September 2024
That ominous sound is the election drawing ever closer
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!
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From the Chair
Brazil just banned X. It’s easy to shrug about that, since it’s happening elsewhere. But Mike Solana has a piece out that both brings it closer to home and resonates with my own thoughts:
Now, both on principle and for purposes of pragmatism I try not to care about despotic law abroad. My focus is local, and I’m already dying on too many hills at home. If the Brazilians want a dictator judge, go off. Worship your evil king. It’s really not my problem, and it’s certainly not my business. But the Brazilian tyrant’s decision comes amidst a broader global backlash against American tech companies (UK, EU), which is largely driven by a rabid aversion to free speech, and in conversation surrounding the backlash it is now quite clear the anti-speech sentiment, and commitment, is shared by both our press and government. Here, rhetoric has also escalated.
The position that democracy must be saved from democratic norms like free expression has been table stakes in media for years. But over the last two weeks, the Overton Window of acceptable discourse has drifted even further. The position not only that speech criminals should be jailed, but American entrepreneurs should be jailed for enabling their free expression, is now acceptable.
Find the rest in the Suggested Reading below.
We live in weird times, and they’re getting weirder. Being able to call them weird is in legitimate jeopardy, and that should concern each of us, because this is starting to happen all the way down to the local level (consider a recent moment of lunacy in the aptly named Surprise, Arizona: https://x.com/RealSpikeCohen/status/1827894224605376936 ).
You need to be speaking in your neighborhood and in your community. The creeping hand of the censor is flirting with becoming the shackling hand of the gulag, right out in the open in the pages of major news organizations, the keyboards of major political figures, and the podiums of small-town city councils. If you don’t fight it now, it will come for you. Don’t let Martin Niemoller’s epitaph for Germany get paraphrased into today’s reality:
First they came for the “stochastic terrorists,” and I did not speak out—because I was not a stochastic terrorist.
Then they came for the “spreaders of misinformation,” and I did not speak out—because I was not a spreader of misinformation.
Then they came for the “weirdos,” and I did not speak out—because I was not a weirdo.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Speak now, speak loud, keep speaking.
–Loren Dean
In the News: San Bernardino and Secession
A brief review for those who lost track of this story. In 2022, San Bernardino County put Measure EE on their ballot. This was a move to figure out how much money SB County gets from the state, as a few loud activists were convinced that SB County wasn’t getting their “fair share”. Critics of this (especially the three state Assemblythings that represent the county) blasted the measure, dubbing it the “secession bill.” Supporters did little to fight that perception, because many of them were in fact suggesting that if San Bernardino County’s investigation revealed the suspected “unfairness” to be bad enough, the county might secede from California and form a new state called Empire.
While that would be … interesting … the report has now come in, and to almost nobody’s surprise San Bernardino is in fact getting its “fair share” of state funds (and by “state funds” we mean “other people’s extorted tax money” which puts the lie to any sort of “fair share,” really). In fact, they get a little more than average.
It is reasonable to ask a very important question at this stage. If SBC is getting the money it “deserves” then what’s happening to the money? Where is it going, that there doesn’t seem to ever be enough? The general libertarian suspicion is that government spends money recklessly. It seeks to wash away foolishness by simply sluicing more money (other people’s money) onto a problem to see if it will make the problem go away. Government is an inherently wasteful enterprise, so it should surprise nobody that the government of San Bernardino County can’t operate with fiscal responsibility.
Consider one example, from the very next page of the newspaper that day:
Where is the money going, asks San Bernardino County? Shot, meet chaser, or in this case “fair share,” meet the broken windows fallacy. Maybe paying out millions in police misconduct claims is using up money that could be better spent on other projects. Maybe, just maybe, that money would be better off left in the pockets of the people it was stolen (taxed) from.
Maybe there’s a political party that believes you have a better sense of how to spend your own money. Maybe you should vote for them instead of the same weirdos who seem so unable to comprehend responsibility.
Election 2024 Updates
Ballots are Coming
Mail-in ballots started their journey toward you this week. Be on the lookout for those. This is a GREAT time to check on your voter registration to be sure your address is correct. See the Voter Registration section below for a link to check your information.
In next month’s Liberty Letter we plan to include a voting guide. There are a bunch of pretty terrible propositions on the ballot, and we’ll let you know why, and which ones are worth keeping around. There aren’t a lot of Libertarians running for office in RivCo, but for now:
Be an Election Officer
The RivCo ROV is hiring for Election Officers for the November election. This is a great way to earn a little extra money during the election. It also gets you a front-row seat to everything about voting in the county. This kind of information is good to know. Find details here: https://voteinfo.net/county-riverside-registrar-voters-seeking-election-officers
Chase Oliver for President!
Maybe there’s a political party that believes you have a better sense of how to spend your own money. Maybe you should help out the campaign of their presidential nominee. Want to get involved with the Chase Oliver for President campaign? Hint, yes you do. Start here: https://votechaseoliver.com/get-involved/
After filling that out online, you should get an invite to a Slack server where volunteers and supporters are chatting and organizing. Now’s the time to get involved!
More Suggested Reading/Viewing/Listening This Month
Mike Solana’s article at Pirate Wires about the state of free speech and why it matters: https://www.piratewires.com/p/jail-the-tech-bros
Brazil’s government has gone berserk, but have you been curious about how Argentina’s much more libertarian government is faring? Here’s FEE with a summary: https://fee.org/articles/how-javier-milei-is-turning-argentinas-economy-around/
How might libertarian principles thread their way into other parties’ vision of American governance? FEE sat down with Vivek Ramaswamy to have a conversation about what some of that might look like. The result is mixed: https://fee.org/articles/vivek-ramaswamy-on-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-american-right/
By contrast, the current ruling regime is Very Very Concerned over Very Very Important ideas like … performative masculinity and the politics of joy. While the people actually in charge right now are trying to appear in public as little as possible, the global shipping lanes are falling apart. The global shipping lanes whose safety the U.S. Navy has bragged for decades that it guarantees. Think things are getting too expensive now? Wait until people like the Houthis close the Red Sea for real. Consider: https://archive.is/I2CYK but hey, we gotta stop the mean tweets, right?
As school is coming back into session and liberty-minded parents brace up for the coming year of trying to keep their kids from becoming indoctrinated by the psychos who run the public schools, now might be a good time to remind people that the Tuttle Twins are still a thing. Find details here: https://tuttletwins.com/
If you live in the city of Riverside (or close by), then you have probably heard something about the Mission Inn Foundation’s woes. Now that they’re divorced from city government meddling and actively engaging with the real business that is the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, they’re probably going to get a heck of a lot better. Read up on what they do, and consider joining to help that effort (in true voluntaryist fashion) at: https://www.missioninnmuseum.org/become-a-member/
https://news.lp.org/ is the website for the newly launched Libertarian Party news portal. What was once a periodic newsletter is now a 24/7 web presence. 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
18 September 2024: Free & Equal Debate. The Free & Equal Elections Foundation has held several presidential debates now, featuring the LP’s own Chase Oliver. The next one will be in California (in Hollywood, in fact)! Check our website for details.
21 September 2024: LPCA Executive Committee meeting. The state EC will be meeting in Riverside for their annual in-person meeting. Get it on your calendar, and check the website for details.
27-29 September 2024: Gun Rights Policy Conference. The Second Amendment Foundation is holding this multi-day event in nearby San Diego. Admission is free! Come see what the state of play is in the 2A space and feel the energy of people as interested in fundamental human rights as you are. For tickets and details see: https://saf.org/grpc/
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 (currently a minimum of $25 per year) 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.
If you aren't a dues-paying member at all, you can join as a national member AND as a state/county member using a single online form:
Combined National/State/County Membership Form
Join us in taking a stand for a world set free!
Find us on the web at https://rclp.us
Email us at admin@rclp.us
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