LIBERTARIAN PARTY of UTAH - Privacy

The Time for Liberty

wandrew48 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:37:24 -0400

Libertarian Bob Barr offers voters a real choice

wandrew48 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:22:48 -0400

Reflections on the Party of Free Agency in Utah

Liberty For Utahns — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:32:01 -0400

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.

Jury Service: A lottery that protects liberty

Liberty For Utahns — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:13:58 -0400

"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."
--H.L. Mencken

As the handiwork of the 2007 General Session of the State of Utah's Legislature comes online, Utahns have until April 29th to find the exits, or prepare for the next assault upon civil society by the political class.

One tool used by the members of civil society to protect against institutionalized aggression is the jury, an assembly of citizens selected randomly to resolve disputes.

Is it time for juries to make a comeback in the defense of individual liberty?

Random acts of liberty

The classic film "12 Angry Men" dramatizes how one juror can save the citizen accused from being wrongfully convicted.

And because election-rigging Republicans and Democrats continue to cheat all Americans out of more competitive and representative means to choose lawmakers, randomly-selected jurors are among the few individuals who can stop the enforcement of an unjust law.

The Fully Informed Jury Association is one organization working to raise awareness of a juror's powers.

But what if a juror is unaware of his or her power to evaluate the law?

Winning against drug abuse without a war on drug users

Liberty For Utahns — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0500

Dear Abby:
My father is a businessman who travels.
Each time he returns from one of his trips,
his shoes and trousers
are covered with blood—

but he never forgets to bring me a nice present;
Should I say something?
Signed, America.

--Tony Hoagland, "Hard Rain"

Unless you count yourself among those who own stock in or are employed by the companies that federal, state, and local governments pay to fight the War on Drugs, -- in places such as Afghanistan -- you're a loser in that war.

"The war on drugs is really a war on people -- on anyone who uses or grows or makes or sells a forbidden drug."

--Ethan A. Nadelman, Drug Policy Alliance

What has the rest of America lost, aside from the tens of billions spent at all levels of government to fight the Drug War?

Privacy: Being a hard target for government snoops promotes liberty

Liberty For Utahns — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:56:55 -0400

"Big Brother is Watching You"
--From a poster in George Orwell's 1984

Those who defend the ability of the political class to peek into the most private affairs of ordinary Americans routinely invoke the mantra, "I have nothing to hide."

Of the few problems with this standard, one is that the political class regularly enlarges the list of outlawed conduct beyond common law injuries to persons or property. Armed with such a list, nosy neighbors can lead to busybody law enforcement and petty prosecutions.

More importantly, by what authority does the political class claim the right to intrude into your life to investigate wrongdoing? And who watches the watchers?

Sizzling, hot, summer sex edition

Liberty For Utahns — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 01:59:47 -0400

[Nota bene: Following some the links from this essay is probably not a good idea in a shared work environment. And if for no other reason than not being a boor, it's probably not a good idea to discuss the topic of this post with your co-workers ... unless your co-workers happen to produce a "morning zoo" genre radio program. ;-) Please exercise discretion.]

Let's talk about sex.

War widows and soldiers of fortune

Liberty For Utahns — Thu, 25 May 2006 14:10:16 -0400

Memorial Day 2006 marks the anniversary of Liberty for Utahns!

In a year's time, how have the women and men who are serving, or have served, in the U.S. military fared?

"It's always the war widows who lead the Memorial Day parade."

--Charlie, "The Americanization of Emily"

In May 2005, there were 1666 U.S. fatalities resulting from military operations in Iraq.

Utahns vs. the State of Utah

Liberty For Utahns — Sat, 06 May 2006 20:06:06 -0400

The approaching anniversary of Liberty for Utahns! inspires me to explain why I came up with the title for this blog that I did.

Doing so requires an exploration of some differences between both libertarianism and statism, and liberty and democracy.

If you glance at the upper-right section of the LPUtah's homepage, you will see a diamond-shaped graphic that contrasts not only left-liberals and right-conservatives, but libertarians and authoritarian-statists.

The position of these labels describes the degree of economic and personal freedom favored or disfavored by those who hold these political philosophies.

Counterprogram fear-based tyranny with the hopeful message of liberty

Liberty For Utahns — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:29:55 -0400

April 19th is a storied date in American history and the fight for freedom. The "shot heard 'round the world" that started the American Revolution was fired in Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.

In Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993, a raid by federal agents left 76 people dead.

Motivated by the events in Waco, Timothy McVeigh admitted to participating in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that left 168 people dead exactly two years later.