A quick note from the author

I haven't had time to post anything on this site in the last eight days. 

I'm chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party.  We're in a bit of a struggle within the Texas LP, primarily because of Tom and Kathie Glass, Republican Carpetbaggers from Houston.  (They're married to each other, and deserve the honor....) 

Kathie hopes to win the LP nomination for governor of Texas. 

When we had our Precinct Conventions last Tuesday night, about 17 people walked in that I'd never seen before, or had seen only once.  They were obviously there to deny our long-time Libertarian activists a chance to go to our State Convention in April.  That's because Tarrant County (Fort Worth) has a lot of "lifer" Libertarians who've seen Tom and Kathie in action for the last four years or so.  Therefore, very few of us who are active will ever support either Tom or Kathie for any office.  We know them.  It's a long, tiresome story that I'll post sometime between now and our State Convention. 

I had to go into full-blown "Barbarians At The Gates" mode to keep the Glasses from taking over the County Party, and it worked.  Our slate of delegates had an overwhelming victory.  To make it better, the Glasses of Houston were there for the event.  (Don't ask me why they felt it was their business to infiltrate a Tarrant County Convention.)

I believe they had some limited success with this type of behavior in Denton County, but nowhere else. 

We had some great people show up for the first time at our County Convention.  I hope they'll come back, despite having been used as pawns by the Glasses.  If they continue to show up and help out, they can be delegates to their hearts' content.  This is the first year I haven't had to beg people to go. 

Once we get the video, I'll post a few snippets of Tom Glass, the Houston interloper, slithering back and forth in the aisles, whispering instructions and passing notes to his unfortunate surrogate.   And both of them GETTING IT WRONG!!  Tom, you can't just add 11 additional delegates to a slate of 16 delegates when there are only 16 spots in the delegation !!!  Good Lord in heaven, man!!  You're a freakin' lawyer !!!

Anyway, I have a District Convention to orchestrate this Saturday.  Once that's over with, I'll be back to posting regularly.  I've missed it.  I've seen a dramatic dropoff in ad revenue from this site, and I miss that money, too ! 

I don't know who put it together, but this Kathie video is pretty funny if you know the back-story. 



Click here to return to my April Fool's Day endorsement of Kathie Glass for governor. 
 

Butt Prints In The Sand

One night I had a wondrous dream,
 Footprints beside a sandy stream,
Those steps left there by God's own son,
 I looked for mine, but I saw none.

 

 

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, “What have we here?
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord, they are too big for feet.”

 

 

“My child,” He said in somber tones,
“For miles I carried you alone.
 In spite of all your "Freedom" talk,
 You still refused to stand and walk."

 

 

“You wouldn't work, you wouldn't vote,
 You didn't want to rock the boat,
 And so I thought it time to cut
 Our ties and drop you on your butt."

 

 

 

“Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”

 

If you're interested in getting off your rear end, brushing off the sand, and working for less government, more freedom, and a better life for yourself, your children and your neighbors, go here to check out the Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup. 

 

 

Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup, Thursday Night at Fort Worth Food Truck Park !!

Food Trucks. The police harass them. Brick and mortar stores don't like them. Tax collectors are frustrated by them. And consumers LOVE them!

An entrepreneur has found a compromise by creating the Fort Worth Food Park, a small enclave that holds about a dozen of these rolling restaurants until they're finally free to drive at will about the city, committing acts of agricultural capitalism.

 So is this not the perfect spot for an Libertarian Party Meetup??? ...

The Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup is going to get together at the Fort Worth Food Park, 2509 Weisenberger Street (behind the Target Shopping center near Montgomery Ward Plaza and West 7th Street) on September 19th at 7:00 p.m.

In addition to eating some great food with great people, we'll have Robert Harris, who is running for the State House nomination for District 94 give us a quick talk about his campaign, why he's running, and how you can help.

Stay tuned to this page (or the Tarrant LP Facebook page) if we have bad weather. The Fort Worth Food Park is near the 7th Street development, and we'll go somewhere in that area if it rains.

The trucks scheduled to be there on the 19th are: Holy Frijole, Life is Sweet, Sauzy, The Que, Three Lions, and What's Cook-N Chef. Good food. Good people. Good Libertarian Party politics !! Hope to see you there.

 

 

You might not care about politics, but politics cares about you.

The Tarrant County Libertarian Party usually has a meetup at a coffee bar, club, pub, or dive bar once a month.  It's always fun when the young newbies show up. 

One guy named Patrick stayed late to talk with us after the most recent meetup, and his complaint was a common one.  "We can hand out Nolan Charts on campus, talk about liberty, restraints on freedom, and all the big issues, and most college-age students will agree that they're probably libertarian-"ish", but they just aren't that into politics."

That's always fun one to respond to. 

You might not be into politics, but son, you better believe that politics is into you. 

"Politics", as currently practiced, has put $53,000.00 on your bar tab.  Have you ever had a good friend do that to you?  Don't you hate it when someone you don't really know that well goes out and has a good time at your expense, and leaves you with a bill for FIFTY THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS???

What are you majoring in at UT/A&M/UTA/Texas Wesleyan/TCU/TCCC? 

Oh, you're majoring in business?  That means you'll probably grow up to be a productive taxpayer.  In that case, they've put $148,000.00 on your bar tab. 

How old are you, son?  You're 21? 

Well, the unfunded liabilities (the bills that haven't come due yet) will add up to $1,09,906.00 per taxpayer. 

No one else is going to take care of this problem.  There isn't enough money in the nation to take care of the problem.  They're printing it. 

The folks in Washington are trying to distract you today with arguments about immigration.  Hell, illegal immigrants paying into Social Security and never taking anything out of it - they're the only thing keeping the system afloat. 

In the meantime, the area surrounding Washington D.C. is having the biggest boom in American history.  And you're paying for it. 

You might not care about politics, but politics cares about you. 

Spiveypalooza

Thousands of Tarrant County bureaucrats, jailers, drug warriors and regulators, feeling a sudden decrease in pressure, slowed down to a crawl, thought about putting their feet on their desks, but then realized they might once again be able to go about their burdensome jobs in peace….


Somewhere in the dark satanic entrails of the Trinity River Vision Authority, J.D. Granger felt a disturbance in The Force. The immense boondoggle known as the Trinity River Vision/Lake Granger just came a little closer to happening…

Ben Bernanke’s printing press on Blue Mound Road, also known as the U.S. Bureau Of Printing And Engraving, started churning out counterfeit currency a little bit faster….

Fort Worth’s big government Republicans and anti-civil liberties Democrats popped corks and proposed toasts….

And Lady Liberty shed a tear, knowing that one of her most devoted sons was moving on to fight elsewhere….

John Spivey is moving to Colorado.

I repeat….John Spivey is moving to Colorado.

We’re going to celebrate the work he’s done with the Tarrant County (and State) Libertarian Party on Tuesday, October 2nd, at the Zio Carlo Brewpub, from 7:00 until they run out of beer. They’re located at 1001 West Magnolia in Fort Worth.

John Spivey was Tarrant County LP Chair from 2006 to 2012. He’s served on the State Libertarian Executive Committee. He put together our recent LP Presidential Debate. We’re going to thank Spivey for taking us to a place where we now have one of the most active counties in the state. And we’re going to keep on going and growing. After all, Barack Obama has almost run out of other people’s money.

We’re going to hand out additional quantities of yard signs and door hangers.

We’re going to discuss how many Cabinet-Level Departments that Mitt Romney has pledged to close as compared to Obama (none).

We’re going to rant about the Federal Reserve, the Drug War, the Porkulus Package, the bans on Gay and Lesbian Marriage, your right to carry a pistol, ObamaCare, Eminent Domain, Gary Johnson, the National Debt, the Constitution, Ron Paul, and everything else that somebody wants to talk about. We’re going to laugh. We’re going to cry. Because John Spivey really is moving to Colorado.

John Jay Myers is now polling at 6%. Gary Johnson is anywhere from 4-7%. Republicans and Democrats are now fighting to keep us off what they think of as “their” ballots. Ken Stanford might win his race for Tax Assessor! Gary Johnson just might take New Mexico away from one of the Obamneys !!

A lot of this can be laid at the feet of John Spivey. Come say goodbye to this fine, fine man with us on Tuesday night, October 2nd. Zio Carlo Brewpub. 7:00 p.m. 1001 West Magnolia in Fort Worth.

“Before Elvis, there was nothing.” – John Lennon

Liberty Speaker Series - Guns, The 2nd Amendment, and You

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Sounds simple, doesn't it?

The Bill Of Rights is a list of ten rules to protect citizens from their government. If the government gets to have a militia, then the people get to have guns.

So why the controversy about gun rights?  If crazies, outlaws, and criminals have guns, shouldn't the populace be allowed to defend itself?  That's the subject for our next Liberty Speakers Series. We're getting together at the Radisson Hotel at 2540 Meacham Boulevard in north Fort Worth, 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 2nd.

(BTW, I scheduled this event before the mass-murder in Colorado.  I'm not intending to exploit the issue.  But folks, it's now possible to make a gun with a 3D printer.  They're not going away.) 

We have a great trio of speakers from two great organizations.

Scott Harmon is a Political Event Volunteer Coordinator with the National Rifle Association. He (and his family!) have worked tirelessly for years to protect the 2nd Amendment, publicize threats to your gun rights, and to educate the public about the pressures that are brought to bear on lawmakers in Washington and Austin. Scott comes to us highly recommended by the NRA's national office. After a few telephone conversations, it's safe to say that this won't be Scott's last speaking event for a Libertarian audience (Hello, Dallas County !) Scott makes some of us sound like Marxist Vegetarians. You don't want to miss hearing Scott Harmon talk about your gun rights, especially in today's political climate.

David Stroud is the First-Vice President of the Texas State Rifle Association, an organization founded in 1919 to protect (and expand) the rights of Texas gun owners. David got into the TSRA to participate in some of their competitive shooting events, liked what he saw, and began working in various administrative and leadership jobs in the organization. David will talk to anyone, anywhere, and any time about gun rights. He once took the TSRA booth to the Texas State Democratic Convention. Now that is commitment !!

Larry Keilberg is head of the National Association For Legal Gun Defense, an organization that provides legal aid for anyone who fights back against a criminal.  (Larry and his management team are a recent addition to this event.)  All members of the NAFLGD have an automatic $10,000.00 defense fund at their disposal should they be involved in a defense-related incident.  Their team of lawyers (Fort Worth based, BTW) is at your disposal. 

After we hear from Scott, David and Larry talk about their organizations, their importance, the latest threats in the state and national legislatures, they'll be taking some questions from you.

This will be an oustanding evening with some great speakers for a great liberty-minded audience. Hope to see you there ! Thursday, August 2nd, 7:30, at the Radisson Hotel at I-35 and Meacham Boulevard.

Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup - BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse !!

The Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup has rolled around again !!

Come hang out with us at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, sample their homebrews, eat some good pizza, and help us solve the world's problems. BJ's is at 952 Northeast Loop 820, just outside Northeast Mall in Hurst/Northeast Fort Worth.


We'll be getting together on Tuesday night, July 24th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (or later). And we have a lot to talk about.....

We have a Gary Johnson event coming up in August, plus a "2nd Amendment/Gun Rights" Speakers Series with the NRA and the Texas State Rifle Association coming up on August 2nd. Plus, there's an election coming up in November, right?

The Libertarian Party - Fiscally conservative, Socially liberal, Pizza tolerant, and Brewpub extremist. Show up and make your voice heard!!

This Thursday night - The Liberty Speakers Series kicks off !!!

Thursday, May 17, 2012, 7:00 PM

Hampton Inn and Suites, 2700 Green Oaks Road (Interstate 30 and Green Oaks Road), Fort Worth, TX

This is going to be incredible.  An eye-opener. 

The Tarrant County Libertarian Party is kicking off its Liberty Speaker Series with a discussion of The New Jim Crow Laws - speakers will include Dr. Alan Bean of Friends Of Justice, Shaun McAlister of DFW NORML, and Suzanne Wills of the Texas Drug Policy Task Force. 

As the United States celebrates its “triumph over race” with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of black men in major urban areas are under correctional control or saddled with criminal records for life. Jim Crow laws were wiped off the books decades ago, but today an extraordinary percentage of the African American community is warehoused in prisons or trapped in a parallel social universe, denied basic civil and human rights— including the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, and the right to be free of legal discrimination in employment, housing, access to education and public benefits.

Today, it is no longer socially permissible to use race explicitly as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. Yet, as legal scholar Michelle Alexander has demonstrated, it is perfectly legal to discriminate against convicted criminals in nearly all the ways in which it was once legal to discriminate against African Americans. Once labeled a felon, even for a minor drug crime, the old forms of discrimination are suddenly legal again. In her words, “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”

Dr. Alan Bean is the Executive Director of Friends of Justice, a criminal justice reform organization that specializes in narrative intervention. Dr. Bean was serving a Methodist church as an interim pastor when 46 people were arrested in Tulia, Texas on the uncorroborated word of a corrupt undercover officer. Dr. Bean’s articulate public protest transformed him into an advocate for criminal justice reform. In 2006, Dr. Bean’s work led to the exoneration of a Louisiana family convicted of running a crack cocaine ring on the perjured testimony of convicted drug dealers. Dr. Bean researched the story of six juvenile defendants in Jena LA, bringing public scrutiny to Jena and creating the biggest civil rights protest since the March on Washington. He is now working on a murder case in Mississippi that has gone to trial six times.

Shaun McAlister is the Executive Director of DFW NORML (National Organization For Reform Of Marijuana Laws). He is a graduate of the Art Institute of Dallas, and has worked in web design since 2004. Now employed by a full-service marketing firm, doing video and web design work, he enjoys applying that marketing skill set to his volunteer work with NORML. Mr. McAlister notes that his most difficult but satisfactory achievement has been to persuade businesses and corporations to openly support NORML and its mission.

Suzanne Wills is an active speaker for the Drug Policy Forum Of Texas.   She is a retired CPA.  She graduated from SMU and had her own practice in east Dallas for 16 years.  She is a board member and treasurer of DPFT and Drug Policy Chair of the League of Women Voters of Dallas.  Her talk is entitled “The Drug War: How We Got Into This Mess And The Special Interests That Keep Us There.”  Suzy is probably the most active anti-prohibition speaker in the DFW Metroplex.  (She's also an active member of Mensa !!)

Dr. Bean, our keynote speaker, will open our event with a description of the infamous Tulia, Texas drug raid, his role in the aftermath, and the formation of Friends Of Justice. Shaun and Suzanne will then speak about their organizations, their goals, and how individuals can make a difference. Allen Patterson, Tarrant County Libertarian Party Chair, will moderate a brief panel discussion, followed by questions from you.

If you've ever wondered why the U.S. has spent more than one trillion dollars on the Drug War, with nothing to show but increased drug use, then you don't want to miss this event.

If you think it's strange that we have only 6% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners, you need to come listen to Dr. Alan Bean.

If you are distubed to know that more African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began, and you want to do something about it, this is the event for you.

Thursday night, May 17th, 7:00, Hampton Inn, Interstate-30 and Green Oaks.

 
I thought about cropping out the tag line on this poster, the blurb about "It is your chance - Vote the Straight Democratic Ticket".  Decided not to.  It doesn't matter who is in charge, Democrats or Republicans, the War On Drugs continues to kill more people than drugs. 

Also, Larry Talley isn't going to be with us because of a scheduling conflict.  He's sending an excellent replacement - Suzanne Wills is now filling his slot.   

An open letter from Lee Wrights

I wasn't able to make it to the Libertarian Party's National Convention in Vegas. 
My friend Lee Wrights was one of several LP nominees for President Of These United States Of America. 

As I understand it, the delegate votes worked it down to Wrights and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. 
At that point, there was a debate.  Here's Reason magazine:

Las Vegas—The final debate in the race for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination between Gary Johnson and Lee Wrights was, mostly, a friendly affair that felt more like an infomercial for libertarianism than a debate. Former LP presidential candidate David Bergland softly tossed questions to the candidates that seemed as if they were designed to elicit responses that would convert those watching on C-SPAN to libertarianism rather than display the differences, however slight, between the two candidates. At times it was even tedious, though as Johnson would say later in the debate, you almost always know how a Libertarian will come down on an issue. Even though we live in an era where libertarianism is more popular and widespread than ever there are still people out there that have no idea what it is about, so there is the need, in the LP’s eyes, to appeal to the casual viewer.


Early questions like, “How you found the Libertarian Party” and “What is Libertarianism?” reinforced the infomercial feel but they did get some great responses.

Johnson said he became a libertarian after somebody gave him a book in 1971 about libertarianism. His worldview was forever changed and he passed the book on in the hopes of changing the mind of somebody else.

“For eight years I got to serve as a Libertarian governor under the guise of being a Republican. I have come out of the closet,” he said.

Wrights tried to connect his libertarianism with the delegates on a more personal level.

“Libertarianism is a life choice, it is more than a political party. It is more than the people in this room,” he said.

As the debate wore on it became clear that Johnson was taking the debate very seriously and thinking about the long term while Wrights played the role of convention jester. Johnson has stated numerous times during his run that he is committed to the Libertarian Party and, assuming he loses in 2012, running again in 2016 on the LP line. Wrights has been running since 2010 and tomorrow could potentially be the end of his presidential aspirations, meaning that he has nothing left to lose.

Hit the Reason magazine link to read the whole thing.  Good stuff, as usual. 
Here's what Lee wrote on his website yesterday, thanking his supporters after the Johnson victory, marveling at our ability to go at each other politely but aggressively, and still congratulate each other afterwards on a good game well-played....
I think I would sell myself into slavery for one year if it would guarantee that Lee Wrights or Gary Johnson would be a guaranteed participant in the debates with the Obamneys. 

Hearing my name placed into consideration for the Libertarian Party’s nomination for President of the United States was the proudest moment of my life. It was a privilege and an honor for me to be considered for that august office by my family - the Libertarian Party.


When I started my campaign for the nomination I said that I was determined to ensure that whatever else happened the Libertarian Party would talk about war during the 2012 national convention. We did that. Every American who watched the presidential candidates debate or the convention proceedings on CSPAN heard that message loud and clear - stop all war.

They also were treated to a fine example of how political discourse should be conducted in America. During the debate, they didn’t witness the spectacle of two men going after each other, out for blood and tearing each other apart. They saw two rational and reasonable people discussing alternative ways that liberty and freedom can bring peace and prosperity to our nation.

Yes, there were contentious debates and votes — several votes - over electing members of the national committee. But no blows were struck, no blood was spilled, and no one stormed out of the room. We resolved our differences peacefully and nominated candidates for President and Vice President every Libertarian can and should support.

We showed America that Libertarians are not the bogeymen the mainstream media and establishment politicians make us out to be. We showed America why libertarians are different and how, by being different, the Libertarian Party will make a difference in the 2012 election. I left the convention proudly wearing a Gary Johnson for President button.

My entire staff and I are unwaveringly committed to working for the Johnson-Gray ticket, and continuing the Million Vote March to get one million votes for the Libertarian candidate for President of the United States - to get one million votes for peace, prosperity and progress.

Even after taking off a week to rest and recuperated in Vegas, I’m still at a loss for words to express how grateful I am to the members of my staff, all the volunteers who worked so hard on this campaign, the donors and supporters who made this campaign possible - and my family, the Libertarian Party. I could not have done anything without your hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

I would thank you all from the bottom of my heart … but for you, my heart has no bottom.

Lee Wrights is a great, great man.  I'm gonna work on getting him to appear at the Tarrant LP Speaker Series.  Good stuff, good stuff. 

Liberty Book Discussion Group - "Anthem" by Ayn Rand

Thursday, April 26th at 7:30 p.m., we're going to get together at the Downtown Cowtown Barnes & Noble (401 Commerce Street) to discuss Ayn Rand's "Anthem", a mini-masterpiece about one man's struggle against a collectivist state. No struggle on your part, though, as you can easily finish the book in one sitting, and the complete text is available on numerous websites.  You still have time. 

I'll deliver a brief history and summary of the book, followed by discussion time. Before we wrap up the conversation, we'll vote on which book to read and discuss in June, and elect someone to lead that discussion. We intend to hold these book discussion events every other month, so "Capitalism And Freedom", "Atlas Shrugged", "Economics In One Lesson", "The Rational Optimist", "The Fountainhead", "The Revolution: A Manifesto", "The Road To Serfdom", and "Eat The Rich" all await us.

If things go as they usually do, we'll probably wander across the street to The Flying Saucer to continue the discussion, but more loudly. 

Hope to see you there, and when you're reading "Anthem" be grateful for your light bulbs. (That's a joke. If you don't get it, you will after you read the book.

Speaking of light bulbs, now that I've re-read "Anthem", I see something even more sinister about these damn things.....

Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup Tonight !!!!!

Hello Tarrant County Libertarians !

We’ll be having another Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup on Thursday, March 8th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Zio Carlo Brewpub – 1001 West Magnolia, Fort Worth.
We have a lot of things to discuss – Ben Bernanke is wanting to print another batch of money, President Obama vetoed the Keystone Pipeline project, gold and silver prices are fluctuating daily, Iran and Israel are squaring off at each other, and the Republicans seem to think that their best chance of defeating Barack Obama is by nominating…..another Barack Obama.

... So how can a bunch of Libertarians sitting around a brewpub have an impact on all of this?

Tarrant County is playing host to the Libertarian Party Presidential Debates on April 7th. (Our eventual nominee will be chosen at the Las Vegas Libertarian Party convention in May.)
Because of the well-publicized discontent with President Obama and the Republican field of candidates, there is an excellent chance that the winning LP candidate will be polling high enough to participate in the September and October multi-party debates against the President and his Republican challenger. The Libertarian Party has never had a better chance to win.

At Thursday night’s meetup you will have a chance to submit questions for our April 7th Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Debate! The best questions will be submitted to our debate moderator. You can influence the direction of the Libertarian Party with your questions and concerns. (Remember Rick Perry’s “Whoop’s” moment in the Republican debate? Think of the impact of that one question….)

Please show up Thursday night with questions that will help us narrow the field !

See you there,

Allen Patterson
Tarrant County Libertarian Party Chair

P.S. – We’d also like to start a monthly book discussion group. Bring your suggestions for those events also.

Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup, Thursday night at Pop's Safari Bar

We've got a Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup at Pop's Safari Bar, Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. 
Pop's is located at 2929 Morton, just off of the new 7th Street development. 
Hope to see you there.  Politics will be discussed.  Cigar smoke will be present. 

We'll have one in a Barnes & Noble or some other vice-free environment sometime soon.  I promise. 

The Tarrant County Libertarian Party has a new chair.

Big Daddy John Spivey has been the Tarrant County Libertarian Party chair for 6 years. 
He has done one heck of a job. 
Now he's stepping down.  He'll still be on the county executive committee, and the state executive committee, but he hopes to spend more time on some of his other passions. 

Thank you, John, for 6 years of great work !

After John's resignation today, the County Executive Committee got down to the business of Spivey's replacement.  They decided on....me. 

This is going to be a fun, fun year.
 
I can't remember a better year of opportunity for the Libertarian Party.  Obama has given us a 3-year primer on the non-effectiveness of Statism, the Republicans seem determined to nominate Mewt, and there are going to be a lot of voters looking for an alternative to whatever those two groups put out there.  We've got some great candidates on our ballot for statewide and local positions this year, but could always use more.   (see my previous post.  And hurry !!)   

I'll probably be writing a lot more about local issues, and posting fewer pictures of Obama picking his nose.  It's time to get serious about this thing. 

We're going to need a lot of help.  If you'd like to get involved, you can go here to join the Tarrant County Libertarians on Facebook.  Here's our Tarrant Libertarian Meetup page.   And here's the official Tarrant County Libertarian Party website. 

So what's the Libertarian Party about?  Here's something from our state website:

It's very simple: Let people live their own lives as they want and get the government out of our business. The Libertarian Party of Texas bases its philosophy on these core principles:


CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. You, as stated by our nation's Founding Fathers, have the inalienable right to live, be free and prosper to your fullest potential without hindrance from any person or entity. You have the freedom to pursue your happiness as long as you respect others' rights to pursue theirs.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. You are responsible for your personal choices, able to take care of yourself and capable to do for others as you expect them to do unto you. Conversely, others are free to live their lives as they see fit and are responsible for their choices. We believe in tolerance toward others and respect for self-sovereignty.

LIMITED GOVERNMENT. Your government's principal function is to protect your freedom, your unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and Property, all crucial rights for building a free and prosperous society. Government should be of the necessary size and scope, as outlined in the United States Constitution, to efficiently support its constitutional duties and effectively maintain the rule of law. The Libertarian vision of government is of a government strictly confined to its constitutional role, a government that respects civil liberties, recognizes that the individual is more important than the State, exercises fiscal restraint and understands that each generation must pay its own debts, believes in free markets and practices a non-interventionist foreign policy of "peace toward all, entangling alliances with none."

The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest-growing political party in Texas and in the United States. It is also the only political party to advocate truly limited government, especially as established in the U.S. Constitution by our Founders.

That's what we're about, and I hope you can help out. 
Hope everyone has a good weekend.  I've got to go buy a new Spivey suit. 

John Spivey on Memorial Day

John Spivey, Chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party, tagged me in this EXCELLENT Facebook note. 

A Few Thoughts About Memorial Day: Our Honored War Dead and Why Many of Them Didn't Have To Die.

Recently, I've done some genealogical research and found quite a few direct grandparents that served in various capacities in many wars. They fought in European wars to the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, World War I, World War II, The Korean Conflict and Viet Nam. Fortunately, no American relation of mine that I've found died during a military conflict.

Like many of you, my late father was a WWII vet and was in the Pacific Theatre. He said something to me one day that I think is very applicable to our situation today. He told me that he could have never imagined that the Japanese would've ever become one of our biggest allies and trading partners - especially after we set off two atomic weapons that killed over 200,000 non-military citizens to completely defeat them - and then occupied them.

Why did he think Japan would never be anything but an enemy, or at best a non-friend? He said that at the time he thought they were all insane and so religiously dedicated to their emperor - they called him "Heavenly Sovereign", after all - that they would voluntarily fly their planes into our strategic structures and vessels in suicide bombing missions. "There's no way, I thought, you can turn people like that around to deal with you rationally", he said.

During and after the Japanese occupation, we eased up on our trade restrictions tremendously to help get their economy going. That REALLY worked, if you haven't noticed. After all, the primary reason Japan attacked us on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor is due to our oil embargo and trading prohibitions against them that severely restricted their acquisition of resources during their war in Indochina. Today we are such a strong trading partner with Japan that they could never dream of restarting a war with us.

Like many Hawks of today, my father couldn't imagine these people, who so deeply infused their political system with their mysterious religious ideology, would or could become one of our allies, much less our BFFs. After we won the war, we occupied and demilitarized Japan, got their industries up and running, liberalized their economy, democratized their government and then left. Yep, just up and left. (Unfortunately, we still do have bases there - but as an ally and not as a threatening occupier)

By the way, today Japan still has the mysterious religion of Shintoism as their primary religion and they have an Emperor who is still the head of the Shinto religion and is considered a semi-deity by some, although his governmental role is largely ceremonial today. He is still called "His Majesty, the Heavenly Sovereign" by his subjects.

This has a deja vu all over again feel to me with our current situation in the Middle East. If we could pretty much do the same thing - that is, leave - JUST PACK UP AND LEAVE AND START TRADING WITH THEM, their urge to 'kill us for our freedoms' would subside shortly after the cash really starts rolling in and life starts getting good for them. Bombing them into submission only gets them to cry "Uncle". Trading them into friendship will get them to cry "Uncle Sam - we love you!"

This weekend is a time to remember and honor our war dead that heroically fought and died for our country - unfortunately at times when free trade would've allowed us to have avoided war when our show of force and trading restrictions all to frequently pushed us into conflict.

A brief warning about sacrificial offerings

From the Tarrant County Libertarian Partys chair-dude John Spivey's Facebook page:

"It stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there’s someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master."    -  Ayn Rand

Kathie Glass for Texas Governor, Billy Miner's Saloon, Thursday July 29, 2010

W here to begin, where to begin....
Last night I went to Billy Miner's for a Kathie Glass for Texas Governor campaign rally. 

There are a lot of good reasons to support Kathie Glass, but let me get to the no-brainers first. 

The Democrat in this race, Bill White, was Secretary Of Energy for Bill Clinton/Al Gore.  According to several reliable sources, White actively campaigned for The Goracle Of Music City prior to The Goracle's decision to leave politics and enter the environmental salvation racket. 

The Republican in this race, incumbent governor Rick Perry, was Gore's Texas campaign manager in 1988.  Perry eventually left the Democrat party and had a falling-out with The Goracle over climate change. 
Well, at least Governor Perry owns a thermometer.  And compared to Bill White, his hair is stunning.   
But he has defiled himself. 

Kathie Glass, the Libertarian, is the only candidate for Texas governor who has never campaigned for Al Gore. 
'Nuff said. 

A few other reasons:
First and foremost in Glass's 5 Point Plan is a promise to use nullification and interposition to get around ObamaCare and Cap'n'Tax.  What does this mean in plain English?  Texas is a sovereign state.  We have rights.  There is nothing in the constitution that says the federal government can force you to purchase a product from a private company when the purchase has nothing to do with a government activity (i.e. - driving on the government's roads). 
"Therefore, we the Texas Legislature and Governor declare ObamaCare to be freakin' nullified between the Red River and the Gulf Of Mexico."  Next issue, please....

Also included in the 5 Point Plan - stronger protections against Eminent Domain Abuse.  It doesn't matter how well Tony Romo is throwing the football, Kathie Glass isn't going to let the government steal anyone else's house so Jerry Jones can build Tony a new playpen. 

And then there was this guy....
It's safe to call him a "single-issue voter". 
This dude, Larry Kilgore, showed up at Ms. Glass's rally, wound up tighter than a 3-day clock. 
Intense. 
Outraged. 
Long before the QandA session began, I could feel his intensity level overpowering everything else in his corner of the room. 
Hell, I was just there to support our gubernatorial candidate, hang out with Spivey and Coyne, and maybe eat a cheeseburger. 
Larry Kilgore showed up ready to draw a line in the sand, splatter the blood of the traitors across Billy Miner's barroom floor, and secede from The Union. 
Here's a video of Mr. Kilgore in action.  You gotta watch it.  If you get past the first 15 seconds, I promise you, you'll watch all of it. 



Mr. Intensity stood during the Qand A, and asked Kathie something like HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SECESSION ?????  
Glass tried to respond that secession from The Union was an extreme position, and that....

Mr. Intensity was immediately outraged, and went into a well-rehearsed rant about why Texas should LEAVE THE UNITED STATES and stood to leave.  Several other people tried to throw their 2 cents in.  Even with a microphone, Kathie had trouble making herself heard. 

After Spivey restored order, Glass and Kilgore argued back and forth for a few seconds.  Kilgore didn't like the way the argument was going, and once again turned around to walk out. 

Kathie Glass, like the transplanted Georgia Peach she is, calmly and politely said "Don't you walk out on me, sir.  Please don't make me talk about you behind your back !"

But he was gone.  Gone elsewhere to pursue the dream of an independent Lone Star State. 
Glass went on to explain that we have a great system, and a great constitution.  We just need to elect politicians who understand it and respect it. 

Freakin' brilliant.  Don't make me talk about you behind your back.  Some of us think she may have hired the guy to show up.  This was a great night.  Time well spent. 

If I had to pick someone to go head-to-head with The Teleprompter Jesus, it would be Kathie Glass.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Libertarians, 9-12'ers, and The Tea Party Movement. And John Spivey. And Adrian Murray. (plus Dirty Harry !)

I didn't get a chance to look through the Star-Telegram this a.m.

My friends Adrian Murray and Big Daddy John Spivey were both quoted.

Dallas-Fort Worth conservative activists focus more on Republicans

By AMAN BATHEJA

FORT WORTH — Elected officials — Democrats and Republicans — have been routinely and loudly booed at Tea Party rallies and other conservative events over the past year.
But as area activists try to turn that anger into action, they are setting their sights on fellow Republicans more than Democrats.
Members of several local conservative groups that formed last year are focusing on a handful of Republican primary races in the hope of moving the party in a more conservative direction.
"The Tea Partiers, the 9-12ers and the Libertarians all need to come together and work together," said Adrian Murray, an organizer with the 9-12 Project Fort Worth. "It’s the outcome of those primaries that are going to determine what kind of support the Republican Party gets" in November.
They aren’t endorsing candidates, but the anti-incumbent sentiment at rallies last year was palpable and is playing a role in local races. Several Republican challengers in races for Congress and the state Legislature say their appeal to those protesters fed up with the status quo will lead them to a primary win in March.
"A lot of people think that these are Republican groups, but they’re not. They’re actually as mad at Republicans as they are Democrats," said conservative activist Bill Burch, who is running against former Arlington City Councilwoman Barbara Nash in the Republican primary for the state House seat held by Rep. Paula Pierson, D-Arlington.....

Hit the link up top to read the entire article.

....While the spotlight is on the primary for now, it remains unclear what these grassroots activists will do if a Republican deemed insufficiently conservative wins the party’s nomination.
"I would think it’s a mixed blessing for the Republican Party," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "If [activists] think that the two main party candidates aren’t sufficiently conservative, they’ll mount a party challenge."
He pointed to a special congressional election in New York in November in which grassroots conservatives, unhappy with the Republican candidate, backed a third-party candidate instead. In the end, a Democrat won the district for the first time since the Civil War.

It makes me nuts, totally nuts, when journalists, political scientists, or for that matter, my relatives try to raise that particular objection to 2nd-party candidates. The Democrat in that upstate New York election was funded by the Democratic party. The candidate of the Republican establishment (Dede Scozzafava) would have voted like a Democrat, but would've been funded by the Republican party. It's more efficient when the Democrats fund their own candidates, don't you think?

Representatives from local Tea Party groups and the 9-12 Project Fort Worth say they will remain nonpartisan while encouraging voters to back candidates who support certain principles, including limited government and personal liberty.
"There’s nothing more powerful, we feel, than an informed voter," said Angela Cox, founder of the Burleson Tea Party.
John Spivey, Tarrant County Libertarian Party chairman, said many Tea Party and 9-12 Project members lean Libertarian and predicted that they will support the GOP only if Republican incumbents are replaced in the primary with "true conservatives."
"I’m looking forward to post-primary that we may see some support from them for some of our candidates," Spivey said.
Leaders with the 9-12 Project Fort Worth and the Burleson Tea Party expressed doubt that supporting third-party candidates is a viable option.

And if they can't make that an option, they will be forced to support more guys who brag about their ability to reach across the aisle, and who get pats on the head from the mainstream media for making gracious concession speeches. I went to one of Adrian's meetups tonight, and saw a very positive response to Spivey's presentation on the Libertarian Party. People are ready for a change from the false choice between Republicrats and Demoblicans. We can put aside small differences, and find a way to join together long enough to boot out some of the worst-offending Statists.

(Conservative activist Bill Burch)....predicted that conservative grassroots voters would support the Republican ticket no matter who wins the primary.
"If they make it through the primary, your choice is no longer for the individual," Burch said. "Your choice is . . . freedom or socialism."

Mr. Burch, people felt that way until the last three Republican Presidents came in and spent money like drunk cowboys. Your choice is . . . more of the same or something different. I don't know of any Libertarians who supported TARP, the bailouts, or the Porkulus plan. I can't say that about Republicans.

Come on, hold your nose, and come see what we're about. I think we're going to have an interesting melting pot in November.

Click here for the Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup.

Click here for Fort Worth's 9-12 Meetup.

Click here for the Tea Party Patriots.

Harry Reid is coming to Texas for a fundraiser on Friday, January 15 at 11:00 a.m. He'll be at the Las Colinas Marketing Center at 5221 North O'Conner Boulevard, in Irving. Ask yourself....why is Harry Reid, Senator from Nevada, holding a fund-raiser in Texas?

Click here if you would like to carry some signs outside the convention center and help welcome Dirty Harry to Texas.

I bet we can all agree on that one, can't we?

Pictures from a fun weekend

I took a lot of unrelated pictures this weekend, and thought I'd roll them all into one post:

I went to my sister and brother-in-law's house Friday night. Mr. Chen, the factory owner that I've worked with during 5 trips to China, was having dinner with them. Mr. Chen is a Tool And Die maker who started his own company in China almost immediately after Xiamen (his hometown) became a "Free Enterprise Zone". (Free Enterprise Zone is a term used in Communist China to designate places where people aren't starving to death any more. It's strange how the Free Market works, isn't it?)
And for long-time followers of this blog, Mr. Chen is the star of The Infamous Chinese Dog Story, an epic tale of death, destruction, and bizarre cultural differences that has been read and copied and emailed all over 6 continents.

Mr. Chen speaks almost no English. Here he is cooking scallops and signaling that he needs to find a urinal.

This is Nancy. Nancy is Mr. Chen's translator, Salesperson, Office Manager, and right hand. Nancy also had a small part in The Celebrated Chinese Typhoon Story.

I spent Saturday morning working at the Jukt Micronics New Everman warehouse.
Tommy, Joshua, and the crew have brought order out of chaos. NOTHING is out of place in this entire facility. NOTHING.

Saturday afternoon, I went to the Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup at The Flying Saucer in downtown Fort Worth. Michael Badnarik, our 2004 Presidential candidate, was there. And that's Stephen Smith, of the "Beginner's Guide To Freedom" blog, on the far right. Stephen is staring off into the distance, thinking of things far more brilliant than anything I'll ever write.

Stephen is, after all, from Jackson, Mississippi.

That's me, plotting rebellion and upheaval with Tarrant County Libertarian Party Chair, John Spivey.

Mandy the dachshund has been "great with child", to put it biblically, for quite a while. She decided to have 6 babies Sunday morning. I kinda had to help out with number 6, who was quite comfy inside his old resting place. Thought he was stillborn, cause he didn't move at all once he hit the great indoors. A couple of minutes passed by. I decided to let Mandy sniff him, etc., so she could see that he didn't make it.
Mandy licked #6 for about a minute and a half without stopping.
#6 woke up, lifted his head, and started sniffing around for breakfast. It's amazing how they just "know".

We let Mandy outside so we could count the puppies. 6 of them, and all seemed healthy. We let her in, and then watched some "Lost". I'm at the very beginning of Season 4, and I think the Island is the center of a Time Warp.

The Aggie and I decided to count how many boys vs. girls we had. We counted 4 boys and 3 girls. That couldn't be right, because we had 6 puppies. We counted again. Came up with 5 boys and 2 girls. (Their mother kept moving them around. That had to be the reason.) We counted again. It added up to 7. Mandy had pushed out another pup while we weren't paying attention.
Amazing.
I'm glad Mandy stopped at 7, because I think she only has place settings for 8. Woulda been crowded at the table.

It's strange how these tiny, delicate, effeminate, mewling, balls of life can grow up to be somewhat larger, delicate, effeminate, mewling, balls of life. I honestly don't know how I wound up with all these dachshunds. (Well, I know how I got the last 7. I just don't remember a conscious decision to fill the yard with them.)

Went to Boomerjacks in the old Montgomery Ward's area Sunday afternoon. There supposedly was a Cowboys game going on. I think the Cowboys won. This will only encourage Jerry to remain in place as G.M. Therefore, in the long term, this victory is a bad thing.

Other relapses were prevented. (Long story.)

When I got home, The Aggie had made a TCU pumpkin for my Paw In Law, who got his doctorate at TCU.

My Maw In Law countered with some ghost brownies.

End of weekend. It was a good one.

Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup, Saturday October 24th, The Flying Saucer

The Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup will be holding services at The Flying Saucer in downtown Fort Worth this Saturday afternoon (the 24th).

1:00 P.M.
111 E Fourth Street, Fort Worth
817.336.pint

This will be fun. There's plenty to talk about (I think we have some elections coming up in 2010, don't we?) and Big Daddy John Spivey is going to buy libations for the first person to show up with a libertarian themed book for the giveaway(s).

Hit the link for more info.

Two Year Blogoversary

I almost let the two year Blogoversary of this thing pass by without comment.

The first post on this site went up on 9-28-07, and I had no real idea what the main focus was going to be.
Since then, I've made it into the Star-Telegram a couple of times. Once with an editorial and once in a feature piece on political bloggers.
I've made some great friends through the Camp Blownstar Blogger meetups.
Big Daddy John Spivey found the site, and got me involved in the Tarrant County Libertarian Party.
That got me involved in End The Fed rallies, a Gay/Lesbian Rights parade, and staffing pro-2nd amendment booths at gun shows.
I've been to more Tea Parties than Lady Astor.
Then people started linking the site on Reddit. Then Facebook. Then it got Twittered. (And Twixted. Whatever that is.)
See that little world map on the right side of your screen, under the incredibly pretentious "A Thousand Points Of Light" header? Click on it, or click here. Depending on the topic of the day, I'll get more hits from Europe and Australia than from the U.S.
Fun stuff, this internet.
Before I started blogging, Dr. Ralph and I knew each other, but didn't hang out together. We recently spent a couple of hours at his place, playing guitars, not talking about politics, and looking at his artwork. (He's got a show in Fort Worth this weekend, BTW. Hit the link. Dr. Ralph can paint.)

When I can get my A-game going, this thing is good for 700-800 hits a day. Whenever I post sub-standard stuff for three days in a row, it drops into the 300-400 range so quickly that it's depressing. You people have the loyalty of tomcats.

If you've ever considered doing something like this, I hope you'll give it a try. Use the right key words in your headlines, and you'll meet plenty of people who love what you love, care about your concerns, and who are fascinating to correspond with. Plus, I don't know how people can claim they know what they think, until they read what they've written for public consumption.

Your voice counts. Unless, of course, you are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG ! !