A Fitting End

Many, many years ago I cast my first vote ever for a Libertarian Presidential candidate and yesterday I cast what is likely to be my last vote for Libertarians. Even tho I knew most of the people for whom I voted I didn't feel good about casting a ballot. There was no excitement and no sense of fulfillment , only a sense of unease, futility and disgust with the system that my vote was perpetuating. Today I saw the results of that vote, and all the others like it. The Socialist Left has become the dominant force on the American political scene by ousting the Socialist Right and nothing will change in any substantive manner. No libertarians were elected, indeed the votes across the board screamed out for more government and less freedom.

For almost 30 years now I have been voting for more freedom, liberty and free markets and in all that time I have seen the opposite grow. We have become less free, our liberties have been violated time and again and the free market is an obscene joke. My vote has been the equivalent of spitting into a volcano in a vain attempt to put it out. That's a realisation that has been building in me for years now and yesterday it came to fruition. I have often said that when the fun aspect of anything goes away then it's time to drop it. There was no fun in what I did yesterday, not even a minute sense of satisfaction. Things became even worse for me as I watched the dismal results trickle in before I retired for the evening.

The people of this country and the state I live in repudiated the Socialist Right and replaced them with their comrades on the Left, hoping for change. They did not vote for freedom or liberty as their engines of change. No. They voted for new masters hoping that by choosing the new one they could, perhaps effect a change in the demeanour of the old master, all the while failing to realise the truth of the matter. All masters are the same.

The election after I cast my first vote had a Socialist Right President and a Socialist Left House and Senate and now we have the same, once again. I no longer see any need to indulge in that particular past time. The deck is stacked against me and anyone else who desires to live in a free country with the barest minimum of state interference. I am surrounded by people who value masters over freedom, who need an iron fist in a velvet glove to goad them into action and to "lead" them. I cannot, in good conscience contribute to that particular system any longer. Better to spend my time trying to educate people than to try and get their votes. Until the battle for hearts and minds is won the ballot box is a lost cause.

So, I'll join those who have taken the decision to withhold their consent to be governed, as well as those who choose to not delegate the initiation of force via the ballot box. Even tho our reasons for not voting may differ we have a lot more common ground than others. They're a fine group of people with a much needed vision; one beyond the futile political chicanery of the ballot box. All in all it's a fitting end to and inglorious career as a voter....

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Libertarian, Voting, Movement of the Libertarian Left

To Vote Or Not To Vote, That Is The Question.

Our comrade in liberty, Wally Conger has reposted his 1992 "Anti-Electorate Manifesto" over at out of step and I must say that it's a thought provoking piece for me. One week out from the elections and I honestly don't see any over riding reason to get out and vote. Victory for the Libertarian Party is unlikely and I would never even consider casting a vote for a member of the Boot On Your Neck Party. The most likely Libertarian "victory" in Indiana isn't even in my region and the Secretary of State race is the only vote that would matter to me. Heading to the polls and casting a single vote in order that the Libertarian Party in Indiana can continue to play the political game seems almost fruitless at times given the present climate.

We, the Anti-Electorate, do not believe there is a need for "strong leadership" in government.

We are not drawn to "intellectual" authorities and political "heroes."

We are not impressed with titles, ranks, and pecking orders – politicians, celebrities, and gurus.

We do not struggle for control of organizations, social circles, and government.

We do not lobby the State for favors or permission to control those with whom we disagree.

Rather, we advocate freedom.

By its very nature, the State does not.

Exercise your right to say "No" to the warfare-welfare system.

Refuse to vote. Then tell your friends why.

There's a great deal of wisdom in this Manifesto, especially in these times, when there is no difference between the "two" parties. When I hear Libertarian candidates speaking out about siding with the Socialists on the Right or even joining them I find it difficult to justify voting for anyone.

Perhaps, Robert LeFevre was correct and we should abstain from beans.

Political voting is the legal method we have adopted and extolled for obtaining monopolies of power. Political voting is nothing more than the assumption that might makes right. There is a presumption that any decision wanted by the majority of those expressing a preference must be desirable, and the inference even goes so far as to presume that anyone who differs from a majority view is wrong or possibly immoral.

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But implicit in all political voting is the necessity to coerce some so that all are controlled. The direction taken by the control is academic. Control as a monopoly in the hands of the state is basic.

In times such as these, it is incumbent upon free men to reexamine their most cherished, long-established beliefs. There is only one truly moral position for an honest person to take. He must refrain from coercing his fellows. This means that he should refuse to participate in the process by means of which some men obtain power over others. If you value your right to life, liberty, and property, then clearly there is every reason to refrain from participating in a process that is calculated to remove the life, liberty, or property from any other person. Voting is the method for obtaining legal power to coerce others.

With one week remaining Wally has posted the one thing that makes me sit back and do some serious rethinking. What will I be doing on election day? I don't know yet. I may well be wrestling with my addiction and abstaining from beans for the first time in a long time. What will you be doing?

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Libertarian, Election 2006, Politics, Movement of the Libertarian Left

Getting Busy - Steve Kubby Is Running For President

I was doing some web wandering this morning and decided to stop in at Kubby.com to check in and see how Steve Kubby was doing in his bid for the LP nomination for the 2008 Presidential election. Well, 'Lo and Behold I see that Steve has filed with the FEC and has been certified as a candidate. Outstanding! Now all he has to do is get past the neo-Libertarians who would rather not talk about health related issues, that nasty old drug war or medical marijuana. That will be no easy feat for Steve, given the new slant the Libertarian Party has taken. He may well be too radical for them.

Steve Kubby is taking advantage of the Internet for his campaign, posting footage from an appearance at the 34th Annual Cancer Convention on YouTube, running his normal website at Kubby.com and hosting a blog at MySpace. He even has a 123 member group at the same site. Not bad for being 2 years out from the elections of 2008.

Kubby is an ideal candidate and much better than some that are already offering themselves up for the run. His experience, name recognition and dedication will certainly stand the man in good stead, as will his "fan" base. Tom Knapp even hopped on board with a good analysis of a Kubby run and tendered his support (with the qualifier that the BTP might be running their own candidates). Steve Kubby is looking forward, in a humorous manner to appointing his cabinet. He's already got Tommy Chong tagged as the next Drug Czar. All kidding aside, tho; the message Steve Kubby tries to get across is one of revitalizing the Freedom Movement and dealing with the real issues that effect us all. Anyone who honestly stands up and says that they will help to restore personal freedoms to us has my support.

Steve Kubby would make a fine Libertarian candidate for president, certainly better than some of the others who are currently making noise about it. He has the credibility and chutzpah to do the job well. My only concerns for his candidacy are going to be his ability to medicate while on the campaign trail. As someone who would have to travel extensively in his quest for the nomination and then election, I have to wonder how much harassment and law enforcement persecution he will have to face. Will he even be able to travel to states like Indiana, New York or the South? Or will he endanger his health by not medicating while on the road? This is my only concern for his campaign, as I would hate to see a true crusader for freedom and liberty place his very life in jeopardy in order to obtain political office.

It is obvious that he is currently the best candidate the Libertarian Party has and he is an outstanding example for libertarians as well. A person who has principles and is more than willing to go to the wall for them is just what the political libertarians and the freedom movement need right now. Run, Steve! Run!

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Libertarian, Steve Kubby, Election 2008, Medical Marijuana

Two Way Walls

Walls are curious things. They serve to keep things out and to keep things in. They protect your home from various invaders and the elements while holding up the roof. They draw lines, delineating one's personal property from that of another. They serve to protect ones property and family or to imprison. Walls, I think are things which should not be taken lightly and yet the powers that be have taken the decision to build an American Great Wall along our southern border to keep out the new Yellow Peril.

People forget, I think that walls are a two way proposition. That which serves to keep one group out also serves to keep another in. Given the current regimes penchant for violating Constitutional rights, endorsing torture, suspension of habeas corpus and the litany of other "crimes" for which they and their cohorts will never be prosecuted, it is surprising that so very few people have voiced significant opposition to the construction of a border wall. Perhaps they only see a single direction where the wall is concerned.

Perhaps they've never seen cinema classics such as "The Handmaid's Tale"? Or even "Escape From New York"? If the arts aren't enough to make one suspicious of any walls which governments decide to build then a look at the country formerly known as the Deutsch Democratic Republic and their famed Wall and border control system. East German citizens believed that their border walls were to keep out corrupting foreigners and terrorists, too and gladly gave up their freedom for the safety of government protection.

Today any wall the government proposes is to keep people out but, what person places their faith in the hope that government will remain beneficent given the history of governments and politicians? There was once a time when our government did not blithely speak of torture, surveillance of the citizenry or "sacrificing" universal rights for the so-called common good. Piece by piece over the decades the powers that be have chipped away at our unalienable rights and now those pieces will be used to craft a wall. A wall which is today for excluding people from our supposedly free country and that tomorrow could very well be used to keep us in. Our freedom to travel, internally and externally has already been restricted is it too hard for people to imagine that a wall will not place a further restriction on it? Or even forbid it, if or when someone wishes to leave "the land of the free"?

Walls are curious things. So, too are those who support the building of some kinds of walls, as well as those who ignore it.

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Libertarian, Politics, Immigration, Border Wall, Bush