Lighting the Fires of Liberty

November 2008

2007-08-19T20:55:29Z

Does Mr. Badnarik have plans for the 2008 election or should this be regarded as a dead Community?

our biggest group yet!

2006-10-20T16:23:28Z

Why have a normal billboard when you can go mobile?

2006-10-18T18:41:38Z

Go here to watch some video clips of Smile Brigade and other Badnarik stuff.

venturing to the east side

2006-10-09T20:38:56Z

We don't get to go as often as we'd like, thanks to the sheer distance between east and west borders of district 10. On a good day with no traffic, it still takes three hours to get from one end to the other - that's a six hour round trip just to make an event happen and not a time cost to be taken lightly. Plus, there just aren't that many events going on in the suburbs of Houston. But all that changed this weekend, with the lively and bustling Rice Fest of Katy, TX.

The Fest ran from 10:00 am to midnight on Saturday, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm on Sunday. I was busy running a table at the Dime Box Homecoming on Saturday, so it fell to Michael and Jon to take all our equipment and get set up, helped in no small way by our local Katy volunteer, Carl Wetzel. They spent Friday night at Carl's place and were able to get straight to the Fest to start bright and early. Not only were Michael, Jon, and Carl there, but our volunteer White Marriot drove down from Tomball (an hour and a half away) to help, plus Guy McLendon (Harris County LP chair) swung by to help out, PLUS Steve Gordon of the national LP (who just happened to be in Houston visiting family). It really was a full house - or rather, tent. With so many more people than we needed to pass out fliers, Jon organized an impromptu Smile Brigade and took Guy, Carl, and White out onto the street for added name recognition. They got a lot of honks, waves, and of course smiles, and everyone had a great time.

Carl and White came over again on Sunday to help me, in addition to Kevin Takenaga, visiting from California to give the campaign an extra hand, plus a volunteer Jazon Jez from neighboring town Sealy. I wish all events could have so many people pitching in. With all the help, it was more fun than anything we've done in a long time.

:)

2006-10-04T21:42:25Z

a simple rule of thumb:

2006-10-03T22:02:53Z

The less frequently I'm posting something, the busier we are. As the campaign dwindles to a mere five weeks, events pile on top of one another and our poor underworked staff gets less and less of a chance to breathe. I say staff because, while Michael is every bit as busy as we are, he revels in this kind of schedule and seems to enjoy the lack of free time. On Sunday we left yet another festival, after a day of standing in the hot sun and passing out fliers by the thousands, and I was ready to drop. He was humming and tapping his toes to the radio. Michael - is - not - normal.

Saturday was a multi-county effort organized by anti-toll road activists, in opposition to the proposed TransTexas Corridor that Governor Perry intends to build. I've mentioned the campaign attending a few of these public hearings; the state intends to build a gigantic highway from Mexico through our state and on its way to Kansas City, paid for by tax dollars and then again via tolls by the drivers. And it will be owned and operated by a foreign corporation. All kinds of people are livid about this, so all the counties doomed to be sliced in half met at their county courthouse on the appointed day, each protestor with a cup of dirt to throw on the steps. "This is all the land yer gettin' out of us, Perry!" we yelled, more or less in unison, after someone read a speech. One of these groups have endorsed Carole Strayhorn, an Independent candidate for governor, which is why you see those particular signs. Michael, however, was the only candidate to actually show up and we made a great impression on the group.

After the dirt-tossing we drove a few blocks south and camped out in the middle of Pecan Street Festival, a traditional biannual event in downtown Austin that features all the traditional stuff: giant pretzels, corn dogs, and funnel cake, a bungee swing and face painting, hundreds of vendors selling their hemp anklets etc..., and all the lemonade you could drink. Michael and I spent six sweltering hours there on Saturday and another six hours on Sunday, passing out a total of 2,400 fliers in the process. Play the numbers game and you can bet that got us a few more votes.

It better. My nose got sunburned! Now Michael's gone off to participate in our Smile Brigade, so soon I should have photos of our volunteers trooping the streets. This weekend is Rice Fest in Katy, TX and the Dime Box Homecoming in Old Dime Box, TX, not to mention another NORML meeting and one or two interviews. Lots of fun. I am counting the weeks.

events piling on top of one another

2006-09-13T21:54:44Z

It's getting to that point where I don't even have enough time to upload my photos, few though they are, because it's just one fest after another. In the past 5 days, the campaign has been to Manor Fest, Kolache Fest, the TX vs OSU game, Peace Fest, a forum on election fraud hosted by the League of Women Voters, and an actual candidate forum in Brenham hosted by the Retired Teacher's Association. Plus a three-hour interview with Robert Scott Bell on Sunday.

Whew.

The weather was kinda blah, as you can see, but here in Texas we give thanks for a cool and cloudy day. Particularly when you're an overworked staffer spending yet another full Saturday handing out campaign literature to the folks. Manor is a cute little town, just over a thousand residents, so it was a small crowd. A close-knit one, however, and as the day passed I could see more and more people walking around with our brochure in their hands. At least three people waved off taking a brochure, stating that they'd seen Michael at the local gun show and already planned to vote for him. We're everywhere!

The volunteer helping Michael out is Tom deSabla, of Maryland. He's already given the max amount to our campaign, but since he still wanted to help he flew down to Austin to volunteer for the weekend. Isn't he nice?

Michael and Tom spent the morning in Manor before driving off with Jon to Caldwell, to pass out more brochures at the Kolache Fest (a Czech delight!). I stayed in Manor to man the table, so I have no photos of that event.

Okay, so the Horns lost. You don't have to rub it in. But at least we got some productive use out of the evening by standing next to the ticket counters and passing out voter registration cards. Texas does not have same-day registration, so this is an important job.

The orange crush:

A pretty average shot of how seriously Texans take our football. Please note the satellite dish erected next to the tent.

A mostly leftist crowd gathered at the city hall plaza in Austin to chat about how war sucks, among various other things. We were definitely the odd man out, but Rock Howard came too, and I was happy to have a new crowd to pitch libertarianism to. The only flaw was that our cool and cloudy weather had flown away on pigeon's wings, and we were back to baking in the 100+ degrees.

That would be our Free Speech sign, thank you. And if you're wondering where the actual people are, they're hiding under the only available shade on the city hall steps. You can just see them if you squint hard enough.

Monday was the forum on electoral fraud. I've already forgotten the panelists' names (there was no program), but they seemed to really know their stuff and we had an interesting two-hour discussion. The most amusing part was watching Michael steal the spotlight, as he's so good at doing, and end up featured in the local paper's coverage. You can see the article here at the Daily Texan.

And finally, the Retired Teacher's Association of Brenham hosted us for a Candidate Forum. Unsurprisingly, Michael McCaul (R) declined to attend, which meant it was just Ted Ankrum and Michael.

Notice how artfully the teacher's decorated our room in the restaurant to look exactly like our old elementary school classrooms.

(wilts) Okay, I'm caught up. For now. This doesn't even include the 9/11 event Michael went to Monday night with Jon, as I was elsewhere occupied. Thursday is a trip to the movies to see Alex Jones' Terrorstorm, and on Friday the gang's all off to Houston for a Common Grounds event with the Green Party. But don't take my word for it. You can see everything that's coming up, in minute detail, at our new calendar. New feature of the website - check it out!

someone's a film student

2006-09-06T16:18:37Z

Kinda entertaining and kinda scary...

the fuss and furor in TX over our future governor

2006-08-30T17:27:33Z

forwarded from Richard Forsythe:

How low? BELO

Unless you think a big corporation should be allowed to tell you who you're not supposed to vote for, this'll interest you. Media giant BELO has decided that none of you might like a Libertarian Governor and you don't need to hear what one would do to fix all of Texas' problems. Whether you're a Libertarian or not you should be offended that a Big media company should be allowed to exclude a viable gubernatorial candidate because they don't like him! In truth they're afraid of Libertarians and exclude us from all media because they suspect everyone would vote that way if they knew the truth about all issues.
Here's one example from a Libertarian candidate's website, Massive Fraud Perpetrated on People of Texas!

Stand up for your right to make your own decisions about who is a viable candidate for Governor!! If a novelty candidate like Kinky 'Salsa' Freidman and another independent can get into the public debates then surely a candidate associated with the 3rd largest party in America should be in it!! Libertarian candidate James Werner was made to fill out forms neither of those two had to, and was still excluded. Third party candidates (unlike Dems and Reps) must pay signature volunteers to gather thousands of signatures even just to get on the ballot. That's akin to running a marathon just to get to the footrace! Every year the Big 2 parties make it harder and harder for alternative parties even to get on the ballot!

That's un-American!

With only 2 basically identical parties on the ballot your true choices have been eliminated and we're then living in a dictatorship! The Libertarian Party is the only non-collectivist (truly financially conservative, socially tolerant) party on the ballot! You deserve that choice if you want it! America is now a ONE party system with 2 factions!

Their bi-partisan debates are nothing more than taxpayer financed advertisements for each of the 2 identical candidates!!!

e.g. If both candidates are for the war (Bush/Kerry) where's your other choice?!?!? He (Badnarik) was standing outside trying to get into the building!

PLEASE email/call/fax BELO, Fox and every other newspaper, daily free paper and media corporation about this travesty. Here's a big list of Fox and other, news email contacts you can easily paste into the Bcc: field of your email (so they don't know who else it's going to) and only write one email. A "form email" is written below by James Werner you can use for expediency.

Beltway@foxnews.com; Myword@foxnews.com; Bigstory-weekend@foxnews.com; Bullsandbears@foxnews.com; Cash@foxnews.com; Cavuto@foxnews.com; Dayside@foxnews.com; Forbes@foxnews.com; Friends@foxnews.com; Viewerservices@foxnews.com; Jamie@foxnews.com; Feedback@foxnews.com; FNS@foxnews.com; Newswatch@foxnews.com; Foxreport@foxnews.com; Hannity@foxnews.com; Colmes@foxnews.com; Heartland@foxnews.com; JER@foxnews.com; Lineup@foxnews.com; Ontherecord@foxnews.com; Oreilly@foxnews.com; Special@foxnews.com; Studiob@foxnews.com; Warstories@foxnews.com; Cavuto@foxnews.com; http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?39; http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?29; nightly@nbc.com; evening@cbsnews.com

Just paste it into the Bcc: field of your email so they won't see who else it went to and address it generically such as "Dear concerned media representative,"

If you don't do this now you may not have the choice later as the election laws are getting tougher every year only for 3rd party candidates.

Thank you!

Richard

Dear News anchor,

I am writing to express my deep concern over the exclusion of Libertarian James Werner from the gubernatorial debates in October.

Mr. Werner is a qualified candidate and duly appears on the ballot for governor. In fact, Mr. Werner had ballot access long before the independent candidates had even begun to seek signatures for their own campaigns. And unlike the independents, the Libertarian Party earned its ballot access through the actual votes of hundreds of thousands of Texans in the previous election cycle.

With respect to polling numbers, you may not be aware that the Belo Corporation has largely been using polls in which Mr. Werner's name does not appear to allege a lack of support for his candidacy. Obviously this is an absurd "Catch 22" which does not hold up under the most basic scrutiny.

Texans believe that the public square must not be restricted to the wealthy, the famous, and the politically connected. I am certain that you agree with this sentiment, and that you will strenuously call for Mr. Werner's inclusion in the gubernatorial debate in October.

Sincerely,

Your Name

How Low? Belo

Belo Corp. Headquarters

Street Address:
400 South Record Street
Dallas, Texas 75202-4841
214-977-6606
214-977-6603 (fax)

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 655237
Dallas, Texas 75265-5237

PROOF LIBERTARIANS ARE EXCLUDED FROM ALL MEDIA.

The media totally excludes all mention to Libertarians 99.5% of the time. Why? Because Libertarians would end government corruption greed and theft of your rights and taxes and the other party with 2-faces (the Demopublicans) know it! Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik got arrested trying to get into the presidential debates right before the 04' elections along with another 3rd party candidate yet did ANY news media mention it? NO! Cats caught in trees got more mention that week in the news! You should be outraged!!!! If ANY other Presidential candidate got arrested a month before the elections it would have been on the front page in every paper!!!

http://www.e-thepeople.org/article/35752/ The media is controlled. Badnarik arrest.

http://www.orwellrollsinhisgrave.com/ The media is totally controlled. What you always suspected.

I just wanted to chime in to try to synthesize the many threads that have evolved concerning my participation (or lack thereof) in the October debate sponsored by the Belo Corp. This is a bit long, but please try to read through it.

First a bit of history:

Several weeks ago, government television station KERA in Dallas indicated that it was going to be sponsoring a gubernatorial debate in conjunction with the Dallas Morning News.

They initially invited my four opponents sight unseen, yet demanded that I fill out a lengthy questionnaire to justify my newsworthiness. I told them that I would respond to the questionnaire as soon as the other candidates were provided with a similar document, and that in the meantime I would await my invitation.

In addition to all of the obvious reasons to include me, we did a bit of research on the non-profit status of KERA and found out a very interesting fact. As a 501c3 (IRS speak for "not-for-profit" organization), KERA was legally obliged to include all qualified candidates in the debate--and numerous IRS rulings to that effect made this point clear.

When we informed KERA of this fact, they went to ground and were silent for several weeks. The next thing we heard, KERA had disappeared from the scene, and the sponsorship of the debate had been transferred to the Belo Corporation--the corporate parent of the Dallas Morning News.

Shocking, simply shocking

As a for-profit corporation, Belo has far more latitude with respect to which candidates they may include or exclude. So now KERA gets to pick up the feed and broadcast the debate as they had always intended, but they can sidestep IRS regs because they are not the actual sponsor of the event. A clever shell game indeed.

So who is Belo Corporation anyway, and what recourse do we have against them?

Well, Belo is a $1.5 billion fortune 1000 company with many newspaper, radio, and TV holdings in Texas and around the nation. Their affiliates in Texas include the Dallas Morning News, KHOU in Houston, KVUE in Austin and WFAA in Dallas.

As for recourse, without getting into too much detail, the courts have repeatedly held that candidates do not have a 1st amendment right to be included in these "news events" and that there is an extremely wide degree of journalistic latitude allowed news outlets. We can decry the unfairness of this fact all day long, but it will not change the outcome-a 1st amendment legal challenge will fail.

The next possible avenue of attack might be to suggest that Belo is offering my competitors an illegal campaign contribution. After all, they are providing my opponents with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free TV exposure which both helps them and dramatically prejudices my campaign. While this is obviously the case, media outlets have been exempted from campaign reporting requirements at the federal level. This is not necessarily true at the state level. So while such a challenge would be a legal long shot for us, it remains a slim possibility.

So now you're asking the question, "Why are these people so incredibly desperate to exclude James Werner from the debate?" Without making this situation out to be more than it is, I'd suggest a couple of likely reasons-most of them pretty obvious.

1. They want to maintain tight control over their journalistic environment, and they are concerned that if they allow me into the debate, they will be less able to manage who participates in future such events. They just see it as a bad precedent, and they don't want to upset the apple cart.

2. Journalists like to hang out with rich and famous people, and they like to consider themselves as part of the elite glitterati. If they start allowing riff-raff "regular guys" into their debates, this cheapens their experience and makes them feel less important.

3. Some or all of the other candidates have made it clear that they do not want me in the debate (in spite of their public pronouncements to the contrary.) It is entirely possible that my NOT being invited was a pre-condition for Perry to even show up.

This is not a conspiracy-it's just good common sense on the part of the other candidates. The word is out that I am the most coherent, lucid, and serious of the five candidates (and this speaks more to the nature of the other candidates than it does to my own skills.) Why would a sitting governor want to publicly expose himself to a guy who can run verbal rings around him? Why would our eccentric comptroller want to be made to look silly? You get the picture.

4. The journalistic elite is profoundly anti-libertarian (both little "l" and big "L"). The notion that someone might get on state-wide TV and coherently explain how we can eliminate all property taxes, dramatically shrink the size of the government, and introduce school choice makes them turn blue in the face. And for those who think the aforementioned items might actually be good ideas, the thought of equating drug prohibition with alcohol prohibition, getting the state out of people's bedrooms and living rooms, and leaving gay people the hell alone makes them pop an aneurism.

OK, so now the question is, what do we do?

Well, thus far, I have taken my case to everyone from CNN to the New York Times. I've been interviewed and expressed my outrage to the San Antonio Express, the Houston Chronicle, WBAP in Dallas, and KTSA in San Antonio.

My on-air targets for the coming week include KVET and KLBJ in Austin, KTSA in San Antonio (again), KLLI, KRLD and KLIF in Dallas, WBAP in Ft. Worth (again), KTRH in Houston, KTEP, KROD and KTSM in El Paso, KEDT, KKTX, KEYS in Corpus Christi, and KJDL in Lubbock.

In addition to all the usual reasons to include me in the debate, I will be making a public call for the other candidates to boycott the debate unless I am included. All the other candidates (with the exception of minor candidate Chris Bell) have come out in favor of my inclusion-if they are sincere, let them put their money where their mouths are and refuse to participate without me.

Additionally, we will be looking carefully at legal options-particularly the angle of the potentially illegal campaign contribution that this debate may represent.

I am also interested in pursuing the possibility of lawful, peaceful protests outside the offices of the Belo affiliates and other stations carrying the debate.

And what can you all do?

Well, for starters, I'd ask you to flood the offices of Belo affiliates with letters and emails RESPECTFULLY requesting my inclusion in the debate. The text should read something like this:

Dear:

I am writing to express my deep concern over the exclusion of Libertarian James Werner from the gubernatorial debates in October.

Mr. Werner is a qualified candidate and duly appears on the ballot for governor. In fact, Mr. Werner had ballot access long before the independent candidates had even begun to seek signatures for their own campaigns. And unlike the independents, the Libertarian Party earned its ballot access through the actual votes of hundreds of thousands of Texans in the previous election cycle.

With respect to polling numbers, you may not be aware that the Belo Corporation has largely been using polls in which Mr. Werner's name does not appear to allege a lack of support for his candidacy. Obviously this is an absurd "Catch 22" which does not hold up under the most basic scrutiny.

Texans believe that the public square must not be restricted to the wealthy, the famous, and the politically connected. I am certain that you agree with this sentiment, and that you will strenuously call for Mr. Werner's inclusion in the gubernatorial debate in October.

Sincerely,

Your Name

OK, so thanks for bearing with me (if you've read this far!) I appreciate your support, and look forward to the publicity that we will continue to garner with this issue. I should also stress that everyone temper his enthusiasm with a degree of prudence. I fully expect that any activities undertaken in my name will be respectful, peaceful and lawful, and I know I can count on your cooperation!

Best,

James Werner

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

lighting the fires of liberty... on our tongues

2006-08-28T18:02:14Z

On Sunday Michael and I attended the annual Hot Sauce Festival, put on jointly by the Austin Chronicle and the Capital Food Bank. I haven't been in years, so I was happy to use work as an excuse to hit the tables once more.

is exactly what it sounds like, of course. On the last Sunday in August, under a baking 100+ degree sun, Austinites swarm into the park where vendors have set out finest salsas. People stood in lines twenty deep, just to sample each flavor, and there were hundreds of flavors there that day.

Nobody does salsa like Texas! Mmm, this is where we Texans are at our biggest Texacentrism, ready to brave even the deathly heat if it was our taste buds at stake. Citizens could sample as much as they liked, purchase a few jars, and of course vote for the People's Choice Salsa and People's Choice Hot Sauce. Yum. Unfortunately, I was so busy passing out fliers that I didn't get much of a chance for tasting, but I was able to buy a nice jar of Sunny Peach Salsa. (Don't look at me like that, fruit salsas are really yummy!)

I'm not good at taking photos; I should have waited until they stopped to talk to Michael. But in fact, we did extremely well at this very non-political event, passing out over 300 fliers in just two hours and engaging several townsfolk in discussion. Everywhere we go, we find people that are so angry at the incumbent, people willing to vote for anyone just so long as he gets kicked out! At least 70% of those that asked Michael's party were (visibly) pleased to hear the word Libertarian, and on my end there was only one woman that actually refused to take the flier once she knew his party. As usual, here in Austin, just about everyone was extremely friendly and happy to chat. It helps we'd stationed ourselves next to the beer tent.

Next on the calendar is NORML's fundraiser concert this Saturday, at which the campaign will be hosting a table and reaching out to our young potsmoking market segment. I'll be needing at least two, possibly three volunteers for the event. Locals here are encouraged to sign up!

Happy Birthday - again

2006-08-22T16:05:17Z

This time it was Ron Paul's turn, and he and his staff threw their annual barbecue blast down in Texas City (that's between Houston and the Gulf, for you non-Texans). It was some kind of drive to get there from Austin, but in the end, worth it. Not only was the food and company great, but we were able to meet with Ron's staff (some of us for the first time!) and swap howdies from one freedom-lovin' group to another.

The venue:

Huge, isn't it? This is Ron's only official fundraiser all year, but it does the trick. Supporters come from all over Texas, even all over the nation, and sometimes they bring their kids. We had some tasty barbecue for lunch, chased by peach cobbler and a Texas-sized chocolate birthday cake.

The thing about living in Texas is, you can never forget it for a second.

Several other candidates made an appearance. Here's MB with Bob Smither, the accidental superstar of the Libertarian Party these days. Having improved Texas without Delay, we are now most anxious to improve District 22 with a libertarian House representative.

Says it all, doesn't it?

An auction was held, to raise funds, conducted by one fast-talking cowboy on the mic. I believe what's being sold is a signed and framed copy of the Constitution. (Signed by RP, that is, in addition to the original delegates.)

The final piece was a pretty gilded rifle. I swear, only in Texas.

It was my first time to hear Ron speak. Truly odd, to hear so many familiar libertarian phrases coming out of someone's mouth that wasn't Michael!

The future Batman and Robin of Congress:

And then it was time to go - Austin was several hours away. But a good time was had by all, and I'm looking forward to next year's. With any luck and some decent hard work, we'll have three libertarians in Congress by then, forming one long continuous Free District within Texas. Won't everyone be jealous?

to the edge and back

2006-08-18T18:17:25Z

Of the district that is. Anyone acquainted with the geography of District 10 knows it's particularly wide in girth and short in height, making it one heck of a pain to travel between the western and eastern ends. But that is what I did, on Wednesday, rousing myself at 4:00 am so that I could make it to Michael McCaul's congressional hearing on border violence and immigration in Houston, TX. It began at 9:30, so I could not afford even an extra minute of sleep.

But it was made all the better that I didn't have to attend alone - in a Houston suburb called Katy I met up with two of our eastern volunteers, Carl Wetzel and Frank Freeman, both of whom have given amply of their free time to aid our election.

Thank heavens, because I would have never been able to navigate downtown Houston in the morning traffic. Carl drove, and we arrived at the courthouse in plenty of time. That's right - unfortunately it was a courthouse, with a formal hearing format planned, and all citizens not invited as witnesses were stuck in the gallery without permission to speak. Disappointing, because I spent all week compiling McCaul's history on immigration and I had a number of prickly questions to ask.

Still, the Civic Justice Center is extremely pretty. Out front we had our basic pro and con groups.

Someone has got to tell the pro-immigration side to stop chanting in Spanish. Every syllable just annoys the con side even more and adds fuel to the flame. You can hardly blame them for wanting an English-speaking country, though of course such a law is not Constitutionally allowed to our federal government. After a solid morning of trading simplistic chants across the chain link barrier, neither side seemed much in the mood for reasonable discussion. Still, Frank and I passed out Badnarik brochures at the noon break.

The hearing itself wasn't anything exceptional, though it was certainly long. Thanks to McCaul's clever campaign strategy of never showing up, anywhere, Wednesday was the first day any of us on the staff even got to see him in person. Ted Ankrum, the Democrat candidate, was also in attendance, making it all the more a pity that Michael could not come. (He was in Austin for a Taxpayers' Rights event) McCaul opened up the hearing quite amiably, explaining that this was a solemn and important issue and it would be a shame for anyone to politicize it.

He then spent the rest of the day reminding everyone that his House bill would solve any problem you could name, and when he wasn't talking about it then Sheila Jackson Lee would remind us that her bill will solve all those problems even better. It was, in a word, shameful.

The witnesses were a worthy group of border patrol agents and local sherriffs from the border areas, all with horrific and (I'm sure) very truthful accounts of gang violence and drug cartels. Nobody addressed the issue of why these black market groups have so much power. (Hint: it's supply and demand) Instead we listened to story after story of all the weapons these gangs have, how well equipped they are, how dangerous a war it is for our agents. None of this is insignifcant, but it's a stretch to say it was solving a problem. And since McCaul only seemed interested in plugging his bill after every testimony, he didn't seem very interested in a new solution either.

Happy Birthday, Mike

2006-08-09T22:38:11Z

Monday night we all congregated in the private room at Sherlock's Pub, lit a couple* candles, and sang Michael a birthday song to remember. Turns out, libertarians are not a particularly tuneful bunch. However, the cake was chocolate, very good, and there were plenty of people to share it. Roughly 35 people showed up to wish Michael a happy birthday, and we had a great time.

He's not telling anyone the wish he made when he blew out the candles, but says it's "something to do with November".

And then we all watched V for Vendetta on the big screen. I'd never seen it before, and I must say... if you're a libertarian then you definitely need to. It's hard to find a movie out there that's any less subtle about the dangers of government power. The whole thing was like a cross between Phantom of the Opera and Zorro, with the entire Declaration of Independence and Constitution thrown in for good measure.

Plus lots of explosives and stuff. Check it out!

Happy Birthday

2006-07-31T22:05:14Z

Austin-area readers are encouraged to come celebrate Michael turning 52 years young, next Monday. We'll be serving cake and showing V for Vendetta on a wide screen, no cover charge whatsoever. Michael politely requests no presents, but naturally campaign contributions are always welcome.

Nonlocal readers can always go here to make a donation, of course. Make it a good birthday for our fave candidate!

August 7th - 7-10pm
Sherlock’s Pub
9012 Research Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78758

Rally against the Corridor

2006-07-28T23:06:28Z

On Wednesday, Michael, Jon, Matt and I all trundled into the campaign van for a short road trip to Giddings, TX. It's about an hour from Austin, and also smack dab in the proposed pathway of the TransTexas Corridor, an almost universally loathed project of Governor Perry.

There are a number of reasons to hate it, which results in a varied group of interests coming to the public hearing that was held on Wednesday. It will present security issues at the Mexican border, cleave through the Texan countryside and demolish citizens' property, and will be managed by a foreign company that will be charging us tolls to use it. Now, a libertarian will be the last person to complain that a project is being managed by a private firm rather than the government, but that's assuming we want the project in the first place. And we don't!

The attendance was good; roughly 100 residents of Giddings and the surrounding area showed up to speak their piece - and there was very little peace in the room. Out of the 14 attendees to speak at the microphone, 0 had good things to say about the Corridor. Many pointed out it would destroy their farms, farms that had been in the family for generations. People worried about security. They resented paying a toll for a highway they don't even want. This is, to put it plainly, a brazen trespass on the rights of Texans. Governor Perry is in hot water with his constituents, and 'Republican' has become a dirty word even here in rural Texas.

They were in a mood to listen to someone with a different idea. At the door Matt and I took turns handing out our Badnarik brochure and an accompany flier on eminent domain, getting at least one into the hands of every citizen who attended the hearing. Michael spoke at the mic at the end of the evening, explaining that this is an example of the dangers of big government, and that he and other libertarians will never allow such a violation of property rights if elected. And when it was over and everyone trickled out, we made sure at least half the crowd left with a bumper sticker. All in all, a very satisfying evening.

Mike at the mic, and he did actually manage to keep to the allowed three minutes. Go Michael!

A discussion beforehand with one of the bureaucrats behind this project. That blue streak on the map is no river, that's the proposed swathe of land they'll take to build the highway. Outrageous!

Does the government have a right to your property?

In the dawn of civilization, free men and women came together to form government because to do so was to protect all their material progress. Constantly defending property was tiring, and prevented citizens from the education and hard work that would earn more of it. Government was established as a force that would protect our rights and property for us, thus allowing the people to earn a living. This step unleashed a tremendous potential for advances in human society.
Today, however, government has become a threat to property instead of its guardian. Under the pretext of 'public benefit', governments at the federal, state, and local level have used the threat of overwhelming force to take an individual's home and transfer it to some other, richer, party. You would never allow your neighbor to throw you out of your home and claim it as his own, even if he gave you what he calls a fair amount of money in exchange. The government's actions are no different or better, even dressed up in such language as 'right-of-way acquisitions' or 'eminent domain'. Capitalism is based on a premise of voluntary trade. Being forced to sell is not capitalism, and indeed nothing less than a crime.

What public benefit?

A fancy highway no doubt sounds very attractive to some, but think about the price Texans will have to pay. Do you want to live in a state where the government can steal and demolish your home for the sake of a grand project? The poorest, most wretched countries in the world are not that way because of business and corporations, but because their despotic governments can seize the property of their people at any time. Trade dies off and wealth cannot be created.
Michael Badnarik knows America is better than that; our citizens should be secure in the knowledge that their property will still be theirs in the morning.

Will your home be next?

It's easy to ignore the abuses of eminent domain when it's someone else's home, but once we have allowed the government the power to take our homes then it's a power that can only spread. Your home is your castle, and will be until the day you decide to sell it or leave it to your children. You shouldn't have to worry that the government may try to take it someday.

We have to fight back.

The Supreme Court's disappointing decision in Kelo v. City of New London means it will be up to the people and our representatives to protect our property. The TransTexas Corridor is mostly a state issue, but in D.C. Michael will oppose any federal funding for the project, and give his full support to any Texas Statesman that fights to save our homes. Michael Badnarik believes in your right to keep your property, and in keeping with the original purpose of government, he will protect it.

This message paid for by Badnarik for Congress FEC #C00414615 and approved by the candidate.

LP Convention - Day 2

2006-07-07T16:39:29Z

Another early morning breakfast. This time our speaker was Krist Novoselic, the bass guitarist for some rock band called Firvana or maybe it was Mirvana. Anyway, he was a delightful speaker and spent several minutes extolling the virtues of Instant Runoff Voting, and how the system can help break the bipartisan grip Republicans and Democrats have on our country. Curious about how a rock star got so involved in politics? Apparently Seattle threw a lot of obstacles in the band's way, in the form of loud music ordinances and so on, and it made him think. If only so many more musicians would follow his example.

Here's Jon with him at a party the night before. My brothers almost strangled me when they found out I didn't get his autograph, so I hope they'll be happy with this.

Check out Krist's book, Of Grunge and Government.

More convention business swallowed up most of the day, including the contentious elections for party offices. Everyone please welcome Bill Redpath as our new Chair.

And then it was time for the fun: our finale banquet. Even Allen dressed up for it, sort of.

The banquet. Notice how my entire table is composed of men. This was very normal for the rest of the room. This skewed distribution could give a girl a big ego, if she's not careful.

At the conclusion of the evening, an award for the Sam Adams Libertarian Activist was presented to Michael Badnarik, who insisted on sharing it with Jon Airheart since none of his work would have been possible without Jon's help. The room gave them both a standing ovation and the trophy now sits on Jon's desk at the office.

And then it was all over. The next morning most of the attendees were straggling out of the hotel and flagging cabs, while the newly elected Libertarian National Committee held their first meeting. We kinda sorta axed most of the platform during Sunday's voting, so we've got a lot of work ahead of us before we'll be ready for the next presidential election. Still, it was a great weekend and I don't think we at the campaign wasted a second of it.

Hopefully you'll be able to join us at the next one!

LP convention - Day 1

2006-07-07T16:17:14Z

By Saturday morning the party was over - sort of. Time to get to some work. Outside the banquet hall the early risers gathered around the registration desk and some vendor tables.

Lots of groups had a table - the Libertarian Reform Caucus, the LP pledge club, and Students for Saving Social Security, just to name a few. Here's Matt running our table.

Breakfast was early, starting at 6:30, but tasted delicious. Michael Dixon, our former chairman, opened things up by welcoming us and rubbing it in that he's from the east coast so the early hour didn't bother him. (He can get away with things like that because he's charming and friendly.) We were then treated to two delightful breakfast speakers, Gregory Nojeim of the ACLU and Rep. Bob Barr.

Starchild made his appearance, demure as ever.

Michael and Allen joined the rest of the waking world, all suited up and ready to go to work.

And then it was time for the convention to begin.

In case you're wondering, yes, one of those state sign thingies did end up falling over. And yes, it did land on my head. However, I'm not holding a grudge against Kansas over it because that's just the kind of nice girl that I am. (Besides, it's only light cardboard)

As former Presidential candidate, Michael was asked to deliver the keynote opening speech before session began. Squint and you can see his image on the giant screens. Michael's message was one of unity and teamwork, and I'm happy to say that the convention by and large followed through on his suggestions. Though I am an inexperienced judge, others more knowledgable than I commented they'd never seen such an amiable convention.

Here's Michael next to the new LP logo. Count the stars around the edge and you can see there are 12, honoring the birth month of the LP in 1971. The two large stars on each side of Liberty's head represent 11, the birthday. And so December 11th, 1971 is illustrated.

Saturday night was another party in Michael's hotel suite, of course.

But there were other parties too, like the Open House party the Oregon LP threw for us in their famously well-organized headquarters.

So, like I said, the party was 'sort of' over. Actually, not really at all. Libertarians being libertarians, the fact that breakfast was at 6:30 the following day didn't prevent anyone from popping open another beer and enjoying life.

Tons and tons of photos!

2006-07-06T23:48:20Z

So, what is a libertarian convention like, anyway? I'd never been to one before, yet somehow it was exactly as I'd pictured it. Hundreds of libertarians all in a confined space for three days - oh my! The hallways were filled with free trade economists, capitalists, anarchists, but mostly beer-drinkerists. The campaign acquired a 'hospitality suite' on the 22nd floor (ironically named the Presidential Suite - two years too late for that) and threw us a little party.

Or three. Check out our hip Badnarik Beer, mixed up special just for the occasion.

Here's a fun game: try to count just how many libertarians can fit into a hotel party. We were very popular Friday night.

Michael, holding forth and amusing the guests.

You can always tell a libertarian by his tie.

Smile indeed. A million bucks to whoever can guess the identity of this ever-so-shy model.

And because Portland, Oregon is just such a lovely place, I'll include some local shots. This is Pioneer Square, the cool plaza downtown where musicians and other fine individuals gather. I thought it was delightful, particularly given the fabulous climate of the place. Coming from Texas, it was as if we'd all traveled back in time to April. See those hanging flowers by the Starbucks? They can do that because it actually doesn't get up to a hundred degrees in the day. Amazing!

The view of Mt. Hood from the hotel. Stunning, wouldn't you agree?

No, it isn't over - I've barely begun. Tomorrow I'll put up the photos for the actual convention itself, Saturday and Sunday. You've been warned.

a surprisingly good article in the mainstream press...

2006-06-20T16:09:10Z

**EDITORIAL**
GOP's hands caught in the cookie jar

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Congress is so addicted to the corrosive influence of lobby money that
even a former member pulling a prison stretch and the promise of more
criminal convictions can't spur the leadership kick the habit.

An investigation into a widespread lobbying scandal will carry over
into the fall election, threatening GOP control of the House of
Representatives. As part of that probe, former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke"
Cunningham was sent to prison this year for accepting bribes to add
"earmarks" into federal spending bills.

Earmarks are pet projects inserted into congressional bills, sometimes
in the middle of the night before a vote. Earmarks can be added
anonymously and without other members being advised they are in a bill
that had been debated previously.

It is an insidious and corrupting practice, yet the congressional
leadership seemingly cannot help itself. House Speaker Dennis Hastert
and leaders of important committees continue to defend earmarks and
punish members who try to prevent them.

Alaska's infamous $200 million bridge to nowhere was earmarked into a
transportation bill. Other notorious examples are $1 million to study
emissions from henhouses, $300,000 for woodpecker research and $1
million for a swimming pool in California.

There is much more, of course. In all, nearly 14,000 earmarks found
their way into congressional bills last year, 6,000 in the
transportation bill alone. The cost of those additions to the budget
was a staggering $53 billion. That is leadership failure on an epic
scale, and if such malfeasance continues, voters should send a message
in November.

Not every earmark is a bad thing, and not every one is pure pork for a
representative's home district, though too many are. And remedies for
the problem abound, the main ones being to require the identity of
anyone inserting an earmark and a 72-hour waiting period before any
vote can be taken on an earmarked bill.

Why are congressional leaders resisting these sensible changes?
Because they're hooked on lobby money, and the lobbyists prefer their
pork come through the back door and in the dark of night.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat who represents part of Austin, has
added earmarks to bills, and he agrees with the 72-hour waiting
period. So do many other members. Yet the leadership, with some
Democratic allies, clings to the fiction that earmarks are not a problem.

Federal spending is out of control, with the annual budget drowning in
a sea of red ink, the cost of the war in Iraq escalating daily and a
national debt in the trillions of dollars. That might cost Republicans
their command of Congress in November.

Efforts at lobbying reform have no energy behind them either. Ethics
legislation being considered still allow House and Senate members to
take privately funded trips and let lobbyists or their clients
accompany members on trips.

Disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay built this symbiotic
relationship through his K Street Project, named for the street that
houses Washington's powerful lobby firms. Now the members are so
entangled with the lobby they seem helpless to do the right thing.

DeLay may have succeeded too well.

The Austin American Statesman

We're Here and We're... Drinking Beer!

2006-06-12T21:06:05Z

While Michael and the rest of the campaign marched off to Houston to headline the Texas LP's convention, I stayed behind to work a Badnarik For Congress table at the local gay pride festival. I'm pleased to report that the day was a very successful one - we passed out at least 300 fliers, which is a good sum considering it was a rather smallish event. Everyone was polite, courteous, and several were very interested in Michael's race. Everytime someone asked "Republican or Democrat?" and I answered "Libertarian," the response was invariably a pleased nod and smile.

Obviously, they know who's really on their side!

I didn't take as many photos this time, since I was so busy handing out fliers, but you can see the few I took here.

The tent, looking all spiffy and clean for about 10 minutes until the breeze started playing with all that dirt you can see. By the end of the day everything (including my teeth) was covered in a fine layer of grit.

My first volunteer for the day, Therese. Taking turns in the hot sunshine, we passed out 200 fliers in under 2 hours, and she had to go make more copies!

Waterloo Park is rather small, but they packed all the vendors in as tightly as they could. Turnout was great, according to the event's organizers.

Check out the biceps. What a depressing day, working at a festival and being surrounded by cute guys that are virtually not guaranteed to be my type. Incidentally, a group got together to play football in the center field area, and they were all women.

My token giggle photo. I guess we should be happy they didn't perform an exhibition - though that depends on the participants.

Pradeep, my second volunteer. He worked a solid three hours with me and then did all the heavy lifting when it came time to break camp and haul everything to my car. Good man!

Here's a copy of the flier we spent all day handing out, in addition to brochures and bumper stickers. I spent all of one day on it, with valuable suggestions from both Allen and Jon, and I'm very pleased with it. (Picture it with the Badnarik logo on top.)

Should a government concern itself with the individual's right to marry?

It is nothing new for the government to get involved in the legality of marriage, almost always in the guise of preserving moral values. Moral values, however, vary by time and place, and what one society considers shockingly inappropriate might not faze another. For hundreds of years it was a crime in India to marry outside the caste, and as recently as the 1960s some states criminalized interracial marriages. On the flip side, having allowed two people to marry, some governments forbid their freedom to dissolve that marriage. In all cases the underlying message is quite clear: the government considers itself a better judge of whom you should marry than you are.

Some say the government must establish the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, but it is the government's role to preserve peace and protect property – not to be our dictionary. Michael Badnarik is opposed to a government that is so nosy as to involve itself with our private marriages.

What has government been doing?

The Bush administration and Republicans on the Hill insist that same-sex marriages will be 'forced' upon the nation if our federal government doesn't take action now. A Federal Marriage Amendment, if passed and added to the Constitution, would impose a uniform restriction across the country regardless of the will of the states – and the people in them. Yet it was Democratic President Bill Clinton who signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act, the law that allows a state to refuse recognition of same-sex couples. Simply moving across state lines can deprive two people of all due benefits and rights.

Both parties have proved that they are no true friend to the individual. Only the Libertarian Party pledges not to violate what is your right – religious sacrament or civil contract.

Vote for someone who will protect your rights!

Elect Michael Badnarik to Congress and he will fight the Federal Marriage Amendment and any similar legislation. Whether you are black or white, gay or straight, he knows it is none of the government's business whether or whom you can marry. Just like any other private, consensual transaction between adults in this country, your choice of spouse will always be your choice.

more parties, more pics

2006-06-08T19:59:20Z

I know, I know, you're probably thinking... does the Badnarik Campaign do anything but have a good time? But what do you want me to do, run around the office taking pictures of all us pounding at the keyboards? No fun. So here's some shots of our Concert for Liberty thrown at the Red Eyed Fly in downtown Austin last Saturday - part fundraiser, part PR event. We had some rockin' good music, alcohol and libertarian philosophy sloshed about in equal quantities, and tons of fun.

The place is the Red Eyed Fly, a relatively un-odious bar in downtown Austin. We got the back patio, which had its own bar and stage but was open in the back to overlook the creek. Very ideal, in my opinion, because that meant less pent up cigarette smoke and no freezing air conditioning. In fact, I thought it was very pleasant.

Here's our friend Rick, owner/manager of Liberty Bumper Sticker, showing off his wares.

People started to show up - our liberty groupies.

Jon lined up three local rock bands that were fans of libertarianism, and the first group was Loot.

Jon really loved this event, because he got to show off as emcee.

Our second act, Trent Turner and the Moontowers. Um, yummy guitar I guess.

Michael, taking the stage between acts. He's showing off our bumper stickers and the promo poster for this concert. Pretty groovy, huh?

Our final act, Honky. They drew quite a crowd. Standing room only!

You know the volume is just right when you spot the two old men shouting "eh?" at each other.

More liberty lovers:

Yeah... I don't know either. Apparently Osama bin Laden is a rock fan.

And let us not forget our most important guest. Here's Jimmie Vaughn, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughn, and his lovely wife Robin. They're big fans of Michael and swung by to show their support on Saturday night. Happily, we've just got word that Jimmie wants to play (!) at a future campaign event, so that will be lots of fun.

Until the next event, everyone. Have fun, be safe, and love liberty!

(Last time the pictures came out way too small, so I went up one size. Now they're gigantic! I hope they won't take too long to load, but those with slow servers beware.)

lots and lots of pix

2006-05-24T22:25:38Z

To say thank you to all our hardworking volunteers, not to mention gorge on delicious ice cream, Jon and I decided to throw a Volunteer Ice Cream Party two Saturdays ago. The owner of a locally popular (and yummy) ice cream shop, is a libertarian and big fan of Michael's, so she hosted us at the store. We got the whole second story balcony set aside just for us, and about 30 volunteers showed up. Any more and we would have been falling over the rail! Everybody had a great time.

Michael, delivering one of his inspiring pep talks.

You can see all the goodies we set out for volunteers to take home. That's a framed photo of our first billboard, the first poster we ever printed for our upcoming rock concert (more info on that for a later post), and the brand new ":) if you <3 liberty!" bumper stickers. They were a huge hit, and we're already cleaned out. Jon had to order more.

There's Jon now, with the baseball cap, our very able Assistant Campaign Manager. I couldn't have set up this party without him - see how well he hands out ice cream? You can't trust that job to just anyone! Her back is turned and you can't really see her face, but that's Susan the treasurer helping him out. To the left is Rick, who runs Liberty Bumper Sticker and is responsible for all our cool brochures/business cards/bumper stickers. Including the <3 Liberty one. He's very pleased with its success.

The day was hot and the breeze sporadic, but who cares when you're surrounded by a fun-loving volunteers and have melted Bailey's Irish Coffee Flavor in your mouth? Darling LJers, I wish with all my heart that the nonlocal supporters could be there too. One day we'll find a way to thank you just like this for all your hard work.

The next weekend was even hotter and stickier than the one before it - and no ice cream in sight! Instead we'd set up our table at the local Deutschen Pfest, an annual event put on by Pflugerville. Yes, that's spelled correctly, a smallish but adorable suburb just north of Austin and entirely within Michael's district. We get tables at events like these at least once a month, just to give Michael a chance to put on his cowboy hat and tie and go meet people. It's what he does best. The man responsible for all the following photos is volunteer Johnny Rincon, and he did a fantastic job.

Doesn't the table look great? We really learned from our experience at Austin Reggae Fest, in which we had little but some fliers on an unprotected table while we melted under the sun. Now we've got a tent and some first-rate signs up, and it's so much more attractive.

Here's Wes in front of the Texas LP's table, bragging that his tent has the Lone Star Flag theme. The LP and the Badnarik campaign are technically separate organizations, but we often work events together. Notice the Operation Politically Homeless chart he's standing next to.

An LP volunteer puts up a sticker for this curious citizen's score. If you squint, you'll see that they used different colored stickers according to what each person 'thought' they were. It's always amazing what people learn from this quiz - some Democrats ended up on the right side and some Republicans on the left, and quite a lot of people were in the Libertarian zone.

More of Michael proselytizing. I don't know how he does it in such sweltering heat; you can see me in the background in my far more sensible khaki shorts. I didn't like the way I looked in any of the other photos, so that's all you'll see of me!

No matter how hot it got, I kept reminding myself that I wasn't as bad off as this guy.

What's up with the volleyball? Well, it's cute, and it's smiley, like our new :) if you <3 liberty bumper stickers, and Jon thought it would be funny to buy one from Wal-Mart and put it on our table. See how Michael is smiling? It's because he loves liberty!

this is cute...

2006-05-17T21:21:56Z

A delightful animation short; looks like Sesame Street decided to produce John Locke's Second Treatise on Government

phone help needed!

2006-05-04T20:48:00Z

Attention, Badnarik supporters! We need help making some phone calls, and I don't have nearly enough volunteers in certain time zones. If you have a little spare time and don't mind making some survey-style phone calls, we could really use your help. The more people that volunteer to help, the fewer calls each of you will make. Pitch in and help your peers out. Out of all the LJ group, umilingual has already offered her aid. She's a working mother, so I know you can too.

It's a fancy computer program that sends you the names and numbers of those to be called, automatically importing the information into our database. To help us, you will need:

- a phone
- an internet connection (must be used concurrently with phone)
- email capability
- your charming voice

If you are worried about a long distance bill, the campaign will reimburse you. Interested? Either drop a comment here with your actual name and email address, or send it to me in an email (emily@badnarik.org). Also tell me your state and time zone (especially the time zone if you live in one of those strange states like Arizona or Tennessee). I'll go over the project in greater detail at that time.

Sincerely,

Emily the Volunteer Coordinator

letter to the local volunteers

2006-05-02T22:31:40Z

Greetings all,

April is over at last, and it certainly was a busy month. You all remember the Reggae Fest, Keep Austin Beautiful, and 6,000 letters sent out? I'd like to mention that we actually completed that giant mailing project in exactly 7 days, thanks to our dedicated volunteers, which actually beats our previous time by a full week - and the previous time only had 3,000 letters! Way to go, volunteers!

Those who helped us in the last few days:

- David Kaelin at 1 hour
- Jeb Bleckley at 2.5 hours
- Carolyn Bolton at 4 hours
- Dennis Lucey at 7 hours
- and Art DiBianca, who took the final steps of our great quest and finished the very last envelope, with 3.5 hours.

In addition to envelope stuffing, these people came in and helped us catch up on all the office work we neglected in order to get the mailer out:

- Robert Weakley, at 1 hour
- Dennis Lucey, at 4 hours
- Laura Good, at 6 hours
- Jeb Bleckley, at 17 hours

Jeb is only a high school student, but he's already embraced libertarianism and has committed to two hours every day after school to help us out. So much better than joining a gang, right?

And speaking of young libertarians, last night the Longhorn Libertarians had their final meeting of UT's spring semester. We celebrated with pizza and a movie (actually the webvideo of Stephen Colbert's speech to the AP), and had a great time. This club had a membership of 0 students in February, but in just a few months has grown to 12 regular members (the College Republicans only have 18 students), hosted a movie event on campus, has given the World's Smallest Political Quiz to hundreds of college students, and heavily recruited for new members. Over the summer they intend to design a club t-shirt, and when the fall semester begins they will be ready and willing to go. Congrats, Longhorns!

The Badnarik campaign has learned to embrace hip technology. If you hold a MySpace account, you can go here to friend us.

And if you hold a LiveJournal, you can go here.

Some more traditional campaigning, in the form of our new billboards, can be seen here - and I think the newest is so very cute! Click here to see it go up.

The campaign continues to go up and up. We've gone from none to three billboards, from mere hundreds of dollars to over $250,000, and since I've taken this job we have more than tripled the local volunteer count (from 50 to 162!). Jon and I think it's time to celebrate that latest fact. So we've decided to throw a party - no work, just something fun. All just for you, the volunteers.

A libertarian fan of Michael's, a nice lady named Amy (perhaps you've heard of her, she owns some yummy ice cream shops) has volunteered her place for our party. You're invited to come and have some great FREE ice cream, get to know Michael, me, and all the other volunteers, and have fun!

Where: The Burnet store location (http://www.amysicecreams.com/locations/burnet_rd/index.asp)
When: May 13 at 5:00
Who: You, and any other Libertarian friends that would like to get involved!
RSVP: Yes, please. Jon and I need to know how much ice cream to pre-order. You may call me or send an email. Also, Amy asks that you please park at the vet clinic next door, as she does not want to discourage other customers. We hope everyone can come!

Upcoming volunteer tasks:

The Austin Gun Show, May 20 and 21. We usually have a table to promote the campaign and speak with gun enthusiasts about Michael's commitment to the 2nd Amendment, and it's a very pleasant and interesting crowd. If you would like to work a half-day shift for either Saturday or Sunday, contact me as soon as possible.

Deutschen Pflugerville Fest, May 20 and 21. Yes, unfortunately it is on the same weekend, but we'll be fine. This is Pville's biggest celebration in the year, and it is in the district, so we're anxious to have a table (don't worry, we learned from the Reggae Fest - we will have a tent). We'll be passing out brochures, talking to prospective voters, and maybe even signing up new volunteers. If you are interested in working all or part of a shift either Saturday or Sunday, please contact me as soon as possible. We need to know so we can order enough wristbands for everyone.

Saturday, 10:00am - 8:00 pm
Sunday, 11:30am - 5:00 pm

Book of the Week: Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway, by Dave Barry.

I'm sure he needs no introduction - the funniest man in America who once wrote for the Miami Herald and has authored more than a few books. Libertarians also know that he is one of us, and doesn't shy away from poking fun at the government no matter which party is in charge. This book is solely dedicated to that end, and at the end you'll be laughing hysterically and crying for the future of our country.

Excerpt: ...as the nation became more urban and industrialized, and American agriculture became big business, capable of producing way more food than Americans can possibly consume, the number of actual farmers began to decline, and after a while dropped drastically. Today, farm families make up less than 2% of the American population. As a result, the Department of Agriculture has been gradually reduced in size, and today it is a minor government agency with a small budget.

It goes without saying that if you believed the previous sentence, your brain is the size of an olive pit. The Department of Agriculture is of course enormous. It spends more than $50 billion a year. Fifty - billion - dollars! That means that if we wanted, instead of having a Department of Agriculture, we could just pick out the fifty thousand poorest American farm families every year, and give every single one of them $1 million, and they could all retire to Vegas and never have to encounter a heifer again.

Your dedicated Volunteer Coordinator,
Emily Cowan
512-637-6864
emily@badnarik.org