LPM Online

Contents

1. Upcoming Events
   
   

   April 7, 2001 - 6:00 PM

   The Libertarian Party of West Michigan is holding its annual Liberty Banquet. The special guest speaker is Bob Metz, founder of the Freedom Party of Ontario, Canada. If interested in attending, please RSVP with Jeff Steinport. Please respond by Noon on Wednesday. You can pay at the door if you RSVP by that time. The cost per person is $20. The Liberty Banquet will take the place of April's Monthly Meeting.

   Location: Highlander Restaurant in Standale - 4072 Lake Michigan Drive NW.

   Contact: Jeff Steinport Phone: (616) 293-5056 E-mail: jeffs@pathwaynet.com

   
   

   April 9, 2001 - 7:00 PM

   CLARE-GLADWIN LIBERTARIAN PARTY MEETING. Refreshments provided. Review success of St.Patrick's Day Parade, discuss the State Convention and Ballot Access Petitioning.

   Location: MID MICHIGAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ROOM 167.

   Contact: Ghazey Aleck Phone: (517) 386-2699 E-mail: ghazey@alecklawfirm.com

   
   

   April 9, 2001 - 7:00 PM

   LP of Livingston County invites you to our monthly meeting. Dinner is at 7 p.m. and business begins at 8 p.m.

   Location: Mexican Jones Restauante, 675 W. Grand River, Brighton, MI.

   Contact: George Sise Phone: (734) 498-3298 E-mail: sise_george@hotmail.com

   
   

   April 11, 2001 - 6:30 PM

   Libertarians of Macomb County monthly meeting. Drinks and dinner at 6:30 PM, business begins at 7:00 PM.

   Location: Miles World Resturant, 17689 Masonic, Fraser, MI 48026, 810-415-4500.

   Contact: Diane Barnes Phone: (810) 774-1625 E-mail: dbarnes98@aol.com

   
   

   April 12, 2001

   The Libertarian Party of West Michigan is NOT having its monthly meeting for April. The Liberty Banquet (April 7th) is taking the place of the meeting for this month.

   Location: -

   Contact: Jeff Steinport Phone: (616) 447-0721 E-mail: jeffs@pathwaynet.com

   
   

   April 16, 2001 - 4:00 PM

   Libertarians of Macomb County Tax Protest Event! Meet outside the post office and distribute literature to the poor souls mailing their tax returns.

   Location: Sterling Heights Post office (corner of Metro Parkway and Van Dyke)

   Contact: Paul Soyk Phone: (810) 977-3523 E-mail: paulsoyk@flash.net

   
   

   April 16, 2001 - 6:30 PM

   Tri-City Libertarian Party of Michigan. 6:30 PM Dinner Club 7:00 PM Guest Speaker 7:30 PM Regular Business Meeting and Election of Oficers

   Location: Howard Johnson restuarant M-81 and I-75 Saginaw MI

   Contact: Clint Foster Phone: (517) 671-TCLP E-mail: cooljay@triton.net

   
   

   April 18, 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

   
   

   April 19, 2001 - 7:00 PM

   The April meeting of the Van Buren County Chapter of the Libertarian Party. Everyone welcome! (food will be available at 6:30)

   Location: CT's Restaurant, South Haven (on the corner of M-140 and Blue Star Highway)

   Contact: Mike Dickson Phone: (616) 637-1788 E-mail: free@cybersol.com

   
   

   May 1, 2001 - 6:30 PM

   Monthly Meeting - LP of Wayne County Dinner 6:30pm. Program starts at 7:45pm.

   Location: La Trattoria Restaurant - Dearborn MI

   Contact: Joann Karpinski Phone: (313) 925-6917 E-mail: Momjoann@aol.com

   
   

   More

   For more events, see the online calendar at:

   http://www.michiganlp.org/lpmonline/events.php

   
   

2. Libertarianism 101

   An important reminder! Libertarianism 101 will take place on Thursday (4/5) at 7:30PM at LPM Headquarters (619 E. Nine Mile Rd, Hazel Park). Please come and bring your non-libertarian friends for an illuminating look at Libertarianism and the political spectrum.

   Back to Contents
   
3. Victim's Finger Should Have Been on Trigger Instead of... by Press Release

   Victim's Finger Should Have Been on Trigger Instead of TelephoneLibertarians Say

   3/27/01
   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   CONTACT: Tim O'Brien
   (313)562-5778
   (248) 591-3733
   
   HAZEL PARK. "Begging a 911 operator to please have the police hurry is hardly the best use of the few seconds you have when an armed and dangerous person is trying to break in to your home," observed Libertarian Party of Michigan chair Stacy Van Oast.
   
   She was referring to the tragic incident on Monday in which Detroit resident Stephanie Rice and her brother were murdered by Ms. Rice's former boyfriend -- as she was on the phone calling for help. The killer then took his own life.
   
   "We can't fault police," Van Oast continued. "Their response time appeared to be about as good as can be expected. The simple fact is that the police just cannot be everywhere in order to effectively deal with a crime in progress. You need to be able to do that yourself," she added.
   
   "The ones who do bear some measure of responsibility are the politicians like Prosecutor Duggan and Sheriff Ficano who promote gun control. They disarm and leave helpless good, law-abiding people like Ms. Rice on the bizarre theory that this will somehow deter deranged criminals like the one who killed her.
   
   "When an angry man -- already known to authorities as someone with a history of domestic violence -- came breaking into her home, instead of a weapon Ms. Rice used the gun-controller defense: call 911. The result is three dead. And two orphans," she added, referring to Ms. Rice's two teenage daughters who were at school at the time of the incident. "And a gaping hole in the lives of everyone who knew this decent, loving family."
   
   "Perhaps Prosecutor Duggan," the LPM chair concluded, "would like to give the eulogy for Stephanie Rice. It will be good practice. If he succeeds in his efforts to overturn the new 'shall issue' law, he will be writing the epitaph for a lot more folks just like her."

   Back to Contents
   
4. Thank You by LPSC

   The Libertarian Party of Shiawassee County would like to thank George Sise and Matt Dickenson of the Libertarian Party of Livingston County and Mike Miller of the Libertarian Party of Mid-Michigan for helping to gather signatures for our referendum drive to repeal the Owosso Historic District, which destroys property rights by making homeowners subject to the whims of a board of unelected beauracrats.

   On March 28, we turned in a little under 1700 signatures, which may not be enough to cover for invalid signatures. If not, we will have 10 days from the Owosso City Clerk's notification to make up the difference. We will keep everyone posted as soon as we know where we are. In the meantime: George, Matt, and Mike, your help in getting us this far was greatly appreciated. Call on us when you next need a hand with something!

   Back to Contents
   
5. Campaign to thwart government attack on medical privacy

   WASHINGTON, DC -- Americans have less than three weeks to block a federal regulation that would require health care providers to turn medical records over to the government -- which could then share them with third parties such as private marketers, police agencies, and even foreign governments.
   
   "If this regulation is approved, you can kiss your medical privacy good-bye," said Steve Dasbach, Libertarian Party national director. "Soon a prospective employer, local cop or even a nosy neighbor with a government job may know if you've ever undergone drug or alcohol treatment, had an abortion or contracted an embarrassing disease."
   
   Dasbach announced that the Libertarian Party has launched an Internet campaign to kill the regulation, based on the party's successful effort to derail the FDIC's "Know Your Customer" bank spying law in March, 1999. Americans can visit http://www.DefendYourPrivacy.com/ to sign an e-mail petition asking their Congressional representative to block the regulation.
   
   By April 14, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson must decide whether to implement the "medical privacy" rules submitted in the waning days of the Clinton administration. The rules, published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2000, mandate that every doctor and health care provider turn patient records over to the HHS and other federal agencies for "safekeeping" -- regardless of whether patients consent.
   
   "If you like the way the government protected the confidentiality of your Social Security number, you're going to love the way it protects your medical records," Dasbach said. "The first step toward protecting your health data is to make sure the government doesn't have it -- which is why we need to block this regulation immediately."
   
   Dasbach noted that the prestigious American Association of Physicians and Surgeons is also fighting the regulation, which the group says would "enable if not guarantee wholesale invasions of privacy." The organization has lodged a formal protest against the regulation in a letter to Thompson, which can be read at http://www.aapsonline.org/aaps/confiden/hhscounscomm.htm
   
   The regulation would:
   
   * Allow the disclosure, without patient consent, of all medical records for "public health surveillance activities" and dozens of other purposes. Providers could refuse to treat people who refuse to surrender their records.
   
   * Permit police agencies to access medical records without a search warrant.
   
   * Give the government the right to access the private notes of a psychotherapist.
   
   * Allow foreign government officials to see Americans' health records, as long as the U.S. government claims it is doing it for a "national health purpose."
   
   * Establish a "unique patient identifier" -- a number that would make accessing medical records as easy as reading an individual's credit history is now.
   
   * Allow private insurance companies to access the medical information and compile it into a database.
   
   * Give direct marketers access to medical records, and allow pharmacies to share prescription records "for the purpose of marketing health-related products and services" -- all without patient consent.
   
   * Prevent patients involved in health research projects from accessing their own medical records.
   
   "If these proposals aren't stopped, your medical privacy will be in critical condition," Dasbach said. "Fortunately, there's a way to prevent them from going into effect -- but time is running out. Go to DefendYourPrivacy.com immediately and join the Libertarian Party's campaign. Protect your medical privacy by pulling the plug on these frightening new regulations."
   
   Americans who visit the site will be able to send an e-mail to their Congressional representatives urging them to co-sponsor a House resolution that would block the rules. The measure, HJR 38, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, declares that the rules "shall have no force or effect."
   
   "Libertarians proved that e-mail is the musket of the 21st century when we flooded the FDIC with nearly 300,000 comments in February and March, 1999, forcing the agency to abandon its attack on Americans' financial privacy," Dasbach said.
   
   "Now we intend to deploy that weapon again to thwart a raid on medical privacy, and we're all inviting all Americans to join us. What part of the word 'privacy' doesn't the government understand?"

   Back to Contents