PA Gop suing to have Barr removed by ballot...

News story about the lawsuit here:

In a petition filed in Commonwealth Court, Victor Stabile alleged that the Libertarians misled people who signed their ballot petitions because they listed Rochelle Etzel of Clarion County as the presidential candidate even after the national party picked Barr at its convention in May.

Barr is a former GOP congressman from Georgia who some Republicans fear could hurt presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in a close election this year. The Libertarian Party formally substituted Barr's name on the Pennsylvania ballot just last week.

Stabile, the Cumberland County GOP chairman and a Harrisburg lawyer, acknowledged that state election laws allow such substitutions as long as they are made within the allotted time, but said he thinks this case "crosses the line."

"I don't like to see anything taint that process," he said.

Mik Robertson, the state Libertarian Party chairman, said the party had to list a stand-in candidate for president when it started gathering signatures in February because there wasn't a nominee at the time.

Bob Barr on Beck...

No, I haven't become a fan of Glenn Beck, he still makes me cringe, but it was interesting to watch this video clip of Bob Barr being on the show:

Hurricanes and the moving business

Years ago I worked for a company that rented out moving trucks where one of the things I learned was when a storm like a hurricane was forecasted, there would be a rush to make arrangements to have the many trucks closer to that area as possible so that if there were orders to evacuate people would have access to the rental trucks they needed.

I also learned that while the economic impact to those who lost their homes was devastating that there are industries like moving companies or those who make products for home construction/repair that do actually increase/improve as a result of one of these storms.

It was to me an interesting look at the supply and demand side of our economy...

Why is Branson such a destination spot?

A friend recently told me he was taking a trip with his wife and his in-laws and they were going to Branson which got me thinking about all of the other people that I know that have been there and return there. I'd always thought that Branson was for those who really like country western music, which I'm not one of those. Yet when I looked at this Branson Getaways website, I saw there was much more to Branson than country western music.

I was surprised at the number of different vacation packages that were offered, from the Platinum to the Titanium, each one offering a variety of options and a range of things do to for both those on a smaller budget and those not. Something else I wasn't aware of, I didn't realize there was a theme park there, Silver Dollar City, that has roller coasters and water rides as well as other attractions.

After seeing some of the show listings, even music wise there is a selection of different music genres, Legends in Concert as one example. It became clear why I know so many people who go to Branson, and the next time I head out west, a place I'd like to check out.

Libertarian response to Biden selection...

Dear friend of liberty,

A text message arrived at my phone this morning announced that Democratic Senator Barack Obama had selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. I looked at it, said, “No surprise there,” and went back to sleep.

After all, there isn’t much to Biden that the public doesn’t already know. He’s a career Senator with more than 30-year history of being a “Congress critter.” Biden is not only a part of the political establishment, he’s a senior member of it!

In fact, Biden has only spent four years working in the private sector after graduating from college.

As our acting Executive Director said, Biden’s pick was “predictable and typical.”

Biden is a bit of a loose cannon that should make this election season a little more interesting. He’s notorious for being a narcissistic windbag, making testy, off-the-cuff comments such as, “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent,” or, when he said in response to a question about what type of grades he received in law school, “I think I have a much higher IQ than you do.”

Obama, who has constantly been under the microscope for elitist-sounding comments, has picked for his V.P. a man that also can be criticized for the same.

But what about his voting record? Though being mostly middle-of-the-road, Biden’s record in Congress displays a track record of big spending and big government.

The following are just a few of the things I found:

* Voted against an amendment that would prohibit the use taxpayer money for abortion.
* Voted for the economic stimulus plan that costs taxpayers billions.
* Voted to prevent drilling in ANWR.
* Voted against eliminating the “Death Tax.”
* Voted to increase the minimum wage.
* Voted for McCain-Feingold.
* Voted against a moratorium on earmarks.
* Voted for hate crime legislation.
* Voted for No Child Left Behind.
* Voted to spend $48 billion overseas to fight diseases in foreign countries.
* Voted against protecting firearm manufacturers from lawsuits.
* Voted for using federal funds for anti-gun activities.
* Voted against making English the official language of the United States.
* Voted against limiting taxpayer subsidies to AMTRAK.
* Voted for punishing states that did not comply with motorcycle helmet laws.

We just wanted to let you know our take on Obama’s pick, and thank you for your continued support of the Libertarian Party!

If you’re looking to get more involved, please email us to find out how to volunteer for liberty!

Also, please take a few minutes to watch our presidential nominee with Neil Cavuto on Fox News talking about the recent conflict in Georgia.

Live Free,
Andrew Davis
National Media Coordinator
Libertarian Party

Bob Barr...not only a libertarian but a funny one...

A recent performance by Bob Barr:



Thanks to PolickerPA.

My favorite joke, how many libertarians does it take to screw in a light bulb? None they sit back and wait for the free market to do it...

Politics can be stressful...

At times reading posts on the various message boards, forums, blogs and candidate websites can make you feel as if your head is going to explode. Reading some of the tripe out there that people write can make you question the intelligence of our nation as well as question if you are one of the few sane people out there. There have been some days it's been so tense in the blog world that I've felt I needed massage therapy to make the stress of the day go away. Especially on my one blog where things get heated...

Fun with video

I love taking video and making movies online, it's become a great way for me to share some of the political things happening in my area instead of having to write up huge posts from the notes I took at meetings or events. It was not too long ago that all you needed to blog was internet access and now, to really be more of a citizen journalist you need either a digital camera that takes video or a camcorder to be "cutting edge." With the many ways you can directly upload directly from both? It makes getting videos out there online even easier.

Barr makes the ballot in another state...media doesn't notice

Organizers for the Bob Barr campaign for president plan to turn in petitions to the West Virginia Secretary of State this past Friday. The signatures are expected to surpass the 15,000 needed to gain ballot access in West Virginia.

Organizers have been collecting signatures for the past couple weeks to get the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate on the ballot.

Yet, giving this campaign about as much attention as they would give indoor lighting the media did not cover it...

CNN askes how bad is the economy

It was interesting reading the responses to the question asked by CNN:

So is the economy going to get significantly worse over the next few months, or are we actually closer to the end than the beginning of this...slump, downturn, recession or whatever you want to call it?

What was surprising was those that felt things were not really that bad, which confirms my belief that it is not just media driven but geographically driven. There are parts of the country that are not suffering to the extent that others are. A few of the comments that were shared:

"Many of the hard times today are the fault of the people who swipe their home ATM to buy another new SUV or a house beyond their means. It is certainly a tough lesson to learn, but it has to happen," he wrote. "People who lived beyond their means now can't pay back that debt due to ballooning costs. Turns out they should have saved money while they could."

"The economic slump comprises industries that are slumping (airlines, autos, homebuilding, mortgages, real estate, etc.) and industries that are expanding (agriculture, energy, health care, mining, technology, etc.). The gains outnumber the losses, so we get slow growth. But, the growth is slower than the rate of productivity gains, so jobs are slowly shed."