As my tenure as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Utah draws to a close, I pass along the following observations:

• While institutionalized aggression continues to metastasize in this heart of red-state darkness, more and more Americans are embracing the libertarian program of peace and prosperity.
• A former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Representative are among those who will likely seek the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination over the Memorial Day weekend in Denver, Colorado. The 2008 Libertarian National Convention will probably be the most widely-viewed event in the party of free agency's history to date.
• With more than four out of five Americans of the opinion that the country is on the "wrong track" -- and they are correct -- never before have so many people been ready to consider the electoral options outside of the irretrievably corrupt, two-party duopoly.
• Libertarians should support efforts to bring these incumbent political gangsters to justice, and reclaim our own lives from a taxing, regulating, and incarcerating government (PDF file) that has become too expensive, too repressive, too intrusive, and too abusive.
• Speaking of the future alumni of the federal Leviathan, I'm reminded that several former Nixon administration members escaped to Utah after their leader resigned. Former Bush administration members who come to Utah deserve to be smoked out of their spider holes and brought to account.

  Predatory charlatans who expect impunity from their misdeeds are engaged in wishful thinking. After all, anyone who affiliates with the Party of Lincoln should remember that their namesake didn't leave office because he lost an election.

• Although members of many state legislatures across America exchanged governance tips with their counterparts in European and Eurasian countries that are becoming more free, the State of Utah's political class apparently decided to compare notes with their increasingly repressive counterparts in China. Can Utahns look forward to atrocities mastered by the Chinese government being implemented here at home?
• Utahns continue to be governed by a bipartisan minority, whom despite receiving most of the votes cast in their rigged elections, make up less than half of all registered voters.
• While circulating our ballot access petition in 2007, I was directed to leave Pioneer Park (note the "Free Expression" area on the map) during the Downtown Farmers Market by a representative of the Downtown Alliance, Gallivan Plaza during the Twilight Concert Series by a representative of the Salt Lake City Arts Council, and a downtown TRAX platform by a representative of the Utah Transit Authority (despite a UTA regulation authorizing solicitation for political causes). A representative of the Salt Lake International Airport (PDF file) also forbade petition circulation in its common areas before the screening checkpoints. These organizations deserve a refresher course in free speech rights, and it may have to come in the form of a civil rights lawsuit.
• I am grateful for those individuals who have stepped forward to champion liberty for the 2008 election cycle, and to those who supported the LPUtah's petition drive to become a ballot-qualified political party once more.
• Finally, thank you to those Utah Libertarians who entrusted me with our organization's helm for the past three years. I'm honored to have served you and served with you.

What I wrote at the end of the 2006 election cycle remains true today: "If you want to become one of the growing number of Utah Libertarians working to reclaim our personal dignity from those who arrogate the authority to protect us from ourselves, please join us.

"We may lose many battles in the struggle for liberty, but we should never surrender."

Yours in liberty,

Rob Latham, Chairman, 2005-2008
Libertarian Party of Utah