Social Hour for June 30, 2006
Come join the fun. The Social Hour meets every Friday 6:30-7:30pm.
This week we try:
Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries
10841 West Broad Street
Glen Allen VA 23058
(Near the intersection of Broad and Cox).
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Come join the fun. The Social Hour meets every Friday 6:30-7:30pm.
This week we try:
Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries
10841 West Broad Street
Glen Allen VA 23058
(Near the intersection of Broad and Cox).
From Drug Policy Alliance:
Last night , the U.S. House of Representatives again thumbed its nose at compassion and common sense by rejecting the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would have prohibited the federal government from undermining state medical marijuana laws. The final vote was 163 for / 259 against. This is two more "yes" votes than last year and a sign that support is slowly growing. (Since three Representatives who voted for the amendment last year couldn't make the vote this year, the base of support is actually up five over last year).Though there is a lot to say about this, Congressman David Obey (D-WI) summed it up best when speaking in support of the amendment:
"If I am terminally ill, it is not anybody's business on this floor how I handle the pain or the illness or the sickness associated with that illness. With all due respect to all of you, butt out. I did not enter this world with the permission of the Justice Department, and I am certainly not going to depart it by seeking their permission or that of any other authority. The Congress has no business telling people that they cannot manage their illness or their pain any way they need to. I would trust any doctor in the country before I trust some of the daffy ducks in this institution to decide what I am supposed to do if I am terminally ill... When is this Congress going to recognize that individuals in their private lives have a right to manage their problems as they see fit without the permission of the big guy in the White House or the big guy in the Justice Department or any of the Lilliputians on this Congressional floor? Wake up!"
Zing!
Please take a few minutes today to thank or spank your Representative for how he or she voted on this important amendment:
1) Find out how your Representative voted. [http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=48015&l=126561] If you're not sure who your Representative is, find out by entering your zip code at the top of this page [http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=48015&l=126570].
2) Use this directory [http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=48015&l=126563] to go to your Representative's website where you can find information on writing, e-mailing, or calling your Representative.
If your Representative voted for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment, send a thank-you message.
If your Representative voted against the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment, express your disappointment and encourage your Representative to vote for the amendment next year.
Sincerely,
Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy AllianceLearn More[http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/ctt.asp?u=48015&l=126571]
In the Richmond Area, Rep Cantor (R-7th) voted NO and Rep Scott (D-3rd) voted YES.
Once again the Democrats and Republicans prove they are unable to control government spending...
According to the Times-Dispatch:
Squirreled away in the state's proposed $74 billion, two-year budget are more than 300 grants to museums, tourist attractions, theaters and organizations helping the needy.
Some call the $37 million of grants political pork, but others say the handouts, which are for next year and account for 1/2,000th of the pending budget, fill a major gap in state funding for cultural and tourist projects, which is among the lowest in the nation.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188726997
From the Times-Dispatch:
Now a trio of Kurds whom the American military rescued from persecution a decade ago face sentencing in federal court tomorrow because financial assistance they sent to Kurds back home ran afoul of an anti-terrorism law.
The Kurds' friends and neighbors in Harrisonburg have rallied to their cause. They formed a group and bought a full-page ad in the local newspaper last month that included hundreds of names collected for a petition of support.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188726981&path=%21news&s=1045855934842
One of the reasons we toppled the government in Iraq was that it was killing all the Kurds. So now when some private individuals want to help the Kurds rebuild Iraq they're terrorists? You got to love our government.
From:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855934842&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188681403&path=%21news
The General Assembly adopted legislation this year that was known as the "halal food bill," sponsored by Del. Kenneth C. Alexander, D-Norfolk. The bill requires businesses to verify that foods advertised as halal have been prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary requirements.
Why is the General Assembly spending time on this? If you want your food prepared with special considerations (i.e. Halal or Kosher or whatever) it really is your job to investigate the business. There are a number of groups who could certify a product and I'm sure a number of businesses would be willing to get some customers by being certified. Plus even without this law if it is discovered that a business knowingly was selling something as Halal or Kosher when it really wasn't, an individual can always sue as with any other case of fraud.
Once again a solution in search of a problem.
From: http://www.virginianewssource.com/Kelo.html
June 23, 2006 - Now known as Black Friday for property owners once protected by the United States Constitution.
As you know, today marks the anniversary of the Kelo decision, when the Supreme Court put every home, business, church and farm up for grabs to the highest bidder. Property owners and activists nationwide are rallying against the abuse of eminent domain. Here are the locations of those rallies; we encourage you to attend to protest the abuse of eminent domain in solidarity with your fellow property owners nationwide!
Related Links:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060620-101252-5764r.htm
http://castlecoalition.org/
Come join the fun. The Social Hour meets every Friday 6:30-7:30pm.
This week we try:
Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries
10841 West Broad Street
Glen Allen VA 23058
(Near the intersection of Broad and Cox).
Almost 500 Virginia Army National Guard soldiers have been mobilized for peacekeeping in Kosovo.
How many years have we been over there now? When were we supposed to have left? Why are we still sending our military over there? This was the last Administration's war. At the very least can we finish one war before we start another?
A Chesterfield County judge recently ruled that signs posted by C.L. "Slugger" Morrissette Jr. on his Beach Road property do not meet the definition of educational established in the ordinance that regulates signs.
Therefore, Circuit Judge Cleo E. Powell dismissed the $100 fine Morrissette was given at a lower-court hearing in December.
Morrissette yesterday praised the decision.
"I said from day one that I was right. The rest of the citizens [need to] know they can put signs up on their property. Freedom of speech is the most fundamental right we've got -- without it we're dead in the water."
"The State Board of Elections received copies of a security alert on the Diebold machines from Black Box Voting on March 25." However the Board had declared the machines safe.
There are a number of sites working to fix the problems with the Diebold machines including
http://www.blackboxvoting.com/
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
"Activists and officials across Virginia are trying to refine the state's road-safety strategies for teens by questioning license requirements and suggesting new laws."
Unfortunately making it more difficult for teens to drive, means that they will continue to be inexperienced and dangerous for a much longer period of time. Instead of punishing all teens and endangering everyone on the road, the “activists” and legislators should just apply some common Libertarian sense, and punish only those who are responsible for accidents, this would be better for everyone.
The Annual Libertarian Party of Henrico County Convention is July 19th, 2006 7:00-8:30pm. If you are a Libertarian Party member who is registered to vote in Henrico County, please make a special effort to attend. The Convention will elect a new governing board for the Party and plan for the next year.
The high court ruled 5-4 Thursday in a case from Detroit that trial judges cannot exclude evidence collected by police who have a valid search warrant but fail to properly announce themselves before breaking in to a residence.Several lawyers contacted yesterday by The Times-Dispatch said the likely effect of the ruling will be to make trying cases a little easier for prosecutors and a little tougher for defense lawyers.
Rep. Ron Paul explains why the Death Tax is a bad idea and his fears that it might be here to stay.
The U.S. Senate had a golden opportunity to repeal the federal estate tax last week, but fell a few votes short. I fear that vote might represent the high-water mark in the movement to get rid of this destructive tax once and for all...Full Story at: http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/002115.htmlthe estate tax does four things-- all of which are bad for the economy and frankly un-American:
First, it discourages savings and investment.
Second, it undermines job creation and wage growth.
Third, it stifles investment.
Forth, it contradicts a central premise of American life, namely, building wealth and “getting ahead.”For all of these reasons, it’s time to get rid of the estate tax once and for all.
From VCDL's VA-ALERT:
Over 300 gun owners turned out at the Hanover Board of Supervisor's meeting last night to support Cavalier (way to go, guys)! Twenty-seven spoke ... The BoS voted to adopt the provisions offered by CAVRPC. These new requirements represent a compromise by both sides.
A big thanks to everyone who showed up or contacted their Supervisor.
From Jon Walker:
The 30th annual Greek Festival was continually threatened by rain, but for the most part, the weather was wonderful. A few stalwart LP members showed up to help educate the public with The Worlds Smallest Political Quiz. Thanks go to the volunteers who showed up to pass out the WSPQ: Leonard Harris, Roy Scherer, and Jon Walker. It was a productive time as we met some new libertarian faces and introduced a number of people to the concept of the Nolan Chart. As always, the Patrick Henry Supper Club was mentioned along with local LP groups in the area.The best area to work was the corner of Malvern and Grove next to the Seventh Street Church.
The corner is sunny and hot while farther down the street there is plenty of shade. However, the corner turned out to be the prime location. By the time people got to the third campaign worker, they were starting to tune them out. Additionally, the grassy area between the street and sidewalk is wide and this natural choke point provides the best area for spreading the word. Working other corners provided, for the most part, fruitless, because until people perceive that they are on the festival grounds, they don’t want to stop.
Leonard was instrumental in helping educate one of the deputies from the Sherriff's office to the finer points of Virginia's open carry law. The deputy, I am happy to say, acted in a very professional and pleasant manner and was quick to admit his error after consulting with the Commonwealth Attorney's office. Another interesting thing that occurred Saturday was that an independent candidate was there with a video crew making a documentary and spent time with the Libertarians taking the quiz and briefly discussing politics (he was a centrist).
As usual, grass roots activity is a numbers game and the more people you talk to, the more likely you are to find someone. One or two people at a time were easiest to connect with and out of the people who stopped to take the test, there were 5 true libertarians who were willing to give us enough information to contact them later and a few more that promised to contact us on their own. It is this writer’s opinion that wearing something that would identify the volunteers as libertarians is vital. Too many times there would be someone from one of the other parties standing near us with a campaign shirt and people would think we were working with them.For next year, it will be helpful to remember there is about nine feet between the sidewalk and the street and that a small 8 foot canopy and a cooler could really help the volunteers. Also, by observing the other campaigns, some lessons were learned. If you have someone standing along the sidewalk asking people to stop for something, the maximum amount of time that person should work is 2 hours and then have them take a 2 hour break before coming back for another shift. This allows you to get 4 hours out of someone and keep them alert and working. Many of the candidate campaign volunteers showed up at 11 am and stayed the entire day. By 4pm most of them were too tired to approach people! They literally let hundreds of people go by because they were too tired.
The next big opportunity for outreach, in the city of Richmond, will be the Cartytown Watermelon Festival on August 13. If you are interested in helping, please contact Jon at jwalker@RichmondLP.com or 804-306-4106.
The event also made VA-ALERT:
EM Leonard Harris was working a Libertarian Party booth on a public sidewalk just outside of the Greek Festival in Richmond last week. He was approached by a deputy who said Leonard could not carry his gun there.Leonard explained the law to him and the deputy went off to call the Commonwealth Attorney about the situation. He returned about 10 minutes later to acknowledge that Leonard was within his rights to be open carrying
on that sidewalk.New motto: "VCDL - educating Richmond Deputies, one Deputy at a time" ;-)
Finally we have some photo highlights:
http://www.richmondliberty.org/events/photos/20060603
From VA-ALERT:
Cavalier's fate comes before the Hanover Board of Supervisors tomorrow [June 14] at 7 PM at the Board of Supervisor's room at 7516 County Complex Road.If you can make it to show support, please do so. We must demonstrate that
we will fight to protect our ranges! That will hopefully discourage this
kind of action elsewhere.Here is an article on the situation from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
http://tinyurl.com/ofs8m
Because of the holiday on July 4th, there will be no Patrick Henry Supper Club in July.
The next meeting will be August 1st. Joel Bieber will talk about tort reform in Virginia.
Come join the fun. The Social Hour meets every Friday 6:30-7:30pm.
This week we try:
Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries
10841 West Broad Street
Glen Allen VA 23058
(Near the intersection of Broad and Cox).
From the Virginia Citizens Defense League:
VCDL has offered the use of its powerful legislative contact system
to help Cavalier in its battle with Hanover County.
That battle will come to a head SOON - June 14th (!)- so you need to
act NOW, even if you don't live in Hanover. If we don't protect our
ranges they will all be headed down the road to extinction.
It is quick and easy! Just click on the link below to send a
pre-written message to all Hanover Board of Supervisors at one time:
http://www2.vcdl.org/webapps/vcdl/reflector.html?REF=HanoverBOS&PRE=cavalier
From the National Taxpayers Union:
After taxing you in almost every conceivable way throughout your
lifetime, the taxman follows you to the grave for one final
reach into your wallet. The "death tax" is a tax on virtue -
living frugally and accumulating wealth. It discourages saving
and asset accumulation and encourages wasteful spending. The
death tax is unfair and immoral, and taxpayers have been working
diligently to finally put it to rest. All that stands in the way
of killing the death tax are a few votes in the United States
Senate, and your input could sway the final outcome in our
favor. Your Senators will soon decide the fate of this
reprehensible tax, and taxpayers must tell them to pull the
plug! Please speak out today!
Visit the web address below to ask your friends, family, and
coworkers to help bury this tax.
http://ga1.org/campaign/060606_US_Death_Tax/
We encourage you to take action by July 6, 2006
Help Us Bury the Death Tax Once and for All!
Come join the fun. The Social Hour meets every Friday 6:30-7:30pm.
This week we try:
Italian Kitchen-west
8115 W Broad St
Richmond, VA 23294-4221
(804) 270-6350
The next Patrick Henry Supper Club is Jun 6th. We have a special double packed event this time. Our first speaker will be John Woodson, Residential Crime Prevention Officer, Henrico County Police. John will talk about the Henrico Citizens Police Academy.
The 2nd speaker will be Philip Van Cleave, President of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Philip will talk about the latest developments with your right to keep and bear arms.
As usual the PHSC meets at:
Eastern Buffet
7586 W. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23294
(in Merchants Walk Shopping Center)
6:00pm Dinner 7:00pm main event