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State Libertarian News

AuMass — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:56:47 GMT

State Committee Gives Maximum Funding to
State Rep Candidates

Your Libertarian Association has given maximum legal funding - that's $500 a head - to all three of our State Representative candidates. On one hand, we wish we had more candidates. On the other hand, supporting those three candidates has seriously depleted our non-Federal campaign funds.

OTHER NEWS BELOW FOLD: Pro-freedom candidates on the ballot; activism events across Massachusetts.

Bob Underwood of Springfield is a long-time libertarian activist, who has run before for State Rep. In 2008 he was our candidate for U.S. Senate and got 3.1% of the vote.

Jonathan Loya of Holliston may be the youngest candidate for State Representative anywhere in the state.

Clay Walsh is trying to capture the true Libertarian line by running a write-in campaign in his District in Essex county. Write-in campaigns in our primaries are difficult to make happen, but Walsh has a serious organization and is doing the right things.

Pro-Freedom Candidates
on Ballot
Your editor is aware of two candidates for State Representative on the ballot,
Bob Underwood electbobunderwood.org
in Springfield and
Jonathan Loya (on Facebook) in Holliston.
Clay Walsh facebook.com/people/Clay-Walsh is trying to get on the ballot via a write-in campaign in the Libertarian Primary in the 9th Essex State Representative district.

There are also three potentially attractive candidates for United States Congress, namely
Bob Clark bobclarkforcongress.info
and
Dale Brown brownsview.us/
in the Fifth District and
Patrick Barron .barronforcongress.org
in the Third District.

Those of you elsewhere in the Commonwealth who want to cast a vote against the duopoly parties should realize that there are independent candidates on the ballot in several other Congressional and legislative Districts around the state, not to mention non-Democratic/Republican candidates for state office.

Activism Event September 18
Boston Freedom Festival
The Boston Freedom Festival, America's pre-eminent marijuana pro-legalization event, is held on the Boston Common Saturday in mid-September. This year as every year we will have a tent and Outreach Table. There are tens of thousands of sympathetic young people in the audience, many able to hear us. We could use an almost unlimited number of volunteers at this event. Please show up and help! If you would like to join them, contact George Phillies phillies@4liberty.net or David Blau Chair@LPMass.Org as soon as possible.

Activism Event September 25
Marlborough Gun Show

The Marlborough Gun and Knife Show will be held September 26 and 27 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlbrough, located at 181 Boston Post Road West, just off the Mass Pike. As a political organization, we were unable to secure a table, but activist-volunteers will be leafleting the lines waiting to get in. If you would like to join them, please contact George Phillies phillies@4liberty.net or David Blau Chair@LPMass.Org as soon as possible.

Activism Event October 9
Worcester Freedom Festival
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.?in Elm Park, Worcester

LAMA State Convention

AuMass — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:46:16 GMT

Libertarian Association of Massachusetts
State Convention

Sunday, October 3, 2010
10:00 A.M. -- 2 P.M.
Tweed's Restaurant
Grove Street, Worcester

Registration Fee -- $25
Payable "Libertarian" and sent to
George Phillies
48 Hancock Hill Drive
Worcester MA 01609
Election of the State Committee

Speeches by Our Candidates
for State Legislature and Congress

Other Events to be Announced

Luncheon Speaker
Rachel Hawkridge
Our LNC Representative
State Chair, LP Washington

Food will be served
10AM Tea-Coffee-Hot Cocoa
Danish Pastry -- Hot Rolls

Noon:
Fruit and Vegetable Tray

Beef Teriyaki kebabs
Boneless chicken wings
Bonein Wing Dings
Cheese stuffed bread sticks
Fried Chicken tenderloins
seafood stuffed mushrooms
Italian Sausage kebabs
Swedish meatballs
Potato skins with cheese and bacon

Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce

Donations are not tax deductible. Your contributions may be used with respect to a Federal Election. We are required to make our best efforts to determine the occupation and employer of all donors of $200 or more.

August 3: Young Libertarians of Massachusetts

AuMass — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:11:24 GMT

State Representative candidate Jonathan Loya has taken the lead in organizing a Young Libertarians of Massachusetts. The inaugural meeting August 3 6:30pm - 8:30pm at the Medway Lotus, 128 Milford Street, Medway, MA. The location is right off Route 495, midway between Route 290 and the Mass Pike. From Route 495, take exit 19 and go east about 1000 feet.

LAMA Needs Volunteers

AuMass — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:48:04 GMT

Volunteers Still Needed!

Yes, we have volunteer projects that are still looking for volunteers! Please contact David Blau chair@lpmass.org or George Phillies phillies@4liberty.net if you are willing to do any of these.

Boston Freedom Festival: The Boston Freedom Festival, America's pre-eminent marijuana pro-legalization event, is held on the Boston Common Saturday in mid-September. This year as every year we will have a tent and Outreach Table. There are tens of thousands of sympathetic young people in the audience, many able to hear us. Please show up and help!

MORE BELOW FOLD
Candidate Support We have candidates across good parts of Massachusetts, all looking for volunteers to help them campaign. What their campaign is doing depends on the candidate, but they can all use help.

Youth Outreach Web Site The web site FreeMass.org was elegantly constructed by its first webmaster, but he is now off at school. We need a new web master and Youth Outreach person to come to the aid of Young Libertarians of Massachusetts to maintain the site and fill it with events.

Outreach Contact The blog site GoldMassGroup has generated the better part of two thousand email addresses and email handles that could be used to contact people interested in being a part of Massachusetts Libertarians. We need someone to reach out to them one at a time. An ability and willingness to send lots of individualized email messages is needed.

Telephone Outreach We have our first volunteer and need more. We have names, addresses, and telephone numbers of thousands of libertarian-interested residents of Massachusetts. They include current national party members, former state party members, people who contact or volunteer, and more. We need good libertarians who are willing to call each of these people, listen to them, learn what they want our State Association to do, and then see if the people you are calling can be persuaded to join our State Association.

Internet Outreach The number of electronic outreach routes climbs every day. We have Facebook, web pages, blog pages, twitter, newspaper comments...every one of those routes is available to spread our libertarian message. Now, more than ever, we can use volunteers who have to do no more than sit in front of their keyboards and send libertarian messages to voters across Massachusetts.

Editor I have been covering as Editor for some months now, but I would be happy to be replaced. Editor is a rather demanding job, since you will need to generate most of the material for each issue. A good Editor is able to recognize news such as outreach events and present it to the membership as a volunteerism opportunity.

2012 Presidential Ballot Access

AuMass — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:44:39 GMT

From the LAMA August Newsletter:

State Committee Funds 2012 Presidential Ballot Access

The State Committee has set aside $1000 from our Federal account as a Presidential ballot access fund. Any donations specified as being for Presidential Ballot access will be added to the fund. The money may be spent on fundraising, petitioning, petition redistribution or other costs for getting our 2012 Presidential candidate on the ballot.

We improve our credibility as a third party if we run someone for President. (Yes, we would have been interested in running someone for statewide office this year on some ballot line, but we didn't find anyone willing to spend 15 or 20 thousand dollars out of their own pocket just to get on the ballot.)

The money will not be spent, except for raising more money, until we find someone who is willing to take full responsibility for executing the petitioning process.

LAMA Excites New Volunteers At Boston Pride Festival

dblau — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:39:17 GMT

BOSTON (LAMA) - On Saturday June 12, the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA) conducted another successful campaign at the Boston Pride festival to reach out to the GLBT community and attract new volunteers. LAMA explained libertarian solutions to the problems of gender and sexual orientation equality to citizens from all over the New England area, and polled the attendees on their political leanings.
Despite the sometimes driving rain, LAMA attracted dozens of attendees to its booth. Once there, visitors spoke with LAMA members, read pamphlets on libertarian issues, and took part in Operation Politically Homeless (OPH).

OPH is a grassroots effort to sample the political opinion of the average citizen. Passersby take a short, ten-question political quiz that scores their stances on several personal rights and economic freedoms. These scores are used to place them on a two-dimensional political chart that shows not just whether they are "left" or "right," but also whether they favor more personal responsibility or more government control.

The majority of respondents who took the quiz on Saturday scored between 70% and 90% favorable on personal issues, while being rather evenly distributed on economic issues. Nearly half of the test-takers were classified as "liberal," while most of the other half were "libertarian." Those who were curious about their scores signed up to receive additional information from LAMA.

"I am very pleased with the outcome," said LAMA Chairman David Blau after the event. "The OPH results were typical for Boston Pride. Attendance was down due to the weather, we were still able to support our friends in the GLBT community and keep our message fresh."

LAMA's next public outreach event is at the Van's Warped Tour event in Mansfield, MA on July 13.

About LAMA
The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA) is the Massachusetts affiliate of the Libertarian National Party. LAMA is committed to recruiting and supporting libertarian candidates for federal, state-wide, and local office who support individual freedom, personal responsibility, and efficient, right-sized government.

Contact
David E. Blau, Esq.
Chairman, Libertarian Association of Massachusetts
(617) 487-5204
chair@lpmass.org
http://www.lpmass.org
irc://irc.coldfront.net/#liberty

New LNC Elected

AuMass — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:31:44 GMT

More than 500 delegates, a recent record for a non-Presidential National Convention, assembled in St Louis for the Libertarian Party National Convention. The radical changes in the Bylaws and Platform, such as eliminating non-Presidential conventions, were not passed.

A new National Committee was elected:

More Below Fold
Chair - Mark Hinkle
Vice Chair - Mark Rutherford
Secretary - Alicia Mattson
Treasurer - James Oaksun

At-Large Members:
Kevin Knedler
David Nolan
William Redpath
Wayne Allyn Root
Mary Ruwart

Regional Representatives/Alternates
Rachel Hawkridge/Vicki Kirkland
Doug Craig, Stuart Flood & Daniel Wiener/ Brad Ploeger, Guy McLendon, and Scott Lieberman
Rebecca Sink-Burris/Andy Wolf
Norm Olsen/Don Wills
James Lark/Marakay Rogers
Dan Karlan/Carl Vassar

Announcement that Oaksun had defeated Starr was greeted with raucous cheering. Almost all New Path candidates were defeated.

Several of the LP Regions reorganized a bit. Rachel Hawkridge's new region is Alaska-WA-ID-TN-MA-VT-NH. OR was persuaded to join with NY, NJ, CT, RI, and ME to form a region. CA joined with much of the south to form a triple region, the LNC members from it being Dan Wiener, Doug Craig, and Stuart Flood.

The LNC Membership list includes eight Regional Representatives, each with an alternate. The people on the LNC who were voting members last time were Hinkel, Ruwart, Redpath, Hawkridge, Flood, Sink-Burris, Lark, and Karlan. That's more than a 50% change in the list of voting members on the LNC.

The LNC gained a new Non-Intervention Caucus, whose initial foray into Platform issues was highly successful.

No Extravaganja Event

AuMass — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:47:20 GMT

Temperature in the low 40s and a 60% chance of rain is just a bit overwhelming for an outdoor event.

In different news, we apparently have yet another Congressional candidate,this time in the 6th District.

Libertarian State Platform

AuMass — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:09:44 GMT

The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts stands for Peace, Freedom, and Prosperity.

PEACE
Libertarians support non-intervention in the affairs of foreign nations. Our foreign wars should end; our armed forces should be brought home from around the world. The Cold War is over; the vast military machine that the Cold War justified is no longer needed.

FREEDOM
Libertarians stand for protecting your Federal and State Constitutional Rights, all of them without any exception or omission. There is no National Security exemption to the Bill of Rights. Politicians who ignore our Constitutional Liberties are the chief threat to our country.

OPPORTUNITY
America should be a land of opportunity for every citizen. Massive expansions of the Federal Budget and Debt are strangling those opportunities. We need massive cuts in government spending or our grandchildren will be crushed by their grandparents' wastrel extravagance.

END REGRESSIVE TAXATION
The sales tax should over several years be repealed. Let's hear the giant sucking sound of the good people of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine coming to Massachusetts to our high-quality, no-tax shops, creating jobs and income for the Commonwealth.

FEES SHOULD NOT BE HIDDEN GENERAL TAXES
Cut in half all license fees.

END TURNPIKE TOLLS
The cost of maintaining the turnpike is a small fraction of the tolls levied on it. Turnpike tolls primarily pay for the cost of collecting the tolls. End tolls, move money back to people.

The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts calls for the repeal of the Massachusetts compulsory health insurance law.

The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts endorses new and future pro-freedom initiatives being brought to the voters and urges Libertarians across Massachusetts to support their passage.

The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts condemns the Bush Administration's war of aggression against Iraq and calls for its immediate end, and calls for the immediate withdrawal of the Massachusetts National Guard to Massachusetts.

In accord with existing Federal Law, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should move vigorously to replace its National Guard with a State Defense Force whose service is limited to the boundaries of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts cannot long endure a huge underclass of people whose civil liberties and civil rights have been lost to the war on drugs. There should be a general pardon of all persons who were convicted of violating state laws defining nonviolent drug crimes.

Laws requiring the use of personal protective equipment intended primarily to protect the user, such as Motorcycle Helmets and Automobile Seatbelts, should be repealed, because protecting people from their own actions is not a fundamental purpose of government.

Mindful of the rights clearly provided for in the Bill of Rights, the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts calls for the repeal of all Massachusetts permit laws and other restrictions on the right of law-abiding adults to keep and bear firearms and other weapons.

New Libertarian Activities and Events

AuMass — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:41:36 GMT

Extravaganja
Saturday, April 17
Amherst Common Noon-5
Your State Committee will be there weather permitting. (Though not if there is substantial rain.) We will have a tent, OPH materials, handouts, and could use help to spread our Libertarian message. Please contact George Phillies phillies@4liberty.net if interested.

Van's Warped Tour
Van's Warped Tour is a musical event that passes through Massachusetts every year. The offer a location for a large-scale OPH effort. If we get a table as planned, we will get two free wristbands, but we will need additional volunteers who, alas, will need to buy admission - there is some possibility of State Committee reimbursement.

The message I have on this from Jeff Orrock of Colorado reads:

Hello everyone!

The Van's Warped Tour Pre-Sale has begun. They say that pre-sale ticket prices are $15 off the regular price. I'm not sure if there is a standard price for all cities, but for Denver, the pre-sale is $20.24 + $8.75 per ticket, and then there is shipping. Keep in mind that as a non-profit, you will get two free wristbands, but to make the most of the event, you will want a team of around 6 to 8 activists.

Pre-Sale sells out fast, so don't delay!!! The calendar and pre-sale info is available at http://warpedtourtickets.music... Note that it says you have to register with their fan community. Don't worry, they send only a few emails in an entire year.

New State PAC
Following a discussion with the Office of Campaign and political Finance, we have made a change in our state PAC arrangements. It seems that there is no legal path to renaming our State PAC; we will spend its contents to zero and it will vanish. Instead, at the recommendation of the OCPF, we have adopted the Liberty Tree Small Government Low Taxes Political Action Committee as our own, and future non-Federal donations will be placed in its account. We will then have a State PAC and a Federal PAC as planned.

Cloud on CD
Long-time member Michael Cloud's famous Libertarian lectures The Essence of Political Persuasion are now on CD. LPTN Vice Chair Charles Wilhoit recommends them as the most valuable tool every new TN county chair should examine.

The supplier is the Advocates for Self-Government 800-932-1776 info@TheAdvocates.org. I picked up a copy at the NHLA symposium; the disks are so new that I did not find price or shipping information on The Advocates web site.

New April Meetups!

March 31, 7 PM Dedham, Mass. Second Amendment Sister Jenn Coffey of New Hampshire speaks at the Endicott Estate, 565 East St. Dedham, MA on "Freedom and the Right to Self Defense". Event sponsored by the John Birch Society, not the Libertarian Association.

April 14 6:30 PM Pioneer Valley Libertarians
Dr. Deegan's Restaurant
510 Burnett Road Springfield, MA 01020

April 28, 7 PM Boston Area Libertarians
Papa Razzi 271 Dartmouth St
Boston, MA 02116
Note Change of Location...the old site closed.

Libertarian candidates pursue ballot access

AuMass — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:27:28 GMT

Libertarian Candidates Emerge
...based on a report by Alwin Hopfman, State Committee Political Facilitator

We have four more-or-less Libertarian Party candidates running for State Representative, which is a recent record. We have four more-or-less libertarian candidates for U.S. Congress, an all-time record. Political Party Status has created challenges in terms of choice of ballot line.

More below fold:
Libertarian Candidates Emerge
...from a report by Alwin Hopfman, State Committee Political Facilitator

State Legislative candidates

We have four more-or-less Libertarian candidates running for State Representative, which is a recent record.

State Committee member Jon Loya of Holliston is running for State Representative in the Eighth Middlesex District. The District is Holliston, Hopkinton, and parts of Medway, Westborough, and Southborough. His web site is electjonloya.com

State Committee member Bob Underwood of Springfield is running for State Representative in the Ninth Hampden District. He is running on the Liberty line. His web site is electbobunderwood.com.

Robert Walsh III of Lynn is running for State Representative in an Essex District. He is a member of the Constitution Party and is attempting to get on the ballot on the Libertarian line as a write-in/sticker candidate. He has no web site.

Chuck Kuniewich of Hudson is running for State Representative in the Third Middlesex district, which includes Bolton, Hudson, Maynard, and Stow. He is running as an independent, with web site votechuckk.com. His contact with our movement is through support for the Committee for Small Government, the Sales Tax Rollback effort. His message is: Government should be effective & efficient, fiscally frugal not foolish.

Federal candidates
We have four more-or-less libertarian candidates for U.S. Congress, an all-time record.

In the 10th District, Plymouth and Cape Cod, LAMA Member Jim Seal is working to get on the ballot. He is registered Unenrolled and will apparently be running on the Liberty line. Last month, Jim organized a meetup event; his web site is not yet up.

In the Third District (Worcester down to Fall River) Patrick Barron of Worcester is running as an independent. You can see his web site at BarronForCongress.org.

In the Fifth District (northwestern Middlesex County up to the NH border) two very different independent/libertarian candidates are running. Dale Brown of North Chelmsford is planning on running on the Liberty line. You can see his web site at brownsview.us. Bob Clark of Berlin is running as an Independent; you can see his web site at BobClarkForCongress.com.

Most of the above candidates contacted us by one means or another and have spent significant amounts of their own time and money pursuing their campaign.

Republican Death March Continues

AuMass — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:49:09 GMT

In other good news for Libertarians, the Republican Party is continuing its death march.

The Republican Party death march is advancing:

State Senate:

Scott Brown...out of office
Bob Hedlund..running for Congress
Richard Tisei...running for Lieutenant Governor

These changes drop the Republicans to two seats in the Senate.

State House

Lew Evangelidis...running for Sheriff
Robert Hargraves...retiring
Jeff Perry...Running for Congress
Karen Polito...running for Treasurer, it appears.

These changes drop the Republicans to twelve seats in the House.

In addition, one Republican State Rep is running for the vacant State Senate seat, but this is a special election: His own seat is not at risk, so win or lose he is still a Republican state legislator.

A few more years of this, and we will become the number two party in Massachusetts. (Cynics will says we will actually become the new Number Three Party, behind the liberal Democrats and their only mortal enemies, the machine Democrats.)

In more good news, we are starting to get candidates for State Legislature:
Bob Underwood in Springfield
Jonathan Loya in mid-state
perhaps a State Senate candidate near Hull.

Kennedy Thanks His Supporters

AuMass — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:34:09 GMT

Thank You

A personal message from Joe Kennedy:

I want to send a huge THANK YOU out to my supporters and congratulate Senator Brown on his new role in the U.S. Senate. Senator Brown ran a very aggressive campaign and was able to get the support and funds needed to pull a huge upset in Massachusetts. May he represent the people well.
As for me, I have already been asked by a large number of people What's Next? I have been asked to run for Auditor (I am backing Kamal Jain for Auditor), Governor (The field for Governor already is full with multimillionaires), to run against Brown in 2012, to run against Kerry in 2014, to run against Barney Frank and many other positions. All I can say is I am flattered and honored by this show of continued support. Before I run for other positions, I need to talk about this race, some of the lessons learned, and the steps necessary for me to consider running in the future.

This was a learning experience. We ran the best race for Senate possible given the limited fundraising budget of a meager $18,000. With each step in the process, we learned and many times by trial and error. In addition, we faced obstacles never imagined. During the campaign, we faced sharp criticism and a change of heart from key supporters. Tea Party supporters turned their back on our campaign, despite my personal commitments in the past to numerous local events. Fellow Libertarians sent email after email asking me to drop out and support Brown. Members of the Independent party requested that we throw our support to Scott Brown. The negative email campaign from Tea Parties and Brown supporters from across the country impacted us greatly and we did not have the staff to compete against it. For those who are not aware, my unpaid campaign staff consisted of part-timers with limited campaign experience, and faced with the unmanageable task of coordinating campaign efforts across the state.

Here is my promise to you: I will do what needs to be done in Washington. I will go down there and file legislation to cut spending, hack jobs, useless departments and anything I find that is wasteful. I will fight lobbyists, cut my own salary and work to bring the Washington aristocracy back to earth. I will work to eliminate the FED, end any wars and ensure equal rights for all. I want to do this. And, I want your help.

Our biggest lesson learned is support and backing are essential. I will not run a losing campaign again. I need you to take an active role in mobilizing resources across the state while raising funds to pay for staff and advertising amongst other campaign costs. We can do this together. I will keep this site up, spread my own word, join organizations and sacrifice my own time. I ask of you, what are you willing to sacrifice for your country, your state, and your liberties?

If you want me to run again, I leave it up to you. Find me events, spread the word, and find a way to assist in funding my next campaign. When elected I will work harder for you and your wallet than anyone in government today. If you want me to run again we need to start today. Spread the word, get more people to join the site and keep the energy flowing. Let us together continue what we started and bring back a government of and for the people.

Thank you again. Joseph L Kennedy

Joe!

AuMass — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:32:23 GMT

Joe!

Kennedy Takes 22,237 Votes. That's up 68% from our 2008 top-of-ticket Barr/Root Presidential team and their 13,189 votes. Joe's best towns were 4% in Hawley and 3% in Huntington, Ware, Monroe, New Salem, and Rowe.

Brown Launches Attack on First Amendment

AuMass — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:58:40 GMT

In a new outbreak of Republican cluelessness, Republican candidate Scott Brown has claimed -- you can read it on http://RedMassGroup.com --that MGL56.42

Chapter 56: Section 42. False statements relating to candidates or questions submitted to voters
Section 42. No person shall make or publish, or cause to be made or published, any false statement in relation to any candidate for nomination or election to public office, which is designed or tends to aid or to injure or defeat such candidate.
No person shall publish or cause to be published in any letter, circular, advertisement, poster or in any other writing any false statement in relation to any question submitted to the voters, which statement is designed to affect the vote on said question.
Whoever knowingly violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.

is legally enforceable, as opposed to being a Demonstration of the inability of the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth to understand the Federal and State Constitutions, notably the First Amendment (Federal). He has threatened to file criminal charges against various Democrats for a flier they circulated.