- Upcoming Events
-
June 12, 2001 - 7:00 PM
- LP of Oakland County Executive Committee Meeting. All dues-paying members are welcome. Business begins at 7:00 PM.
- Location: LPM Headquarters, 619 East Nine Mile in Hazel Park, just east of I-75.
- Contact: Chris Pellerito Phone: (248) 373-9411 E-mail: chair@lpocmi.org
-
June 13, 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
-
June 14, 2001 - 7:00 PM
- The Ballot Access Restoration Committee meets the second and fourth Thursday every month -- until we submit petition signatures to the Bureau of Elections to be certified to once again be able to run Libertarian candidates in partisan races. All LPM members are welcome to attend and help with both the planning and execution of our petition drive.
- Location: LPMHQ, 619 E. 9 Mile, Hazel Park (just east of I-75)
- Contact: Nancy O'Brien Phone: (313) 562-5778 E-mail: nobrien321@home.com
-
June 19, 2001 - 7:00 PM
- Libertarians of Allegan County monthly meeting. LPM vice-chair Ghazey Aleck will be our guest speaker. We will be planning our petition activities for the upcoming Allegan Bridgefest celebration.
- Location: Blue Heron Coffeeshop on the Riverfront in downtown Allegan. The entrance to the Riverfront parking is at the corner of Hubbard and Chestnut. Drive down and park behind Dockerty's. The Blue Heron is right next door to Docherty's, entrance on the riverfront.
- Contact: Rick Dutkiewicz Phone: (616) 673-5503 E-mail: rdoogie@datawise.net
-
June 20, 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
-
June 21, 2001 - 7:00 AM
- Regular monthly meeting of the Berrien County Libertarian Party.
- Location: Conference room of the Berrien Springs Public Library, located across from the Old County Courthouse in Berrien Springs MI
- Contact: Glenn Whitt, Secretary Phone: (616) 473-2764 E-mail: trombonist1@juno.com
-
June 21, 2001 - 7:00 PM
- Monthly meeting of the Van Buren County affiliate.
- Location: CT's Restaurant, South Haven, on the corner of M-140 and Blue Star Highway. Join us for dinner at 6:30pm.
- Contact: Bill Bradley Phone: (616) 637-4525 E-mail: bbradley@cybersol.com
-
June 23, 2001
- Allegan BridgeFest Celebration, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, featuring parading and petitioning by the Libertarians of Allegan County. Also music, kiddy rides, food, and fun.
- Location: On The RiverFront in Downtown Allegan
- Contact: Rick Dutkiewicz Phone: (616) 673-5503 E-mail: rdoogie@datawise.net
-
June 24, 2001 - 1:00 PM
- The Libertarian Party of Shiawassee County would like to invite you to join us for a Celebration of Summer! Not a Fundraiser! Not a Political Event! Just an opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of friends! What to bring: Your choice of beverage; your choice of meat to throw on the barbie (hamburgers will be provided); any other food you want; your friends; your kids; your neighbors... Cards, Frisbees, Fishing gear.... It’s up to you! Let’s have some fun! Call for directions. (Participation in event is purely voluntary; the LPSC assumes liability for NOTHING)
- Location: Shiatown Park in rural Shiawassee County
- Contact: Ben Steele III Phone: (989) 288-5616 E-mail: bsteele1@tir.com
-
June 26, 2001 - 6:00 PM
- The monthly membership meeting of the Ottawa County Libertarian Party. Business meeting starts at 7:00.
- Location: The Denny's in Holland off of US 31
- Contact: Roger L. Bouwman Phone: (616) 218-2616 E-mail: chair@oclp.org
- More
- For more events, see the online calendar at:
- http://www.michiganlp.org/lpmonline/events.php
- LPM DIRECTORY
by Ghazey Aleck
I am presently compiling the information to print the
2001-2002 Directory for the LPM. All local LP's and State
officers are requested to provide me updated officers
addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for inclusion
in the Directory. Send them to Ghazey Aleck at
aleckfamily@voyager.net or call 517-386-5407 after 6 p.m.
Thank you!
Back to Contents
- ANOTHER PRINTING OF PETITIONS IS NOW AVAILABLE
by Ghazey Aleck
The Committee of the LPM has made another printing of
petitions. The new printing of petitions are the petitions
officially approved by the Michigan Board of Canvassers on
May 15, 2001. The LPM has been using an unofficial version
of this petition and now we would like to convert over to
using the officially approved version only. This conversion
is merely an attempt to be prudent in cutting down on the
possibility of any challenge to our petition drive to get
the LPM back on the ballot.
Please immediately turn in all of the signatures that
you have collected on the unofficial petition (the one with
the sample signature). They can still be added to the total
signatures ultimately submitted to the Secretary of State.
At the same time, please turn in the unused petitions that
have the sample signature on them. You can immediately
obtain the officially approved petitons at the Headquarters
248-591-FREE or by calling Ghazey Aleck at 989-386-2699.
Thank you.
Back to Contents
- End the Selective Service Now!
by Marc Brandl
The Libertarian Party has launched an online campaign
to end draft registration. The campaign website is:
http://www.EndSelectiveService.org
Since 1980, every male aged 18 to 26 has had to
register with the Selective Service System (SSS). Rep. Ron
Paul (R-TX) has introduced HR 1597 to eliminate this program
-- a program that:
* Is increasingly being used to violate people's privacy.
* Is not necessary for America's defense.
* Is incompatible with the principles of a free society.
The SSS has few friends on Capitol Hill or in the
Pentagon, yet continues to survive, hidden away in the
bureaucratic maze of federal agencies. In 1999, a similar
bill introduced by Rep. Paul almost passed -- with little
input from citizens in favor of eliminating the program.
WITH your voice and the voices of tens of thousands of other
citizens, we can end Selective Service. Simply go to
http://www.EndSelectiveService.org and send a letter to your
Congressperson, asking him or her to support HR 1597.
Here's why you should support this campaign:
DRAFT REGISTRATION VIOLATES PRIVACY
* Young men who register have their personal
information distributed to dozens of federal, state and
local government agencies -- including the IRS, INS, DMV and
Departments of Education and Defense -- without their
consent and, often, without their knowledge.
* Seven states (AR, OK, DE, GA, HI, AL and UT) now
require young men to register in order to obtain (or renew)
their driver's licenses, and 23 other states are currently
considering such legislation.
* In the event of war, the SSS is ready to draft all
medical personnel 55 years and under.
* The penalties for refusing to fight if drafted, and
for going AWOL, are miniscule compared to those for failing
to register. Selective Service is more concerned with
getting you on the government's "mailing list" than with
preparing for some future war.
THE DRAFT AND REGISTRATION ARE UNNECESSARY TO DEFEND
AMERICA
Former President Bill Clinton stated that the draft was
necessary as "a relatively low cost 'insurance policy'
against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we
expect our Armed Forces to face..." But the Pentagon and
many pro-military politicians disagree:
* Citing the success of the all volunteer military, the
Pentagon concluded: "...it is highly unlikely that we will
have to reinstate the draft in the foreseeable future...
[P]eacetime draft registration could be suspended without
irreparable damage to national security." From the "Report
to the President and Congress: A Review of the Continued
Requirement for Draft Registration," December 1993.
* Senator John McCain (R-AZ) concurs, adding that
"...our new military requires a great deal of training, a
great deal of expertise, and technological skills that,
frankly, don't lend themselves to a short-term draft."
* The Pentagon also noted that conscripts, to be used
ffectively, take several months of training, and can't even
be trained until volunteers are done going through training.
In today's fast-paced world of conflict, most wars are over
in the time it would take the first trained conscript to hit
the battlefield.
* Even during the Cold War, the necessity (and utility)
of a draft was dubious. As President Reagan observed at the
time, "The Soviets can tell the difference between computer
lists of inexperienced young men and new weapons systems, a
million-man reserve, and an experienced army."
* Most European and other developed countries have
dropped the draft in recent years. They realize that an
effective military means using a highly trained, all
volunteer army.
If additional troops are needed for a conflict, our
well-trained reserves can be mobilized much more quickly and
cheaply than scarcely trained draftees.
Clinton's "insurance policy" is neither needed nor
desired.
THE DRAFT IS UN-AMERICAN
* "Conscription is not part of the American dream. It
is not part of the American philosophy. It is not part of
liberty. It is a totalitarian notion. Congress has the
authority to raise an army, but it does not have the
constitutional authority to enslave a certain group to bear
the brunt of the fighting. A society that cherishes liberty
will easily find volunteer defenders if it is attacked. A
free society that cannot find those willing to defend itself
without coercion cannot survive, and probably does not
deserve to." -- Rep. Paul in House debate.
* "[T]he most fundamental objection to draft
registration is moral... a draft or draft registration
destroys the very values that our society is committed to
defending." -- Ronald Reagan.
SELECTIVE SERVICE IS A COLD WAR LEFTOVER THAT NEEDS TO
BE THROWN AWAY
Most people probably think the draft died with Vietnam,
but its specter still haunts us today. We need your help to
exorcise this demon -- and we need it NOW. Unlike 30 years
ago, we have a chance to end draft registration BEFORE it
claims its FIRST victim. And, regardless of whether anyone
is ever drafted again, $25 million is being wasted every
year on an unnecessary program that violates privacy on a
massive scale.
Don't wait, help us end the draft TODAY! Go to:
http://www.EndSelectiveService.org
Sign the petition, write your representatives about HR
1597, and forward this e-mail to friends, family,
co-workers, neighbors, or other people you know who might be
interested. (But please don't send it indiscriminately; spam
will only hurt our campaign.)
Sincerely,
Marc Brandl
Libertarian Party Campus Coordinator
MarcBrandl@hq.lp.org
Back to Contents
- GOING TO THE FAIR!
by Ghazey Aleck
The Clare-Gladwin LP has obtained space for a booth at
the Clare County Fair in Harrison, MI for July 29 thru
August 4, 2001. This is a big Fair for the Mid-Michigan
area. CGLP has been on a waiting list and has just been
informed of being accepted. Once in the Fair, CGLP will
retain the space each year until we decide to give it up.
So, if you are in the area or at the Fair, stop by and see
us! We should be able to get MANY signatures for the
petition drive during this week so if anyone can find the
time to lend a hand, please contact Ghazey Aleck at
989-386-2699.
Back to Contents
- Selling Us a Sales Tax Bill of Goods (Add 6%)
by Tim O'Brien
The following article is the latest in a series of
Op-ed articles written by LPM Executive Director Tim O'Brien
and submitted to news outlets across the state for
publication.
If there is one, universal, defining characteristic of
politicians, it would have to be: covetousness.
Nothing drives a politician to distraction faster than the
prospect that some money might be trading hands somewhere
without the government getting a piece of the action.
The consummate incarnation of this effort to skim off of
every transaction is the sales tax. In fact, elected
officials are so enamored of this source of revenue that
they have shamelessly pursued expansion of its application
in ways that strain even contemporary credulity.
Consider, for instance, the sales tax attack on our state's
most important product -- the automobile.
Suppose you buy even a modest new car for, say, $16,000.
From an historical perspective this is really quite a
bargain, given all of the creativity, resources and labor
that goes into producing a vehicle that can safely and
comfortably whisk you across several states in a single day.
But open your checkbook a bit wider. You will also have to
fork over another $1,000 to the state government -- which
contributed nothing to the production of your new car. The
extra $1,000 essentially gets you a purchase permit.
What if you buy the car in another state? Or even don't buy
it at all but, instead, merely lease it? No Michigan sale,
no Michigan sales tax, right? As TV pundit Charles
McLaughlin would say: "Wrong!" They thought of that. And
created a corresponding "use" tax for such circumstances to
make sure the government still gets its cut.
And if you expect any credit for the tax already paid on
your trade-in, you obviously aren't appreciating the depths
of the politicians' avarice. This isn't about equity. It's
about opportunity. There is no credit for taxes previously
paid on a vehicle when it is resold.
But you won't encounter the most crass example of government
greed until you take that new car to your local gas station
for a fill-up. There you will notice that the state has
tacked the 6% sales tax onto the final price of a gallon of
gasoline. A price that already includes a 19 cent state tax.
That's right. More than a penny of the sales tax you pay on
every gallon of gasoline you buy is not even on the
gasoline. It is a tax on the tax!
How is that for unvarnished rapacity?
Now comes much wailing and gnashing of teeth in Lansing over
the money that is allegedly being "lost" because the people
are increasingly making purchases over the Internet. (In
point of fact, of course, no money is evaporating into the
ether. It is simply remaining in the pockets of the people
who actually earned it. The only thing that is being lost is
the politicians' chance to rake in a 6% windfall and spend
the money as they see fit.)
The problem for state pols in attempting to leech off of
e-commerce is a little stumbling block called the United
States Constitution. This annoying document limits the
enforcement authority of the individual states to within
their own borders. And it prohibits them from interfering
with interstate commerce -- including e-type -- by, for
instance, slapping a tariff on goods produced in other
states.
Senator Joanne Emmons (R-Big Rapids) has sponsored and
already shepherded through her Senate Finance committee and
the Senate itself a bill to circumvent this little
difficulty. The legislation would send Michigan
representatives to a National Council of State Legislatures
meeting where they would be authorized to negotiate an
interstate compact -- a reciprocal agreement that would
permit collection and remittance of sales and use taxes
among all of the signatory states. A sort of
you-shakedown-our-residents-and-we'll-shakedown-yours deal.
Although the legislation is strongly supported by Governor
John "31 Tax Cuts" Engler and is said by insiders to be on a
fast-track, it still faces some additional obstacles.
For one thing, SB-433 has yet to be formally introduced in
the state house (where stiffer opposition than in the senate
is anticipated).
For another, the drafters of that pesky US Constitution
anticipated the possibility that states might attempt this
kind of "end-run" around the Interstate Commerce clause and
also included in Article I, Section 10 a prohibition against
states entering into such Agreements or Compacts without the
consent of congress. A hurdle that may yet prove
problematic.
Then, there's the fact that in order to unify the
administration of diverse sales and use taxes, the numerous
state codes themselves will have to be standardized in a way
that is broad enough to encompass all variations.
That means caps and exemptions (such as our state's
exempting food and medicine) and limits on application (such
as our state's not applying the tax to services) could
ultimately be eliminated.
So, they ostensibly set out to tax Internet transactions.
But could well end up extending the 6% sales and use tax to
everything from groceries and antibiotics to haircuts and
medical check-ups -- even if you don't have to cross state
lines to get to your supermarket, pharmacy, barber or
doctor.
When the Almighty carved the last of his Ten Commandments in
stone he must have had politicians in mind.
Tim O'Brien is the Executive Director of the Libertarian
Party of Michigan.
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