[News] OKLP site updated

Mon Feb 12 16:32:35 CST 2007

Latest postings at www.OKLP.org

OKC and OU Libertarians meet tomorrow evening, Tuesday, Feb. 13th.
"First, many public goods are successfully produced in the private sector, so government production is not necessary. Second, many of the goods government actually does produce do not correspond to the economist's definition of public goods." - Dr. Randall G. Holcombe, Florida State University
United Way giving recently broke a record, with "Oklahomans gave more than $16.4 million to help fund the United Way's partner agencies."

State Rep. Randy Terrill wrote, "Oklahoma needs to move toward a fair tax structure that shies away from taxing earnings, investment and savings." in the Oklahoman. 

Charlie says Sen. Johnson's SB 464 is halfway good measure to delay implementation of the federal Real ID act. "Real ID, will eventually lead to a radio frequency chip in everyone's drivers licenses, which will be able to track you at all times. This is Orwellian Big Brother at its optimum. The only reason I say it is only half way good, is that the legislation doesn't call for the complete withdrawal of Real ID such as Maine has just done."

More information about Real ID at RealNightmare.org. The Oklahoma Defense of Freedom Project is also working on this important issue. 
"Public education furthers the government's interests by socializing students to make them better (more compliant) citizens, and by teaching a curriculum that portrays the government as an institution that furthers the public interest." - Dr. Randall G. Holcombe, Florida State University
Sarah Evans is appalled that the Oklahoma Lottery Commission is forcing some retailers to push government-run gambling. You give a government one more monopoly, what does one expect? 

The Lottery Commission's problem gaming page says, "The purpose of the Oklahoma Lottery is to help raise money to improve Oklahoma's schools." Wouldn't it be more efficient to just raise taxes then? But that might expose the lottery for what it is: a government monopoly to collect money, i.e., a backdoor tax. And it should clarify that the goal is to raise money for "government schools" because private and home-schools are not receiving any of the pay-off. Finally, if the goal is to "improve" schools, more money is not the answer, school choice is.

Chester Ashong asks, "The government is supposed to protect life, liberty and property. How does spanking violate any of those rights?" And thinks giving government more power is a slippery slope: "The government will next tell residents that it's mandatory a baby's diaper be changed every hour." 
"CAFE costs about 7 to 10 times as much as a petroleum tax that would induce comparable reductions in oil consumption..." - Robert W. Crandall, in the Journal of Economic Perspectives
If the government is determined to reduce oil consumption there are worse ways to go about it than others. Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported "Economists back a fossil-fuel tax to spur alternative energies", rather than more subsidies for special interests, such as ethanol. 

According to Senator McCain (pdf),"Ethanol is a product that would not exist if Congress didn't create an artificial market for it. No one would be willing to buy it. Yet thanks to agricultural subsidies and ethanol producer subsidies, it is now a very big business -- tens of billions of dollars that have enriched a handful of corporate interests - primarily one big corporation, ADM. Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality." 

 In a letter to the El Reno Tribune, Robert Stock writes, "Having only one choice is no choice" and asks for support of HB 1359 and SB 28. 

A recent OKIES press release shows why Oklahoma's ballot access is 10 times as restrictive per capita as some surrounding states, such as Texas, Missouri, and New Mexico. 
"Whenever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery." 
- Benjamin Disraeli
Bill Price, former US Attorney, says the county manager system "used in states like Kansas as well as in cities and towns in Oklahoma not only had much less corruption but much greater efficiency and professionalism at a lower salary cost to the county." in an Oklahoman article.

Florida may eliminate touchscreen voting machines and replace them with scanner-machines that keep a paper record of every ballot. Here in Oklahoma, if passed, SJR 2 would send a mandate on keeping our good old paper ballots to a vote of the people.

OkieDoke says I don't like the idea of giving public school employees the right to take homeschooled children into custody," regarding SB 375.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman proposes a "war on terrorism tax" saying the Pentagon's $622 billion defense budget proposal for fiscal 2008 threatens to crowd out funds for domestic programs.
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson
Americans had a negative savings rate last year. We must be inspired by the federal government, which now has a debt of $8,700,000,000,000 or $15,700 per Citizen. The administration seems to be patting themselves on the back for only adding another $172,000,000,000 to the debt this year (the OMB estimates $223 billion, meanwhile we pay over 10% of the budget to interest on the debt). 
"Federally imposed standards for drivers' license and birth certificates make a mockery of federalism and the 10th amendment. While states technically are not forced to accept the federal standards, any refusal to comply would mean their residents could not get a job, receive Social Security, or travel by plane. So rather than imposing a direct mandate on the states, the federal government is blackmailing them into complying with federal dictates." - Congressman Ron Paul on the Real ID Act
Senator Johnson introduced SB 464 to allow Governor Henry to delay compliance with the national ID creating, states' rights squashing, big-brother Real ID Act. 

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania urged their General Assembly to follow the example of Maine's Legislature and reject implement the Real ID Act. "Similar measures have been introduced in Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont, Utah, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Missouri and Washington state." 

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections, "which is at 97 percent prison capacity and has dealt with crisis-level crowding issues for years", is implementing a program to identify inmates with the lowest risk of reoffending (pdf). This will help corrections officials to gear rehabilitative programs to inmates who can benefit from them most.

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Latest Events posted at www.oklp.org/events

Tues., Feb. 13th

OKC Libertarians

6:30 PM - Dinner

7:00 PM - Program begins

Chen's Chinese Buffet

4537 NW 23rd St 
Oklahoma City, OK

RSVP on MeetUp: http://libertarian.meetup.com/288/

Tues., Feb. 13th

OU Libertarians

9:30 PM 

Beaird Lounge, Student Union

Norman, OK

kjellsawyer at gmail.com

Thurs., Feb. 15th

Tulsa Libertarians Discussion Group

6:00 PM- Dinner and Conversation

7:00 PM-  Meeting begins

Gypsy Coffee House - 303 N. Cincinnati 
(downtown just NW of Spaghetti Warehouse)
Tulsa, OK

918-447-1776 for more information

or email Joe Cristiano at px150 at sbcglobal.net

Tues., Feb. 27th

Edmond Libertarians

6:30 PM

TBA

Edmond, OK

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