——Michigan Libertarian——
November 2009, Volume 38: No. 6 |
Greeting
From the Chair
LibertyFest on November 14
Libertarians in 2009 Michigan Elections
My First Day as President
Quote of the Month
Major Issues to Write Congress About
Book/Movie
Past Blast
Feedback
Calendar
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Welcome to the November 2009 issue of the online newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, Michigan Libertarian. The newsletter is our main vehicle for sharing what's happening for Libertarians in Michigan. You may manage your subscription by going here or visiting our Web site www.mi.lp.org (same as www.michiganlp.org).
by Emily Salvette [main]
Thank you, volunteers!
We need more just like you!
This month I’d like to take the opportunity to thank several new volunteers for the Libertarian Party of Michigan. Beth Acker and Lucas Villalpando are sending out welcome messages to people making inquiries to the Libertarian Party. They are doing a great job making a good first impression when someone new knocks on our door.
Heidi Lokey recently volunteered to print and mail this e-newsletter to the 2 dozen LPM members who need to receive it by regular mail.
And Julie Mack and Nan Bailey have been helping organize our November 14 LibertyFest dinner—a big task, indeed. Thanks, all of you!
The Libertarian Party of Michigan is run entirely by volunteers. Without people like Beth, Lucas, Heidi, Julie, Nan, and all the other wonderful volunteers who work for liberty, we would not have a Libertarian Party in Michigan.
As we gear up for the important 2010 elections, we must get volunteers in place who will help with the work necessary to succeed in next year’s races. We’ve identified five areas where we must be strong to succeed: communications, membership, finances, campaigns, and affiliate development. Right now, we particularly need to build our management team with people who have the skills and commitment to help organize and manage one of these functional areas. These are exciting times to be a proponent of free markets and limited government; perilous times create unique opportunities. Can you step up to seize them? If so, please contact me today at chair@mi.lp.org to find out more. We need you, and would truly appreciate your help!
LibertyFest on November 14 |
by Emily Salvette, LPM Chair [main]
Excitement is high for the LibertyFest banquet on Saturday, November 14 at the Ypsilanti Marriott at Eagle Crest. The hotel is right off I-94 just east of the I-94/US23 intersection—very easy to reach from wherever you’re coming from.
While the October 31 registration deadline has passed, seats are still available at the $70 or $95 level. The Libby Award winners have been selected and will receive their awards at the banquet.
LibertyFest will also kick off the Libertarian campaign season for 2010. As we gather to celebrate our accomplishments of the past year, it’s a good time to prepare for the important 2010 elections about a year away. David Littmann will discuss “Impact Issues for Candidates in 2010.” [You might like to preview the evening’s guest speaker, David Littmann, by checking out some of his articles and columns on the Mackinac Center site.]
Wes will give us practical insight from his years as executive director of the Texas LP in his talk “Why Libertarians Make a Difference.” The program will be of an exciting and informative one, so please invite friends and family to hear these dynamic speakers.
$25 speech-only tickets will be available
at the door starting at 7:30 pm.
Organizing the event are Libertarian volunteers Julie Mack and Nan Bailey, along with State Chair Emily Salvette. If you would like to help or have questions, contact Emily at chair@mi.lp.org. Reservation details may be found at our Web site . It will be a wonderful evening where you can show your appreciation for our Libby Award winners, get ready for the 2010 elections and show your support for your Libertarian Party. Please don’t miss it!
November 3: Key Election Day for Michigan Libertarians |
by Brian Wright, [main]
Michigan Libertarians are running candidates in several elections on November 3, particularly the special election for state senate 19th district. Greg Merle has been receiving favorable media attention in the four-way race. In the Port Huron city council election, Mark Byrne is standing once again as the true candidate of the people. Mark Hren has distinguished himself, running for Big Rapids city commission. Finally, Andy LeCureaux is running for city council in Hazel Park. Please support all our fine gentlemen on Tuesday.
Keith Edwards' First Day as President of the United States |
by Keith Edwards, Editor of the Macomb Libertarian [main]
One day soon, at an Oval Office near you. (From Macomb Liberty.)
President active on first day
January 2013: President Keith P. Edwards set a fast pace for putting his platform into action today by taking a number of actions not requiring Congressional approval:
9:00 a.m.—Issued an order withdrawing American troops from Iraq starting immediately.... He also instructed the secretary of defense to submit a similar plan for Afghanistan....
10:00 a.m.—Announced pardoning of all persons convicted of nonviolent drug crimes, with first priority going to victims of marijuana laws....
11:00 a.m.—Announced review of a list of all executive orders by previous presidents, cancelling the inappropriate ones...
11:15 a.m.—Informed Congress he will veto all omnibus legislation and sign only bills that are narrow enough in scope that everyone can read and understand them.
11:30 a.m.—Issued an order restoring the legality of contracts that include a gold clause, calling restrictions unconstitutional under the 1st and 14th Amendments.
Noon: Lunch
....Find out what President Edwards does in the afternoon of his first day by subscribing to Macomb Liberty ( 28960 Jane St., St. Clair Shores, MI 48081-1032, Phone 586-777-7468) and reading the July-August-September 2009 issue.
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When I sell liquor, it’s bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lakeshore Drive, it’s hospitality.
— Al Capone
Article: Major Issues to Write Congress About |
by Downsize DC (DownsizeDC.org)
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I want my government small enough to fit inside my Constitution.
— Harry Browne
Downsize DC is the premier vehicle for emailing Congressional members with the correct libertarian arguments and positions on the issues and on the bills they continue to pass willy nilly... usually without reading them. As you know, the vast majority of Congress acts to serve the Cartel interests that got them elected. But increasing numbers of Congress are listening to the enraged and informed—to be informed is to be enraged... or at least passionate—public, and we can bend Congress to the will of the people if we simply lead them insistently on the issues. If you have never written Congress, or if you want the best organization for doing so, please join the Downsize DC army and subtly ENCOURAGE THE SLIMY BASTARDS TO PAY ATTENTION!
This guest column is actually a compendium of several important messages from Downsize DC as follows:
- End the Fed, Your Pressure Works 10/13/09
- Another Letter vs. Big Government Healthcare 10/13/09
- Apply Pressure to Douse the Patriot Act 10/12/09
- Citizens Must Have Full Money Power 10/09/09
- Do Not Pass the Healthcare Bill 10/07/09
- Drug Laws Fail Constitution Test 10/06/09
- End Civil Forfeiture 10/01/09
Please read what interests you and pass it on; I also encourage you to join and participate in Downsize DC. Please send this particular column along to anyone you like... or even anyone you don't like, but who may care in his or her own way for making the world better. — bw
Book and Movie Review Feature |
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The following review excerpts are courtesy LPM Webmaster Brian Wright's commentary and review site, The Coffee Coaster:
Movie
The Lives of Others
Chilling reminder of the essence of
Eastern Bloc tyranny
The Lives of Others (Leben der Anderen, Das) won the 2006 Oscar for best foreign-language film. Deservedly so.
It is set in Berlin, East Germany (GDR) roughly five years before the collapse of The Wall, a period when few ordinary residents of that glorious communist paradise imagined they would ever be free of its soul-deadening, omnipresent yoke.
An aspiring Stasi (East German secret police) true believer in the supremely ordered perfection of this grandiose yet drab insane asylum, Herr Hauptmann Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) wants to do the right thing. Wiesler is a poor imitation of Andre Taganov in Ayn Rand's We the Living: he believes in his heart socialism can work. By rooting out defectors, enablers of defectors, and sundry critics of the ideal society, he's doing "the Lord's business"—the lord of regimented collectivism...
[full review] [main]
Book
End the Fed
by Dr. Ron Paul
Dr. Paul accompanies observations of loss of currency
soundness with what we know about the banking and political forces that led to the creation by statute of the Federal Reserve System in 1913.
For a deeper look into the "who" behind the Fed, please run-don't-walk to purchase G. Edward Griffin's masterpiece, The Creature from Jekyll Island... a companion 'book of the 20th century' to Dr. Paul's 'book of the 21st century.' If you read Jekyll, you will no longer be guessing about who and what are responsible for taking your money and exactly how they do it... you'll know.
This is the book that can launch economic liberty... near term.
[full review] [main]
Ending the Train Wreck
![](http://www.michiganlp.org/ENewsletters/200911/200911_TrainWreck.jpg)
Michigan Libertarian Blast from the Past |
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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 1992. Click on this link for the full PDF version of this newsletter.
![](http://www.michiganlp.org/ENewsletters/200911/200911_ML_October_2000.jpg)
Newsletter editor Greg Stempfle has compiled the entire body of available Michigan Libertarian newsletters up on this page of the LPM Website.
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To the LP of Michigan:
I am writing all the smaller parties in Michigan with one simple question: Looking up the filing requirements needed to run for State office in Michigan I find it odd that the Republicans and Democrats need a petition of only 500 signatures or $100 in lieu of a petition to run and yet independent parties need at least 1,500 signatures with no filing fee option.
I have been in Michigan about 14 years and perhaps I have missed this - but why is that the smaller parties have not gotten together to sue for discrimination? If this has already happened, why did it fail? If not, isn't it time the little guy gets an equal chance?
Debby
To the LP of Michigan:
Hello I wasnt sure if this is the email I should use but perhaps you can point me in the right direction.
I am involved ithe the medical marijuana community for compasion care,my husband is a patient.
Well I we have been talking and I did a search for hours on either a Dem or a Repub that suppoted the MM patient or respected the law that 63% of the people voted on.
I have not found one that has gone on record who supports the patient.
Can you provide me with a libertarian in the Battle Creek area that I could call and invite them to our public meetings we will be holding,as a group we want to get behind those that support us.
Thank you.
Dawn
We replied to both of these queries to the satisfaction of the individuals.
We would like to hear feedback from you, real people, on any little thing, preferably with something short and punchy. Please voice your comments or opinions to the newsletter editor, Greg, via email by the 25th of the month... and we will post them.
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November 3:
In Many Communities in Michigan
ELECTION DAY – Support your local Libertarian Candidates: Mark Byrne in Port Huron, Tom Hren in Big Rapids, Andy LeCureaux in Hazel Park and Greg Merle in Battle Creek. And don’t forget to vote against any millage increase, revenue enhancement or other tax hike!
November 3:
St. Clair and Sanilac Counties
Monthly Meeting – LP group meets the 1st Tuesday of the month starting at 6 pm at Military Street Music Cafe, 1102 Military Street (downtown), Port Huron. Contact Mark Byrne, 810-987-9856, iwantska@hotmail.com
November 3:
Monthly Meeting of the Libertarians of Macomb County. All members of the Libertarian Party, their friends and family, and anyone interested in learning more about the LP are invited to attend. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm but feel free to join us for good food and conversation at 6:30 pm at the Loon River Café, 34911 Van Dyke Ave, Sterling Heights. Contact Jim Allison, jim.e.allison@gmail.com
November 4:
LP of Washtenaw County Monthly Business Meeting -7 to 9 pm at Classic Cup Cafe, 4389 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor (In the Parkland Plaza west of Ann Arbor). Contact James Hudler, 734-475-9792, or Larry Johnson, michlibertarian@comcast.net
November 4:
South West Michigan
LPSWM Executive Committee Meeting:
6:00 – 6:50 pm at IHOP, 1981 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor. Guests are welcome.
Followed by:
Round Table Political Forum hosted by the LP of South West Michigan. 7-9 pm at The Livery, 190 Fifth St, Benton Harbor. Visitors are welcome to participate.
Contact Bill Bradley, 269-637-4525, secretary@lpswmich.org
November 5:
Wayne County
Monthly Meeting – 7 p.m. - Kiernans Steak House 21931 Michigan Ave, Dearborn (at Monroe). Time to gear up for the 2010 state elections. Contact Ray Warner, 313-598-3666
November 10:
Capital Area LP Monthly Meeting – 7 pm at former LPM office, 2722 E Michigan Ave, Ste 22, Lansing (park and enter in back). Contact Will Tyler White, 517-349-3806, whitewi5@msu.edu
November 11:
Monthly Meeting of the LP of Oakland County. 6:30 pm dinner, 7:30 meeting. Sila's Restaurant, 4033 W. 12 Mile, Berkley (2 blocks east of Greenfield on south side of 12 Mile). Please join us in planning out and implementing the next phase of our Libertarian presence in Oakland County. Contact Jim Fulner, LPOC Chair, fulner@gmail.com
November 14:
Ypsilanti
LibertyFest – 6 pm to 10 pm at Marriott at Eagle Crest Resort, 1275 S Huron St, Ypsilanti (off I-94 at exit 183). Gala dinner to celebrate Liberty!
Defender of Liberty Awards; guest speakers: David Littmann, Mackinac Center Sr. Economist, and Wes Benedict, National Executive Director of the Libertarian Party.
Reservations may still be available at $70/$90 per person—call toll free 888-Free-Now during normal business hours, or online at www.mi.lp.org. $25 speech-only tickets available at the door starting at 7:30 pm.
November 18:
LP of Washtenaw County Social/Work Meeting -7 to 9 pm at Classic Cup Cafe, 4389 Jackson (In the Parkland Plaza west of Ann Arbor). Contact James Hudler, 734-475-9792, or Larry Johnson, michlibertarian@comcast.net
November 24:
Monthly meeting of the LP of Calhoun County Executive Committee, 7 p.m. Please contact Jack Worsham for location. (269)963-2679, WORSHAM74@aol.com
December 1:
St. Clair and Sanilac Counties
Monthly Meeting – LP group meets the 1st Tuesday of the month starting at 6 pm at Military Street Music Cafe, 1102 Military Street (downtown), Port Huron. Contact Mark Byrne, 810-987-9856, iwantska@hotmail.com
December 1:
Monthly Meeting of the Libertarians of Macomb County. LMC meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month. All members of the Libertarian Party, their friends and family, and anyone interested in learning more about the LP are invited to attend. The meeting begins at 7:30 but feel free to join us for good food and conversation at 6:30 pm at the Loon River Café, 34911 Van Dyke Ave, Sterling Heights. Contact Jim Allison, jim.e.allison@gmail.com
December 2:
LP of Washtenaw County Monthly Business Meeting -7 to 9 pm at Classic Cup Cafe, 4389 Jackson Rd, Ann Arbor (In the Parkland Plaza west of Ann Arbor). Contact James Hudler, 734-475-9792, or Larry Johnson, michlibertarian@comcast.net
December 2:
South West Michigan
LPSWM Executive Committee Meeting – 6:00 – 6:50 pm at IHOP, 1981 Pipestone Rd., Benton Harbor. Guests are welcome. Followed by:
Round Table Political Forum hosted by the LP of South West Michigan. 7-9 pm at The Livery, 190 Fifth St, Benton Harbor. Visitors are welcome to participate.
Contact Bill Bradley, 269-637-4525, secretary@lpswmich.org
December 3:
Wayne County
Monthly Meeting – 7 p.m. - Kiernans Steak House, 21931 Michigan Ave, Dearborn (at Monroe). Contact Ray Warner, 313-598-3666
December 6:
Libertarian Party of Michigan
Libertarian Executive Committee meeting – 4:00 teleconference. All LPM members may dial in to listen 218-844-3366, pin #576532 (long distance charges may apply). Contact Emily Salvette chair@mi.lp.org 734-645-5809.
December 8:
Capital Area LP Monthly Meeting – 7 pm at former LPM office, 2722 E Michigan Ave, Ste 22, Lansing (park and enter in back). Contact Will Tyler White, 517-349-3806, whitewi5@msu.edu
December 9:
The “Reboot” meeting of the Tri-City LP – Dinner at 6, meeting at 7 at Damon’s, 4960 Towne Centre Rd, Saginaw Township, MI 48604 (off Tittabawassee, just west of I-675 at exit 6). Everyone interested in liberty, especially from Bay, Saginaw, Midland, Genesee, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot and Isabella counties, is invited. 5th Congressional candidate Michael Moon will announce his 2010 campaign. Special guest speaker: Emily Salvette, LPM State Chair. Contact Jim Fitzpatrick, Liberty2333@wmconnect.com
December 9:
Monthly Meeting of the LP of Oakland County. 6:30 pm dinner, 7:30 meeting. Sila's Restaurant, 4033 W. 12 Mile (2 blocks east of Greenfield), Berkley. Please join us in planning out and implementing the next phase of a Libertarian presence in Oakland County. Contact Contact Jim Fulner, LPOC Chair, jim.fulner@parrot.com
December 16:
LP of Washtenaw County Social/Work Meeting -7 to 9 pm at Classic Cup Cafe, 4389 Jackson (In the Parkland Plaza west of Ann Arbor). Contact James Hudler, 734-475-9792, or Larry Johnson, michlibertarian@comcast.net
December 29:
Monthly meeting of the LP of Calhoun County Executive Committee, 7 p.m. Please contact Jack Worsham for location. (269) 963-2679, WORSHAM74@aol.com
More...
For all events, see the full online calendar on the Website:
http://www.mi.lp.org/Shared Documents/Calendar.aspx
The Michigan Libertarian
is distributed on the first of each month. Send calendar events and news articles by the 25th of the prior month to:
e-newsletter@michiganlp.org
About the Michigan Libertarian |
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The Michigan Libertarian is published/posted on the first of each month. Send calendar events and news/articles to e-newsletter@michiganlp.org by the 25th of the prior month.
The Michigan Libertarian debuted on August 1, 2009 and replaced 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 (or www.michiganlp.org).
LPM members who need a hard copy may request one be mailed to them by contacting e-newsletter@michiganlp.org or calling the LPM toll-free number 888-Free-Now.
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