PART FOUR OF FOUR ...
LIBERTARIAN CONVENTION ENDS IN UNITY DESPITE CONTROVERSIES
by Thomas M. Sipos, managing editor.
[June 24, 2004]
* Sellers & Activists,
Left and Right
 Just off
the convention floor, all manner of merchandisers and activists engaged
in the free market exchange of goods and services -- and of ideas!
Libertarians and liberals
both advocate free speech, yet libertarians believe that no right is separable
from property rights, whereas the ACLU often attacks property rights. For instance, libertarians believe
shopping malls should decide who distributes flyers on their property,
while the ACLU has sued malls to force them to permit anyone to distribute
on their premises.
Challenged by the Investigator
about their poor record defending mall owners' property rights, ACLU rep
Gabe Rottman defended by saying that malls are "public domain" (sic).
 Libertarians
cherish they right to keep & bear arms, so they'll be thrilled to vote
for gun rights author & advocate Richard
Mack, a former Arizona sheriff now running for governor of Utah!
Speaking exclusively to the Investigator, Mack said he was the "first sheriff in the U.S. to
sue
an existing administration on a gun control issue, except using the Tenth
Amendment, state's rights. I
sued that the federal government had no authority to tell me, or any
other
state official, what to do, and that they could not commandeer us for federal
bidding.
"I won on the 10th Amendment. Basically, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the U.S. Congress had exceeded
their authority when they passed the Brady Bill."
Ruling
in favor of Mack in Mack vs. U.S.,
the Supreme Court handed down its decision on June 27, 1997.
Apart
from
campaigning for governor of Utah, Mack spent much of the convention hawking
the many books he's authored (some self-published, some not), including From
My Cold Dead Fingers: Why America Needs Guns.
 With both major parties
continuing to promote the war on drugs, no one was surprised to see marijuana
rights advocacy group Norml at the
LP
convention!
The groovy folks at Norml
also brought along one of the funkier booth displays: A life-size cutout
of George Bush -- sporting a wreath of hemp!
Like, far out!
Libertarians
take tax-cutting so seriously, they make Republicans look like ... well,
like big-spending, pork barrel Republicans. That's why both the National
Taxpayers Union Foundation and Fair
Tax set up shop at the LP convention.
Fair Tax
is promoting an especially intriguing concept: replacing the income tax
with a consumption tax (i.e., a national sales tax). Imagine never
again having to keep tax records or complete a W2 form! You may
say he's a dreamer, but he's not the only one -- and he's got a petition
full of names to prove it!
Beware
those Skull
& Bones! This elite secret society counts both George Bush and John Kerry as members -- and is not to be trusted!
 But you
don't have to tell it to author Garland Favorito, who spent the convention
plugging his conspiracy-busting book, Our
Nation Betrayed: From Impeachment to Infinite War, and his Just
Say NO to Skull & Bones bumperstickers!
Speaking exclusively to the Investigator, Favorito revealed one of the bombshell exposés
in his shocking book:
"Back during the Clinton
impeachment, the Republicans had very serious evidence against Clinton
that they did not use, and turned the impeachment into a sex soap opera! And the reason was because Bill Clinton had serious
evidence regarding the Bushes, what they had been involved in. It's sort of a mutually assured destruction type of a scenario."
The theory
that Clinton has dirt on the Bush family was more recently raised on radio's Michael
Savage Show, as a way to explain both: (1) Bush's insistence that the
Clintons not be pursued for alleged theft and vandalism of White House
artifacts in January 2001, and (2) for Bush's praise of Clinton during
the June 2004 unveiling of Bill and Hillary Clintons' White House portraits.
 Why would anyone accept
a crummy Federal Reserve Note (i.e., a U.S. dollar), when they can instead
be paid in Liberty Dollars? That's the question asked by Ken
Evans, "Regional Currency Officer" of "The Liberty Dollar of Wilmington,"
a Liberty Dollar "Associate."
The Liberty dollar is a privately
issued, free market-based alternative currency, backed by and redeemable
for its full face value in silver and gold. You can "exchange" your
U.S. money for Liberty dollars (as with any other currency exchange) or
obtain Liberty dollars "at a discount" by becoming an Associate!
According
to their National Office:
The Liberty Dollar is
the fast-growing and second-most popular currency in America, and has been
since it was issued in 1998! Over 100,000 people use the Liberty
Dollar through a national network of Liberty Merchants who accept the Liberty
Dollar and Liberty Associates who distribute the new currency.
The Liberty Dollar is real money. You can use it just like cash anywhere it is accepted voluntarily. Use it for everyday purchases at the grocery store, the dentist, or the
gas station as payment for goods and services. It's a silver-based
currency, an alternative to using the Federal Reserve Note.
 Evans admits that a $10
Liberty coin only contains an once of silver (current value about $6.) But then he shows a U.S. quarter and asks, "How much silver is there in
that? Which would you rather have?"
Evans says nine out of ten
times, merchants prefer to be paid in liberty dollars over U.S. money.
Liberty dollars are available
as notes, or as silver or gold coins ($1, $5, and $10 silver coins, or
a
$500 gold coin).
However, according to Evans, "The Silver Certificates are not 'notes.' Notes are debt instruments and ALD (American Liberty Dollars) are the exact
opposite of debt. ALD are commodity money actually owned by the people. And the one ounce Silver Libertys are not 'coins.' Coins are issued
by the government. I refer to them as Silver & Gold Libertys
or pieces."
Libertarians love the free
market, and Liberty Dollar was not the only MLM type operation seeking
profits and associates!
And because many libertarians
take personal responsibility for health, alternative medicine and healthful
food have long been products that libertarians love -- as does Russo!
Thus it was no surprise finding
MLL miracle health food Xango for sale at the convention.
 |
Libertarians who are tired
of losing elections because they're a small minority have a new idea --
encouraging 20,000 "liberty-oriented" people from around the U.S. to move
into a small state that they can then take over!
That's the goal of the Free
State Project, and they've targeted New Hampshire!
Leave Free or Die, indeed. |
"Liberty is cool," says
Ann Cason, which is the message behind the Liberty
Penguin merchandise licensing sub-phenomenon.
Cason says the Liberty Penguin
helps sell liberty, because people are curious about it, creating an opening
to discuss the LP. Besides which, she adds, "Everybody loves penguins!"
(Sounds to us like the Liberty
Penguin is a "liberty ice-breaker.")
Also for sale was Steve Cason's
political fable, Frogg
Pond. |
 |
Plenty more books were for
sale at Laissez-Faire Books, the legendary indie bookseller that has amazingly survived
the rise of the Barnes & Noble and Borders superstores, and Amazon.com!
Even better for bargain-hungry
libertarians, Laissez-Faire Books promises to meet or beat Amazon prices! |
 |
Libertarians respect other
people's property so much, booths were left unattended during the convention,
sponsors having no fear that items might be stolen! (Such as this
booth
from the Heartland Institute think
tank.)
Some booths even left jars
or cashboxes full of money out in the open, with a nearby sign listing
the prices of items and asking people to simply pay via the "honor system."
Wonder if it's safe to leave
cash lying around at the Democrat convention? |
 |
 Nobody can say Libertarians
don't know how to party hardy!
At a Thursday night reception,
delegates were welcomed by this kick-ass live band while munching on all-you-can-eat
waffles, fruits, and ice cream!
(Liquor was available for
an additional charge.)
But the
wild & crazy partying that opened events was nothing compared to the
excitement of finishing a weekend of hard deliberations and coming away
with a choice they were proud of. With Badnarik,
Libertarians believe they are offering a real difference to America, as
Bush and Kerry agree on all major issues. Both of them support (either
by word or deed) the war on drugs, war in Iraq, fewer civil liberties,
and increased socialism. Whatever their official ideologies, the
two major parties' polices are nearly identical. Their sole dispute:
who gets to be in charge?
Despite
some squabbles amid the diversity, the 2004 Libertarian Party national
convention ended with optimism, exuberance, and unity. Everyone rallied
around Badnarik, seemingly full of hope for November. Russo urged
everyone to donate generously to Badnarik.
Someone
shouted from the stage, "Doesn't it feel great to be a libertarian?" The convention floor erupted with cheers and applause.
END OF PART FOUR. GO TO PART ONE,
PART TWO, PART THREE.
Copyright 2004 by HollywoodInvestigator.com
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