Need gift ideas for the guy in your life

Not sure what to get for one of the men in your life? Whether it's a son, brother, husband or father, it's easy to find the perfect gift when you look at these Sport Gift Ideas for Men -- you'll find a vast number of gifts to select from. If sports is not something your guy is into? There are lots of other gift ideas out there, with just a little bit if time and a computer connection, all things are possible.

Libertarian and abortion

Ron Paul says being anti-abortion is a Libertarian stance based in faith

That's not how the Libertarian Party addresses abortion:

1.4 Abortion

Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.

Want a small-government Republican? Try Gary Johnson

That's the suggestion of Michael Tanner in the National Review, in a recent article. I recommend his article for several reasons, one of which is the beginning, he is right:

It says something about our political culture that while the mainstream media were obsessed last week with the latest bizarre pronouncements by Donald Trump, another businessman-turned-politician was becoming the first declared Republican presidential candidate, with far less fanfare.

There is less and less focus on quality candidates, no matter which party or political philosophy you subscribe to. All too often it's charisma or controversy that drives the attention. It shouldn't ...

P.J. O’Rourke reviews Atlas Shrugged

I have read the book, but I have not seen the movie, I'm not sure I'll agree with P.J. O'Rourke considering I don't agree with him on more than a few topics, including how he feels about our shared hometown.

However, it was an interesting read One part of:

The movie version of Ayn Rand’s novel treats its source material with such formal, reverent ceremoniousness that the uninitiated will feel they’ve wandered without a guide into the midst of the elaborate and interminable rituals of some obscure exotic tribe.

Meanwhile, members of that tribe of “Atlas Shrugged” fans will be wondering why director Paul Johansson doesn’t knock it off with the incantations, sacraments and recitations of liturgy and cut to the human sacrifice.

His review didn't make me want to rush out and see it ...

Checking for side effects

There are quite a few herbal nutritional supplements out there that claim to provide "natural male enhancement" -- no matter which product you look at, you should look for possible side effects, there are websites out there that specialize in providing extenze side effects as well as several other of the products. It's a touchy subject for some, which is why having the information out there on the internet can make it easier for those who don't feel comfortable talking with someone about it.

20 issues trump birth certificate circus

WASHINGTON - In the wake of the much-discussed release of President Obama's long-form birth certificate, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle had this to say:

"Instead of wasting so much ink on this birther story, the press should be giving a lot more attention to the many real disasters of the Obama administration. The Libertarian Party recently released a list of '20 Obama problems, 20 Libertarian solutions.'

"Of course, President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are only part of the problem equation. The Republicans deserve an equal share of the blame, for their unwillingness to cut military spending or entitlements, their addiction to government programs like farm subsidies, and their big-spending compromise bills of December 2010 and April 2011.

"I wonder if Obama and the Republicans might just be conspiring to keep this birther stuff alive, to distract everyone from all the real problems they're causing. The president might have been worried that the birther talk was about to die down.

"When you consider that we're involved in three foreign wars, our entitlement state is crumbling, we have record-level spending and deficits, unemployment is high, and inflation is growing, the president's birth certificate seems less significant somehow.

"We need to be more focused on the fact that massive debt is driving our government toward bankruptcy -- something Republican birther Donald Trump would know a lot about.

"Nearly two years ago, one of our junior staffers mocked this very issue:

Socialized healthcare is on the horizon. The DHS, NSA, TSA police state is expanding, the Drug War is still being pursued by an arrogant, ignorant government and Obama is expanding the war in Afghanistan! Frankly we have got bigger problems to pursue than blogging endlessly about where the President was born.

"Hopefully Americans will worry less about long-form birth certificates, and more about thousand-page spending bills."

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, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

20 Libertarian solutions

LP Monday Message: 20 Obama problems, 20 Libertarian solutions

Dear Friend of Liberty,

We're a little over halfway through President Obama's term, and I wanted to send a reminder of the "top ten disasters" from his first year, plus ten newer problems, and how Libertarians would avoid or solve these problems.

1. Cash for Clunkers
The government should not try to dictate what vehicles people drive, or what mileage they get. This program paid people to destroy their cars and buy new higher-mileage cars. It wasted both money and natural resources. Libertarians would never have done this.

2. War escalation in Afghanistan
We would withdraw American forces from Afghanistan. President Obama has escalated the war.

3. Giant government health care expansion bill
Libertarians would return health care to the private sector and the free market, instead of repeatedly increasing the amount of government interference.

4. Post office loses money hand over fist
Libertarians would end the post office's monopoly, and allow competition and the free market to provide the mail services people demand.

5. Stimulus package
The key to a robust economy is shrinking government, not growing it. Libertarians don't believe in stimulus packages.

6. Expansion of "state secrets" doctrine
The president is not a dictator. Libertarians would not allow presidential actions to avoid judicial scrutiny.

7. Big increase in unemployment
High unemployment is mostly caused by government interference. Libertarians would let the free market work.

8. "Bailout" Geithner as Treasury Secretary
Libertarians would appoint someone who understands economics and the importance of free markets.

9. Skyrocketing federal spending
Libertarians would would make huge cuts, not increases, in government spending.

10. Huge federal deficits
Libertarians would cut government spending so much that deficits would disappear.

And here are ten new ones:

11. War in Libya
Libertarians want to end America's foreign wars, not start new ones.

12. Assassination doctrine
Libertarians would never claim that the president can assassinate American citizens just because he personally believes them to be terrorists.

13. Big-spending deals with Republicans
Last December, and again this month, President Obama and Republicans came together to keep federal spending huge this year. Massive defense spending, unemployment extensions, ethanol subsidies, etc. Libertarians would demand cuts in the current year, and we'd be happy to let the government shut down if our opponents refused.

14. Keeping Guantanamo open
Before he was elected, Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay. He hasn't done it. Libertarians would shut it down.

15. Fed massively inflates fiat currency
With the support of President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, the Federal Reserve has continued its massive inflation of the money supply. Libertarians wouldn't allow it -- in fact, we would end the Fed.

16. War on Poker
Less than two weeks ago, Obama's Justice Department decided to trample on the rights of millions of Americans by shutting down several online poker websites and indicting their executives. Libertarians believe that Americans have the right to gamble.

17. Patriot Act extensions
Obama has signed bills to extend the life of the Patriot Act, which violates the civil rights of Americans. Libertarians would refuse to renew it.

18. Sustaining warrantless wiretaps
As a candidate, Obama said he would end these violations started during the Bush administration. But apparently he lied. Warrantless wiretaps are still being used today. Libertarians would end them immediately.

19. Sustaining War in Iraq
As a candidate, Obama promised the Iraq War would be over by now. But there are still upwards of 50,000 American troops in Iraq. Libertarians would end that war and withdraw all of the troops.

20. Medical Marijuana raids
In October 2009, we sent a press release commending the Obama administration's new policy to end raids on medical marijuana providers. Unfortunately, they were lying. The feds have continued to raid medical marijuana providers. Libertarians would completely end the tragic and destructive War on Drugs.

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

If you have it, you probably won't need it

Life seems to take an interesting path, where if you have something like additional insurance, travel insurance or a roadside assistance plan, you probably won't need it. Yet if something happens and you don't have it? You'll wish that you had it. Recently one of my daughters drove alone from Ohio to Arizona. I added her on our account so that if something did happen? She'd not be stranded. With the exception of driving through a blizzard, she made it without needing the assistance plan, but it gave me a semblance of peace of mind ...

Libertarians speak against Obama's War on Poker

Following the Obama administration Justice Department's April 15 shutdown of three online poker sites and indictment of their executives, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle said, "The Obama administration has just trampled on the rights of millions of Americans."

Hinkle continued, "This is also a scary reminder of President Obama's vision of a government with the power to shut down websites it doesn't like, before a trial has even started.

"Even worse, shutting down this peaceful, honest commerce further weakens our economy.

"We Libertarians believe that adults have the right to gamble with their own money. Government has no business interfering. The Obama administration should drop these charges and restore the websites. Congress should repeal the laws that prohibit gambling, whatever the format."

Ron Paul set to go one more time

I heard the news yesterday that Ron Paul was going to announce he was forming an exploratory committee for president. That's been confirmed now by many media sources - New York Times as one example. Part of their report:

A

s Representative Ron Paul of Texas begins his third presidential campaign by announcing the formation of an exploratory committee, there are reasons to think that the blunt congressman might wield more influence over the shape, direction and conversation of the Republican contest this time around.

As a potential candidate, Mr. Paul has a larger national profile in 2011 than he did in 2007, when he ran for the Republican nomination as a largely unknown lawmaker. His key issues — concern about federal debt, spending and the size of government — are front and center this year. And his passionate, libertarian followers are, if anything, better organized as part of the Tea Party movement.

Rising prices

It may be nice at times to think about taking one of those epson printers and printing out your own money. Getting beyond the fact that it's illegal, in a way that is part of what has happened in our country. Money is continued to be printed by the federal government and some wonder what it is actually backed upon. With the price of gold, some have again broached the concept of a gold standard.

Sexual Harassment and the Loneliness of the Civil Libertarian Feminist

Highly recommended article -- Sexual Harassment and the Loneliness of the Civil Libertarian Feminist by Wendy Kaminer.

Just one small part:

Civil libertarian feminists have always been a political minority, but these days we seem on the verge of extinction. Reviewing the charges of sexual harassment underlying the Title IX complaint by a group of Yale students and alumnae, I can't find feminism -- at least not if feminism includes independence, liberty, and power for women. Instead I find femininity -- the assumption that women are incapable of fending for themselves in the marketplace of epithets or ideas, the belief that women are rendered helpless by misogynist speech and the sexist tantrums of their male peers.

Online marketing

Many companies opt to take advantage of the free market place by using online marketing over traditional print. You'll see this with quite a few products like, adapexin-p, as one example. Keywords, or purchasing online advertising using keywords has proven to work for them as a more cost effective option. Which makes sense given the rising cost of advertising in some areas. It's also easier to target specific target groups on the internet when advertising is placed on websites that attract specific groups more likely to use a product or service.

Libertarians say Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton

An earlier release I missed, but it is worth sharing:

In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:

"Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan.

"Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion.

"They also want to increase the federal debt from $15.0 trillion to $23.1 trillion. I hope our children and grandchildren enjoy paying interest on that extra $8.1 trillion.

Libertarians call for permanent government shutdown

As elected officials put on a dog-and-pony media show about a temporary shutdown of small parts of the federal government, the Libertarian Party calls for a permanent shutdown of most of the federal government.

Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict said, "Just think how a permanent government shutdown would allow so many Americans to regain the blessings of liberty.

"Education would blossom as the Department of Education ended its War on Learning, no longer wasting our money and preventing educational innovation with one-size-fits-all centralized mandates.

"Job opportunities at companies big and small would multiply, providing opportunity and choice for American workers.