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Old Dominion Liberty Letter Issue #15
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This issue distributed on Thursday, June 4, 2009
All unattributed articles are by Marc Montoni.
CONTENTS
1. LP of Virginia Chairman Interviewed on Freedom & Prosperity Radio
2. State of Virginia Database Hacked - 8 million Virginians At Risk
3. National Bylaws Survey
4. PUBLIC SQUARE: Times-Dispatch Hosts Public Forum in Richmond
5. FEATURED VIDEO: Liquor Laws of Virginia
6. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Bye bye, spit-in-your-eye
7. Free LP Activist Training, Austin TX Jan 29-31, 2010
8. Virginia Membership Set To Eclipse Ohio
9. EXPLORING LIBERTY: The LP's "Personal Privacy" Plank
10. Next SCC Meeting Sunday, July 29, 2009
11. The "Government Behaving Badly" Files
12. THE LIGHTER SIDE: Carlin on "Stuff"
13. Calendar
THIS PUBLICATION NEEDS A PERMANENT EDITOR! Volunteer by leaving a message @
703-715-6230, or writing to:
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=odllvolunteer
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1. LP of Virginia Chairman Interviewed on Freedom & Prosperity Radio
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Freedom & Prosperity Radio talks with the chairman of the Libertarian Party of
Virginia, Jeff Bowles, about the increased calls for Republicans to appeal to
Libertarian voters by becoming better advocates for smaller government and more
individual freedom. Jeff's portion of the program starts at (roughly) the
20:00 marker:
http://www.tertiumquids.org/FandP_Radio_PODCAST-Viguerie_5-31-09.mp3
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2. State of Virginia Database Hacked - 8 million Virginians At Risk
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http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/misc_docs/PMPQA51409.pdf
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3. National Bylaws Survey
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The Libertarian Party national bylaws committee has produced a report and is
interested in your feedback. You can participate in the survey at
http://www.lp.org/phpQ/fillsurvey.php?sid=4
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4. PUBLIC SQUARE: Times-Dispatch Hosts Public Forum in Richmond
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Normally I prefer to eschew the obfuscation force-fed to the American public by
the lamestream media, but sometimes they do good. For those of you not
familiar with the "Public Square" discussions hosted by the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, they are a pretty interesting concept: Invite the public to
speak their piece in front of an audience of hundreds, and report the
highlights.
Government's role in our lives -- whether it does too much or not enough -- was
the topic of Tuesday night's Public Square at the newspaper's downtown offices.
Audience members are invited to express opinions about topics ranging from the
federal stimulus and the economy to health care and smoking bans. Participants
were invited to share in refreshments celebrating the 25th Public Square
conversation (if you're into food like I am, this alone is enough enticement).
Unfortunately, I could not attend. However, Richmond LP member Bob Lynch,
among others, did attend (and got his picture in the print version of the paper
*twice*.
Check out the T-D report on the Forum, complete with a video:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/SQUA03_20090602-223204/271501/
Libertarians can shine in settings like these, because libertarians are the
only people who ask for less government at all times on **all** issues. Those
who love the state are typically the ones who try to grab the microphones at
public events large and small. So our ideas stand out when they are presented
on the same stage.
If you are not otherwise engaged when the next Richmond Forum is announced, I
strongly encourage you to attend it, and to be prepared to deliver a 2-minute
speech advocating libertarian solutions. Prepare talking-point notes on index
cards or something well in advance, and practice your remarks a half-dozen
times to ensure that you can deliver them within two minutes and without any
"uh" and "um" punctuation.
No one else is going to get up to call for eliminating the IRS and abolishing
the Income Tax. No one else is going to get up and demand an end to all
victimless crime laws by Repealing the Prohibitions against prostitution,
drugs, and gambling. No one else is going to demand "Peace, commerce and
honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none" -- and the
requisite drawdown of all American forces around the workld and their
reintegration into the wealth-producing private sector. No one else is going
to call for an end to the FDA, FHA, DEA, BATF, and thousands of other
alphabet-soup agencies.
You can do all of these things, and in front of a large audience, at these
Richmond Forums. If you do attend in the future, please email us a copy of
your remarks and any comments on how you did, how you were received, how the
event itself went, etc:
<[email protected]> or <mailto:[email protected]?subject=vlw>
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5. FEATURED VIDEO: Liquor Laws of Virginia
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>From the Sam Adams Alliance:
"Did you know that it is legal for a Virginia bar to sell you a beer, or a shot
of liquor, or a beer and a shot of liquor, but not a shot of liquor in a glass
of beer?
"Or that Americas Founding Fathers would be thrown in jail under the liquor
laws of todays Virginia?
"Watch the video. Its slick, its funny. And it should make you mad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3KQVRQIvKs&feature=player_embedded
Full story at:
http://thisiscommonsense.com/2009/05/22/ill-clink-to-that/
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6. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Bye bye, spit-in-your-eye
================================================
It sure would be nice to see something like this here in Virginia:
"Not many schools in California recruit teachers with language like this: 'We
are looking for hard working people who believe in free market capitalism. . .
. Multicultural specialists, ultra liberal zealots and college-tainted
oppression liberators need not apply.' ... That, it turns out, is just the
beginning of the ways in which American Indian Public Charter and its two
sibling schools spit in the eye of mainstream education. These small,
no-frills, independent public schools in the hardscrabble flats of Oakland
sometimes seem like creations of television's "Colbert Report." They mock
liberal orthodoxy with such zeal that it can seem like a parody. ... School
administrators take pride in their record of frequently firing teachers they
consider to be underperforming. Unions are embraced with the same warmth
accorded "self-esteem experts, panhandlers, drug dealers and those snapping
turtles who refuse to put forth their best effort," to quote the school's
website. ... Students
, almost all poor, wear uniforms and are subject to disciplinary procedures
redolent of military school. One local school district official was horrified
to learn that a girl was forced to clean the boys' restroom as punishment. ...
Conservatives, including columnist George Will, adore the American Indian
schools, which they see as models of a "new paternalism" that could close the
gap between the haves and have-nots in American education. Not surprisingly,
many Bay Area liberals have a hard time embracing an educational philosophy
that proudly proclaims that it "does not preach or subscribe to the demagoguery
of tolerance."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-charter31-2009may31,0,7064053.story
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7. Free LP Activist Training, Austin TX Jan 29-31, 2010
================================================
The weekend of Jan 29-31, 2010 in Austin will be the date and location for the
annual meeting of the Libertarian State Leadership Alliance (LSLA,
http://statechairsconference.org/about/) . This organization consists of all
state leaders in the Libertarian Party. The meeting will also include the
Libertarian Party's National Committee (LNC), Bylaws Committee, and Platform
Committee.
Austin was considered as a site for the national convention but was not
selected. This is an opportunity for Texas to show the world what they missed.
Anyone is welcome to register and attend. More details will be forthcoming.
================================================
8. Virginia Membership Set To Eclipse Ohio
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The most recent national membership information from Libertarian Party
headquarters in Washington DC shows Ohio in 4th place with 672 active members
and Virginia in 5th place with 649 active members (California is in first place
with 1897 active national members).
Let's knock Ohio into the dust. Please take a moment and renew your membership
(or join if you haven't yet) by printing off the form at:
http://Membership.LPVA.com
... and sending it in with your dues.
================================================
9. EXPLORING LIBERTY: The LP's "Personal Privacy" Plank
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This issue, we bring you an exploration of the Libertarian Party's platform
position # 1.2 - Personal Privacy, which reads:
--------
"We support the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in
our persons, homes, and property. Only actions that infringe on the rights of
others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating
"crimes" without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or
recreational purposes."
--------
Policy-wise, this general statement expands to cover many areas of government
regulation of private decisions.
In accordance with the "Personal Privacy" plank, Libertarians generally favor,
for example, the repeal of the repeal of prohibitions against the production,
sale, possession, or use of drugs, and of all medicinal prescription
requirements for the purchase of vitamins, drugs, and similar substances.
We favor eliminating alphabet-soup agencies like Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage
Control (ABC) board, which regulate or prohibit the use or sale of alcohol. We
think it's none of the government's business to require health warning labels
and signs, making bartenders or hosts responsible for the behavior of customers
and guests, forcing liquor companies to be liable for birth defects, or making
gambling houses liable for the losses of intoxicated gamblers.
We think stopping drivers without probable cause to test for alcohol or drug
use is wrong.
Libertarians favor the repeal of all laws regarding consensual sexual
relations, including prostitution and solicitation, and the cessation of state
oppression and harassment of homosexual men and women. We would eliminate
regulations or prohibiting the possession, use, sale, production, or
distribution of sexually explicit material, independent of "socially redeeming
value" or compliance with "community standards".
Libertarians favor an end to the regulation or prohibition of gambling.
Only Libertarians favor the right of all individuals to be left free to make
their own choices in private matters; and only Libertarians expect all
individuals to be held responsible for those choices. All other political
persuasions ask government to be mommy and daddy to the citizens. They forget
that if you treat individuals like children, that is how they will act.
================================================
10. Next SCC Meeting Sunday, July 29, 2009
================================================
The next meeting of the state committee will occur on Sunday, July 29, 2009 at
12:00 pm, with an 11:00 am lunch preceding. Exact location TBA. Directions:
Minutes of previous meetings are posted at:
http://www.LPVA.com/Archives/SCCMinutes/Minutes.php
Bring your appetite, your ideas, be ready to roll up your sleeves, and help us
win a free country!
================================================
11. The "Government Behaving Badly" Files
================================================
We hear about predators in churches all the time, but I suspect that if those
who were all out-of-breath about priests only knew how rampant public school
criminal teachers were, they'd spontaneously ignite. We don't hear about the
sexpidemic because teachers unions work towards getting laws passed that
protect teachers' criminal histories; and governments in general are loather to
compile statistics about their own troublemakers.
Eventually I would like to establish a database of ALL government employee
criminal conduct; but that would be a huge project.
In the meantime, a web programmer has made a gerat start:
http://www.jailbeta.com/teacher-sex-offender-map.php?loc=virginia
In the course of reading a Times-Dispatch article about (yet another) local
teacher who was sexually involved with one or more of his students, I
discovered that Virginia does actually have a (roundabout) way to discover bad
teachers -- by searching their list of license revocations or cancellations:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/newvdoe/teached.html
... scroll down to the header "Virginia Licensure Query", and click the Excel
or pdf link to the "Licenses and endorsements with a status of denied, revoked,
cancelled or reinstated since 2000" list.
----------------------------
It is always interesting to see the usual response by the teacher's unions to
discovery of criminals within their ranks -- they want to cover it up:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/43534706.html
When the police are faced with one of their own being caught red-handed, you
usually hear the following: "No laws were broken, and no department policies
were violated". Just about everyone now understands these are simply
bureaucratic code-words that mean that the police department knows its officer
committed a criminal act, but will face no discipline over it.
Is anyone willing to bet that the public school administrators will soon start
saying something very similar?
Hey, it works for government cops.
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12. THE LIGHTER SIDE: Carlin on "Stuff"
================================================
After emptying out a deceased relative's house a few years ago, I happened upon
this George Carlin routine about "stuff" -- and our unnatural obsession with
accumulating it to the point where it controls our lives. Given my recent
activities in the relative's home, the routine seemed to be talking to me.
It's been one of my favorite comedy bits ever since.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
I swear, I'll clean out my attic next week!
================================================
13. Calendar
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June 7, 2009
Celebrate Capitalism!
1st Sunday in June is Capitalism Day. Organize a Celebration! See:
CelebrateCapitalism.com
------------------------------------
June 9, 2009
Primaries - for November 2009 General Election
Great day to petition for your favorite LP candidate!
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Sunday, July 29, 2009
LPVA State Committee
Quarterly Meeting
All LPVA members welcome!
Group lunch at 11:00.
Meeting begins at 12:00
Bleu Bistro Restaurant
8982 Quioccasin Rd., Richmond, VA 23229
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November 3, 2009
General Elections
Remember to Vote,
and Vote Libertarian!
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September 24 - October 4, 2009
LPVA Outreach Booth at Virginia State Fair
The Meadow, Caroline Co.
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December 2009 - February 2010 -
congressional district committee conventions
- consider formal endorsements of candidates
for 2010 election
- elect LP congressional district officers (chair, etc).
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Jan 29-31, 2010
Annual meeting of all state activists
See: http://statechairsconference.org/about
Also sit in on the Libertarian National Committee,
the Bylaws and Platform committees.
Location will be Austin, registration information
to follow in future newsletters
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March or April, 2010
LPVA State Convention
Exact location & Date TBA.
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May 4, 2010
Municipal Elections
Remember to Vote,
and Vote Libertarian!
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May 28 - May 31, 2010
LP National Convention
Renaissance St. Louis Grand and Suites Hotel, in Missouri.
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Old Dominion Liberty Letter Issue #14
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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share
Alike 3.0 United States License by Marc Montoni.
================================================
Publishing Schedule: Weekly - But it depends on YOU!
Publisher: LPVA Communications Committee
Editor: Marc Montoni
Distribution: 500 + readers, via LPVA-Announce
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Sign up for the latest news from The Libertarian
Party of Virginia:
http://www.LPVA.com/html/EmailLists.asp
================================================
Got a news tip? Click: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=vlw>
Allow me to emphasize this: We prefer Virginia news
to news you can get elsewhere. If you have a good
liberty-oriented story centered in Virginia, please
alert us to it.
================================================
WHAT'S GOING ON where you live? Make sure all
Virginia Libertarians are informed of your
activities. Send announcements and news to
<[email protected]> or <mailto:[email protected]?subject=vlw>
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JOIN THE PARTY - Never been a member of the
Libertarian Party of Virginia? There's no time
like NOW to become a member of Virginia's third
largest political party.
http://Membership.LPVA.com
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RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP - Have you been a member in
the past, but for one reason or another chosen not
to renew? Renew today and resume the fight for
Liberty!
http://Membership.LPVA.com
================================================
BEGIN YOUR PLEDGE - Are you ready to make the
ultimate commitment? Join the LPVirginia Pledge
Program and help us promote our Libertarian
ideas to all your friends and neighbors!
http://Contribute.LPVA.com
================================================
NOTES: This newsletter will be migrated to a CMS with an RSS feed (which our
webmaster has been very generous in setting up!) sometime soon. This version
is primarily to guage interest. If you want it to continue, then participate!
#############################################################
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your announcements to the List Master:
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=announcement>.
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Phone: 703-715-6230
