The Free? State Libertarian is published 3-4 times/year by the Libertarian Party of Maryland. All material is copyrighted 2001 and may be reproduced, provided credit is given as follows: "Reprinted from the Free? State Libertarian."
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Mail: LPMD Newsletter, PO Box 321, Owings Mills, MD 21117
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Newsletter submissions are solicited.
Editor: Robert E. Glaser
Check www.MD.LP.org regularly for the current event calendar, news, email listserves, photo album, and more! Be certain to submit all of your current event information to LPMD.Event*ICengineering.com to get the information online.
The views expressed by contributors to this publication are not necessarily the views of the Libertarian Party of Maryland, its Executive Board, or the Central Committee. The Free? State Libertarian is a first amendment publication, and welcomes diverse participation from many sources.
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The Free? State Libertarian is mailed to all Libertarian Party of Maryland members and paid subscribers. You may have received a gratis copy because you are registered Libertarian, are a member of the National Libertarian Party, or requested information. We appreciate your taking the level of action you are comfortable with: become a newsletter subscriber only (send $15 to above address); join the MdLP with the back page form (if you're a National member, it's only $5 more if you renew through us!); join the Central Committee; and/or register Libertarian (when we get 1% of the state registered, we can run candidates without petition signatures).
State Executive Board Officers
Tax Day Protests Score with Mainstream Press
April 29 Central Committee Meeting Notes
A New and Improved(!) MEDCO, Anyone?
The Kyl and McCain Wagering Bills
On the Federal Reserve and Taxation
If We Only Had an Army of Tony's
The Social Security Tax: Modern Day Slavery
Maryland Libertarian Party License Plates
Globalization According to Ralph Nader
LFL's Coordinator Ifeminist of the Month
Err on the Side of the Taxpayer
More Entertaining than Survivor!
From the Trenches ... County Chapter Notes
Regularly Scheduled Libertarian Gatherings
Chairman: Steve Boone 410-789-4249 LPChairMD*aol.com
Vice Chairman: Spear Lancaster 410-923-3331 SpearLib*aol.com
Secretary: Robert E. Glaser 410-363-8748 N3IC*ICengineering.com
Treasurer: Joe Miller 410-789-3899 hatsIwear*aol.com
Youth Outreach: Nick Sarwark 301-562-0640 NSarwark*cuc.edu
Membership: Steven Sass 410-602-8401 Crestln*erols.com
Media Relations: Beth Newman 301-588-3704 BANewman*mindspring.com
The executive board meets monthly. All meetings are open. Contact Steve
Boone for date and location.
Anne Arundel County: Spear Lancaster 410-923-3331 SpearLib*aol.com
Baltimore City: Susan Gaztañaga 410-325-2813 DiazVivar*aol.com
Baltimore County: Nancy Millionie 410-833-8991 LibertyGrl*aol.com
Caroline County: Allen Thomas 410-634-1540 gts*crosslink.net
Carroll/Howard County: Kevin Wolf 410-750-8531 Wolf8495*aol.com
Cecil County: Valerie McGlothlin 410-658-3063 v_mcglothlin*rocketmail.com
Charles County Glenn Faini
Frederick County: Wayne Dougherty 301-834-6179 WDarty*aol.com
Harford County: Roy J. Meyers III RMeyers*rjcc.net
Montgomery County: Glenn Howard 301-585-1793 Glenn*tidalwave.net
Prince Georges County: Andrew Chawla 301-442-0736 Eightiesoid*hotmail.com
Somerset County: Harry Hall
Washington County: Kurt Saberg Freedom1*innernet.net
Wicomico/Worcester: Graham Couzens 410-726-1733 Objreason*aol.com
Columbia Union College: Derek Pomery kyberneticist*yahoo.com
Johns Hopkins University: Aaron Back Amb18*jhu.edu
Loyola College: Jude Daniel Blanchette JBlanchette1*yahoo.com
Salisbury State University: Mike Wilson Wilson2882*yahoo.com
University of Baltimore: Troy Zinderman TroyZinderman*home.com
Western Maryland College: Jeremy Keil jpk001*wmdc.edu
The newly formed Cecil county affiliate begins with an impact -- their efforts resulted in the Cecil Whig newspaper putting their Tax Day Protest picture on the front page of the April 17 issue (below). Good work!!! Across the country, Libertarian groups drew attention to the issue of overbearing taxation to many last minute filers at U.S. post offices.
April
30, 2001. It's a very interesting time to be a Libertarian in Maryland!
More and more people are giving us a serious look as an alternative to the Democrats and their "me, too!" buddies, the Republicans in this state. Fewer and fewer people don't know who we are. That's a good and happy thing.
Our wacky governor and his sidekick, the Senate President, have decided that the plan for state legislative redistricting will not be introduced until the 2002 General Assembly session, and will have to be the main focus of next year's legislative agenda. Is that necessarily a bad thing?
No, not really.
Just think about it. If the Assembly is fighting over which counties and Baltimore City lose representation, which members to punish and which to reward for fealty to the governor and the establishment, they won't have much time to pass stupid laws like the MEDCO expansion of powers, raise taxes, or make other laws restricting individual rights.
Yes, it limits the time we can effectively petition to get our candidates on the ballot for state legislature. Don't think they don't know that! We'll have from April to July, basically, in order to accomplish the task for the number of candidates that want to go for state legislative seats. Does that make us sit on our kiesters from now until then? The cowardly pols would like to think so.
Quite the contrary! Many of our candidates have already begun attending workshops and seminars on effective campaigning, and gathering their campaign staffs together. Some have already started to form continuing committees, allowing them to raise money in the interim and become far more prepared than they might already have been.
Now is the time for candidates to do opposition research! Going into battle well-armed with the facts and figures on your opponent's role in tax increases and property grabs makes you a far more credible contender!
The state party will do what it can to help them get more organized as well! Beginning this summer, regular workshops and meetings will get candidates together, have them debate the issues, discuss common strategy, and so forth. I will start to ratchet up my activities in my role as LP-Maryland campaign coordinator for 2002, so that when I retire at the fall convention, we're able to continue progress already begun.
At yesterday's State Central Committee meeting in Carroll County, half a dozen or so of our potential candidates introduced themselves and said a few words about what they intended to accomplish. There are others out there who have thought about running, and, if you're one of them, I encourage you to contact me for more information.
Now, some words on the registration drive: we've got our work cut out for us as a Party, but we've been able to rise to the occasion at other times, and I believe we can do so again. As of March 31, 2001, the official State Board of Elections registration figures showed 4,398 registered Libertarians, out of 2,712,196 total voters. It's not time to go into panic mode -- yet.
Some special events are coming up that should bump us up considerably in the early summer. Registration has been named priority #1 this year, and we continue to get converts at our outreach tables. The April stats should show a slight increase from the start of the drive, and the May numbers should show a major jump, if all goes well.
We have a few things up our sleeves, and an active expansion program in the works will be the linchpin for that effort. We'll be hitting new areas -- and hard! We'll be doing targeted drives to specific groups, with both registered and unregistered voters as the focus.
Our candidates will also help in this regard. Active, well-organized campaigns tend to bring a bump in registration as more people find they DO have political alternatives. It's been borne out numerous times, and it will continue to help us to our goal.
Yep, it's really an interesting time for the Maryland LP. If you're interested in giving us a hand, please let us know! You can help make a difference in this state!
Working for Liberty,
-- Steve Boone
Join
us on July 18th for the J. Millard Tawes Crab & Clam
Bake at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield. The menu is all you can eat
seafood: crabs, clams, clam strips, fish, sweet potato and regular fries,
corn on the cob, watermelon, beer, and Pepsi. This is an invaluable outreach
event for us, and gives us the chance to show off our LP-Maryland T-shirts.
Tawes' reputation is that anyone who is anyone in Maryland politics goes
to the feast and gets the opportunity to schmooze with the hoi polloi of
the Maryland political activists realm. Our being there gets us a little
more attention.
Those who participated the last two years enjoyed it... so we need another group who will be willing to take the trip allll the way to Crisfield (roughly two hours from the Bay Bridge) and join with us. Carpooling worked well previously, we can do the same this year, or get ritzy and rent a bus... Figure leaving Baltimore or College Park by not later than 9:30 am or so (unless you tend to ignore posted speed limits) and returning some time around 8:30 pm, giving a leisurely drive in some pretty country. It's officially 1:00 - 5:00 pm.
For those of you who have not been there before, you will receive a commemorative glass mug and mallet. In addition, the veterans seem to bring a small (depending upon the size of your appetite) box to carry the food around as you go collecting it. Also, paper towels, and if you use a knife to eat crabs, bring one.
Well worth it... just for the chance to let Governor Parris Glendening know that Libertarians exist in Maryland. Payment must be made in advance. Contact Michael Linder at abingdonmike*zdnetonebox.com, phone 410-569-2186, or voicemail/fax 201-356-1315 ext. 1070.
The
Libertarian State Central Committee of Maryland met at Nathan Henry's
Restaurant in Eldersburg, Maryland. Steve Boone reported that new county
organizations have formed in Cecil and Carroll/Howard counties. Upcoming
new outreach events are the Leonardtown Criterium, which is a bicycle race
on May 20; and the HFStival, which is radio station WHFS' annual music
event. The latter is on Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, with
an expected 110,000+ attendance at RFK stadium in DC. The MdLP will have
an emphasis on voter registration at the event.
A
dozen or so candidates are already lined up for state and county legislative
offices for the 2002 election. We are working on candidate workshops to
assist. Present were Jeff Hallyburton (photo top right, AA county council,
community outreach programs, flea markets, neighborhoods); Dan Michael
(photo bottom left, appealing to nonvoters); Lorenzo Gaztañaga (House
of Delegates); Bill Prohaska (House of Delegates); Dave Sten (photo top
left); and Dave Margolis (photo bottom right, county council).
Renewal notices have been sent to members whose expiration dates ranged
from 31 December 2000 through 31 May 2001, and many have renewed. Standard
Operating Procedures regarding membership were adopted at the March Executive
Board meeting, and implementation has already begun. This year we will
begin sending out membership cards showing expiration dates to those who
join or renew.
Constitutional Amendment: words removed [words
added]
Amendment #1 (Investigating Committee recommends YES)
Article IV MEMBERSHIP Membership in the Party shall be open to all adult
citizens [persons] who have openly declared their allegiance to
the principles of the Libertarian Party or who have registered their party
affiliation as Libertarian.
Vote: 35 yes, 0 no; the amendment PASSES.
The entire MdLP Constitution is online at the www.MD.LP.org/docs/mdlpconstitution.html URL. Go to www.MD.LP.org/docs/cc to find approved Central Committee minutes.
Resolution: The following resolution was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously:
Be it resolved that the Libertarian Party of Maryland endorses the petition drive by Citizens for Property Rights to repeal House Bill 790 and Senate Bill 486 enacted by the 2001 Maryland General Assembly. The Libertarian Party of Maryland further urges its members to assist in gathering signatures for the effort in each of their respective counties.
Libertarian National Committee report: Lorenzo Gaztañaga, an at-large member of the LNC, spoke on it: there has been criticism of National, but they have been doing what the rank and file have asked for -- a four year cycle of promoting a presidential candidate. But local elections are how we are going to change the way things are. Lorenzo believes in leadership by example, and wants Maryland to set that example. He suggests that we all consider becoming a candidate.
Announcements: The joint VA/MD/DC picnic is not going to be in May; it is to be rescheduled. This is in addition to the MdLP picnic in July or August (not yet scheduled). The Montgomery County Fair needs volunteers. The crab and clambake this year is on July 18; contact Mike Linder. Baltimore County is planning on participating in the July 4th parade again. Steven Sass is looking for any membership prospects. Keith Halderman spoke on the Higher Education Act (federal) which would prohibit student loans to those convicted of drug violations; resources are drcnet.org and ssdp.org (students for sensible drug laws). Dean Ahmad encourages getting involved in a civic organization; he offers to give tips to those interested.
-- Robert Glaser
Secretary
The
Maryland Citizens for Property Rights organization resulted from
emergency legislation concerning the Maryland Economic Development Corporation.
MEDCO was formed in 1984. Its charter stated that it was to act in economically
deprived areas, where unemployment was high and where private companies
were not interested in getting involved.
My first experience with MEDCO was about a month ago, when Charlie Birney, CEO of Atlantic Golf spoke before the Annapolis Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce to ask that they state that they did not approve of the emergency legislation then being introduced into the House of Delegates. At that time, he explained that MEDCO was managing Eisenhower Golf course in Crownsville, and since they paid no amusement tax, property tax, etc., were underpricing him at his golf course.
Charlie them told us that MEDCO was trying to develop a large parcel of land near BWI airport. This consisted of 350 to 400 houses, and a 36 hole golf course. The underwriter of the tax free privileged bonds was Legg Mason. Charlie said that the area was not impoverished, nor was there excessive unemployment, and that this was a violation the MEDCO charter -- and if they persisted, he would sue. MEDCO decided to ask the legislatures to change their charter.
The new charter was to authorize MEDCO to get involved per section 5-202 (b)(1)(v): to generally promote the present and prospective health, happiness, safety, right of gainful employment, and general welfare of the residents of each of the counties and municipalities of the state. When Charlie presented this to the chamber, I mentioned that they left out sex.
The real kicker is in the new section 5-215 that states that they are immune to any lawsuits due to any decision they make. The wording is: "in a suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of an agreement entered into by MEDCO under the act, or of bonds issued by MEDCO, or involving any security relating to the bonds, a finding by MEDCO's Board of Directors concerning the public purpose of an action taken or the legislative intent expressed under the act and the appropriateness of the action in serving the public purpose and satisfying the legislative intent expressed under the act shall become conclusive." Put another way: "you can't sue them."
This was demanded by Legg Mason so that their customers will not be exposed to risk on their tax free bonds. Needless to say, it is easier to sell these profitable bonds if you can't be sued, and if the assets of the State of Maryland (the citizens') are theirs without "any restraints."
This also means that they can use eminent domain at will for any reason, at any time, anywhere they want. The director was asked in a hearing if there was anything that he could not do under the new law. He thought for a while, and said "No."
I attended the meeting at the Commodore Hall in Essex. My wife Dee was with me, and she said "I have never seen folks this excited and informed on a public issue before." My remark to her was that these folks are our best hope to stop the fascist drive.
-- Spear Lancaster
This past legislative session, the General Assembly passed HB790, and the state Senate passed SB486, expanding MEDCO. The legislation will become effective on June 25 unless it is put on hold by the collection of petition signatures. 20,000 signatures each for the House and Senate bills are needed by May 25, and an additional 40,000 signatures each by June 25 (a total of 2 x 60,000 signatures). If the deadline is met, the bills will go to referendum to be approved or rejected by the voters at the next election. If the deadline is not met, the expanded MEDCO powers become effective on June 25. You can help out by collecting petition signatures. The official forms can be downloaded from the www.MarylandCPR.org website.
... and other attempts at preventing online wagering
Legal
betting rights over the Internet are now under fire from such representatives
in Congress as John Kyl and John McCain. Mr. Kyl and bible-pounding zealots
like him have decided that they will determine what is right and
what is wrong in this matter. Then, with support from the evil forces that
finance their political campaigns, they will force their beliefs on us
all and attempt to legislate morality. Now, John McCain has introduced
a bill that the Republicans might successfully push through to ban legal
wagering on college sports.
To follow up on this Kyl bill and other attempts to slowly erode our civil rights, we note the following: on the last vote in Congress on this matter, state Horse Racing interests, state controlled lotteries, and other currently legal wagering lobbyists attempted to force the bill through to allow themselves a monopoly on legal wagering. The bill was soundly defeated.
So it should be acceptable for us to play state lotteries that pay back only 60% on the dollar, and play state controlled Keno games that pay back only 53% on the dollar, but our blue-haired great grandmothers should not be allowed to place a $1 bingo bet online, according to Mr. Kyl and his cohorts.
History shows us that when we attempt to legislate morality, society actually becomes more immoral. Prohibition did nothing to stop the intake of alcohol. But what it did allow was organized crime syndicates such as the Mafioso to grow quite large and become prosperous. So the state actually lost money during this time due to decreased tax revenues, and many were slaughtered over turf wars, etc.
This also taught the crime syndicates how to operate, and they then branched out into heroin and other drug sales with their new learned knowledge. Our question for Mr. Kyl and his henchmen is, "What time does the Mayflower set sail for England in search of freedom?"
Perhaps those in Congress who see such bills through will be happy to know they have won the overwhelming support of illegal bookmaking outlets, who are licking their chops in anticipation of passage.
People, this is a serious matter. Please write your elected officials in Congress and let them know you intend to vote them out if they vote to legislate morality and take away our civil rights under the Constitution of the United States of America. Once we allow evil zealots like Mr. Kyl chip away at these great civil rights, it inevitably leads to a complete erosion of all civil liberties and rights. History proves this time and time again.
-- Rich Green
Libertarian
My Response to the Governor
A big issue in the State of Maryland has been legislation that will lower the Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) for the most serious drunk driving offense from 0.10 to 0.08. Although the bills were given early setbacks, an unconstitutional federal mandate makes the passage inevitable. This isn't about safety. This is about federal money and penalties for noncompliance. The federal government has given the states a "choice" of stiffening D.W.I. laws, "or else." The following are excerpts of choice quotes of the Governor and his spokesperson and my replies:
After
two bills were handed early setbacks in committee, Parris Glendening spokeswoman
Michelle Byrnie told the Washington Post, "The governor is
very disappointed that two bills that would have saved lives and strengthened
Maryland's drunken driving laws have not been approved. It will cost the
state highway construction money, and cost Marylanders in terms of lives
lost." My response: Notice the last thing Byrnie said. They don't
really care about saving lives. They care about losing bribe money from
the federal government, bribe money that has already been wrongly coerced
or confiscated from hard working Americans. We could get a real
tax cut if our taxes stopped going into federal coffers to be used as bribe
money. There is a saying that goes "Money Talks. B.S. Walks."
While Maryland roads (the best I have ever driven) could lose money, Maryland
taxpayers are sure left with a lot of B.S.
As expected, The House of Delegates later voted to approve legislation lowering the legal BAC for motorists to 0.08 (Where did they get this figure?). In response, the great articulator Parris Glendening told the Washington Post "This will save lives. It sends the message that if you're drinking at all, don't get behind the wheel." My response: Does Parris Glendening really think people are stupid? How will this save lives? I am sure most deaths are not caused by those with BACs of 0.08-0.09, as he is implying. How dare he lie to us like that. This is really about MONEY and BRIBERY -- bribery by the federal government, and legislators beholden to special interest groups disguised as community service organizations. There was absolutely no practical reason for this legislation. Then again, the government is rarely practical.
-- Graham Couzens
www.GrahamCouzens.com
Many
people don't know how the Federal Reserve was formed, how it ties in with
the 16th Amendment authorizing direct taxation of the people
from the federal government, and the 17th Amendment allowing
the direct election of U.S. Senators. I will briefly review it here.
A group of wealthy businessmen, bankers, and associates got together in secrecy at the beginning of the last century and decided that instead of competing with each other, they would form a pack and start a system that oversaw the currency in the United States. (The same thing was done before in Europe.) We know this because they revealed their actions decades later. The name of this system would be the Federal Reserve. Their plan failed at first. Eventually, they got it through Congress by adding "safeguards" to it that could be easily stripped away at a later date. After the Federal Reserve was formed, Congress could get whatever money it wanted from them -- they could essentially write a blank check, and the private stockholders of this Federal Reserve (which was neither federal nor a reserve) would get a cut of the money. In other words, both parties benefitted from the deal. For more details, read The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin, or look at The Money Masters videotapes (www.themoneymasters.com)
There had to be a way to get back the money from circulation. Although direct taxation of the people had been implemented for brief times before then, the Supreme Court in an earlier case threw it out. The federal government was supposed to tax the states in proportion to their population. The 16th Amendment stated direct taxation was allowed. The original tax applied just to the rich -- a maximum of 6%, and the form was one page. During the same year, Senate representation that was elected by the state legislature was handed over to the people of the state via the 17th Amendment -- taking away even more state power.
By 1929, the "Crash" occurred, and by 1938 (from a number of sources) our country went bankrupt. The collateral of the U.S. citizen was turned over to the creditors. A good reference is The History of American Constitutional or Common Law by Dale Pound, Howard Fisher, and Richard Knutson.
In the 1980's Bill Benson, retired from the Illinois Revenue Criminal Investigation Division, went on a year-long research project and got certified copies of the results of the 16th Amendment vote. The valid votes did not add up to the required 36. This was Ruben J. Clark's conclusion when he received the correspondences from the states in 1913. He was the attorney to Secretary of State Philander Knox. Clark reported it to Knox, but Knox told Congress that there "appeared" to be enough votes. Benson covers this in his book The Law That Never Was (www.thelawthatneverwas.com). Also see www.givemeliberty.org.
A few years ago Joseph Banister, an IRS agent, was listening to one of his favorite radio stations, and heard from a guest that the income tax was voluntary and the 16th Amendment was never ratified. Banister set out to prove her wrong. The more he looked, the more evidence he found to support her. He finally put all his research together, sent it to his superiors, and asked them to point to the flaw in his work. They responded by asking for his resignation. Other IRS personnel have quit for similar reasons. See www.freedomabovefortune.com. The following organizations claim to be successfully helping people get out of the tax system for many years: Save A Patriot headed by John Kotmair (former Baltimore policeman) www.save-a-patriot.org, Millennium Publishing headed by John Rizzo (former federal judge) www.16thamendment.com, and HTS www.taxstatement.com. I will take a neutral stance in regarding the use of these services.
Andre Marrou often said in his [1992] LP presidential campaign that if we got rid of the income tax, and reduced the national budget, we would only have to go back three years to meet the lower budget level. Many people are not ready for Harry Browne's solution: stop the income tax and replace it with nothing (and eliminate enough agencies to make up the difference in cost). However, Americans For Fair Taxation has an interesting idea: Most federal taxes would be eliminated, the federal government would tax the states, which in turn would collect a sales tax on new consumer goods and services. This would be more in tune with the Constitution. $225 billion dollars a year could be eliminated in citizen or corporate compliance costs, and we would not have an agency prying into our personal affairs. It is a "revenue neutral" plan, where current federal spending would not have to be decreased. However, once the states gained more control, and the people saw more clearly how they were being taxed, they would be more critical of what the federal government is spending. There is not enough space to cover it in detail here. They can be reached at www.fairtax.org or 1-800-FAIR-TAX.
By the way, have you noticed on your telephone bill that as of April 1 the Federal Universal Service Fee increased from 9.9% to 12%? Another camel's nose in the tent.
-- Glenn Howard
I
attended The Bottom Line recording on March 13, and it went pretty
well for the good guys. The host, Kweisi Mfume, noted quite clearly that
IRS Commissioner Rossotti said he would be present, but canceled at the
last minute. Rossotti instead issued a standard, 100% factually correct
statement that Mfume read, that is nonetheless designed to look like everyone
has to file and pay income taxes. Had I known he was supposed to appear,
I could have predicted his canceling. The IRS has repeatedly avoided appearing
on camera with John Kotmair.
The floor consisted of Bob Shultz, Sherry Jackson (a former IRS agent), John Kotmair, and an attorney from a local firm. The attorney was the only voice expounding the IRS position, so it really made for a lopsided debate on the law itself. In fact, there really was no debate of substance on income tax law.
John did very well. Of course he cited the law in his usual style. While the constitutional and statutory citations certainly went over many lay-heads, the basic point was well made. John mentioned how Save A Patriot survived the IRS raid in 1993, and how he hasn't withheld from his workers' pay since 1973.
Sherry Jackson did very well, too. A former IRS agent as recently as a year and a half ago, she was very mindful of the important point that people needed to hear, that being: "Read the law, and if you can see where most people must file, answer the challenge offered at [some web site I forgot] and win $100,000." It was clean, simple, and to the point.
Bob Shultz did okay and was knowledgeable, though he is not a very intense speaker. Unfortunately, since there was no real debate on the law itself, the discussion migrated (as it so often does with people that hear this for the first time) to how government was supposed to operate without tax revenue. Sherry pointed to the Grace Commission Report, and spoke about the private Federal Reserve bank fraud with fiat currency. Bob mentioned tax funding of government by means of imposing excises, duties, and imposts that need not include income taxes, as well as direct taxes imposed on the states.
John was the only one to admit to not filing income tax returns. In probably the only weakness they really showed, both Bob and Sherry repeatedly declined to state whether they file or not. While the reason might have been simply refraining from creating testimony that might be used against them in some future criminal trial (a good reason), Sherry insisted that she did not want anyone to infer any legal advice from her answer to that question. Bob's response was similar. Of course, they might well still be filing out of fear, or what have you.
Kweisi Mfume (president of the NAACP) is the host of the show, and in my opinion seemed to be as reasonably neutral as we could expect any skeptic to be. One exception to that was insisting (at one unfortunate distracting point) that two in five kids go to bed hungry within, I think, the U.S. (Kudos go to our own SAPF member Michael Linder for standing up and getting the subject back onto taxes). Of course, Mfume also had to joke about IRS agents waiting outside the building to arrest our heros after the show.
Because I'm me, I made no comments or questions at all, though afterwards I thought of several things I wish I had said. It would have been very worthwhile to ask the attorney if he knew what law made him liable for the payment of income taxes, and if he had ever read the Internal Revenue Code, then crucify him on the spot (hey, it's within the rules) for unethical conduct for making legal statements in public about things he knows nothing about.
Of course, since it's a show designed more for emotional excitement than fact, it was not the best place to discuss law. But being a mainstream media channel, it is exactly where the facts need to be brought. I also inferred from Mfume's closing script (easily visible to all on the camera scripting gizmos) that he plans to revisit the income tax issue on a future show. We can hope.
The last third of the show was dedicated to a completely different panel, and tried to deal with a medley of current events. Being stuck in the audience, I was unable to meet with Bob or Sherry, which I regret very much.
Finally, while the "We the People" foundation might be criticized for advocating the non-ratification of the 16th Amendment, and the failed 5th Amendment defense to not filing tax returns (though both claims have very clear merit), they are demonstrating an ability to get reasonably good attention from the mainstream media where most every other tax education organization has thus far failed. I think they should be recognized for that.
The television show was broadcast on Saturday, March 17 on WBAL TV in Baltimore.
-- Neil McIver
www.cjMcIver.org
I have two comments on the January issue of the Free? State Libertarian -- one serious, and one funny:
First, I sympathize with Neil McIver's protest against having to give a fingerprint to cash a check at a bank. But, contrary to his statement, that is not a violation of his 4th Amendment rights! Those rights are limitations on government, not independent enterprises. While government-insured banks are highly government regulated -- the fingerprint requirement is not a government requirement.
Second, quite amusing, was Spear Lancaster's statement that Anne Arundel County members of the Chamber of Commerce "... want to expose themselves to other members to sell a product or service." While libertarians would consider such solicitation a victimless crime, I am sure we would all get a "kick" out of seeing such "exposure!"
-- Gerald Schneider
When
I first became involved with the Libertarians, I was exposed to what Steve
Boone calls the "Gallery Gang." This consisted of a few Libertarians
going to the State House Monday night to mingle with the panderers, politicians,
and assorted hustlers. Afterwards we generally had a cold one or two, and
this gave me a chance to meet other Libertarians and get to know them better.
Like most citizens who had spent all their life making a living and trying to raise a family, I had some very vague and unrealistic views of politics. First, for most of my life I believed that if we only elected the right candidates, all would be well in THE LAND OF THE BRAVE AND THE FREE. Secondly, I thought that the political process was capable of being used for correcting all sorts of problems. Even personal problems like bad marriages, poor parents, dead end neighborhoods, uninspired teachers, and various other shortcomings. Why did I believe this? The politicians and their shills, special interests, the media, and assorted gurus told me. Since I was not in direct contact, and had no particular reason to verify this information, I just absorbed it.
This year of going to the Capital on Monday night was different. After three years, there seemed to be fewer and fewer people coming to the Gallery Gang session. Steve was traveling a lot more and he just couldn't make it. So it was often only Tony Spezio (photo) and me. One Sunday, Tony called me and asked if I would come to the State House early the next day so that we could visit the delegates to discuss the medical marijuana bill. We meet, and Tony had his list of delegates that he wanted to visit. Since I don't know who is who, and had no idea who to see, Tony was in command. I am thinking, "this is going to be interesting." I know from years of selling how difficult it is to get people's attention, and to effectively convince them of something. Watching Tony operate turned out to be a pleasant, eye opening surprise.
First, I was amazed at how Tony really knows most of these folks, and what's more, they know him. He intuitively knew how to approach them and what issues they were sensitive to. This was a pro at work. Tony knew when to press on and when to plant the seed. I was so amazed that I started to ask Tony about the different legislators -- he knew just about every senator, their district, their voting habits, whether they are a shoo-in for reelection, or running close. He was keyed in.
Having petitioned with Tony, I know that he had the ability to meet people, but I had no idea just how proficient he was at lobbying. If I were running a lobbying operation, I can tell you I would hire him. And I can also say that every time I work with Tony it gives me that extra charge, that little goad to do more. He really inspires me to get out there and hustle. Tony never seems to even think about how long it will take to do the job. He is not concerned about how hard it will be. He is there for as long as it takes.
My crystal ball hasn't worked for some time, so I don't try to predict the future, but as long as we have a few Tony's on our side I feel very good. Our long-term success for building a Libertarian society will progress. Besides that, Tony is a loyal and hard working friend.
-- Spear Lancaster
Slavery
ended over 135 years ago. Or did it? The recent heated reparations debates
have brought another question to my mind. What is slavery? Are we not all
slaves to the government? We are at the very least indentured servants.
Not surprisingly, those most affected by past slavery also are those most
adversely affected by the constraints of payroll taxes, specifically the
Social Security Tax.
The average return on Social Security payments is approximately 1.7%. This is according to the Social Security Administration's own figures. My small town bank's regular savings account pays 2.5%. Most money market and C.D. accounts will pay out around 5%, and historically the stock market has earned around 11% per year. Anyone with any concept of compound interest knows that anyone could easily out earn Social Security, even in a very low risk mutual fund. The Social Security System is so wasteful and inept, we'd be better off allowing our house pets to invest our money. Not only is approximately 7% of our income taxed for Social Security, 23% of our federal income tax goes to fund Social Security (source: www.irs.gov). So the average wage earner probably pays 13-15% of his earnings to Social Security. The self-employed pay twice as much.
Who loses the most with Social Security? Minorities and those who earn less than $80,400 (in 2001). The Social Security tax is capped. Those with lower incomes pay a higher percentage of their earnings to the SSA. Not only does the average American only earn 1.7% on Social Security payments, the average black male actually loses money (source: SSA). Because of many factors, black males have a lower life expectancy, and thus tend to "break even," or even lose money in the Social Security system. Would you voluntarily choose to pay a large percentage of your money to someone in the hopes that if you lived for a long time, you might "break even?" I sure would not. The SSA is not "racist" and does not discriminate against recipients. Those are simply the facts of circumstance.
Those most likely to favor, or be bound to the Social Security system, also stand to lose the most, and the politicians know it. However, time after time the same people turn out in droves to vote for politicians who take more and more of their money, and give nothing in return but empty promises. I do not believe people are stupid. They just do not know. We are here to tell them.
-- Graham Couzens
The Spy Plane Incident -- Are We Cheering for the Right Side?
On April 1, 2001, a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided, forcing the Navy jet to conduct an emergency landing on Chinese territory. The Chinese jet was lost and the pilot presumed dead. The 24 U.S. crew members were detained for 11 days as political pawns while the Chinese, sobbing like victims and demanding an American apology, helped themselves to one of the world's most sophisticated intelligence bonanzas.
But before we absorb ourselves in a nationalistic fervor over this diplomatic dog and pony show, remember that one of the best friends an oppressive government can have is an international crisis. Perhaps it's human nature, or just plain mass gullibility, but when an outside threat looms, most people quickly forget their own oppressions, and loyally sacrifice far more to their masters to repel any perceived danger -- whether real or imagined.
Because politicians can take advantage of this human phenomenon, it's inevitable that they will from time to time. In May, 1915, the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat killed 195 American men, women, and children (along with 1000 other nationals). The tragedy was the political spark that brought the U.S. into World War I against Germany, which conducted this "needless" attack on a civilian cruise liner.
The
only German Embassy notice escaping censorship by the U.S. State Department:
From the Des Moines Register.
But being among the largest ships in the world, the Lusitania was being used to ship huge amounts of munitions to England. So it was, in fact, not a civilian target at all, but a military supply ship that carried paying civilian passengers. Aware of Lusitania's role in its war against England, the German Embassy tried to warn the American people of its war obligations, but our own State Department blocked almost all newspaper ads purchased by Germany just two weeks prior to the sinking1.
Whether the blackout was part of a deliberate act by the U.S. Government to ensure Americans were adequately inflamed at Germany's "atrocity" upon the inevitable sinking, or whether it was (as essentially claimed) a favor to special interests to protect the cruise industry, the crime committed is different only in magnitude. But the irony is most telling: While our own government engaged in reckless endangerment against the American people, it was the Germans that dealt with us honestly and fairly. But we declared war on Germany anyway.
Aren't Americans smart people?
Our entry into World War II is equally suspect. Some historians claim that evidence (such as the breaking of the Japanese diplomatic codes as early as 1940) shows the U.S. Government had ample warning on the Pearl Harbor attack, but withheld it from our own military. This would ensure the attack would succeed in shocking the American public into firmly supporting U.S. entry into the war, much the same as the sinking of the Lusitania accomplished.
While the question might be debatable, what's most important is that a few public "servants" could have had it, and they could have used it to promote their own agendas. There would have been nothing to stop them. This alone is sufficient to warn us of the danger of trusting our own government over any other.
Further, since intelligence gathering technology has improved a thousand times over since Pearl Harbor, how much of the full story we get from our public servants about international sparring today, such as the spy plane incident, is a thousand times more questionable?
One U.S. Government atrocity (that has received rare approval for major media distribution) is the infamous Tuskegee experiments which took place in this country from 1932 to 1972, where 400 black men who were infected with syphilis were told they were being treated for the disease, when in fact, they were merely being observed.
For 40 years.
They slowly passed the disease on to their spouses and families, and of course, died. In 1997, Slick Willie gave one of his best impassioned speeches to the survivors, harping on the virtues of "forgiveness." Of course, we ruthlessly pursued Nazi concentration camp doctors for doing much the same thing for decades after World War II. But even though many of the Tuskegee doctors are certainly still alive today, they will not be prosecuted, because... well... isn't forgiveness such a wonderful thing (except of course, for the DOJ).
More recently, we have our government to thank for making Ruby Ridge and Waco what they were, and suspicious questions continue to hang over the Oklahoma City bombing.
Of course, the Chinese government has its own domestic problems, but China and the U.S. could mutually benefit by simply staging any kind of military or diplomatic scuffle. Restless people in both countries forget their grievances and anxiously sign away rights to do their part to stand up to the (other) evil empire.
It's the same thing even with professional sports. The famous Baltimore Orioles baseball manager Earl Weaver used to rally Oriole fans into a similar patriotic-like frenzy. A questionable call would invariably bring Weaver out of the dugout to yell in the umpire's face, and scrape dust onto his shoes, with exaggerated antics. All a show, but very effective at getting the fans to forget about how outrageously expensive their hot dogs and sodas really were.
Of course, the U.S. Government routinely imprisons people for non-crimes and has its own laundry list of human rights offenses, including corrupt courts and politicians, and has coerced its own people into 50% slavery by means of taxation. Well over 2 million people in the Land of the Free are behind bars right now, the majority for not hurting a soul, and the USA is a far bigger influence in the world than the British empire ever was.
When we analyze the April Fool's Day incident, we can conclude that Washington is not much better than Beijing, so when this spy plane stuff is all over, just wake me up and let me know who won.
-- Neil McIver
www.cjMcIver.org
1G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island, p. 250.
Do you know someone who deserves an award for promoting Liberty? Make a nomination at:
www.The Advocates.org/lights/form.html
Proud to be an MdLP member? Don't like plastering bumper stickers all over your pristine new car? Let other drivers know we exist with your very own MdLP plates! Show your support for the Libertarian Party everywhere you go. To get your plates, contact Nancy Millionie at LibertyGrl*aol.com or 410-833-8991. Include your postal address; she will mail you an authorized application, which you then fill out and send to the MVA in Glen Burnie. There is a one-time fee of $25 for the plates. (Thanks to Michael Linder for the photo of his coveted plate #100.)
Let's
try a quick personality test. Pick the true statement: (a) big business
is bad; (b) AIDS and malaria could be eradicated if only pharmaceutical
companies weren't so greedy; (c) more people are dying today than ever
before; (d) all of the above. Are you ready? Here's the key: If you answered
(a), you're prejudiced; (b), you're wrong; (c), you're right (but do you
know why?); and (d), you're a Naderite, and I'm so sorry.
After hearing Nader give a speech on "globalization" (economic or moral, I couldn't tell), I came to the conclusion that the man is even dumber than I'd thought. In addition to his generalized anti-big-business propaganda, Nader came up with a few gems of anti-wisdom that made me think he must have drunk from the same intelligence-poisoning cup as so many other American politicians. Now, you might argue that the man is still a consumer advocate, not a politician, but you wouldn't still be saying that if you had actually heard him speak. Just like any politician, Nader offered sound bytes, insupportable generalizations, unfeasible ideas for the future -- and a censored question-and-answer session that required the audience members to write their questions before hearing his speech.
This likely resulted from Nader's knowledge that his speech would raise quite a few questions as to his mental competence. Let's consider all the statements from the personality test. According to Nader, big businesses are bad for an infinite number of reasons, including: low wages; exploitation and abuse of workers in foreign countries; pollution; logging; lobbying; and failure to obliterate world poverty and disease. Just why a computer company, for example, should be responsible for obliterating poverty and illness, Nader didn't say. He also failed to explain, not to mention understand, the basic principles of supply and demand. If everyone in an economic system is making low wages, then prices will have to adjust so that people can actually buy the products, rendering the "low" wages perfectly acceptable. While Nader's numbers sounded appalling -- women making $1.50 per day in factories in East Asia, Mexican truckers making $8 per day while American truckers earn over $20 per hour -- he didn't bother to mention that prices in East Asia and Mexico are also significantly lower than in the United States, meaning that these wages can buy a good deal more than you'd think.
So what about AIDS and malaria and those big bad pharmaceutical companies? Nader somehow feels that they should be responsible for curing all major diseases plaguing the world, but he doesn't want to pay for their effort. In addition to blaming the spread of AIDS and malaria on the cost of drugs to treat them, Nader also claimed that the government runs a small drug company out of Walter Reed Hospital that can come up with new medications for a fraction of the $300-$500 million he said a regular drug company spends to get a new drug to market.
Now, let's stop and think. First of all, there is no medication that can prevent the spread of AIDS, and there is no medication that can cure either AIDS or malaria. While drugs that lengthen AIDS patients' lives do cost a lot of money, there is a simple reason: The pharmaceutical companies use this money to pay the $300-$500 million needed to formulate the next generation of drugs. As for Nader's claim that the government can do it more cheaply, I have to wonder. Is the government's so-called "drug company" subject to the same FDA regulations that, while protecting the consumers in true Naderist fashion, contribute so heavily to development costs? Does it make a profit, or eat up tax money? And who works for this "company" -- civilians earning civilian pay, or military personnel on a lower military pay scale, incidentally one which Nader would like to abolish along with much of our military to feed the hungry?
Regardless of the success of this supposedly lifesaving enterprise, the shining moment of Nader's speech occurred when Nader quite correctly asserted, "There are more people dying today than ever before."
Surprise, surprise! While he tried to imply that this resulted directly from drug companies' irresponsibility in allowing diseases to rampage the world -- were the medieval doctors and herbal experts similarly responsible for the Black Plague, I wonder? -- Nader forgot to mention that there are also more people alive today than ever before. More people living means more people dying -- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this will happen naturally, whether or not pharmaceutical companies, like all companies, try to make a profit.
Still a fan of option (d) all of the above? Hopefully, you've gone my route, and created an option (e): you must be joking. While I must note that I respected Nader's apparently thorough research and analysis of the World Trade Organization, the rest of his speech struck me as frighteningly warped, not to mention just plain wrong. Thank god that Nader is as unsuccessful a politician as he is an orator.
-- Sheryl Kane
Sheryl.Kane*jhu.edu
Reprinted from The Johns Hopkins Newsletter, the student paper. Ms. Kane is an undergraduate there who regularly contributes opinion articles to the publication. She wrote this after Ralph Nader gave a speech at the university's Homewood campus in Baltimore.
A joint Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia LP organizations picnic is being planned for June or July. Check with Steven Sass for the date. This is in addition to the MdLP picnic and Central Committee meeting, which will probably be scheduled for August. Check the website for updates.
Libertarians
for Life (www.L4L.org) is pleased
to announce that Doris Gordon, our founder and national coordinator, has
been chosen by ifeminists.com as "ifeminist of the month" for
March 2001.
Ifeminists.com is "a central gathering place and information center for individualist feminists" on the World Wide Web. The ifeminists home page notes that "Doris discovered Ayn Rand and Objectivism in 1959. In 1967, she co-founded the Washington, DC Area Students of Objectivism group, and in 1973 helped to organize the Libertarian Party of Maryland. In 1976, she founded Libertarians for Life."
Autobiographical notes from Doris can be found at www.ifeminists.com/interaction/members/d/Doris.html. In case it seems odd that a "feminist" group would select a pro-lifer like Doris, you may be interested in the comments of Wendy McElroy, the editor of ifeminists.com's insiderUpdate. In her March 6, 2001 column, she wrote:
Doris Gordon of Libertarians for Life is the ifeminist of the month for March. This means it is time for me to explain once more where ifeminists.com stands on abortion. I am staunchly pro-choice. Other ifeminists -- including some who work on the site -- are pro-life. Ifeminists.com is committed to being one of the few forums in which this controversy is discussed with fairness and civility. For one thing, it is
never wrong to ask the question, "when do individual rights emerge as a human characteristic -- at conception, at birth, at the age of reason?" Check out the exchange... that Doris and I had in the ifeminist chatroom some months ago.
That exchange can be seen at www.ifeminists.com/interaction/chat/archive/000109.html.
Interestingly, March was Women's History Month. In her column, Wendy also wrote that she hoped that "students, professors, and everyone with a platform from which to speak does so with the message, `the most neglected tradition within women's history is individualist feminism.'"
Another contender for that title is pro-life feminism. Our thanks to Wendy and ifeminists.com for their recognition of Doris, and we hope you find both their site and ours to be of interest.
-- Libertarians for Life
The National LP Platform contains the following with respect to abortion: "... Recognizing that abortion is a very sensitive issue and that people, including libertarians, can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept out of the question. We condemn state-funded and state-mandated abortions. It is particularly harsh to force someone who believes that abortion is murder to pay for another's abortion..." Comments on the MdLP's views can be found on page 11 of the January 2000 issue of the Free? State Libertarian.
Is there a surplus? Is there a recession? Does anyone know? I do know this: The best economic policy is always the one that promotes a free economic society, and allows workers to keep the fruits of their labor.
The big decision right now is how large the tax cut should be. George W. Bush has done fairly well in some regards, and has given lip service to libertarianism in economic matters. He is pushing a tax cut for American workers. Fiscal leftists have come out in droves to bash his tax cut as too large. It's not just Democrats, but Republicans as well. As far as Democrats, well, they have proven that they really believe our money belongs to them.
Case
in point: during his little speech to congress, Dubya hailed his tax cut,
saying that taxes are not the government's money, but the money of the
taxpayers. The camera cut to Hillary Clinton, and she had this huge frown
on her face and was... shaking her head, saying "No." No? I knew
she was a Socialist, but is she really stupid also? I get the impression
that if told that, in fact, 2 plus 2 equals 4, Hillary would shake her
head "No." The problem with most politicians is that they don't
believe facts, and have no sense of reason. There has been much talk about
a Clinton 2004 run at the presidency. If that woman is ever elected
president while I'm alive, I will have lost all hope in American citizens.
Many people believe the tax cut is too large. It is actually way too small. The reasons they cite seem good natured, though ill-informed. They claim the economy is in a downturn (where?). Employment is plentiful. Where I am from, people from Ireland, Russia, Armenia, and many other economically challenged nations come for the summer, and easily land two or even three jobs. Any American not working simply does not want to. The stock market is down for some people. I'll give them that. I made 40% on my money in one week. Sheepish investors, of course will lose, since investment advisors, like politicians, lack any common sense. If you ever watch any stock market coverage on television, you will see the experts always say to buy after stocks have peaked at all time highs. I guess when they buy houses they offer more than the asking price. Stocks started slumping about a year ago -- and it was all George W. Bush's fault? There is no budget yet. Critics say we should wait to see that the economy is stable, and we need a budget before we know what the surplus is. This does not work. This delay will only halt any tax cut. There is no budget. Who cares? I have a simple solution. Err on the side of the taxpayer. MAKE THE TAX CUT NOW! If the economy slumps, so be it. If we can't meet the budget because of the tax cuts, GOOD. Cut some programs. Cut spending. It's simple. Don't punish the people. Punish the government. There is no possible reason not to cut taxes, or eliminate them altogether.
-- Graham Couzens
Dispatch
from the front: February 15th was a miserable, wet, overcast
gray day -- typical for the Maryland winter. When I advised my wife Dee
that I would be attending the Montgomery County Council hearing on Bill
2-01 [prohibiting "gun shows" at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds],
she suggested that I default, pointing out the treacherously wet roads,
reckless drivers, and the usual traffic jams on the beltway at that hour.
After giving her my "duty pitch," which she still doesn't
buy after 44 years, I hit the road.
Actually, the traffic wasn't all that bad. I took the back way, and arrived to see the Maryland Tyranny Response Team staging a protest on the sidewalk of the county administration building. While trying to find Steve Wilson, or someone I knew, I ran into several TV reporters. The first chap was with channel 7, and looked the role. Well-dressed and impressive looking. The other reporter was a young lady from another channel, but I didn't get her name or station. They asked if I was with the Tyranny Team, and I explained that I was a libertarian. The State Party's Vice-Chairman, no less.
It might have been the title, or that I had on a coat and tie, but they both interviewed me. I explained how troubled I was to see all the hatred towards law-abiding citizens engaged in lawful activity. They asked me why I thought this was so, and I told them I felt it was politicians trying to win votes, even if it meant pitting the citizens against each other. I mentioned that at the anti-gun rallies that I had attended, there seemed to be large numbers of women. And that I could appreciate that many ladies have no interest in owning a gun. That most of them, at least the ones at this type of rally, most likely have never been exposed to guns, which could make them uneasy with the idea of even holding a gun. In fact, I mentioned that I had read about a lady who said that if her husband brought a gun into the house, she would leave. To me, that was as good a reason for leaving if things weren't going well, as any other.
I remarked that I had asked many of the anti-gun women if they were pro choice. So far, I have not had one say no. Since pro choice means that a woman should have an absolute right over her body without government interference, why can't they extend the same courtesy to someone who wants to own a gun? I went on to say that as a libertarian, I support a woman's rights without government interference.
My hope was that we as citizens would not let politicians and special interest groups divide us. Not just on guns, but also with regard to sex, age, race, income, education, etc., for political purpose. Let everyone lead a life free from government interference unless it directly violated someone else's freedom. As I was speaking, I can swear that the cameraman's eyes were glazed over. I thought that while being a cameraman might sound interesting, to have to stand in the rain and have to shoot this must get old-hat soon. When I returned home and told Dee, she suggested that I get up early to view the channel 7 news. Sure. Like right after I win the lottery.
Back to the hearing. At the prescribed hour, "democracy in action" with the usual suspects got on the road. There were 33 speakers listed. Some, such as the Million Mom March and the Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse, were obviously on the opposing team, but many were listed as "individual." Having attended the governor's Safe Guns kickoff meeting, and several of their other well orchestrated events, I thought that this event would be a repeat. Especially in Montgomery County.
It soon became a pleasant surprise. The only real support on the Council seemed to be Blair Ewing. Several of the council members asked very friendly questions and guided the dialogue. I scored each speaker, and of the 33 speakers, they only had 11 for the bill. The support of the audience was overwhelming for our side. Again a surprise.
Steve Wilson did an outstanding job of representing the Libertarian position. His speech was well written, and he delivered it in a very professional manner. Not shrill, but with emotion, and I felt, in a very convincing way. On the other side, there was the usual hysterics, melodrama, and outright lies.
The only negative for our side was that a few members of the audience in the back acted in a very unprofessional and crude manner. Actually, it was the so-called Socialist Libertarians. Talk about an oxymoron. How you can get socialist and libertarian to be connected is too much of a stretch for me. One of the gentlemen on the council stated several times that this behavior was not helping our cause. To add to the insult, a few of them looked like extras for the movie Deliverance. Besides missing a lot of teeth, they also appeared to have missed soap and water for some time.
On the other hand, it was enjoyable to see the politically correct crowd's reaction to these folks. The men seemed to have a smug look that said, "See what kind of redneck riffraff supports guns." Some of the women seemed intimidated, and worried about "the children," with animals like this mingling among respectful, educated, cultured folks. It was a mini drama of the rural versus the urban. The down-home folk versus the white wine and brie set. As a former country boy with a bit of a sadistic feeling, I have to tell you that it satisfies an emotional part of me to see these phonies squirm a bit. Even if it may be shortlived, as they continue to do everything in their power to take, not merely our guns, but our liberty. The guns are only a symbol. It is freedom that they fear. Because freedom demands responsibility, and they don't have the guts to even pick a brand of toothpaste without help.
All in all, I really enjoyed myself. Gail Magnum and Chip Spangler were there, and we had a chance to visit. We also had the opportunity to speak with some other folks who support our position, as well as thank the council for their support. As I told Dee, it sure beat the hell out of watching TV!
-- Spear Lancaster
During
the golden years of radio, one of the most popular shows was Fibber McGee
and Molly. Toward the end of each episode, the husband would make some
wisecrack about a bad situation. His wife, Molly, would always answer:
"'Taint funny, McGee." Many situations Libertarians see today
could fit that mold, and that is what this column will report.
-- Steven Sass
It was nice to see many of you turn out at the Nathan Henry's Central Committee meeting. There were some new faces, too, and we were glad to have you join us. This past weekend was the Towsontown Spring Festival (I expect we'll have snapshots from it for the next issue), which marks the opening of the spring and summer Fair season for us. It seems that we are always collecting petition signatures for something; this time it's for the MEDCO referendum. I managed to spend a little bit of time there -- it looked like there was plenty of activity. The gang was doing an excellent job. See if you can find some time to help at the many MdLP booths we'll have out there this season. Please check the calendar and the webpage and do what you can.
Thanks to many of you who gave me submissions for this issue -- please continue to send in material. Remember to send photos, too. Also, if you can, check with business owners you know, and solicit them for advertising here.
I hope to see many of you at Tawes and the summer picnic(s)! Until next issue,
-- Robert Glaser
We had a nice turnout at our last monthly meeting. As usual, we discuss what's happening locally. The last few months have been taken up with discussion of the building of a Safeway in Deale. Safeway purchased a site many years ago, and when the demographics were right, decided to build a standard size store. They checked with zoning, the highway department, and other members of the fixer class to make sure that everything was in order. They filed all the necessary reports, submitted all the necessary plans, and were given a permit by the county to build.
Not so fast. As the bulldozers were moving into place, a group of local folks -- most newly arrived people from places like DC, Northern Virginia, New York, and other such places -- decided they did not want the neighborhood polluted with a standard size Safeway. This would destroy the bucolic atmosphere that was so enticing to them that they moved to the pristine area of Deale.
Now, even a modern day Luddite can't just go in and stop someone from exercising their constitutional rights for personal reasons. Die hard misanthropes can't get the political leverage to evade other peoples rights just because they hate people. Starting of course with themselves. And in many cases, with cause.
Not to worry. The environment, like Jim Dandy, came to the rescue. As they said, "it's the environment, stupid." Wave the bloody shirt and a kneejerk reaction will prevail. When you wave an environmental issue today, phony or not, it is like waving the cross in medieval times. It conquers all. Nothing can stand against it. Evil forces, like greedy property owners, fall back. So -- surprise, surprise -- they found an eagle's nest near the site. They also found an obscure law that stated that you can't do anything that could discourage the eagle from getting married and starting a family until a certain date.
Still, the date would soon pass, and then what? Again, when politicians sense the opportunity to pick some low hanging fruit, they can't resist. So Mike Miller, the president of the Senate, introduced a law that nothing can be built within a half mile, give or take, of the Chesapeake Bay for two years in Anne Arundel or Calvert County. Government agencies being exempt, of course. This naturally got letters to the editor at the rate of one or two a day. The papers love it. The politicians all get the chance to posture and state how they are protecting the poor, uninformed folks from poisoned air, water, unsafe thoughts, and anything else that promotes votes.
Dan O'Neal, one of our very active members, who works at 1630 AM radio called me and said that the county executive would be on the station for questions. I was put through, and told Janet Owens that in the last few years of debate about the Safeway issue, I had not read in the local papers, or heard anyone anywhere else mention property rights -- and why should a constitutionally protected right such as this not be discussed? She said, in effect, that property rights were important, and went on a tangent that had nothing to do with the issue.
So we Libertarians always have a lot to discuss. Next we discussed the MEDCO affair, who to run for the 2002 election, and on and on. They great thing is that we will, at least in the near future, never run out of fun, exciting topics that involve how the sleazeballs are taking our money, our rights, and our liberty.
-- Spear Lancaster
A
small group of potential candidates from Baltimore City has been meeting
to develop common themes for the elections of 2002 and 2004. The candidates
for the State Legislative Assembly in 2002 are Bill Prohaska (District
47A) and Lorenzo Gaztañaga (District 46). Yvette Matthews, who lives
a few blocks from us, is considering running for City Council in the First
District in 2004.
Bill, who recently joined the MdLP, has run for state office as a Republican, and was Vice Chair of the Baltimore City Republican Party. He helped out in Lorenzo's 1999 campaign for City Council. The father of two small children, he has built up credibility in his community through his heavy involvement with the elementary school in his South Baltimore neighborhood and with his community association.
Yvette has been a Democrat, Republican, and Independent at various times. She listens regularly to the Zoh Hieronimous show on the radio, and registered Libertarian about three years ago.
So far, the three candidates have come up with a slogan, "Community starts with you," and three themes: education, crime, and economics. Under education, they will be promoting open enrollment, decentralization, and an elected school board. The right to self-defense will be key to their position on crime. Under economics, they will focus on property rights, the easing of regulations, and shifting the property tax away from improvements to property.
On another front, City Secretary Doug McNeil has joined forces with his tax preparer, CPA Ted Walls, to form Baltimore City Term Limits. They will be collaborating with the state term limits organization, raising funds, and collecting signatures to put term limits for the Mayor and City Council as a question on the ballot.
-- Susan Gaztañaga
Chapter meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30 pm at the Rising Sun Public Library (111 Colonial Way, Rising Sun, MD 21911). Effective with the June or July meeting (to be determined), the meetings will be held at the Cecil County Public Library on Elkton Newark Road in Elkton. Check the webpage to see when this change takes place.
The Cecil Whig put our Tax Day Protest picture on the front page of the 4/17/2001 issue [front page of this newsletter]. The Rising Sun Herald printed a letter to the editor written by Michael Borland of Colora in the 4/23/2001 issue. It was titled "Tired of Legalized Theft by the Government," and the ending of the letter names the Libertarian Party of Cecil County and how to contact us.
Upcoming county events: The Sunfest is on June 2nd in Rising Sun. We plan to have a booth for this one-day local festival. Volunteer help would be appreciated. The Cecil County Fair is July 20th thru July 28th in Fair Hill. We plan to have a booth for the entire nine days. In order to do this, we will need outside volunteer help. We will use both of these opportunities to obtain voter registrations and petition signatures. Contact myself or Dave Sten (410-287-2823, bailee1*crosslink.net) for more information.
-- Valerie McGlothlin
Despite being slightly disorganized, the April 16 Tax Day Protest went well. We gave out 450 "Million Dollar Bills" and 100 tax pamphlets over the course of about four and a half hours at the Bel Air Post Office.
Shannon Purcell moved to Baltimore County and resigned as Harford County chair. We will miss Shannon personally as well as the dedication and energy she brings to the cause -- however, our loss is Baltimore County's gain. I was elected chair at the April 23 meeting.
-- Roy J. Meyers III
The first quarter of the year is usually slow for outreach events. Our first outreach was on April 16th at the Silver Spring Post Office. Seven of us passed out "Million Dollar Bill" flyers to taxpayers who had just dropped off their tax forms. We distributed about twice as many flyers as we have in any other year. A few people registered as Libertarians!
-- Glenn Howard
Greetings from the Hill! The College Libertarian organization here at WMC has been in existence for only six months, yet we've taken major steps towards being the dominant political organization on campus.
We've recently had booths alongside other campus organizations at Admitted Students Day. Held over two Sundays, we managed to distribute literature, and hand out the World's Smallest Political Quiz to interested prospective students, parents, and even faculty. We also raised money through our 52/48 raffle that made people aware just how much of their money is taken away in income taxes. We also had a similar booth set up on Diversity Day. Normally aimed at celebrating ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity, we were the only group present displaying the political diversity of our campus. Thanks to Kevin and Debbie Wolf for providing us with flags, literature, and other decorations, and to Marc Brandl for providing us with bumper stickers and copies of the WSPQ.
The Honors Program invited Shawn Heller, national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, to talk about the War on Drugs. The College Libs helped advertise this lecture. About eighty students, faculty, and members of the community showed up to hear Shawn's thoughts on why reform is needed with regards to drug policy. He also talked about the Higher Education Act provision that keeps those convicted of drug-related offenses from receiving federal financial aid. We've picked this as our issue of focus for the semester, and in the next week or so we hope to have our student government pass a resolution showing opposition to this provision. Students on this campus know that our organization is the only one to publicly speak out against the War on Drugs, and we've talked with many students about this issue.
As I'm graduating this year, the reigns of our group will be turned over to Jeremy Keil (jpk001*wmdc.edu). Contact him with any ideas you may have. Also, check out our webpage (stuweb.wmdc.edu/~liberty) which is currently in the developmental stage, but should be finished in a week or two. Thanks to all who have helped in making our first year so successful.
-- Dennis Lucey
As of now there is really no news to speak of. I would like to change that. I am interested in getting a real group together down here, and I would be willing to meet anywhere in the Ocean City/Salisbury area. Anyone from this area who is interested, please contact me.
It is very important for people of this area and the state LP to establish an organization down here. There are several obvious and not so obvious reasons. For one, I believe this area has the best chance at winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The First Congressional district includes the entire Eastern Shore, as well as much of Anne Arundel across the bay. In 2000, the average winner in a Congressional race spent close to $500,000. Wayne Gilchrest spent about $225,000 (all campaign spending figures are from www.opensecrets.org and according to the FEC), the lowest of any U.S. Representative from Maryland. Bennett Bozman, the Democrat challenger, spent just over $50,000 while receiving about 35% of the vote. That's fairly efficient, in my opinion. Imagine what a Libertarian candidate with $50,000 could do in this race -- win! Keep in mind, in a legitimate three-way (or more) race, 35-40% can win the election. Unlike many areas in Maryland, the Eastern Shore has no clear party line division. A moderate Republican has held the seat since 1990. The Democratic challenger really had nothing to lose in his bid, since he retained his spot as a District 38 Delegate on the W&M committee. It is time to shake things up on the Eastern Shore, the First Congressional District, and Maryland as a whole. It should be our goal to run candidates in all races, and run strategically sound campaigns.
-- Graham Couzens
An often quoted Chinese proverb says: "Give a man a fish and you feed
him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
The Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book used in Jewish synagogue religious services says under Social Responsibility: "Giving is not the essential thing, but to give with delicacy of feeling. Scripture does not say, `Happy is he who givith to the poor,' but `Happy is he who wisely considereth the poor'..."
"The Kingdom of God, the Rabbis held, is inconsistent with the state of social misery. They were not satisfied with merely feeding the poor. Their great ideal was to prevent poverty. They said, `Try to prevent it by teaching a man a trade. Try all methods before you permit him to become an object of charity which must degrade him, tender as your dealings with him may be.'"
Too bad that government officials fail to incorporate into government welfare programs the wisdom mentioned above. No surprise, however, since conventional politicians and government bureaucrats are more concerned about their jobs than the poor. Aiding the poor masks their true goal: maintaining public support for welfare programs that perpetuate dependency on government.
-- Gerald Schneider, Ph.D.
$100 Full Page
$60 1/2 Page
$35 1/4 Page
$20 Business Card
Make checks payable to the Maryland Libertarian Party, and send along with copy to:
PO Box 321, Owings Mills, MD 21117.
Note: consult www.MD.LP.org/events for up-to-date info. Contact numbers for persons listed on page 3 are omitted here. Regularly scheduled events are listed separately on the back page. Please mark your calendars now!
May 20 (Sunday): Leonardtown Criterium. Assist at an LP table at the bicycle race in St. Mary's county. Charley Hardman (CKHotel*saltypig.com)
May 22 (Tuesday): Living American Flag Program, Fort McHenry. (www.FlagDay.org). Nancy Millionie
May 27-28 (Sunday-Monday): HFSTival! WHFS's annual event, this year at RFK Stadium in DC. Help the MdLP with registration. Nick Sarwark
June 2 (Saturday): 11:00 am - 6:00 pm. Bowiefest. Nancy Millionie
June 2 (Saturday): Sunfest in Rising Sun. Valerie McGlothlin
June 9 (Saturday): 10:00 am. Libertarian Club of Baltimore Charles Street Adopt-A-Highway cleanup. Ruxton Center on Charles St. one mile South of I-695. Bill Buzzell, 410- 477-9173, 410-637-5058 voicemail, wabuzzell*juno.com
July 4 (Wednesday): Dundalk parade. Nancy Millionie
July 4 (Wednesday): 32nd Annual Rally, March, and Concert to End Marijuana Prohibition -- Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Fourth of July Hemp Coalition. Info: www.fourthofjuly.org
July 18 (Wednesday): 1:00 - 5:00 pm. J. Millard Tawes Crab & Clam Bake at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield. Page 3
July 20-28 (Friday-Saturday): Cecil County Fair in Fair Hill. Help out at the MdLP table. Valerie McGlothlin
August 10-18 (Friday-Saturday): Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in Gaithersburg. Help out at the MdLP table. Steve Wilson, 301-921-0426 or ltsjdad*aol.com
August 11 (Saturday): 9:00 am. Charles Street highway cleanup. See June
9 for contact info
Stay up-to-date on MdLP activities with our online calendar-of-events: visit www.MD.LP.org/events (often!). Check page 3 for contact numbers not listed here.
LDDS (Libertarian Drinking and Debating Society): Baltimore City. Suspended until further notice. Earle Pearce, 410-327-1776
LDDS (Montgomery Co.): 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 7:00 pm at Bennigan's, Rockville Pike in Federal Plaza near Twinbrook Pkwy. (behind Texaco gas station). Glenn Howard
LDDS (Annapolis): 2nd Friday, 7:00 pm, at Hong Kong Buffet, 3283 Solomon's Island Road at intersection of Routes 2 & 214. Wendy Jones (redleo*juno.com)
LDDS (Timonium): 3rd Friday, 7:00 pm in AMF Bowling Alley lounge, opposite Fairgrounds. Nancy Millionie
LDDS (Essex): Poplar Inn, Merritt Blvd. and Wise Ave. Check with Nancy Millionie for dates and time.
LDDS (PG County): 4th Tuesday, 6:30 pm at the 94th Aero Squadron, 5240 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park. Andrew Chawla
Northwest Corridor Libertarians: 4th Monday, 7:00 pm at the Dragon House Restaurant, Garrison Forest shopping center, Reisterstown Rd., Owings Mills. Nancy Millionie
Cecil County Lib's: 4th Wednesday, 7:30 pm at the Rising Sun Public Library, or starting in June or July, the Cecil County Public Library (see page 16). Valerie McGlothlin
Harford County Lib's: 4th Monday, 7:30 pm at Harford Community College, 209 Edgewood Hall. Roy J. Meyers III
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