We have a clear, stark choice ahead of us

To all delegates to the Libertarian Party of Texas State Convention:

We have a clear, stark choice ahead of us. 

We've had these words, or similar verbiage, in our national and state platforms since the mid-1970's. 

The Tarrant County (Fort Worth/Arlington) Libertarian Party recently participated in the Fort Worth Gay Pride parade, after taking part in the larger Dallas equivalent for almost a decade. 

We were very well-received.  You can't imagine the looks of undiluted joy in the faces of the crowd when we pulled this rig through Downtown Cowtown !

We actually won the trophy for Best Non-Profit Entry. 

Contrast that greatness with this, from the new Vice-Chair of the Harris County (Houston) Libertarian Party.  Yes, this is coming from an official rep of the LP.....

The stats in this thing have been discredited more times than "The Hitler Diaries". 

Pick a side folks.  Pick a side. 

Fort Worth man goes on hunger strike to support Utah man starving to prevent gay marriage. Or something.

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From the Action News Team at 4UTAH in Salt Lake City !!!

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) – A Utah man is vowing to go without any food until the state stops allowing same sex marriages. He claims if Utah wants to protect traditional marriage, it has an option it’s not using, and he's fasting until it does it.

When same sex marriage became legal in Utah, people immediately reacted. Couples stormed county clerk buildings. State attorneys tried to stop it, and Trestin Meacham started fasting.

"I'm very disappointed," said Trestin Meacham, fasting to stop Utah same sex marriages.

For the past 12 days Meacham hasn't eaten anything. He's surviving solely on water and an occasional vitamin.

"You can start a blog and you can complain on social networks until you're blue in the face and nothing will happen but actions speak louder than words and I'm taking action," said Meacham.

Meacham tells Reporter Brian Carlson he's fasting to convince Utah to exercise the option of “nullification.” It's posted on Meacham's blog. According to his interpretation of states’ rights, Utah can nullify the recent federal court ruling by simply choosing not to follow it.

From the Action News Team at 4COWTOWN in Fort Worth !!!

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (ABC 4 Cowtown) – A Texas man is vowing to go without any food until Tristan Meacham of Salt Lake City dies from hunger. He claims that Texas wants to protect non-eating rights, it has a states' rights option it’s not using, and he's fasting until it does it.

When starvation for political causes became legal in Texas, people immediately reacted. Unknown political hacks and publicity-seekers burned and vandalized county food banks, just to see if they could get on the news. State attorneys tried to stop it, and The Whited Sepulchre, an obscure Texas Libertarian blogger started fasting.

"I'm very disappointed," said Mr. Sepulchre, who is now fasting to support Mr. Meacham's right to starve himself over something that really is none of Meacham's freakin' business.  "I'm doing this to protect Trestin Meacham's right to die." 

For the past 12 days Whited hasn't eaten anything. He's surviving solely on shots of Kentucky Deluxe bourbon.  He also claims that he sometimes gets thirsty enough to actually drink water. 

"You can start a blog and you can complain on social networks until you're blue in the face and nothing will happen but actions speak louder than words and I'm taking action," said The Whited One. "I really want to see Trestin Meacham starve for what should be nothing more than a lifestyle choice." 

Whited tells Reporter Brian Carlson he's fasting to convince Texas to exercise the option of “nullification.” It's posted on The Whited Sepulchre's blog. According to his interpretation of states’ rights, Texas can nullify the recent federal court ruling on force-feeding by simply choosing not to follow it.

"If Trestin Meacham wants to die to prevent gay marriage and Utah illegally tries to force-feed him, I believe that Fort Worth should become Trestin's sanctuary city, take him in, and allow him to die in the comfort and security he deserves." 

 

Mother should I trust the government?

During the past few years, the Tarrant County Libertarian Party has:

1) Participated in an anti-Federal Reserve protest at the Dallas Fed.

2) Snagged some great speaking gigs at DFW NORML meetings. (National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws.)

3) Sponsored 2nd Amendment/Gun Rights debates, hosted NRA activist meetups, staffed tables at gun shows, and participated in “Open Carry” events.

4) Participated in Gay/Lesbian pride parades in Dallas and Fort Worth. (And won twice!)

5) Staffed literature/recruiting tables during at least 3 Tea Party rallies

6) Participated in 9/12 marches and had speakers at 9/12 meetings

7) We would’ve participated in Peace Marches, but the Peace Movement doesn’t really exist during Democrat administrations, and we don’t have the numbers to shut down the streets by ourselves.

8) Supported anti-Eminent Domain candidates for our regional Water Board.  And won!!

Stuff like that makes for a diverse group off allies.  But those groups have something in common....

Economic conservatives generally fear the Fed the government.
Pot smokers fear the police the government.
Gun owners fear the anti-2nd amendment lobby the government.
Gays and Lesbians fear the influence of religious conservatives the government.
Tea Party activists, supposedly neutral on social issues, fear the national debt the government.
The 9-12 groups, as best I can tell, fear socialists the government.
The Peace Movement fears the military-industrial complex the government.
Eminent Domain opponents fear thieves the government.

Most members of these sub-groups will tell you that they oppose Democrats. Or Republicans. This is like declaring your loyalty to The Crips because if you stop supporting The Crips, then The Bloods will take over.  Republicans and Democrats might go at each other like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, neither group is going to endanger the oppressive system that makes their leadership (and their leaches) very, very wealthy and very, very powerful.   

Our challenge, as Libertarians, is to convince those who fear the government to merely oppose the government in all its unholy acts, instead of trying to kill off Dr. Jekyll while saving Mr. Hyde.  On almost every issue, John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi are different in degree, not in kind.  And I'm struggling to think of any issues (maybe guns?) where Bush/Obama differ by a significant degree.    (No, I take that back.  They don't even differ on guns.  Barack approves of giving guns to Syrian rebels, and to Mexican Drug Lords via Operation Fast And Furious.) 

When government gets big enough, it prints money, oppresses non-conformists, confiscates citizen weaponry, determines who can and can’t marry, racks up a lot of debt, nationalizes industries, starts wars, and confiscates property. That's all part of the package.

Any government big enough to abuse the group you dislike is big enough to abuse all the rest.

Let’s stop talking about Red vs. Blue. Let’s reframe the debate as Free vs. Slave.

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The Tarrant County Libertarian Party goes to the Fort Worth Gay Pride Parade AND WINS !!

Howdy. 

The Tarrant County Libertarian Party has long advocated something that I call the Spivey Doctrine.  My friend, and predecessor as county chair, John Spivey, believes that we should go after some of society's sub-groups called "The Four G's".  They would be the Gold, Grass, Guns, and Gays.  (Federal Reserve enemies, marijuana legalizers, 2nd Amendment devotees and Gays/Lesbians.)

I prefer "The 5 B's" - Stay away from my bed, beer, bourbon, babies, bullets and bongs.  But that's quibbling. 

About two months ago, we decided to participate in the Fort Worth Gay Pride parade, to help improve our relationship with that fourth G.  We've been in the Dallas equivalent for years, and thought it time to bring it home.  (Hit this link and this link for some of our better experiences.) 

We worked really hard on this thing, within the constraints of a relatively small budget, of course. 

And we won.  We won Best Not-For-Profit entry.

 Lockheed-Martin, the military contractor, won for Best Business/For-Profit entry.  They had a float with little jets that looked like they were hand made by Obama's Drone-Makers. 

It was an amazing day for us.  We pushed the envelope just a bit by having Dez Lehman, a Dallas Libertarian and cabaret singer/performer, entertain from the top of our float.  That guy worked that crowd like you cannot imagine.  Dez owned that parade. 

In case you're wondering, I'm the guy on the left.  I don't look good in feathers. 

 

Here's Dez with long-time Libertarian and Gary Johnson Texas campaign manager, Elizabeth Miller.  

Here's what we did with the front of Richard Forscythe's pickup.  Two brides and two marriage equality signs. 

Ken Stanford, flying the colors. 

That's one big fat honking Marriage Equality sign. 

 

And we're off.  You really don't get the flavor of this thing without hearing all the attendees screaming "LIBERTARIANS!  HELL YEAH!!!" and "THE LIBERTARIAN ARE HERE!  HOLY F**K!!" 

Plus Dez singing like the world was gonna end.  We had the only genuine music system in the parade.  That always helps.  That's Mike and Shayna Coyne walking beside the float. 

We had kids, politicians, moms, you name it.  All on the float, and dancing. 

 

More than one obsessive-compulsive person commented that our letters weren't "straight".  I just told them that it was a gay parade. 

That's the lovely Teresa Rushing, Tarrant LP Exec Committee Member-at-large. 

You cannot imagine the sheer, undiluted joy that this contraption brought to the crowd in downtown Cowtown.  I wish I could do this again today. 

 

Here's what the Democrat Party had to offer.  Gays and Lesbians, I think someone is taking your loyalty for granted....

 

Here are the Stonewall Democrats. 

Here's John Spivey with Dez.  Both of 'em looking good, don't you think?

We're definitely doing this again next year, and we'll have the float led and followed by our candidates with campaign signs. 

 

Lord have mercy, this was a fun day. 

 

On "discriminatory, inflammatory, lewd, and racial remarks in public"

For the first time ever, the Tarrant County Libertarian Party is going to participate in the Fort Worth Gay Pride Week parade. 
It's going to be a good time at a great event.  Go here to see our Meetup page about building the float, parade details, and the like. 

Last night, my friend Ken Stanford and I went to the gay/lesbian church where they held the organizational meeting.  (I believe that one lady thought we were romantic partners....not that there's anything wrong with that.)  It was a good group of people. 

The organizers spent a lot of time explaining how we should all behave.  There have been some Baptist preacher-types protesting at past events.  One of these Witch Doctors even went so far as to stick a bullhorn in the face of the mayor of Fort Worth.  They try to get a negative reaction from the gays and lesbians so they can post the pics and videos online and show their congregations how they're defending All Things Holy from the gay folks.  A few arrests were made, and some of the protesters did jail time, which they probably see as a badge of honor. 

Joel Burns, one of our City Councilmen, happens to be of the gay persuasion, and Joel usually rides in this parade.  After the bad incidents with the preachers a few years ago, Joel and the mayor (and I'm probably getting a few of the details wrong here) introduced a Zero Tolerance Ordinance that includes "protection from discriminatory, inflammatory, lewd, and racial remarks in public."  Also, "the use of bullhorns will not be permitted in the downtown area".  The Thought Police police department will be enforcing all of these regulations on the day of the parade.  (All of that is from the parade organizer info.) 

Dammit, I've got two bullhorns. 

I was planning on making good use of them to support the Marriage Equality cause.  Now I can't. 

IMHO, this is what usually happens when you try to protect people from opinions.  Dissent gets stifled. 
Yeah, I cannot stand fundamentalist nimrods who try to force everyone to live by the rules in their magic books. 
No, people shouldn't be allowed to stick bullhorns in your face, violate your space, or physically threaten you. 
But asking government to protect you from opposing points of view, like "discriminatory remarks" doesn't help your cause.  Never, ever, ever. 

If you've read this far and disagree, do you think I should have the right to call some people "fundamentalist nimrods", like I did a few sentences ago?  If you think that Barack Obama isn't very smart, should you be allowed to say so?  What about Rick Perry?  Where does it end? 

Anyway, we're going to have a good time at this thing.  Anybody who wants to marry another adult should be allowed to do so, and I really don't care if I've offended you with that statement, or if you think it's inflammatory. 

 Saturday, October 5th.  Hit this link if you want to help out. 

 

Why free markets are better than quotas for achieving "diversity"

I have a co-worker/friend at Jukt Micronics that I'm going to call "Jim". 
Jim is gay. 
He's not political about it, he doesn't go to the bars, and he doesn't crusade. It doesn't matter either way, and long-time readers of this site know that I don't care.
 
Jim just got one heck of a promotion.  He's been elevated into the stratosphere of the Jukt Micronics sales department where he'll be taking care of what'll soon be Canada's #1 retailer, if it isn't already.

Jim wasn't given this job to fill a quota, or to show off how "diverse" we are.  Jim did a heck of a job when he was running Customer Service, and if we hadn't hired and promoted him, someone else would've hired him and possibly made a lot of money with him selling to Canada's #1 retailer.

Our #1 salesperson is usually a woman named....  Well, I dare not speak it.   We all fear her.  Competitors won't hire her, because they're afraid she'd take over.  One doesn't achieve the highest sales total every year by merely being quota-filler.  She has the highest sales by making heroic personal sacrifices, taking care of bidness, and squashing everyone else like a bug.   

Our plastic, wood and metal shop Production Managers are Black, Hispanic, and Black, respectively.  Dig down a little deeper and you'll find a Cambodian clear plastic supervisor, a Cambodian design supervisor, a Serbian wire shop supervisor, and another gaggle of bosses who all seem to be from the same neighborhood in Mexico.  My boss, the Operations V.P., is from Juarez. 

Our meetings sometimes look like the United Nations' break room.  Nobody planned it, nobody even wanted it.  The owners just started going for the best people they could afford, and that's what happened.

Compare my workplace to this....  It's from an article in City Journal by Heather MacDonald called "Multiculti U", about the insane expenses associated with "diversity" programs in the California college system.  Hit this link to read the whole thing. 

In September 2012, for instance, as the university system faced the threat of another $250 million in state funding cuts on top of the $1 billion lost since 2007, UC San Diego hired its first vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion. This new diversocrat would pull in a starting salary of $250,000, plus a relocation allowance of $60,000, a temporary housing allowance of $13,500, and the reimbursement of all moving expenses. (A pricey but appropriately “diverse” female-owned executive search firm had found this latest diversity accretion.) In May 2011, UCLA named a professional bureaucrat with a master’s degree in student-affairs administration as its first assistant dean for “campus climate,” tasked with “maintaining the campus as a safe, welcoming, respectful place,” in the words of UCLA’s assistant vice chancellor and dean of students. In December 2010, UC San Francisco appointed its first vice chancellor of diversity and outreach—with a starting salary of $270,000—to create a “diverse and inclusive environment,” announced UC San Francisco chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann. Each of these new posts is wildly redundant with the armies of diversity functionaries already larding UC’s bloated bureaucracy.

Good God in heaven, what a mess. 

Full disclosure:  Jukt Micronics isn't remotely "normal".  It's an insane place to work.  Hours are long.  It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  The first time I went to lunch with a plant manager, he warned me that "we are a screaming company".  And yet we've accidentally achieved a level of diversity that other places can't even dream of, and it didn't cost us a dime.  We made money doing it!!!   

Competition for employees, for raw materials, and for ideas has a way of cleansing and purifying things.  What if we had decided early on to not hire any ethnic or social minorities?  Who would it have hurt more, Jukt Micronics or the potential employees that we would've unwisely declined to hire?  I think it would've killed us. 

Read the entire Heather MacDonald piece if you get a chance.  And then try to decide which organization has the best approach to achieving diversity: California's college system, or a bunch of Texans who wanted to make the best display fixtures for the best price.

And congratulations, Jim!   

Gay Marriage, Start With Why, and The 100th Monkey

Something weird happened on Facebook three or four weeks ago. 
It seemed like EVERYONE came out in favor of Gay Marriage Equality. 
If you are a FB user, you probably saw icons like this one, with an "equals" sign symbolizing equality.  Apolitical, religious, non-confrontational friends (yes, I do have some) were all using it. 

The Libertarians have been there for a long, long time. 
Check this out, from the 1972 party platform:

The Democrat party finally put something about Marriage Equality in their platform this year.  The Republicans are kinda dipping their toes into the water. 
So what happend? 

This is from the I-Change website.  I think I first heard it in a Jorene Taylor-Swift sermon several years ago.  It's called "The 100th Monkey". 

The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkey liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.


An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too.

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes -- the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

THEN IT HAPPENED! By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice: A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea...Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes. Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.

I don't know if I'd go that far with it, but it seemed like gay marriage equality, after spending about 40 years in the Libertarian Party Political Wilderness, was just suddenly there. 

Here's something else that sorta ties in.  I've been reading "Start With Why", by Simon Sinek.  In addition to teaching about why leaders and businesses waste a lot of time and effort on the Who, What, Where and When (before getting to the all-important "Why"), Sinek has a great chapter on who is most likely to understand Why and change his behavior. 
Who is most likely to sleep in front of a store to get an iPhone? 
Who is going to purchase a new Bluetooth with only one new feature compared to his old one? 
Who is going to fly Southwest Airlines at his own expense, when his employer is willing to pay 100% of the ticket on a rival airline?

This chart is called the Rogers Adoption/Innovation Curve.  Please note the divisions. 
IMHO, the Libertarian Party was an innovator on the Gay Marriage Equality issue.  A lot of rank-and-file Democrats were Early Adopters. 
Joe Biden and Barack Obama finally finished "evolving, and became part of the Early Majority about 20 minutes before the tipping point. 
The Republican party will finish its hand-wringing and become part of the Late Majority sometime next year.  Hide and watch. 
The Laggards will go to their graves opposing Gay Marriage Equality. 

 Here are some other issues where I believe the Libertarian Party will soon be joined by Early Adopters. 

*Expanding School Choice
*Military Downsizing
*Eliminating Nation-Building, And Defending OUR Borders
*Reducing The Size Of Our Military
*Neutering The Federal Reserve
*Lowering Import Tariffs
*Ending Crony Capitalism
*Legalizing Marijuana
*Ending The Drug War

Think of all the reasons to stop waiting. 
Come be with us.  It's fun to be first!! 

I don't care who you are, this is funny !!

Ryan Sheffield's 12 Political Compromises

My Bar Friend Ryan Sheffield has put a list of "12 Political Compromises" on Facebook.  This is his governmental wish list. 

As a side note, Ryan is one of those creative people who can do just about anything he wants to do.  Go here to view (and purchase) some of his artwork, mostly drawings of authors that incorporate their quotations.  I think I've used the Twain and the Hunter S. Thompson to liven up posts on this site a few times. 
Go here to download (no purchase required) his two e-books.  I've read some of his stories, and they're good stuff. 

IMHO, Ryan is very close to the Kingdom Of God, i.e., the Libertarian Party, with this list.  My additional commentary is in italics.  Here goes:

1. Repeal Citizens United. You would be hard-fought to find any normal citizen who thinks it’s a good idea for corporations, labor unions and special interest groups to have an unfettered cashflow into political campaigns. It doesn’t matter what “side” you are on, you should probably oppose Big Money syndicates controlling the election process and fueling the obnoxious TV commercials you are being bombarded with every day.

Why do we have big corporations and super-pacs giving a rip who gets elected?  Well, to produce a successful product, you have to convince millions of citizens to purchase the product.  That's the hard way.  The easy way is to get Congress to mandate the use, purchase, or monopolization of the product.  Corporations want protection from competitors.  In a nation with a massive government, it's far more effective to purchase one Congressman that to sell to 330 million Americans.  Here's something from the Cato Institute:

The proper answer to large expenditures for speech is either more speech or, if the existing system proves unworkable, a constitutional amendment. As for money, it's just a symptom. We have a big money problem because we have a big government problem. By restraining the regulatory and redistributive powers of the state, we can minimize the influence of big money. Restoring the Framers' notion of enumerated, delegated, and limited federal powers will get government out of our lives and out of our wallets. That's the best way to end the campaign-finance racket, and root out corruption without jeopardizing political speech.

In other words, if it really matters who wins the elections, your government has gotten too big.  If governments can mandate profits for favored corporations, government has gotten waaaay too big. 

2. Close the “Revolving Door” and shut lobbyists out of government. This is an extension of number 1. Again, no one wants these organizations, right or left, buying and bribing politicians or running their own regulatory agencies. Politicians work for us, not the highest bidder.

Once again, lobbyists are just a symptom.  They're not the disease.  If the government matters enough to justify the hiring of lobbyists, the government has gotten too big. 

3. End the “War on Drugs.” This doesn’t mean we have to legalize EVERYTHING, but this “war” is a bottomless money pit and a failed experiment. It is the reason the violent cartels exist and the reason your idiot son is snorting bath salts in your basement.

Precisely.  Exactly.  Ever since Nixon began the War On Drugs in 1970, the only drug whose use has declined is....tobacco.  That's because tobacco is legal and no longer cool.  
There are a few antibiotics that should possibly be restricted because unfettered use causes viruses to mutate and grow stronger.  
Everything else?  Well, ask yourself which currently illegal drugs you want the Mexican and Afghan Drugs Lords to have a monopoly on. 

4. Stop treating the environment as a partisan issue. The environment SHOULD be something we all agree on. It affects us all equally. As long as free enterprise exists, there must be checks & balances on pollution, deforestation and animal cruelty. This is not “socialism.” It’s the necessary price business owners must pay for the ability to run operations that affect our natural surroundings and resources. The beautiful but unrealistic Libertarian idea that simply boycotting polluters will solve the problem is a pipe dream. Especially if the public is unaware they are polluting in the first place (or simply doesn’t care.) We need to agree on what “facts and science” are and deal with the problems accordingly. Present “free market” alternatives. That is healthy and good. But accept science before you make suggestions. Economic freedom doesn’t make toxic waste taste any better.

The environment is a classic economic "externality".  You want to purchase powder-coated metal parts from me, so I powder-coat the parts.  You give me money.  I give you painted parts.  We're the only two people involved in the deal.  But not if I dump a lot of leftover zinc and iron-phosphate into the Trinity River.  Then a lot of other people become a party to our deal.  That's called an "externality". 

The classic Anarchist position in this case is to boycott the polluters.  The classic Libertarian position, however, is to sue the shit out of them if they have done YOU harm.  (Plus, all environmental regulations should be voted on by Congress, not enforced by appointees.)  Go here and here for two more excellent Cato downloads on how we could help the environment, lower the bureaucratic costs, and also let manufacturing businesses prosper. 

5. Audit the Federal Reserve and, preferably, abolish it. A private banking organization with no oversight or accountability should NOT be in charge of the nation’s economy. Central banks were never a good idea. But private and secret central banks are even worse.

Oh yes, yes, yes, Mr. Sheffield.  Yes, yes, yes.  And when we End The Fed, let's level all their buildings and plow salt into the earth where they stood so nothing will ever grow there again. 
The Fed was founded in 1913 to stabilize the money supply.  Since 1913, the dollar has lost 97% of its value. 

6. Legalize gay marriage. It doesn’t affect you. Just let it happen, move on, and turn your attention to issues that actually affect us all.

Yeah.  If God doesn't like gay people, why does he keep making so many of them? 

7. Disrupt and destroy the partisan divide. We are all screwed if this extreme partisanship continues to divide us. The culture of the American media has made it impossible for us to discuss issues and make progress. The main source of this problem? Pigeonholing. If someone asks you if you support the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare, for the other partisans), your answer should be nuanced and thought-out and should NEVER place you squarely in a political party. The common practice of assuming what “side” someone is on based on a single opinion is the MOST destructive aspect of our modern political culture.

In my opinion, we have so much extreme partisanship and a partisan divide because the only choice we have is between two partisans.  You can pick the Crips or the Bloods.  I've commented on this dozens of times elsewhere, but let's say the Crips and Bloods are the only parties to hold office for the last 75 years.  They both advocate slavery, puppy torture, and poor dental hygiene.  But the Bloods have a better position on Healthcare. 

So you always support the Bloods.  Otherwise the Crips will win.  If a 3rd gang (The Libertarians) comes along advocating an end to slavery, puppy torture, and are pro-brushing and flossing, they're written off as a wasted vote.  They might help the dreaded Crips win !!  So what's the solution?  How do we end all of this partisanship of Us vs Them? 

Through a system of approval voting.  Go here for an explanation.  It would allow most of us to comfortably step outside the Us and Them boxes and safely try out some other points of view. 

8. Recognize that gun control is like drug control. They will always exist and banning them only makes them more dangerous. People have a Constitutional right to arm themselves and threatening to take that right away only makes the loony “patriot” gun nuts all the more rabid and frothing at the mouth for their insurrection fantasies. Compromise: Don’t sell assault rifles at K-Mart. Gun store owners are always going to be more scrutinizing than a 16-year-old making minimum wage at a big box store.

I became a rabid 2nd Amendment nutcase when one of my co-managers brought in plans for a WWI-era machine gun that we could make at the shop.  I totally understood those blueprints, and I'm a borderline mechanical idiot.  Ryan is correct.  Guns aren't going away if someone like me can make one. 
I don't have insurrection fantasies, but do have the fears.  I now sometimes carry a gun, because cops are too dang heavy. 

9. Remove the words “socialism” and “capitalism” from the healthcare debate. It should be universally considered the “noble” goal to provide affordable healthcare for all American citizens. The road to that goal is (and SHOULD be) up for debate, but the endgame should not. The question is how to pay for it and how to ensure that quality of care (and personal decision-making power) do not decrease. It’s going to be difficult to sort out, but it’s hard for me to believe that there is anyone in America who does not think it’s a positive thing for everyone to have healthcare. “Healthcare is not a right.” You’re correct. Now let’s sit down and figure out how to make it one in a way that we can all agree on. If your opinion on healthcare is little more than “I support the President because he’s a Democrat like me” or “I dang’ol hate commies!,” you should probably stop voting.

I think that true Capitalist Healthcare has never been tried.  Here's my modest proposal.  If this became the system in an 8-block Free Market Zone someplace south of downtown, people would be flying in from all over the state for treatment.  And I think this would meet Ryan's criteria of a noble solution for a noble goal.  Hit the link. Please. 
But I do like the word "capitalism", because when regulators and Nanny-Staters allow unbridled acts of capitalism to take place, capitalism usually works.  Lap Band surgery and Lasik eye surgeries have become 80% less expensive, mostly because Medicare, Medicaid and insurance policies don't cover them. 

10. All censorship is wrong. A message to the left wing: All speech must be permitted, even what most would consider “hate.” I’m sorry. Free speech is an “all or nothing” issue. We can never open the door for authority to tell us what we can and can’t say or express. A message for the right wing: Seriously, just think about it. Is it really worse for your kid to see a naked lady than it is for them to witness a mass murder? Obviously not, if you’ve ever watched primetime TV. Get your priorities straight.

Here's a Ryan Sheffield print.  It's gonna be the first one I order:

11. Recognize that nearly every one of those infographics, chain emails, or biased news articles you share with your friends is chock-full of misinformation, omission, and partisan agendas. Yes, even the ones that agree with your position. “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” – Mark Twain

That's why I probably won't watch the (ahem) debate between The Obamneys.  Much truthiness will be thrown around that's half-right, half-wrong, manipulated, and taken totally out of the original context.
 
My questions about the infographics, chain emails, news articles and partisan agendas usually come down to this...  a) Does this person want to leave me and everyone else alone? b) Does this person's agenda promote or discourage ethnic, racial, or national Tribalism?
Nothing else matters. 

12. Talk to each other. Stop being so goddamn clique-y with your politics. Talk to someone who disagrees with you without letting the debate devolve into a talking points recitation contest. We need more open minds, less partisan cheerleading. I feel like I’m watching a word-war between Crips and Bloods who haven’t yet realized that the only thing dividing them is the color of bandana they wear.

Sorry, I’ll shut up now.  

Some of my responses were old talking points and some were new. 

Sorry about breaking Ryan's post down into a word-war between Crips and Bloods and Libertarians. 

The LP bandana is red and blue with porcupines on it.  

I'll shut up too.  At least until tomorrow morning.  

Be sure to hit the links at the top for Ryan Sheffields art and stories !!   

On Chick-Fil-A and chickens

It seems like the internet, the Tweetosphere, Facebook, and the pitiful remnants of the print media are all a-clucking about Chick-Fil-A. 
Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A's CEO, in addition to supporting some anti-gay and lesbian organizations, made the following comments to the Baptist Press: 

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.


"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

Blah, Blah, Blah, blah, and blah.  If Dan Cathy wants to give money to a group called Gods And Ghosts and Goblins Against Gays, that's his business. If customers want to avoid his business because of it, more power to them.  That's their business, right? 

Here's what I don't understand.....How is it that the Leftosphere is going totally batshit against a Chicken Restaurant for their anti-gay stance WHEN THAT IS THE EXACT SAME POLICY HELD BY BARACK FREAKIN' OBAMA TWO MONTHS AGO ?????

Where was the outrage?  Why didn't lefties, liberals and the rest of the Great Herd Of Independent Minds decide to boycott the Democrat Party?  Why were the Libertarians the only ones standing up for Gay/Lesbian equality??? 

Hell's Bells, I'm a freakin' Shipping Manager and Freight Broker.  But I had balls enough to publish this in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram back when Barack Obama was still "evolving". 
Was it easy? No. 
Did I take a lot of crap because of it?  Yes. 
So why couldn't The Teleprompter Jesus do the same thing until the day after North Carolina voted on their anti-gay/lesbian marriage referendum? 

It's because he's a physical and moral coward.  (Hit that link.  He flip-flops around like a catfish on the lake bank.) 

Barack Obama is a chicken. 

Here's the LP candidate for President, Gary Johnson:

"I think I do better than Obama on civil liberties, I think I crush him when it comes to dollars and cents," Johnson said. "I think I do a lot bettrer than Romney on dollars and cents but I think I crush him on civil liberties."


Asked if he was the best candidate on gay marriage, Johnson said "There's no question unabashedly let's have marriage equality now, gay rights are constitutionally guaranteed."

A Johnson presidency would ensure a "libertarian president who's going to challenge Democrats to fix things when it comes to civil liberties and then get a libertarian president who's going to challenge the Republicans on dollars and cents, something they're horrible on."

End of rant. 
The picture of our president in a chicken suit came from here. 

Heterosexual Marriage Is A Sin

This is starting to piss me off.  Here's the ABC News website:

A proposed amendment to North Carolina’s constitution which would make marriage between a man and woman the only legal union recognized by the state has passed a statewide vote, the Associated Press reports.

The referendum- North Carolina Amendment One- goes a step beyond outlawing same-sex marriage, which was already illegal in the state. The law decrees that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”- meaning that civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be legally recognized.

Here's more:

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council- a conservative Christian organization- released a statement applauding the vote.

“We applaud North Carolina voters for joining voters in 31 other states upholding the historic and natural definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman” the statement said. “At every opportunity, the American people have demonstrated a deep appreciation for the unique benefits that marriage between a man and a woman brings to families and society. They recognize that marriage is the only kind of union that results in natural procreation and keeps a mother and father together to raise the children produced by their union.”

Yeah, I think it's best that a child have two parents.  If a child has more than one sister and one brother, it might be best to have four parents just to help keep everybody fed and clothed. 

If a child is going to Texas A&M, it might be best for the kid to have six parents:  A mother, a father, a banker, a lottery winner, Bill Gates, and an illegal immigrant getting paid under the table, just to help pay for all the A&M fees and services. 

But back to the point raised by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, which needs refuting.....  The Bible says that heterosexual marriage is not the ideal condition for Christians.  I repeat:  "He on She" marriage is not the ideal condition for Christians. 

This billboard is a lie. 

If you take the Apostle Paul seriously, and if you believe he was divinely inspired and not just blogging, heterosexual activity within the confines of heterosexual marriage falls short of perfection.  Therefore heterosexual sex is a "sin", just like gay sex, lesbian sex, rape, pedophilia, bestiality, and forcing children to watch the John Edwards sex video are all supposedly sins.  Sin is anything that falls short of the ideal, anything less than perfection. 

Paul said so.  Here's the man himself:

I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. (1 Corinthians 7:7-8)

The man has spoken.  Remaning single is the ideal.  Anything else falls short of perfection.  And elsewhere in the Bible, sin is "falling short of the glory of God".  To top it off, here's James 4:17.....

¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

What you should do, according to Paul, is to remain single.  If you know what you should do (remain single) and fail, then you have sinned. 

(Note to my friend Mike Coyne, who is seriously considering falling into sin this fall....Don't do it !!!) 

Yet fundamentalist preachers do weddings all the time.  Strange. 

There are a few other problems in the biblical view of marriage (only one of these is defended at great length at the Family Research Council website). 

See, there are multiple types of marriage authorized in the "Bible".  One of the interesting ones is detailed in Deuteronomy 22:28. 

28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

There are others.  The book of Judges, Chapter 19, has a long story about the responsibilities of concubines.  You can have a wife and a Ho, and if the Ho is a disappointment you can chop her into smaller pieces and send the dismembered whore parts all over Israel.  Look it up. 

Here's a helpful chart for every man who doesn't have the spiritual strength to remain celibate and single, and who wishes to sin by marrying a woman. 

Paul was the last "divinely inspired" person to write on this issue.  He said don't get married.  To anybody. 

I still don't understand why the Family Research Council is so opposed to gay marriage and not all the other kinds. 

Joe Biden on Gay Marriage. Maybe. Kinda. Sorta.

Whether it's on Facebook, at a bar, or at a social event, I really, really, really enjoy needling my gay'n'lesbian friends about Barack Obama's opposition to gay marriage. 
He's the highest-ranking gay marriage opponent in the United States.  They support him just the same.  I'll never understand why. 

(Just for the record, I'm not gay.  But some of the guys I dance with are.) 

I caught this on TIVO last night.  On "Meet The Press", David Gregory was repeatedly asking Joe Biden about his position on gay marriage.  All the goofy ol' dude had to do was say "I'm for it" or "I'm against it". 

But then....

Biden told wonderful, heart-warming anecdotes.  He told about kids bringing flowers.  He talked about equality.  He did everything but answer the question.  He let loose such an astounding cliche-burdened fog of Bidenesque flatulence that I kept thinking about getting my clothes out of the dryer, getting something to eat, or helping The Aggie give some dachshunds a flea bath.  I never heard any endorsement of gay marriage.  I intended to post this interview as more proof that this Democrat administration isn't in favor of gay marriage any more than the Republicans are.  The interview ended with me thinking Biden hadn't really changed his position on gay/lesbian marriage.  I swear to God, I was going to post this thing and send a link to every male in Tarrant County who really cares about his window treatments. 

But then, after the usual Talking Heads forum, "Meet The Press" host David Gregory pulled MBC's Chuck Todd aside and said something like "Well, the Vice-President made the news today, didn't he?"  Todd agreed.  "Yes, he came out in favor of gay marriage."  Then they noted that President Obama is still "evolving" on this issue. 

WTF???  Biden came out in favor of gay marriage????

Listen to this vat of Barackaganda leaking out over the airwaves.  Listen to David Gregory repeatedly asking him for a simple yes or no.  Somewhere in there, Joe Biden supposedly comes out in favor of gay marriage.  I promise you, if Biden's handlers/trainers hadn't told Gregory that Biden was going public with his support of gay marriage, Gregory would've been just like me at the end of the interview, wondering where Biden had landed in relation to the fence. 



What courage.  What a man of principle.  I think.  Maybe.  Shit, I can't tell.  I'd rather listen to an NPR pledge drive than listen to this windbag. 

But speaking of courage and principle, here's how a real defender of civil liberties speaks out on the issue. 

Former New Mexico Governor (and the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate) Gary Johnson today assailed Sen. Rick Santorum for the ex-senator’s opposition to gay marriage equality and for Santorum’s past comments equating Gay marriage with polygamy, child molestation and bestiality. Johnson also offered criticism of President Barack Obama, who he said was “playing politics” with gay rights.


“Rick Santorum’s position is unconstitutional. The Constitution requires that all citizens be treated equally and makes no reference to gender in assuring those equal rights,” said Johnson. “By any fair measure, equal access to marriage for all Americans is a right — guaranteed by the Constitution. Senator Santorum’s claim that legally recognizing gay marriage would be no different than legalizing polygamy, child molestation or bestiality is repugnant and insulting to millions of gay Americans,” said the former New Mexico Governor.

Johnson had equally harsh criticism for President Barack Obama. “The New York Times reports that while President Obama gives lip service to gay equality, the President will not support gay marriage before the election because of the opposition of African Americans, as reflected in his polling, and the need to assure maximum support from African American voters in November,” said Johnson. “Instead the President sends out surrogates to imply that he will support gay marriage in a second term.

“President Obama did the same kind of dance around the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. He promised to repeal it in his campaign, then dragged his feet on repealing it as President, even sending the Justice Department’s lawyers into court to defend it. Then when ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was finally repealed by Congress, he claimed victory and a promise fulfilled.

“As for Rick Santorum, at least he is consistent. He not only opposed the repeal of DADT, he has promised to return our military to the Dark Ages and reinstate it, and claims that repealing such a discriminatory policy has somehow been ‘detrimental’ to gays.

“I, for one, am tired of seeing candidates for president – including the President himself, play political games with people’s lives and happiness. Perhaps it’s time for a president who leads based upon principle instead of polls,” he said.

Hit the link above to read the whole thing.  That is how you support gay marriage. 

As for Obama, he's still "evolving".  Go here for a list of Tweets from the White House staff, watching Biden on TV and back-pedaling like circus monkeys. 

George Will is transforming. Barack Obama is evolving.

Go here to read about George Will's slow transformation from Conservative to Libertarian. 

Go here to read about Barack Obama's slow transformation from opponent of gay marriage to gay marriage opponent.  (He claims that his stance is evolving.) 

Seriously, this is good news about George Will.  Even when I totally disagree with him, I like his writing style. 

Rick Santorum shakes Ron Paul's hand - The Zapruder film

Rick Santorum, in an effort to make-nice with Ron Paul, or in an effort to out-alpha male him, recently gave Dr. Paul a vigorous post-debate handshake that would tear the tail off a grizzly. 

Ron Paul supporters are angry.  Their man is 76 years old, and unaccustomed to sweaty, manly, locker room, Santorum-style embraces. 

Here's the video, in slow motion. 



To small-l libertarians, this video is the new Zapruder film.

Watch the slow-motion sequence.....Back, and to the left... back, and to the left... back, and to the left.

Noted gay marriage opponent holds fundraiser at home of lesbian couple !!

Go here. 

Makes you wonder why they didn't hold a fundraiser for Mewt or Santorum. 

The Libertarian Party is THE party that wants to get government out of the marriage business.  If you care about gay and lesbian rights to marriage, we're the only way to go.   End of story. 

The protest against Obama's discriminatory politicies happened in Beverly Hills.  Pic came from here. 

John Spivey on the Alan Ross Gay/Lesbian Pride Parade

My friend John Spivey, chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party, posted story on Facebook today.  I've written about participating in the Alan Ross Gay/Lesbian parade before, and if you've got the time I hope you'll hit this link just to look at the pictures.  Here's my first paragraph:

Since I didn't think our transvestite could walk the entire parade route, I agreed to walk beside the Alamo, which was a good thing, because two different people handed me Jello Shots while I was handing out flyers and freebies, and I couldn't hear myself think because our DJ's on top of the Alamo had AC/DC techno-mixes cranked up to ELEVEN, and most of the crowd was screaming and clapping and shouting, and it was sometimes hard to stay in line behind the gay choir and the bicyclists with Aids.

It was a fun, fun day. 

Rather than repost the same pictures, I'm gonna throw in some other protest pics that I've been saving for an occasion like this. 
Here's Big Daddy John Spivey on that event.  Enjoy ! 

So - Allen Patterson, Michelle, Richard Forsythe and a bunch of Tarrant County Libertarians helped out the Dallas County LP with their float in the Alan Ross Pride Parade - a huge gay event in Dallas. It's a big event each year - and we think it's a pretty good 'recruiting spot' for us as many, many gay folk are fiscally conservative and obviously, socially tolerant. To paint a picture for you...


We're in a float that is shaped like the Alamo, with a sign that says "Remember the Rainbow" (the Rainbow Lounge raid was big news then).

We had Jeff Daiell, an LP Gubernatorial Candidate on board with his wife. He's wearing a nice suit, she's in a conservative outfit. They're just wonderful folks. We also had an awesome DJ on board John John John-Ra Weidenfeller who was playing some AWESOME music. I particularly enjoyed the 'techno version of Strawberry Fields Forever'. We even had our own transvestite!

Well, we had a GREAT time in the parade, as we were behind a giant float with a jungle theme, which featured mean dressed as women dressed as animals. In bikinis. - We gave (threw) pens, candy and other LP logo'ed items.

 At the end of the parade, we were instructed to 'move along - not clog up the ending spot of the parade - and find a clear area to park.

 As I mentioned this is a huge event, so we had to drive around to find a spot. So, Allen and I were up on the rolling Alamo with Daiell and his wife - and John-Ra was still spinning tunes with an awesome (and loud) PA system. Well, we couldn't find a spot so we started driving down Cedar Springs.

We pulled into a Starbucks Parking lot where a REALLY drunk - and flambloyant - gay dude quickly climbed up onto the float and screamed, "Oh MY GOD - I LOVE LIBERTARIANS!!" And started to dance to the music.

He is introduced to Mr. Daiell and began - er, 'overhugging' him. Jeff is a great person and was very nice as this guy attached himself to him.

We had to move from this spot - and our stow-away got trapped on the float with us as we drove around a Tom Thumb parking lot - and as we were dodging low hanging tree limbs, on a giant Alamo, with a overhugging, techno dancing, drunken and very noisy gay guy, "120 BPM 'Strawberry Fields' blaring - - Allen Patterson looks at me and says as deadpan as can be, "You know, this kind of thing happens to me every day."

I've never taken LSD - but I now feel I don't have to. I had a completely sober psychedelic experience.
 
Seriously, you've got to hit this link and look at the parade pics.  It was a fun, fun day.
Here's a pic of me on parade day with some Spokesmodels for a product that doesn't really matter.