Shut It Down, Baby!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2011

Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail: wes.benedict@lp.org
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222

Libertarians call for permanent government shutdown

WASHINGTON - As elected officials put on a dog-and-pony media show about a temporary shutdown of small parts of the federal government, the Libertarian Party calls for a permanent shutdown of most of the federal government.

Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict said, "Just think how a permanent government shutdown would allow so many Americans to regain the blessings of liberty.

"Education would blossom as the Department of Education ended its War on Learning, no longer wasting our money and preventing educational innovation with one-size-fits-all centralized mandates.

"Job opportunities at companies big and small would multiply, providing opportunity and choice for American workers.

"The world would enjoy peace as we withdrew our forces from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Our government spends almost as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. Millions of industrious men and women who work for the military and its contractors could be focusing on building up our economy, rather than tearing down others'.

"Crime would plummet as the government's War on Drugs ended, no longer sustaining a giant violent black market and overfilling our prisons.

"The life of many poorer Americans would improve as welfare programs stopped, no longer trapping low-income families in an endless cycle of government dependency.

"All Americans would feel a huge burden lifted every April, as they were no longer required to wrestle with a byzantine and oppressive IRS.

"But most importantly, Americans would once again be free of unjust and unconstitutional violations of their unalienable rights."

Benedict added, "We're not talking about eliminating the federal government. We want to end all federal activities that are not authorized by the Constitution, and we want to cut everything else as much as we can. In 2000, the federal government spent $1.8 trillion. This year it's expected to spend $3.8 trillion. Things are going the wrong way -- fast."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

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P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

GET INVOLVED:

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A Huge Milestone In LPKS History Was Met Yesterday!

LSOCK NEWS Alert! April 6, 2011

LPKS State Chair Andrew Gray has won election to the Topeka City Council!

Andrew Gray won 63% of the vote for Topeka City Council, District 8 yesterday. He beat out an incumbent councilman to take the seat.

The election was non-partisan so the Libertarian label was not on the ballot but Andrew is widely known as a Libertarian in the Topeka area from his activism and support for the effort to petition and get repeal of Topeka’s smoking ban on the ballot two years ago (which failed to get enough signatures to put the issue to the voters), his involvement with Open Carry Topeka, a 2^nd Amendment rights organization and his campaign for Kansas Governor last year.

This is a happy day for Kansas Libertarians! It shows that we can win elections and make a difference.

It should spur even greater interest in our Party and philosophy and attract more activists and voters to the LPKS.

We should all thank Andrew Gray for his efforts to promote Liberty and the LP!

For Liberty,

Steven A. Rosile                                                                                               Editor, LSOCK News

PS, I am including the contents of the LSOCK NEWS Alert! from April 4 that gives details of our upcoming 2011 Annual Meeting/Convention below. Hope to see you all there.

Hello everyone,

This Alert! is to inform you that the correct date of the Libertarian Party of Kansas Annual Meeting/Convention is Sunday, April 17. It was correctly listed in State Chair Andrew Gray’s letter (reproduced below) but I misstated the date in the table of contents and article heading.

If you would like to go but need a ride or plan to go and can offer a ride to others please contact me by replying to this Alert! or emailing me at http://www.blogger.com/

For Liberty,

Steven A. Rosile

Editor, LSOCK News

           Kansas State LP Convention Sunday, April 17

The time has arrived for the annual convention for the Libertarian Party of Kansas. It will be held Sunday April 17th 2011 from 8:30-3:30 at the Big Gage Shelter House. It is the building located in the same parking lot of the Topeka Zoo and where the 2010 state convention was held.

 We welcome all to attend the convention of the fastest growing political party in Kansas. We are the Party that believes and practices that every voice is just as equal as any other. You can have a voice and it will be listened to. Below are items that will be dealt with at this years convention with more if the needs arise.

1) Opening Remarks - I will be discussing the growth and activity of our Party within the last year including the races of last November. We will also be discussing our future plans as well. It will be followed by a question and answer period.

2) The incredible progress made by the creation and implementation of the Kansas Education Liberty Act (KELA). It will be moderated by Vice Chair Al Terwelp and Policy Researcher Stacey Davis.

3) It has been a number of years since our state platform has been updated. As with all political thoughts and actions ours is need to be evolving. The Platform Committee will be discussing the recommended changes to adjust to the current times and to maintain our integrity. The recommended changes will be voted upon by those in attendance and other suggestions will be taken from those in attendance. The suggestions can be made by anyone in attendance but can only be voted upon by those who are registered Libertarians.

4) The last item will be the election of Party officers. All the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Coordinators for Congressional Districts of 1, 2, 3, 4 will be up for election. The only position not for election is Policy Researcher which is an appointed position. Anyone who is a registered Libertarian can run for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or Treasurer. A person must reside in the Congressional District to be considered for election. Please send all considerations for elections to Mike Kerner at Secretary@lpks.org. You may also made your intentions known at the convention itself.

If you have any other questions feel free to email me at Chair@lpks.org or call me at 785.231.4367.

Andrew P. Gray
Chair - Libertarian Party of Kansas       

GOP Sucker Punch?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 5, 2011

Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail: wes.benedict@lp.org
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222

Libertarians say Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton

WASHINGTON - In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:

"Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan.

"Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion.

"They also want to increase the federal debt from $15.0 trillion to $23.1 trillion. I hope our children and grandchildren enjoy paying interest on that extra $8.1 trillion.

"People should not judge the quality of this Republican plan by the standard President Obama has set. Everyone knows Obama is a big spender. Democrats rarely campaign on cutting government. What this budget shows is, Republicans are hypocrites. They have no intention of cutting the federal government down to size. In 2021, Paul Ryan still wants the feds to be spending 19.9% of GDP. That's a higher percentage than during Democrat Bill Clinton's second term. In 1997, federal spending was 19.5% of GDP, and it dropped to 18.2% by 2000. Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton.

"Another unfortunate but predictable thing about Paul Ryan's budget is that it continues to mollycoddle the Pentagon. Paul Ryan is the Military-Industrial Complex's best friend. He apparently can't find one penny to cut from Obama's bloated levels of military spending. Only a big-government Republican could come up with language like 'reinvesting $100 billion in higher military priorities.'

"It's interesting that when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the White House from 2001-2006, they did nothing to shrink government, or even slow down government growth. On the contrary, back then, Paul Ryan was busy voting for expensive foreign wars, No Child Left Behind, and the huge 2003 Medicare expansion. More recently he's voted for the TARP bailouts and even ethanol subsidies.

"We Libertarians propose eliminating federal functions that are not authorized in the Constitution. Furthermore, Libertarians propose ending foreign wars and foreign troop deployments, allowing huge cuts in military spending. Libertarians would cut the federal government down to less than 10% of GDP, and we'd keep cutting once we got there."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

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P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

What Does It Mean To Be A Libertarian?

April 4, 2011

Dear Friend of Liberty,

John Stossel, the famous reporter from "20/20," now has his own show on Fox Business. He recently taped a show at the International Students For Liberty Conference at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Here's a quote from the segment, "What Does it Mean to Be a Libertarian?", as Stossel speaks to the students:

"I went to Princeton in 1969 where they taught me that there were problems in the world and now we had figured out that the answers were in government, because you could get the smartest people in one room and they could figure out a solution, and all they had to do was take money from rich people and share it with the poor and we'd fix poverty. And that's just what all my professors said and what we all believed. And I'm curious how you, at your young age, figured out, far quicker than I did, how that doesn't work."

You can view the video here.

Another segment from the show is called, "Where did the Anti-War movement go?"

I agree with Stossel, it's great to see so many students displaying an interest in and understanding of libertarianism.

John Stossel is not a member of the Libertarian Party. (We'd love to have him, but I presume it would conflict with his work.) However, I think he does a great job explaining libertarian principles to the public.

In addition to the Stossel video above, this video from Harvard Professor Jeffrey Miron is an excellent brief explanation.

I hope you'll share these videos with friends and acquaintances who might be interested.

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

April Fool's!

Libertarians praise Congress on April Fool's Day
WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party congratulates Congress for passing a budget that makes serious cuts in federal government spending, including the following:

1. Eliminating Department of Education programs, saving taxpayers more than $40 billion each year.
2. Getting rid of farm subsidies, saving over $20 billion each year.
3. Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other overseas deployments, saving over $100 billion annually.
4. Eliminating programs and subsidies in the Department of Transportation, saving about $80 billion annually.
5. Terminating federal housing subsidies, saving about $45 billion each year.
6. Giving overpaid federal employees a 10% cut in compensation, saving $30 billion annually.
7. Throwing out federal energy subsidies, saving $20 billion annually.
8. Reducing and reforming Medicare and Medicaid, saving about $100 billion a year for the next ten years.
9. Ending the federal War on Drugs, saving $15 billion annually.
10. Phasing out mandatory Social Security, and reducing the rate of benefit growth to save $40 billion a year by 2020.

"April Fool's!" cried Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict. "Congress hasn't done any of those things. Congress is causing the federal government to keep growing rapidly. And don't be fooled by the recent hype about Republican proposals for 'cuts.' Those 'cuts' are so small and so peripheral, that even if they pass, they won't have any effect on the fiscal catastrophe facing our children and grandchildren. Republicans and Democrats continue to link arms and keep our federal government huge and growing."

Benedict continued, "We got that list of items from a Cato Institute advertisement that ran in several major news outlets today. Of course, we wish Congress would cut all those things, but we know Republicans and Democrats won't do it."

The Libertarian Party platform calls for major reductions in the size and scope of government.

A Note From John Todd of Americans for Prosperity Kansas

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY FOUNDATION

Wichita Area Chapter Meeting

Guests welcome!

Monday, April 11, 2011

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Alford Branch Wichita Public Library

3447 S. Meridian (Meeting Room)

Wichita, Kansas 67217

Jeffrey Tucker, with the Ludgwig von Mises Institute, conducts

  A series of video Interviews with Austrian Economists

Based on Henry Hazlitt’s book:

 “Economics in One Lesson”  

          Video 1:  The Lesson, Walter Block, Loyola University, New Orleans, 15:58  

          Video 2: The Broken window, Thomas DiLorenza, Loyola University, Maryland, 8:31

          Video 3: Public Works Means Taxes, Jeffrey M. Herbener, Grove City College, 17:30

          Video 4: Credit Diverts Production, Thomas E. Woods, Ludgwig von Mises Institute, 14:50

The four DVD Video presentations 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

Economics in One Lesson, The Video Series

Jeffrey Tucker with the Ludwig von Mises Institute did some spontaneous interviews with Economists

based on Henry Hazlitt’s book, Economics in One Lesson.  The DVD videos were provided for our use courtesy

of the Ludgwig von Mises Institute.  They are also available online from the Mises Institute at the following link:

http://blog.mises.org/14406/economics-in-one-lesson-the-video-series/

          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.

Endorsements from Lynda Tyler of Kansans for Liberty

Here are Lynda Tylers' recommendations for the upcoming Wichita Mayoral and City Council election on Tuesday April 5th, 2011.

Lynda would like you to support your favorite TEA Party candidate.

2nd District - Charlie Stevens

3rd District - Mark Gietzen

4th District - Michael O'Donnell

5th District - Lynda Tyler

Important Note: The Kansas Libertarian Party and Libertarians Of South Central Kansas DO NOT endorse candidates from any political parties other than the Libertarian Party.