How a "knucklehead" became Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Nevada

     In response to Scott Kaufman's piece, "Chairman claims Nevada Libertarian Party 'infested with idiots'" (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/24/chairman-claims-nevada-libertarian-party-infested-with-idiots/).  Normally I would never self-identify as a "knucklehead"; however recently the former Chair of the Libertarian Party of Nevada (LPN) has decided to take a break from leadership because, as he puts it, "the LPN is infested with idiots and knuckleheads".  I would now like to take a little time to explain how this came to be.
     It was 2011, I was so fed up with the political stories in the news that I decided to get involved again in the Libertarian Party.  I had been a member in California, but since moving here in 2006 I hadn't really heard anything about a state party.  I googled LPN, found a website and eventually got a hold of Brett Pojunis.  He was enthusiastic and wanted to meet, and he said there was a convention coming up, would I like to get involved.  I said sure, and eventually got together with a few of the members on the excom.  We all had a few things in common...go figure.  We were clean cut...for the most part.  We were conservative on fiscal issues...rabidly so.  I was introduced to Wayne Allyn Root's book and read some of it to familiarize myself with whom I assumed was a big player in the party (he was VP candidate on the 2008 ticket).  First thing I learned from the book was that Wayne was the son of a butcher...SO WAS I!  We must have so many things in common...I thought.  I was asked to be the chair of the convention after a few weeks...maybe a couple months?  I prepared a speech...and then I had to stand up, welcome everyone...and deliver it.
     For weeks, I had been excited and at the same time warned about some bad seeds in the party.  These were the freaks and "kooks" that were anarchist bombthrowing rabble-rousers...an embarrassment to the party.  I just hoped they wouldn't throw anything at me, I had on my good suit.  I stood up on the dais, and quoted Bastiat's "The Law".  I was thanked and congratulated by Wayne, Brett and Joe...as well as a few members of the party that I was supposed to be wary of.  How is this possible...there is no way these heathens had read Bastiat.  I was the enemy to them, they hated our faction...why were some being nice?  Something was afoot.  I was going to find out what.
    I went to the table in question...bristling with contempt and evil...and introduced myself to a petite dark haired woman with eyes that could see through me...I was convinced she was some kind of witch or worse...a mind reader.  I shook her hand, and said "I'm Jason."  Then, it happened.  She answered back "I'm Debra, I liked your speech."  I knew it...wait...what?  "Thank you, I just got involved in the party." was my response...to which she told me she has been involved for many years.  Eventually we talked about Reiki...an art of healing using the human body as a conduit for energy and life.  Not exactly suit and tie activities.  Something didn't add up...we had things in common, she was polite and friendly...I felt at ease somehow.  I went around the table, and met some of the others...including what Joe warned me, was the devil himself.  I introduced myself to David Colborne, who was in a suit and tie (probably under cover) and we actually excused ourselves from Joes 4 hour speech and spoke in the hall.  He was well spoken, intelligent and was a former member of the excom until Joe Silvestri's faction disaffiliated all the counties.  I asked where the hell all these anarchist bomb throwers were that Silvestri had told me about, and with a wry smile, he shrugged his shoulders and said...we have all been where you are.  Now I'm confused...we all seem to be Libertarians, and getting along.  Where are the people I was told are bad for the party?
     After break, we sat back down and got to listen to Wayne Allyn Root speak.  He addressed the "devil's table" and continued to go on about how best to get libertarians elected.  He mentioned that talking about legalizing drugs was not popular, nor would it bring in votes from the GOP.  He spoke about his Libertarian pedigree coming from his desire to legalize online poker.  He said that we should be socially tolerant, but run on a platform that could sway Republicans to vote for us.  Gay rights is fine...but it doesn't win you votes in red districts...I think I found out who was bad for the party...he was bucking for a nomination to run for President or Senate...and he was Joe's right hand...Oh my god...I'm on the wrong side.  Within a few months, Romney was nominated, and Wayne said, "It's got to be Romney" at a Gary Johnson function.  Wayne finally left the party and went back to the GOP...and Brett and I had our "cause". 
     In January of this year, I asked my girlfriend to call and email Joe Silvestri to get info about signing up for the party.  She wanted to join, probably because she wanted to support me...but nonetheless...she got a phone call a few days later, with a message to call him back.  This was the Chair of the LPN taking his time doing something more important than outreach and helping people become members?  I knew what had to be done.  Brett Pojunis had been feeling the same as me about Wayne, Joe and the way this party had been going...we were going to run for the excom and change things.  I knew we could speak to our suit and tie crowd...and educate them on the ills of oppressive social policies, but also, we could speak to people who were more passionate than former GOPers...had first hand knowledge of police brutality and bigotry...something a pair of tall, white cleancut men in suits couldn't really relate to.  Well, I don't wear ties anymore, and I now sport a bushy beard...I was told I look a lot more "Libertarian" now...sheesh...I am so much more comfortable too...and yes, now I have been put in handcuffs and thrown up against a cop car for having a CCW and Libertarian bumper sticker.  I'm so proud.
     In two years under Joe Silvestri's reign, I have never seen meeting minutes posted.  I have never read a treasurer report.   I have seen no outreach...sure, a pub night here and there...a meetup page talking about a hike...but what about action?  During the past 9 months, Brett Pojunis has had two people calling all registered Libertarians in the state, notifying them of the convention, and asking if they want to join the party.  Many were just getting their first phone call from the party...and it wasn't even from the party...it was from Brett...on his dime.  All the while, Brett has been traveling and doing work as a rep for the Libertarian National Party.  After all these months, all this work, and all this time...I have only seen three things from Joe Silvestri...complaints about Brett, allegations about fraud, and crying about how his party is in disarray.   Joe, you have run out of excuses, you have run out of people willing to serve on your excom, you have run out of time...but make no mistake...you have been RUN out of office.  You can call us idiots, you can call us knuckleheads...but make no mistake about this...libertarians control this party, and when you act like a tyrannical megalomaniac and cast out those who disagree...they go somewhere...and they get together, and they come back.  And for that, I thank you.   As the newly elected Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Nevada, I proudly welcome anyone who brings the spirit and energy of libertarianism to the table, regardless of how you dress, how you speak or what you think is best for the party; we will work together to grow this party, respect the individuals who make up our party, and never sacrifice an issue to sway someone or trick someone who isn't libertarian just to get a vote on election day.  Our goal is to get libertarians elected...but we have ethics.  Call me a knucklehead...I'm in great company.

Jason Smith
Vice Chair Libertarian Party of Nevada.

Good people break bad laws

      I don't think we are a divided nation.  The "people" grow angry and cry out "give us healthcare, or give us something else to keep us happy"...it is not as dramatic as our forefather's version of liberty, but alas, we aren't really the same dreamers, fighters and lovers of freedom that our forefathers were...so we kind of deserve what we get.  At least we are all in it for some kind of handout.  We all have something we want our duly elected representatives to do for, or give to, us.  More laws against deviants.  More welfare for us.  Another warning label on hot coffee.  An injunction against a lascivious store going in in our neighborhood.  A law against sagging pants.  A law against gay marriage.  Zero tolerance against possession of a plant.  More money for the trade union I am in.  Subsidies for my affliction, position or group.  I mean...if you aren't trying to get some of the kitty, you're a sucker...right?
    ...do you really care?  Do you mock people who try?  Do you cling to your tattered blanket of comfort instead of letting the boiling blood of an oppressed patriot keep you warm?  There are some who care...sure, but the vast majority only cares that their benefits keep coming in, their medicare is paid for, their retirement is secure...even if their security is paid for by the future and hopes and dreams of millions of young who never had a chance...born into chains, and told at every turn to stop being an individual...just don't make waves...even if you're right...don't cause trouble.  To anyone who ever laughed at a Ron Paul, I get it, you wanted to fit in with the establishment...but please stop posting about how bad it is getting...you helped it along, and your handout was the gag shoved into the mouth of activists who organized and tried playing the game by your rules...and then the rules changed...well played.
    I am constantly in contact with people claiming the game is rigged, the politicians are puppets of a global financial system that plays politics and picks winners.  I don't buy it, I still believe that if 20 million people stood up and joined together in an effort to destroy the system's hold on our lives, it would work.  I thought the tea party was a great thing, until it got sidetracked with abortion and god and the same GOP horseshit that keeps them from ever being a party for liberty.  If a gay man can't fight for liberty, then you don't know what the hell liberty is.  Liberty is not living by a righteous code of conduct...it is allowing others to live the way they see fit, as long as they are not hurting another individual...note I did not say a "society"...I don't believe anyone...even those who memorized their version of the bible, can speak for society.   Society is a group of individuals, and yes...people who disagree with you are still part of society...and what you do to the least of us, you do unto Him. 
    How many times have you had a cop change lanes behind you, and your blood pressure went up, you got nervous and you may have even pulled into another lane to get away...all the while, you were not doing anything wrong?  Is this rational?  Have you ever wondered why you feel this way?  Could it be, that we now have so many laws on the books to "protect us from ourselves", that we actually don't even know if we are committing a crime anymore?  Is this how you want to live?  What can you do about it?  Well...there are meetings the city council has where they discuss things like an increase in sales tax to fund more cops to make you nervous.  Go and tell them what you think.  There are groups that spend hours and dollars putting together pamphlets to inform the public of their rights when stopped by police.  Donate an hour a week to help.  There are organizations that try to educate people about what is in our food, water and prescriptions.  Go learn and spread the message.  There are people who collect and disseminate the horrors of our education system and spend countless hours trying to get the word out that our kids are being indoctrinated for 8 hours a day while you toil away at your cubicle to be able to afford the newest color phone or save up enough money to get your boobs or eyes done.  Homeschool, or offer to help this group with handing out fliers or go to a meeting of the school board and voice your opposition to Common Core. 
    The point is, don't tell people you don't know what you can do...the point is, you can do a lot, but nothing can be done from your couch.  The tree of liberty, from time to time, must be nourished with the blood of patriots and tyrants...but maybe, just maybe...we can hold off that need with a little effort and caring.    I know that getting involved is tough...you may have to miss or record your game.  I understand that the kids need to get to gymnastics or t-ball...but the effort is done for them.  I know your kid's schooling is expensive, and you both work to make ends meet; but your kid would benefit more from learning from you at home, and the school that loses students may start to figure out that the people are tougher to fool when they are informed and educated.  This whole system we live in is seemingly designed to take all the worry and care away from us...we drug our rambunctious kids, we work all day to come home to forget, we give all the power and authority over our lives to police, teachers and other agents...and we forget that we have rights.  We forget that we have the power...but sadly, we forget that we are why we are here.  We have enslaved ourselves, and we may not wake up until it is too late.
    Society that breaks down during a natural disaster is not a very stable society...and if the gov't is what everyone looks to during that disaster, and the agents of the gov't are busy taking care of their own family...then who is going to take care of you?  The answer...is you, your neighbors and your society...including the gay guy, the pot smoker, the conservative, the liberal and the other people who may not follow your way of living.  Stop with the sanctimonious judging of lives, the stupid rules we enforce about lifestyles.  One day, you may need your community, and come to find that it was you who was different and not welcome by all those you sat and judged.  We have rights, but none of our rights can take away another's rights.  When good people break bad laws...punish the lawmaker.
-Rev

A rose by any other name...

     I have seen a resurgence of a movement that is getting away with not being asked simple, but important questions.  I would like to use this blog as a means of asking these questions, defining this movement, and making sure that everyone who mistakenly parrots its talking points understands what it is he/she is advocating.  The movement is from the Democrat party, with many in the GOP allowing/helping or at least acting naïve enough to help further it...it is the 21st century version of the 19th century social system we now know as "Progressivism", but used to be called "Socialism".  It works under the exact same premise, that the "middle class" (used to be called "working class") is the provider of all wealth, and the "Millionaires" (used to be called "capitalists") are the idle ones standing around getting rich off of the workers' toil.
   In the late 19th century, America roundly rejected socialism because of the ways in which it needed to operate...the socialists recognized that a social revolution was not supported by America, so they rebranded, changed definitions, and tried a new approach...incremental socialism without a revolution, done by executive order, majority rule and guilt...all the while avoiding the legal and American way of amending the constitution to make it a "legal transformation" of the system we live in.  Once it started, it could not be undone, because all you need to do is claim it is for the children, the poor, the handicapped...or any other group...regardless of whether the socialist plans even helped those they claim it is for.  So...what was the question that stopped "socialism" in its track at the turn of the 20th century?  "Do you condone confiscation?"  Simple...but the answer provides all you need now to reject it again. 
     Do you condone confiscation?  Confiscation is the only way to make socialism work; it requires the capital and resources of the capitalist to fund and reward those who "work" in productive and unproductive endeavors.  If the answer is yes...you must justify taking the property of someone else...how is this done?  The answer is, a new social system brings along with it, a new code of morals; you suppose that labor alone produces wealth, idleness produces rot, and currently the hands of labor are empty, while the capitalists lay idle.  To bring about progress to a socialist, all private ownership of capital/land must be transferred/confiscated to the hands of labor...its rightful owner.  In justification, two things must happen.  One, a social revolution must be either declared or used to justify the illegality of the act (theft), and an end is needed to illustrate the need for the means.  The end, which is defined now as "for the middle class", used to be called "the working class" and a hundred years ago it was eloquently cloaked as "The requirements of the working class demand a different state of society."  The next step is to claim that socialism is the highest expression of morality and justice...which is part two...the taking of the capital and emancipation of it from the shackles of private ownership. 
     This second part is happening every day, right in front of us, and on facebook.  For instance, when a Libertarian says, "the role of the federal gov't is not to provide food or shelter for the poor", he/she is bombarded with knee jerk phrases from "You hate kids, you want people to die" to "Oh, what would you rather have, people dying in the streets, you monster."  This type of reaction is the defense of the indefensible.  Instead of arguing the point (is the federal gov't the best or appropriate provider of food or shelter), they try to say you are against the end result of having people fed or housed.  This is a needed response to a socialist, because the argument against the federal gov't role in providing is not able to be won by the socialist.  Clearly, the constitution says, in the tenth amendment, that anything not enumerated in the constitution as a role of the federal gov't shall be left to the states, and the people, respectively.  So, we do provide for shelter and food...but not at the federal gov't.  Is the socialist against communities taking care of their own?   Well, no, not necessarily...but their whole goal isn't to take care of the people...it is to consolidate power in a central location so they don't have to fight this fight in the neighborhoods and states.  In this endeavor, they have succeeded.  So, what is the point of fighting socialism if we have to do it on their terms, with their definitions and under their control.  BINGO.  It isn't worth fighting there.
     The beauty of the American way of life is the simplicity with which the constitution was written.  The federal gov't is not able to check houses in Maine, Florida, Alaska and New Mexico...they must rely on states and local gov't to do the dirty work for them.  There are many ways the new progressive and old socialist can facilitate this.  Taxes.  The federal gov't lays taxes, then gives back to states who do their bidding.  The ACA is reliant upon people filing their taxes and providing proof of insurance.  The tea party, in its original form, was a direct attack on the principles of big gov't...it went after taxes.  The new tea party that cares more about abortion and gays than it does kneecapping the goliath federal gov't has become nothing more than a sideshow for the socialist to make fun of...but the original tea party scared the living bejeezus out of them.  I'll leave this point unfinished...because it is not up to me to convince anyone that a revolution is needed to defeat what has already been a victory for socialism.  The victory was won in the courts, the legislature and the executive branch of the federal gov't...and trying to refight this in those arenas is fruitless.  We will stay in this type of gov't, regardless of the words of Ted Cruz or John McCain...the GOP is not trying to reverse anything done over the past 100 years...they simply are running a campaign to manage it.
      I don't want managed socialism...I want an open air, out in the public, up and down the street revolution.  I want people to know that the status quo is an affront to my rights.  I want every Republican that supports what we have now, to be labeled a traitor to the "Republic".  I am not, nor will I ever be, OK with confiscation, regardless of the children or the sick or the old that it is supposed to help.  There is ample evidence that the sick, the children and the elderly are suffering under the thumb of socialism in small steps, and the argument is not about your goals or your ends...it is precisely about your methods.  In short...do not tell me to support any more smaller evils...I am not going to contribute to the system that enslaves me for my own good.  Pick a side, you can't hide anymore.