Libertarian Party of Wake County, North Carolina

Independence Day Tea Party

2009-06-12T08:51:00.006-04:00

The grassroots group that started the "Tea Party" phenomena is sponsoring the Independence Day Tea Party, July 4 from 1 to 5 p.m. on Halifax Mall.

We the People, owe to the founding fathers at the very minimum our reaffirmation of the independence they declared, fought and died for.

This will be a family-oriented event with guest speakers, food vendors, games and activities for the kids, with a little history lesson or two.

The LPNC will be there and will have a speaker. Contact Brian Irving if you can help.

North Carolina Tea Party Revolution

The Socialists and the Statists will not rest.

Neither can we.

New Meeting Location for Thursday's Meeting

2009-06-07T22:57:00.003-04:00

We're switching meeting locations this week to explore a possible new location. Tir na nOg has been great, but it can get loud at times, and we have increasingly been 'bumped' from the private room into the bar area, making it difficult to schedule speakers or even to hold reasonable conversations around the table.

The new location is the Garner Mayflower Seafood at 4205 Fayetteville Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603. You can find more information and RSVP at our Meetup site.

Also, we have our monthly business meeting this Tuesday, the 9th, at Loco Lu's Coffeehouse. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Take Back Our State Tea Party

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Americans for Prosperity and the Take Back Our State Coalition encourages you to make your voice heard at the Take Back Our State Tea Party, a protest against the billion dollar state tax increase.

The rally is Wednesday, June 3 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm on the Halifax Mall in Raleigh, Halifax Mall is the large lawn behind the General Assembly Building and beside the Legislative Office Building. Halifax Mall is on Lane Street between North Salisbury and North Wilmington Streets.

The LPNC will participate. Contact Brian Irving (brian@libertypoint.org) if you can help at our table.

On June 3, let’s tell our legislators we are Taxed Enough Already!

In these difficult economic times, our State Representatives are considering over a billion dollars in new taxes. North Carolina taxpayers are losing their jobs and their homes. Come to Raleigh to tell them: "Not another dime!"

Register here.

Another great Raleigh Tea Party video with Fernie in a tricorne hat

2009-04-25T23:45:00.001-04:00

One of the interviewees in the video below is Wake LP Chair Fernie Williams, pictured below in his tricorne hat. This video includes several mini-interviews that show a wide variety of perspectives from a few of the thousands of people that showed up for this Raleigh Tea Party.

This video was created by Dean Garris, producer of LibertyTube TV, a local TV program currently broadcast in Raleigh on RTN-10 on Tuesdays at 9 pm and Thursdays at 6:30 pm. This program also airs on The People's Channel in Chapel Hill, currently Mondays at 11:30am and 6:30pm. You can find an archive of past episodes of LibertyTube TV on blip.tv.

About the Libertarian Party of Wake County (2009)

2009-04-25T14:59:00.012-04:00

The Libertarian Party of Wake County (Wake LP) is a county affiliate of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina. Wake LP members participate in a variety of activities, such as supporting Libertarian candidates for elected offices, working with local advocacy groups on state and local issues, and doing the studio work to broadcast the The Libertarian Alternative on RTN-10. Most recently, some of our members are forming a team to produce a local TV show.

Wake LP Organization
At the 2008 Wake LP Convention, members adopted a Statement of Organization (pdf) for the county party. At the annual convention in March 2009, members elected the following officers for the year:

Chair – Fernie Williams
Vice Chair – Joy Elliott
Secretary – Susan Hogarth
Treasurer – Stephanie Watson

In addition to an annual convention, Wake LP holds monthly business meetings. See Wake LP Meetings and Events for more about these business meetings and weekly social meetings for Triangle Libertarians.

Triangle Libertarian Meetup and Email Lists
For news from the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, sign up for LPNC Announcements. For online discussion relevant only to Libertarians in Wake County, we have a Wake LP email discussion list. Libertarians all around the Triangle are encouraged to join the Triangle Libertarian Meetup.

LPNC Executive Committee Members in Wake County
LPNC Executive Committee members from the Wake LP include: Stephanie Watson (Recording Secretary), Phil Jacobson (Member At Large), Susan Hogarth (Outreach Co-director).

Videos from North Carolina Tax Day Tea Parties

2009-04-19T20:55:00.012-04:00

YouTube users uploaded some of the most informative and interesting videos from the recent tea parties in North Carolina:

Dr. Michael Munger: "Deficits are future taxes." (The introduction is cut off, but as seen elsewhere, Bill LuMaye mentioned that Dr. Munger was the Libertarian candidate for NC governor in 2008.)

BJ Lawson talking about transcending party lines, taking control of the local economy with the Piedmont Plenty, and the difference between the profits that corporations pay taxes on and the income that individuals pay taxes on. (Salaries are exchanges of time for money, not profits.)

Dr. John Lewis speaking for the Ayn Rand Institute at the Charlotte Tea Party. He talks about the inalienable rights of man and the ruling elite.

Thousands at Tea Party

2009-04-17T11:49:00.006-04:00

There were thousands of people at the Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party at the Capitol April 15, and not all of them were "rednecks" or white, despite what you may have read in the News & Observer.

As noted here, the original organizer of the Tea Party is a simple housewife, Melody Aben. who's fed up with out-of-control government. It's a sad fact of political life that whenever a grass roots movement picks up steam, the old, established advocacy groups will inevitably co-opt it. That does not diminish the fact that many, if not most, of the folks who turned out were people like Melody.

Inevitably, there were also some "partisan" and anti-Obama slogans, some over the top in my view. But they were vastly outnumbered by the Gadsden Flag and signs that indicated the bearer "got it," who recognized the problem was not caused by the Democrats, but by both of the duopoly parties.

Another sign that the majority of the protesters got it was that we gave away all the literature from the Libertarian Party table, and 10 people offered donations for a copy of the Declaration of Independence/U.S. Constitution pocket edition published by the Cato Institute. Some were even wearing GOP stickers.

Mike Munger and B.J. Lawson gave rousing speeches. Check out the video shot by Jeff Paul here.

Tax Day Tea Party

2009-04-06T20:31:00.002-04:00

Come party like it's 1773 at the State Capitol Building (East Side) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Look for the LPNC table under the Liberty Penguin Flag.

Election law challenge

2009-03-26T08:50:00.000-04:00

LPNC Press Release

Oral argument for the Libertarian Party's appeal of its challenge to North Carolina's election laws has been set for April 20 at 1 p.m. The appeals panel judges are Chief Judge John C. Martin and Judges Ann Maria Calabria and Sanford Steelman

The Court of Appeals is temporarily located at 227 Fayetteville St, (the Old Wachovia building). The entrance is on Wilmington St.. The case is the second on the docket, so it probably won't be heard until about 2 p.m.

Tea Party

2009-03-22T16:34:00.008-04:00

Several Libertarians joined the more than 200 people gathered on the Capitol lawn Saturday in a new American Tea Party demonstration. Fernie Williams carried this sign, and Brian Irving debuted the Liberty Penguin Flag and was interviewed by WTVD TV-11.

The grassroots group NC New American Tea Party will hold another Tea Party April 15. There will be two demonsrations that day, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at the Federal Courthouse on New Bern Ave. and from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at State Capitol (east side).

Here's a sampling of the slogans from the many hand-made signs:

Socialism
Trickle Up Poverty

Give Me Liberty
Not Debt"

Free People
for
Free Enterprise"

Yes
Free Markets
No
Free Loading

Honk if I'm Paying Your Mortgage

Party like it's 1773 ...

2009-03-20T16:52:00.002-04:00

... tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. at the State Capitol. east side entrance. This demonstration is organized by the NC New American Tea Party, with support from Americans for Prosperity NC and other tax reform groups.
More info here.

Wake LP Convention Tonight

2009-03-19T14:42:00.006-04:00

Location: Tir Na Nog, 218 S Blount St., downtown Raleigh

Time: 6:30 pm

Sign-up (not required):
http://libertarian.meetup.com/18/calendar/9784596/

Agenda

Introductions and Socializing

Welcome by the Wake LP Chair, Fernie Williams

RTN Production Group Report

Wake LP Issues Committee Report, Stephanie Watson

* Speaker on Upcoming Tea Parties in Raleigh

* Speaker Mike Munger

Revision of Accounting Practices, Stephanie Watson

Election of Officers - Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary

Elect Delegate Chair for LPNC Convention

Motions from the floor

Cary disses IRV

2009-03-13T10:32:00.002-04:00

The Cary Town Council decided not to continue the IRV pilot program last night. After listening to more than a dozen city residents support IRV, and following a long discussion where most council members admitted it was clear the voters approved of the system, the council voted to adopt the "non-partisan plurality" mode of election.

This means one election, with the person getting the most votes declared the winner. The council is required to conduct another public hearing before officially adopting this plan. The council may modify the election mode by setting a minimum vote threshold. If the candidate with the most votes does not achieve that number, there would be a runoff. The council could also use IRV as the runoff system.

LibertyTube TV: Mandatory Medication

2009-03-12T18:10:00.029-04:00

“Should a free society be medicated involuntarily?” The latest episode of LibertyTube TV features an interview with a local dentist, Dr. Mike Fleming, who expresses concerns about fluoridation of public water supplies and the possibility of overexposure to fluoridation from multiple sources. There's also a brief history of how water fluoridation came to be, some information about health effects of fluoride, and a little about the fluoridation process at a local water treatment facility.

LibertyTube TV is produced by Dean Garris and Alex Scholz. It's broadcast in Raleigh on the local cable channel RTN-10. It also airs on The People's Channel in Chapel Hill. You can find an archive of past episodes on blip.tv.

Your local Libertarian Party statements on water fluoridation

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina opposes fluoridation as mass medication and added a plank on this issue to the LPNC platform in 2008: “The LPNC calls for an end to fluoridation of public water supplies within the state. Fluoride supplementation should be left up to families and individuals, not provided by one-size-fits-all dosing of public water supplies.”

The Libertarian Party of Wake County (NC) also included the following statement in our list of positions on local issues: “End fluoridation of local public water supplies, and support the right of consumers to make their own decisions about supplemental fluoride, with the understanding that one-size-fits-all dosing is not appropriate for all families and individuals.”

Cary public hearing on IRV

2009-03-03T21:23:00.005-05:00

From FairVote

The Cary Town Council has a public hearing on Instant Runoff Voting set for March 12. IRV allows voters to rank candidates, prevents low-turnout runoffs, and saves taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. In 2007, Cary taxpayers saved more than $28,000 with instant runoff voting, by avoiding a separate runoff in District B! Savings in a citywide runoff would be much higher.

In 2007 exit polls, only 28% of Cary voters wanted to keep the previous system where voters could only vote for one candidate. 81% found instant runoff voting very easy to understand.

IRV has been endorsed by the NC Libertarian Party and the NC League of Women Voters. The system also has strong support from the State Board of Elections.

Cary was one of two municipalities that participated in a test of IRV. According to sources, the council is "undecided" on continuing the pillot program for another election. FairVoteNC is urging Cary residents to turn out in numbers for the public hearing, and to call, write or e-mail town council members (council@townofcary.org) to express support

The hearing is March 12 at 6:30 pm in the council chambers at 316 N Academy St

More info at NCVotes123.com.

Meeker blames guns for rising crime stats

2009-02-19T12:52:00.003-05:00

From Grass Roots North Carolina
GRNC Alert 02-18-09

When all else fails and a do nothing approach to rising crime stats fails, what is a mayor to do. Well, blame gun owners and the existence of their guns of course. That is what Mayor Charles Meeker of Raleigh is doing in an interview with the Raleigh News and Observer that ran Sunday, Feb. 15.

About the record number of killings last year in Raleigh Meeker said that there are too many guns on Raleigh's streets and blames federal and state laws for not being strict enough. He said, "We really don't have any authority there. We're left policing after terrible incidents have occurred." In short he seems to be saying that federal and state laws do not contain enough gun control.

What do you think? Should the mayor of Raleigh be calling for more gun control rather than attempting to solve his own crime problems. We don't think so. Let him know what you think.

charles.meeker@ci.raleigh.nc.us
Phone: (919) 890-3050
222 W Hargett St # 209
Raleigh, NC 27601

Dear Mayor Meeker:

Federal and state laws contain far too much gun control already and are not to blame for the high murder rate in Raleigh, if anything making it easier for honest citizens to protect themselves by being armed would reduce crime rates. Why don't you do the right thing and call for a reduction in gun control? That would be the responsible thing for a mayor who cares about protecting the lives of his law abiding citizens to do.

Please avoid using the mayor's office as a platform to push your personal feelings about gun ownership and examine the facts.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Voter

2009 LPNC Convention

2009-02-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

The 2009 Libertarian Party State Convention will be held in Burlington April 17-19 at the Quality Inn (formerly La Quinta). This is the same facility it was held last year, although the hotel has changed names. The hotel is just off I-40 Exit 145.

The primary business of the Convention will be to consider amendments to the bylaws and to elect a new executive committee. All executive committee positions are up for election.

Michael Cloud, noted libertarian writer and speaker, will be the keynote speaker. He'll also present a workshop on communicating libertarian ideas.Clouds book "Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion" and his columns on the Advocates for Self-Government website are must-reads for activists and candidates.

Convention floor passes are $25, which includes the Saturday workshop. Additional workshop tickets are $10 and the Saturday banquet buffet is $25.

A special room rate is available but you must make reservations by March 13. Mike Munger is chair of the organizing committee. Contact him at mike.munger@lpnc.org

The Cary Tea Party

2009-02-04T12:45:00.006-05:00

VICTORY! The Town Council has "abandoned" its plan for forced annexation ... at least for now.

Show your support join the Cary Tea Party Rally, February 12, 2009 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm in front of the Cary Town Hall (corner of Academy and Wilkerson)

It's time to Stop Cary -- again!

On November 20, 2008 the Cary Town Council approved resolutions of intent to begin forced (they call it "town-initiated") annexation of 10 neighborhoods included in the first phase of the town’s comprehensive annexation plan. Council's action only begins the State-required process.

The next step in the process is a public hearing on the annexations. This will be held during a Town Council meeting on Feb. 12, 2009 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Residents and property owners of the annexed areas can address the council (5 minutes each). The council will not be responding at this time.

Final action by the Cary Town Council on whether to actually annex these properties may be taken in either March or April. Should the council approve the measure, the first-phase annexations would take effect June 30.

From StopCary.com.

The Liberty Agenda

2009-02-03T20:37:00.002-05:00

Legislative Agenda of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina

We, Libertarian Party of North Carolina propose present this agenda for action to the 2009 General Assembly.

1. End forced annexation and stop private property seizure under the power of eminent domain by amending the state constitution.

Forced annexation and the seizure of private property ostensibly for "public purpose" is a violation of the fundamental rights of all Americans. Forced annexation is not about providing services, or controlling growth. Forced annexation is about money. Communities should only be annexed with their consent. No government, at any level, should have the power to take or seize private property for any purpose, without the express consent of the owner, and without just compensation.

2. Improve public education through school choice and competition.

It has become fashionable to bash public education rather than sincerely seek ways to improve it. There are many good things happening in North Carolina education. The path to continued improvement is to foster choice. The problem is that anyone who proposes thinking out of the box when it comes to education is beat over the head with the supposed public school mandate in the state constitution.

This selective devotion to constitutional principle is curious, since the legislature freely ignores other parts of the constitution, including the part that says 'all elections shall be free, fair, and open' by restricting the right of people to vote for anyone other than Democrats and Republicans.

3. Restore free, fair and open elections to North Carolina by removing barriers to ballot access.

North Carolina has arguably the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation. These barriers are specifically designed by the Democratic-Republican duopoly to restrict the people's freedom of choice, prevent independent and third party candidates from getting on the ballot. Elections laws also are used to restrict free speech, by limiting how much an individual can contribute to the candidate of their choice. The people should have the unregulated and unrestricted right vote for and support candidates of their choice.

4. End all corporate welfare and subsidies.

Economic incentives and subsidies, more properly called corporate welfare, are an immoral tax on individuals for the benefit of corporate profits. Recent news reports that the Dell computer company may sell their three year old Winston-Salem plant, built with nearly $300 million in corporate welfare, demonstrate that corporate incentives are ineffective as well as immoral.

Conclusion

Ending property theft by government, improving education, ending corporate welfare, and restoring fair elections are only our top four issues, the beginning. The ultimate goal of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina is to reduce the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and consistently oppose any increase in the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose.

Table of Contents through December 2008

2008-12-31T12:28:00.008-05:00

Contents from December 31, 2008 going back to May 2006

December 2008

Search this Site

November 2008

October 2008

Continue to the full table of contents… September 2008

August 2008

July 2008

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

March 2008

Convention 2008

February 2008

January 2008

Our Day in Court & Forced Annexation Hearing

December 2007

October 2007

State Fair

September 2007

June 2007

April 2007

Wake Libertarians Oppose ‘Smoking Ban’

March 2007

County Convention!

January 2007

November 2006

October 2006

ANTIWAR FORUM / Film Screening

September 2006

August 2006

July 2006

June 2006

May 2006

Petitioning can be fun! No, really!

Archives by Month

May 2006 through December 2008 in Reverse Chronological Order

May 2006 through November 2008 in Chronological Order

Search this Site

2008-12-31T12:18:00.002-05:00

Search this Site

“Debt as Slavery” with Jim Capo and Mike Munger on LibertyTube TV

2008-11-26T11:33:00.012-05:00

In this episode of LibertyTube TV, Jim Capo talks about the debt-based fiat currency, usury as a root cause of the financial crisis, and the connection between debt and the ancient concept of slavery. There are clips of the crowds gathered outside the stock exchange in 1929 and at a bailout protest on Wall Street in 2008. Michael Munger talks about easy credit and the Federal Reserve system.

LibertyTube TV is produced by Dean Garris and Alex Scholz and is broadcast in and around Chapel Hill on The People’s Channel.

Permalink to this episode: http://blip.tv/file/1455893

Wake LP Meetings and Events

2008-11-17T00:15:00.015-05:00

If you believe in self-ownership, peace and freedom, the Libertarian Party might be your political home. If you believe government's only role should be to protect our rights - not feed or clothe or house us - if you believe that charity should come from the heart rather than the state, come to a local LP meeting and find out what America's most viable ‘third’ party is all about!

Wake LP Monthly Business Meetings
Regular business meetings of the Libertarian Party of Wake County are currently held on the second Tuesday evening of each month at 6:30 pm at Loco Lu's Coffeehouse in the Oak Park Shopping Center on Glenwood Avenue. All Libertarians are welcome to attend.

Weekly Social Meetings
For casual dinner and discussion with local libertarians, come to Tir Na Nog Irish Pub and Restaurant in downtown Raleigh on Thursday evenings. People begin to gather around 6:30, but if you can't get there until later in the evening, come when you can. The hostess can tell you where to find the group, usually in the ‘Cottage’ until 9:30 or so.

Continue…Triangle Libertarian Meetup
The meetings above are posted to the Triangle Libertarian Meetup calendar, along with weekly social meetings in Durham, film nights, and other events in the Triangle.

LPNC Events
For meetings of the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, and other LPNC events, see LPNC Upcoming Events.

Letter from Jordon Greene, Founder of North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections

2008-11-13T23:30:00.009-05:00

Originally published on North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections, November 5th, 2008. Republished with permission.

Dear Concerned North Carolinians:

The 2008 election of November fourth has brought North Carolina several good turnouts. First, Republican State Senator Jim Jacumin, who has expressed his desire to push for free and fair elections and has promised to introduce legislation in the NC General Assembly to do such, won his re-election bid with just under 58% of the vote. The NCFPE will be working with Senator Jacumin as closely as possible to ensure a bill to alleviate the ballot problem is introduced, yet, we assure you that we cannot do this alone. We will need the support and help of the citizen's of North Carolina to make sure our message is heard and acted upon in the NC General Assembly. So be sure to keep checking back at the NCFPE website for updates on the future bill in the NC General Assembly.

Second, the North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections would like to applaud all of the Libertarian candidates who ran for election this year, and we especially applaud Mike Munger, Libertarian candidate for Governor, who was able to garner 2.87% of the vote (120,890 votes) for Governor and in the mean time guaranteed the Libertarian Party of North Carolina ballot access for 2010 and 2012. His achievement is a great one, that will allow the Libertarian Party of NC to run more effective campaigns in the future by being able to focus their funds on campaigning instead of ballot access. Again, we congratulate the Libertarian Party of North Carolina in their success.

Now that the elections are over, please do not put politics aside and return to life as normal, but rather keep in mind the struggles that third political parties and unaffiliated candidates in North Carolina have ahead of them now, and find ways to help out. With voter turnout for the 2008 elections overall being one of the highest for the state in twenty four years (over 68%), ballot access for third parties and unaffiliated candidates in North Carolina is going to be difficult with our current laws. New political parties will now have to obtain at least 84,430 signatures to simply qualify their party for the ballot, this is over 14,500 signatures more than was required for ballot access in 2008. It is also important to note that these numbers do not include the extra signatures a party will need due to the signatures that the state throws out, meaning that for a new political party to obtain ballot access in 2010 or 2012, they will most likely have to obtain around 121,000 signatures total. So please, keep the problem of ballot access on your mind and make sure that your newly elected representatives in the NC House of Representatives and NC Senate know where you stand on ballot access. Let's make alleviated ballot access and truly free and fair elections an issue that the North Carolina General Assembly cannot ignore any longer.

For Liberty's Sake,
Jordon M. Greene
President, North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections
*Statistics given above are based on unofficial election results from the NC State Board of Elections web site as of 1:20 AM on 11-05-2008.

For more information on the ballot access issue, some interesting history of ballot access laws in North Caroina, and NCFPE-PAC's draft of a bill to address the ballot access problem, check out the NCFPE website.

Election 2008 Summary

2008-11-09T16:51:00.043-05:00

This is a list of the articles posted here related to statewide and local Libertarian candidates and their campaigns for the 2008 election. Links to online videos of debates and to local candidates’ websites are included while they are available.

Libertarian Party of Wake County, North Carolina

Independence Day Tea Party

New Meeting Location for Thursday's Meeting

Take Back Our State Tea Party

Another great Raleigh Tea Party video with Fernie in a tricorne hat

About the Libertarian Party of Wake County (2009)

Videos from North Carolina Tax Day Tea Parties

Thousands at Tea Party

Tax Day Tea Party

Election law challenge

Tea Party

Party like it's 1773 ...

Wake LP Convention Tonight

Cary disses IRV

LibertyTube TV: Mandatory Medication

Cary public hearing on IRV

Meeker blames guns for rising crime stats

2009 LPNC Convention

The Cary Tea Party

The Liberty Agenda

Table of Contents through December 2008

Search this Site

Search this Site

“Debt as Slavery” with Jim Capo and Mike Munger on LibertyTube TV

Wake LP Meetings and Events

Letter from Jordon Greene, Founder of North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections

Election 2008 Summary

Post-election Commentary

Michael Munger for NC Governor

Phillip Rhodes for Lieutenant Governor

Candidates to represent Wake County in the NC General Assembly

Bob Barr for President

Christopher Cole for US Senate

Will Adkins for US Congress

Local Candidate Lists

Related Articles