January 2026

Coming in hot!

Jan 05, 2026

Hello Liberty Lovers of Riverside County!

If you would like an essay featured in the Liberty Letter, or if you read or watched something awesome that you think should be in the Suggested Reading of one of these newsletters, reach out to us at admin@rclp.us and let’s chat!

These emails may be too long for some email inboxes. If so, scroll to the bottom to find a link to read them in your browser (and don’t be afraid to click through to like and comment at Substack directly). All the contact information you need is also at the bottom.

From the Chair

It’s a new year, with new opportunities!

We’re conventioning hard over the next two months, planning for 2026 and its ramifications. Check the Calendar section below for date and place specifics, and get these two events on your calendar. We need you there!

The first event is the Riverside County Libertarian Party annual convention, coming 10 January (this weekend!). Local activity is the foundation of the entire liberty movement; county LP affiliates are where local activists can find each other and network. Unfortunately, our network here in RivCo has thinned dramatically, and needs to get revved up again. We’ll be electing our five officer spots (Chair, two Vice Chairs, Treasurer, and Secretary), and we need you! Come out and stand for an office, come out and talk local liberty, come out and have some lunch. But come out and meet other libertarians! It’s the first step toward everything else.

The second event is the Libertarian Party of California annual convention, in February. About a dozen state-level executive committee offices are up for election there. This is also where the LPCA will elect delegates to the national convention (more on national as it approaches). It’s good to come to one of these and feel the energy in a room full of libertarians from all over the state.

In this new year, make this the moment you decide to renew your activism. It’s time.

See you Saturday!

–Loren Dean

In the News: Corruption Here, Corruption There, Corruption Everywhere

2026 started with a breathtaking bang. It’s hard to know exactly what to make of the Venezuela action at this stage. There are lots of ways this Maduro “extradition” could become absurdly authoritarian. But one thing is clear: Venezuela is in a position RIGHT NOW where real people in Venezuela can effect real change. The window is open for liberty-minded folks in Venezuela to make their voices heard and their presence known, right there in the place where they live. The people of Venezuela have a precious opportunity here to change their homeland for the better.

That window won’t stay open for long. Authoritarians abhor a vacuum, and they’ll want to sweep in and take control of everything. They’ll call it “continuity” or something. And if the liberty-minded folk of Venezuela don’t move fast, they’ll get left behind and left out of what comes next.

There is a lesson here for each of us wishing for a freer California. You need to be out in your community right now. Opportunities like this kind of power vacuum are rare, but not as rare as you think. Politicians sometimes disappear unexpectedly even here in America.

Look at what’s happening in Minnesota. Colossally disastrous billion-dollar scandal is forcing out the state governor, who “should” have had the political clout to weather a storm like that. Turns out he doesn’t, and just like that he’s walking away.

This happens in your city and county, too, all over California. Politicians try to scoot out of the spotlight of scandal all the time. Sometimes they have to leave office before they had planned. And when they do, there’s opportunity. But those opportunities are only open to people who have been watching and preparing, and making themselves known within their respective communities.

If you want to make a difference in the place where you live, get out there and get to know your neighbors. Be active in your community. Work and watch, and you’ll be ready when opportunities come. Make 2026 the year you get out there. Your neighbors are going to need you, and probably sooner than you think.

More Suggested “Reading” This Month

(It’s not always reading; it’s the internet, you know how it is)

The LPCA Program Committee is submitting its annual report to the Executive Committee this next week. Listen to them (including RCLP chairman Loren Dean) discuss the nature of the LPCA Program and why it’s a great idea. On YouTube:
Some thoughts to sit with, from el gato malo:
bad cattitude
when "the system" becomes "the enemy"
the US mission to venezuela, snatching maduro and his wife from their very home, shattering what was alleged to be a next gen chinese air defense without a single loss of aircraft, and decapitating a…
Read more
a month ago · 701 likes · 302 comments · el gato malo
https://thetorch.media/ is an independent Libertarian web portal publishing articles from all across the spectrum of liberty-loving thought. They’re worth a look.
https://news.lp.org/ is the website for the Libertarian Party news portal. Check it out, subscribe there for updates, and check out how to contribute yourself!

Calendar Notes

As always, bookmark and regularly check our website for the most up-to-date event details: https://rclp.us

10 January 2026: RCLP county convention

We’ll be electing new officers for the new year. There’s a lot going on in 2026, and with county chair Loren Dean doing state-level stuff we here in the county need to step up to steer the critical local action. Come be part of the liberty movement!

14-15 February 2026: LPCA state convention

The 2026 annual convention of the Libertarian Party of California will be held over Presidents Day Weekend, at the Handlery Hotel in San Diego. Find the details here: https://ca.lp.org/convention/

You can now make a reservation at the convention hotel, either by phone or online. The online portal is here: https://reservations.handlery.com/sd/book/dates-of-stay?groupID=4961907

If you would prefer to register by phone, call the hotel directly at 619-298-0511 or 800-676-6567. Be sure to mention “LP of California” to get the discounted rate ($119 a night, plus $8 parking). The deadline for the rate is 15 January, so get on it!

21-25 May 2026: LNC Convention

This is the national big one, this time in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Registration is open at https://www.lnc2026.com/

Voter Registration and Party Membership

If you vote, be sure your registration is Libertarian. Whether you vote or not, stay abreast of your registration details on the California Secretary of State page at this link: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/cavoter

Being a registered Libertarian voter certainly allows you to call yourself a real libertarian. However, there is more you can do. You can join the national Libertarian Party as a “sustaining member” by signing the membership application statement and paying dues to the national organization. Note that while paying dues at the state level (California) makes you a local “central committee member,” national membership is separate.

Join with this online form: https://lpca.app.neoncrm.com/forms/join

Join us in taking a stand for a world set free!