Volume 13, Number 12 | July 10, 2008
The Liberator Online
Contents
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
PERSUASION POWER POINT
#252
ASK DR. RUWART
PRODUCT REVIEW
Dear friend, Major kudos are due Advocates Vice Chair James W. Lark, III. At the Libertarian Partys National Convention held recently in Denver, Dr. Lark was given the Thomas Jefferson Award for Lifetime Achievement - the partys highest honor! I cant think of anyone more deserving of this prestigious award. Dr. Lark has worked tirelessly for liberty for many years on many fronts. He has been involved with the Libertarian Party since 1983, and was extensively involved with the Advocates during its founding year, 1985. He currently serves as a regional representative on the Libertarian National Committee, and as vice chairman of the Libertarian Party of Virginia. He served as the national chairman of the Libertarian Party from 2000-2002. In additional to the Advocates and the LNC, he serves on the boards of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee and the International Society for Individual Liberty. A professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, Dr. Lark is THE national expert on developing libertarian organizations on campus. In addition to being a leader in the libertarian movement, he rolls up his sleeves and excels as a grassroots activist. He has been a Triathlon Winner in the Advocates Lights of Liberty Awards program every year since 2000. Thank you for your shining example, Jim and CONGRATULATIONS! * * * * * RIP: VINCE MILLER and KENT SNYDER The liberty movement lost two great champions of freedom in the past two weeks. VINCE MILLER was cofounder and president of the
International Society of Individual Liberty, a
Vince was a great friend of the Advocates and a personal friend of mine, speaking at several Advocates events and always supporting our work. Whenever I was with him he was cheerful and upbeat and overflowing with excitement about liberty. In June, Vince was hospitalized for what was originally diagnosed as pneumonia. He died a few days later of complications from Valley Fever. He was 69 years old. The vital work of ISIL continues, and you can honor
Vinces memory by contributing to the organization that was his passion:
KENT SNYDER was chairman of Ron Paul's historic 2008 presidential campaign, and he was perhaps more responsible than anyone else for Paul's decision to run. " Kent began working with Paul on his Libertarian Party presidential campaign in 1988. He subsequently worked with Paul on numerous projects. He was executive director of the Liberty Committee, which worked for years to increase support for Ron Paul's libertarian agenda among members of Congress. I didn't know Kent, but I know him through his work -- and so do you. Without him, there would have been no Ron Paul rEVOLution - certainly one of the most exciting and important libertarian events of our time. As the Wall Street Journal eulogized: "As the driving force behind Ron Paul's presidential bid, campaign chairman Kent Snyder turned his one-man operation into a national grass-roots phenomenon " In June, Kent died of pneumonia-related complications.
He was 49 years old. His family is facing $400,000 in medical bills.
Contributions to help pay this debt can be made at: The liberty movement benefited immeasurably from the work of Vince Miller and Kent Snyder. Liberty was their great passion. How to best show your appreciation for their work? I have no doubt what they would tell you: do something good for liberty. * * * Welcome to 72 new Liberator Online subscribers this issue. Thanks for joining our subscription "family" of over 70,000 liberty-loving readers in more than 100 countries! Learn more about the Advocates
and our work for liberty. -- Sharon Harris, President | Email: sharon@TheAdvocates.org PS: Don't forget to check out our Product Review special!
PLUS, you get the "Libertarianism 101" CD -- David's brilliant speech that draws on 20+ years of outreach to show you how to persuade others about the benefits of liberty. The book usually costs $12.50. The CD usually costs $10.00. That's a $22.50 value. Shipping adds another $4.50. Total: $27.00. * * * But for this limited-time offer, we'll send you both the book and CD for only $15.00 -- and we'll also throw in FREE SHIPPING. You save $12.00! To order, or learn more, see "Product Review" at the
end of this issue. Or
visit: Your purchase supports the great work of the Advocates. Thank you!
What's Happening With The Advocates *
Doctors give him 6-20 months to live, with a 50-50 chance of living one year. Marshall is facing this challenge with his characteristic courage and good spirits. You can read Marshall's thoughts and send him a message at: www.MarshallFritz.com * Freedom Cruise: Announcing the Eleventh Annual
"Freedom Cruise" -- a glorious
12 day
******
by James W. Harris This November, voters in Massachusetts will have the historic opportunity to vote themselves a huge raise and strike a ringing blow for liberty that will be heard across the nation -- by abolishing the state income tax altogether. Thanks to the hard work of the Committee for Small Government -- led by Carla Howell and Liberator Online columnist Michael Cloud -- an initiative to eliminate the state income tax will be on the 2008 ballot.
Predictably enough, politicians and the usual special interest groups are wailing and whining that the sky will fall should that happen. But that's just nonsense. The tax cut is actually not as radical as it might sound. Because of the huge growth of government spending in recent years, $17 billion is about the size of.... the state's 1995 budget. Yes, that's right. Eliminating the income tax will still leave enough money to fund the state at 1995 levels. And no one remembers Massachusetts in 1995 lacking schools, libraries, roads, police and other government services (and disservices). As Jeff Jacoby, award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe, wrote in December: "Eliminating the state income tax would reduce government spending by about $11 billion, shrinking the budget to its 1995 level. "But that $11 billion would not be lost. It would be back in the private sector -- back in the hands of the men and women who earned it, and who are far more likely to spend, invest, or donate it wisely than the bloated state bureaucracy it goes to now." Carla Howell describes the initiative as "the first major tax cut for working class and middle class Massachusetts taxpayers in 28 years." And she explains the tremendous benefits to Massachusetts taxpayers: "Massachusetts state government spending and taxes have doubled in the last 14 years. Your local taxes doubled, too. It's coming out of your paycheck -- and your neighbors' paychecks. Ending the income tax in Massachusetts will give you and 3,000,000 other taxpayers back an average of over $3,600 -- every year. This $3,600 a year increase in your take-home paycheck means more family money to spend, save, and invest. And, statewide, it will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. "In the face of $4.50 a gallon gasoline, skyrocketing heating oil costs, exploding home foreclosures, and 28 straight years of property tax increases on Massachusetts homes -- ending the income tax will give desperately needed financial relief to Massachusetts families." This is the second time the initiative has been tried. In 2002, the media and politicians largely ignored it. When it was mentioned, it was mostly ridiculed and denounced. But the media and the political establishment were shocked and stunned when -- despite a lack of publicity and honest debate -- the measure nearly passed, winning a whopping 45.3 percent of the vote. This time around, opponents will be taking it more seriously. But the Committee for Small Government is better prepared, too. Last time they spent $90,000 on ads. This year they want to raise and spend $500,000. Further, as the Ron Paul campaign has shown, the rules have changed. Online activism allows supporters to get the word out, bypassing the traditional mainstream media gatekeepers and political shills. And tough economic times makes a big tax cut sound very attractive to many hard-strapped voters. Interestingly, a survey in April 2008 found that Massachusetts voters think their government wastes about 41 cents out of every dollar. Elimination of the state income tax would reduce the state's budget by almost exactly that amount. Advocates of lower taxes and small government will be watching the Massachusetts revolution with crossed fingers and bated breath. Because if this effort can succeed in big-government Massachusetts (so often derided as "Taxachusetts").... then it surely can succeed in many other states as well. (Source: Committee for Small Government * * * Government Won't Follow Its Own ID Theft Advice "Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check." This warning was sent to every mailing address in the
United States a few The Social Security Administration regularly gives similar advice. And for very good reason. Social Security numbers are risky. As Associated Press points out: "Combined with other personal information -- such as a victim's full name, birth date and home address -- a Social Security number can be used to open fraudulent credit accounts using a victim's identity. With just a Social Security number, a clever thief can fraudulently obtain a victim's credit report for as little as $50, an important step toward ultimately impersonating a victim." However, America's biggest violators of this good advice is... surprise: the federal government itself. According to Associated Press: * At least 44 million Medicare insurance cards include the beneficiary's full Social Security number. * Eight million Defense Department identity cards used by active duty and reserve forces and their dependents, and ID cards issued to military retirees, carry Social Security numbers. * The Internal Revenue Service tells taxpayers to write their Social Security number on checks used to make payments None of these zillion-dollar federal agencies are in any hurry to protect your privacy and correct the situation. The IRS has no plans to change its advice. Medicare, already a black hole for taxpayers' dollars, says it would be too expensive to change its cards. The Pentagon says it is in the process of removing the numbers, but it doesn't have the resources to finish doing so until 2014. Medicare spokesman Charlene Frizzera says he's aware of the problem with the risky Medicare cards. But he has a solution. "Our advice is, don't carry it [your Medicare card] with you unless you know you're going to need it," Frizzera told AP. However, clearly printed on the back of every Medicare card are these words: "Carry your card with you when you are away from home." (Source: Associated Press: * * * Action Film Star Runs for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian The 1987 smash hit film "Predator" featured two actors who went on to prominent political careers: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. Now Sonny Landham -- who also appeared in Predator --
Landham, 67, is running for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian Party candidate. Landham has appeared in over 50 movies, alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood. According to the Internet Movie Database: "An actor with a powerful physique, booming voice and Native American looks [he is a descendant of the Cherokee and Seminole nations], Sonny Landham first broke into mainstream film with a bit part as a police officer in Walter Hill's gang film The Warriors (1979), then other minor roles in Southern Comfort (1981) & Poltergeist (1982), before Walter Hill cast him in his first decent role as James Remar's gun happy, criminal partner in the high voltage hit 48 Hrs. (1982). "Landham continued to turn up in high testosterone films of the mid-1980s, including the action sci-fi film Predator (1987), alongside Sylvester Stallone in Lock Up (1989), and being hurled out a window by Carl Weathers in Action Jackson (1988)." Landham is taking on Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, a four-term Republican and current Senate Minority Leader. The tough-talking Landham derides McConnell as "Boss Hogg" (the corrupt politician from "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV show). Landham also denounces President Bush: "He took us into a war on lies." Landham didn't always appear in Hollywood blockbusters. In the 1970s, as a struggling young actor, he appeared in some obscure adults-only films -- a move he now regrets. "If I was going to do it now -- knowing that I'm going to have four children, knowing that I was going to run for office -- no, I wouldn't make that choice," he recently told Associated Press. "But at the time I made the choice of getting a paycheck, staying alive for your big break." While Landham's race is a long shot, some pundits feel his campaign, at a time when the GOP is already facing difficulties among its base, could at the very least draw enough votes from McConnell to cost him the election. (Source: Associated Press: * * * Generous Americans Give to Charities at Record Levels Despite mounting economic woes, Americans continue to give to charities at remarkably generous amounts. Indeed, in 2007 American charitable giving hit a record $306 billion, topping $300 billion for the first time, says the nonprofit Giving USA Foundation, which publishes a yearly report on philanthropy. According to Giving USA's latest report: * 2007's record $306.4 billion in charitable giving is a rise of about 1 percent from the previous year, adjusted for inflation. * Individuals accounted for the largest share by far. Indeed, most charitable giving -- $229 billion or about 75 percent total -- comes from individuals. * About two-thirds of households with incomes under $100,000 give to charity. * Half of individual giving went to religious groups.
Religious congregations received one-third of the $306.4 billion, an
increase of 2 percent from last year and a record dollar amount.
* Donations to international charities showed the single largest gain -- a rise of about 13 percent. * On average Americans gives 2.3 percent of their disposable income to charitable causes. * Americans rank first in the world in giving as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), at 1.7 percent, followed by Great Britain (.73 percent). (These are 2006 figures.) Despite a government that robs them of more than half of their income, and regulations that strangle economic growth in red tape, Americans still demonstrate a great desire to help others in their own country and around the world. We can only imagine the generosity that would flow if those government chains on our prosperity were broken. (Sources: Giving USA report, and also related media
coverage: * * * * * QUICK SHOTS... * HISTORIC SUPREME COURT GUN RIGHTS DECISION: "There
are many reasons
-- Supreme Court Justice Anthonin Scalia, from the
landmark Second Amendment case, District of Columbia v. Heller, June
2008: * WHO KNOWS BEST -- YOU OR THE GOV'T? "Right now
"You might argue that saving for retirement is important, but so is saving for a home or your children's education. Would you want Congress to force us to put money aside for a home or our children's education?" -- "Problems of Ignorance" by libertarian syndicated
columnist Walter Williams:
The Reverse Tired of long, drawn-out arguments about government? Worn out from explaining why government fails and makes things worse? What if you could convince your listener to persuade *himself* about libertarianism? What if you could persuade *him* to marshal compelling and convincing evidence and arguments that would change his mind about libertarianism? Persuade himself? How? The Reverse. Instead of *telling* him what's right with liberty and wrong with government, *ask* him. "What's one thing that government does now that you think it definitely should *not* do?" Or: "What's one activity that government engages in that it should stop doing?" Or: "What's
Then ask, "Why?" After he tells you why, ask him to tell you more. Ask him to elaborate and expand. To tell you about the consequences of the bad program. To give you examples. Then play Devil's Advocate. Ask him how he would respond to possible objections. "Suppose someone said X, how would you answer that objection?" "Suppose someone said Y, how would you answer that objection?" He will argue himself into a libertarian position. And he will give you the evidence and arguments that are most convincing to him. The Reverse lets your listener pick the part of government that he's most opposed to, do your arguing for you, and in the process it intensifies his opposition. How and why does it work? 1. It begins with what your listener already believes. It respects his beliefs and values. 2. It creates rapport. Agreement. You both agree that government should abandon this activity or program. 3. As Pascal wrote, "We are usually convinced more easily by reasons we have found ourselves than by those which have occurred to others. 4. As Win Wenger writes in The Einstein Factor: "The sheer act of expressing our thoughts on some subject causes us to learn more about that subject, even when no new information has been provided from without." Why does The Reverse work? To truly learn a subject, teach it. To help our listeners learn, we must ask them to
teach. In 2000, Michael was honored with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America. * * * * * * * * In 2000, Michael was honored with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most
Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America.
HARD EVIDENCE FOR LIBERTY
Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column. * * * Who will protect minorities if medical providers are allowed to discriminate? QUESTION: In a libertarian society where everything from housing, to health care, to education, to adoption is privatized, how would the minority population -- namely anyone not white, male, straight, and Christian -- be guaranteed equal rights? For example, being a lesbian, I am afraid that a Catholic hospital (the only one for miles in my small town) will be allowed to deny me treatment, even for a broken bone, just because I'm gay. Personally, I'm of the opinion that if you can't be a doctor to everyone, maybe you should have chosen a different line of work. MY SHORT ANSWER: Majority rule, which is more or less
what we have now, ultimately translates into
These laws were passed after the Civil War, precisely because blacks were beginning to marry with whites, share facilities, and patronize the same businesses. A few enlightened whites were demonstrating how all could live together peacefully. Their example frightened the majority who quickly passed laws mandating discrimination. In a libertarian society, these laws could not have been passed because they forced people -- at gunpoint, if necessary -- to stop voluntarily associating. The only legitimate use of force in a libertarian society is self-defense. Today, same-sex couples find themselves facing the same laws against intermarriage as blacks and whites once did. In a libertarian society, such laws wouldn't be possible. Marriage would be a private contract between two willing individuals who could set the terms to suit themselves. Your concern, a legitimate one, is that some service providers -- for example, doctors or hospitals affiliated with some religious denominations -- might refuse to treat gay people in a libertarian society. Sadly, they might, even though Christ regularly healed those who did not live by society's norms and were therefore called "sinners." However, in a libertarian society, we wouldn't have today's morass of medical regulations which limit the number of health care practitioners and facilities. Instead of a single hospital in your neighborhood, you'd likely have more and better facilities to choose from. Most would probably do their best to help anyone who walked through their doors. Prejudice doesn't end by legal decree. Indeed, people become more resentful towards groups that they are forced to tolerate, associate with, or treat. Consequently, laws which seem to protect minorities often harm them instead. You suggest that perhaps a doctor who won't treat everyone shouldn't be a doctor. But legalizing that opinion opens the door to legalizing others such as "if you aren't marrying to procreate, you shouldn't be allowed to wed." Where would that leave the gay community? We want freedom of choice, but we don't want others to have it. We can only have freedom if we are willing to give it to others. Ironically, when we honor our neighbors' choices, they are much more likely to honor ours. * * * * * * * * Due to volume, Dr. Ruwart can't personally acknowledge all emails. But we'll run the best questions and answers in upcoming issues. Dr. Ruwart's previous Liberator Online answers are archived in searchable form at: http://www.TheAdvocates.org/ruwart/categories_list.php Dr. Ruwart's outstanding books "Healing Our World" and "Short Answers
to the Tough Questions" are available from the Advocates:
http://www.TheAdvocates.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv
Take Libertarianism to the Masses -- with Free Quiz Ads by Sharon Harris Do you or your organization have a print newsletter, newspaper or magazine? Do you know someone who does? Some examples might be: I It's easy. Here's how. The Advocates has prepared great-looking, eye-grabbing professional ads that feature the World's Smallest Political Quiz. As you know, the Quiz is downright irresistible. Just about anyone seeing these ads will want to take the Quiz and see how they score. Readers will love them. These ads will have people talking -- guaranteed! The ads also feature sources for further information on libertarianism. They're suitable for any publication. They're attractive, enticing, and provocative. See them here: These ads are also great for outreach fliers, bulletin boards, and whatever other uses your imagination comes up with. You can easily add your local group's contact information at the bottom of the ads, if you wish. If you use these ads, please let us know, and, if possible, send us a copy of the publication -- so we can share the good news.
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wonderful organization
devoted to building an international libertarian movement. Under his
leadership ISIL gained members in more than 80 countries and organized
libertarian groups around the world. ISIL has held more than two dozen
international summits so far, taking libertarian ideas to thousands of
students and national leaders. ISIL also distributed millions of their
acclaimed libertarian outreach pamphlets, and published important books.
It was Kent, more than anyone else, who urged me to
run again for president last year," said Ron Paul, after Kent's death.
"I was skeptical, but he was much more confident that the time was
right. Without Kent, I don't think it would have happened," says Paul.
David Bergland is a master libertarian communicator.
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Marshall Fritz Health Update: Marshall Fritz -- the
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world-famous
World's Smallest Political Quiz, and all-around amazing guy -- has been
diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. 
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Eliminating the income tax will chop the state budget
from about $28 billion to $17 billion. 
months ago by the Federal Trade Commission, in an
effort to halt the growing problem of identity theft. 
wants to make that three. 
why the militia was thought to be 'necessary to the
security of a free state.' .... [W]hen the able-bodied men of a nation
are trained in arms and organized, they are better able to resist
tyranny.... In the tumultuous decades of the 1760's and 1770's, the
Crown began to disarm the inhabitants of the most rebellious areas. That
provoked polemical reactions by Americans invoking their rights as
Englishmen to keep arms. A New York article of April 1769 said that '[i]t
is a natural right which the people have reserved to themselves,
confirmed by the Bill of Rights, to keep arms for their own defense.'"
Congress tells each American how much should be set aside out of his
weekly paycheck for retirement. How can they have the information to
know what's the best use for the $70, or so, taken from you and put into
Social Security? Might you benefit more by saving that money to start a
business, purchase tutoring lessons for your children, or putting it in
a private retirement plan? ... [T]he effects of Social Security aren't
apparent because we don't have the information about what people would
have been able to accomplish if they were able to keep more of their
earnings. 
one government program that's a dismal
failure or a waste of money that government ought to shut down?"
legalized minority
persecution. For example, prior to the success of the civil rights
movement, blacks in the U.S. were forbidden, by law, to marry whites,
share facilities, patronize the same businesses, etc. 
f you know of any publication that will accept free
advertising, you can take the ideas of liberty to vast numbers of
people. 
*
Libertarianism In One Lesson
by David Bergland 