Free State Libertarian ISSN 1076-3155
Volume 20 Issue 3
The Free State Libertarian is published quarterly by the Libertarian Party of Maryland. All material is copyrighted 1998 and may be reproduced provided credit is given as follows: "Reprinted from the Free State Libertarian."
Submissions and corrections should be emailed to LPMD.Newsletter*ICengineering.com, or mailed to LPMD Newsletter, PO Box 321, Owings Mills, MD 21117.
Editor: Robert E. Glaser
Editorial Staff: Susan Gaztañaga and Lorenzo Gaztañaga
The Libertarian Party of Maryland
4323 Rosedale Avenue, Bethesda MD 20814
1-800-MLP-1776
Libertarian BBS: 301-656-4714
National LP HQ: 202-543-1988
Check www.MD.LP.org regularly for the current event calendar, hot topics, email listserv, debate pages, photo album, and more! Be certain to submit current event information to LPMD.Event*ICengineering.com to get your data online.
Table of Contents
State Executive Committee Officers
Highlights of the 1998 MDLP State Convention
Old Libertarian Tries to Shrink Government
Self-Help and Resource Exchange
Chair Steve Boone 410-628-6170 LPChairMD*aol.com
Vice Chair Lorenzo Gaztañaga 410-325-2813 DiazVivar*aol.com
Secretary Terry Atwood 301-229-4092 TAAtwood*aol.com
Treasurer Joe Miller 410-789-3899 Hatsiwear*aol.com
Assistant Treasurer Bruce Godfrey 301-627-9236 Cmpn4Hmnty*aol.com
Membership Wayne Dougherty 301-834-6179 Wdarty*aol.com
Outreach/registration Bill Galvin 301-990-0015
The executive committee meets on the second Monday of every month. All meetings are open. Contact Steve Boone for location.
Anne Arundel County Spear Lancaster 410-923-3331 Maimon*aol.com
Baltimore City Susan Gaztañaga 410-325-2813 DiazVivar*aol.com
Baltimore County Nancy Millionie 410-833-8991 LibertyGrl*aol.com
Frederick County Wayne Dougherty 301-834-6179 Wdarty*aol.com
Harford County Derek Mancinho 410-836-3104 Mancinho*aol.com
Howard County Ken Otwell 410-799-3399 Kotwell*stonewater.com
Prince Georges County Jim McLaughlin 301-352-8809 JimMcL*hotmail.com
Montgomery County Glenn Howard 301-585-1793 glenn*tidalwave.net
This was the second time we had the convention for two days. The program was devoted almost entirely to training in techniques for communicating libertarian ideas and selling our party more effectively. Some of the presenters came from out of state, such as Mike Buoncristiano and Janice Presser from New Jersey, Dana Johanssen from Virginia, and Michael Sensor from Delaware. Michael Cloud, Marshall Fritz, and David Bergland, legendary libertarian communicators, came to us via audio and video tape.
It's Time to Be Bold Again was the title of Mike Buoncristiano's keynote speech. His definition of libertarianism? "A consistent and principled application of individual freedom and personal responsibility." Please note, libertarianism is not based on the Constitution, but vice versa -- it was libertarian philosophy that shaped the Constitution.
Our next speaker, Ken Blanchard, is a former marine and currently a professional firearms trainer. Did someone tell him the old joke that "leading libertarians is like trying to herd cats?" His talk How to Train a Tiger was basically about motivating people with cat-like tendencies. He stressed that motivation is never external. It always comes from within the person. Here are some of the practical principles he shared:
We moved on to some taped wisdom from Nancy Millionie's $600 library. Marshall Fritz, founder of the Advocates for Self-Government, suggested that many of the words libertarians hold dear -- prosperity, peace, liberty, or freedom, for example -- do not have altogether positive connotations for the general populace. Prosperity, for example, suggests the rich elite getting richer, while offering nothing to the poor or middle class. Better words are:
For prosperity -- abundance; for peace (which could be obtained through isolation) -- harmony (people cooperating together); for liberty or freedom (suggesting absence of law and order) -- self-government; for activist -- volunteer; for abolish -- replace; for anarchy or anarchism -- self-government.
Choices is not a word that sells very well. To many people, it just means more confusion. Security is a hot button for a lot of people. We can offer the security-lovers a vision of a civil society in which they will be allowed to keep the fruits of their labor and be free from aggression. In other words, "You're going to have stuff and not feel threatened."
When selling a product or service, there's a big difference between a feature and a benefit. A feature is any attribute that a product has, even when it's not being used by a human being. The benefit is the good feeling the user has using the product. Rarely can you sell a product by simply describing its features. You have to stress the benefits -- again, "What's in it for me?"
With Nancy holding up the charts, Marshall went on to explain the hidden killer that keeps many of us from reaching our goal. Libertarians who are still thinking inside the box unconsciously visualize a left-right continuum between "too much government" and "too little government." This implies that it is possible to go too far in either direction, and that we must search for the golden mean. Of course, no one can agree on where that golden mean is. Everyone is convinced that it's wherever he or she happens to be at the time. We need to rotate the axis 90 degrees to form a vertical thermometer with 100% self-government at the top and 0% self-government at the bottom. Having done this, find a way to esteem and praise the 100 percent position, even if you personally feel it is beyond your reach. When a Christian looks at the life of a person he considers to be a saint (Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, whoever), he may say, "I don't think I could live that way," or "He/she is a better Christian than I am," but he never says, "I think that person has gone too far." Likewise, for the libertarian, there can never be too much self-government, any more than there could be too much goodness.
The Saturday sessions continued with Janice Presser, Chair of the New Jersey Libertarian Party, and David Bergland (on tape) giving practical tips for approaching people of various personality types both with the right words (Bergland) and the right body language and energy level (Presser). Individually, we categorized ourselves by personality type as Intuitive Feelers (compassion), Sensory Judgers (organization), Intuitive Thinkers (science), or Sensory Perceivers (action/adventure), noting that the scientific types who dominate the LP are only about 12 percent of the general population. We brainstormed one-sentence definitions of libertarianism that might appeal to each of the different personality types. Someone suggested that "Libertarians want to get rid of your taxes and let you smoke pot" might appeal to both the Sensory Judgers and the Sensory Perceivers. Janice spoke about the importance of matching your energy level, and the speed with which you speak and move, to that of the person you are trying to approach to take the quiz or sign the petition. In two quick role-plays, she demonstrated discordance between the petitioner and the prospect -- a focussed, driven, professional woman being repelled by a slovenly, gum-chewing petitioner, for example. In the third scene, Lorenzo created a sensation by getting her to sign his petition while addressing her entirely in Spanish -- because he "moved to her rhythm."
Mike Buoncristiano, who managed the Sabrin gubernatorial campaign, delivered an entertaining, highly participatory presentation on political campaigning as "a unique blend of marketing and warfare." When he asked the group to suggest the single most important thing in a campaign, no one came up with the obvious answer -- the VOTER. The successful campaigner frames the ideas being promoted so that they fill a need or solve a problem for you (magic word), the voter.
You either loved Brian Wilson's rather pessimistic dinner speech, or you hated it -- very few were neutral. Having attended several of the earlier sessions, he was frustrated by the emphasis on reaching one individual at a time while opportunities to use the mass media to reach a wider audience were being ignored, both on the state and national levels. Talk radio programs provide free air time worth thousands of dollars, yet few libertarians are taking advantage of it. He suggested that we not only call Brian Wilson and Zoh Hieronimous, whose audiences are already mainly in our camp, but open some new minds by calling in to Alan Prell, for example.
Earle Pearce, one Maryland Libertarian who has used the media to get the message out, received the prestigious Samuel P. Chase Award -- appropriately, a privately minted silver coin. In the six years this writer has known Earle, this was the first time I have seen him speechless -- he was that surprised and moved.
The program on Sunday was more informational than action oriented. Bill Hough and Ed Akehurst, of Save-A-Patriot Fellowship, spoke on the Constitution. Libertarian lawyer Michael Sensor, of Delaware, spoke on The Commerce Clause in the Erosion of Liberty. The commerce clause is found in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, and reads, "The Congress shall have the power to ... regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes." Michael traced the use and abuse of this clause through various Supreme Court decisions.
The business meeting was convened at 5 pm and concluded around 6. Terry Atwood, Joe Miller, Wayne Dougherty, and Bill Galvin were nominated and elected to fill the four vacant positions on the Executive Committee. A motion passed to hold the next state convention the weekend of October 16 and 17, 1999. If there is no conflict with the Waterfowl Festival, we will probably hold the convention in Easton or somewhere else on the Eastern Shore. Hagerstown and Frederick will also be considered. We will consider holding the next Central Committee meeting in February or early March to organize as a political party after we turn in our petition signatures. Lorenzo Gaztañaga announced that he is considering running for Baltimore City Council in 1999, and asked for support. Earle Pearce announced his resignation from the position of Vice Chair of the Baltimore City Libertarian Party and from all party offices so that he can concentrate on building up the Campaign for Humanity.
-- Susan Gaztañaga
MDLP Convention, clockwise from top left: Ken Blanchard, Mike Buoncristiano, Nancy Millionie, Janice Presser, Dean Ahmad, Earle Pearce, Brian Wilson.
Contacts
Bill Hough (editor of Reasonable Action): Lexrex.com
Save-A-Patriot Fellowship: www.Save-a-Patriot.org
Doris Gordon (head of Libertarians for Life): libertarian*erols.com
Libertarians for Life: L4L.org
Dana Johanssen, for material on outreach booths: VetoVJ*cais.com or send
self-addressed, stamped envelope to 2601 Wagon Drive, Alexandria VA 22303
For looking up laws: www.FindLaw.com
Ken Blanchard: Bestshot*aol.com, also www.blackmanwithagun.com
1998 has been some year!
We started out focusing our attention on the General Assembly and trying to get Senate Bill 27, the Pinsky Fair Ballot Access Bill, approved. That bill, which would have dropped the petitioning requirements from 3 percent to 1 percent of the registered voters in the affected area, had been defeated for the past few years. What we ended up getting was a surprise package in Senate Bill 123, which gave us many more goodies than just the lowered requirements!
We geared up for sending 26 delegates to the Libertarian National Convention in DC over the July 4 weekend. Due to the quirky convention rules, we actually got 42 of our members to have full voting privileges for the big vote on July 4! Aside from the 26 from the People's Republic of Maryland, we also had several in our neighbor Pennsylvania, and a few in Idaho and one in Wisconsin.
In 1997, the Libertarian Road Show worked a handful of outreach events, adding Western Maryland to our hit list. This year, we trebled our number of events, kept busy in the west, and added the Shore -- maybe the next state of Chesapeake? Building on both ends in 1999, we intend to target our next major undeveloped region: Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties.
The Party developed some really strong activists this year as well. Spear Lancaster and Owen Jones lit up Anne Arundel County and are bringing it online with regular meetings and a likely Libertarian Drinking and Debating Society clone. Speaking of LDDS and its clones, the original continues in full force, adopting two more regulars on Thursday nights. Montgomery County's LDDS changed its meeting location, but still remains active after nearly a year. As this newsletter goes to press, some new activists are gearing up to revitalize the Howard County organization with a kick-off meeting scheduled for December 4. Finally, the Monday night Gallery Gang in Annapolis met various weeks following the evening session. We're certainly going to try it again next year.
When Senate Bill 123 mentioned above passed and was signed by the Governor, we immediately set out to become the first party to qualify under the new law, planning to gather 14,000 signatures to hand to SABEL in early January. We already had some sigs, but we needed plenty more. Some 4,000 sigs were pulled together, then culled for those which would have passed the two year "stale date" by that date. We had to toss out some 2,200 signatures, some dating as far back as 1994, and a big chunk of which had been gathered on November 6, 1996.
"They" said it couldn't be done. Period. (That's the wrong thing to tell some of us...) We knew we were going to have to engage paid petitioners to get the job done, and so, by the fall convention, we had started one, and two others were ready to begin.
I'm happy to say that the paid petitioners have done the job in nearly three weeks. As I write this, we're going to send them home on Tuesday, November 17, after buying them a decent dinner. We'll have collected more than 12,000 by then. Now, we need to finish the drive; we still want to turn in at least 14,000, but to do so with non-paid volunteers. The non-paid end of the drive will be just about Christmas time. By not later than December 26, I want to make arrangements to get all of the outstanding signatures so that we can collate and count them for delivery to SABEL.
I want to say a big "THANK YOU" to all the folks who helped gather sigs for us! Your time and effort will not be wasted. Even if you just sent us a handful, it still counts toward the total. Thanks!
And, in this drive, Tony Spezio caught fire and singlehandedly collected more than 1,200 sigs! Attaboy, Tony! Spear Lancaster, Owen Jones, Susan Gaztañaga, Jay Baker, Bill Buzzell, Jim Voris, and countless others... we owe you! Thanks!
And, in late October, we had a tremendous Fall Convention! Highlights included a great two days of seminars put together by Nancy Millionie as well as a celebration of United Nations Day in a very special way. The UN flag provided a wonderful floor mat, although the nylon could have burned much better for us! The burnt product did, however, fetch $35 at the evening's auction. (We have pictures of before, during, and after!)
Welcome to Bill Galvin from Montgomery County as the newest member of the Executive Committee, elected at the Fall Convention. Bill will head the 1999 Libertarian Road Show Crew. He replaces Renzo Brun del Re, who did not run for election because of his busy schedule at St. John's College in Annapolis. We wish you well, Renzo!
Watch for the Victory Party coming up in February! National's having a Success '99 training seminar the weekend of the 20th... and our next central committee meeting is likely to be late that afternoon so that those who wish to attend the seminar may also attend our meeting. Then comes the Victory Party, with some potential surprises for that evening, and the Success folks will have the chance to purchase admissions as part of their regular package for that event.
So, now that we can declare the petitioning accomplished, what is our next set of goals? Well, that's easy. Senate Bill 123 (there's a pattern here) also granted permanent ballot status to any party that could maintain 1 percent of the total number of registered voters. It also said that if the party attains that standard on December 31 of the previous year, it may nominate by convention rather than by petition. That means roughly 27,000 at current registration levels.
"They" say we can't do it. Ha! We'll show them! We're searching for candidates for the 1999 season; we'll need to petition to get them on the ballot. Simultaneously, we'll be doing a major re-registration drive all over the State. Who knows? If we can get the magic number by 12/31/99, we'll nominate a full slate for Congress in the spring convention in 2000! Otherwise, it should be very easy to get done by 12/31/01 so we can nominate state candidates in 2002 by convention.
Who says we just sit around and debate how many pinheads can dance on an angel? And, if a man falls from the 30th floor onto the 18th floor balcony... well, never mind.
Working for liberty in our lifetimes!
-- Steve Boone
There are two topics that came up at the polls that I wish to pass along. The first topic was what some people call proportional balloting. Instead of just voting for your candidate of first choice, you vote for your first choice and second choice if more than two candidates are running (including write-ins). This way if no one gets the majority of the vote, the person with the lowest number of first choice votes gets eliminated, and his second choice votes are given to the other candidate(s). This continues until one candidate gets the majority of the votes. This helps prevent a third party candidate from splitting the vote of a primary party candidate who might otherwise win. Many of our Republican friends are concerned about reducing their chances to win. By pushing for proportional balloting we lessen the negative impact of third parties.
The other topic is what I call the liberal agenda. It goes something like this: "We need government to help the minorities with welfare and aid programs. Without taxing particularly those with higher income and giving to the poor, there will be a grave unbalance of wealth in this country. Government also keeps big corporations in check with regulations. With corporations running amuck they will be self-serving and again concentrate power and wealth in a few hands. Government makes education available to all, etc., etc." Unfortunately much of this agenda has won again in this election. The liberals believe strongly in their agenda, strongly enough to believe the ends justify the means. Whether it means pushing for the candidates of their party no matter what the record of those running, negative campaign ads that paint the opponents in a false light, or systematically stealing the opponents' signs. The sooner we come up with a clear, precise, and preferably self-evident answer to this agenda the sooner we can defuse the liberal bandwagon and attract Democrats to our party. What is your answer to this agenda? My commitment will be to write a vision to focus our goals and help defuse the liberal agenda. During the Son of SLAM Maryland LP session last winter a vision was deemed the most important item on our agenda.
One thing that should be clear from this election is the power of grassroots and how the Democratic party worked in getting their support together, particularly to win the governor's race in our state. The Maryland LP needs grassroots support now. Our primary goal currently is ballot access signatures. The sooner we get recognized in 1999 as a party again, the more time we will be able to work on our next primary goal of membership before the party recognition runs out in four years. By staying focused on our primary goal and getting full participation of our members we can become a viable party. If each one of you who gets this newsletter donates at least five or ten dollars, the cost of a movie or meal in an inexpensive restaurant, it will go a long way in reaching our goal. Would you be willing to sacrifice some form of entertainment for a weekend to protect your future? What is your level of commitment?
-- Glenn Howard
Bill Morris, who calls himself "The old Libertarian from Delaware," founded the Libertarian Party of Delaware in 1975. Now he has founded "Seniors Against Federal Extravagance" (SAFE). The goal of SAFE is to get the federal government to cut spending and pay off as much debt as possible before the Baby Boomers retire. Otherwise, members of Generation X face very high taxes to pay for the entitlements of the Baby Boomers and/or the Baby Boomers will receive much lower entitlements than present seniors get. Its motto is "Smaller government now for a safe future for our grandchildren and all of us."
SAFE is an unusual seniors organization in that members agree to accept reductions in their entitlements if the federal government will cut spending. Libertarians are a minority in SAFE. Most members are probably conservatives, although members are not asked about their political affiliation or political philosophy.
In addition to pushing for smaller government, SAFE is a bridge between Libertarians and conservatives. There are over 100 members, mostly in Delaware. SAFE has started an ambitious drive to obtain members throughout the U.S. so that members of Congress will hear from constituent seniors who favor smaller government. As part of the drive, a web site has been created. The address is www.s-a-f-e.org. SAFE welcomes members of any age. For dues of $5 per year (additional contributions are voluntary), members receive a quarterly newsletter. To join, write a check to SAFE at 206 Main Street, Odessa, DE 19730-0602. Bill Morris welcomes calls at (302) 475-7060.
In the Nov 6 issue of the Montgomery Gazette, yours truly was displayed collecting a petition signature from Councilmember Ike Legget. It was a good picture, even if I do say so myself. And by the way, the reason the picture was taken was that I lobbied the photographer for 30 minutes. He was waiting for Ike to vote. I explained that it would be a great public interest photo showing how Democrat Legget supports opening up the electoral process. I was also filmed but never saw it on TV. It was an independent film producer and he wouldn't identify his customer.
-- Bob Creager
One of the things I was hoping we'd get into was the MDLP's image among the needy, in the City, and in the Communities. I was taking advice from a recently departed and dearly loved Libertarian, Karl Hess, who held that we need to outreach by example -- being "good neighbors." Well, we went there, and among the projects we decided to take on was a campaign similar to one held every year by Channel 11. They call it the "WBAL Kids' Campaign," and they collect coats and then pass them out to needy kids every year. Our idea was to have a "mitten drive"... (we're still trying to come up with a snazzy name for it). We're going to start a drive for mittens, gloves, scarves, and hats to "complement" the coat drive. Donations can be dropped off or sent to any executive committee member or Chair. We're doing it just like the coat drive, in that the donations may be used (but clean), can come from the Goodwill Store, from the dollar store, or from your closet. We figure it will promote good will in the communities, perhaps get us some coverage, and not cost an arm and a leg. The thought occurred to me that this may be something that our sister states may want to also get involved in. It could be a Mid-Atlantic effort, and might pick up National's notice, and get into the LP News. I am contacting Chairs of the Mid-Atlantic region to join the effort. It might even be something that Getz wanted to release and promote in the media. Who knows? It might wind up becoming a nationwide effort.
We don't suppose we can have this ready for the holidays, but we thought that we'd bill it as, "The holidays may be over, but the spirit of giving continues." Or put a Libertarian spin on it -- "The holidays may be over, but the spirit of giving should never end." We thought January, sometime, we could have it ready to be distributed.
Please bring gloves, hats, etc. to any LP meeting you attend. That includes the Friday Nite Parties, Thursday LDDS in Baltimore, Montgomery LDDS, any Central Committee meeting or social gathering, Northwest Club, etc. etc. The Chair or someone else will collect them from you. Or, you can mail them to me at 5815 Deer Park Rd. Reisterstown, MD 21136 (Two first class stamps should do the trick).
Any other Chair who would like to post his address is encouraged to do so. Please look through your closet this evening, and get out that pair you never wore, or any item that is clean and in good shape. Let's make this drive a success!
-- Nancy Millionie
An outreach opportunity for the Libertarian Party of Maryland
SHARE is a non-government food and community service co-op. It charges $14 and two hours of community service for a package of food that would be at least double the value at grocery store prices.
You can donate food packages in the name of the MDLP for just $14 each, since LPMD members contribute more than enough community service hours with our ongoing programs.
Send checks or money orders, made out to LPMD, to Bill Buzzell, 7806 St. Fabian Lane, Baltimore, MD 21222. For more information about the SHARE program, call Bill at 410-477-9173.
We had a great meeting on Friday, November 13. We had a total of 12 folks show -- six or seven new faces. Lots of talk about the election and what it meant. Owen Jones had quite a few sigs and had sold all his raffle tickets. Don Kemple had gotten quite a few more sigs.
We discussed how we could get more publicity. Dan O'Neil suggested that we contact the papers etc. Mark Klein suggested we contact the schools. We are going to try to run candidates as soon as possible.
Don Kemple had a list of questions that had been asked him by folks at a meeting he attended about the Libertarian position. We had a very interesting discussion. I was quite impressed with the logic and thought patterns of some of the folks there. Especially the young people.
We are just getting started, but everyone seems excited.
-- Spear Lancaster
Since the last newsletter, Baltimore County has had an outreach booth at the Worcester County Fair, and the Reisters Towne Festival. We assisted in Roy Innis and Brian Thomas' appearance at the Afram Festival, and the following reception at Baltimore City College. We put some time in at the Frederick County Fair with Wayne Dougherty, and most recently, ran an LP table in conjunction with Mike Barnes and Charles Heater of Carroll County at the Four Seasons Sports Complex Semi-Annual Flea Market. We also put some considerable time in at Timonium Fair collecting signatures. Thanks to Neil McIver, Bill Buzzell, Wayne Dougherty, George Reynolds, Kurt Saberg, and Spear Lancaster for their help.
Northwest Club is still humming, and we'd like to see more Baltimore and Carroll Countians join in! Additionally, the Towson/Timonium Friday Nite Group (aka LDDS North) is alive and kickin'. We've found a great place to meet on a regular basis now: There is a brand new beautiful Sports Bar/Lounge area in the Timonium Fairlanes building, directly across from the Fairgrounds. Full menu, darts, pool tables, and even a separate Arcade room! Plus private meeting rooms if we want to use them. Everyone is invited to come and party, chat, and kick back. Call or email me for the date of the next Timonium Friday Nite Party. We are currently directing the "Mittens for Kids" campaign and the "Share" Holiday Meal program for the needy. We also plan to make contact with Bea Gaddy, and assist her in her Holiday efforts. Volunteers and donations are much needed for all three projects. Contact me or Bill Buzzell (410-637-5058) to help or donate.
We are also looking for a "Computer Wiz" that can help with some hardware problems on some ailing MDLP computers!
-- Nancy Millionie
How are things on the eastern shore? You don't really want to know! I was asked to write about the political situation here on the Eastern Shore. I forgot to ask which part of the shore. The Eastern Shore has three states, three area codes, three sales tax rates from 0 to 5%, several spoken accents, religions from Amish to Jehovah's Witnesses, and we grow everything from cotton to clams.
I am going to write about Worcester County politics and say it's a microcosm of the Eastern Shore. Worcester County's economy is based on Ocean City tourism, real estate development, farming, and fishing. The county is run (into the ground) by a board of five elected commissioners. Most of the people in this county consider themselves conservative democrats (CD's). Most of the commissioners have been CD's, too, even the Republicans. The usual reason for running as a Republican is because the candidate knows he would lose in the Democratic primary. The usual reason to register as a Democrat is to vote in the primary, and because everybody in your family has been a Democrat for the last three or four hundred years.
CD's believe in laws for everybody but themselves and their buddies. If they don't smoke dope, let their grass grow three feet tall, or gamble, then nobody else should. CD's believe the government should create economic development. There is a labor shortage in the county, but in the wintertime, the unemployment rate jumps to 18% -- not from lack of jobs necessarily. Most of these people are taking the winter off collecting unemployment. CD politicians don't perceive that. They cater to developers because they believe growth is good, and the developers help get them elected. However, the developers don't build the schools, the roads, the dumps, or pay the police. That falls on the taxpayers, along with the traffic, sprawl, and strangers who talk funnier than we do.
Here are some really cool things a recent gang of CD county commissioners did for the good of us citizens in one year:
Bought options on land for a geriatric prison hospital to be built by a dubious company called Gercor. Locals dubbed it Jerkcor, and were against the project -- which never materialized because there were never any government prison contracts.
Helped bulldoze a house that had been confiscated from its owner because the tenants sold drugs.
Rezoned farmland in an agricultural area for a Walmart.
Made zoning changes for their buddies.
Gave a public road and beach to developers for a hotel. The developers didn't have to buy the land because the hotel would generate taxes and jobs.
Two of these rich and powerful commissioners were surprised to lose in the recent primary elections. They're wondering what happened to voter apathy. The voters don't want growth, higher taxes, and laws that don't apply equally to everyone. Nor do they want arrogant fat cats in office.
-- Beverly Lynch
The unofficial, informal, just-for-fun meeting place for drinkers and nondrinkers alike (Libertarian Drinking and Debating Society [LDDS]), is being moved. In response to requests for a menu of "many choices under $10" I have asked the regular attendees for ideas, then scouted around for a different location.
The place I picked was Bennigan's on Rockville Pike in Federal Plaza near the intersection of Twinbrook Parkway (behind the Texaco gas station). It is still relatively close to the population center of Montgomery County. The best access from interstate 270 is probable Montrose Road. Going north on Rockville Pike, it is on the left-hand side. You can turn left at a traffic light at the entrance to Federal Plaza just beyond Mattress Discounters. There are many beers on tap and a large low cost selection in their menu. Seating for many size groups is available.
Lets start meeting there on November 10th. As usual, the LDDS is the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month starting about 7 pm. Hope to see you there!
The next Montgomery County social meeting will be Monday, January 18, 1999 at 7:30 at Jeff Keller's home, 18775 Summer Oak Court in Germantown. Call 301-540-6421 for directions. This is a social meeting. The next business meeting will be at 7:30 on February 15, 1999 at Glenn Howard's home, 2105 Walsh View Terrace, #102 in Silver Spring. Call 301-585-1793 for directions. This is a business meeting followed by a social.
-- Glenn Howard
LDDS (Libertarian Drinking and Debating Society): Second Chapter Sports Bar Conkling & McDonnell Streets, Baltimore MD Thursdays, 7:30 pm. For more information, contact Earle Pearce, 410-327-1776
LDDS South (PG County): R.J. Bentley's Filling Station College Park, MD Sundays, 7:30 pm. For more information, contact Bruce Godfrey, 301-627-9236
LDDS West (Montgomery County): Bennigan's on Rockville Pike in Federal Plaza near the intersection of Twinbrook Parkway (behind the Texaco gas station) 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 7 pm. For more information, contact Glenn Howard, 301-585-1793
LDDS North (Baltimore County/City): Lounge of bowling alley in shopping plaza across from the State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. 2nd and 4th Fridays, 7:30 pm. For more information, contact Nancy Millionie, 410-833-8991
Northwest Baltimore Supper Club: Dragon House Restaurant in Garrison Forest shopping center on Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills, MD 4th Monday, 7:30 pm. For more information, contact Nancy Millionie, 410-833-8991
Washington Area Libertarian Alliance: 1st and 3rd Sundays. For more information, contact Tom Fishbeck, 301-474-1401