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June 21, 2004
TIME.com: New Abuse ChargesTIME.com: New Abuse Charges -- Jun. 28, 2004 Could the abuse of prisoners in Iraq have gone beyond the beatings and sexual humiliation already alleged? Unreleased, classified parts of the report on prison abuse from Major General Anthony Taguba, which were read to TIME, contain indications of mistreatment of female prisoners. In a Feb. 21 statement to Taguba, Lieut. Colonel Steven L. Jordan, former head of the Abu Ghraib interrogation center, said he had received reports "that there were members of the MI [Military Intelligence] community that had come over and done a late-night interrogation of two female detainees" last October. According to a statement by Jordan's boss, Colonel Thomas Pappas, three interrogators were later cited for violations of military law in their handling of the two females, ages 17 and 18. Senate Armed Services Committee investigators are probing whether the two women were sexually abused. The Pentagon declined to comment. Meanwhile, a class action filed in California on behalf of former detainees raises the specter of brutal physical abuse. June 18, 2004
Biterman: Traveling a different route: Bad-who for U.S. President?Traveling a different route: Bad-who for U.S. President? by Aaron J. Biterman |
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Johnny Ramone losing cancer fight
Johnny Ramone once handed me his guitar pick from onstage at a club when I was a teenager. I was squished in the front row, and at the end of each song I would scream and reach toward Johnny, who was about 2-3 feet from the end of my reach, if that. And during one of these brief moments (the Ramones would break between songs for only as long as it took drummer Marky to say "...2, 3, 4!"), Johnny quickly reached forward and slipped his guitar pick right into my hand. It has ruts in it, caused by the pick slides that come during "Psychotherapy", which was the song just finished as I was given that trinket -- and that lasting memory -- by Johnny Ramone.
CNN.com - Report: Johnny Ramone losing cancer fight - Jun 16, 2004
June 14, 2004
Richard Mack becomes "American Candidate" finalist
Because of how imbalanced our political system is, there's a very good chance that Richard Mack could reach more people as a Libertarian candidate from Showtime's "American Candidate" show than LP nominee Michael Badnarik will be able to reach through a traditional third-party campaign. Only if he wins the prize, though. Otherwise, Badnarik will probably get more net exposure.
Either way, way to go Richard Mack! Represent!
Be sure to stop by his American Candidate home page and add yourself as a supporter. You don't need to sign up or anything to do so.
The Salt Lake Tribune -- It's Showtime! Utahn makes cut to 'run' for office
...
Mack, a Provo resident and former Utah gubernatorial candidate for the Libertarian Party, has a much bigger platform for his vision of America -- a reality show on the cable channel Showtime.
Mack is one of 12 finalists for a new summer series called "American Candidate," an "unscripted" program premiering Aug. 1 in which a dozen hopefuls compete for a shot at $200,000 and national air time to run for president of the United States as the "People's Candidate."
In order to participate, Mack had to pull out of the Utah governor race. He faxed his intent to withdraw late last week, said former campaign manager Rob Latham.
"When this opportunity raised its head, I said, 'Man, I better grab it,' " Mack said from his Provo home Tuesday. "For me, to turn down this opportunity . . . would be very foolish."
...
Mack is a former Arizona county sheriff who says he is now a law-enforcement consultant, author and public speaker on "constitutional issues." During the governor race, he campaigned for less government, more states' rights, repeal of the Patriot Act, dismantling the IRS and the Department of Education and doing away with gun control laws.
...
The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik
I found this compilation of quote snippets to be a very distortive and fairly irresponsible piece of journalism. At first I was inclined to lay the blame on Badnarik, for saying stuff that begged to be smeared...but if you read through the reporter's full interview profile, you can see a much fuller (and more accurate) representation of reality.
It's a shame the reporter (or editor) didn't allow for a substantial article as the primary piece. I doubt many of the paper's reader's went online to go read the background notes.
The Austin Chronicle: News: The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik
Crappy Cops Murder Mountain Lion
This story makes me really angry. If I had been there, I would almost certainly have been arrested for interfering with the murdering idiot police officers who decided to kill a treed animal. They claim it was running off...but that doesn't make sense in so many ways...not the least of which is the fact that there is apparently TV footage that shows him lounging on a tree branch as he was killed. Look at the pictures with the story where they show screen shots from the footage.
So they irresponsibly decide to kill a cornered wild animal, and then they lie about their rationale.
Grrr.
Mountain lion chased by dog, then killed by Palo Alto police
A 110-pound male mountain lion spotted roaming the streets of residential Palo Alto for hours was shot and killed Monday after a dog chased it up a tree.
An 11-year-old black Labrador named Kelsy caught scent of the big cat and chased it up a tree until police arrived, according to the dog's owner, John Furrier.
"She had a ferocious growl that we've never heard before," Furrier said of Kelsy. "I think she's a hero. I think she could have saved some lives."
Police had been on the lookout for the lion after it was spotted earlier in the day. Officers who arrived to find it in the tree didn't have a tranquilizer gun, and said the animal started to run off, so they decided to bring it down, said Capt. Torin Fischer.
Footage of the shooting taken by a KPIX-TV crew appeared to show the animal resting on a high limb in the tree, raising its head slightly, when it was shot. Not everyone was happy with the turn of events.
"I think it's absolutely atrocious the way the police behaved because obviously the animal was not posing a threat to anyone," said Alfredo Kuba, from the animal rights group In Defense of Animals.
The neighborhood where the lion was shot was far from the mountains the big cats normally call home. This was in the middle of residential Palo Alto, just a few blocks from an elementary school.
"It's very rare," Fischer said. "I can't remember something like this in the last five years."
Mom, son accused of planting mouse in soup
MSNBC - Mom, son accused of planting mouse in soup
Restaurant presses charges in Mother's Day case
...
Patterson claimed she had already eaten some of her vegetable soup when she scooped up the mouse on May 8, the day before Mother’s Day.
The discovery prompted the 500-store chain to stop serving vegetable soup nationwide, but a company investigation discovered the mouse did not originate from the Cracker Barrel kitchen.
“We learned that the mouse died from a fractured skull before it entered the soup,” Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie Davis said. In addition, the animal had no soup in its lungs, nor had it been cooked — signs it had been dropped in the soup after its death, she said.
...
Moore held back on releasing prisoner abuse footage
Documentarian kept quiet after filming U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqis
(permacopy)
Filmmaker Michael Moore said Friday he wasn't sure he did the right thing by saving footage of U.S. American soldiers' cruelty toward Iraqis for his controversial documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' instead of releasing the evidence earlier when it might have helped halt such abuse.
"I had it months before the story broke on '60 Minutes,' and I really struggled with what to do with it,'' Moore said in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. "I wanted to come out with it sooner, but I thought I'd be accused of just putting this out for publicity for my movie. That prevented me from making maybe the right decision.''
The footage, eerily similar to film of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison, shows GIs laughing as they snap photos of each other putting hoods over Iraqi detainees.
In the same scene from "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' which opens Friday at Bay Area theaters, an American soldier fondles a prisoner's genitals through a blanket.
...
June 10, 2004
FoxNews Q & A with Micael Badnarik
FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Transcripts: Badnarik is Libertarian's Pick for President
Legalize it, Ex-Cop Tells Hill Pot Rally
CN ON: Legalize it, Ex-Cop Tells Hill Pot Rally
Jack Cole is not the type of person you would expect to see at a rally to legalize pot. During his 26-year career with the New Jersey state police, Cole spent 12 years as an undercover narcotics officer. His investigations ran the gamut from street drug dealers to international drug trafficking organizations.
Now retired, the Medford, Me., resident has taken a decidedly different stance on illegal drugs.
FORCE CRIMINALS OUT
Cole is a founding member and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ), an international, drug-policy-reform organization consisting of current and former members of law enforcement.
"I believe in legalizing all drugs," he said, explaining that legalization would allow the government to regulate and control the distribution, consumption and production of these substances, forcing criminals out of the equation.
...
June 09, 2004
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
===================================
NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org
===================================
For release: June 9, 2004
===================================
For additional information:
George Getz, Communications Director
Phone: (202) 333-0008
===================================
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture
sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
WASHINGTON, DC -- A secret legal opinion by the Justice Department that
reportedly justifies torture should be repudiated by the U.S. government
before it backfires on U.S. troops or civilians overseas, Libertarians
say.
“Iraqis can torture Americans just as easily as Americans can torture
Iraqis,” said Joseph Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director.
“Not only is the U.S. government’s rationale for torturing prisoners
uncivilized and un-American, it could have a dangerous boomerang effect
on the very people President Bush claims he’s trying to protect.”
In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday,
Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to release 2002 Justice
Department memos on interrogation techniques being used at U.S. prisons
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. But according to documents that
have been leaked to the press, the department’s lawyers say that a
wartime president is not bound by anti-torture laws or treaties, and
that inflicting physical and psychological pain might be justified
during enemy interrogations.
Of course there’s no legal or moral justification for torture,
Libertarians say, which is why the U.S. government should repudiate the
Justice Department’s legal opinion.
But Bush and Ashcroft seem to have overlooked a dangerous and immediate
consequence of “reinterpreting” anti-torture statutes: The same
rationale could be used by foreign governments against U.S. military
personnel, as well as American civilians traveling and working overseas.
“The U.S. government has signed international treaties banning torture
not just to protect foreign troops, but also to protect American troops
when they’re captured,” Seehusen said. “It’s in America’s self-interest
to abide by these laws. Flouting these standards gives tyrants and
dictators around the world the green light to do the same.”
Unfortunately, U.S. troops have already been captured in Iraq, and may
be captured again, Seehusen observed.
“Imagine opening your morning newspaper and seeing a photo of a captured
U.S. soldier wearing a black hood while being forced to stand on a box
with electrodes attached to his body,” Seehusen said. “Or imagine photos
of naked American men and women being piled on top of each other for the
amusement of prison guards, or lying naked on the floor wearing only a
dog leash held by a smiling Iraqi soldier.
“The American public would be justifiably outraged, and would demand
that the enemy troops be brought before a war crimes tribunal.”
Yet under the Bush administration’s “reinterpretation” of anti-torture
laws, such a prosecution might be impossible, he noted.
“No civilized person wants to see such brutal, thuggish behavior go
unpunished,” Seehusen said. “Yet that’s exactly what could happen if
George Bush insists that wartime presidents have the power to exempt
themselves from anti-torture laws.”
FoxNews.com Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik
FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party
June 08, 2004
Southerland: My observations on the National Convention
(Trevor Southerland is a young and upcoming star in the Libertarian Party. I thought that before I read that's the word on the street. ;-))
A Place to Stand
My observations on the National Convention
by Trevor Southerland
excerpt:
I've been told that I'm a "young and upcoming" star of the Libertarian Party. First off, I'm not the only one. I urge you to look to Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, California, Ohio, Maine, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and probably right in your own neighborhood... There are young Libertarians everywhere, a new generation of Libertarians, a generation that was born Libertarian and as Mark Mosley said, a generation that became Libertarian before we had our driver's licenses. It's easy to feel all alone... I hope you'll help make sure that those young Libertarians know there's more people like them... And every two years around a thousand of us get together in a hotel, I call it a family reunion.
Capitol Hill Blue: TIA is Alive and Well
Capitol Hill Blue: Where Big Brother Snoops on Americans 24/7
Customers of the Bank of America branch at 3625 Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia, often wonder about the Arlington police car that is always parked in front of the building in the next block.
They also can’t help but notice the two armed guards from the private Cantwell Security Service who patrol the street in front of the building and eye each passerby warily.
“What’s going on across the street?” one woman asked while waiting in line to deposit her paycheck last Friday.
“Not sure,” said the man ahead of her in line. “Something to do with the government. The police cars and guards have been there since shortly after 9-11.”
“Oh,” she said. “No matter.”
Actually, if the woman knew what was happening inside the nondescript office building at 3701 Fairfax Drive, she might think it really does matter because the building houses the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Total Information Awareness Program, the “big brother” program Congress thought it killed.
...
Browne: In Praise of the Libertarian Party
In Praise of the Libertarian Party
by Harry Browne
June 4, 2004
With the Libertarian Party (LP) on television last weekend choosing its presidential nominee, it’s time for the smug, superior types to come out of the woodwork and tell us what a sorry spectacle the party is.
Every four years around this time we get statements like these from libertarians who aren’t in the party:
"The Libertarian Party has finished its regularly scheduled exercise in futility."
"The LP has displayed a genius for assigning itself a role in American politics akin to irrelevance."
As though that weren’t bad enough, disgruntled party members also level broadsides when they don’t get what they want:
"The LP attempted to shoot itself in the foot by not nominating [Aaron Russo] for president."
I recently received an email message from someone asking, "If the LP was a stock that you (or I) had bought 20 years ago, based on its performance would you still be holding onto it?" — as though I would choose a political party or organization of any kind in the same way I would choose a stock.
After 33 years in operation, the LP presidential candidate has never received more than 1% of the vote, the party has elected less than a thousand office-holders, and currently has no one in Congress or a state legislature.
The armchair quarterbacks inside and outside the party know just what the party needs to do to reverse its fortunes. It must focus on a particular issue to the exclusion of all other topics, stage the right kind of media events, conduct a campaign that’s more "in your face," merge campaigns with another third party, tone down the message, or find a celebrity to carry the party’s banner.
If only it were so easy.
The armchair quarterbacks pay no attention to the obstacles that the LP is up against. Nor do they recognize the tremendous good the LP does.
...
June 07, 2004
Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
AP Wire | 06/04/2004 | Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
New York Post Online Edition: WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
May 25, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - If the war and the presidential election aren't generating enough headlines, Washington finally has the ultimate attention getter: a good, old-fashioned sex scandal.
Thank Jessica Cutler.
Her Internet diary, which graphically recorded what she claims are steamy sexploits with powerful D.C. lawyers and Bush administration honchos, has exploded like a grenade in the nation's capital.
...
Sarrecchia on the 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
Libertarians At the Gate: The 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
byTony Sarrecchia
Buchanan: The dog days of the War Party
WorldNetDaily: The dog days of the War Party
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted: June 7, 2004
Fourteen months ago, after the 3rd Infantry Division and Marines swept into Baghdad, Washington was at the feet of the neoconservatives who had been plotting and propagandizing for an invasion for years.
A celebratory breakfast was held at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, where William Kristol, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen held forth in a spirit of joyous anticipation of wars and victories to come. At a dinner party at the vice president's mansion, Kenneth ("Cakewalk") Adelman, Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, and Paul Wolfowitz toasted one another and the president. As the '60s song went, "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end."
Now, enmeshed in a guerrilla war, Americans are demanding to know who told us we would be welcomed with garlands of flowers. Who said our troops would come home in a year? Who said democracy would flourish across the Arab world? Who misled us about the weapons of mass destruction? Who lied us into war?
But the neocons may be facing problems more serious than entering the history books alongside the Whiz Kids of the McNamara era who got it wrong in Vietnam and left 58,000 behind. Some War Party leaders may see careers cashiered and reputations ruined.
...
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks - PittsburghLIVE.com
...
Even though money is tight, Badnarik and his party will not apply for federal campaign finance funds. And unlike the two dominant parties that take tens of millions in federal dollars to subsidize their conventions, Libertarians insist on paying their own way. Always.
"Our principle is that we do not take other people's tax money for our own benefit," Badnarik said.
...
June 04, 2004
Libertarian Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
ABQjournal: Albuquerque Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
DALLAS — An Albuquerque woman says she was ejected from a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal after showing military recruits an anti-war campaign poster.
Carole Ward, 57, showed the recruits an 8 1/2- by 11-inch poster of a composite illustration of President Bush made up of the faces of soldiers who have died in Iraq. It bore the title "Faces of Death."
Some people found the poster offensive and the woman became belligerent with an American Airlines gate agent, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline.
...
June 03, 2004
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
CBS News | Enron Traders Caught On Tape | June 2, 2004 20:39:26
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
...
Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
The Onion | Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
WASHINGTON, DC—According to Gallup Poll results released Monday, 6 percent of Americans are still undecided about whether to vote against President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry in November's presidential election.
"At first, I was really leaning toward voting against Kerry, because the way he tried to hide his ambivalence about his military service made him seem like a political operator," poll participant and Trenton, NJ resident Amber Barthelme said. "But then, the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal got me thinking that there's a lot to not like about the current administration. It's almost impossible to decide which side I don't want to be on."
...
"The two major parties face a tough struggle," Harmon said. "As the election approaches, both must convince undecided voters that the opposing party's candidate is worse than their own. As both parties take more moderate positions in an election year, it's getting harder to convince citizens that there's a reason to get out there and vote against anyone."
...
Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
Canada: Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
MONTREAL -- The Marijuana Party rolled out its election platform yesterday, hoping its 100 or so candidates can convince voters that it's more than just a token party. The grassroots organization aims to field candidates in every region of Canada except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
...
Bush likens terror fight to World War II
Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/03/2004 | Bush likens terror fight to World War II
FINAL VICTORY COULD TAKE DECADES, PRESIDENT SAYS IN BID FOR SUPPORT
Police car siren killed chickens
Ananova - Police car siren killed chickens
A farmer in western China has sued police after a squad car siren scared 435 of his chickens to death.
The siren, which was being repaired, went off just 10 metres from the chickens at the farm in Huxian, Shaanxi province.
Thirty five of the birds died on the spot and another 400 died later of shock, says the Procuratorate Daily newspaper.
A court ordered the police to compensate the farmer for the 35 chickens that died first, but said it couldn't be proved they were to blame for the other deaths.
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik?
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik? by Jerome Tuccille
Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
How ironic is it that members of a party called the Democratic Party would be working to keep a candidate from getting on election ballots?
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 02, 2004
June 02, 2004
Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
sacbee.com -- Nation -- Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
NEWPORT BEACH - If any other U.S. Senate candidate proposed legalizing marijuana, voters might question what that politician had been smoking.
But the California hopeful making that pitch doesn't get those questions - at least not very often.
He is Jim Gray, a Republican-appointed Superior Court judge from conservative Orange County who said he's never used illegal drugs. The 59-year-old former Republican became a Libertarian last year and is now that party's nominee to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
...
June 01, 2004
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
Richard Mack becomes "American Candidate" finalist
Because of how imbalanced our political system is, there's a very good chance that Richard Mack could reach more people as a Libertarian candidate from Showtime's "American Candidate" show than LP nominee Michael Badnarik will be able to reach through a traditional third-party campaign. Only if he wins the prize, though. Otherwise, Badnarik will probably get more net exposure.
Either way, way to go Richard Mack! Represent!
Be sure to stop by his American Candidate home page and add yourself as a supporter. You don't need to sign up or anything to do so.
The Salt Lake Tribune -- It's Showtime! Utahn makes cut to 'run' for office
...
Mack, a Provo resident and former Utah gubernatorial candidate for the Libertarian Party, has a much bigger platform for his vision of America -- a reality show on the cable channel Showtime.
Mack is one of 12 finalists for a new summer series called "American Candidate," an "unscripted" program premiering Aug. 1 in which a dozen hopefuls compete for a shot at $200,000 and national air time to run for president of the United States as the "People's Candidate."
In order to participate, Mack had to pull out of the Utah governor race. He faxed his intent to withdraw late last week, said former campaign manager Rob Latham.
"When this opportunity raised its head, I said, 'Man, I better grab it,' " Mack said from his Provo home Tuesday. "For me, to turn down this opportunity . . . would be very foolish."
...
Mack is a former Arizona county sheriff who says he is now a law-enforcement consultant, author and public speaker on "constitutional issues." During the governor race, he campaigned for less government, more states' rights, repeal of the Patriot Act, dismantling the IRS and the Department of Education and doing away with gun control laws.
...
The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik
I found this compilation of quote snippets to be a very distortive and fairly irresponsible piece of journalism. At first I was inclined to lay the blame on Badnarik, for saying stuff that begged to be smeared...but if you read through the reporter's full interview profile, you can see a much fuller (and more accurate) representation of reality.
It's a shame the reporter (or editor) didn't allow for a substantial article as the primary piece. I doubt many of the paper's reader's went online to go read the background notes.
The Austin Chronicle: News: The Sayings of Candidate Badnarik
Crappy Cops Murder Mountain Lion
This story makes me really angry. If I had been there, I would almost certainly have been arrested for interfering with the murdering idiot police officers who decided to kill a treed animal. They claim it was running off...but that doesn't make sense in so many ways...not the least of which is the fact that there is apparently TV footage that shows him lounging on a tree branch as he was killed. Look at the pictures with the story where they show screen shots from the footage.
So they irresponsibly decide to kill a cornered wild animal, and then they lie about their rationale.
Grrr.
Mountain lion chased by dog, then killed by Palo Alto police
A 110-pound male mountain lion spotted roaming the streets of residential Palo Alto for hours was shot and killed Monday after a dog chased it up a tree.
An 11-year-old black Labrador named Kelsy caught scent of the big cat and chased it up a tree until police arrived, according to the dog's owner, John Furrier.
"She had a ferocious growl that we've never heard before," Furrier said of Kelsy. "I think she's a hero. I think she could have saved some lives."
Police had been on the lookout for the lion after it was spotted earlier in the day. Officers who arrived to find it in the tree didn't have a tranquilizer gun, and said the animal started to run off, so they decided to bring it down, said Capt. Torin Fischer.
Footage of the shooting taken by a KPIX-TV crew appeared to show the animal resting on a high limb in the tree, raising its head slightly, when it was shot. Not everyone was happy with the turn of events.
"I think it's absolutely atrocious the way the police behaved because obviously the animal was not posing a threat to anyone," said Alfredo Kuba, from the animal rights group In Defense of Animals.
The neighborhood where the lion was shot was far from the mountains the big cats normally call home. This was in the middle of residential Palo Alto, just a few blocks from an elementary school.
"It's very rare," Fischer said. "I can't remember something like this in the last five years."
Mom, son accused of planting mouse in soup
MSNBC - Mom, son accused of planting mouse in soup
Restaurant presses charges in Mother's Day case
...
Patterson claimed she had already eaten some of her vegetable soup when she scooped up the mouse on May 8, the day before Mother’s Day.
The discovery prompted the 500-store chain to stop serving vegetable soup nationwide, but a company investigation discovered the mouse did not originate from the Cracker Barrel kitchen.
“We learned that the mouse died from a fractured skull before it entered the soup,” Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie Davis said. In addition, the animal had no soup in its lungs, nor had it been cooked — signs it had been dropped in the soup after its death, she said.
...
Moore held back on releasing prisoner abuse footage
Documentarian kept quiet after filming U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqis
(permacopy)
Filmmaker Michael Moore said Friday he wasn't sure he did the right thing by saving footage of U.S. American soldiers' cruelty toward Iraqis for his controversial documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' instead of releasing the evidence earlier when it might have helped halt such abuse.
"I had it months before the story broke on '60 Minutes,' and I really struggled with what to do with it,'' Moore said in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. "I wanted to come out with it sooner, but I thought I'd be accused of just putting this out for publicity for my movie. That prevented me from making maybe the right decision.''
The footage, eerily similar to film of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison, shows GIs laughing as they snap photos of each other putting hoods over Iraqi detainees.
In the same scene from "Fahrenheit 9/11,'' which opens Friday at Bay Area theaters, an American soldier fondles a prisoner's genitals through a blanket.
...
FoxNews Q & A with Micael Badnarik
FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Transcripts: Badnarik is Libertarian's Pick for President
Legalize it, Ex-Cop Tells Hill Pot Rally
CN ON: Legalize it, Ex-Cop Tells Hill Pot Rally
Jack Cole is not the type of person you would expect to see at a rally to legalize pot. During his 26-year career with the New Jersey state police, Cole spent 12 years as an undercover narcotics officer. His investigations ran the gamut from street drug dealers to international drug trafficking organizations.
Now retired, the Medford, Me., resident has taken a decidedly different stance on illegal drugs.
FORCE CRIMINALS OUT
Cole is a founding member and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ), an international, drug-policy-reform organization consisting of current and former members of law enforcement.
"I believe in legalizing all drugs," he said, explaining that legalization would allow the government to regulate and control the distribution, consumption and production of these substances, forcing criminals out of the equation.
...
June 09, 2004
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
===================================
NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org
===================================
For release: June 9, 2004
===================================
For additional information:
George Getz, Communications Director
Phone: (202) 333-0008
===================================
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture
sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
WASHINGTON, DC -- A secret legal opinion by the Justice Department that
reportedly justifies torture should be repudiated by the U.S. government
before it backfires on U.S. troops or civilians overseas, Libertarians
say.
“Iraqis can torture Americans just as easily as Americans can torture
Iraqis,” said Joseph Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director.
“Not only is the U.S. government’s rationale for torturing prisoners
uncivilized and un-American, it could have a dangerous boomerang effect
on the very people President Bush claims he’s trying to protect.”
In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday,
Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to release 2002 Justice
Department memos on interrogation techniques being used at U.S. prisons
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. But according to documents that
have been leaked to the press, the department’s lawyers say that a
wartime president is not bound by anti-torture laws or treaties, and
that inflicting physical and psychological pain might be justified
during enemy interrogations.
Of course there’s no legal or moral justification for torture,
Libertarians say, which is why the U.S. government should repudiate the
Justice Department’s legal opinion.
But Bush and Ashcroft seem to have overlooked a dangerous and immediate
consequence of “reinterpreting” anti-torture statutes: The same
rationale could be used by foreign governments against U.S. military
personnel, as well as American civilians traveling and working overseas.
“The U.S. government has signed international treaties banning torture
not just to protect foreign troops, but also to protect American troops
when they’re captured,” Seehusen said. “It’s in America’s self-interest
to abide by these laws. Flouting these standards gives tyrants and
dictators around the world the green light to do the same.”
Unfortunately, U.S. troops have already been captured in Iraq, and may
be captured again, Seehusen observed.
“Imagine opening your morning newspaper and seeing a photo of a captured
U.S. soldier wearing a black hood while being forced to stand on a box
with electrodes attached to his body,” Seehusen said. “Or imagine photos
of naked American men and women being piled on top of each other for the
amusement of prison guards, or lying naked on the floor wearing only a
dog leash held by a smiling Iraqi soldier.
“The American public would be justifiably outraged, and would demand
that the enemy troops be brought before a war crimes tribunal.”
Yet under the Bush administration’s “reinterpretation” of anti-torture
laws, such a prosecution might be impossible, he noted.
“No civilized person wants to see such brutal, thuggish behavior go
unpunished,” Seehusen said. “Yet that’s exactly what could happen if
George Bush insists that wartime presidents have the power to exempt
themselves from anti-torture laws.”
FoxNews.com Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik
FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party
June 08, 2004
Southerland: My observations on the National Convention
(Trevor Southerland is a young and upcoming star in the Libertarian Party. I thought that before I read that's the word on the street. ;-))
A Place to Stand
My observations on the National Convention
by Trevor Southerland
excerpt:
I've been told that I'm a "young and upcoming" star of the Libertarian Party. First off, I'm not the only one. I urge you to look to Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, California, Ohio, Maine, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and probably right in your own neighborhood... There are young Libertarians everywhere, a new generation of Libertarians, a generation that was born Libertarian and as Mark Mosley said, a generation that became Libertarian before we had our driver's licenses. It's easy to feel all alone... I hope you'll help make sure that those young Libertarians know there's more people like them... And every two years around a thousand of us get together in a hotel, I call it a family reunion.
Capitol Hill Blue: TIA is Alive and Well
Capitol Hill Blue: Where Big Brother Snoops on Americans 24/7
Customers of the Bank of America branch at 3625 Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia, often wonder about the Arlington police car that is always parked in front of the building in the next block.
They also can’t help but notice the two armed guards from the private Cantwell Security Service who patrol the street in front of the building and eye each passerby warily.
“What’s going on across the street?” one woman asked while waiting in line to deposit her paycheck last Friday.
“Not sure,” said the man ahead of her in line. “Something to do with the government. The police cars and guards have been there since shortly after 9-11.”
“Oh,” she said. “No matter.”
Actually, if the woman knew what was happening inside the nondescript office building at 3701 Fairfax Drive, she might think it really does matter because the building houses the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Total Information Awareness Program, the “big brother” program Congress thought it killed.
...
Browne: In Praise of the Libertarian Party
In Praise of the Libertarian Party
by Harry Browne
June 4, 2004
With the Libertarian Party (LP) on television last weekend choosing its presidential nominee, it’s time for the smug, superior types to come out of the woodwork and tell us what a sorry spectacle the party is.
Every four years around this time we get statements like these from libertarians who aren’t in the party:
"The Libertarian Party has finished its regularly scheduled exercise in futility."
"The LP has displayed a genius for assigning itself a role in American politics akin to irrelevance."
As though that weren’t bad enough, disgruntled party members also level broadsides when they don’t get what they want:
"The LP attempted to shoot itself in the foot by not nominating [Aaron Russo] for president."
I recently received an email message from someone asking, "If the LP was a stock that you (or I) had bought 20 years ago, based on its performance would you still be holding onto it?" — as though I would choose a political party or organization of any kind in the same way I would choose a stock.
After 33 years in operation, the LP presidential candidate has never received more than 1% of the vote, the party has elected less than a thousand office-holders, and currently has no one in Congress or a state legislature.
The armchair quarterbacks inside and outside the party know just what the party needs to do to reverse its fortunes. It must focus on a particular issue to the exclusion of all other topics, stage the right kind of media events, conduct a campaign that’s more "in your face," merge campaigns with another third party, tone down the message, or find a celebrity to carry the party’s banner.
If only it were so easy.
The armchair quarterbacks pay no attention to the obstacles that the LP is up against. Nor do they recognize the tremendous good the LP does.
...
June 07, 2004
Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
AP Wire | 06/04/2004 | Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
New York Post Online Edition: WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
May 25, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - If the war and the presidential election aren't generating enough headlines, Washington finally has the ultimate attention getter: a good, old-fashioned sex scandal.
Thank Jessica Cutler.
Her Internet diary, which graphically recorded what she claims are steamy sexploits with powerful D.C. lawyers and Bush administration honchos, has exploded like a grenade in the nation's capital.
...
Sarrecchia on the 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
Libertarians At the Gate: The 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
byTony Sarrecchia
Buchanan: The dog days of the War Party
WorldNetDaily: The dog days of the War Party
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted: June 7, 2004
Fourteen months ago, after the 3rd Infantry Division and Marines swept into Baghdad, Washington was at the feet of the neoconservatives who had been plotting and propagandizing for an invasion for years.
A celebratory breakfast was held at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, where William Kristol, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen held forth in a spirit of joyous anticipation of wars and victories to come. At a dinner party at the vice president's mansion, Kenneth ("Cakewalk") Adelman, Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, and Paul Wolfowitz toasted one another and the president. As the '60s song went, "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end."
Now, enmeshed in a guerrilla war, Americans are demanding to know who told us we would be welcomed with garlands of flowers. Who said our troops would come home in a year? Who said democracy would flourish across the Arab world? Who misled us about the weapons of mass destruction? Who lied us into war?
But the neocons may be facing problems more serious than entering the history books alongside the Whiz Kids of the McNamara era who got it wrong in Vietnam and left 58,000 behind. Some War Party leaders may see careers cashiered and reputations ruined.
...
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks - PittsburghLIVE.com
...
Even though money is tight, Badnarik and his party will not apply for federal campaign finance funds. And unlike the two dominant parties that take tens of millions in federal dollars to subsidize their conventions, Libertarians insist on paying their own way. Always.
"Our principle is that we do not take other people's tax money for our own benefit," Badnarik said.
...
June 04, 2004
Libertarian Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
ABQjournal: Albuquerque Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
DALLAS — An Albuquerque woman says she was ejected from a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal after showing military recruits an anti-war campaign poster.
Carole Ward, 57, showed the recruits an 8 1/2- by 11-inch poster of a composite illustration of President Bush made up of the faces of soldiers who have died in Iraq. It bore the title "Faces of Death."
Some people found the poster offensive and the woman became belligerent with an American Airlines gate agent, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline.
...
June 03, 2004
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
CBS News | Enron Traders Caught On Tape | June 2, 2004 20:39:26
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
...
Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
The Onion | Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
WASHINGTON, DC—According to Gallup Poll results released Monday, 6 percent of Americans are still undecided about whether to vote against President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry in November's presidential election.
"At first, I was really leaning toward voting against Kerry, because the way he tried to hide his ambivalence about his military service made him seem like a political operator," poll participant and Trenton, NJ resident Amber Barthelme said. "But then, the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal got me thinking that there's a lot to not like about the current administration. It's almost impossible to decide which side I don't want to be on."
...
"The two major parties face a tough struggle," Harmon said. "As the election approaches, both must convince undecided voters that the opposing party's candidate is worse than their own. As both parties take more moderate positions in an election year, it's getting harder to convince citizens that there's a reason to get out there and vote against anyone."
...
Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
Canada: Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
MONTREAL -- The Marijuana Party rolled out its election platform yesterday, hoping its 100 or so candidates can convince voters that it's more than just a token party. The grassroots organization aims to field candidates in every region of Canada except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
...
Bush likens terror fight to World War II
Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/03/2004 | Bush likens terror fight to World War II
FINAL VICTORY COULD TAKE DECADES, PRESIDENT SAYS IN BID FOR SUPPORT
Police car siren killed chickens
Ananova - Police car siren killed chickens
A farmer in western China has sued police after a squad car siren scared 435 of his chickens to death.
The siren, which was being repaired, went off just 10 metres from the chickens at the farm in Huxian, Shaanxi province.
Thirty five of the birds died on the spot and another 400 died later of shock, says the Procuratorate Daily newspaper.
A court ordered the police to compensate the farmer for the 35 chickens that died first, but said it couldn't be proved they were to blame for the other deaths.
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik?
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik? by Jerome Tuccille
Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
How ironic is it that members of a party called the Democratic Party would be working to keep a candidate from getting on election ballots?
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 02, 2004
June 02, 2004
Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
sacbee.com -- Nation -- Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
NEWPORT BEACH - If any other U.S. Senate candidate proposed legalizing marijuana, voters might question what that politician had been smoking.
But the California hopeful making that pitch doesn't get those questions - at least not very often.
He is Jim Gray, a Republican-appointed Superior Court judge from conservative Orange County who said he's never used illegal drugs. The 59-year-old former Republican became a Libertarian last year and is now that party's nominee to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
...
June 01, 2004
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
===================================
NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org
===================================
For release: June 9, 2004
===================================
For additional information:
George Getz, Communications Director
Phone: (202) 333-0008
===================================
U.S. Justice Department memo on torture
sets dangerous precedent, Libertarians say
WASHINGTON, DC -- A secret legal opinion by the Justice Department that
reportedly justifies torture should be repudiated by the U.S. government
before it backfires on U.S. troops or civilians overseas, Libertarians
say.
“Iraqis can torture Americans just as easily as Americans can torture
Iraqis,” said Joseph Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director.
“Not only is the U.S. government’s rationale for torturing prisoners
uncivilized and un-American, it could have a dangerous boomerang effect
on the very people President Bush claims he’s trying to protect.”
In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday,
Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to release 2002 Justice
Department memos on interrogation techniques being used at U.S. prisons
in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. But according to documents that
have been leaked to the press, the department’s lawyers say that a
wartime president is not bound by anti-torture laws or treaties, and
that inflicting physical and psychological pain might be justified
during enemy interrogations.
Of course there’s no legal or moral justification for torture,
Libertarians say, which is why the U.S. government should repudiate the
Justice Department’s legal opinion.
But Bush and Ashcroft seem to have overlooked a dangerous and immediate
consequence of “reinterpreting” anti-torture statutes: The same
rationale could be used by foreign governments against U.S. military
personnel, as well as American civilians traveling and working overseas.
“The U.S. government has signed international treaties banning torture
not just to protect foreign troops, but also to protect American troops
when they’re captured,” Seehusen said. “It’s in America’s self-interest
to abide by these laws. Flouting these standards gives tyrants and
dictators around the world the green light to do the same.”
Unfortunately, U.S. troops have already been captured in Iraq, and may
be captured again, Seehusen observed.
“Imagine opening your morning newspaper and seeing a photo of a captured
U.S. soldier wearing a black hood while being forced to stand on a box
with electrodes attached to his body,” Seehusen said. “Or imagine photos
of naked American men and women being piled on top of each other for the
amusement of prison guards, or lying naked on the floor wearing only a
dog leash held by a smiling Iraqi soldier.
“The American public would be justifiably outraged, and would demand
that the enemy troops be brought before a war crimes tribunal.”
Yet under the Bush administration’s “reinterpretation” of anti-torture
laws, such a prosecution might be impossible, he noted.
“No civilized person wants to see such brutal, thuggish behavior go
unpunished,” Seehusen said. “Yet that’s exactly what could happen if
George Bush insists that wartime presidents have the power to exempt
themselves from anti-torture laws.”
FoxNews.com Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik
FOXNews.com - You Decide 2004 - Candidate Profile: Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party
Southerland: My observations on the National Convention
(Trevor Southerland is a young and upcoming star in the Libertarian Party. I thought that before I read that's the word on the street. ;-))
A Place to Stand
My observations on the National Convention
by Trevor Southerland
excerpt:
I've been told that I'm a "young and upcoming" star of the Libertarian Party. First off, I'm not the only one. I urge you to look to Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, California, Ohio, Maine, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and probably right in your own neighborhood... There are young Libertarians everywhere, a new generation of Libertarians, a generation that was born Libertarian and as Mark Mosley said, a generation that became Libertarian before we had our driver's licenses. It's easy to feel all alone... I hope you'll help make sure that those young Libertarians know there's more people like them... And every two years around a thousand of us get together in a hotel, I call it a family reunion.
Capitol Hill Blue: TIA is Alive and Well
Capitol Hill Blue: Where Big Brother Snoops on Americans 24/7
Customers of the Bank of America branch at 3625 Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia, often wonder about the Arlington police car that is always parked in front of the building in the next block.
They also can’t help but notice the two armed guards from the private Cantwell Security Service who patrol the street in front of the building and eye each passerby warily.
“What’s going on across the street?” one woman asked while waiting in line to deposit her paycheck last Friday.
“Not sure,” said the man ahead of her in line. “Something to do with the government. The police cars and guards have been there since shortly after 9-11.”
“Oh,” she said. “No matter.”
Actually, if the woman knew what was happening inside the nondescript office building at 3701 Fairfax Drive, she might think it really does matter because the building houses the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Total Information Awareness Program, the “big brother” program Congress thought it killed.
...
Browne: In Praise of the Libertarian Party
In Praise of the Libertarian Party
by Harry Browne
June 4, 2004
With the Libertarian Party (LP) on television last weekend choosing its presidential nominee, it’s time for the smug, superior types to come out of the woodwork and tell us what a sorry spectacle the party is.
Every four years around this time we get statements like these from libertarians who aren’t in the party:
"The Libertarian Party has finished its regularly scheduled exercise in futility."
"The LP has displayed a genius for assigning itself a role in American politics akin to irrelevance."
As though that weren’t bad enough, disgruntled party members also level broadsides when they don’t get what they want:
"The LP attempted to shoot itself in the foot by not nominating [Aaron Russo] for president."
I recently received an email message from someone asking, "If the LP was a stock that you (or I) had bought 20 years ago, based on its performance would you still be holding onto it?" — as though I would choose a political party or organization of any kind in the same way I would choose a stock.
After 33 years in operation, the LP presidential candidate has never received more than 1% of the vote, the party has elected less than a thousand office-holders, and currently has no one in Congress or a state legislature.
The armchair quarterbacks inside and outside the party know just what the party needs to do to reverse its fortunes. It must focus on a particular issue to the exclusion of all other topics, stage the right kind of media events, conduct a campaign that’s more "in your face," merge campaigns with another third party, tone down the message, or find a celebrity to carry the party’s banner.
If only it were so easy.
The armchair quarterbacks pay no attention to the obstacles that the LP is up against. Nor do they recognize the tremendous good the LP does.
...
June 07, 2004
Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
AP Wire | 06/04/2004 | Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
New York Post Online Edition: WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
May 25, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - If the war and the presidential election aren't generating enough headlines, Washington finally has the ultimate attention getter: a good, old-fashioned sex scandal.
Thank Jessica Cutler.
Her Internet diary, which graphically recorded what she claims are steamy sexploits with powerful D.C. lawyers and Bush administration honchos, has exploded like a grenade in the nation's capital.
...
Sarrecchia on the 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
Libertarians At the Gate: The 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
byTony Sarrecchia
Buchanan: The dog days of the War Party
WorldNetDaily: The dog days of the War Party
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted: June 7, 2004
Fourteen months ago, after the 3rd Infantry Division and Marines swept into Baghdad, Washington was at the feet of the neoconservatives who had been plotting and propagandizing for an invasion for years.
A celebratory breakfast was held at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, where William Kristol, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen held forth in a spirit of joyous anticipation of wars and victories to come. At a dinner party at the vice president's mansion, Kenneth ("Cakewalk") Adelman, Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, and Paul Wolfowitz toasted one another and the president. As the '60s song went, "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end."
Now, enmeshed in a guerrilla war, Americans are demanding to know who told us we would be welcomed with garlands of flowers. Who said our troops would come home in a year? Who said democracy would flourish across the Arab world? Who misled us about the weapons of mass destruction? Who lied us into war?
But the neocons may be facing problems more serious than entering the history books alongside the Whiz Kids of the McNamara era who got it wrong in Vietnam and left 58,000 behind. Some War Party leaders may see careers cashiered and reputations ruined.
...
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks - PittsburghLIVE.com
...
Even though money is tight, Badnarik and his party will not apply for federal campaign finance funds. And unlike the two dominant parties that take tens of millions in federal dollars to subsidize their conventions, Libertarians insist on paying their own way. Always.
"Our principle is that we do not take other people's tax money for our own benefit," Badnarik said.
...
June 04, 2004
Libertarian Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
ABQjournal: Albuquerque Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
DALLAS — An Albuquerque woman says she was ejected from a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal after showing military recruits an anti-war campaign poster.
Carole Ward, 57, showed the recruits an 8 1/2- by 11-inch poster of a composite illustration of President Bush made up of the faces of soldiers who have died in Iraq. It bore the title "Faces of Death."
Some people found the poster offensive and the woman became belligerent with an American Airlines gate agent, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline.
...
June 03, 2004
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
CBS News | Enron Traders Caught On Tape | June 2, 2004 20:39:26
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
...
Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
The Onion | Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
WASHINGTON, DC—According to Gallup Poll results released Monday, 6 percent of Americans are still undecided about whether to vote against President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry in November's presidential election.
"At first, I was really leaning toward voting against Kerry, because the way he tried to hide his ambivalence about his military service made him seem like a political operator," poll participant and Trenton, NJ resident Amber Barthelme said. "But then, the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal got me thinking that there's a lot to not like about the current administration. It's almost impossible to decide which side I don't want to be on."
...
"The two major parties face a tough struggle," Harmon said. "As the election approaches, both must convince undecided voters that the opposing party's candidate is worse than their own. As both parties take more moderate positions in an election year, it's getting harder to convince citizens that there's a reason to get out there and vote against anyone."
...
Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
Canada: Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
MONTREAL -- The Marijuana Party rolled out its election platform yesterday, hoping its 100 or so candidates can convince voters that it's more than just a token party. The grassroots organization aims to field candidates in every region of Canada except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
...
Bush likens terror fight to World War II
Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/03/2004 | Bush likens terror fight to World War II
FINAL VICTORY COULD TAKE DECADES, PRESIDENT SAYS IN BID FOR SUPPORT
Police car siren killed chickens
Ananova - Police car siren killed chickens
A farmer in western China has sued police after a squad car siren scared 435 of his chickens to death.
The siren, which was being repaired, went off just 10 metres from the chickens at the farm in Huxian, Shaanxi province.
Thirty five of the birds died on the spot and another 400 died later of shock, says the Procuratorate Daily newspaper.
A court ordered the police to compensate the farmer for the 35 chickens that died first, but said it couldn't be proved they were to blame for the other deaths.
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik?
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik? by Jerome Tuccille
Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
How ironic is it that members of a party called the Democratic Party would be working to keep a candidate from getting on election ballots?
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 02, 2004
June 02, 2004
Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
sacbee.com -- Nation -- Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
NEWPORT BEACH - If any other U.S. Senate candidate proposed legalizing marijuana, voters might question what that politician had been smoking.
But the California hopeful making that pitch doesn't get those questions - at least not very often.
He is Jim Gray, a Republican-appointed Superior Court judge from conservative Orange County who said he's never used illegal drugs. The 59-year-old former Republican became a Libertarian last year and is now that party's nominee to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
...
June 01, 2004
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
AP Wire | 06/04/2004 | Libertarian presidential nominee is member of Free State Project
WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
New York Post Online Edition: WEB GAL MAKES D.C. POLS SQUIRM
May 25, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - If the war and the presidential election aren't generating enough headlines, Washington finally has the ultimate attention getter: a good, old-fashioned sex scandal.
Thank Jessica Cutler.
Her Internet diary, which graphically recorded what she claims are steamy sexploits with powerful D.C. lawyers and Bush administration honchos, has exploded like a grenade in the nation's capital.
...
Sarrecchia on the 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
Libertarians At the Gate: The 2004 Libertarian Party Convention
byTony Sarrecchia
Buchanan: The dog days of the War Party
WorldNetDaily: The dog days of the War Party
by Patrick J. Buchanan
Posted: June 7, 2004
Fourteen months ago, after the 3rd Infantry Division and Marines swept into Baghdad, Washington was at the feet of the neoconservatives who had been plotting and propagandizing for an invasion for years.
A celebratory breakfast was held at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, where William Kristol, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen held forth in a spirit of joyous anticipation of wars and victories to come. At a dinner party at the vice president's mansion, Kenneth ("Cakewalk") Adelman, Lewis I. "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, and Paul Wolfowitz toasted one another and the president. As the '60s song went, "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end."
Now, enmeshed in a guerrilla war, Americans are demanding to know who told us we would be welcomed with garlands of flowers. Who said our troops would come home in a year? Who said democracy would flourish across the Arab world? Who misled us about the weapons of mass destruction? Who lied us into war?
But the neocons may be facing problems more serious than entering the history books alongside the Whiz Kids of the McNamara era who got it wrong in Vietnam and left 58,000 behind. Some War Party leaders may see careers cashiered and reputations ruined.
...
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks
Badnarik choosing principles over paychecks - PittsburghLIVE.com
...
Even though money is tight, Badnarik and his party will not apply for federal campaign finance funds. And unlike the two dominant parties that take tens of millions in federal dollars to subsidize their conventions, Libertarians insist on paying their own way. Always.
"Our principle is that we do not take other people's tax money for our own benefit," Badnarik said.
...
Libertarian Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
ABQjournal: Albuquerque Woman Displaying Anti-War Poster Says She Was Taken From Airport
DALLAS — An Albuquerque woman says she was ejected from a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal after showing military recruits an anti-war campaign poster.
Carole Ward, 57, showed the recruits an 8 1/2- by 11-inch poster of a composite illustration of President Bush made up of the faces of soldiers who have died in Iraq. It bore the title "Faces of Death."
Some people found the poster offensive and the woman became belligerent with an American Airlines gate agent, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline.
...
June 03, 2004
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
CBS News | Enron Traders Caught On Tape | June 2, 2004 20:39:26
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
...
Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
The Onion | Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
WASHINGTON, DC—According to Gallup Poll results released Monday, 6 percent of Americans are still undecided about whether to vote against President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry in November's presidential election.
"At first, I was really leaning toward voting against Kerry, because the way he tried to hide his ambivalence about his military service made him seem like a political operator," poll participant and Trenton, NJ resident Amber Barthelme said. "But then, the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal got me thinking that there's a lot to not like about the current administration. It's almost impossible to decide which side I don't want to be on."
...
"The two major parties face a tough struggle," Harmon said. "As the election approaches, both must convince undecided voters that the opposing party's candidate is worse than their own. As both parties take more moderate positions in an election year, it's getting harder to convince citizens that there's a reason to get out there and vote against anyone."
...
Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
Canada: Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
MONTREAL -- The Marijuana Party rolled out its election platform yesterday, hoping its 100 or so candidates can convince voters that it's more than just a token party. The grassroots organization aims to field candidates in every region of Canada except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
...
Bush likens terror fight to World War II
Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/03/2004 | Bush likens terror fight to World War II
FINAL VICTORY COULD TAKE DECADES, PRESIDENT SAYS IN BID FOR SUPPORT
Police car siren killed chickens
Ananova - Police car siren killed chickens
A farmer in western China has sued police after a squad car siren scared 435 of his chickens to death.
The siren, which was being repaired, went off just 10 metres from the chickens at the farm in Huxian, Shaanxi province.
Thirty five of the birds died on the spot and another 400 died later of shock, says the Procuratorate Daily newspaper.
A court ordered the police to compensate the farmer for the 35 chickens that died first, but said it couldn't be proved they were to blame for the other deaths.
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik?
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik? by Jerome Tuccille
Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
How ironic is it that members of a party called the Democratic Party would be working to keep a candidate from getting on election ballots?
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 02, 2004
June 02, 2004
Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
sacbee.com -- Nation -- Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
NEWPORT BEACH - If any other U.S. Senate candidate proposed legalizing marijuana, voters might question what that politician had been smoking.
But the California hopeful making that pitch doesn't get those questions - at least not very often.
He is Jim Gray, a Republican-appointed Superior Court judge from conservative Orange County who said he's never used illegal drugs. The 59-year-old former Republican became a Libertarian last year and is now that party's nominee to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
...
June 01, 2004
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
CBS News | Enron Traders Caught On Tape | June 2, 2004 20:39:26
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
...
Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
The Onion | Poll: Many Americans Still Unsure Whom To Vote Against
WASHINGTON, DC—According to Gallup Poll results released Monday, 6 percent of Americans are still undecided about whether to vote against President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry in November's presidential election.
"At first, I was really leaning toward voting against Kerry, because the way he tried to hide his ambivalence about his military service made him seem like a political operator," poll participant and Trenton, NJ resident Amber Barthelme said. "But then, the Bush Administration's mishandling of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal got me thinking that there's a lot to not like about the current administration. It's almost impossible to decide which side I don't want to be on."
...
"The two major parties face a tough struggle," Harmon said. "As the election approaches, both must convince undecided voters that the opposing party's candidate is worse than their own. As both parties take more moderate positions in an election year, it's getting harder to convince citizens that there's a reason to get out there and vote against anyone."
...
Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
Canada: Marijuana Party Says 'Let's Roll'
MONTREAL -- The Marijuana Party rolled out its election platform yesterday, hoping its 100 or so candidates can convince voters that it's more than just a token party. The grassroots organization aims to field candidates in every region of Canada except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories.
...
Bush likens terror fight to World War II
Lexington Herald-Leader | 06/03/2004 | Bush likens terror fight to World War II
FINAL VICTORY COULD TAKE DECADES, PRESIDENT SAYS IN BID FOR SUPPORT
Police car siren killed chickens
Ananova - Police car siren killed chickens
A farmer in western China has sued police after a squad car siren scared 435 of his chickens to death.
The siren, which was being repaired, went off just 10 metres from the chickens at the farm in Huxian, Shaanxi province.
Thirty five of the birds died on the spot and another 400 died later of shock, says the Procuratorate Daily newspaper.
A court ordered the police to compensate the farmer for the 35 chickens that died first, but said it couldn't be proved they were to blame for the other deaths.
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik?
It Usually Begins With...Michael Badnarik? by Jerome Tuccille
Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
How ironic is it that members of a party called the Democratic Party would be working to keep a candidate from getting on election ballots?
Guardian Unlimited | US elections 2004 | Worried Democrats work hard to keep Nader off the ballot
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
Surprised Texan is Libertarian nominee
The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - June 02, 2004
Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
sacbee.com -- Nation -- Candidate stakes race on legalizing pot
NEWPORT BEACH - If any other U.S. Senate candidate proposed legalizing marijuana, voters might question what that politician had been smoking.
But the California hopeful making that pitch doesn't get those questions - at least not very often.
He is Jim Gray, a Republican-appointed Superior Court judge from conservative Orange County who said he's never used illegal drugs. The 59-year-old former Republican became a Libertarian last year and is now that party's nominee to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
...
June 01, 2004
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
Sullum on sweet addictives
Bad Taste
We owe it to our kids.
by Jacob Sullum
Clove cigarettes have long been a prop of self-styled bohemians, favored by neo-hippies, artists, drama students, and goths. By transforming the sweet, fragrant Indonesian smokes into contraband, the recently introduced Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would make them even cooler.
The bill—sponsored by two bipartisan pairs, Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in the House—would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco products. But the authors clearly thought the matter of cigarette flavorings was too important to be left to the FDA's discretion.
Section 907(a)(1) of the bill states that "a cigarette or any of its component parts...shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke."
...
L.N. Smith: Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner
Michael Badnarik: The LP Picks a Winner, by L. Neil Smith
...
The simple truth is that the freedom movement needs every single individual of intelligence, competence, and integrity that it can find right now. The LP is the last hope that the America we remember has left.
All of us must begin telling everyone we know—especially if they're not libertarians—that if they're fed up with this mess the Republicans have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they want to see the USA Patriot Act go down in flames, along with all the unconstitutional intrusions and limitations that it has inflicted on us, if they want to see drug laws, the income tax, and federal gun laws repealed, and if they don't believe life under a Kerry Administration would be any better than it has been under Bush, their only option is to see both "major" parties shocked and embarrassed by a high turnout for Michael Badnarik.
...
Bob Smith: The Libertarian candidate has been chosen
excerpt:
Michael Badnarik may be the epitome of an American citizen candidate, drafted and endorsed to run for the highest office we have. It is no accident that his campaign opponents had nothing but good things to say about him. I met Michael when he attended and spoke at our Minnesota LP convention. He is hardly a typical politician. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does speak, it is from his heart with sincere, bold, and well-considered words. Badnarik's website is http://www.badnarik.org/
As Badnarik said in his acceptance speech:
What we have in 2004 is a unique
opportunity to change the world.
The United States was once a beacon of liberty to the world that gave hope to unfree people around the globe. Our national image no longer reflects those rays of hope, but it CAN do so once again, IF we can have the courage to send a message to Washington that we want a return to what made our nation great... LIBERTY. We must find the sense and courage to retake control of our government from the parties that have inflicted us with both international and domestic destruction.
I know that a great many of you reading this are incensed about the loss of 800+ of our best and brightest in a war that should never have been started. Badnarik, when elected, would bring our troops home from Iraq immediately. That position alone should be enough to get you to help him and vote for him. He would put an end to the disastrous War on Drugs, and much more that you are likely to find refreshing and positive. He is obviously a man to whom honor and honesty are much more than slogans.
As a Libertarian, I'm proud to have Michael Badnarik representing our party. I strongly urge you to get to know him, and to seriously consider just how wonderful it would be to have an honest man sitting in the White House.
