|
|
I still vividly remember being at work on 9/11/01 and watching the news feeds from my computer in my office as they replayed the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and thinking of the horror that must be going on within those structures. I, like most people across America, sat and felt utterly helpless as those towers fell to the ground. I was nearly reduced to tears thinking of the possible staggering loss of life and of the family’s of those affected by this attack. Ten years later I still have a feeling of great sympathy for those family’s and all the family’s since that have suffered through this deep grief as the nation went to war. It was, truly, one of those moments in the history of this country that we can all look back on and say, precisely, “This was the day it all changed.”
I consider myself an “amateur” historian so I rarely, if ever, look at anything as a singular instance. So as we mark the tenth anniversary of that day, we all need to reflect upon those tragic events, some of the reasons for the attacks and all that has transpired from that day to this. For nothing exists in an historical vacuum and this is usually where I end up being the “odd man out” of any discussion in such matters.
Recently, I’ve read several opinion pieces and letters to the editor which called these attacks “unprovoked”. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was our meddling in the affairs of the nations of the Middle East, it was our propping up of despots and then “throwing them under the bus” when they no longer served our needs, it was the fact Continue reading My thoughts 10 years later
For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Libertarian Party of Arkansas is Official
(Little Rock, AR) The Libertarian Party of Arkansas (LPAR) is officially a recognized political party for the first time in history and will now be able to run candidates for office in 2012.
Last month the party submitted signatures to the Secretary of State’s office in order to fulfill the requirement of collecting at least 10,000 valid signatures from registered voters in the state. According to Martha Adcock at the Secretary of State’s office, more than 12,000 of the 16,000 submitted signatures were valid. This count was confirmed by an independent auditor.
The party placed presidential candidates on the ballot for more than 30 years but never met the more difficult requirement to run candidates for other offices. The LPAR’s success marks the first time in recent history that a third party has been able to run a partisan candidate for office in all 50 states for offices other than the president.
“This achievement is monumental for Arkansans who want more choice on their ballot,” said LPAR Chairman Rodger Paxton of Marion. “Now we won’t have to choose between big government and bigger government, but can vote for minimum government and maximum freedom.”
Libertarians advocate lower taxes, more personal freedom and less government intervention.
KARK out of Little Rock ran a news story on the LPAR Ballot Access petition today on their nightly news at 5pm.
It was also pointed out to me that KATV Channel 7 had a short segment on their 6pm news. KUAR FM 89.1 ran short segments on their radio station at 4 and . . . → Read More: KARK Television Coverage of LPAR Press Conference
Today we held a press conference at the Arkansas Capitol Rotunda. Casey Copeland, Treasurer of the LPAR and Rodger Paxton, Chairman both made remarks to the media and the people in attendance. There were several news agencies there from print, video and wire news services. Paxton was also interviewed by some radio stations in . . . → Read More: LPAR Press Conference at Arkansas Capitol
Rodger Paxton posted this in Arkansas, Ballot Access, Libertarianism, Liberty, LPAR, LPAR Executive Committee, National News, Press Release, Rights, Taxes, The Libertarian Alternative, Third Party on May 18th, 2011
Prepared remarks by Rodger Paxton, Chairman, Libertarian Party of Arkansas
Ballot Petition Signature Turn-In Press Conference, May 18th, 2011
Today is a historic day. Not only for the Libertarian Party of Arkansas and not only for the State of Arkansas, but also for the nation as a whole.
Today marks a new stage for the Libertarian Party of Arkansas. For the first time in history, we are nearing the end of the road to achieving ballot access, the holy grail of politics. Since the early 80’s, this has been a dream for Libertarians in Arkansas, and today it is one step closer to becoming a reality.
Arkansans have never been able to vote for a Libertarian candidate for any office other than President of the United States. Today, we are closer than ever to giving these disenfranchised voters that option. No longer will liberty-loving Arkansans be forced to choose between big government and bigger government, but they will soon have the option to vote for minimum government and maximum freedom.
Recent history has not seen a third party have non-Presidential candidates on the ballot in every state. Not since the 1920’s has a third party been able to say they Continue reading Press Conference Prepared Remarks by Rodger Paxton
Rodger Paxton posted this in Arkansas, Ballot Access, Drug War, Election, Libertarianism, Liberty, LPAR, LPAR Convention, National News, Other LP Affiliates on April 30th, 2011
The video in four parts below is R. Lee Wrights, Libertarian Party Presidential hopeful, speaking at the Libertarian Party of Arkansas 2011 State Convention.
watch?v=yClEEPtz0_g&feature=related
watch?v=Z-oCjob7lT8&feature=related
watch?v=CM3H5Y6kDeQ&feature=related
watch?v=kR4loAw9FC0&feature=related
George Phillies monthly newsletter, “Liberty for America, Journal of the Libertarian Political Movement,” mentions the LPAR in the March 2011 issue:
After an extremely long period of somewhat limited activity, the LP of Arkansas appears to be getting underway again. Current officers are Rodger Paxton-Chair, David Pangrac-Vice-Chair, Brian Leach-Secretary, and District Representatives Mark Young, Michael . . . → Read More: LPAR in “Liberty for America”
This is a continuation of the LPAR bringing you blog posts by our upcoming speakers at our State Convention on April 9th. This was originally posted at Liberty for All.
by R. Lee Wrights
“The only defensible war is a war of defense.”
- C.K. Chesterton
One of the most misunderstood principles of libertarianism is the non-aggression principle. The belief that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being for any reason whatsoever; nor advocate the initiation of force, or delegate it to anyone else including government is the very essence of the non-aggression principle. The misconception starts when we use the phrase “initiation of force.” People tend to focus on the last word and ignore or forget the first.
Most libertarians are not pacifists so our adherence to the non-aggression principle doesn’t mean we won’t defend ourselves. On the contrary, the right to self-defense is inherent in the concept of Continue reading Opposing war doesn’t make you a pacifist
This is a continuation of the LPAR bringing you blog posts by our upcoming speakers at our State Convention on April 9th. This was originally posted at Liberty for All.
by R. Lee Wrights
 What was glaringly absent from President Obama’s state of the union address Tuesday night, as well as from the response from both the Republicans and the Tea Party movement, is an admission that the real state of the union is a state of war.
The president only mentioned Iraq and Afghanistan towards the end of his hour-long speech, and uttered the familiar shibboleth of “support the troops” as an applause line to gain the longest sustained ovation of the evening. Neither Rep. Paul Ryan, speaking for the Republicans, or Rep. Michelle Bachman, speaking for the Tea Party movement, mentioned these wars in their remarks at all.
Most of the president’s speech was a classic example of elected officials speaking out of both sides of their mouth. While on the one hand calling for a freeze in federal non-security, discretionary spending, the president also called for increased federal spending for a litany of non-security, discretionary items ranging Continue reading The state of the union is still a state of war
|
