LPM Online

December 26, 2000

Contents

  1. Upcoming Events
  2. Berrien County Libertarians Begin Letter-Writing Campaign

  1. Upcoming Events

    January 9, 2001 - 7:00 PM
    Kalamazoo Libertarian Party general meeting
    Location: TGI Friday's Restaurant, 5650 W. Main Street, Oshtemo MI
    Contact: Tim Miley Phone: (616) 668-3951 E-mail: thmiley@yahoo.com

    January 10, 2001 - 6:30 PM
    LP of Oakland County Executive Committee Meeting All dues paying members are welcome. Business begins at 7:30PM.
    Location: LPM HQ, 619 E. 9 Mile in Hazel Park.
    Contact: Greg Dirasian Phone: (248) 515-3675 E-mail: greg@newsnetpipeline.com

    January 10, 2001 - 6:30 PM
    LP of Oakland County Executive Committee Meeting All dues paying members are welcome. Business begins at 7:30PM.
    Location: LPM HQ, 619 E. 9 Mile in Hazel Park.
    Contact: Greg Dirasian Phone: (248) 515-3675 E-mail: greg@newsnetpipeline.com

    January 11, 2001 - 7:00 PM
    Libertarian Party of Berrien County will hold its monthly meeting. Please contact us in case of a change of meeting location. Please tune in to designated broadcast stations in case of cancellation due to inclimate weather conditions.
    Location: 1421 E. Indiana St., New Buffalo, MI
    Contact: Glenn Whitt Phone: (616) 473-2764 E-mail: trombonist1@juno.com

    January 13, 2001 - 9:30 AM
    Libertarian Party of Oakland County Strategic Planning Meeting. Open to members only.
    Location: LPM HQ, 619 E. 9 Mile in Hazel Park.
    Contact: Greg Dirasian Phone: (248) 515-3675 E-mail: greg@newsnetpipeline.com

    January 17, 2001
    Monthly meeting of the St. Clair County affiliate
    Location: Figaro's is located at 1503 11th Street, Port Huron, MI 48060. TX: (810) 987-3588. Join us for dinner at 6:00 PM. Business begins at 7:00 PM.
    Contact: Richard Friend Phone: (810) 982-7178 E-mail: rfriend@advnet.net

    January 24, 2001 - 6:30 PM
    LP of Oakland County General Membership Meeting. Public welcome. Meet for dinner at 6:30PM, business begins at 7:30PM. Election of officers and bylaws changes will take place at this meeting.
    Location: Sila's, 4033 W. 12 Mile Rd., Berkley. Sila's is located 2 blocks east of Greenfield on 12 Mile Rd.
    Contact: Greg Dirasian Phone: (248) 515-3675 E-mail: greg@newsnetpipeline.com

    February 4, 2001
    LPM 2001 Winter Leadership Conference

    10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    Hosted by the Ottawa County Libertarian Party.

    For more information, contact Ben Steele III at 517-288-5616 or bsteele1@tir.com or Jason Miller at 616-669-2851 or jcmiller@triton.net

    Location: The Comfort Inn, 622 Allegan Street, Plainwell
    Contact: Ben Steele III Phone: (517) 288-5616

    February 8, 2001 - 7:00 PM
    Libertarian Party of Berrien County will hold its monthly meeting. Please contact us in case of a change of meeting location. Please tune in to designated broadcast stations in case of cancellation due to inclimate weather conditions
    Location: To be determined
    Contact: Glenn Whitt Phone: (616) 473-2764 E-mail: trombonist1@juno.com

    February 11, 2001 - 1:00 PM
    LPM Executive Committee meeting
    Location: LPM Headquarters, 619 E. 9 Mile Rd., Hazel Park. Directions: Take I-75 to Nine Mile Road. Go east on Nine Mile for approximately five blocks. The HQ building will be on the left. See www.mi.lp.org/hq/ for a map.
    Contact: Stacy Van Oast Phone: (810) 784-8783 E-mail: stacyvo@eesc.com

    More
    For more events, see the online calendar at:
    http://www.michiganlp.org/lpmonline/events.php

  2. Berrien County Libertarians Begin Letter-Writing Campaign by Glenn Whitt, Secretary and Campaign Coordinator

    The Libertarian Party of Berrien County has begun an active letter-writing campaign to the local newspapers that serve Berrien County communities. The two following letters were or will be published in at least one local newspaper.

    This first one appeared December 19, 2000 in the Herald-Palladium

    Don't mess with Election Day

    Editor,

    Congressman Fred Upton's proposed bill to make Election Day a holiday every four years would discriminate and disenfranchise millions of voters.

    First of all, many Americans do not choose to exercise their right to vote. For those that do, most private businesses allow their employees time to go and cast their ballots. Furthermore, most government agencies have policies allowing employees time off on election days to do the same. For the most part, those who wish to vote simply do just that. On the other hand, those who may complain that they did not have enough time to vote simply chose not to. There are plenty of means available for everyone to cast a ballot on election days without having to pass additional legislation to do so.

    Secondly, a federal holiday, in order to increase voter participation, would only benefit those who would get the day off. After all, most beneficiaries of federal holidays are either employees of government agencies or institutions that conduct business with them. It almost seems that this proposal would borderline a conflict of interest. Most private sector employers do not observe many federal holidays, nor can they afford to pay employees for the time off. Only government agencies can afford to pay for these holidays since taxpayers have to foot the bill. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to find out how much taxpayer money is used to pay government employees for all the holidays to which they are entitled.

    The third problem I find with this proposal is the targeting of quadrennial presidential elections only. The frequency of these elections does not coincide with other terms ending for senators, governors and many other offices.

    The bill proposed by Upton appears to be another piece of feel-good legislation. Although the good intentions of the congressman are noted, people who do not wish to participate in the electorate will not vote even if they get a day off. The responsibility of casting a vote relies solely on the voter, not on additional legislation.

    Ray Kirkus

    Chairman

    Libertarian Party of Berrien County

    This one appeared on December 22, 2000 in the Herald-Palladium and will be published within two weeks in the South Bend Tribune.

    When will people just wake up?

    Editor,

    I read an article published on Dec. 12 in the National Review. It is about how Congress continues to create and pass bills that will take more of our privacy away and increase the strength of the government to take it away. The most recent occurred while all of the eyes of America was focused on the problems of this year's presidential election. We have a bill that awaits the president's signature that, according to its title, would be an honorable thing. It creates a Congressional Medal of Valor to be awarded to firemen, police officers, federal agents, etc. for outstanding work above and beyond the call of duty. As a member of the Michigan Air National Guard, I support this idea. Unfortunately, the Congress has added other provisions that has absolutely nothing to do with a Medal of Valor.

    There are provisions for extending the bounds for wire-tapping and federalizing certain juvenile crimes. This no one should support. It is alarming. Many of our elected officials, including the president, promised smaller government. The only thing that they could do is reduce the size of the military and the civil service. This is not reduction of government in the truest sense. An article like this further proves the point that government intrusiveness in our personal lives, whether it be social, economic, judicial, educational, religious, and through the unconstitutional enforcement of unconstitutional laws and executive orders, continues to grow. The only good thing about this fact is that many people can say "I told you so."

    It is so sad that we will not be able to decide things and exercise our personal liberty without a government that controls it all because so few can see that members of the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party are the only ones who really understand what is at stake.

    The Republicans and Democrats are really one party, not two. They want the same thing - greater government control of our lives and our businesses.

    Glenn D. Whitt

    Secretary

    Libertarian Party of Berrien County

    This letter-writing campaign is step one to get Berrien County residents to realise more that they need to start looking to Libertarians for real change in government.

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