Update! Julia the Red

by Clifford F. Thies

In Australia, the ruling Labour government may fall because a member of Parliament used a union credit card to pay for prostitutes. Prostitution itself is not illegal in the country, but misappropriating union funds is illegal and would disqualify him from Parliament. Were it proven that this member, currently under investigation, were guilty, there would be a special election to replace him, with the opposition enjoying a considerable lead in the polls. Assuming, next, the the opposition were to win the special election, the government could be taken down on a money bill, forcing a snap election in which the opposition party would be likely to win a landslide victory. There is also the possibility that one of the two independents that backed Labour in return for certain consideration that benefited their constituencies, would immediately support the opposition in a no-confidence vote, without waiting for a money bill, or even without waiting for the special election, in the event of a resignation or a disqualification.

The Australian Labour Party effectively acknowledges the desperate shape they are in, first, by funding the Member's legal bills, so he would have effective representation without being forced into bankruptcy (which would also disqualify from Parliament). The Prime Minister, Julia "the Red" Gillard has "resisted" the increasingly loud chorus calling for a resignation and has, instead, said that he must be presumed innocent and the process of investigation must be followed. In a stunning blow to the government, the union which this man is supposed to have defrauded has decided to cooperate with the police rather than have their members "take one" for the government.

The man's story - which is that the credit card was stolen by another - has been massively contradicted. It appears that he is obviously lying and that his convection is just a matter of time. How much time, is what Julia and her Green-Red coalition are focused on.

LR SPECIAL REPORT!

by Mike Renzulli

I happened upon a thread made by Angela Keaton on Facebook about how Antiwar.com was the subject of an federal investigation as revealed by recently declassified F.B.I. documents. What was disturbing about the commentary by Justin Raimondo was not only the opinion piece being used to raise money for the website but it also made Antiwar.com out to be victims of a government conspiracy against them claiming such actions were geared to silence dissent on the part of antiwar/peace groups and activists. Then I got to thinking. Back in March some antiwar groups were the subject of an F.B.I. investigation in which one Minnesota activist named Mick Kelly had his house raided as a result of the F.B.I. having evidence that he was willing to help train members of Columbia's communist rebel group (FARC) as well as had a relationship with another left-wing activist with ties to Islamist groups who is also under investigation for allegedly laundering half a million dollars in government grants.

In the case of Antiwar.com, the group posted a publicly available terrorist watch list on their website and commentaries by Antiwar.com authors were passed out at anti war protests. This, in turn, prompted the FBI to initiate an investigation to determine if the employees or owners of the website were spies or terrorist sympathizers. I think the fact that the F.B.I. has investigated Antiwar.com is a good indication that they may have had evidence that somehow the group might be getting funding from questionable sources. The investigation (if any) is not being done to silence dissidents on the war on terrorism. Though I do not have any evidence to prove it, I personally believe and would not be surprised if websites such as Antiwar.com and groups that further conspiracy theories about 9/11 are having money funneled to them via indirect means from political Islamist groups as part of an effort to undermine US military and clandestine efforts in the middle east to stop terrorism in order to create doubt in people's minds about U.S. foreign policy in the court of public opinion.

In many ways I am not surprised that Justin Raimondo and other Antiwar.com staff members would make themselves out to be victims of a conspiracy against them since if the example of the antiwar group raids occured last year are any indication, the F.B.I. will not conduct an investigation unless they have some concrete evidence to go on. Because of the possibility that the F.B.I. has evidence that the group behind Antiwar.com might be the recipient of funds from sources with ties to terrorist organizations that's why they were (and possibly still are) under investigation. That's why the F.B.I. raided (so called) antiwar organization headquarters a short time ago since there was evidence of contact with terrorists and now Antiwar.com could end up in the same boat as them.

Time will tell if Antiwar.com and other like-minded groups and individuals (like Alex Jones, Iraq Vets Against the War, and even some candidates who have run for office in Republican primaries) are supported by jihadist money.

To her credit and in fairness, after I raised this issue Angela Keaton stated my point(s) were "baseless". But we have yet to hear from Justin Raimondo or Eric Garris if they also deny their operation could be supported by Islamists and it would be interesting to see if Garris or Raimondo are open evidence that contradict their conclusion and if proven wrong about their assertions regarding U.S. foreign policy if they are willing to change their minds. If Antiwar.com is the direct or indirect recipient of funds from groups with ties to terrorists, in the end, all they will be remembered for is how they helped Political Islamists in their efforts to undermine (if not outright destroy) Western Civilization. If the United States collapses from within as a result of the Stealth Jihad on the part of Islamist groups the people to thank for helping to make it a reality will be Antiwar.com and their like-minded friends.

From the Editor - Please note, Mike's views do not necessarily represent the views of all co-editors, and writers of Libertarian Republican. Mike is an Ayn Randist, self-described Pro-Defense Libertarian from Phoenix. We're announcing that Mike is joining our team as an associate editor of this website.

Photos - Justin Raimondo, editor-in-chief, AntiWar.com, Angela Keaton, Marketing Dir. AntiWar.com, Adam Kokesh, Iraq Vets Against the War and 2010 GOP primary candidate for Congress, NM. Photo credit - Peace.tumblr.com

Ayotte, Guinta, other TOP GOP leaders ask for Kimball's resignation

From Mike Griffin:

New Hampshire's GOP State Chair Jack Kimble is now saying he won't quit.

Breaking from the AP... via Las Vegas Sun

The state's embattled GOP chairman says he won't resign despite pressure to quit from top party leaders.

Jack Kimball, a tea party activist, says he represents a movement that's much larger than him and that's crucial to the party's future.

Former GOP state chairman Fergus Cullen said Kimball's signing of the Libertarian petition was "a critical tipping point."

Kimball held firm even as U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and a majority of the party's executive board called for new leadership in a letter dated Wednesday. The board will vote Sept. 1 on whether to remove Kimball.

Ayotte was joined in her call for Kimball's resignation by the party's top echelon, including congressmen Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass, Senate President Peter Bragdon, House Speaker William O'Brien and GOP national committeeman Steve Duprey.

In a joint statement, Ayotte and the others thanked Kimball for his time and effort but added, "To ensure that all of the party's energy and resources are solely focused on electing Republicans, we believe it is time to move beyond this serious distraction."

Editor's note - A little disclosure - I was a volunteer campaign worker for Frank Guinta for Congress for two weeks Oct. 2010. We hope all parties involved can come to some sort of agreement and resolve this heartwrenching situation.

UNBELIEVABLE!! MUST READ!!

by Eric Dondero

It's come to this. What started as advisory laws from state governments in the 1980s for citizens to "be safe," has morphed into a giant local governments sucking off the Big Mommy Federal Government tit program. So much so, in fact, that local cops are willing to commit outright fraud to gain those almighty Fed dollars.

This amazing, but oh-so-true story from TheCarConnection.com "Officer Tickets 215 Phantom Motorists For Seatbelt Violation" Aug. 19:

In June, the New Orleans Police Department received a federal grant that provides overtime pay to officers who help enforce seatbelt laws. Police salaries being what they are, the grant drew the attention of many officers, including one Glenn Gross.

Gross apparently issued the 215 tickets to "phantom motorists" in three months since the grant funds were awarded. Details of how he accomplished that feat haven't been released, but since he works in the department's information technology division -- or did, until he was arrested yesterday -- it sounds as if he could have created them from the relative comfort of his desk. Eventually, one of Gross' supervisors became suspicious and reported him to the Public Integrity Bureau, which conducted an investigation.

Side note - We're proud that we're one libertarian website that continually covers the seat belt law issue, unlike other so-called "libertarians." Photo credit - Fark.com

Tea Party libertarian to run for Republican nomination

From Eric Dondero:

Bill Slantz (photo - left) has pulled out of a crowded field for the GOP primary to succeed St. Charles Mayor Sally Faith for her state house seat.

From SLToday:

No longer seeking the Republican nomination is Bill Slantz, the unsuccessful Libertarian Party nominee last year against Faith.

Slantz, who had said last spring he wanted to run this time as a Republican, said he now plans to seek the office again as a Libertarian after being asked by members of that party to do so

There are 3 other Republicans vying for the seat, including Young Republican leader and Tea Party libertarian Matt Ehlen (photo - right). From his website:

The War for Independence was fought over the fact that the liberties of the colonies were being violated. The Declaration lists some of the various offenses committed by the Crown and Parliament, offenses against their basic rights as citizens of England. A violation of their liberties was so offensive that they were willing to risk their lives, fortunes and sacred honors in their defense. I will fight to maintain personal liberty.

Law & Order Libertarian

From Eric Dondero:

Some shake-ups in local races in northeastern Pennslvania. Betsy Summers is now running for Wilkes-Barre Mayor. Replacing her on the Libertarian ticket for a County Council seat is a longtime GOPer.

From CitizensVoice.com

"Mike Lacey to run as Libertarian candidate for Luzerne County Council" Aug. 26:

Republican Mike Lacey, co-founder of the NEPA Tea Party, will replace Betsy Summers as the Libertarian candidate for Luzerne County Council, Libertarian officials said Wednesday.

"Libertarians have been running as Republicans and Democrats (sic) throughout the country for years," said Lou Jasikoff, chairman of the Pennsylvania Libertarians. "This might be the first time in history that a Republican is running as a Libertarian, and times are truly changing."

Lacey is a right-libertarian, active with various regional free market groups such as Americans For Prosperity.

Photo - Lacey with Curtis Sliwa. H/t restoringfreedoms blog

From Eric Dondero:

Kinky Friedman ran against Rick Perry for Governor, but now he's "singing his praises."

From The Daily Beast:

"I have been quoted as saying that when I die, I am to be cremated, and the ashes are to be thrown in Rick Perry’s hair. Yet, simply put, Rick Perry and I are incapable of resisting each other’s charm. He is not only a good sport, he is a good, kindhearted man, and he once sat in on drums with ZZ Top. A guy like that can’t be all bad. When I ran for governor of Texas as an independent in 2006, the Crips and the Bloods ganged up on me. When I lost, I drove off in a 1937 Snit, refusing to concede to Perry. Three days later Rick called to give me a gracious little pep talk, effectively talking me down from jumping off the bridge of my nose. Very few others were calling at that time, by the way. Such is the nature of winning and losing and politicians and life. You might call what Rick did an act of random kindness. Yet in my mind it made him more than a politician, more than a musician; it made him a mensch.

"These days, of course, I would support Charlie Sheen over Obama ... Obama has been perpetually behind the curve. If the issue of the day is jobs and the economy, Rick Perry is certainly the nuts-and-bolts kind of guy you want in there.

"More to the point, could Rick Perry fix the economy? Hell, yes! Texas is exhibit A; Rick’s fingerprints are all over it. He’s been governor since Christ was a cowboy. The Lone Star State is booming."

Photo h/t Brownsville Herald

by Clifford F. Thies

With Governor Perry's entering the race for the GOP nomination and immediately assuming the #1 position, those on the smarmy left are falling all over themselves with the possibility that, even stupider than George W. Bush, who was "too dumb to govern," Perry is "too dumb to be elected."

I have previously conducted an assessment of Rick Perry's intelligence

And he has clearly demonstrated sufficient intelligence to be President. With Perry, as with all Republican candidates for President, we have his college transcript because the Democrats who predominate the academic world can be counted upon to leak this supposedly confidential information. With Obama, of course, we don't have his transcripts, or much of anything else. We're just supposed to take it on faith that he's brilliant.

In fairness to Perry, I'll comment briefly on what we do know of Obama's intelligence. First, in the area of professional certification, Obama passed the Illinois Bar Exam on the first attempt. This is not nothing. I don't know how it equates with Rick Perry's certification as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force; but, if I had to compare the two, I'd say passing the bar on the first attempt is more impressive.

Second, in the area of college student performance, we know that Rick Perry was an average student at Texas A&M, an engineering-oriented school. We know that Barack Obama took a total of six years to complete a four-year degree, starting out at Occidental and finishing at Columbia. We know that, at Columbia, he was in some kind of special program, since other political science majors contemporaneous with him did not see him in their classes. We know, from his autobiography, that he was smoking dope and doing coke during his college days so if we ever were to see his transcripts, we wouldn't be surprised to find uneven grades. Nevertheless, he, like Perry, graduated from a fine college and I think that is, in the end, about all that we can or should say about either of them.

Third, in the area of achievement prior to being a Presidential candidate, we know that Rick Perry has a long and impressive record in politics, as a state legislator, and as Ag. Commissioner, Lt. Governor and Governor of Texas. Barack Obama did well himself, first in Law School, where he was voted by his peers to be editor of the Harvard Law Review, and, then, as a Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School, where his classes (primarily, Race and the Law) were very popular with the students. After Chicago, Obama got involved in politics, where he got elected to the State Senate and then the U.S. Senator, before being a candidate for President. I should also mention that, while at the Chicago, Obama wrote (perhaps with help) "Dreams from my Father," an introspective, search-for-identity autobiography, that is highly critically acclaimed. In contrast, Perry has written two books, one his own autobiography and the other expressing criticism of the federal government, neither of which has been as successful.

It is very difficult to compare these two resumes. Perry's experience is that of a plugger, a fellow who rises from one to another level in politics on the basis of accomplishments. Obama's experience is meteoric, a fellow who rises in politics because of promise. Nobody, for example, can identity any legislative accomplishments during his time in the Illinois Senate or in the U.S. Senate; but, then, he was continually running for higher office while in those positions. He has no law review articles, as would be expected of the editor of the Harvard Law Review or of a Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School; but, politics was his ambition, not scholarship.

I will close with a comment on Barack Obama's IQ. I have seen estimates ranging from 120 (which would be similar to what I consider to be the most persuasive estimate of George W. Bush's IQ) to 140 (which would be similar to estimates of Hillary Clinton's and Abraham Lincoln's). First, IQ is not, by itself, a good predictor of success other than success in school. Second, the high-end estimates are often derived inappropriately, for example, by considering the average LSAT score of those admitted to Harvard Law School, when it is well known that affirmative action points would have been awarded in Obama's case. Also, it appears that Obama was not a National Merit Scholar, which would indicate that his IQ is no higher than 130. Third, an IQ in the range of 120 to 130 would be plenty sufficient to be President (which is not to say this should be the only criterion on which a voter should make a decision).

My bottom line: anybody who argues that a candidate of either major party is too dumb to be President is only revealing their own arrogance.

Photo credit - WCBM.com

From Eric Dondero:

Christian libertarian radio talk show host Glenn Beck, spoke to thousands yesterday in the heart of Jerusalem.

We see the signs again. The swastikas are on display in the streets. This week they were holding up signs in Cairo that said, quote "We are building the gas chambers..."

Note - I was deeply honored to attend a viewing of Glenn Beck Live in Jerusalem, Restoring Courage rally last evening. I attended the event in California, with about 300 evangelical Christians, Jews, libertarians, Tea Party members, retired Military and Defense Hawk Republicans. The event was co-sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJCHQ.org)

From Clifford Thies:

Among those who attended the funeral of Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson of Iowa was his dog, Hawkeye, who laid quietly at foot of the casket for the service. (Tumilson was stationed in San Diego.)

Hawkeye reminds us all how precious is life and how important it is to believe that we will all, one day, be re-united with each other.

Photo credit - CBS News via milblog PatTollard.com

Romney, Palin, Bachmann, Paul all drop since his entry

From Eric Dondero:

A super-interesting new compilation of polling figures from Nate Silver at the NY Times. Who's up, and who's down since Rick Perry's announcement for President. He writes:

Now there have been five surveys conducted since Rick Perry announced his presidential campaign — one each from Gallup, Rasmussen Reports and Public Policy Polling, and two from YouGov. Each shows Mr. Perry having vaulted into a lead over Mitt Romney.

Silver adds:

Mr. Perry’s results are yet more impressive if you account for his name recognition — which although increasing very rapidly remains behind that of Mr. Romney and some of the other Republican contenders.

Meanwhile, Gallup has Perry now firmly in the lead as the GOP frontrunner ahead of Romney 29% to 17%.

Katy, L.G. & Beyonce censored by the Chi-Coms

From Clifford F. Thies:

The BBC reports (Lady Gaga and Beyonce on China song blacklist) Aug. 24:

Music websites have been given until 15 September to remove the offending tracks, which officials say harm "national cultural security".

Those that fail to do so risk being prosecuted by the Chinese authorities.

The internet in China is tightly controlled, with content deemed inappropriate often blocked or removed.

A notice posted on the culture ministry's website said the 100 songs had not been submitted for official approval.

Lady Gaga, named the #11 most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, and the most powerful woman in the area of culture, has had six of her songs banned in China. Beyonce, second in the area of culture, and #18 overall, had one banned. Katy Perry, who didn't make the "Most Powerful" list, but who was tabbed #12 on Forbes' Celebrity List, also had one of her songs banned. The banned songs, say the censors, are over the line in terms of explicit or taboo sexuality.

Hey, guys, what are you afraid of, that these beautiful, expressive and uninhibited ladies will do to China what rock 'n roll did to the Soviets?

Photo credit - Phoenix New Times

From Eric Dondero:

Former Utah Governor, and moderate Republican candidate for President, Jon Huntsman was in Georgia recently on a campaign swing. He visited the State Capitol and met with legislators. Later that night (via AJC.com Behind the red carpet treatment of Jon Huntsman - Jim Galloway):

A Buckhead fundraiser for Huntsman turned out perhaps 60 people on Tuesday evening, including former House speaker Terry Coleman, a Democrat. Many of those who attended, in private conversations, wondered whether they were meeting a 2012 presidential candidate, or a leader of the next, more libertarian-minded generation of Republican voters.

Photo credit - MLive.com

Two Texans Splittin' the Tea

Excerpted, column, Bud Kennedy, Perry, "Paul compete for Tea Party vote" Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Aug. 23:

Paul, a Lake Jackson obstetrician, former Libertarian candidate and favorite of some Tea Party groups, has already joked to crowds that Perry's early Texas tough talk "makes me sound like a moderate."

[2010 Perry GOP primary opponent Debra Medina]... "when [Perry] talks about smaller government and stabilizing the economy -- that's what Ron Paul has talked about all along."

Paul's supporters organized the first Tea ("Taxed Enough Already") Party rallies here in 2009, before Perry campaigners and Republican organizers co-opted the name at Tax Day rallies. Their books even have echoing titles: Fed Up! (Perry) and End the Fed (Paul).

Jerry Polinard, a political science professor at the University of Texas-Pan American, said Paul is "very attractive" to a party shifting rightward.

"Right now, they see Paul as a pure conservative, but they think Perry might be both ideologically pure and electable," he said. "Perry can't be the most right-wing candidate in the race. That's Ron Paul. But all Perry has to say is that he's the most right-wing candidate who can beat Obama."

The two will meet -- for the first time, Paul has said -- at a campaign forum Sept. 5 in South Carolina.

They might split the Tea.

From 1971 to 2006, the Libertarian Party had a rich and colorful history. This video documentary explores the some of the key Libertarian events, campaigns and television commercials of the late 20th century.

Vote for Bill Levin, Indianapolis City-County Council At-Large! Vote For Bill Levin (HQ) from Englehart Group on Vimeo.