by Emily Salvette (chair@mi.lp.org)
[main]:

Flying By

Summer is flying by. If you’re busy campaigning for liberty as a candidate or in support of a Libertarian Party candidate, thank you! If you are looking for a way to volunteer, please see our list of candidates at http://www.mi.lp.org/Shared%20Documents/candidates.aspx and contact a candidate in your area. I’m sure he or she would welcome your help.

There are several other ways you can support our candidates. The LPM has printed slate cards listing our state-wide and US congressional candidates. You can see a copy here [http://michiganlp.org/Webpages_Aux/Fliers_Campaign_Materials_2010.html]. These are great for handing out to friends, family and neighbors. If you would like a free supply (in limited quantities), contact Scotty Boman at scottyboman@hotmail.com and he will arrange to get them to you.

We also have beautiful “Vote Libertarian” lawn signs available featuring the LP of Michigan logo. Proudly proclaim your party affiliation for everyone to see! These signs are available for free through your local affiliate. If you don’t have an affiliate in your area, contact me at chair@mi.lp.org and we will find a way to get one to you.

Some of you may have heard that a mysterious “Tea Party” filed petitions to get on the ballot and nominated 23 candidates for the November election. This may turn out to be nothing more than a clumsy political trick by the Democrats to take votes away from Republicans, and who knows what kind of lawsuits might arise to challenge these folks. The truth is it won’t have much impact on our candidates. Of the 23 candidates they nominated, there are Libertarians in only 8 races. The impact will be minor, but as in all races, Libertarian candidates must be ready to clearly articulate the limited government message so voters don’t get fooled. Keep talking up libertarian ideas and Libertarian candidates at your summer picnics, festivals and family reunions! As always, I appreciate your efforts in behalf of liberty.

[This month's comments from Pat Clawson ]

Michigan next target of "Duopoly Enshrinement Law"

Please pay close attention to the following op-ed by Ralph Nader:

http://www.nader.org/index.php?/archives/2201-California-Enshrines-the-Duopoly.html#extended

Please note that Nader reports that Michigan will be the next state targeted to adopt a "top two" voting system. The Michigan LP must fight any such attempt!

Pat

Socialist Party lawsuit

Socialist Party Files Constitutional Ballot Access Lawsuit Against Michigan July 28th, 2010 On July 21, the Socialist Party of Michigan filed a lawsuit in state court, seeking a declaration that the number of signatures needed to place a new party on the ballot violates the Michigan Constitution. Michigan and Kansas are the only two states in which the number of signatures required to put a new party on the ballot is a higher number than the number of votes needed for an old party to remain ballot-qualified. Therefore, the law seems discriminatory against new parties, and seems to favor old parties.

UPDATE: here is the complaint, which is much more interesting than most complaints, and has lots of information about the modern-day history of the Socialist Party in Michigan. It is 40 pages. http://www.michiganlp.org/Files/Socialist Party Lawsuit.pdf

by Denee Rockman-Moon
(denee.rockman-moon@live.com)
[main]

Freeland Freedom Festival reaches many on a fun-filled day

Let me share the outcome and some pictures of the FREELAND FREEDOM FESTIVAL, on June 19, that was put on by the Tri City party with help from their Friends and Family. This event was a great success with a live band Brody and the Busch Road Trio, fun for the kids (face painting and Bounce house), and food which was a huge hit.

We also had a 50/50 that was at $442, giving the winner $221, we had silent auction items as well that also were a success. It helped raise over $1700 for Jay Longtain, Brandon Dickhausen, and Michael Moon. They even have already set a date for the 2nd Annual event June 25, 2011. We were honored to have Scotty Boman as well drive up from Lansing.

The Tri City party has also organized an event for the Fenton Freedom Festival, as well, being held on July 3rd. This will give them the opportunity to have a Libertarian float with 30+ walker passing out candy, pens, frisbees, and brochures and attack more people for Michael Moon running for US Congress for the 5th district. [For more info, see http://tricitylp.org/.]

Two weeks prior, there was a three day Festival in Frankenmuth and Michael Moon and his family rented a Small Electric Gem car, drove around for 10 hours, meeting and greeting people with Frisbees, candy and Flyers. This has already prompted 5+ people that want to join and help with the Tri City Libertarian Party. Plus here are additional items from July 4th Parade that we did as well. It was a great success with all the volunteers from Tri City Party, friends, and family. We were able to touch about 2000+ people that day.

by Scotty Boman
scottyeducation@yahoo.com

Private Companies Have the Natural Right to Require Union Membership

I have recently seen a trend among some people in the freedom movement away from free market principles, rooted in the notion of private property, and the non-aggression principle. Since I am part of that same movement, I must distance myself from statist positions, though I deeply respect many of the individuals who have embraced them. Even if an issue has nothing to do with running for Secretary of State, it has a lot to do with being a Libertarian. When a number of Libertarians deviate from the philosophy on an issue, people become confused about what our philosophy is, or worse, think I hold the same statist views as my comrades.

For this reason, I feel compelled to state my feelings about a regulatory scheme that has been popularized under the moniker, “Right to Work.” While a right to work is within the realm of natural rights, the right to force another person to hire me on my terms is not a right at all. A natural right is a right I naturally have, by my own existence in the absence of forcing others to sacrifice of life, liberty, or property. That is why important things like food, healthcare, and education are not rights. A right to food means I have a right to either force a person to farm for me, or a right to steal from them. I have the right to seek food and eat it. I don’t have a right to make others provide it. Likewise, I have no right to force a doctor to care for me, or steal someone else’s money to pay him. As Ayn Rand once said, “There is no right to enslave.”

Supporters of “Right to Work” have made some compelling pragmatist arguments for it. They argue, that it will improve the economy and bring jobs to Michigan. They point out that other states are doing better thanks to this form of social engineering. I have heard similar claims about other statist policies and projects, but my answer is the same in all cases. “If it’s such a great idea, why does the government have to force people to do it?” I support the free market so I oppose economically interventionist measures regardless of good intentions. While I may disagree with an employer’s choice to allow people to smoke at his business, impose dress codes, or require union membership, it quite literally is not my business to control what the employer does. Expediency does not trump property rights. Therefore, I support "right to work" restrictions on government contracts ONLY. In other words, the government should be prohibited from negotiating a union shop contract. To place this restriction on a private business is a violation of the business owner’s property rights, the right of consenting people to enter into a contract, and therefore an abandonment of free-market principles.

Some may rebut that we don’t have a free market. This is true, but the solution is not another government regulation. This amounts to falling into the quasi-Hegelian trap whereby politicians create a crisis with a policy designed to fix a previous crisis. Instead, we need to see which policies have corrupted the free market and remove them. As a non-libertarian once correctly said, “Government isn’t the solution to our problems, Government is the problem.”

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you've imagined.
As you simplify your life,
the laws of the universe will be simpler.
— Henry David Thoreau

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Note: Please submit photos and cartoons for inclusion in the monthly newsletter by sending them to E-Newsletter@michiganlp.org

The following review excerpts are courtesy LPM Webmaster Brian Wright's commentary and review site, The Coffee Coaster. If you would like to submit book or movie reviews please notify the editor.

Book Review
Hannah's Revenge
Story of controversial Colonial woman, Hannah Dustin
by Juanita Carey

Well, if you have an hour or so—Hannah's Revenge is only 31 pages long, double-spaced, with large font—take a journey down the English colonial paths and streams of yesteryear. As indicated in the opening quotation from page one, settlers in more remote areas had to constantly be concerned with Indian raids and kidnappings, where the victims would wind up as slaves and breeders for the Indians or for French interests. Ms. Dustin, having only six days previously given birth to her 12th child, was brutally taken from her home—along with Hannah's newborn baby and a neighbor woman, Mary Neff—and force marched northward.
[full review ] [main]

Movie Review
Legends of the Fall
Epic showing evils of the modern state __ 8.5/10

Colonel Ludlow: Indians! Indians were the issue in those days. I can assure you, gentlemen, there is nothing quite so grotesque as the meeting of a child with a bullet; or an entire village slaughtered while sleeping. That was the Government's resolution of that particular issue and I have seen nothing in its behavior since then that would persuade me that it has gained either in wisdom, common sense, or humanity.

The 1995 movie came shortly after Brad Pitt had already made his big move into stardom in Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It in 1992. Both movies are currently ranked on IMDb at a respectable 7.1. But I think without one or the other—because really they're the same sort of Pitt-character development epic—either would have ranked in the high 7s. Legends is the more explicitly anti-government, and graphically, believably so. That's why I like it slightly better. [full review] [main]

Take a stroll down memory lane with this excerpt from one of the longest-running state Libertarian newsletters. Today, check out the July-August issue of 2006. Click on this link for the full PDF version of this newsletter.

Newsletter editor Greg Stempfle has compiled the entire body of available Michigan Libertarian newsletters up on this page of the LPM Website.

LPM Leadership
State Chair – Emily Salvette, chair@mi.lp.org
Vice Chair – Dan Johnson, dan.johnson40@gmail.com
Secretary – Julie Mack, jmack125@gmail.com
Treasurer – Erin Stahl, erinstahl@earthlink.net

Libertarian Executive Committee At-large Directors:
Gregory Creswell - i.am4_gcreswell@yahoo.com
Pat Clawson - patrickclawson@comcast.net
Bill Hall – politics@mi.lp.org
Denee Rockman-Moon - denee.rockman-moon@live.com
Pam Sanderson - factorylady@yahoo.com

Webmaster – Brian Wright - brian_r_wright@yahoo.com
Political Director – Bill Hall – politics@mi.lp.org

Affiliate Contacts (counties served)

Calhoun County LP (Calhoun)
Jack Worsham, Chair, worsham74@aol.com

Capital Area LP (Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Shiawassee)
Bob Broda, Chair, bob-broda@comcast.net  Website: www.calparty.org

LP of Livingston County (Livingston)
Tim Keirnan, Chair, mailtim@sbcglobal.net

Libertarians of Macomb County (Macomb)
Jim Allison, Chair, jim.e.allison@gmail.com

LP of Oakland County (Oakland)
Johnny Skosnik, Secretary, jskosnik@heyitsdraftjohn.com

LP of SW Michigan Berrien (Cass, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Branch, St. Joseph)
Daniel Grow, Acting Chair, grow.daniel@gmail.com  Website: www.lpswmich.org

LP of Washtenaw County (Washtenaw)
Larry Johnson, Chair, michlibertarian@gmail.com

LP of Wayne County (Wayne, Monroe)
Ray Warner, Chair, raymondrand@yahoo.com

LP of West Michigan (Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa)
Dan Johnson, Chair, dan.johnson40@gmail.com  Website: www.lpwm.org
Tri-City Libertarians (Arenac, Bay, Genesee, Midland, Saginaw)
Al Chia, Chair, chia4congress@hotmail.com  Website: tricitylp.org