Blogs

The Mystery of the Third Frontier Program

April 28, 2010

By Matt Mayer

COLUMBUS: The silence is deafening. Rarely has there been an issue so thoroughly lacking in hard opposition as Issue 1, the $700 million bond renewal request for the Third Frontier grant program. Does the silence indicate that Third Frontier is universally accepted as a win-win-win for taxpayers, government, and the economy?

Good evening,

To fix this country is obviously more regulation, more aid, and more taxes on the rich.  Think about the countless people saved by seat belts and immolation by McD's coffee through Safety!  The private sector will never keep us safe.  They would just as soon kill all of their customer to make a few schillings. 

For instance, there is this scourge..

I am THIS candidate! I am not a shill, a "party" man, we MUST work together to save OHIO and by doing so, the nation. If it was up to me, I would already be serving in the state house making Ohio, freer, more prosperous, and a example for the nation. It is not up to me! It is up to my constituents.

Tentative Ohio Ruling in Now Final; Ohio Has 6 Political Parties on 2010 Ballot
December 31st, 2009

On December 31, an earlier Ohio Secretary of State ruling on ballot-qualified parties for the 2010 election was officially promulgated to county election boards in Ohio. The ruling says that the Constitution, Green, Libertarian and Socialist Parties are ballot-qualified in Ohio in 2010. Some time ago, the Secretary of State had posted this ruling on her web page, and no one made any negative comments, or comments as to why the tentative ruling should be reversed. The comment period is now over. The ruling is now final.

The four minor parties must nominate any 2010 candidates in their own primary. Candidates for statewide office in the primary of any of these parties need 500 signatures. Candidates for district and county office need 25 signatures. Signatures are due in February. The primary is in May.

The Ohio Constitution says all ballot-qualified parties must nominate by primary. Ohio and Oklahoma are the only states that have state constitutional provisions that require all parties to nominate by primary. Most states let small or new qualified parties nominate by convention. Allowing newly qualifying parties to nominate by convention allows for later petition deadlines for new parties, and also saves tax money.

Ohio still doesn’t have any valid election law to determine which parties are ballot-qualified. The 6th circuit invalidated the old laws in 2006 and the legislature has not replaced them. One bill, HB 260, would revise the laws, but it has not passed the State Senate. There is no bill pending that would revise the State Constitutional provision about mandatory primaries for all parties. Thanks to Kevin Knedler for the news about the final status of the Secretary of State’s ruling.

Things are heating up in these cold months. Summit County Libertarians are needed now more than ever if we are going to accomplish our goal of getting the first Libertarian ever elected to the Ohio State House! Here is a run down of recent activities and goals:

• Listonforliberty.org is up and running
• The campaign is ready to accept donations. Anything will help. You can donate through PayPal on the campaign website.
• The Amazon Affiliate store is up and running. You can view it here at the bottom of the page. Proceeds from the sales of books and DVDs made through the store go to the campaign.
• Summit LP has been networking and meeting with local politicians and activists whom are sympathetic to our lean government stance.
• Summit LP is attempting to be at every event in the area that is related to our cause. (which is pretty broad).
• Some initial media contacts have been made. We did get a mention in the Beacon Journal

There are many, many things that we are working on though:

• We need money. It’s as simple as that. Signs, pamphlets, magnets, posters, election time calls, postage.. it all costs money. To that end any donation is appreciated.
• In relation to the above point; we are looking to do a few fundraisers. Any time or location donations would be great! Please contact us with any ideas.
• We need people! Volunteers to help us canvas the town, conduct fundraisers, attend events with campaign paraphernalia.
• We are making Youtube videos. Hopefully, lots of Youtube videos. We may need some people to assist in this as well. So if you think you are photogenic, or have a great voice, or are a screen writer, here’s that chance for your big break. Who knows, it might go viral.
• ichooseliston.org is in the final stages of production. This site will provide an easy way to get a summarized run down of our positions.
• Filing of bylaws. We will soon become an official and somewhat autonomous political party for Summit County.
• We need more candidates. We need more activists. Anyone in Summit County or the surrounding area is welcome to inquire. The more third party candidates there are, the better. We are not the fringe, we are the future! So if you are tired of the same old politics of choosing between the lesser of two evils.. do something about it! Consider this your Invitation.
• Most of all we are interested in listening to people, and getting input into how you feel things could be done better, and what you don’t like. We cannot guarantee we will agree, but conversation is always welcome. We believe there are ways to work through our issues, while adhering to the frame-work of liberty and responsibility.
• We would love to come speak at your event. Let us know how we can help. I know we are asking a lot from you, but it’s a two way street.

Sometimes the task before us can seem overwhelming. It is unprecedented, that’s for sure. But, when given the current situations, we truly believe we are offering a win-win solution. The best of both worlds if you will. Personal freedom and fiscal responsibility. If the current political system had the answers, we would have no need to even exist, and could go about our lives. That is not the case though. There has never been a better time to get involved. We are not changing the system so much as taking ownership of the system. The people are responsible for letting it get the way it is, and only the people can get it to where it needs to be. It’s time to stop merely paying lip-service to individual rights and freedom, and go out there are and reclaim what has belonged to each and every one of us all along!

Here is a very good video raising questions about global warming.

Link:

Here is a very interesting piece from 20/20 with John Stossel. It really gets at the heart of the education question and more or less illuminates the Libertarian position. We really can do much better, and it is absolutely vital that we do!

Mises Daily: Friday, October 30, 2009 by Karl Hess

[This article was first published as The Lawless State: A Libertarian View of the Status of Liberty. Volume IV, No. 4 in the National Issues Series of Politics, (Constitutional Alliance, 1969).]

The Nature of Government

Government has gone wild.

Today, in the land we like to think of as the most free on earth, government reaches into every level of our lives. It controls and it coerces, it bullies and it brags, it browbeats and it blusters. It grows and it grows, feeding without restraint on the energy, the talents, the hopes, the fears, and the futures of the people.

Endless arguing about, or even rigorous voting for “better” government has not altered and can not alter the fact that it is the nature of government, the state itself, that has shown itself in such a dark light. For it is in the nature of the state and of government as it has developed to do all of the things that it now is doing — regardless of which partisans, which technicians, operate it at any given point.

After each American election there are the weeks and months of elation in which partisans euphorically tell one another that “problems are going to be solved” by the “good” and “strong” and “wise” men about to take office. The losers, meantime, say just as flatly that the world is going to hell in a breadbasket.

And very little changes.

In terms of actual change, as a matter of fact, there hasn’t been an election in the United States since its inception that has driven the country solidly onto a course toward less government and more liberty. Each, rather, has driven the country toward more government and less liberty.