Obama Is Shockingly Pro-War


Press Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Libertarians: Obama is shockingly pro-war

WASHINGTON - Following President Obama's "end of our combat mission" speech, Libertarian Party chairman Mark Hinkle released this statement:

"President Obama needs to stop lying. In his speech, he repeated the ridiculous and false claim that the U.S. combat mission is over in Iraq. He seems to think that if he keeps talking about the war in a nice way, then the war isn't really happening.

"Unfortunately, even though President Obama is the one person on Earth with the authority to withdraw the U.S. military from Iraq, he has chosen instead to keep over 50,000 troops there, risking their lives, and bleeding American taxpayers.

"The Republicans in Congress are just as bad. They have consistently failed to own up to the terrible financial impact of these wars, all the while claiming that they want to cut government. They want to nit-pick Obama's past statements about the war, but in fact they should be showering him with praise for doing exactly what they want.

"This war has been a shameful failure from the beginning. But even if the U.S. military could impose a sustainable modern democracy on Iraq, it would in no way be worth the hundreds of billions of dollars, and thousands of American lives, lost in the process. The Bush-Obama War in Iraq has done nothing to safeguard the rights of Americans -- on the contrary, it has probably made Americans less safe, and certainly poorer.

"The purpose of the U.S. armed forces is to defend the territory of the United States, not to re-engineer foreign societies.

"Contrary to his rhetoric before being elected, the president has proven himself to be shockingly pro-war. In addition to sustaining the American war presence in Iraq, he has greatly escalated the War in Afghanistan. Just like his predecessor, Obama believes that government force is the answer to everything."

The Libertarian Party platform states under "3.3 International Affairs": "American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

Libertarian On A Beer Hunt



Libertarian Party
August 9, 2010

Dear Friend of Liberty,

It's been just over a year since I moved to Washington, D.C. to work at the Libertarian Party Headquarters as Executive Director. What a change from Texas.

In addition to being much closer to the federal government and its constant flow of bad policies with worldwide repercussions, the local District of Columbia government provides constant reminders that our liberty is jeopardized in small ways as well.

Take, for example, a Sunday beer.

I'm not advocating that people drink beer. I'm just saying that one Sunday about a year ago I wanted to buy a beer after an afternoon in the office, and I ran into lots of barriers.

For those who don't know, the LP headquarters has been located in the (infamous) Watergate complex since 1995.

The Safeway grocery store at the Watergate doesn't sell beer no matter what day of the week. I'm guessing there's a law against it. There is a liquor store next door, but it's closed on Sunday (I'm guessing because of another law). The convenience store near where I live sells beer six days a week, but not on Sunday. I had figured that out the week before.

I was especially surprised to find out that the Exxon station doesn't sell beer any day of the week. What good is a gas station that doesn't sell beer? Same with the nearby 7-Eleven. I knew I wasn't in Texas anymore!

I was warned that D.C. had statist tendencies and that Virginia was a little more freedom friendly. Having spent two weeks in a cheap Virginia motel before finding an apartment in D.C., I knew of a place where I could buy a beer on Sunday.

So, I got in my truck and headed for Virginia.

I started my journey near the office at 2600 Virginia Avenue:

  • took 23rd Street right past the State Department (wonder if Hillary Clinton was in there)
  • crossed Constitution Avenue (maybe they should rename it "Statist Avenue")
  • turned right at the Lincoln Memorial
  • crossed over to Virginia on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into the Arlington National cemetery (where many Americans who lost their lives fighting for freedom are buried)
  • looped around and passed by the Pentagon (you'd expect that to be in the nation's capital, but it's actually in Virginia)
  • and proceeded to the nearest place I knew of where I could buy a beer on Sunday (a shop next to the Americana Hotel where I stayed for two weeks).

I'm not making this route up. Here's the map.

Buying a beer on Sunday may seem like a trivial freedom, but it's another example of a freedom many of us don't have. Meanwhile, we're getting literally nickel-and-dimed with more and more taxes and regulations, like D.C.'s new nickel tax on grocery bags.

I've since learned there are some stores in D.C. where you can buy beer on Sundays, but I see no rhyme or reason to the system, and certainly no convenience.

I've also learned that Virginia has its own set of quirky laws. See this amusing video which includes some of the Founding Fathers.

I'm somewhat pleased to hear that D.C. passed a medical marijuana provision recently. I'm not an advocate of drug use, but I am an advocate for freedom. I guess to have the freedom to smoke marijuana you either have to be sick, or credibly pretend you're sick.

I'm sick and tired of the rules and regulations and gimmicks.

Anybody else out there ready for a double shot of freedom?

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not yet become a member of the Libertarian Party and wish to do so, please click here and join the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution separate from membership, please click here.

GET INVOLVED:


Paid for by the Libertarian National Committee
2600 Virginia Ave, N.W. Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20037

Matt Ridley - The Rational Optimist

 Matt Ridley talks about the advent of trade and how the collective brain creates prosperity. 


 http://www.rationaloptimist.com/

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One of the great things about capitalism is - If you're opposed to capitalism, if you're opposed to free trade, no one is going to force you to participate. -- Tim Lebsack

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"The greater the mental charlatan, the more definite his insistence on the wickedness and weaknesses of human nature. Yet how can anyone speak of it today, with every soul in a prison, with every heart fettered, wounded, and maimed?... With human nature caged in a narrow space, whipped daily into submission, how can we speak of its potentialities?"
-- Emma Goldman

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

"Intellectual slavery, of whatever nature it may be, will always have as a natural result both political and social slavery." -- Mikhail A. Bakunin


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Candidate's Forum - Texas Senate District 8

09/23/2010 19:00
09/23/2010 20:30
US/Central
Candidate's Forum - Texas Senate District 8
Thursday, Sept 23rd  
7:00 –8:30 pm 
New Heritage Church
8 Prestige Circle, Suite 122
Allen, Texas

 

Each candidate will speak and then field questions from the audience.

Libertarian Candidate Ed Kless

Republican Incumbent Senator Florence Shapiro

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event sponsored by Allen Area Patriots

The 24 Types Of Authoritarians

How to reduce crimes not committed under the influence of alcohol

Human beings are remarkable things: when they want to do something, no amount of tyranny, even that of jail, can stop them.
It's like the old Soviet-style joke: they pretend to regulate us and we pretend to be regulated.

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"Give me again my hollow tree
A crust of bread, and liberty!"
-- Alexander Pope

"Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare." -- John Dryden

"One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself."
-- Leonardo da Vinci

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/
 

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Original Post Here

Twelve Political Actions To Improve Your Life

Repeal the 16th Amendment.

Remove National and State Government interference from our schools.

Use the prison system to incarcerate thugs.

If there is no victim, there is no crime.

Slowly privatize Social Security.

Grant freedom to U.S. Territories and Possessions.

Stop defending other wealthy countries.  Defend America.

Lessen or eliminate foreign trade restrictions. "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will."

Stop asking the government for permission to get married, purchase a massage, or fix the electricity in your house.

Stop trying to control others who have some differing values.

End corporate welfare.

IPO the USPS.

"What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty? I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it… What is this liberty that must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not the freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check on their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few -- as we have learned to our sorrow. What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias..."
-- Learned Hand
(1872-1961), Judge, U. S. Court of Appeals
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original post here

Jeopardy Category -- State Of Texas Employees

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"The ultimate aim of government is not to rule, or restrain, by fear, nor to exact obedience, but contrariwise, to free every man from fear, that he may live in all possible security; in other words, to strengthen his natural right to exist and work without injury to himself or others. No, the object of government is not to change men from rational beings into beasts or puppets, but to enable them to develope their minds and bodies in security, and to employ their reason unshackled; neither showing hatred, anger, or deceit, nor watched with the eyes of jealousy and injustice. In fact, the true aim of government is liberty." -- Baruch Spinoza

"That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant."
-- John Stuart Mill

"Liberty and good government do not exclude each other;
and there are excellent reasons why they should go together. Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end." -- Lord Acton
 

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca

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 " What is coach sports? "

 Correct !


http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/
 

 

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What Did The Father Of The Constitution Not Understand About The Constitution?

George Will has a list of questions for Elena Kagan.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=538572

                                     

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The Only Hope We Have Is The Internet

In Africa a drought can wipe out hundreds of thousands of lives thanks to that continent's absence of capitalism and resultant lack of industrial energy. Millions die annually for lack of electricity and from respiratory illness from burning wood and animal dung for energy. What these people need is not a static average global temperature; they (and we) need capitalism and cheap energy--including the life-giving elixir that is oil.

Three Myths About Oil

by Alex Epstein
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Keep Your Filthy Hands Off The Internet
by L. Neil Smith

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John Jay Myers Addresses The Libertarian National Convention

One day, a Business Management professor walked into his class with a bucket.

"Do you know how to fill the bucket?" he asked his students.

Some rolled their eyes. Others thought, "What a stupid question." A few leaned forward.

The professor put six large stones into the bucket. They came up to the top edge.

"Is the bucket full?" asked the professor.

"Of course," said several students.

"Are you sure?"

The professor took out a bag of gravel and emptied it into the bucket until the gravel spilled over.

"Is the bucket full now?" he asked.

The class seemed unsure.

The professor shook the bucket to let the stones and gravel settle, took out a bag of sand and poured it in between the gravel and stones.

"Is the bucket full now?"

"No," shout the students.

The professor took out a pitcher of water and poured it into the bucket until it overflowed.

"What have you learned from this demonstration?" he asked.

"That we can always find room for more in our workdays," said one student.

"Not to be so quick to judge what is or is not possible," answered another.

"To be cautious when someone asks us an obvious question," said a third.

"Good answers," said the professor. "But here's the big lesson: unless you put in the Big Stones first, you'll never be able to put them in later."

A simple and important lesson for libertarian communicators.

Do you know how to fill the bucket in your political conversations?

Do you start with the Big Stones: Big Government vs. small government? Or do you let the other person fill the conversation with gravel and sand -- issues that do not shrink government or expand liberty?

Do you focus the conversation on Big Stones: government spending, size, and power? Or do you let current events drive the discussion into sand and water political trivia?

Do you bring the discussion back to Big Stones: the costly and destructive nature of Big Government programs? Or do you let the other person fill the bucket with the gravel, sand, and water of incompetence, corruption or why the other guys are even worse?

You fill the bucket every day. Every conversation.

When you fill the bucket, what will you start with? What will you concentrate on? Big Stones -- or gravel, sand, or water?

The vital -- or the less important, the unimportant, or the downright trivial?

Knowing how to fill the bucket is important.

But doing it is the Biggest Stone.

http://www.theadvocates.org/blog/37

original post here

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