The LNC will be choosing the At-Large Credentials Committee members at our July 2009 meeting.
Below is the information. If you are interested, please apply ASAP.
National Credentials Committee Member
This position serves the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) to prepare and facilitate the credentialing of delegates to the biennial National LP Convention. There are 10 people on the credentials committee; five are appointed by the LNC and 5 are appointed by the top five states in membership as of 7 months prior to the convention.
Someone serving in this committee is expected to be a member of the Libertarian Party and to attend the 2010 Convention being held in St. Louis over Memorial Day weekend. Attention to detail, a professional attitude, and a customer-service oriented mindset are important qualities in a potential appointee. He or she must maintain complete honesty and a lack of bias to ensure the credibility of the votes and elections held during the course of the convention.
The Credentials Committee is currently working to develop an updated and streamlined credentialing process for the 2010 convention, creating an excellent opportunity for an appointee to hit the ground running and collaborate with colleagues from across the nation. Additionally, the Credentials Committee works with all the states to ensure that a full, accurate list of delegates is submitted by each state starting in January 2010 and leading up to the national convention. Usually a committee member is assigned to work closely with 5 states to help them fulfill their reporting requirements. Once the convention starts, Credentials Committee members take shifts working at the credentials desk to facilitate the check-in and –out of delegates in order to provide accurate counts for voting and other functions.
Required Qualifications:
- Member of the LP
- Attention to detail
- Excellent communication skills
- Professional attitude, honesty, and lack of bias under pressure
- Ability to learn complex systems
- Familiarity with MS Office, particularly Excel
- Reliable Internet access (regular email correspondence will be required)
Additional Qualifications: (not required, but potentially very useful)
- Familiarity with (or the ability to learn) MS Access
- Previous convention credentialing experience
If you are interested in being considered for appointment to the 2010 Credentials Committee, please email a letter of interest and statement of qualifications to the LNC Secretary, Robert Sullentrup, at rwsully@att.net by 01 July 2009. For more information, contact credentials@lp.org.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Campaign season is almost here!
Campaign season is almost here! If you’ve ever thought about running for office, it’s time to start planning.
Libertarian candidates have some choices to make. There are two ways to go.
The first is to run for a small, non-partisan office. This could be anything from a water or cemetery board to a school board. These are very winnable races. Where you don’t necessarily talk about your political beliefs, but you practice them. You influence policy. Make decisions, and actually govern. School boards are a great race for this. Do not expect that people will know that you are Libertarian, do not attempt to change the world overnight. Especially on a school board – this one should be handled carefully, but can be a launching point for a politician to actually get elected to higher office. Someone who has served on a school board for 4-8 years, putting in the time, the hard work, will have some reputation and network that may help to win a legislative, or city council race.
The second is to run an educational campaign. There might be a race in your district that has no opponent, or where you just have a particular passion, but not any real hope of winning. In this type of campaign, you would run a legitimate campaign, maximizing your exposure, taking every opportunity to speak to voters and to get out the Libertarian message. All the while knowing that there is not much chance of winning. These campaigns are generally run for education and information – a way to expose people to Libertarian ideas, and talk about better government.
No matter which strategy you decide on, never enter into a race for a job that you wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for Lt. Governor on the platform that, if elected, she would abolish the office of Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple of our Florida Libertarians, got elected to a board that accomplished nothing, and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and then they shut it down. All brilliant Libertarian strategists. Thank you, gentlepeople.
What do you plan to do? Need help deciding? Go to your county auditor, or secretary of State’s website, and see what offices are up for election this fall.
What sounds attractive or interesting to you? What fits with your interests, skills?
Once you have an office in mind, start doing the research.
Get a Facebook account for the campaign. Be sure that it is used for only campaign things. No pictures of you doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which means be careful who you friend. Maybe the campaign account is named Willis Campaign, or Willis for Congress. Or rather than a whole account, set up a Fan page and group for the campaign.
Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com. You can download and host Wordpress on your own domain (best), but if not, or to start, get WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You can move the blog later, or even just link from your website. On the blog, comment on news stories or developments that are current and germane to your race. Always offer a Libertarian solution.
Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .
This example, while some would attack it as un-Libertarian, offers both the proposed Libertarian solution and a compromise. (Often, Libertarians in office find that they can reduce government by offering something less than the original “full meal deal”. Being the lone “No” vote may make you feel good, it really doesn’t accomplish anything. Making an amendment to a motion can begin some discussion in a meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve. Offering people smaller government solutions helps to wean them off the habit of taxes extracted at the point of a gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a voter has read your blog and smaller government ideas for several months, they may actually be ready to face the idea of life without the all-encompassing government control!)
Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com. Use one of the link shrinkers to make the link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it each time you blog. For example – Willis offers small government solution to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni. #tlot #liberty Don’t forget the appropriate hashtags – those #tlot and #liberty words at the end. They’re a “filing” system for twitter. More info on hashtags.
Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting, use the tweets as your Facebook status. This is a great way to stimulate discussion among your Facebook friends, and teach more about Libertarian philosophy. Add as many Facebook friends as you can within your voting district. Search for likely suspects, and add them.
Write letters to the editor that are basically your blog articles. You may have make some minor adjustments for format or clarity. Post them to local newspaper’s forums.
Take a few minutes to go to DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at all of them. Add the widgets to all of your sites.
Since all of this can be a lot of work, and you haven’t even started the “real life” work of the campaign yet, consider having a truted volunteer of family member function as your “online campaign manager”. All of this can be done by a ghost-writer, even remotely. Your cousin George could be sitting in Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and conducting your online campaign for City Council in Portland, OR.
Now, starts the physical part. Doorbelling. One great candidate that I know started in early spring, walking his neighborhood, knocking on doors, introducing himself.
He knocked on his neighbor’s doors several evenings a week and some weekends, and won the election in the fall.
Always attend neighborhood events, town celebrations, etc. They are great opportunities for networking and campaigning. And do I need to say it? Always have your pocket sized campaign piece in your pocket, and a slim jim or something when appropriate.
Libertarian candidates have some choices to make. There are two ways to go.
The first is to run for a small, non-partisan office. This could be anything from a water or cemetery board to a school board. These are very winnable races. Where you don’t necessarily talk about your political beliefs, but you practice them. You influence policy. Make decisions, and actually govern. School boards are a great race for this. Do not expect that people will know that you are Libertarian, do not attempt to change the world overnight. Especially on a school board – this one should be handled carefully, but can be a launching point for a politician to actually get elected to higher office. Someone who has served on a school board for 4-8 years, putting in the time, the hard work, will have some reputation and network that may help to win a legislative, or city council race.
The second is to run an educational campaign. There might be a race in your district that has no opponent, or where you just have a particular passion, but not any real hope of winning. In this type of campaign, you would run a legitimate campaign, maximizing your exposure, taking every opportunity to speak to voters and to get out the Libertarian message. All the while knowing that there is not much chance of winning. These campaigns are generally run for education and information – a way to expose people to Libertarian ideas, and talk about better government.
No matter which strategy you decide on, never enter into a race for a job that you wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for Lt. Governor on the platform that, if elected, she would abolish the office of Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple of our Florida Libertarians, got elected to a board that accomplished nothing, and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and then they shut it down. All brilliant Libertarian strategists. Thank you, gentlepeople.
What do you plan to do? Need help deciding? Go to your county auditor, or secretary of State’s website, and see what offices are up for election this fall.
What sounds attractive or interesting to you? What fits with your interests, skills?
Once you have an office in mind, start doing the research.
- What are the issues?
- Is this office something that has been in the news recently? Corrupt? Incompetent?
- Spending too much money?
- Look up Voter Guide Statements for the race in past years.
- Pay particular attention to the statement of the winner.
- Start to write a statement that incorporates Libertarian values. Be careful that you don’t include any information that, no matter how true or Libertarian, has no connection to the office. (In other words, in a City Council race, you do not mention federal or state issues. This is not where you talk about your 911 Truth beliefs, or your Birther convictions, or your desire to build ZeroG space stations.)
- Get a photo taken – preferably a professional shot. Dress for a professional job interview (it is!), and be cautious about any emblems, symbols, or backgrounds. You want a photo that makes you look relaxed, confident, and approachable. Susan Hogarth reviewed a lot of candidate photos last season – I found it helpful.
- Have you been in touch with your local LP affiliate to ask for endorsement, campaign help, volunteers? Do it now. This is also a good place to start to get help from Libertarians with your Voter Guide Statement and talking points.
- Put together a list of friends, family, business contacts and organizations that you can ask for donations and help. Even people who don’t have money usually have something that they can help you with. Putting up signs. Sending out an eMail on your behalf. Phone numbers of people who do have money. Ideas.
- Get online, and find a domain name. JoeSmithForCongress.org. Do not use JoeSmithForCongress.freewebs.com, or something like that. It should be simple, understandable, easy.
- Google Calendar (Great for scheduling candidate events! The entire team can access the calendar.),
- Google Docs (for leaving Voter Guide Statement, photos and position papers, literature for events, etc.)
Get a Facebook account for the campaign. Be sure that it is used for only campaign things. No pictures of you doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which means be careful who you friend. Maybe the campaign account is named Willis Campaign, or Willis for Congress. Or rather than a whole account, set up a Fan page and group for the campaign.
Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com. You can download and host Wordpress on your own domain (best), but if not, or to start, get WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You can move the blog later, or even just link from your website. On the blog, comment on news stories or developments that are current and germane to your race. Always offer a Libertarian solution.
Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .
"Pleasantville’s City Council plans to raise taxes by 30% to pay for the new park and rec center (make part of that sentence a link to the news story).
Since Libertarians prefer to spend within our means, and not burden your children for recreational facilities, I would first solicit private donations (in exchange for naming), then set up a system where users of the rec center would pay fees for classes, groups would pay rental fees to use the facilities, and businesses and individuals could either provide ongoing financial support or maintenance.
In this way, I estimate that we would only have to raise taxes 10%. Of course, my preference would be to wait until we could raise the complete cost of the facility from private sources and community fundraising before we broke ground and then support it through user fees."
This example, while some would attack it as un-Libertarian, offers both the proposed Libertarian solution and a compromise. (Often, Libertarians in office find that they can reduce government by offering something less than the original “full meal deal”. Being the lone “No” vote may make you feel good, it really doesn’t accomplish anything. Making an amendment to a motion can begin some discussion in a meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve. Offering people smaller government solutions helps to wean them off the habit of taxes extracted at the point of a gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a voter has read your blog and smaller government ideas for several months, they may actually be ready to face the idea of life without the all-encompassing government control!)
Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com. Use one of the link shrinkers to make the link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it each time you blog. For example – Willis offers small government solution to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni. #tlot #liberty
Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting, use the tweets as your Facebook status. This is a great way to stimulate discussion among your Facebook friends, and teach more about Libertarian philosophy. Add as many Facebook friends as you can within your voting district. Search for likely suspects, and add them.
Write letters to the editor that are basically your blog articles. You may have make some minor adjustments for format or clarity. Post them to local newspaper’s forums.
Take a few minutes to go to DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at all of them. Add the widgets to all of your sites.
Since all of this can be a lot of work, and you haven’t even started the “real life” work of the campaign yet, consider having a truted volunteer of family member function as your “online campaign manager”. All of this can be done by a ghost-writer, even remotely. Your cousin George could be sitting in Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and conducting your online campaign for City Council in Portland, OR.
Now, starts the physical part. Doorbelling. One great candidate that I know started in early spring, walking his neighborhood, knocking on doors, introducing himself.
"Hi, I’m Willis, and I’m running for City Council this fall. I have this piece to let you know what I’m about, and I’d appreciate you taking a few minutes to take a look at it. It has contact information for me on it, and you can call or eMail me with any questions you might have. Have a great evening, and if you think my ideas sound good, I’d appreciate your vote."
He knocked on his neighbor’s doors several evenings a week and some weekends, and won the election in the fall.
Always attend neighborhood events, town celebrations, etc. They are great opportunities for networking and campaigning. And do I need to say it? Always have your pocket sized campaign piece in your pocket, and a slim jim or something when appropriate.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Have you ever thought of running for office?
Campaign season is almost here! If you’ve ever thought about running for office, it’s time to start planning.
Libertarian candidates have some choices to make. There are two ways to go.
The first is to run for a small, non-partisan office. This could be anything from a water or cemetery board to a school board. These are very winnable races. Where you don’t necessarily talk about your political beliefs, but you practice them. You influence policy. Make decisions, and actually govern. School boards are a great race for this. Do not expect that people will know that you are Libertarian, do not attempt to change the world overnight. Especially on a school board – this one should be handled carefully, but can be a launching point for a politician to actually get elected to higher office. Someone who has served on a school board for 4-8 years, putting in the time, the hard work, will have some reputation and network that may help to win a legislative, or city council race.
The second is to run an educational campaign. There might be a race in your district that has no opponent, or where you just have a particular passion, but not any real hope of winning. In this type of campaign, you would run a legitimate campaign, maximizing your exposure, taking every opportunity to speak to voters and to get out the Libertarian message. All the while knowing that there is not much chance of winning. These campaigns are generally run for education and information – a way to expose people to Libertarian ideas, and talk about better government.
No matter which strategy you decide on, never enter into a race for a job that you wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for Lt. Governor on the platform that, if elected, she would abolish the office of Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple of our Florida Libertarians, got elected to a board that accomplished nothing, and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and then they shut it down. All brilliant Libertarian strategists. Thank you, gentlepeople.
What do you plan to do? Need help deciding? Go to your county auditor, or secretary of State’s website, and see what offices are up for election this fall.
What sounds attractive or interesting to you? What fits with your interests, skills?
Once you have an office in mind, start doing the research.
Get a Facebook account for the campaign. Be sure that it is used for only campaign things. No pictures of you doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which means be careful who you friend. Maybe the campaign account is named Willis Campaign, or Willis for Congress. Or rather than a whole account, set up a Fan page and group for the campaign.
Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com. You can download and host Wordpress on your own domain (best), but if not, or to start, get WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You can move the blog later, or even just link from your website. On the blog, comment on news stories or developments that are current and germane to your race. Always offer a Libertarian solution.
Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .
This example, while some would attack it as un-Libertarian, offers both the proposed Libertarian solution and a compromise. (Often, Libertarians in office find that they can reduce government by offering something less than the original “full meal deal”. Being the lone “No” vote may make you feel good, it really doesn’t accomplish anything. Making an amendment to a motion can begin some discussion in a meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve. Offering people smaller government solutions helps to wean them off the habit of taxes extracted at the point of a gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a voter has read your blog and smaller government ideas for several months, they may actually be ready to face the idea of life without the all-encompassing government control!)
Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com. Use one of the link shrinkers to make the link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it each time you blog. For example – Willis offers small government solution to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni. #tlot #liberty Don’t forget the appropriate hashtags – those #tlot and #liberty words at the end. They’re a “filing” system for twitter. More info on hashtags.
Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting, use the tweets as your Facebook status. This is a great way to stimulate discussion among your Facebook friends, and teach more about Libertarian philosophy. Add as many Facebook friends as you can within your voting district. Search for likely suspects, and add them.
Write letters to the editor that are basically your blog articles. You may have make some minor adjustments for format or clarity. Post them to local newspaper’s forums.
Take a few minutes to go to DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at all of them. Add the widgets to all of your sites.
Since all of this can be a lot of work, and you haven’t even started the “real life” work of the campaign yet, consider having a truted volunteer of family member function as your “online campaign manager”. All of this can be done by a ghost-writer, even remotely. Your cousin George could be sitting in Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and conducting your online campaign for City Council in Portland, OR.
Now, starts the physical part. Doorbelling. One great candidate that I know started in early spring, walking his neighborhood, knocking on doors, introducing himself.
He knocked on his neighbor’s doors several evenings a week and some weekends, and won the election in the fall.
Always attend neighborhood events, town celebrations, etc. They are great opportunities for networking and campaigning. And do I need to say it? Always have your pocket sized campaign piece in your pocket, and a slim jim or something when appropriate.
Libertarian candidates have some choices to make. There are two ways to go.
The first is to run for a small, non-partisan office. This could be anything from a water or cemetery board to a school board. These are very winnable races. Where you don’t necessarily talk about your political beliefs, but you practice them. You influence policy. Make decisions, and actually govern. School boards are a great race for this. Do not expect that people will know that you are Libertarian, do not attempt to change the world overnight. Especially on a school board – this one should be handled carefully, but can be a launching point for a politician to actually get elected to higher office. Someone who has served on a school board for 4-8 years, putting in the time, the hard work, will have some reputation and network that may help to win a legislative, or city council race.
The second is to run an educational campaign. There might be a race in your district that has no opponent, or where you just have a particular passion, but not any real hope of winning. In this type of campaign, you would run a legitimate campaign, maximizing your exposure, taking every opportunity to speak to voters and to get out the Libertarian message. All the while knowing that there is not much chance of winning. These campaigns are generally run for education and information – a way to expose people to Libertarian ideas, and talk about better government.
No matter which strategy you decide on, never enter into a race for a job that you wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for Lt. Governor on the platform that, if elected, she would abolish the office of Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple of our Florida Libertarians, got elected to a board that accomplished nothing, and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and then they shut it down. All brilliant Libertarian strategists. Thank you, gentlepeople.
What do you plan to do? Need help deciding? Go to your county auditor, or secretary of State’s website, and see what offices are up for election this fall.
What sounds attractive or interesting to you? What fits with your interests, skills?
Once you have an office in mind, start doing the research.
- What are the issues?
- Is this office something that has been in the news recently? Corrupt? Incompetent?
- Spending too much money?
- Look up Voter Guide Statements for the race in past years.
- Pay particular attention to the statement of the winner.
- Start to write a statement that incorporates Libertarian values. Be careful that you don’t include any information that, no matter how true or Libertarian, has no connection to the office. (In other words, in a City Council race, you do not mention federal or state issues. This is not where you talk about your 911 Truth beliefs, or your Birther convictions, or your desire to build ZeroG space stations.)
- Get a photo taken – preferably a professional shot. Dress for a professional job interview (it is!), and be cautious about any emblems, symbols, or backgrounds. You want a photo that makes you look relaxed, confident, and approachable. Susan Hogarth reviewed a lot of candidate photos last season – I found it helpful.
- Have you been in touch with your local LP affiliate to ask for endorsement, campaign help, volunteers? Do it now. This is also a good place to start to get help from Libertarians with your Voter Guide Statement and talking points.
- Put together a list of friends, family, business contacts and organizations that you can ask for donations and help. Even people who don’t have money usually have something that they can help you with. Putting up signs. Sending out an eMail on your behalf. Phone numbers of people who do have money. Ideas.
- Get online, and find a domain name. JoeSmithForCongress.org. Do not use JoeSmithForCongress.freewebs.com, or something like that. It should be simple, understandable, easy.
- Google Calendar (Great for scheduling candidate events! The entire team can access the calendar.),
- Google Docs (for leaving Voter Guide Statement, photos and position papers, literature for events, etc.)
Get a Facebook account for the campaign. Be sure that it is used for only campaign things. No pictures of you doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which means be careful who you friend. Maybe the campaign account is named Willis Campaign, or Willis for Congress. Or rather than a whole account, set up a Fan page and group for the campaign.
Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com. You can download and host Wordpress on your own domain (best), but if not, or to start, get WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You can move the blog later, or even just link from your website. On the blog, comment on news stories or developments that are current and germane to your race. Always offer a Libertarian solution.
Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .
"Pleasantville’s City Council plans to raise taxes by 30% to pay for the new park and rec center (make part of that sentence a link to the news story).
Since Libertarians prefer to spend within our means, and not burden your children for recreational facilities, I would first solicit private donations (in exchange for naming), then set up a system where users of the rec center would pay fees for classes, groups would pay rental fees to use the facilities, and businesses and individuals could either provide ongoing financial support or maintenance.
In this way, I estimate that we would only have to raise taxes 10%. Of course, my preference would be to wait until we could raise the complete cost of the facility from private sources and community fundraising before we broke ground and then support it through user fees."
This example, while some would attack it as un-Libertarian, offers both the proposed Libertarian solution and a compromise. (Often, Libertarians in office find that they can reduce government by offering something less than the original “full meal deal”. Being the lone “No” vote may make you feel good, it really doesn’t accomplish anything. Making an amendment to a motion can begin some discussion in a meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve. Offering people smaller government solutions helps to wean them off the habit of taxes extracted at the point of a gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a voter has read your blog and smaller government ideas for several months, they may actually be ready to face the idea of life without the all-encompassing government control!)
Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com. Use one of the link shrinkers to make the link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it each time you blog. For example – Willis offers small government solution to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni. #tlot #liberty
Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting, use the tweets as your Facebook status. This is a great way to stimulate discussion among your Facebook friends, and teach more about Libertarian philosophy. Add as many Facebook friends as you can within your voting district. Search for likely suspects, and add them.
Write letters to the editor that are basically your blog articles. You may have make some minor adjustments for format or clarity. Post them to local newspaper’s forums.
Take a few minutes to go to DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at all of them. Add the widgets to all of your sites.
Since all of this can be a lot of work, and you haven’t even started the “real life” work of the campaign yet, consider having a truted volunteer of family member function as your “online campaign manager”. All of this can be done by a ghost-writer, even remotely. Your cousin George could be sitting in Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and conducting your online campaign for City Council in Portland, OR.
Now, starts the physical part. Doorbelling. One great candidate that I know started in early spring, walking his neighborhood, knocking on doors, introducing himself.
"Hi, I’m Willis, and I’m running for City Council this fall. I have this piece to let you know what I’m about, and I’d appreciate you taking a few minutes to take a look at it. It has contact information for me on it, and you can call or eMail me with any questions you might have. Have a great evening, and if you think my ideas sound good, I’d appreciate your vote."
He knocked on his neighbor’s doors several evenings a week and some weekends, and won the election in the fall.
Always attend neighborhood events, town celebrations, etc. They are great opportunities for networking and campaigning. And do I need to say it? Always have your pocket sized campaign piece in your pocket, and a slim jim or something when appropriate.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Lp Oregon Convention
The Libertarian Party of Oregon held our convention March 14 & March
15. Here are the list of officers and e-mail information.
Chairman: Joseph Cornwell
jrcorn@mindless.com
Vice-chariman: Marc Delphine
marcdelphine@gmail.com
Secretary: Christiana Mayer
christianamayer@gmail.com
Treasurer: Justin Grover
j.grover@notablevideo.com
Thanks and CONGRATULATIONS to all of these courageous individuals for taking on the working positions! We really appreciate your work for Liberty.
There were numerous changes made to the bylaws, including deleting the Non-Aggression Pledge (NAP). The one included in Oregon's bylaws was flawed - it said "use of force" rather than "initiation of force", but in light of the MIAC report that was just making the news at that time, I'm not convinced that letting go of NAP is a good idea.
Oregon's Convention was a good time, and a lot was accomplished. We had some fun, dinner with our friends, and listening to a great speaker at lunch on the Heller decision.
Plan on attending next year . . . maybe a joint convention - Washington and Oregon?
15. Here are the list of officers and e-mail information.
Chairman: Joseph Cornwell
jrcorn@mindless.com
Vice-chariman: Marc Delphine
marcdelphine@gmail.com
Secretary: Christiana Mayer
christianamayer@gmail.com
Treasurer: Justin Grover
j.grover@notablevideo.com
Thanks and CONGRATULATIONS to all of these courageous individuals for taking on the working positions! We really appreciate your work for Liberty.
There were numerous changes made to the bylaws, including deleting the Non-Aggression Pledge (NAP). The one included in Oregon's bylaws was flawed - it said "use of force" rather than "initiation of force", but in light of the MIAC report that was just making the news at that time, I'm not convinced that letting go of NAP is a good idea.
Oregon's Convention was a good time, and a lot was accomplished. We had some fun, dinner with our friends, and listening to a great speaker at lunch on the Heller decision.
Plan on attending next year . . . maybe a joint convention - Washington and Oregon?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
How will I create more Liberty today?
Here are a few simple ideas to help create more Liberty . . .
- Watch the legislature's website, and write legislators about bills that infringe on freedom. Once you've written that letter, adapt it a little and send it to the Editor of your local newspaper.
- Go to the capitol or your city council meeting, and speak about an issue.
- Write a letter to the editor about a news item. Offer a Libertarian solution, or a smaller government option.
- If you Facebook or twitter, post a message that makes people think about issues related to Liberty. A Facebook or twitter account with hundreds of friends and followers can plant a seed in a lot of minds.
- Start a blog and cultivate followers. You can use Facebook or twitter to promote. Get reciprocal links to other sites.
- Take your libertarian or freedom oriented magazines and newsletters to coffee shops or libraries, if they have a public reading material basket.
- Leave copies of our newsletter in the library's newspaper area. Usually it's at the front - where they put the piles of The Weekly and Stranger.
- Start a discussion group, or a free class to study Liberty.
- Volunteer to give a presentation to a class at a school or senior center on American History and the founding of the US, or on libertarianism, or voting . . .
- Post message of positive libertarian philosophy on blogs or bulletin boards, either electronic or hard copy.
- Put a Liberty message on your car - a bumper sticker or a window sign. Make sure it can be read while driving.
Post your ideas or results in the comments here . . . and have a gentle day! :o)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Open borders?
Yesterday, I got an eMail that said “I cannot support the LP because of its “open borders” policy.”
I replied that "Since libertarians believe in freedom and Liberty for all people, "open borders" is an inviolable (IMO) part of our platform."
Later in the day, Hugs and I were shopping for a birthday gift for his 87 year old mother. He found “Ellis Island: An Illustrated History of the Immigrant Experience” at Powell's Books in Portland. While we drove back to Seattle, I looked through it.
The images, both graphic and verbal, are vivid – the farm laborer from Serbia, eyes wide to keep the tears from falling, who was sent back; the story of the little girl who had a rash on her face, and whose coat was marked with chalk to deny entry; the photos of tiny little children’s shoes: from China, Austria, Albania and Greece. Portraits and stories of thousands of people who risked death to travel in steerage; who, hungry, cold and proud, presented themselves for the humiliation and pain of the physical examinations at Ellis Island.
Stories about the monotonous, bland food, which, while filling and plentiful, was the “least common denominator” – that which offended most people the least. (Apparently, the Italians hated the oatmeal, and the Jews kept kosher, of course; and most of the other groups didn’t like the food of one group or another.)
This country was founded by people seeking refuge from religious oppression. For a century, it was filled by groups of people seeking relief from oppression, from poverty, and from war.
They came here, not seeking a handout, nor even a hand up, just the opportunity to work hard, to earn money, and to live free in a free land.
We started with a great experiment in freedom . . . "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore”.
And what have we done with it? We’ve built a fence and slammed the gate, because “you’re too tired, too poor, and there are too many of you huddled outside the gate”.
The unintended consequence of our “we must help those less fortunate” policies have hurt the very people they were intended to help. The United States of America is no longer the refuge of oppressed people looking for opportunity.
As Ben Franklin left the Constitutional Convention, a woman asked him, “….. Sir, what have you given us”. Ben’s response was, “…… a ‘Republic’ ma’am, if you can keep it.”
And we’ve not kept it.
In the attempt to help people, we’ve created a situation where we now want to exclude those who most need help.
A Libertarian solution would be to end the welfare programs that people are afraid we can't afford to offer to anyone who can slip over our borders; and allow peaceful people to travel freely. Private charities could choose who they offered help to.
Because government is not the answer. Freedom works best.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Florida will hold its annual meeting and convention in Jacksonville
The Libertarian Party of Florida will hold its annual meeting and convention on March 28-29, 2009 at the Hampton Inn located at 4415 Southside Blvd in Jacksonville, Florida. (Use the code LIBERTARIAN when you register.)
If you wish to vote on party business at the convention you will need to be registered as a Libertarian with your county's supervisor of elections office 60 days prior to the convention and have signed the Libertarian Party pledge.
Offices up for elections are:
Chair (2 years term),
Vice-Chair (2 year term), and all
the regional representative positions (1 year term).
Random reviews . . .
Highly Recommend
I stayed at The Hampton Inn while in town for business. It is located near all the restaurants, mall & the freeway. The rooms are very clean, especially the bathrooms. They offer complimentary breakfast, free internet access & also internet access in the rooms. The front desk staff is very helpful. I highly recommend this hotel for families & business travelers.
Editorial Review for Hampton Inn – by Robyn Galbos In Short
Part of the Hilton hotel family, this chain caters to travelers by offering high-quality accommodations at mid-range rates. Amenities include complimentary in-room high-speed Internet access, coffeemakers, irons and portable lap desks. Coffee and tea are offered round-the-clock in the lobby, and a free breakfast buffet with items like muffins, eggs, sausage and fruit is served daily. Fax service is available at the front desk.
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