As a libertarian, I feel that there is much to be done for America, particularly with regard to the central banking industry and the corporate welfare that we have been promoting with all of the big-bank bailouts. It is alarming to think that as a country we will accept the fact that we could let our government spend more than $100 billion to save companies that are using practices that do not work. This simply has taught the banks that they are too big to fail and that they can never do wrong and will always be propped up.

What does this tell them about how they should conduct their business? It tells them that they don’t need to change any policy and can participate in any business that reaps the fastest short term benefits imaginable. Companies that function on a short term profit model will always fail if they are not going to be considering what kind of incentives exist for the employees. The incentives need to be for rewarding long term growth options and not simply what looks the best for one year’s balance sheet.

If it weren’t alarming enough that we are subsidizing one set of the economy, we are currently planning on taxing another side of the economy by imposing artificial cap and trade incentives to actually not produce anything! A cap and trade law designed to limit carbon emissions to attempt to address the “global warming” that is being plastered across newspapers and media to distract from the serious issues affecting our economy. If there is in fact a global warming problem, companies will be jumping at the opportunity to create a solution as soon as it becomes economical for them to do so; not based on punishing them for their industry but rewarding them for their creativity in solving a problem.

The reason why there aren’t any companies at the moment addressing this issue is that it has not been sufficiently proven to be an economical detriment to our society yet the sentiment is that something must be done and it will be our industries that take the hit while our over-seas competition gets the advantage of unimpeded production. Lastly, the issue of the drug war that is costing our country billions in prosecution has done nothing but create criminals out of people that are doing something that has no victims except themselves. While many of the problems with drugs are societal involving addiction and poverty, the violence that is associated with the illegal trade would be quickly nullified if we were to legalize drugs.

As a stepping stone, the simple legalization of marijuana, a non addictive substance with less harmful side effects than alcohol, and free up millions in resources that could be used to reduce tax burdens on small businesses and actually create taxable industry within the united states by licensing marijuana growers, distributors, and retailers.

“Tonight’s speech was a reminder that, for decades, the policies of Republicans and Democrats alike have failed. Libertarians are asking people to take matters into their own hands. Instead of just complaining, we’re encouraging ordinary Americans to step up and run for Congress on the Libertarian Party ballot line.

I can say exactly the same thing about President Obama’s speech tonight that I said about George W. Bush’s State of the Union speech in January 2008: ‘Tonight’s State of the Union address went much as expected. Instead of calling for a more limited role of the federal government in American society, the President laid out plans that would only increase the government’s intervention into the realm of economics, health care, education and foreign policy.

I am weary of the President’s unspoken premise that only government–indeed, only the federal government–can accomplish good in our society.

President Obama seems to be totally blind to the concept that government can cause problems rather than solve them. His speech was filled with ‘More’: more handouts, more spending, more programs, more bailouts, more regulations. We Libertarians want less government, not more.

Not to be outmatched by the Democrats, the Republican Party conveyed its lack of seriousness in addressing this nation’s government spending problems by having Bob McDonnell, Virginia Governor for eleven (11) days, deliver its rebuttal to the President. If they were really serious about addressing the dire fiscal circumstances of this nation, they would have had Paul Ryan, a six-term congressman from Wisconsin, who has proposed the most serious plan of anyone in the two older parties to keep us from going off a fiscal cliff.

Last week, Alan Auerbach, Professor of Economics and Law at UC Berkeley and US government fiscal policy expert, said that the Democratic and Republican parties are in a ‘death embrace’ with their government spending. The only political party that is rationally and forthrightly addressing the need to cut government spending and end our culture of ever expanding entitlements is the Libertarian Party.

As Americans lose hope in Obama, we Libertarians are warning voters against running back to the Republicans who got us into such big messes in the first place. Republicans started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans made the false intellectual case for bailing out banks and car companies. Republicans argued that deficits don’t matter. Republicans gave us the giant Medicare expansion bill.

The President’s suggestion of a ‘spending freeze’ was especially ludicrous and insulting to the intelligence of Americans. The amounts involved are minuscule, and Congress won’t accept them anyway. Will Obama sign the spending bills that ignore his ‘freeze’? You bet he will. Instead, the President should demand across-the-board cuts in all areas, including entitlements.

The President talked a lot about jobs. Unfortunately, the policies he supports are responsible for most of the unemployment we see today. High taxes, minimum wage laws, hiring regulations, firing regulations, mandatory unemployment benefits, and other government interference make it much more difficult for businesses to hire and keep employees. As expected, the President’s prescription is to increase the dosage of this government poison.

While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with steps like these: 1. Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan; 2. Stop rewarding failed companies with bailouts; 3. Cut taxes and spending and let the free market work.

Finally, on the matter of political rhetoric, I call upon the two older parties to stop spoon feeding politics to the American people as if we are a bunch of overgrown children. These are difficult times that call for more than rhetorical flourish or positioning a group of diverse people around a politician. Older party politicians need to be specific about their proposed policies, as Libertarians are.

And, I know I’m probably just wasting electrons, but can’t we go back to the days in which the President sent a copy of his speech to Congress and left it at that. The speech last night took 1/7000th of an entire year. I think the vast majority of the American people would agree that we have better ways to spend our time.”

William Redpath has served as the Chairman of the Libertarian Party since 2006. For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions? Several years ago, Harry Browne — 1996 and 2000 Libertarian Party presidential candidate, world-renowned libertarian speaker and writer, and very good friend of the Advocates — made his. The result was a compact how-to of effective libertarian communication, by one of history’s most persuasive advocates of the ideas of liberty. I would like to once again share these resolutions with you. If you’re like me, you’ll find them inspiring and uplifting. I hope you will add them to your own resolutions — and share them with other libertarians.

A Libertarian’s New Year’s Resolutions
by Harry Browne

1. I resolve to sell liberty by appealing to the self-interest of each prospect, rather than preaching to people and expecting them to suddenly adopt my ideas of right and wrong.

2. I resolve to keep from being drawn into arguments or debates. My purpose is to inspire people to want liberty — not to prove that they’re wrong.

3. I resolve to listen when people tell me of their wants and needs, so I can help them see how a free society will satisfy those needs.

4. I resolve to identify myself, when appropriate, with the social goals someone may seek — a cleaner environment, more help for the poor, a less divisive society — and try to show him that those goals can never be achieved by government, but will be well served in a free society.

5. I resolve to be compassionate and respectful of the beliefs and needs that lead people to seek government help. I don’t have to approve of their subsidies or policies — but if I don’t acknowledge their needs, I have no hope of helping them find a better way to solve their problem.

6. No matter what the issue, I resolve to keep returning to the central point: how much better off the individual will be in a free society.

7. I resolve to acknowledge my good fortune in having been born an American. Any plan for improvement must begin with a recognition of the good things we have. To speak only of America’s defects will make me a tiresome crank.

8. I resolve to focus on the ways America could be so much better with a very small government — not to dwell on all the wrongs that exist today.

9. I resolve to cleanse myself of hate, resentment, and bitterness. Such things steal time and attention from the work that must be done.

10. I resolve to speak, dress, and act in a respectable manner. I may be the first libertarian someone has encountered, and it’s important that he get a good first impression. No one will hear the message if the messenger is unattractive.

11. I resolve to remind myself that someone’s “stupid” opinion may be an opinion I once held. If Ican grow, why can’t I help himgrow?

12. I resolve not to raise my voice in any discussion. In a shouting match, no one wins, no one changes his mind, and no one will be inspired to join our quest for a free society.

13. I resolve not to adopt the tactics of Republicans and Democrats. They use character assassination, evasions, and intimidation because they have no real benefits to offer Americans. We, on the other hand, are offering to set people free — and so we can win simply by focusing on the better life our proposals will bring.

14. I resolve to be civil to my opponents and treat them with respect. However anyone chooses to treat me, it’s important that I be a better person than my enemies.

Harry passed away in March of 2006. If enough of us follow Harry’s advice, we can make 2010 the best year yet for the libertarian movement. There could be no greater tribute to Harry — and no greater gift to America! Happy New Year to all our friends, readers and visitors.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third largest and fastest growing political party. Libertarians engage in a variety of projects, working for everyone’s liberty on every issue.

The Libertarian Party was created in December of 1971 by people who realized that the politicians had strayed from America’s original libertarian foundation, with disastrous results. Their vision was the same as that of America’s founders — a world where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, a world of peace, harmony, opportunity, and abundance.

Libertarians are practical; we know we can’t make the world perfect. But, it can be better. Libertarians will keep working to create a better, freer society for everyone. As William Allen White said: “Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.”

“Libertarians believe the answer to America’s political problems is the same commitment to freedom that earned America its greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America’s founders.”

Libertarians believe in the American heritage of liberty, enterprise, and personal responsibility. Libertarians recognize the responsibility we all share to preserve this precious heritage for our children and grandchildren.

Libertarians believe that being free and independent is a great way to live. We want a system which encourages all people to choose what they want from life; that lets them live, love, work, play, and dream their own way.

The Libertarian way is a caring, people-centered approach to politics. We believe each individual is unique. We want a system which respects the individual and encourages us to discover the best within ourselves and develop our full potential.

The Libertarian way is a logically consistent approach to politics based on the moral principle of self-ownership. Each individual has the right to control his or her own body, action, speech, and property. Government’s only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.

The Libertarian Party is for all who don’t want to push other people around and don’t want to be pushed around themselves. Live and let live is the Libertarian way.

There are a lot of third parties in this country, but none really have the ability to rise up politically and make a difference like the Libertarian party. It is the only political organization which respects you as a unique and competent individual.

The creation of this country was based on the ideas that are more in line with the Libertarian way than any other party. It’s approach is more of a logical consistent one toward politics based on a moral principle of self ownership. We believe in a smaller government. The government’s role in our lives should be to defend our freedom from force or fraud. Free expression of speech, religion (or lack of), the right to control one self’s body, action and property.

A free-market economy, with the abundance and prosperity it can bring is what the Libertarian party wants for this country just as our fore fathers wanted over two hundred years ago. Civil liberties and personal freedom that has puts this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade as prescribed by America’s founders.

It’s time to start looking at the third largest political party in this country. Soon to be the party of choice above all the others out there. There is no other party that will care about your freedoms and the rewards of your hard work than the Libertarian party.

For more information about the Libertarian party, check out their official website at www.lp.org

Dr. Richard Davis, the Libertarian Party’s First District Congressional candidate, is a Hurlock, MD resident and operates a Dentist office out of Federalsburg, MD. In 2008 he accepted the Libertarian Party’s nomination for Congress in the First District, where he received 8,873 votes (2.5% of the vote). His mild manner and firm grasp of the issues attracted many voters. Dr. Davis can be contacted at (410) 943-8314.

Lorenzo Gaztañaga has been chosen to run for the Second Congressional District seat; this will be his second run for Congress. Mr. Gaztañaga was born in Cuba and became an American Citizen in 1973. He attended Loyola College and Towson State University, majoring in History and Political Science. During the 1980’s he studied Psychology at the University of Baltimore. Mr. Gaztañaga currently works in a security business. He is active in his church, Cliftmont Community Wesleyan Church. In 2008 Lorenzo got 8,786 votes (3.2%) in his run for the Second District seat. Mr. Gaztañaga can be contacted at (410) 325-2813 and email at diazvivar@aol.com.

Justin Kinsey has been nominated as the Libertarian Party’s candidate for Maryland House of Delegates District 5B. Mr. Kinsey is a Sparks, Maryland resident. He works as a Patient Transportation Coordinator for Northwest Hospital in Randallstown and he is a part time EMT. Mr. Kinsey is also an instructor at the University of Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. He currently attends Baltimore County Community College where he is Double Majoring in Sociology and Political science. His website, www.Kinsey5B.com, is scheduled to be up on July 13, 2009. He can be reached at (410) 456-3584 and email at FriendsOfJustinKinsey@gmail.com .

House of delegates District 11 candidate Brandon Brooks is a longtime resident of Pikesville, MD. Mr. Brooks is an Electricians Assistant in a family business. He is a graduate of Western School of Technology Science in Catonsville, MD and specialized in Information Technology. Mr. Brooks has been a part of the Civil Air Patrol, where he has been involved in search and rescue operations, and training other personnel. This is Mr. Brooks’ first time running for elected office. His contact information is (410) 207-1458, SonOfLiberty076@yahoo.com, and his website is brooksfordelegate.webs.com.

The Maryland Libertarian Party is proud to present its first group of candidates for the upcoming 2010 election. The MDLP plans to run candidates for all federal offices and some county and state offices.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Maryland Libertarian Party, please call Communications Director Muir Boda at (410) 603-3347, or email at mwboda@mac.com.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Maryland Libertarian Party at www.md.lp.org, their blog at www.mdlibertarian.com, and the Libertarian Party by visiting LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more obvious, I was proven wrong.

On Friday, Sara Palin announced that she was stepping down from her duties as governor of the state of Alaska. Whatever her reasons for doing so is her business, but she did share them in her announcement. Since it was a holiday weekend and most of the commentary media were off for the holiday, it wasn’t really discussed until Monday.

After listening to many different show on TV as well as the radio, I find myself appalled by the treatment that this woman is having to go through again. All I heard from the people who didn’t support her last year was that she is a quitter because she still has another eighteen months in her term.

She may be a conservative and a republican, but I see her more as a Libertarian. That is why I supported the McCain/Palin ticket. She’s turned the state of Alaska around and has cut spending and unnecessary waste by an unbelievable amount. Palin had even sold the governor’s private jet. Before she announced her departure from office, she made sure that the right people were put in place to carry on with the policies that she felt that would benefit the state. Again all I hear is that she is a quitter. I don’t look at it that way.

If these people want to label Palin as a quitter, then I guess they have many other politicians to add to that list. Let’s start with Barack Obama, a State Senator who spent most of his time campaigning for the U.S. Senate during his first term. As a U.S. Senator he spent two years of his term campaigning to be President (and continued be be paid) and then still left that office to fulfill his duties as President.

The sad thing is that it doesn’t end there. What about Joe Biden, Rahm Emmanuel and Janet Napolitano? They too did the same thing when it came time to take the position that Obama offered them.

The main stream media has sold out to politicians at the price of the American people. So the next time you’re watching TV, be aware of who you’re listening to.

Speaking of the left, seems a growing number of them are dissatisfied with Obama. Josh Gerstein from Politico writes;

Barely four months into his presidency, Obama is confronting growing dissatisfaction among members of his liberal base, who feel spurned by a series of his early decisions on issues ranging from guns to torture to immigration to gay rights. A few, like MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, have even hurled the left’s ultimate epithet – suggesting that Obama’s turning into George W. Bush. For liberals who viewed Obama as something of a savior after eight years of Bush, the discontents are piling up.

A growing number of organizations, bloggers and pundits, many of whom kept quiet about slights in Obama’s first few months, are now going public with their disillusionment.

Michael Meyers of the New York Civil Rights Coalition said many Obama supporters (with support from voices on the right) built him up to be more of a liberal icon than his public speeches and writings ever justified.

“They invested in Obama everything they wanted the next president to be. They thought, ‘He’s black, liberal, anti-Iraq War… urban, young.’ He was all of that and smart and he went to a radical church. They just knew,” Meyers said. “They exaggerated him. They saw him as a messiah. No president is a messiah.”

“He’s not the person that people thought he was,” Meyers said. “The left is finding that out and the right is finding that out.”

Also from Politico, Andy Barr writes about Republican leaders who are backing Cheney’s criticism of Obama;

Republican leaders on Sunday backed Dick Cheney’s attacks on President Barack Obama, calling the former vice president
a strong asset for the party.

“It doesn’t hurt us, it helps us,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” calling Cheney a “big member in our party.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said ” We know Obama changed his mind in Iraq and decided to follow the advice of the military generals, and we also know that he’s now ordered a surge in Afghanistan just like the one that was successful in Iraq. So I think the administration has responded to the critique of the vice president” that the country is moving in the “wrong direction on national security issues.”

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It doesn’t mean that any one person has a right to happiness, it means that they have the right to pursue happiness. This country was built so a free man can go ahead and make something for himself and his family. Just because you are in this country, doesn’t mean that you are entitled to what this country has to offer. No one owes any other person something just because that person exists.

Over the next few posts you will see the U.S. Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights posted here to help you see what greatness this country was meant for. Our fore fathers came to this country to escape tyranny and over taxation from the government that controlled them without representation.

This is the part of the U.S. Constitution that most people recognize. this section is the preamble.

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

“Independent voters believed Candidate Obama when he said he would be mainstream. Their trusting votes gave him a narrow victory,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. “But now that the real Barack Obama has revealed himself, they’re not following his bootlegger turn toward the radical left. They still believe the same Big Government that Obama promises as our global salvation will be America’s undoing.”

“Only one party in America agrees with independent voters, and that is the Libertarian Party,” said Ferguson. “Republicans spent 14 years fattening government with their ever-escalating budgets. Even the Republican ‘alternative budget’ called for massive deficits and bigger spending.”

“Once again, Libertarians are the only mainstream party in America. Only Libertarians will reduce the size and cost of government. Obama and the Republicans have us spiraling towards national bankruptcy.”

A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday asked 1,007 adults “which of the following will be the biggest threat to the country in the future –”big business”, big labor or “big government?” Fifty-nine percent (59%) of politically independent Americans viewed “big government” as the greatest threat, virtually unchanged from the 60 percent measured the last time the question was asked in 2006 – before the financial crisis and election of Barack Obama.

Only 30 percent answered “big business” and 8 percent answered “big labor,” both also virtually unchanged from the 26 percent and 10 percent measured in 2006.

Since the question was asked major financial crises have weakened the economy and the White House has been occupied by a president pushing radical expansions of government size and power — with virtually no effect on independents. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

The poll was released on the same day the White House released numbers showing the economy performing worse than Obama promised, and the federal budget deficit growing to a size four times larger than the 2008 Bush record. Under Obama, the federal government will borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends, an unsustainable and inflationary level of borrowing.

In more bad news for Obama, the only Americans buying into his opposition to capitalism are largely those who already voted for him, leaving little room to expand his support.

Democrats in 2006 feared “big government” more than “big business” by a 55 percent to 32 percent margin. Following in lockstep with Obama, they have flipped their views. Now, Democrats fear job creators more than government by a 52 percent to 32 percent margin.

Opposition to “big government” grew among grassroots Republicans, though their party leadership doesn’t seem to share that view, based on their “alternative budget.” In 2006, Republicans feared “big government” more than “big business” by a 68 percent to 18 percent margin. That grew in 2009 to 80 percent to 10 percent.

“Grassroots Republicans oppose Big Government and want a party that agrees with them. Once again, the Libertarian Party is the only party that proposes cutting spending. We don’t follow the still-vibrant Republican tradition of making government bigger and costlier each year,” said Ferguson.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.