Neshoba County, Mississippi

There's been a wave of Democrat Party switchers to the GOP since September. They include new Republicans in Vermont, North Carolina, Alabama, over 20 in Texas, and a growing number in Mississippi.

The latest? Neshoba County Chancery Clerk Larry McMillan. RNC Chairman Michael Steele and MS Gov. Haley Barbour even showed up for the switching ceremony.

From the Madison County Journal on-line, Dec. 18:

On hand at the event were Gov. Haley Barbour, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and dozens of other statewide elected GOP leaders.

The occasion was used to recognize Neshoba County Chancery Clerk Larry McMillan, who announced his intentions to switch to the Republican Party, having been a lifelong Democrat.

Steele joked with McMillan, noting all the big-name state Republicans who came out for the event.

"You really bring them out Larry," Steele said. "It's a great honor that I get to welcome you to the Republican party."

McMillan attributed his switch to being fed up with the Democrat Party's push for health care reform.

McMillan is the 9th county or municipal elected official in Mississippi to switch to the Republican Party this year.

Neshoba County (pop. 28,000) is located in Central Mississippi. The County seat is Philadelphia. It is home to one of the oldest and largest casinos in the State: Pearl River Resort.

Even Military Guys deserve some Personal Privacy

by Eric Dondero

Looks like the State of Vermont may have to reverse its gender neutral bathroom policies in its dorm rooms.

From Fox News:

Nineteen-year-old Jennifer Weiler filed a civil complaint last week against the Department of Public Safety, which enforces building and plumbing codes she claims were violated.

All seven of the school's residence halls are co-ed. According to the lawsuit, Weiler and others are uncomfortable with the flimsy curtains on the shower doors and men using the toilets without closing the door.

Weiler's father, Ron Weiler, told The Burlington Free Press that school officials agreed to label the bathroom on her floor "female" but males continue to use it. A college spokesman declined to comment.

The same could be applied to homosexuals in the military.

Straight men or straight women for that matter, would be forced to share close quarter bunking facilities, with members of the same sex who are attracted to them sexually.

This is inherently discriminatory. Members of the same sex will be allowed to peer and gawk at people they're attracted too in shower stalls, in bathroom facilities, and even sharing bunks.

In the Navy, in which I served, the rules and regulations governing males entering a females quarters were severe. A straight male caught gawking or pleasuring himself in or around female sailors could be sentenced to captain's mast or even court martialed.

Gays in the military? Those same rules governing sailors attracted to other male sailors would be non-existent.

In such a situation, shouldn't the young sailor, male or female, have the right to sue, so as to protect his or her privacy? Shouldn't they have the right not to be gawked at for the sexual pleasure of another? Imagine the first discinplinary action against a young straight male sailor caught peering into female quarters, after gays in the military is implemented. His defense? Simply that gay sailor "Bobby," or "Jeremy" has the right to gawk at him.

What could be more basic in life than some expectation or personal privacy in regards to bathing, hygeine and taking care of bodily functions? Even military personnel deserve some sort of expectation of privacy in this regard. If it's good enough for some college girl at a state-subsidized institution in Vermont, it's certainly good enough for our brave soldiers and sailors in uniform.

Navy Veteran, 1981-85 (hon.), 4-years sea duty, USS Kittyhawk CV-63 & USS Luce DDG-38.

Statement by Texas Governor Rick Perry Regarding State’s Unemployment Rate Decreasing

Press Release
Friday, December 18th, 2009

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement regarding the state’s November unemployment rate of 8.0 percent, a decrease from 8.3 percent in October:

“A decrease in our unemployment rate, which is a full two percentage points below the national average is a pretty strong validation of the approach we take here in Texas and bears out what employers and national business publications have been saying about our state. Over the past two months while the nation as a whole lost 122,000 jobs, Texas gained nearly 70,000 jobs, which is promising news for those Texans who are seeking employment.

“Unemployment is still an issue for too many families, but our state will keep working to cultivate a job-friendly business climate until every Texan who wants a job can have one.”

From the office of the Governor

Saturday Evening Rock 'n Roll

Featuring "Republitarian" Punk Artist Michael W. Dean of Casper, Wyoming - Gun enthusiast, Constitutionalist, and Cowboy State Freedom Fighter.

LR EXCLUSIVE

BUY A GUN, LOSE ALL YOUR FRIENDS. (A true story of Republitarian redemption.)
Copyright 2009, Michael W. Dean

I’m a peace lovin’ guy. I’d never hurt anyone who did not try to hurt me.

Though I used to vote Democrat. But couldn’t really tell you why. I hated authority and I hated big government. I guess I just wasn’t paying attention. I was one of those folks who thought that following the issues was too much work. So I voted by clipping out the little voting guide from the leftie City Paper.

That’s how, many years ago, I ended up voting for Feinstein and Pelosi. (Don’t tell my friends at the NRA, the GOA and the JPFO. I’m now a card-carryin’ member of all three.)

A couple years ago I was awake late one night in my home in Los Angeles when someone outside tried to pry open our bedroom window. The guy wasn’t very badass. Unarmed, I chased him away just by going outside and confronting him.

But we were shaken. The next day I told my wife, Debra Jean, “Baby, we’re buying a shotgun.” She was very against it. She said, “Buying a gun is admitting that the world is a horrible place.” I said, “Baby, sometimes the world is a horrible place, and I love you, and we’re buying a gun.”

And being the one California Democrat with his balls intact, I bought a shotgun anyway, even though my wife hated the idea.

Turns out, we both really liked guns, and we loved our dates to the range. We soon added his ‘n’ hers 9mm pistols and a couple .22 rifles to our collection. Debra Jean became a good shot in weeks. Took me a little longer.

All of our friends were lefties, and most of them were concerned about the “new us.” But they still kept talking to us, and we even took one of them to the range. Once.

I started reading up on California and Federal gun laws. I’ve never been arrested and intended to keep it that way. Debra Jean (a paralegal) and I decided that the laws seemed designed not to protect people from violence, but rather they were structured to make honest folks into criminals.

Our new view of nanny-state gun laws made us look at California (and the USA) in a whole new way. And that made us both start paying attention to government and politics.

We became Republitarians almost overnight.

I got there from “punk rock anarchist” on one end and apolitical Democrat on the other. I loved the process, but it kinda hurt. Debra Jean didn’t have as far to go…..Turns out she was registered Republican. Which if I’d known years earlier, I probably wouldn’t have married her. But it never actually came up, which shows you how much attention I paid to politics, and shows you how much she loved me to marry me even though I’d made it clear I was “a compassionate liberal, not one of those stuffy old selfish Republicans like my dad.”

My wife really liked my political “spiritual transformation.” (Her dad, by the way, had given her Heinlein books to read as a child, and he’d stumped door to door for Goldwater.)

Debra Jean and I got itchy. Being around leftists suddenly gave us hives. So it was clear what we had to do: GET OUT OF CALIFORNIA AND MOVE TO WYOMING.

Our leftist friends got really worried. The “hipper” ones said, “OK, I guess I can “get” having a shotgun for protection, if you must. But I really don’t feel comfortable coming to a house with handguns in it, and…WAIT….YOU DON’T HAVE THEM WITH YOU NOW, in MY house, do you?!!...”

Or, “Who is this ‘Bob Barr’ person you say you’re voting for? Libertarian? What’s a ‘libertarian’?” And “Obama is so cool and hip and…Wait, WHAT? YOU’RE SELLING YOUR HOUSE AND MOVING TO WYOMING? And you wanna buy a BATTLE RIFLE? What the hell is a BATTLE RIFLE?!”

Let me just say this: our outgoing Christmas card list was a lot shorter this year. And I doubt we’ll get any cards from California, but if we do, the card will not likely have the word “Christmas” on it. And it will probably be colored green and say “Reduce! Reuse! Rejoice!”

I will promptly take that “Seasonal Holiday Greeting Card” at its word and toss it in the recycling bin. (See? We did import ONE of our hippie ways from California. But we would never in a billion years try to force our new friends and neighbors to do the same, out of respect for their liberty. And we love that our new friends and neighbors are far less “in other people’s business” than most everyone we met in California. Which is partly because our new friends and neighbors are nicer people, and partly because most of them own and carry guns, too. “An armed society is a polite society.”)

We’ve lived in Wyoming for almost six months and WE LOVE IT. The air is clean, the people are sweet and we can open carry a pistol, or have our loaded battle rifle on the car seat next to us. Talk about “breathing in the sweet air of liberty”!

Carrying a gun could literally get you killed by SWAT in California. Here, people just say, “Oh, my husband has that one! Is that the .357 or the .38 special?” or “Nice rifle! Getting in practice for antelope season?”

We feel like we left California and moved to AMERICA.

Our few remaining California leftie friends who still talked to us followed this ongoing transformation in words and pictures on my blog. One by one they STOPPED BEING OUR FRIENDS. Their comments ranged from a good friend of eight years saying “Michael, I love you, but I’m really worried about you” to a good friend of 23 years (a guy I was in a band with) saying, “Michael…..Once someone gets talked into these right-wing ideas very rarely can they be talked back…..This new-found cocky way of life is very wrong, very immoral and very dangerous. I’m older than you so consider my opinion, if you still can…I doubt you will. This makes me very sad. Good luck, dumb fuck.”

Another “friend” actually talked about organizing an intervention and driving out here to “save us.” Didn’t happen though. I guess it’s easier to take the bottle out of a passed-out drunk’s hand than it is to take guns away from people who are more awake and alive than they’ve ever been.

Even strangers chimed in. Typical of the many slams I received was a fan of my older books and music who said “I can’t believe how quickly you went from being a hip, artistic guy to being a fat WalMart redneck Red Lobster-eating NRA asshole.”

The comments from strangers made me laugh, in a dropped-jaw kind of way. The comments from the actual friends hurt. But I remembered what my dear sweet mother would have said: “If they say things like that sweetie, they’re not really your friends.” And my dad told me, “Better to find out now than further down the road.”

I do not cling to my “victimhood” and you’ll never catch me at a support group or on Oprah bitching about this, (nor would she likely have me). All in all it has really just reinforced my resolve to reject idiocy in all its forms.

I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that so many people, including ones I thought were “cool”, cannot wrap THEIR heads around the fact that “social justice” is always accomplished by muggery and thuggery. And they get freaked out if I say “Guns aren’t bad, guns are good….And guns make it harder to be a victim of muggery and thuggery.”

I now have a lot more to talk about with my dad and my father-in-law. I no longer think they’re “square”, and I really love yakking with them now. They “get it.” They get liberty.

Those other folks can just stay in California, me and my wife will be in AMERICA. If you need us, we’re probably on a date to the rifle range. After that we’ll be at Red Lobster, then WalMart.

Michael W. Dean sings in the “feisty libertarian punk rock band” RIGHT ARM OF WYOMING LibertarianPunk.com

His blog is Stink Fight

He writes books and makes documentary films for a living, they are listed here: oreillynet.com

Comments from recent days...

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee):

"I am deeply saddened and troubled that such blatantly ignorant and hate-filled legislation would see the light of day anywhere in today's world. It needs to be stopped in its tracks immediately."

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK):

"Over the past two decades, political, religious, and community leaders in Uganda have united to promote a rare, winning strategy against HIV that addresses the unique and common risks of every segment of society. Sadly, some who oppose Uganda's common sense ABC strategy are using an absurd proposal to execute gays to undermine this coalition and winning strategy...

Officials in Uganda should come to their senses and take whatever steps are necessary to withdraw this proposal that will do nothing but harm a winning strategy that is saving lives."

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA):

"Based on what I’ve been able to learn about the legislation and from the stand point that I’m a born again Christian, I can tell you that I don’t agree with this un-Christian and unjust proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials dismiss it..."

Christian Pastor Rick Warren:

The potential law is unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals...

ALL life, no matter how humble or broken, whether unborn or dying, is precious to God. My wife, Kay, and I have devoted our lives and our ministry to saving the lives of people, including homosexuals, who are HIV positive. It would be inconsistent to save some lives and wish death on others. We're not just pro-life. We are whole life."

"Finally, the freedom to make moral choices and our right to free expression are gifts endowed by God. Uganda is a democratic country with remarkable and wise people, and in a democracy everyone has a right to speak up. For these reasons, I urge you, the pastors of Uganda, to speak out against the proposed law."

Editor's Note - See our sister site Worldwide Liberty for a full explanation of the proposed Uganda legislation and other related info. Also, LR hopes to have an edition of "Libertarian Politics Live" tonight at 8 pm to discuss the controversy with top guests. Stay tuned...

Nevada Senator Stands Up for Human Rights: Calls for International Condemnation of African Nation

"Obviously it's a law that's pretty outrageous... even if you disagree with the way people live, what Uganda is doing, I think most people would agree that's pretty outrageous..."

From Eric Dondero:

A few races of interest to Libertarian Republicans, and a few more of general interest to the GOP community...

Libertarian-leaning Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra is comfortably ahead of the pack to be Michigan's next Governor. From Rasmussen:

Rasmussen Michigan Gubernatorial Survey

Pete Hoekstra (R) 46%
John Cherry (D) 32%
Some Other Candidate 6%
Not Sure 16%

Two Polls out in Florida:

Zogby has Crist over Rubio 45 to 36.

Rasmussen has the race tied at 43 each.

But even more interesting, libertarian-leaning Rubio appears to be the stronger general election candidate handily beating the likely Democrat:

Marco Rubio 49%
Kendrick Meek 35%

Republicans may be poised to take over yet another State House. And it's a big one.

Quinnipiac 2010 Pennsylvania Governor Poll

Tom Corbett (R) 45%
Dan Onorato (D) 30%

No strong libertarians in this race, but still of interest. Meg Whittman is running away with the California GOP primary. According to PPI of California:

1. Meg Whitman 32%
2. Tom Campbell 12%
3. Steve Poizner 8%

In the general election she's a bit behind Jerry Brown, 43% to 37%, but is by far the strongest GOPer of the pack.

And how about this result certain to lift the spirits of any Republican, conservative, moderate or libertarian:

GOVERNOR – SOUTH DAKOTA (PPP)
Dennis Daugaard (R) 42%
Scott Heidepreim (D) 29%

If you're a 'D' in South Dakota, you really got to ask yourself, why even bother?

Big hat tips to our blogging buddies at GOP12, Race42012, and Hedgehog for compilining these polling results.

HUGO CHAVEZ PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA

From the Washington Post, "Thugs in Copenhagen" by Stephn Stromberg:

Hugo Chavez , who paraphrased Marx in assigning blame for climate change: "A ghost is stalking the streets of Copenhagen...it's capitalism, capitalism is that ghost."

"The destructive model of capitalism is the eradication of life," Chavez also said. Tell that to the millions of Chinese that Mao killed in the fight against capitalism, or the millions more recently pulled out of poverty because of market-liberalizing reforms.

ROBERT MUGABE PREMIERE OF ZIMBABWE

Overland blog:

When these capitalist gods of carbon burp and belch their dangerous emissions, it's we, the lesser mortals of the developing sphere who gasp and sink and eventually die," announced President Robert Mugabe’s Copenhagen address, “Where are (the) sanctions for eco-offenders? When a country spits on the Kyoto Protocol by seeking to shrink from its diktats, or by simply refusing to accede to it, is it not violating the global rule of law”?

"Why is the guilty north not showing the same fundamentalist spirit it exhibits in our developing countries on human rights matters on this more menacing threat of climate change?" the African leader lamented.

Uganda, Rwanda starting to feel Heavy Hand of Muslim Fundamentalism

From Eric Dondero:

Islam is on the rise across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria. And estimated 9.5 million Muslims now live in Uganda, for example. That is approximately 12.1% of the population (2004 figures). The Muslim dominated Luo Tribe headed by Raila Odinga now has a power sharing arrangement for the first time with the formerly Christian-dominated government of Kenya. Nigeria is suffering from a bloody civil war in its northern region with Muslim Separatists supported by Jihadist groups in Sudan, and Niger.

With the increase in fundamentalist Islam in the region comes an increasing push to institute laws consistent with Sharia. Among these include radical Anti-Homosexuality laws.

Homosexuality is already outlawed in 38 out of 53 African nations, all in Muslim or Muslim-dominated countries. Now Muslim groups are pushing for the sexual identity to be outlawed in countries previously immuned to Islamic domination.

From the Population Institute website:

Nigeria has a similar bill waiting to reach its statute books and already allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states, as does Sudan. Burundi criminalised homosexuality in April this year, joining 37 other African nations where gay sex is already illegal. Egypt and Mali are creeping towards criminalization, using morality laws against same-sex couples.

Rwanda, which suffered from one of the worst genocides in human history in the early 1990s, is the first of these countries to consider completely outlawing Homosexuality.

From Queerty:

On December 16, 2009, the lower house of the Rwandan Parliament will hold its final debate on a draft revision of the penal code that will, for the first time, make homosexuality a crime in Rwanda.

Neighboring Uganda has followed suit.

CNN reported on December 9 that the Ugandan Parliament is debating severe restrictions on Homosexuals. The "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" includes these provisions:

• Gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison

• People who test positive for HIV may be executed

• Homosexuals who have sex with a minor, or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty

According to CNN:

A leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje, has called for gays to be rounded up and banished to an island until they die.

Also, Sheikh Nsereko Mutumba, the public relations officer of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council has been quoted as saying:

We believe that Allah created us to multiply and worship him. How will a gay do that? Muslims are aware that homosexuality is a sin and I am sure that the churches also teach that this vice is a sin and unacceptable in any society.

The International Community has been slow to react. Political sensitivities with its native Muslim population have kept the United Kingdom from denouncing the Ugandan legislation. In the US the Obama administration, through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now just beginning to issue mild and carefully worded criticisms.

Ironically, it has been Christians who have been the strongest and quickest in their reactions against the anti-homosexual proposals. A coalition of Christian leaders in the US strongly condemned the actions of the Ugandan Government and issued the following statement:

"Regardless of the diverse theological views of our religious traditions regarding the morality of homosexuality, in our churches, communities and families, we seek to embrace our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as God's children, worthy of respect and love," the statement read.

Photos: Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje - top, Gay African Man in market-place.

GOProud Urges President Obama to Publicly Take a Stand against Proposed Uganda Law

Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director - "If the President wants to start earning the Nobel Peace Prize he is accepting, he can start by speaking out against this outrageous Ugandan law."

Press Release, Dec. 10

(Washington, D.C.) - While the President is in Norway accepting a Nobel Peace Prize, Ugandan political leaders are considering a bill that criminalizes gays and lesbians. "If the President wants to start earning the Nobel Peace Prize he is accepting, he can start by speaking out against this outrageous Ugandan law," said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud - the only national organization for gay conservatives and their allies. "President Obama's lack of leadership on international human rights issues is appalling," continued LaSalvia. "From his refusal to confront the radically anti-gay regime in Iran to his refusal to speak out against this proposed Ugandan law - this President's silence speaks volumes about his priorities."

Ugandan political leaders have been debating legislation that would impose criminal penalties on gays and lesbians living in Uganda. Certain proposed versions of the bill have even called for the death penalty or life imprisonment for being gay.

While President Obama has been silent, leading Republicans have spoken out forcefully against the proposed Ugandan legislation.

"It is time for this administration to stand up for human rights across the globe. Not another day should pass without President Obama making it clear that he unconditionally opposes this Ugandan law," concluded LaSalvia.

Note - GOPProud.org is less than 2 years old. They split off from Log Cabin Clubs viewing them as too moderate. They will be official Co-Sponsors in Feb. 2010 of C-PAC in DC.

Greater Autonomy for the Lone State State

Texas may take one giant leap towards full sovereignty if some Tea Party Patriots get their way. An effort by the Texas Tea Party affiliates to lobby for a special session of the legislature is spreading like a wildfire across the State. Tea Party leaders based in Houston are calling on Governor Rick Perry to call such a session to block regulations and taxes coming from Washington, specifically on Health Care reform, and Cap & Trade.

From North Houston Tea Party Patriots website:

Texas must act NOW to block these onerous laws BEFORE they take effect.

Ideally we want to have a resolution of Nullification in place BEFORE any legislation is passed – along with an injunction against the collection of associated taxes. For example, if health care passes this year, the IRS will begin collecting taxes to pay for it in January 2010. The sooner we act, the less the damage.

What is NULLIFICATION & WHY is it Important?

When the federal government enacts laws that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally enumerated powers, it takes away our freedoms as states and as individuals, and imposes on us the economic and social consequences. With unconstitutional legislation such as health care “reform” and “cap & trade”, the federal government is attempting to tell Texans what we can and can’t do and charge us for the privilege! Fortunately, the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects us from this very thing and allows a state to “nullify”, or make null and void, any law that the STATE determines is unconstitutional.

Nullification explained in full, plus historical context at North Texas Tea Party Patriots, NotInTexas.org

Exerting Sovereignty for the Lone Star State

Texas Governor Rick Perry, joined his friend former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in denouncing the Obama administration's participation in the Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen.

From The Hill, Dec. 16:

Perry speaks up. Last week he wrote a letter to the EPA asking it to withdraw its finding that greenhouse gases threaten Americans, alleging the findings are based on manipulated data. Sarah Palin opposed points of the Copenhagen agreements as well, with an editorial in The Washington Post.

In a strongly worded three page letter to EPA Director Lisa Jackson, Perry asked that the EPA completely retract its recent finding that carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is a public threat. Perry stated that the science was not conclusive.

From the Houston Chronicle, Dec. 9:

"Using uncertain and highly questionable science to institute volumes of onerous new regulations on employers who have never before been subject to EPA regulation is unprecedented and shows a real disregard for the preservation of American jobs, as well as families and businesses struggling to make ends meet."

At a press conference in LaPorte (near Houston), surrounded by political and industrial leaders, Perry further stressed the importance of jobs to the Texas economy. The Chronicle noted:

The oil and chemical plants employ nearly 270,000 people and pay billions of dollars in state and local taxes.

The state's energy industry supplies 20 percent of the nation's oil production, one-third of its natural gas production, a quarter of its refining capacity and about 60 percent of its chemical manufacturing.

Perry has been garnering a great deal of attention as of late for his increasingly controversial remarks. Some have suggested that the Governor is going all out for Sovereignty. At a recent dinner of the Collins County Republican Party Perry remarked (Lewisville Leader):

"The Cap and Trade bill will be a disaster to the Southern states and Texas in particular," he said.

He continued: "There is a lack of courage in Washington, D.C.... If we are Republicans, then we are going to act like Republicans."

NEW VIDEO FROM CATO'S DAN MITCHELL

Bush Big Spending leads to even Bigger Spending Under Obama... Now, "an orgy of new government spending"

Solution: Cut the Spending

From Eric Dondero:

Yesterday, our conservative friends at Jumping In Pools blog, reprinted my article in full, "RLC vs. LP," from Monday (scroll down a few articles). This is an excerpt from one of their writers, "Mr. K.":

Eric Dondero at the Libertarian Republican posted an interesting article last night, which deserves more attention, and a Conservative response.

The Libertarian Party serves almost no use, except to deprive Republicans of votes, and to serve as a soapbox for supposed Republicans, who just want to see the destruction of National defense from our platform.

In the end, it is best to go with Republicans, because Libertarians will never win, and voting or supporting such a lost cause, is not worth it.

My Response:

Firstly, not all Libertarians are Anti-Defense. In fact, a very large segment of us are staunchly Pro-Defense, even within the Libertarian Party. For example, in 2003, at the start of the War in Iraq, then LP News Editor Bill Winter conducted an internal poll of Libertarian membership. He found fully 40% of LP members supported the invasion.

Yes, the LP is a lot less Pro-Defense than it once was, but that's only because the vast majority of Pro-Defense Libertarians have left the Party, and joined the Republican Liberty Caucus.

Secondly, to say that "Libertarians never win elections," is completely inaccurate. By some estimates 400 to 500 Libertarian Party members currently serve in public office nationwide. Just last week we here at LR reported on a Libertarian who won election to the Cedar Falls City Council in Iowa. Two weeks before that, in the off-year elections Nov. 3, 11 Libertarians won office nationwide, including Dan Halloran to the New York City Council. In fact, that's more elected officials than any other third party in the US.

Over the years, 10 Libertarians have been elected to State Legislators in Alaska, New Hampshire, and Vermont. And for the record, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is a Lifetime Member of the Libertarian Party, a dual Party Republican/Libertarian. (Sort of like Lieberman is both an Independent and a Democrat).

Yes, for practical purposes the RLC is best. But without the Libertarian Party, we Libertarian Republicans would have no "safety valve," nowheres to escape if the GOP were to become too statist like the Democrats. The LP serves as our insurance policy. And I for one, am very glad they're around.

All 40 Senate Republicans could unite against Legislation

Late breaking word that Maine Senator Susan Collins is leaning against voting for Harry Reid's Health Care package. She had given mixed signals earlier in the day at a press availability in the Capitol Rotunda. This despite her colleague and friend Sen. Joe Lieberman of CT changing course, and indicating that he now leans "yes."

From the Washington Post "Prospects for GOP support for Health Care bill declining":

"I don't see voting for the current bill that is on the floor even with the improvements that have been made," Collins told reporters.

The Hill quoted Sen. Olympia Snowe on Monday:

"Yes, I do have misgivings because I understand that there are a lot of unintended consequences," Snowe said Tuesday. "We haven’t had this bill laid down in its entirety so it makes it difficult, I think, to make a decision on a bill in such a short timeframe."

But Maine's Senior Senator has not given any indication on her vote, since yesterday's emergency session at the White House.

Of note Democrat Senator Ben Nelson is also still a hold-out.

With Flags Wavin'

As Obama arrived in Copenhagen yesterday for the Global Warming Summit, tens of thousands of Communists and Socialists flooded the streets to demonstrate for greater government control over the individual and more interventionist policies in Economics.

One sign read:

"As Karl Marx would say: It's the Capitalism Stupid"

(H/t Breitbart)

"it’s not just charity, it’s not just that I want to help the middle class and working people who are trying to get in the middle class... we actually make sure that everybody’s got a shot... when young people can all go to college, when everybody’s got decent health care...

John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic. You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness." -- Candidate Barack Hussein Obama, Oct. 31, 2008, Sarasota, FL

by Eric Dondero

Copenhagen is at least succeeding at accomplishing one objective of the worldwide libertarian/free market movement; it's sharpening the lines between those of us who support freedom and those who do not.

Robert Tracinski of Real Clear Politics writes this morning that British global warming activist George Monbiot "has just written probably the single most important column on the issue."

From the UK Guardian, "Bigger than Climate Change: A Battle to Redefine Humanity," by George Monbiot:

This is a meeting about chemicals: the greenhouse gases insulating the atmosphere. But it is also a battle between two world views. The angry men who seek to derail this agreement, and all such limits on their self-fulfilment, have understood this better than we have. A new movement, most visible in North America and Australia, but now apparent everywhere, demands to trample on the lives of others as if this were a human right. It will not be constrained by taxes, gun laws, regulations, health and safety, especially by environmental restraints. It knows that fossil fuels have granted the universal ape amplification beyond its Palaeolithic dreams. For a moment, a marvellous, frontier moment, they allowed us to live in blissful mindlessness.

The angry men know that this golden age has gone; but they cannot find the words for the constraints they hate. Clutching their copies of Atlas Shrugged, they flail around, accusing those who would impede them of communism, fascism, religiosity, misanthropy, but knowing at heart that these restrictions are driven by something far more repulsive to the unrestrained man: the decencies we owe to other human beings.

Humanity is no longer split between conservatives and liberals, reactionaries and progressives, though both sides are informed by the older politics. Today the battle lines are drawn between expanders and restrainers; those who believe that there should be no impediments and those who believe that we must live within limits. The vicious battles we have seen so far between greens and climate change deniers, road safety campaigners and speed freaks, real grassroots groups and corporate-sponsored astroturfers are just the beginning. This war will become much uglier as people kick against the limits that decency demands.

this first great global battle between expanders and restrainers must be won... If governments don't show some resolve on climate change, the expanders will seize on the restrainers' weakness. They will attack – using the same tactics of denial, obfuscation and appeals to self-interest. There is no end to this fight, no line these people will not cross. They too are aware that this a battle to redefine humanity...

Tracinski responds in a column at Yahoo News, "Capping our Carbon, and Crushing our Spirits":

Monbiot is right about the big question, even if he's on the wrong side of it. The goal of the environmentalist movement is not anything so trivial as capping our carbon. It's about crushing our spirits. It's about breaking the ambition of man the achiever-the explorer, the adventurer, the discoverer, the builder-and replacing him with man the meek, a modest little paper-shuffler constrained to live a small, inoffensive existence.

Make man feel small. Make man feel guilty. Kill his aspiration and his integrity....

This is most important. Don't allow men to be happy. Happy men are free men. So kill their joy in living.... Bring them to a state where saying "I want" is no longer a natural right but a shameful admission....

Let all sacrifice and none profit. Let all suffer and none enjoy. Let progress stop. Let all stagnate. There's equality in stagnation.

People say Ayn Rand's novels are unrealistic, so why does real life seem so compelled to imitate them? Monbiot even has the kind of last name Ayn Rand would have given one of her villains. Ellsworth Toohey, Wesley Mouch, Claude Slagenhop, George Monbiot. It just fits in.

Monbiot got one thing spectacularly wrong; it is those of us on the Capitalist Right, especially those of us involved in the Tea Party movmement, who are the true Grass Roots, not the Communists who control Governments around the Globe and their government-subsidized protesters in the Labor movement.

But he did get at least one thing right: We Proud Capitalists "will cross any line," to protect our Individual Freedoms, even if it means the fight will get real ugly. Bring it on!

Leading libertarian Global Warming critic Pat Michaels, predicts that Obama and his International Socialist allies will likely fail on all fronts at the summit.

From Fox News, Dec. 17, "With Climate Deal Up in Air, Obama Takes Lowered Expectations to Denmark":

"What we are seeing is the can being kicked down the road to the next meeting of parties" in Mexico, said Pat Michaels, a senior fellow in environmental studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. Michaels said he didn't believe Obama's appearance at the summit would accomplish much, making it "an injudicious use of fossil fuel."

You can read Pat Michaels regular columns at Cato.org

No Nuance from this Economic Conservative

Liberal Pundit Al Hunt reviewed South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's new book, "Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America’s Slide Into Socialism" for Bloomberg. He wrote:

He’s a favorite of the grassroots “tea party” brigade and Fox News. His growing cult is such that party insiders even talk about him as a potential presidential candidate.

He also noted DeMint's flat tax approach, no bailouts stance and controversial advocacy of privatization of Social Security:

DeMint considers Social Security a “socialistic” measure and blasts the American Association of Retired Persons for promulgating “socialist solutions.”

“What’s the harm of your grandma getting a Social Security check every month from the government?” he asks in his book. “It seems harmless enough, but that check changes the relationship between your grandma and the government.”

In the interview, he talks of reviving President George W. Bush’s failed plan to partially privatize Social Security by having workers put a small percentage of the current levy in a personal savings account.