S. House can vote to veto any spending of which they disapprove. They can reject all "continuing resolutions." They can also fully defund Obamacare.
But Republicans in the U.S. House have refused to defund Obamacare, despite having a majority in the House since 2010. On Sept. 20, they finally passed a bill to defund it — but at a very high price to taxpayers and jobseekers. The bill also authorizes a "continuing resolution" through Dec. 15.
Republicans were willing to fully defund Obamacare only when coupled with a permission slip for continued reckless spending at an annualized rate of almost $1 trillion.
The U.S. Senate leadership and President Barack Obama vow to reject the House bill and protect Obamacare.

The solution: reject both overspending and Obamacare

As it stands, Obamacare will go into effect on Oct. 1 even with a government slowdown. It will be funded by new taxes and cuts in Medicare that are not stopped by a slowdown.
Does this mean that House Republicans are forced to accept either Obamacare or a "continuing resolution?" Are they powerless to stop both of these dangerous and destructive government policies?
No.
At any time, the Republican-controlled House can do the right thing: Both fully defund Obamacare and refuse to pass a continuing resolution. They control the federal purse strings.
All that House Republicans need to do is debunk phony "shutdown" talk and pass a new bill.
"Lawmakers do not need to concede to either overspending or Obamacare," said Neale. "Instead, we must move in the opposite direction: dramatically cut government spending and remove existing health care mandates, taxes, and regulations that stifle human progress."
Voters are becoming increasingly aware of the exorbitant cost of Obamacare and the damage it will do to their family's health. If it takes effect, it will force Americans to buy unwanted and grossly unaffordable medical insurance policies that provide poor coverage — or pay a fine. It will result in higher medical costs, more red tape, and more rationing of health care services.
Voters are also deeply concerned about high government spending and government debt.
The Libertarian Party runs candidates for federal, state, and local office to cut spending, lower taxes, and balance budgets — and to nullify, defund, and repeal Obamacare.

Visit LP.org to share this release!

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Please donate to the Libertarian Party, working to advance peace, individual rights, and American prosperity.

Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Dear Friend of Liberty,
I hope you'll donate to support our appeal to the United States Supreme Court!
We're fighting back against abuse by Michigan Republicans! And we're going on offense against the Sixth Circuit Court — before the 2016 elections!
Please help us raise $4,725 as soon as possible.
We've set up a new donation system so you can see exactly how much we've raised toward our goal on this project.
Click here to donate today!
We want to fund an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. We're challenging a Sixth Circuit opinion that allowed the cowardly Republicans in power in Michigan to keep the Libertarian Party presidential ticket from appearing on the ballot in 2012.
Precedent is on the side of the Libertarian Party. To knock Gov. Gary Johnson off the ballot in 2012, Michigan courts ruled against a long-standing precedent that allowed candidates who competed in the primary of one party to run on the ticket of another party.
According to Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger, "The Sixth Circuit in the Gary Johnson case treated us very disrespectfully. The part of the Sixth Circuit decision on Gary Johnson, on the merits, is only two sentences long! The panel treated us like dirt." Winger further claims this appeal has a much higher likelihood of being heard by the Supreme Court than most other ballot access cases we've filed.
We need $3,500 for the filing fee and to pay for printing the briefs, and would like an additional $1,225 to cover administrative expenses.
Anything we raise above and beyond $4,725 will become part of our "Legal Offense Fund." We're tired of always being on the defense, and want a fund available so we can take pro-active legal action where we see opportunities.
Please donate $25, $100, $250, $1,000, or even all $4,725 to fight the Michigan Republicans and to help build up our "Legal Offense Fund" today!
Click here to donate.

— Geoff Neale

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Please donate today to the Libertarian Party today. Shrink government — expand liberty.

Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

LSOCK News Alert

Libertarians Of South Central Kansas (LSOCK) meet for Supper and discussion every Tuesday at Cathy’s Westway Cafe located at 1215 W. Pawnee in Wichita, Kansas at 5:30 PM. If we have official business to conduct or a featured guest speaker, that will begin at 6:00 PM. All who support personal responsibility and individual liberty are invited to attend.

To receive the LSOCK NEWS and LSOCK NEWS Alerts! via email please contact Steven Rosile at sarasile@att.net or 316 618-1339.

 Contact the Kansas Libertarian Party or LSOCK at:

LPKS / LSOCK
P.O. Box 2456
Wichita, Kansas 67201

Ph. (800) 335-1776

 On the Web please go to www.lpks.org  or to the LSOCK Blog at:

www.libertariansofsouthcentralkansas.blogspot.com

Also see: Sedgwick County Libertarians on Facebook for their meeting time and location.

Hello Everyone,

This alert is about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Leap) founder and speaker Jack Cole who is in Wichita this week advocating ending the War on (Some) Drugs and also to remind you that the LSOCK Tuesday Supper Meeting is now at Cathy’s Westway Café, 1215 W Pawnee. See the header above for more details.

Jack is from Haysville and was a New Jersey State Trooper in the 1960’s when then President Nixon ramped the drug wars way up. He has an inside perspective on the harm caused by drugs and the even greater harm caused to individuals, families and society as a whole by the attempt to prohibit them. He has appeared at our LSOCK meetings several times in the past but will be speaking at Friends University this Tuesday evening, September 24 and so will not be able to attend our meeting.

After our Supper Meeting Tuesday I plan on attending his presentation at Friends later that evening. I hope you can attend at least one of his talks, bring a friend with you when you do.

Jack’s speaking schedule is below.

Tuesday, September 24, 7 pm
Friends University, Sebits Auditorium, Riney Fine Arts Building
(2nd building south of Maple & Hiram)
Thursday, September 26, 7 pm
KIPCOR
Bethel College
Kaufman House, 2515 College Ave., North Newton, KS
Friday, September 27, 11:45 am – 1 pm
The Pachyderm Luncheon at the Petroleum Club, $10 admission
9th floor, Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS
Friday, September 27, 6pm
The Kansas African-American Museum, 601 N. Water, Wichita, KS
Saturday, September 28, 10 am – 12:30 pm
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 1525 N. Lorraine, Wichita, KS
Sunday, September 29, 2 pm
Anna Murdoc’s Café, 209 E. William St. at Market, Wichita, KS

For Liberty,

Steven A. Rosile

Editor, LSOCK NEWS

Dear Friend of Liberty,
Last week, a gentleman wrote to me that he had found out at a company meeting that Obamacare was negatively going to affect him and his family and that he needed to start doing something to get this stopped. He asked, "What can I do? Where should I go? Who should I contact?"
I gave him the number to call and told him where to go — so everything should be OK, right?!
If only it were that easy.
Unfortunately, we've let government get so big and intrusive that it's not going to be easy to stop Obamacare or any other government program. Congress might pretend to try stopping parts of Obamacare, or simply rename certain provisions, but I don't think they'll really stop the substance.
It's not just our president's or Congress's fault, either. For decades, Democratic voters have asked their elected officials for more government spending on education, health care, and welfare. Meanwhile, Republicans have asked their elected officials for more military spending, more surveillance, and new taxpayer-funded football stadiums. More surprisingly to some, Republicans initiated the 2003 socialist Medicare prescription plan and the 2008 bank bailouts. Meanwhile, John Stossel informs us that Democrats start more wars than Republicans!
As famed journalist Matt Drudge recently tweeted, "It's now Authoritarian vs. Libertarian. Since Democrats vs. Republicans has been obliterated, no real difference between parties..."
People and politicians of both major parties have cooperated for more than a century to build a bigger government, program by program. There's no number to call or person to contact to stop this. Big government is not just current culture — it's now part of American heritage. The New Deal started eighty years ago and hasn't stopped. Some even say that the conservative Heritage Foundation provided the foundation for the worst aspects of Obamacare.
To actually stop Obamacare and other government programs, we have to change American culture. It's not going to be easy.
What can one person do to help?
Robert Sarvis put his life on hold and has spent more than $15,000 of his family's money running for governor of Virginia.
Gov. Gary Johnson spent more than three years running for president to help promote liberty.
The other Gary Johnson, the one from Austin, Texas, who now serves on our national board, gave $25,000 to the David F. Nolan Memorial Fund to help make our national headquarters more efficient and more effective.
We list 145 Libertarians serving in elected office (up by three from last week). You could contact a few of them at random, thank them, and encourage them to run for re-election.
Fifty people serve as chairs of our 50 state affiliates. Those are tough jobs — not that treasurer or secretary is much easier.
Perhaps you don't think you have what it takes to run for office or to run a state affiliate.
Well, you can join the Libertarian Party if you aren't already a member — or, if you are, make another donation. Then you can contact your friends and family and let them know why you joined the Libertarian Party. You can ask them to join, too. Double the LP has some tools to help with that.
We must grow our numbers to be more successful. You can sign up for a monthly pledge, which helps fund people who are trying to provide others with more tools to help grow the Libertarian Party. You can join in the lively discussions on our Facebook page to get even more ideas on how to help.
Or you can simply send me an email asking why the Libertarian Party hasn't done more to stop Obamacare.
What's it gonna be?

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

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Please donate today to the Libertarian Party today. Shrink government — expand liberty.

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2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
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National LP News!

Table of Contents:

·         Libertarian Party to incumbents: Defund Obamacare now — or risk voter backlash in 2014

·         Former Republican state committee chair-elect joins LP to run for Congress in October special election

·         Washington Times column features LP call to stay out of Syria

·         New York LP fields record 8 candidates in NYC for November election

·         June issue of LP News now available online

Libertarian Party to incumbents: Defund Obamacare now — or risk voter backlash in 2014
The Libertarian Party calls on members of the U.S. House and Senate to defund Obamacare now.
“Incumbent politicians — especially Republicans with a majority in the House — will have no excuse if they refuse to fully defund Obamacare,” said Carla Howell, political director for the national Libertarian Party. “Now is the time. The president’s approval ratings are low, and voters are learning that Obamacare will impose shockingly high costs and debilitating regulations on taxpayers, businesses, and medical consumers if it takes effect.”
“If Democrats and Republicans fail to do the right thing and stop this disastrous program from unfolding, the blame for patients’ suffering and for striking a fatal blow to the fragile American economy will rest squarely on their shoulders,” she warned.
Read the rest at LP.org!

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Former Republican state committee chair-elect joins LP to run for Congress in October special election

Henry Herford,
Libertarian for Congress,
Louisiana 5th District

Henry Herford Jr., famous among Ron Paul supporters and was the former Louisiana Republican state committee chair-elect, is running for Congress as a Libertarian.
In 2012, he was knocked down by Shreveport, La., police acting on the orders of state GOP officials to block his taking seat as Chair after being duly elected.
“The Libertarians will say no to foreign aid, cut OSHA, and cut FEMA,” said Herford, a retired teacher who lives in Delhi, La., at the north end of the sprawling 5th Congressional District. “I want to be known as the first congressman elected who’s a member of a party that’s for cutting out things, not increasing them. Everyone wants to go to the government and create another agency. But we’ve maxed out the credit card.”
As part of his campaign, he is seeking to abolish the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as repeal Obamacare, the Patriot Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act’s language pertaining to indefinite detention. According to the Herford for Congress campaign website, he also wants to “bring the troops home from unconstitutional and unnecessary overseas wars and deployments” and decriminalize marijuana federally while allowing states to regulate the drug.
Read the rest at LP.org!

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Washington Times column features LP call to stay out of Syria
From "Inside the Beltway," on page 2 of the Washington Times (Sept. 6, 2013):
“Syria is not threatening our country. We have no national interest in intervening there. There are no reasons for the U.S. to support either the Assad dictatorship or the opposition warlords,” declares Liberarian Party Chairman Geoffrey Neale.
Read and share at LP.org!

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New York LP fields record 8 candidates in NYC for November election
The Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island chapters of the Libertarian Party pulled together to get a record eight candidates on the ballot as Libertarians for various local offices throughout the nation's largest city this November, reported LPNY Chair Mark Axinn. This represents the most LP candidates that have ever run for local office during a single New York City election.
The LP does not have ballot status in New York, so it was necessary for every candidate to submit independent petition signatures — ranging from 3,750 signatures each to run for the mayor, comptroller and public advocate, to 450 signatures to run for city council in a local district.
Read the rest at LP.org!

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June issue of LP News now available online
The June 2013 edition of LP News is now available in the LP News archive, which contains issues stretching back for five years.
So, if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to read our coverage of the Libertarian Party's Facebook outreach success, LP candidates and electoral victory, court battles, recent press releases, Libertarian Solutions, and much more.
Hard-copy issues of LP News are mailed to sustaining members of the national LP. PDF versions of past issues are available for free at the LP News archive.
Click here to become a member and receive future issues of LP News hot off the press.
Read and share at LP.org!

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Please donate today to the Libertarian Party today. Shrink government — expand liberty.

Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Dear Friend of Liberty,
Nationwide, there are 142 Libertarians holding elected public office. Thirty-nine of them are partisan offices, and 103 are nonpartisan offices. You can view the entire list here.
If you know of an elected Libertarian who is not on this list, email us at campaigns@lp.org. Please include the words "elected libertarian" in the subject line.
When we've sent similar emails in the past, we've learned of as many as three or four who needed to be added to our list.
Because election laws vary so much from state to state, it's not always easy to decide who should be on our list of elected Libertarians, particularly when it comes to nonpartisan races. Additionally, we give quite a bit of leeway to the state affiliates to decide who is or is not considered an elected Libertarian. In any case, below is an approximation of the criteria used to determine if someone qualifies to appear on the list of elected Libertarians compiled by the national Libertarian Party:
For partisan offices, the elected official must have appeared on the ballot with the party designation "Libertarian" or the elected official must currently be registered to vote as a Libertarian.
For nonpartisan offices, the elected official must be a current or former dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party or the elected official must currently be registered to vote as a Libertarian.
If you know of any elected officials who are not Libertarian, but have Libertarian principles, please invite them to join the Libertarian Party — the Party of Principle.™
And keep in mind, sometimes all you have to do to win an election is to file for the office. My recent home state of Louisiana has had three Libertarians win local offices because they were the only ones who filed.
It's not too early to throw your hat into the ring for Spring 2014 elections.
Yours in liberty,

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

From Our Friend In Liberty, John Todd!

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY--KANSAS 

Wichita Area Chapter Meeting

Monday, September 23, 2013

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Spangles Restaurant (Meeting Room)

612 S. Broadway (Kellogg & Broadway Downtown)

Wichita, Kansas 67202

 Susan Estes

Field Director, AFP--Kansas

Training for a new local grassroots

 activism program. 

Field Director’s presentation to be followed by

Q & A and group discussion.

For additional information please contact:

John Todd, Wichita AFP volunteer coordinator

john@johntodd.net, (316) 312-7335 cell

Or

Susan Estes, AFP Field Director, Kansas

sestes@afphq.org, (316) 681-4415

 http://americansforprosperity.org/kansas/

 The Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-KS) is committed to advancing every Kansan's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP-KS is an organization of grassroots citizen leaders who engage in spreading the message of fiscally responsible government, free market ideals and regulatory restraint to policymakers on the local and state levels.

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Rob Sarvis,
LP Virginia
Candidate for Governor

Robert Sarvis is getting so much publicity by running for governor!
He’s a perfect example of how you can amplify your voice for liberty a thousand times by running for office!
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch to Fox News to Public Radio, Sarvis is there. He gets cheated out of the debates, but he’s out there in other ways. Just take a look at the list of 111 stories on his media page. Of course, the 37 campaign events he lists are impressive too.
If the Libertarian Party of Virginia had to pay for all of that publicity, instead of getting it for free from the candidate, it would cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.
Now for the full disclosure: The Sarvis for Governor campaign had to pay more than $25,000 just to get on the ballot. And I believe that Sarvis contributed more than $15,000 of his own money for that petition drive.
Ouch! That’s a lot of money out of his pocket, plus a lot of time taken away from his family!
But that’s the kind of dedicated heroes we have running for office in the Libertarian Party. People willing to give their time and money to make America a freer place for themselves, for their families, and even for the stranger that may never even know about it but will reap the benefits of liberty.
Click here for our complete list of candidates in the 2013 elections. Please send a note to campaigns@lp.org if you see anybody missing from our 2013 list.
I think the number one thing you can do to promote the Libertarian Party and its principles is to run for office. Any office! Please click here to submit your name as a possible future candidate.
You don’t have to work as hard as Robert Sarvis. We’ll help you find an office that fits your time and budget.
Texas has the earliest deadline for the November 2014 elections (December 9 of this year), so if you’re a Texan, submit your name today, before it’s too late!
If you’d like to donate to the Libertarian Party, that will help us recruit and promote more candidates. The Libertarian National Committee often pays to get state parties on the ballot so that their candidates don’t have to pay for ballot access out of their own pockets.
Please run for office, or donate today. $15,000 anyone? $1,500 or $150 or any amount helps.
Thank you for all that you do.

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037
Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.