Image by John-Morgan/Flickr

A rerun from the January 3rd LoC. — While we as Libertarians are fundamentally opposed to almost all taxation, there is one thing that you can do to put a small portion of your tax dollars to work in a way that you want. The North Carolina tax form every year has a tax check off where the taxpayer can make a $3 contribution to the political party of his or her choice.

Checking the box doesn’t increase your tax, but it does give you the opportunity to direct some of your tax dollars to something you believe in.

When you file your state taxes this year, please be sure to check off $3 to the Libertarian Party under the Political Party Financing Fund.

http://www.meetup.com/libertarian-18/events/48680602/

“The most dangerous threat to our freedom is allowing the fear of the world to blind us to the terror we face at home, from those who use lies, deceit, and fear, who seize unconstitutional power and claim immoral authority under the pretense of protecting us from harm,” the Winston-Salem native wrote in an op-ed on his campaign website.

“Rather than responding to this attack the way Americans usually have responded to adversity — by picking themselves up, marshaling their courage and resources, and building a better, stronger nation, our political and military leaders choose to exploit 9/11 in order to increase and strengthen their own power, turning America into a nation of quivering victims,” he said.

“America must shake off the pallor of victimization and stop being afraid,” Wrights wrote. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attack, it is time to tell our pretended leaders that ten years of fear is enough. It is time we stand up united and say – enough is enough! We are a free people and we will not be ruled by fear.”

Wrights, 53, a libertarian writer and political activist, is seeking the presidential nomination because he believes the Libertarian message in 2012 must be a loud, clear and unequivocal call to stop all war. To that end he has pledged that 10 percent of all donations to his campaign will be spent for ballot access so that the stop all war message can be heard in all 50 states. The lifetime member of the Libertarian Party is co-founder and editor of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., he now lives and works in Texas.

Read the complete op-ed here.

“When you vote for a candidate who doesn’t represent your views in order to stop another candidate who doesn’t represent your views, you end up with a government that not only doesn’t represent you views, but is run by people who have no incentive or motivation to even consider what you might think,” he writes. “If you maintain you’re choosing to support one evil in order to avoid a greater evil, you’re basically admitting there is no evil you would not support in the interest of a ‘greater’ good.”

In a related op ed, Wrights comments on the recent endorsement of President Obama’s reelection made by the Communist Party USA chair. Wrights called this a classic example of a third party leader advocating a position that will insure his party never becomes a viable political force.

I’m excited to introduce some changes coming down the road. Starting in August, we will be moving our weekly meetings from Thursdays to Tuesdays. I realize this schedule change will mean that some people who had been able to attend the Thursday meetings may have to juggle their schedules or may not be able to participate some weeks. On the other hand, it will allow some folks who were unable to make Thursday meetings to meet with us more regularly. Our plan is to have programs and events throughout the year in different locations and times across Wake County (and perhaps beyond) to get as many folks involved as possible.

We are also introducing a regular agenda for the meetings so that people will have a good idea beforehand what to expect at each meeting. The general regular agenda will be as follows:

7pm – 7:30pm – business meeting
7:30pm – 8:00pm – presentation (guest speaker, recent events, topic oriented discussion)
8:00pm – follow – discussion

The first Tuesday meeting will be Tuesday, August 2 at Edward McKay’s Used Books. As of that date, regular Thursday meetings will be discontinued and we will meet every Tuesday evening.

Feel free to bring a snack or ‘finger food’ to share (snack potluck!) Our topic will be the free market, with a special discussion of the (so-called) ‘free rider problem’ given by our own Jason Cockrell. We will also be discussing some upcoming topics for the year including ballot access, county and local government, and elections.

WAKELP TREASURER. Our Treasurer Marc Conaghan will be relocating to Scotland in coming months. If you are interested in serving as Wake LP Treasurer, please contact Daniel Chang chair@wakelp.org for details.

WAKELP.ORG. We have rolled out the website design back in May and now we need contributors! Brian Irving has contributed a number of pieces to the website, but we’re always looking for Libertarian perspective on current issues. If you have a piece you’d like to contribute, or want to contribute on an ongoing basis, please contact Daniel Chang chair@wakelp.org for details.

In Liberty,

Daniel Chang, Chair
Susan Hogarth, Vice Chair
Marc Conaghan, Treasurer

“There is no such thing as a wasted vote,” Wrights says. “Your vote is your voice; it is one of your unnamed, inalienable rights, the ultimate expression of your right to free speech and self-government. Your vote is the most precious and meaningful gift you can give to any candidate.”

Read the entire op ed here.

“This represents a huge change to a very bad law that was a blemish on the State of North Carolina,” said Cathy Heath, director of StopNCAnnexation. “This is a change of historic significance.”

StopNCAnnexation was formed eight years ago by a Wake County group fighting a forced annexation with a mission to use the internet to organize citizens across North Carolina into a cohesive effort, to assist each other and convince the legislature to end forced annexation.

Heath said she was puzzled by the governor’s decision not to sign the bill, but to take a “hands off approach” and let it become law by default. She noted that thousands of people, nearly two dozen citizens groups and the UNC Center for Civil Rights supported the bill. The bill passed with a strong bipartisan vote in both the House and Senate.

“In light of all of the support the legislation had among the people and the overwhelming majority of the legislature, it is hard to understand why Governor Purdue chose not to show genuine support for the bill,” Heath said.

The bill also eliminates different annexation rules for “small” and “large” municipalities, requires municipalities to give a one year advance notice to areas being considered for annexation, and prohibits a city or town from attempting to annex an area again for three years once the property owners have rejected annexation.

Another bill that passed the legislature and is now law will allow nearly every community currently being forcibly annexed to use the petition process to reject annexation. The municipalities affected include Kinston, Lexington, Rocky Mount, Wilmington, Asheville, Marvin, Southport, Fayetteville, and Goldsboro.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has long opposed forced annexation. The party platform states: All annexation should be subject to the direct approval of those living in areas proposed to be annexed.

The legislature will return in July primarily to deal with redistricting but may consider other matters, including election law bills.

“We’re hopeful that legislators will pass this bill when the return,” said Jordon M. Greene, president of Free the Vote North Carolina. His group is heading a coalition of political parties and public policy groups from across the political spectrum supporting the bill. The measure has backing from the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties, Democracy NC, the John Locke Foundation and the N.C. League of Women Voters.

“Clearly there’s a broad base of support from across the political spectrum to offer voters more choice on the ballot. We hope the state Senate will consider this and take action,” Greene said. “It is past time that North Carolinians were given as much choice on the ballot as they do in the grocery store.”

The bill lowers the number of signatures a new party must obtain from 2 percent of the vote for governor or president to 0.25 percent of registered voters. That party could then retain ballot status by getting 0.25 percent of the votes for president, governor or any council of state office, whichever is lower, rather than 2 percent of the vote for governor or president under current law.

It also lowers the petition signature requirements for unaffiliated statewide candidates from 2 percent to 0.25 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial or presidential race. For district offices, including the state legislature, U.S. House, and local office, the bill lowers the signature requirement for unaffiliated candidates from 4 percent to 1 percent of the registered voters in that district.

In addition, the bill allows political parties with less than 10 percent of the registered voters to opt out of the state’s primary system and nominate their candidates in convention. If these parties choose to hold primaries, only one primary will be held with the winner determined by a plurality vote.

North Carolina has the second most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation. Under current law, a new party must get signatures equal to two percent of the most recent vote for governor or president to qualify for the ballot. That’s equivalent to 85,379 signatures. Based on voter registration as of January 1, the new law would put that figure at about 15,000.

Barbara Howe, LPNC Communications Director

Below is a special message from Free the Vote North Carolina, a coalition of which the LPNC is a member.

Please call or write your representative this Monday or Tuesday and ask them to support the Electoral Freedom Act (H32), a bill that will significantly ease ballot access restrictions in NC.

This is an important piece of legislation. Please act quickly. The message below provides talking points for your use.

Barbara Howe
Communications Director, LPNC

Libertarian National Committee Chairman Mark Hinkle

For Immediate Release
Friday, May 27, 2011

WASHINGTON – Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:

“Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats in Congress joined hands to renew several provisions of the Patriot Act. These provisions are unconstitutional and violate our right to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

“These provisions should be repealed, and if they’re not repealed, they ought to be ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

“Anyone who believes that Democrats care more about civil liberties than Republicans ought to be disillusioned by this renewal. It has become painfully clear that the Obama administration is indistinguishable from the George W. Bush administration.

“The plain injustice of these search provisions is compounded by the secrecy that surrounds them. In some cases, Americans — even members of Congress — aren’t permitted to know the legal interpretations that govern how these searches may be implemented. And of course there is the infamous ‘library records’ provision, which prohibits targets from telling anyone that they were ordered to turn over records to the government.

“I don’t believe that these violations of our rights are making us any safer. I think it’s security theater. And I’m certainly reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s words, ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’

“Our Constitution guarantees our rights. It doesn’t make an exception for ‘fear of terrorists.’ It’s time to end these violations of our rights, and repeal the Patriot Act.

“We can never perfectly protect ourselves from foreigners who hate us. One useful thing we can do is to try to stop antagonizing foreigners. Our government should stop invading and bombing their countries and stationing troops in them. It’s time for a non-interventionist foreign policy.”

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.