Welcome Notice Michigan Tea Parties on July 4 Michigan Libertarian Goes Electronic Volunteers Needed for A2 Art Fair Another Elected Libertarian Quote of the Month Articles/Columns Book/Movie Past Blast Feedback Calendar In anticipation of the Michigan Libertarian transition to an electronic format (see article below), we have added all Libertarian Party of Michigan member email addresses to the online newsletter list. You may manage your subscription by going here or visiting our Web site www.mi.lp.org (same as www.michiganlp.org). The Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party movement is a congregation of diverse folks from all political persuasions who are fed up with the overreaching and overspending of our elected leaders. These people are looking for new options in politics, and undoubtedly the Libertarian Party is the right choice for them. We need to get our message out to them, so I hope many LPM members are planning to attend a Tea Party on Independence Day. Whether you wave a sign, pass out literature, or just talk to others there, you’ll be helping your party and the country! Our message is simple: Vote Libertarian in 2010 and even run for office yourself as a Libertarian. Encourage people to go to the national web site www.lp.org (same as www.michiganlp.org) and sign up to get more information, volunteer their time or fill out an application to run for office. We will get their contact information here in Michigan and will follow up promptly. It may still be possible to get LP literature to you for July 4. Contact me at chair@mi.lp.org to make arrangements. List of Michigan Tea Parties[main]
The Michigan Libertarian, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, will transition to an online format starting after the next issue, which is due out shortly. The Libertarian Executive Committee voted to make the format change at its June 27 meeting due to cost and timeliness concerns. The new online Michigan Libertarian will debut on August 1 and will replace the monthly LPMOnline. It will go out on the first of every month and will be distributed free to anyone who signs up, which can be done at the LPM web site www.mi.lp.org (same as www.michiganlp.org). The deadline for submissions of articles or calendar events will be the 25th of each month. Greg Stempfle will remain as editor, with Brian Wright, our Webmaster, doing the layout. LPM members who need a hard copy may request one be mailed to them by contacting Greg Stempfle, or 313-929-1789. The Libertarian Party of Washtenaw County is sponsoring our annual booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs again this year. We need help staffing the booth as well as set up and take down. We will be partnering with the Washtenaw Campaign for Liberty this year for our double booth. Please go to http://home.comcast.net/~michlibertarian to see the open time slots and email me to let me know when you can help. Also, we will be changing the LPWC meeting schedule for July to the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays to accommodate my attendance at an Art Fair meeting on the 1st and the Art Fairs on the 3rd Wednesday. So that makes the business meeting the 8th and the social meeting the 22nd.
Just heard from LPM member Kurt Perron that he was elected to a 2-year term as Secretary of the Tribal Council of the Bay Mills Indian Community. Congratulations, Kurt! [For a list of LP of Michigan public officeholders, please access this page on the Website.] The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else. The following article is lifted from a news report on MLive.com regarding the shooting of a young man, Derek Copps, during a drug raid by police at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), in Allendale, Michigan, on March 11, 2009. Hearing Wednesday on whether Deputy Ryan Huizenga carelessly fired gun during drug raid on GVSU student Derek Copp's apartment [Posted by John Tunison | The Grand Rapids Press June 30, 2009, 9:50 AM] HOLLAND -- Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Huizenga's career may rest on whether a jury thinks he was careless when his gun fired during a March 11 drug raid, hitting Grand Valley State University student Derek Copp in the chest. Some of the evidence a jury could hear is expected to emerge Wednesday during a probable-cause hearing for Huizenga, who is charged with the high-court misdemeanor of careless discharge of a weapon causing injury. Huizenga's hearing comes less than a week after Copp, 20, pleaded guilty to a four-year felony of delivery or manufacture of marijuana. Police allege he sold about 3 grams of marijuana to an undercover officer just hours before the raid at his off-campus apartment. Court records indicate, however, that officers with a multijurisdictional drug-enforcement team originally were targeting Copp's roommate, Conor Bardallis. Bardallis also is charged with marijuana delivery. At Wednesday's hearing, testimony is expected from state police Lt. Curt Schram, who investigated the shooting; Copp, now recovered from his wound; and West Michigan Enforcement Officer Nicole Hamberg. In an earlier affidavit, Schram alleged Huizenga had his finger on the inside of his gun's trigger guard when the WEMET team entered Copp's apartment. He said the deputy's finger should have been outside the guard. If Huizenga eventually is convicted of the two-year misdemeanor, he almost certainly will lose his 12-year job with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. Huizenga remains on paid desk duty at the department. Ottawa County Undersheriff Greg Steigenga said any decisions about Huizenga's future with the sheriff's department will be made after the criminal charges are resolved. Department officials have done an internal review of the shooting that is "essentially complete" but must await the court outcome, he said. Meanwhile, Copp likely will be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which allows his record to be stricken if he successfully completes a probationary term. During last week's plea, Ottawa County Circuit Judge Ed Post said he believed Copp fit the program. Copp said little during the hearing, according to an audio tape of the proceeding. "Did you deliver some marijuana to another person?" Post asked him. "Yes, sir," he replied. Copp will be sentenced Aug. 10. E-mail John Tunison: jtunison@grpress.com. [From a casual view of the incident, this may be one of those special cases where the state acting as the determiner of personal pharmaceutical choices has kinda sorta overstepped. Duh! Plus amazing who the felon is and who stands to be convicted of a misdemeanor at most. -- ed.] We plan to include a regular book and movie review excerpt with link in this section... for liberty-pertinent books and movies. The following reviews have been contributed from LPM Webmaster Brian Wright's commentary and review site, The Coffee Coaster: Movie ...Midpoint in the movie, the Japanese-American Internment is underway in a small Northwestern farming and fishing island in the Seattle, Washington, area. The Miyamoto family is visited by officials enforcing the expropriation and relocation of American citizens of Japanese ancestry. The officials rummage through the family's entire home and grounds, turning up every manner of personal items, especially anything of sentimental value such as personal letters or keepsakes (which supposedly suggest Japanese-cultural sympathies)—all boxed and taken away before their tearful eyes. Book ...On the key day of the Rally, several notable speakers addressed the assembled freedom fighters, including Dr. Paul and, most notably, Jesse Ventura—former professional wrestler, movie actor, governor of Minnesota, and author of Don't Start the Revolution without Me. Well, in a matchup of charisma, Ron isn't even in the same league with Jesse. But in the ability to lay down his own prose, Paul has few equals when it comes to message simplicity, focus, and persuasiveness. And, though I haven't read Jesse's book yet, I have to believe The Revolution: A Manifesto handles your basic elements of libertarian theory uniquely adroitly.... [full review][main] Take a stroll down memory lane with excerpts from one of the longest-running state Libertarian newsletters. Today, check out this lead article, "Jacobs to run for governor!," from our February 1982 issue. (Note the $1 price tag. ) [This is a good feature because it reminds us that "we stand on the shoulders of giants." -- ed] Newsletter editor Greg Stempfle has compiled the entire body of available Michigan Libertarian newsletters up on this page of the LPM Website. [Note there is a gap between 1980 and 1982, so if anyone should have Michigan Libertarians from that period—Brian Wright editor?—please contact Greg.] On this maiden voyage of the electronic Michigan Libertarian, we have no letters or feedback to report. But as time goes on, please voice your (short-constructive) comments or (short-constructive) opinions to the newsletter editor, Greg, via email by the 25th of the month... and we will endeavor to post them.
The Michigan Libertarian is published/posted on the first of each month. Send calendar events and news/articles to newsletter editor Greg Stempfle—or to LPM Chair Emily Salvette—by the 25th of the prior month. [Note: Pressing the [main] button, which occurs throughout the newsletter, takes you back to the Main Menu (table of contents at the top of the newsletter).] Subscribe/Unsubscribe to Newsletter ### |