Green cleaning

Even before it was the "popular" thing to do, I've been a fan of ecologically friendly cleaning supplies, relying on some old fashioned ones such as vinegar and baking soda. Now there are a variety of different green cleaning supplies out there on the market. Some make me chuckle a bit considering the price factor, in theory most of the green products should cost less, in practice, many times they are much higher priced than their chemical cleaning cousins. There are however some green products that won't take all of your green ... All that is required from you is a bit of research.

Jesus as a Libertarian

It seems as many political ideologies want to claim Jesus, Libertarians are apparently no different according to Tom Mullen -- Jesus Christ, Libertarian. I'm not sure how I feel about it, beyond pointing it out and suggesting it may create some thought provoking moments. One part:

Jesus was very clear about his views on what would lead to salvation and what would not. Jesus condemned many behaviors, like adultery, that social conservatives likewise condemn. He also said that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) However, he does not go on to say, “Therefore, if your brother does not come to me willingly, then draw your sword and force him.” Salvation must be chosen; God did not create a race of slaves.

As we celebrate the birth of this great libertarian, let us not forget the lesson of his life and death. Jesus was murdered by the theocratic state for exposing their hypocrisy and resisting their unjust, blasphemous laws. Let us follow his example of speaking our minds according to our consciences but never raising our hand to save our brothers’ souls. Each one of us will ultimately find that our understanding of the will of God is imperfect, as we are imperfect. Therefore, we must follow Jesus’ example of tolerance and forgiveness, lest we find that we ourselves have mistakenly punished the innocent. Our laws should keep us from harming each other, and leave each person’s soul to the judgment of God.

Diet debates

There is quite a bit of debate out there on the topic of hgh human growth hormone and diets. The other day I saw a debate on hgh start on Facebook. One person believed it worked in conjunction with a special diet, one did not. What was interesting about it was each one used different websites to make their points. Which means for those of you looking for information, the challenge is to find a website that provides you with both the pluses and the minuses and drives home the point that you should talk to a health care professional before taking any supplemental product.

Is a Libertarian society a pipedream?

I really enjoy some of the discussion and questions that takes place on the Wall Street Journal discussion forum. At times I wish I had more time to participate, but for now I enjoy reading many of the discussions. This recent one where the question of "Is a Libertarian society a pipedream?" is a recommended one. As always there are some great answers and some not so great answers. One part of a comment that I'm not sure I agree with but really made me stop and think:

"In other words, libertarianism works only in books, on lifeboats or among people stranded somewhere for a length of time not to exceed six months. After that, human nature takes over and anarchy/totalitarianism/starvation and death take over."

Use the Internet to check prices

The way to find the cheapest auto insurance may be just a few mouse clicks away, though some online insurance companies try to make it not quite as easy by expecting you to wait for an agent to e-mail you or call you with a quote. Not all online insurance companies do that, and you can also take advantage of the 1-800 numbers that the companies have to get a quote. Some personal information is necessary to give you a quote, but you are the only one who can determine how much information you want to share. Remember, just because you visit a site doesn't mean you can't just click away ...

Wikileaks: Beyond Good and Evil

One of the better pieces I've read out there on the WikiLeaks story can be found on the Advocate site -- it was written by Advocate Staff and covers a few instances of the differences in media coverage and reaction. One small part:

There is obvi­ously some­thing pro­foundly unde­mo­c­ra­tic about this state of affairs. In order for a democ­racy to func­tion, it is nec­es­sary for the cit­i­zenry to have sig­nif­i­cant access to infor­ma­tion about mat­ters of state. Par­tic­u­larly when it comes to Amer­i­can for­eign rela­tions and Amer­i­can over­seas adven­tures, the cit­i­zens of this coun­try are very much — too much — in the dark (obvi­ously this is gen­er­ally true of every coun­try). Wik­iLeaks or any sim­i­lar orga­ni­za­tion thus car­ries with it a democ­ra­tiz­ing poten­tial whereby infor­ma­tion that has been unnec­es­sar­ily locked away becomes avail­able to the aver­age cit­i­zen. On the whole though, lib­eral and con­ser­v­a­tive elites are united in their belief that this ought not to hap­pen, and thus Wik­iLeaks is either demo­nized or shrugged off as fairly insignif­i­cant. Even some lib­er­als, such as Jon Stew­art, who are pre­sum­ably more skep­ti­cal of Amer­i­can for­eign pol­icy than the aver­age Belt­way insider, don’t par­tic­u­larly know how to react to an orga­ni­za­tion that has the poten­tial to pro­vide the kind of infor­ma­tion that could, the­o­ret­i­cally, inform a move­ment that would seek to utterly trans­form Amer­i­can for­eign pol­icy. Stewart’s scathing, ironic style is absolutely top­ping when it comes to evis­cer­at­ing the pow­ers that be, but it has no idea how to respond to the pos­si­bil­ity of act­ing in a man­ner that would chal­lenge America’s impe­r­ial pres­ence in much of the world, some­thing which is at least made more pos­si­ble by a trans­parency orga­ni­za­tion like WikiLeaks.

Ron Paul's lone no vote gets attention

The article on Ron Paul being the only no vote on a resolution honoring Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo linked here makes a very valid point. If Paul really believed that such resolutions were something that the House shouldn't do, then he should have not voted for any resolutions in the past.

Unless he wants to try to argue that honoring Chi Chi Rodriguez is somehow more important, but then he'd lose that argument once you factor in his voting yes on a resolution about Romanian adoptions.

I personally think all of those sorts of resolutions whether they take place in Congress, a state general assembly or a local council are a waste of time and effort, but once you vote yes? It's hard to later decide resolutions are of no value.

Going cordless

Whenever I see a headset I think of back when I was working in a call center and I had a moment almost like in the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when the main character goes to get up from her desk with her headset on and ends up falling on the floor. While I didn't fall, it was all too easy at times to forget I was wearing them to get up or turn too far. Now that's preventable since there are cordless headphones out there that are not that much more expensive than the wired type. Save yourself from being the laughing stock of co-workers.

Liberty Lectures in the UK

Recently in England, the Liberty Lectures were held. Granted most of us can't travel overseas to attend lecture series, but videos of the sessions have been put online. I've watched a few and I highly recommend them to those of you interested in learning more.

Who you can watch:

Dr Tim Evans, President of the Libertarian Alliance, kicked off the afternoon’s lectures with ‘The Importance of Liberty’. He explained the underlying principles of Libertarianism: life, liberty and property and the link between liberty and capitalism. Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute, then talked on how markets work. He argued that the free market works in mysterious ways and caters to our wants and desires. In contrast to this government is inefficient and the services it offers give little choice and are expensive for the public.

Dr John Meadowcroft then gave a talk on the rather excitingly titled topic of ‘Sex, Drugs and Liberty’. He gave a strong criticism of prohibition and why it is morally wrong as it undermines our individual right to self-ownership.

Dr Mark Pennington gave a talk on public choice theory. Mark highlighted how government intervention is more damaging than an imperfect market, especially as government is controlled by special interest groups. Professor Anthony Evans, from the European Business School, showed how the Austrian school predicted the crash and explained the Austrian theory on the causes of the cycles of booms and busts.

Dr Richard Wellings, from the Institute of Economic Affairs, gave a convincing talk on the role of government, arguing for a limited government whilst highlighting the dangers of big government.

almost everything is wholesale

You can buy almost anything wholesale anymore, even online, from food to clothes to sunglasses even insurance. Insurance you say? Yes, places exist out there like Wholesaleinsurance.net where they state they have wholesale pricing on insurance. As always check the fine print and exactly what each plan offers compared to what you have now, that said, it never hurts to compare prices, you could save money.

Where are the female Libertarians

There are female Libertarians, I've met plenty, but I found it interesting that the question of Where are the female Libertarians was being asked.

Honest answer is that they like Republican and Democratic women don't get the same level of support when it comes to campaigning as men do and the additional hurdle of fundraising that Libertarian candidates face is a problem. There are organized groups out there that try to help women run for office, but most of them are ran by Democratic or Republican organizations.

Think sports items for gifts

Have an NFL or college football fan in your life? Then the easiest way to finish your shopping list might be to consider football gifts to put under that tree. With the huge variety of items out there, it's possible to find something even for the person who has everything on your list. When all else fails? Gift certificates or gift cards never fail.

Why Ron Paul's newfound power both pleases and worries libertarians.

Slate piece on the recent power of oversight of the Federal Reserve ending up in the hands of Ron Paul -- LINK. While I recommend reading it, what I find most amusing is the assumption that if you are a Libertarian you automatically support Ron Paul.

Then again there's the assumption if you are a Democrat or Republican you automatically support everything elected Democrats or Republicans do.

What it will be is interesting ...

Is Christianity compatible with libertarianism

Topic of discussion - Is Christianity compatible with libertarianism - raised on the Wall Street Journal discussion boards. Anytime religion is part of the discussion it typically creates many responses. As you can see it's already up to 82 comments.

One part of one of the comments that I enjoyed:

Of course Libertarianism and Christianity are compatible; or can be compatible; or can be compatible for most Christians most of the time. They are not by definition incompatible, unless you are a particular type of Christian, probably a fundamentalist. A central distinguishing feature of fundamentalism (Christian as well as Islamic) is a search for certainty and a belief that certainty is available to Man. This inevitably leads to choosing positions and judging others. In my view, this is false Christianity and not true to the teachings of Jesus.

Silly marketing ideas

With the movie "Tangled" being popular right now, I couldn't help thinking when seeing this shampoo for thin hair product that a fun, yet probably silly, marketing idea would be to have Rapunzel promote it. It'd be really easy to say, "have hair like me" -- so advertising execs if you are out there? You heard it first here.

:-)

Ames & Levine column generates apology

Adding to the controversy over a recent column by Mark Ames and Yasha Levine on the TSA saga comes this apology to John Tyner from The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Part of:

As Glenn Greenwald of Salon quickly pointed out (and as other writers echoed), the article wrongly suggested that John Tyner, the libertarian citizen-activist who coined the "don't touch my junk" protest against the TSA's security procedures, might be linked to an Astroturf operation. Ames' and Levine's article didn't directly call Tyner a plant, and they didn't say that he was funded by the Koch brothers. Nonetheless, their article gave that impression--by placing Tyner in the article's lead and by using a generally disparaging tone to refer to him. The article also used innuendo to cast doubt on Tyner's motives, and when Tyner denied any connections to lobbyists and to Koch-funded organizations in an interview, we printed his denial--but we didn't press hard enough to get clarity on his actions and intentions. We should have stopped and done just that, and if Tyner's story checked out, we should have removed him from the piece.
We have published a reply by Ames and Levine that acknowledges some of these problems, but as editor of The Nation, I also want to apologize to John Tyner. The Nation hasn't been--and never will be--in the business of muffling citizen protest.
We are, however, committed to bold reporting and to airing intelligent debates even--or especially--when they challenge our preconceptions and make our readers uncomfortable.

How do you compare libertarianism and the Tea Party conservatism?

The title of this post is a recent item posted for discussion online at the Wall Street Journal.

There are only 23 comments at this point, but a few of them are thought provoking content that you might enjoy.

My skin care secret ...

At 50, approaching 51, you might think I spend time using or looking for the latest face wrinkle cream out there on the market. Most of those who meet me don't believe I'm 50 or that I have two grandchildren. We live frugally, while I do enjoy dressing nicely, I'm not the makeup wearing sort beyond putting some on when I'm going to be on television. What product have I used since I was a teenager? Witch Hazel -- It's a great astringent and it's worked for me.

Some days I forget to even use it, so it's not something I've had to do daily, though it is suggested for daily use.

Libertarians Against the Regime

Almost the opposing view point of some of the myths stated below by Lee Roscoe can be found in Libertarians Against the Regime. Especially related to the Koch brothers:

Because the very idea of Charles and David Koch leading a national resistance movement involving civil disobedience on a massive scale is laughable: to anyone who knows them, or knows of them in more than a glancing way, this can only provoke gales of unrestrained laughter. It is sheer laziness to believe this. Indeed, if only the Brothers Koch, and the plethora of organizations their money has funded, were that radical! Unfortunately, they are not: a stodgy, boring conservatism marks both their methods and their politics, and always has.
Ames and Levine need to do some real research. It was the anti-Koch wing of the libertarian movement, centered around LewRockwell.com, that first gave John Tyner’s act of defiance the publicity and velocity that made it go viral. And if LRC is a front for the Koch brothers, then we have truly entered Bizarro World. In that case, so too is Antiwar.com a Koch front – and so why have we been doing this fundraising campaign for the past two weeks, begging our readers to save us from oblivion?
Gee, it seems like that check from the Kochs got lost in the mail! Charles, could you please look into that? Thanks.

Where progressives and libertarians agree and differ

This was an interesting one since I am admittedly more of a "liberal libertarian" than very liberal or very libertarian -- Seattle PI Blogs:

Both progressives and libertarians oppose government corruption. The difference between progressives and libertarians is that the former still believe that Big Government can be redeemed. Progressives believe that, despite the dangers of corruption and tyranny, we can't forgo the benefits of government. When government isn't corrupted by special interests, it acts as a counter-weight to corporate and private interests. It regulates and polices the private sphere. It performs necessary planning and bailouts and nurturing and research and police work and and health care initiatives and education. It provides a safety net. It supplies certain public goods that the market system can't provide.

zillions for zits

I may be exaggerating a bit when it come to zillions being spent for those searching for the best acne treatment, but the skin care industry is a multi-billion dollar one and could easily extend into the trillion category if you count outside of the U.S. The search for products to make your skin as flawless as possible begins for some before they are teenagers, with some focusing on natural products and others using chemically based products. There's also been a focus on diet by some who believe that is the long term treatment solution.

Top myths in American politics

Recommended article by Lee Roscoe -- LINK. The myths:

• That Democrats are socialists. We should wish they were. It is a failure to move to a redistributive economy with legislated limits to greed (and to corporate funding of elections) that is pushing America on the road to ruin.
• That socialism is a bad thing. Modern socialism has nothing to do with totalitarian communism. The countries that are doing the best for their citizens in terms of schools, health and child care, vacations, full employment, full housing, clean energy, and caps on CEO salary are, in fact, socialist in their economies, democratic in their governments. They have not done away with capitalism, but simply have turned it to the common good. This is the case in much of Scandinavia and many EU countries, such as Germany.
• That the government should not spend money and get us into debt. The mantra that so-called fiscal conservatism is good for this country is at this point nothing more than a slander. It shows a basic misunderstanding of the way capitalism works. The government must spend money, as FDR did for a massive jobs program, if we are to have an economy again.
• That the Republicans want less government and the Democrats want more. The Republicans have created more government, such as the Patriot Act, which is a totalitarian blueprint, and the huge Homeland Security apparatus (employing over 800,000 people — ironically this spy network is the only growth industry in the U.S.). Republicans are fine with huge subsidies of taxpayer monies for agribusiness, big pharma, the defense industry and other corporations. They are fine with huge tax cuts for the rich and increased taxes for the middle and working class. They want more government for the rich and less for the rest of us.
• That we have a "liberal press." In fact huge corporations, almost always larger contributors to Republicans than to Democrats, own the major networks and cable companies, and many of what few newspapers are left.
• That the tea party is just a group of angry but benign folks. NAACP reports just issued show that the tea party has a large preponderance of leaders affiliated with white nationalist movements which consider Jews to be Satanic, and blacks to be subhuman (and who hate Obama for being black). The tea party is funded by such as the Koch family, huge oil and corporate interests that want no protection for the environment or workers, and no benefits — except for themselves.

David Nolan dies

David F. Nolan, who co-founded the national Libertarian Party and helped guide it for four decades while remaining active in politics as a candidate, including a recent run for the U.S. Senate, has died. He was 66.

Nolan died in Tucson, where he lived, according to a statement released Friday by the party.

His vehicle was found off the side of a roadway on Saturday evening, and emergency crews had to break in to help him, the party said. He died in a hospital the next day of unknown causes.

Nolan helped found the Libertarian Party with a group of colleagues in Colorado on Dec. 11, 1971. He remained a member of the Libertarian National Committee until his death.

Libertarians espouse limited government intervention in the economy, civil liberties and personal freedom, arguing that government’s only role should be to help individuals protect themselves from force or fraud. The party pushes a non-interventional foreign policy and free trade.

"He not only helped found the Libertarian Party but remained active and helped to guide our party for the last 40 years," Mark Hinkle, chairman of the Libertarian Party, said in the statement. "We are now the third-largest political party in America, and one of the most persistent and successful third parties in American history, thanks in large part to David Nolan."

TSA released Meg McClain security video

Unfortunately every group has those that do things that make you shake your head. Those who claim to be Libertarians are no different in that regard. However, it's not a good idea to make claims when there are video cameras out there that can tell the whole story:

This Libertarian Radio Host Lied About TSA Harassment. What I find interesting is that the TSA released the video in response to the accusations, it's not something they normally do. If the video had sound, it would be a much better indication of exactly what took place.

After watching both videos, I find it hard to agree with the few out there that claim the video shows she was handcuffed, though it does appear that particular airport has too many TSA employees for them to stand around with nothing to do.

But does it work ...

One of the top questions that I get asked when I write about diet products is, Are there diet pills that actually work? The answer would be yes, there are some diet pills that will help you lose weight. There are however no magic cure pills that you can just pop and watch the pounds melt off without watching what you eat and/or increasing your physical activity. Diet pills can also give you a slight ego boost at the beginning by helping you to lose water weight, and for many that is an additional confidence builder that helps them stick to a larger diet plan.

Red light means go

“That’s the first sign you know you’re a libertarian. You see the red light. You stop. You realize that there’s not a car in sight. And you put your foot on the gas.” - Gary Johnson

Quote that I read on The Liberty Papers as part of a blog post that talked about why it's time to start looking at Gary Johnson as a potential 2012 Presidential candidate.

Say I love you with flowers

You can right now from your computer tell someone you love them, you are thinking of them, you are sorry or just because you want to brighten their day -- order flowers. Websites like proflower.com make it easy to pick the exact type of flower, vase, or other specialty arrangement you want. I've actually used them to send flowers to my oldest daughter and the flowers that arrive look like the ones pictured ... It's that simple.

Viguerie says hands off ...

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, has launched a petition drive to House Republican leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor urging them not to intervene to keep Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from being elected as Chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus.

News reports indicate that Boehner and Cantor are trying to keep Bachmann from being elected to the 4th highest ranking position in the House GOP leadership. The petition asks them to keep "hands off" the race.

In a letter to conservative activists, Viguerie wrote:

"Michele Bachmann and Jeb Hensarling are both small-government, constitutional conservatives. They deserve an equal shot at chairing the House Republican Conference. Unfortunately, Boehner and Cantor are working to derail the Bachmann candidacy by vocally supporting Hensarling…

"Bachmann was one of the few House Republicans who wasn't afraid to take the Tea Party message to the airwaves and nationalize the election in favor of constitutional, small government principles in 2010. Her message connected with voters across America and significantly contributed to the massive 60-plus seat pickup on Election Night."

The petition is online at http://conservativehq.com/bachmannpetition

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation magazine) and one of the "conservatives of the century" ( Washington Times ). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.

Assistance in social security disability filings

The amount of paperwork and red tape that you have to go through to file a claim for social security disability can be a daunting task. It's why many who may qualify don't try to apply and why some who do apply are wrongfully denied benefits that they truly are eligible for. Companies like Allsup exist to help consumers through the process and have a higher success rate in getting people the payments they are entitled to than those who try to file on their own ...

NIA on Palin comments about food prices

NIA Addresses Sarah Palin Food Inflation Controversy

FORT LEE, N.J., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Inflation Association - http://inflation.us - today released the following statement regarding the Sarah Palin food inflation controversy:

Sarah Palin on Monday made a speech at a trade-association convention in Phoenix urging Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to "cease and desist" his "pump priming." Palin said the United States, "shouldn't be playing around with inflation." She went on to say, "All this pump priming will come at a serious price. And I mean that literally: everyone who ever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so. Pump priming would push them even higher."

After obtaining a copy of her speech, the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy wrote an article criticizing Palin's comments about food inflation, saying that, "Grocery prices haven't risen all that significantly, in fact. The consumer price index's measure of food and beverages for the first nine months of this year showed average annual inflation of less than 0.6%, the slowest pace on record." NIA finds it unfortunate that Reddy has been brainwashed into believing the government's phony consumer price index (CPI) numbers.

The superficial...

It's interesting to watch how the looks of a female candidate or elected official becomes so much more of an issue than with a male counterpart. Where a woman will be told she needs to lose weight or seek out products like lipofuse as well as having their style of dress, even hair called into question, men typically don't face it.

Photoshopping happens to make women look unattractive with men it's typically done to make them look unintelligent.

Even in Korea, Libertarians stand apart

This article from the Korea Herald caught my attention. It's interesting to read about the political environment of other nations, at times it is similar to ours.

“Libertarians are a real minority in Korea. We were regarded as lunatics, crazy guys,” says Kim of his and a number of like-minded individuals’ decision to found the think tank in 1997, in the midst of the Asian financial crisis.

“We wanted to spread libertarian ideas to Korean society because I think it is the solution for the prosperity of Korea. Even though the general public didn’t believe so, we believed that.”

Central to the CFE’s aims is the promotion of free market ideas, such as those of Milton Friedman and Frederick Hayek, which advocate limited government and increased personal freedom.

Kim is adamant that such policies are essential for Korea to achieve strong economic growth, a position that President Lee Myung-bak championed prior to his election in 2007 and the global financial crisis in 2008. But Kim, who voted for Lee, doesn’t see the president’s stated belief in the free market being reflected in his current policies.

Aging nightmares

Since I don't take care of myself the way I should and I don't always eat right or exercise or anything else we are supposed to do to have healthy skin and a healthy body, I have spent time looking for what is the best wrinkle cream out there as I have spotted a few wrinkles. My problem is however, that when I buy a product? I forget to use it. For some reason, it doesn't seem to work that way.

The libertarian label is back in vogue

Or so says the Washington Examiner in Libertarian label in vogue even with Rand Paul’s opponent

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/Examiner-Opinion-Zone/Libertarian-label-in-vogue-even-with-Rand-Pauls-opponent-105893868.html#ixzz13ce9f7WO. One part of the recommended read:

Back in the late 1980’s the word “libertarian” was verboten in the movement’s respectable quarters. It rarely popped up in the pages of reason magazine, the journal of “Free Minds and Free Markets.” The CATO Institute tried to rebrand the the “freedom philosophy” as “Market Liberalism,” a phrase the think tank’s strategists deemed more palatable for American mass political consumption. In similar book issued at the end of Ronald Reagan’s run, “An American Vision” outlining CATO’s wishlist of “Policies for the ‘90’s,” the word “libertarian” isn’t invoked even once in the entire book.

Only a few years before, the libertarian label was considered cutting edge, a badge of honor. Flattering profiles of the 1980 Libertarian Party ticket ran in mainstream magazines. New York magazine pinpointed the Ed Clark/David Koch ticket as the first splash of an trend sure to increase in influence as the decade progressed.

By the time of Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection landslide, movement leaders who sought to inject libertarian ideas into the mainstream political conversation were disassociating themselves from the label. Scarred by their purge from the Libertarian Party by the sometimes kooky absolutists and spooked by the electoral ascendancy of the Reagan Democrats - economic populists hostile to social libertarianism - magazine editors and think thank honchos were convinced that the brand name they embraced a few years before would scare off an America that had demonstrated that it remained wary of their creed.

Looking for answers

Turning to the Internet to ask the search engine of your choice questions is one great way to find answers. Take for as an example the question does p90x work? If you type that into google or yahoo or whatever search engine you prefer, you'll find a variety of answers. However searching for "why is Lisa crazy" might not find you answers. At least not yet...

:-)

David Boaz's definition of libertarianism

It's worth reading -- Link to piece and one part in particular I wanted to point out:

People have rights that governments may not violate. Thomas Jefferson defined them as the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When I’m asked what libertarianism is, I often say that it is the idea that adult individuals have the right and the responsibility to make the important decisions about their own lives. More categorically, I would say that people have the right to live their lives in any way they choose so long as they don’t violate the equal rights of others. What right could be more basic, more inherent in human nature, than the right to choose what substances to put in one’s own body? Whether we’re talking about alcohol, tobacco, herbal cures, saturated fat, or marijuana, this is a decision that should be made by the individual, not the government. If government can tell us what we can put into our own bodies, what can it not tell us? What limits on government action are there?

Skin care the easy way

There are hundreds of different skin care products out there designed to do everything from preventing wrinkles to dealing with acne. One way to learn more is to talk to a dermatologist, another is to turn to the internet and read some of the ingredients as well as read customer reviews of the products. Then take that information to see what might work for you as well as see if samples or smaller sizes are available for sale. That way, if a product doesn't work? You've spent less.

Imagine imaging

It used to be you'd have to have an employee, sometimes more than one employee that would be in charge of copying and storing all of your documents. Now, with technology and the Internet, there are firms that specialize in document imaging so that you can outsource that to them. In many cases it's less expensive than having your own staff and it also cuts down on you having to purchase equipment that becomes obsolete in a matter of years.

Dallas Libertarian Party says things are looking good

Even as pendulum of partisan politics continues to swing back and forth between the incumbent parties of big government, this year freedom finally has cause to rejoice. More and more people in Dallas and nationwide are beginning to see through the “two-party system”, and they are increasingly seeing the Libertarian Party as a viable alternative. The LP has fielded more candidates, organized more activities, and involved more volunteers than ever before. The incumbent parties have done everything possible to limit ballot access and discourage candidates, but freedom always finds a way to flourish.

The most visible signs of growth come from our candidates. The Texas Libertarian Party had five people register as gubernatorial candidates, and the ultimate nominee, Kathie Glass, has run an impressive campaign. She recently appeared in a televised debate with the candidates from other parties (minus incumbent Rick Perry, who shied away from the chance to make his case to the Texans he works for). She also received an astonishing 8% in a poll conducted by the Texas Tribune, a significant number considering that the Libertarian result was less than 2% in the last two elections.

Other candidates, such as John Jay Myers, are setting records for fundraising and activity. Mr. Myers crossed the $5000 FEC reporting threshold and raised over $7000, a record among Libertarian candidates in the 32nd district. He has aired television ads, sent out 8000 mailers, and participated in countless events. Throughout Texas there is a Libertarian challenger against each U.S. House incumbent (with the exception of Ron Paul, whose positions often match the Libertarian platform). Nationwide, there are about 800 candidates in races at all levels. This is up from approximately 600 in each of the past two election cycles.

These candidates are getting it done, but they are not alone. From top to bottom, more Libertarians are stepping up and taking on leadership roles, including high school and college students. Both Lake Highlands High School and SMU have Libertarian student groups, and they both boasted more members this year than their Democratic and Republican counterparts combined. Leadership at the statewide level has increased as well with more executive committee seats filled this year than for the past six years or more. Also, the state party recently upped its paid staff by hiring a new membership coordinator and two regional directors in the North Texas and the Gulf Coast areas. Having more people who can conduct outreach and fundraising full-time greatly increases the LP’s competitiveness.

Finally, the party’s online infrastructure has matured as well. Our online presence is starting to rival that of the other parties. For example, the national Facebook page now has 119,000 fans, compared to 155,000 and 187,000 for the Democrats and Republicans respectively. Those numbers have risen dramatically, with only 40,000 reported just six months ago. Locally in Dallas, our meetup group was almost non-existent two years ago, but it has swelled to over 200 participants, volunteers, and organizers who are active at our events. These online groups provide valuable resources for campaigns to reach voters, volunteers, and donors.

In short, we are seeing more leaders, more interest, more active candidates, and better results than we have seen in the past. Not only are people realizing the failure of government wars, bailouts, and controls, but they are also seeing that BOTH incumbent parties are the problem. The future is bright for the Libertarian Party and we will continue to build on the foundation we are setting now.

~Dallas County Libertarian Party

Drums of Steel

Whenever I see the term steel drums I don't think about the many uses for steel drums for industrial or other applications. I think about music, and I think about a trip we made to the Bahamas where I heard steel drums played for the very first time. It's really amazing how they can make such beautiful sounds from steel drums.

He just wants 2...

Many times it's stated that the Libertarian candidate has no chance of winning, and many times that may be true. However, an Iowa Libertarian candidate has set a goal of getting 2% of the vote. With five candidates on the ballot that could be a challenge, but it's a realistic goal. Sometimes you have to start small.

Read more -- here.

A Democrat, a Libertarian and a Green walk into a room

When I saw the title online - A Democrat, a Libertarian and a Green walk into a room I thought it was going to be a joke, then I noticed it was from Politfact in Texas...

Not withstanding the lack of a joke, it's coverage of a recent debate and the fact that the Republican candidate, Gov. Rick Perry did not attend.

It doesn't seem his presence was missed...

Melting the fat...

Ever wonder what the word, thermogenic, means? The dead give away that it's related to heat is of course the "thermo" part -- but it means heat is created through metabolic stimulation and it's marketed in products that call themselves thermogenic fat burners. As with most diet products there is evidence that it works as well as some evidence that it doesn't work. Which basically means it may work for you as a way to lose weight and that as always you should check with your health care professional to see what they advise. There are quite a few claims out there related to these products that they create results.

Tico Libertarianism

Similarities are being raised as to what's taking place in Costa Rica and what's taking place here in the US with the Tea Party movement. Tico Libertarianism and the U.S. Tea Party caught my attention, it's an article that might interest you as well. Part of:

The movement is based on the precepts of libertarianism and fueled by a romantic “pick-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps,” American Dream mentality, a la Horatio Alger. Tea Party advocates revere the authority of the U.S. Constitution and tend to take a diehard conservative stance on issues like gun control and illegal immigration.

The downside is you have to pay to read the rest of the article, but it's worth it for those of you interested in the topic.

Shedding poundage

It's reported that over 34% of Americans aged 20 and over are obese and over 34% of Americans aged 20 or over are overweight. This means about 70% weigh more than they should. This has created a great deal of media interest, governmental interest and a billion dollar industry to sell weight loss products, from diets, seeking the best diet pill to promoting health clubs. Bottom line, part of the problem is we've become to sedentary as a nation...

Great political ad on Republicans and Democrats

It'd be funnier if it wasn't true, but I wanted to point out this campaign ad by Warren Redlich's campaign...

Libertarian Activist Checklist for Fall 2010

Recommended reading from our neighbor up to the North, in the Michigan Libertarian newsletter, Bill Hall gives you his "Libertarian Activist Checklist for Fall 2010" - while I recommend reading the full piece a few parts of it:

3.Contribute funds to at least one active local Libertarian campaign. Local campaigns have the best prospects to garner votes and affect election outcomes. With a local race, you get more “bang for your buck”. If a local candidate is willing to spend his or her valuable time campaigning, the least I can do is provide financial support.

4. Contribute funds to at least one active statewide Libertarian campaign. Statewide campaigns have the best prospects to receive media attention. Often, they are the ones that get the Libertarian name and philosophy out there, and bring in new activists.

5. Put a Libertarian bumper sticker on my car. Ken Proctor, our candidate for Governor, is printing and distributing bumper stickers, as are other candidates. Use them!

Save when you can...

It never ceases to amaze me when I see friends go out and buy something expensive without doing any type of research or price checking. It's their money to do with what they want, but just a few moments of checking what the Best Buy is online or what stores might have a particular item, like a computer or a flat screen television on sale, could save them hundreds of dollars. That could be spent on something else...Or perhaps even saved...

Plain Dealer endorses Libertarian Matt Cantrell

The Cleveland Plain Dealer decided rather than to endorse current Ohio Treasurer Kevin Boyce, the Democrat or current District 17 Ohio House of Representative Josh Mandel, the Republican -- they endorsed Matthew P. Cantrell, the Libertarian candidate for Ohio Treasurer.

LINK to the endorsement which says in part:

Frankly, Cantrell is unlikely to prevail against opponents whose war chests are each in the seven figures.
But it would be a shame if Cantrell were to be squashed like a midge in the general election, simply for the lack of money and a big-party label.
Cantrell's professionalism and his willingness to serve should matter more than his ability to hit up the big givers.
That it doesn't is one reason Ohio and much of the rest of the country lack the kind of selfless, let's-get-the-job-done leadership needed to erase some of the cynicism from politics.
As for his opponents, it's called business as usual and Ohio can't afford it any longer. A vote for Cantrell won't be wasted if it helps make that point loud and clear.

I'm more of a dress down kinda gal

One of the advantages of blogging is I don't have to dress up very often, most times I do blog in my pj's if I don't have anywhere to go. However, with debates and other events that I attend, I do have to look at special occasion dresses at time to time. Recently I just got my first "little black dress" since I've been told it's something every woman should have. I haven't had the chance to wear it yet, but perhaps some day it will be the right occasion to take it out of the closet.

Benedict says Republicans owe apology not promise

Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict said, instead of a “Pledge to America,” the Republicans should have written an “Apology to America.” It should have gone something like this:

“We’re sorry, America. Sorry we grew the federal government budget from $1.7 trillion to over $3 trillion. Sorry we added $5 trillion to the federal debt. Sorry we doubled the size of the Department of Education. Sorry we started two incredibly costly foreign wars. Sorry we supported the absurd and costly TARP bailouts. Sorry we created a huge and costly new Medicare entitlement. Sorry we did nothing to end the costly and destructive War on Drugs. Sorry we did nothing to reform the federal government’s near-prohibition on immigration. But hey, at least we helped you by shifting a lot of your tax burden onto your children and grandchildren.”

There are so many lies, distortions, hypocrisies, and idiocy in this document that it’s hard to know where to start.

It is deeply insulting to see the Republicans refer to “America’s founding values” on their cover. The Republican Party has no understanding whatsoever of America’s founding values. They have proven and re-proven that for decades.

Scrubs is really the wrong word...

The word "scrubs" has been given a negative connotation when used to reference a person. Yet the concept of surgical scrub clothing is far from being "scrubby" -- the professionally designed wear for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals has gone main stream outside of the medical facility because it's comfortable.

The days of the green scrub pants may still exist in some medical settings, but for the most part, in the outside world of consumer wear, there are bright colors and a variety of patterns.

Beyond comfort there is cost, cheap scrubs can be found, at times even with holiday themes for those of you looking for a bit of pizazz with your scrub wear. My personal favorite has bats on it. I love October since it's the one month I can wear them out of the house without getting strange looks.

:-)

Libertarians on DADT

This happened a few days back, but it's important to point out -- from the Wall Street Journal:

The Libertarian Party is making a bid for gay voters after a bid to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ failed in the Senate this week, telling them that “like abused spouses who keep returning to their aggressors” they need to stop “handing their votes to the Democrats who abuse them.”

Libertarian Party Chairman Mark Hinkle issued a statement Thursday pointing to the continued ban on gays serving openly in the military and a federal law that lets states not recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

“President Obama and the Democrats had almost a year of complete control of the federal government,” Hinkle said. “They could have repealed ‘don’t ask don’t tell.’ They could have gotten rid of the Defense of Marriage Act. But they didn’t do either.” He added that “the Libertarian Party wants to break this self-destructive behavior” by gay voters who continue to support the Democrats.

Michael Mitchell, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, which represents gay Democrats, said the Obama administration had done “more for the LGBT community than any other administration in our nation’s history – combined.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement on Thursday that Obama was “disappointed” by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” vote and that he would continue to work with Senate leaders to repeal the policy.

Targeting TARPS supporters

WASHINGTON – This November, Libertarian Party candidates are challenging 97 incumbent members of Congress who voted for the TARP bailouts in 2008. View the list here.

The list includes 33 Republicans and 64 Democrats.

LP Chair Mark Hinkle commented, “Few acts of Congress have evoked as much fear, ire, disgust, and disapproval from Americans as the 2008 TARP banker bailouts, passed with bipartisan support in Congress, and signed into law by Republican President George W. Bush.”

Hinkle continued, “Bailer-in-chief John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 losing Republican presidential campaign to rush back to Washington DC to vote for TARP, tops our list. He’ll face Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan in November.”

According to Congressional Quarterly, twelve of these TARP incumbents are in close re-election battles (classified in the “tossup” or “leans” category). The Libertarian Party hopes to help kick them out of office. “They tried to justify TARP by claiming our economy was going off a cliff. Let’s push their teetering careers off a cliff,” said LP Executive Director Wes Benedict.

It's a dry heat....

The phrase out here in AZ "it's a dry heat" makes me laugh and I admit I've used it during my recent visit. You sweat though, or at least I do, especially when it's 109 degrees outside like it was today. I also noticed that the sweating has made my face break out just a bit, nothing I can't deal with, blackhead on nose type breakouts. Which in the end supposedly the dry heat of a sauna is supposed to clean and purify your skin. Out here in AZ? Nature is it's own sauna...

:-)

Facebook and the Libertarian Party

I missed this earlier, so it's a bit late but I wanted to point it out because I think it's important. The below image, evidently caused issues for Facebook. This I find ironic considering the amount of tripe Facebook lets on there, especially those scam deals where you will get a laptop free, etc., etc.



WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party (LP) is protesting the decision by Facebook to refuse advertisements that advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

The LP had been running a highly successful Facebook ad to express its support of marijuana legalization, but Facebook banned the ad about a week after accepting it.

In a July 23 email to the LP, a Facebook rep wrote, "We do not allow ads for marijuana or political ads for the promotion of marijuana."

The LP asserts that its ad is not intended to promote marijuana itself, but rather to take a position on the high-profile political question of legalizing marijuana. The issue is particularly relevant now, as a major marijuana legalization measure (Proposition 19) will be on the ballot in California this November.

Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the LP, commented, "Whether or not the folks at Facebook like marijuana, we think they should end their ridiculous censorship of our ad, which expresses the Libertarian position on a political issue of interest to many people."

Benedict continued, "We recognize Facebook's right to control their content and censor whoever they want. But we're also exercising our First Amendment right to complain about their bad decision, and to alert other consumers to put pressure on them."

On July 15, Facebook notified the LP that it had accepted the ad. Then, on July 22, Facebook revoked its approval, stating that "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate."

Recently, the LP learned that Facebook revoked approval of similar ads from other groups, including Just Say Now and the District of Columbia Patients' Cooperative, claiming that their ads violated Facebook's ban on images of "smoking products." The LP notes that Facebook's ad guidelines prohibit "advertisements promoting tobacco products," but that the Libertarian ad does not promote the product itself, and that it is not a tobacco product.

Kyle Hartz, the LP's Development & New Media Assistant, said, "Our ad is targeted to people who have indicated that they are interested in the issue of marijuana legalization. It's bizarre that Facebook won't allow us to advertise to the very people who support what we are advocating."

Late night commercials...

I've noticed recently an increase in the late night television commercials for male enhancement products. At times they are pretty cheesy since they try to make the product promises known without really making the product promises known...One in particular with a man surrounded by smiling women, runs frequently. The premise of course is that he's pleased all of the women, all thanks to a cream, or pill or some other product. It is often said "sex sells" and in the cases of these types of products? Evidently it does.

:-)

Two kinds of tea partiers....

WASHINGTON - Looking toward the 9/12 Tea Party events in Washington, DC, Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict issued the following warning to Tea Partiers: "Republicans are trying to fool you again."

"There are two kinds of Tea Partiers," said Benedict. "One kind is so blinded by its hatred of Obama and Democrats that it cannot see fault with Republicans. It's the other kind the Libertarian Party is reaching out to."

Libertarian Party staff and volunteers will participate in the Washington, DC Tea Party events on September 12. They will distribute flyers pointing out how the Top 10 Disasters of the 2009-2010 Obama administration mirror the Top 10 Disasters of the 2001-2008 Bush administration.

Benedict continued, "Libertarians have much in common with Tea Party goals of reducing government spending and taxes. While many Tea Party supporters will admit that George W. Bush's administration grew government, Libertarians want to remind Tea Partiers about previous Republican administrations that loved big government.

"Republican Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America promised to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy. Yet once Republicans took control of Congress, they failed even to reduce the spending on those departments.

"Republican President George Bush, Sr. remains famous for coining the phrase 'Read my lips, no new taxes,' and then raising taxes.

"Republican President Ronald Reagan grew federal government spending to the highest level it had reached since World War II. He also 'saved Social Security' by raising payroll taxes.

"Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole was a huge supporter of taxpayer subsidies for corn and ethanol.

"In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon instituted wage and price controls. That made a group of free-market supporters so angry that they decided to form the Libertarian Party.

"Republicans seem to think we're idiots. For decades they have paid lip-service to shrinking government, while consistently doing the opposite in office.

"Our fear is that Tea Partiers might say 'This time it will be different.' No it won't. If you vote for Republicans this time, it will just reinforce the message that they can lie to you and grow government with impunity.

"Current Republicans are just as bad as past Republicans.

"This year, Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan is running for U.S. Senate against Republican John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 presidential campaign so he could rush back to Washington to bail out the banks.

"Republican leader John Boehner might end up as the next House Speaker, and he voted for George W. Bush's huge 2003 Medicare expansion.

"John Cornyn, Republican senator from Texas, and current chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, voted for the TARP bailouts.

"Ron Paul is probably the only Republican congressman willing to point out the huge cost of America's foreign wars and empire building. Other Republicans pretend that spending trillions on the military just doesn't count as big government.

"With Social Security, Medicare, and military spending making up the vast majority of federal spending, you can't cut significantly without cutting those. But Republicans refuse to touch them.

"Libertarians welcome the Tea Party movement's focus on the problem of government growth. However, we are concerned that Tea Partiers might fall for the Republicans' trickery.

"Republican leaders have brought up distractions like New York City mosques and gay marriage to distract voters from Republicans' big-government track record. We hope that Tea Partiers will see through the smoke and mirrors.

"While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with Libertarian 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.

"The Libertarian Party is fielding 168 candidates for U.S. House, and 20 candidates for U.S. Senate this year. Win or lose, a vote for a Libertarian sends a clear message for smaller government and more freedom. What message does a vote for John McCain send?"

Would you click?

A catchy marketing ploy is to tell you to click here -- knowing that our typical human curiosity will most likely make us "click there" to see what is on the other side of the click. While it's a great marketing tool, it's also something you should be careful of if when clicking you get any kind of a message that you need to download something. If that's the case - back away from the website. It's also another reason you should use a good virus protection system, since if there is malware or other nefarious things lurking, you'll be warned and protected.

Tea Party euphoria meets reality

The Tea Party group has gotten the most attention of any political group this election season. It's not surprising to those of us with any degree of logic that like all political parties/ideologies, there will be some who are pretty far out there...

Yet, the painting of the brush to include all with one -- continues...CNN focuses on what it calls a tea party fall out. This is not the first time it's been predicted the tea party would implode. It's actually grown since then, which makes me wonder if some of the people polled who claim they are associated with it, are just doing so because it appears to be the popular anti-establishment stance to take, as opposed to really understanding what it is that the group believes/supports.

Part of the CNN story focuses on the whole witchcraft thing referenced below:

O'Donnell added to such concerns by canceling previously agreed-to interviews on "FOX News Sunday" and the CBS program "Face the Nation," deciding instead to make appearances in Delaware.
Bob Schieffer, the host of the CBS program, said on air that O'Donnell's representatives denied she withdrew because of videotape released over the weekend showing her talking about dabbling in witchcraft.
Whatever the reason, O'Donnell continued to serve as a lightning rod for analysis of the influence of the Tea Party movement. She was given little chance of defeating Castle, but received late support from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as well as Tea Party money, and pulled off the upset.
Now the 11-year-old "witchcraft" video and others becoming public are reinforcing the image preferred by Democrats of O'Donnell as an unknown, untested and risky candidate.

Proof of the silly season...

I'm not a fan of Christine O’Donnell but the way she's being focused on demonstrates how far things will go into the land of attempted personal destruction. Where the goal is to find out anything in a person's past and capitalize on it to create the highest possible negative reaction and to increase ratings....

Example:

Politically Incorrect clip that supposedly never aired from Oct. 29, 1999 which has now been "aired":

O’DONNELL: I dabbled into witchcraft — I never joined a coven. But I did, I did. … I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I’m not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do. [...]

How to's on the net

You can find suggestions on how to do just about anything on the internet. From how to fix a certain issue with your car, to how to reduce belly fat -- all from the comfort of your home. If one tip or how to page doesn't provide exactly what you are looking for? You can easily search some more to find just the right information for your particular situation.

Ken Matesz says America has lost it's way

Article from a paper just a bit to the north east of where I live, focusing on Ohio Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ken Matesz LINK. He faces quite a challenge since he's been excluded from appearing with the Democratic governor -- Ted Strickland and the Republican candidate -- John Kasich. Which unfortunately has become all too common place to not include third party candidates. The two party candidates don't want them included and most times they are allowed to dictate the process.

To pill or not to pill...

An often asked question when it comes to the whole diet industry is are diet pills safe? It's a question that really doesn't have a yes or no answer. It really depends on the actual diet pill you are considering taking. It's why I always advise doing research and making sure you have discussed it with your health care professional. Even pills that may be deemed safe could interact with other medications you are taking...

Peasants with pitchforks...

While some believe the Libertarian party should remove itself from the Tea Party - clearly Root does not. A release sent out by his staff:

The Peasants With Pitchforks are Coming.

By Wayne Allyn Root, Chairman of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee and 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee

Obama continues to name Czars without any vetting or confirmation from Congress. His latest Czar – appointed only days ago — was the “Asian Carp Czar.” I’m not kidding (I wish I were). Well if Obama thinks his unaccountable executives are “czars,” then King Obama and Queen Michelle must consider the rest of us serfs and peasants. But there’s a hitch in this scenario. When peasants with pitchforks decide to revolt, it usually doesn’t end well for the ruling class.

When I wrote my book, “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts,” I predicted that Obama’s radical Marxist agenda would lead to a citizen revolution, the likes of which had not been seen in this country since 1776. I predicted that this revolution to take back our country would be led by a coalition of Libertarians, conservatives, disgruntled Republicans, independents, taxpayers, small business owners, gun owners, patriots, and Christians. That revolution now has a name: The Tea Party.

And who are these new revolutionaries? Many of them are reenacting the ‘60’s revolution. They have evolved from peace and pot to pitchforks…from tie die to torches…from denim to deficit and debt…and from communes to condos. Today the Holy Grail isn’t Woodstock, it’s Washington. Why the change? It’s called financial responsibility. The “me generation” is now all about THE GRANDCHILDREN. And the same people who changed the world in the ‘60’s with their passion and enthusiasm are about to change the world again.

The remarkable Tea Party victories on Tuesday night are yet more proof this is not business as usual. Entrenched incumbents and establishment D.C. insiders are being swept away like debris in a tsunami. Most importantly, it isn’t only liberal Democrat scalps the Tea Party is taking. At the top of the list are the enablers- big government RINOS (Republicans in name only). Exhibit A is Michael Castle. The longtime Delaware Republican Congressman is normally the kind of GOP insider that survives times of voter unrest. Political insiders like Castle have always known how to turn on the charm, raise lots of money, and use that money on advertising campaigns to convince voters that “next time” they’ll vote with the people. It’s always “next time.” Except for Castle there will be no more next times. This citizen revolution sent Castle to the unemployment line. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out Mike.

Castle is a RINO who votes gave bi-partisan cover to big government expansion and an ever-expanding welfare state. Castle was the exact type of Republican fraud who through his compromise and “bi-partisanship” (see SELLOUT) made fiscal conservatives and free-market Libertarians fighting for the survival of our children and grandchildren appear as “extremists, radicals and nutcases.” The reality is the extremists are those who have bankrupted our once great country and left us with over $100 Trillion in debt and unfunded liabilities.

It is the so-called “bi-partisan moderates” that have sold out our children’s future- saddling them with unsustainable deficit and debt for decades to come, in order to bring home the bacon to their districts today. GOP Rinos such as Castle and “blue dog Democrats” such as Nebraska’s Ben Nelson are the problem, not the solution. How can you be a “blue dog” when you vote for bigger government, universal healthcare, cap and trade, stimulus, bailouts, earmarks, and financial reform bills that demand banks give out small business loans based on affirmative action? How can you be a patriot and demand “Cornhusker kickbacks?”

In the end I’m rooting (excuse the pun) for V.E.T.O. — Vote Everyone of Them Out. Republicans, Democrats, lawyers, lobbyists, union bosses, D.C. political insiders and incumbents of all stripes — it’s time to clean house and throw all the bums out. If America is to be saved, it’s necessary to throw out both the socialist, entitlement-addicted Democrats and the establishment Republican enablers like Mike Castle, Charlie Crist, Rick Lazio, Lisa Murkowski, and Bob Bennett. The debt and deception stops here — with the Tea Party.

The Tea Party candidates have been successful in primaries because they have been singularly focused on the most important and pressing issues our country faces today: the economy, jobs, government spending, government employees, and the unchecked growth of the deficit and debt. These issues should have been Obama’s only priority. Instead, we got a healthcare bill that will ultimately bankrupt the country, more government employees, and a stimulus that only stimulated the ratings of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. But wait, Obama isn’t done yet. He still has card check (unionize the entire nation) and cap and trade to ram through in the lame duck session of Congress after he’s lost in a landslide. And you wonder why the people are angry?

The peasants have awoken from a long slumber. The time for excuses and promises is over. All that is left is for the winners in November to deliver — shrink government, cut government employees and pensions (as Cuba is busy doing right now), dramatically lower the deficit and debt, and dramatically reduce spending, while lowering taxes (as Canada has done for the past decade). Deliver or the Tea Party promises to throw this class of bums out just like the last one … and they’ll be patriots for doing so. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing…It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.”

Libertarians should reject the Tea Party

That's the title of this Daily Caller piece. It's a discussion that has been taking place since the Tea Party was formed. What role Libertarians should play and do play has been much debated. Part of the recommended read:

But I part company with them on whether the Tea Party movement is a net plus for America. Steve and Dan maintain that it is a good thing on the grounds that “there is a growing mass of citizens who think it’s important to restrain government.” They are prepared to overlook the fact that like any mass movement it has a “few odd characters.” Steve admits in a recent column that his first impression of the movement was: “It’s a rabidly right-wing phenomenon with a shaky grasp of history, a strain of intolerance and xenophobia, a paranoia about Barack Obama, and an unhealthy reverence for Fox News. Any movement that doesn’t firmly exclude Birchers, birthers, and Islamaphobes is not a movement for me.”

But his second impression is that “we are lucky to have them.”

I am afraid I can’t overlook “the strain of intolerance and xenophobia.” I can’t overlook the “Birchers, birthers, and Islamaphobes.” And I think it highly dangerous for libertarians, economic conservatives and small-government Democrats (yes, there are some out there) to do so. You can be for restraining government and fiscal responsibility without aligning with the Tea Party — it isn’t an either/or proposition.

Libertarians create chaos?

Sometimes the misconceptions about what Libertarianism would really mean if there were enough in government to effect change are out there. In part it is caused by some who state they are Libertarian, logic dictates any political philosophy has people who take extreme positions. Unfortunately it's all to common to assume everyone has to feel the same way.

Good example of this is this Times Union piece.

Golf as more than a sport...

Some play golf as a sport, both professionally and as amateurs, but what I find interesting is the other aspects of golf. The tee times can be used as business moments, charity events and even political fundraisers.

Here in Ohio it's common for residents to head for the warmer climes to play golf, it's why websites like www.48hourteetimes.com have been created. It gives the golfer, no matter their motivation to head to the greens the ability to book their tee time, many times before they have even arrived at their golf destination.

They have some great deals as far as prices, while I'm not a golfer, my father was so I have a basic understanding of the cost factor and remember horror stories of him wanting to play but not having made reservations. If he were alive, he'd most likely be one of those taking advantage of being able to book 48 hour tee times and then bragging to his friends how he paid less than they did...

Jaimes Brown Colorado gubernatorial candidate kept off debate

Another example of candidates not being allowed to debate - this time in Colorado:

The Colorado Libertarian candidate for governor wasn't invited to a Channel 12 gubernatorial debate on September 10.

He says he found out about the debate in a Denver Post article after the event had been taped.

And he's not optimistic that he'll be invited to participate in a series of nine more debates scheduled to take place in the coming months between Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper and Republican candidate Dan Maes.

"A credible poll would list all the candidates who will appear on the ballot. A credible debate would invite all the candidates who will appear on the ballot," he wrote Friday to Channel 12 debate co-sponsors, Colorado Public Television and CBS.

"I shouldn't have to fight to be included in polls or debates. Americans are going to have to make some hard decisions about what we want and decide if we really want to solve our problems and get back on track toward prosperity."

Yarbrough gets endorsement from Ohio Tea Party PAC

OHIO TEA PARTY PAC ENDORSES BILL YARBROUGH IN OHIO'S THIRD SENATE DISTRICT

The Ohio Tea Party PAC announced its endorsement of Libertarian Bill Yarbrough in Ohio's 3rd Senate District race.

The Ohio Tea Party PAC represents the interests of independent grass-roots groups across the state - including tea party, 9-12, and other liberty-minded organizations.

Says Yarbrough, "I am honored to represent Ohio's liberty groups in the race for State Senate. The liberty movement in Ohio is diverse, but the issues of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets unite us all."

Bill Yarbrough, a New Albany resident, is a lifelong Ohioan and graduate of both Otterbein College and Ohio State's Fisher College of Business. He works as an Organizational Development Consultant. "I'm simply a working man trying to do right by my family. Unfortunately, it's becoming harder and harder to raise a family in Ohio as the state economy has suffered under both Republican and Democrat administrations."

The Yarbrough endorsement represents the first Libertarian candidate endorsement for the non-partisan Ohio Tea Party PAC.

The Ohio Tea Party PAC was created to complement educational efforts by supporting issues and candidates, regardless of party, who favor a focus on the rule of law and the properly defined role of government.

Bill continues, "It's unfortunate that the Ohio Tea Party PAC is even necessary in a country that pioneered the concepts of freedom and limited government. But, here we are, and I am so glad to see such a strong force for liberty in Ohio."

The Ohio Tea Party PAC can be found at http://www.OhioTeaPartyPAC.com

Bill Yarbrough can be found at http://YarbroughForOhio.com

Lessons in finances

My youngest daughter's boyfriend recently entered the working world and bought his first car. He's had some quick lessons on financial survival, after getting his first check, thinking it was a large sum of money then watching how much of his check has to go to bills. He's also learned how to search for a cheap auto insurance quote or two since some of the initial quotes he got for car insurance were ridiculously high. It's a given a first time driver is going to pay more but some of the plans were more than our monthly rent payment...

Something sounds funny with this story

In reading this Libertarian candidate for governor off the ballot something doesn't seem right. It seems hard to believe that the Florida Division of Elections Office could not find a method to contact J.J. McCurry, the vice governor candidate.

He's reportedly the chairman of the Florida Libertarian Party...so how could he just "disappear" and not be able to be found for something as important as being able to be on the ballot.

New table...new lighting

Yesterday we were given a new dining room set, so I was finally able to get rid of my table that had become a favorite item for our cats to sharpen their claws on. The two worst culprits are now in kitty heaven so the chances of this newer table not being destroyed is good. The new look has made me start looking at new lighting, I like some of the offerings by Kichler lighting though, the current lighting includes a ceiling fan and that is a feature I'd like to keep since our home does not have air conditioning.

Another example of limiting voter information

It's almost the norm to exclude Libertarian or other third party candidates from debates. A variety of excuses are used, a good example is this recent story from North Carolina:

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina hasn’t been invited to two television debates because event organizers say his poll numbers are too low.

North Carolina Association of Broadcasters President Tim Morrisey said Friday that Libertarian Michael Beitler had not been invited to the Oct. 11 and Oct. 21 debates because surveys fail to show him with at least 10 percent support. Morrisey said the threshold has been used before.

Republican incumbent Richard Burr and Democrat Elaine Marshall were invited and have agreed to participate.

Beitler spokesman Daniel Chang said the association’s threshold was arbitrary and limits discussion to the establishment parties.

All three candidates are slated to participate in a TV debate Oct. 13, sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

DC Tea Party events and Libertarian Party

WASHINGTON – Looking toward the 9/12 Tea Party events in Washington, DC, Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict issued the following warning to Tea Partiers: “Republicans are trying to fool you again.”

“There are two kinds of Tea Partiers,” said Benedict. “One kind is so blinded by its hatred of Obama and Democrats that it cannot see fault with Republicans. It’s the other kind the Libertarian Party is reaching out to.”

Libertarian Party staff and volunteers will participate in the Washington, DC Tea Party events on September 12. They will distribute flyers pointing out how the Top 10 Disasters of the 2009-2010 Obama administration mirror the Top 10 Disasters of the 2001-2008 Bush administration.

Benedict continued, “Libertarians have much in common with Tea Party goals of reducing government spending and taxes. While many Tea Party supporters will admit that George W. Bush’s administration grew government, Libertarians want to remind Tea Partiers about previous Republican administrations that loved big government.

“Republican Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America promised to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy. Yet once Republicans took control of Congress, they failed even to reduce the spending on those departments.

“Republican President George Bush, Sr. remains famous for coining the phrase ‘Read my lips, no new taxes,’ and then raising taxes.

“Republican President Ronald Reagan grew federal government spending to the highest level it had reached since World War II. He also ‘saved Social Security’ by raising payroll taxes.

“Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole was a huge supporter of taxpayer subsidies for corn and ethanol.

“In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon instituted wage and price controls. That made a group of free-market supporters so angry that they decided to form the Libertarian Party.

“Republicans seem to think we’re idiots. For decades they have paid lip-service to shrinking government, while consistently doing the opposite in office.

“Our fear is that Tea Partiers might say ‘This time it will be different.’ No it won’t. If you vote for Republicans this time, it will just reinforce the message that they can lie to you and grow government with impunity.

“Current Republicans are just as bad as past Republicans.

“This year, Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan is running for U.S. Senate against Republican John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 presidential campaign so he could rush back to Washington to bail out the banks.

“Republican leader John Boehner might end up as the next House Speaker, and he voted for George W. Bush’s huge 2003 Medicare expansion.

“John Cornyn, Republican senator from Texas, and current chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, voted for the TARP bailouts.

“Ron Paul is probably the only Republican congressman willing to point out the huge cost of America’s foreign wars and empire building. Other Republicans pretend that spending trillions on the military just doesn’t count as big government.

“With Social Security, Medicare, and military spending making up the vast majority of federal spending, you can’t cut significantly without cutting those. But Republicans refuse to touch them.

“Libertarians welcome the Tea Party movement’s focus on the problem of government growth. However, we are concerned that Tea Partiers might fall for the Republicans’ trickery.

“Republican leaders have brought up distractions like New York City mosques and gay marriage to distract voters from Republicans’ big-government track record. We hope that Tea Partiers will see through the smoke and mirrors.

“While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with Libertarian 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.

“The Libertarian Party is fielding 168 candidates for U.S. House, and 20 candidates for U.S. Senate this year. Win or lose, a vote for a Libertarian sends a clear message for smaller government and more freedom. What message does a vote for John McCain send?”

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. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

Approaching the birthday season

Most of my families birthdays happen during the Fall and then in the Spring, which makes it a challenge at times to figure out what to buy for them without turning to the gift card solution. I like personalized gifts since it makes it more difficult for sibling A to "borrow" something from sibling B and then claim it was theirs to begin with. It's also handy in avoiding situations where you buy the same item for more than one child, mine were prone to breaking something then claiming it was the other child's item that was broken. I used to use a labeling gun, but they figured out how to get around that...

Elephant & Donkey put in hiding...

This Associated Press piece was interesting:

Ohio office hides elephant, donkey after complaint

NEWARK, Ohio — The elephant and the donkey are going into hiding at an Ohio voting board.
A Libertarian candidate saw ceramic figurines of the Republican and Democratic symbols on the counter at the Licking County Board of Elections when he filed paperwork to run for county commissioner.
James Snedden Jr. says the display showed bias toward candidates for the two major parties. He filed a complaint with the board on Aug. 4.
Board director Sue Penick says the panel has since heard from the Ohio Secretary of State's office. The state office recommended that the red, white and blue statuettes be kept out of sight, to avoid conflicts.
The animal figurines are now off the counter, but still in the office.

The Leave us alone coalition...

The Leave Us Alone vs. the Takings Coalition article from 2000 that might be of interest to some of you. Part of:

The "Leave us Alone" coalition includes taxpayers who want the government to reduce the tax burden, property owners, farmers, and homeowners who want their property rights respected, gunowners who want the government to leave them and their guns alone, homeschoolers who wish to educate their own children as they see fit, traditional values conservatives who don't want the government throwing condoms at their children and making fun of their religious values.

The Leave us Alone coalition also includes those Americans who serve in the military and police as they are the legitimate functions of government that protect Americans' right to be left alone by foreign agressors or domestic criminals.

The modern American left is a "Takings Coalition," a coalition of groups and individuals who view the proper role of government as taking things from one group and giving to another. This often is in the form of money. And the recipients of others money are usually the leaders of the "Takings Coalition."

Pudding versus fruit....

There are times when feeding this family of mine, I think I should get some type of a wholesaler discount when it comes to the volume of food they consume. I've also noticed though that things that are healthier cost more. Recent example? Pudding versus fruit. They are fans of individual serve portions, evidently the mere aspect of having to put something into a bowl is too much for them. Four pudding cups is a dollar, four cups of diced pears, $1.68 for the store brand, $2.00 for the name brand. I bought an equal number of pudding cups and selected fruit cups on Friday. Today? Three pudding cups remain, lots of fruit...Though the strawberry applesauce seemed to be a popular fruit selection.

Covert Operations article creating discussion

As pointed out by Frank Rich, in The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party a recent New Yorker piece is stirring up discussion as to who's spending how much in the world of political funding.

Last week the Kochs were shoved unwillingly into the spotlight by the most comprehensive journalistic portrait of them yet, written by Jane Mayer of The New Yorker. Her article caused a stir among those in Manhattan’s liberal elite who didn’t know that David Koch, widely celebrated for his cultural philanthropy, is not merely another rich conservative Republican but the founder of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which, as Mayer writes with some understatement, “has worked closely with the Tea Party since the movement’s inception.” To New Yorkers who associate the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet, it’s startling to learn that the Texas branch of that foundation’s political arm, known simply as Americans for Prosperity, gave its Blogger of the Year Award to an activist who had called President Obama “cokehead in chief.”

The New Yorker article stirred up the right, too. Some of Mayer’s blogging detractors unwittingly upheld the premise of her article (titled “Covert Operations”) by conceding that they have been Koch grantees. None of them found any factual errors in her 10,000 words. Many of them tried to change the subject to George Soros, the billionaire backer of liberal causes. But Soros is a publicity hound who is transparent about where he shovels his money. And like many liberals — selflessly or foolishly, depending on your point of view — he supports causes that are unrelated to his business interests and that, if anything, raise his taxes.

Lisa Murkowski could run as a Libertarian

Interesting piece on Big Government about the possibility of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski running as a Libertarian. One recent poll shows she has a chance of winning a three way election and that appears to have some talking:

For Murkowski to run on the Libertarian ticket, Haase would have to step down and the party’s executive board would have to approve Murkowski. According to the party’s chairman, they are willing to sit down and listen to Murkowski.
“We are open to a sit-down chat with Lisa, anytime,” said Scott Kohlhaas, the party’s chairman and a candidate for House District 20 in Anchorage. Kohlhaas didn’t rule out the possibility of Murkowski running on the Libertarian’s ticket, but he did offer two reservations.
First, it is Haase’s decision on whether he wants to step down, he said, and second, the party’s executive board would have to decide whether they even wanted to give Murkowski the ticket.
The poll that shows Murkowski winning a three-way race between herself, Miller, and Democrat Scott McAdams was paid for by Andrew Halcro and four other Republicans. It cost $5,400 and was conducted by Dittman Research and Communication.

Plunging in...

When I hear the word "plunger" I think of the tool used often in this house, a toilet or sink plunger, destined to be an often needed item with girls who clog the sink or tub with hair and who forget we don't have a garbage disposal when it comes to cleaning up their after meal adventures. So when I saw the term spring plungers, I thought it was some type of a extended plunging device with a spring. I was partly right, it does have a spring, and does a plunging action but it's designed for tool engineers...

Libertarians and Liberals in harmony...

Conor Friedersdorf takes a look at a recent article written by Tim Carney in the Washington Examiner on the topic of Brink Lindsey. It's a recommended read -- The Longer Libertarian game with the point being made:

Mr. Lindsey's project has never been about the 2010 midterms, or the 2012 presidential election, it's been about gradually reorienting America's ideological coalitions in a way that makes liberals more friendly to libertarian ideas, and libertarians less captive to the worst aspects of conservatism. Libertarian donors ought to fund efforts to oppose President Obama in the short term. They also ought to invest in intellectual projects with longer time horizons that only bear on particular electoral and legislative outcomes indirectly. If they can't distinguish between those projects, or if they actually display thinking as immature and counterproductive as "Obama is the devil" and "maybe he's not the devil" equals "lukewarmness for liberty," they're inadvertently sabotaging their own cause. Were I a wealthy man, I'd help fund Mr. Lindsey if only to avoid keeping all the libertarian eggs in the right's less than reliable ideological basket (the short time horizons apparently extend backward too).

An epidemic of "sunshine patriots"

If you cut to the chase on the statement released by Ron Paul on his website, one part that I think basically says it all on the topic of those opposed to the building of a mosque two blocks from "ground zero":

This is all about hate and Islamaphobia.

We now have an epidemic of “sunshine patriots” on both the right and the left who are all for freedom, as long as there’s no controversy and nobody is offended.

Political demagoguery rules when truth and liberty are ignored.

Warranties and insurance...

While I love my netbook and the laptop that I had before it, the simple fact is they are easier to have stolen and are a bit more likely to experience a mishap than my tower that I use for the larger portion of my work. It's why depending on what you spent for your netbook or laptop that you should consider laptop insurance as a protection. Look at the replacement cost versus the total cost of the insurance and the deductible, also look at the claims policy to determine if it's a cost you can justify compared to what you would have to pay for a replacement.

Christmas shopping in August?

I shook my head when I read about the promotion of christmas apparel deals taking place right now. I realize some do have this whole "Christmas in July" attitude and you can probably get some really good deals on gifts if you shop early. However...I am a last minute type shopper who resists Christmas and Christmas shopping until I absolutely must acknowledge it needs to be done. For those of you who are more fiscally responsible? Happy shopping...

:-)

Hunger strike to demand debate...

Incumbents controlling when and how a debate will take place is a common election complaint. However, most times the opposition does not take to a hunger strike. In California, a Democratic candidate started the hunger strike and was joined by a Libertarian candidate...

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter’s challengers want to debate him so badly they can taste it – probably because they haven’t eaten anything for days.

In an effort to force Mr. Hunter, the Republican incumbent in California’s 52nd district, into a series of eight debates in August, Ray Lutz, the Democratic candidate, began a hunger strike at sundown on Aug. 12. Mike Benoit, the Libertarian candidate, quickly followed suit.

Is it a publicity stunt since Hunter has supposedly agreed to debate in October?

Read more then you decide...

The Tea Party Could Bring Fascism to America

More and more libertarians are speaking out against the Tea Party movement and stating it's not libertarianism that is being promoted by a majority of Tea Party groups. This opinion piece by George Donnelly is a good example. Part of the recommended read:

The Tea Party is not a libertarian movement. It co-opted a libertarian message, but in reality it is a rightist movement. It's pro-war, intolerant, ultra-patriotic, pro-torture, into corporate apologism and ready to scapegoat paperless immigrants. As soon as the GOP recaptures the gun that is government, I expect these people will go back to sleep.

Libertarianism, on the other hand, is a consistently peaceful position. We're against war, we don't care much about those imaginary dotted lines on the map called borders and we recognize that the evils of corporatism are borne of the state. We don't oppose government only when people we dislike are in power. We seek to solve the problems liberals worry about with more peaceful means than state mandates. We're not like those Tea Party folks. And you can see this in the above video where a libertarian is violently removed from a Tea Party event!

Saving trees and money...

There used to be a time when metal buildings were used for barns and other non-home uses, now there has been an increase in the use and the types of styles for metal building construction. People are even making new homes using steel instead of wood, some using all steel, others using steel instead of the framing aspect of construction.

A news story from 2008 that I found was very interesting in using steel for framing a house:

Libertarian Judge James P. Gray featured in marijuana documentary

Here's one for those of you interested in the topic of legalizing pot...via a release sent to Independent Political Report:

I’m an independent filmmaker who produced “The Green Rush,” featuring Judge James P. Gray.
We are trying to help spread the word about Proposition 19 and get the truth about what’s happening here.

Our film shows that there are people who live in the mountains of California and grow you weed.
We also interviewed Bruce Margolin, Donald Abrams M.D. and US District Attorney Thomas O’Brien.

It is available for free on HULU.com and we are hoping for somebody to review, blog, endorse of embed it on their sites.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the film and keep up the great journalistic work you do

The link to the movie - Here. I watched it, it's worth taking a look at.

Going wireless

My home operates on a system of computers hooked up via cat5 and wireless connections. It's very easy to do using a wireless router -- what I do recommend is you buy a router that will do both, offer wireless and hardlined connections. This way you have the option. My tower as an example has the ability to be wireless but it's much easier to connect it through ethernet. No matter what, make sure you secure your wireless connection, while the neighbors might appreciate the ability to connect, others may have a bit more nefarious ideas in mind.