Author: lpsf

Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks spoke via live feed before the Green Party’s National Convention on August 6, and once again helped us understand the nature of government – there is a lot that is challenging.  In particular, during this presidential election, choosing between the two main candidates, Assange says, is like choosing between cholera and gonorrhea. 

However, the presidential candidates are not of main concern, since it matters not who is President.  In Assange’s view what matters is the environment around any particular President.  Is the press able and capable to investigate and report malfeasance?  Are there individuals and groups paying attention to what is going on, and crying foul when things do not seem right?  Is the economy healthy? 

The ability of individuals and groups to hold government power in check depends on how much information circulates freely and unaltered.  That is why Assange said he considers the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to be the key to all the other Amendments.  We need to know in order to act.  Thus, unholy alliances between government and corporate giants are today of special concern, since today’s behemoths are our means of communication. 

Communication is essential in exposing secrecy, untruths, influence peddling, as well as malfeasance and criminality.  Equally essential are individuals willing to risk life, limb, and freedom to provide unaltered information.  Assange mentioned with affection his many information contributors.  He had special words on behalf of Chelsea Manning, whose only act was to “communicate truthful information to the public.”

We are experiencing a remarkable moment, when there is a chance for a movement to grow that will curtail the unchecked power of today’s political system.  Assange sees Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and Bernie Sanders as seminal to such a movement, main players with the capacity to build the pressure necessary to reign in abuses of power.

But for such a movement to grow and be useful keeping power in check, the main players, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and Bernie Sanders, need We the People to understand that individual rights are not something we just discuss, but something we put in practice every day by simply using those rights every day.  Assange reminded us that if we do not use them, we lose them.   

“I like things to look like what they are.”  Julian Assange is a remarkable man, who practices what he preaches.
His convention speech is well worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaTjIZA5G6Q

“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program,” said Ronald Reagan.  Once established, regardless of the changing world around it and regardless of how many times it changes its official name, a government program is like The Blob – you can’t kill it. 

As elsewhere, here in San Francisco hundreds of programs obliviously forge ahead, clash with one another, and contribute to the City’s eye-popping $9.6 billion budget. We offer some observations which you might find of interest:

o  Back in January 2016, Major Ed Lee ordered all City departments to cut spending by 1.5% because a $100 million budget deficit was looming.  In May Mayor Lee announced that the budget grew by $700 million to $9.6 billion with no cuts, thanks to growing property values (and property taxes) and a sales tax increase of .75% in the November 2016 ballot – yes, the budget is balanced with revenues that may or may not materialize.

o  “Venture capitalists tightening their purse strings, startups shedding jobs and the continuing dearth of IPOs could be taking their toll on the Bay Area’s housing market.  By almost any measure, the Bay Area’s roaring economy is cooling. The region’s housing market is fueled by wealth creation and new jobs that have been hallmarks of the regional economy.”  So says The San Francisco Business Times.  No, we do not expect any programs to go away or any cuts to the City’s mega budget that relies on growing property values. Luxury Housing Market Cools as Economy Slows.

o  Remember back in 2012 when the LPSF warned voters that San Francisco City College needed extreme changes in its governing system if it hoped to survive?  Instead, protests and law suits discouraged meaningful reform, enrollment dropped by 1/3, and the college is back on the brink living mainly off a CA state “stabilization fund.”  They are planning to place an extension of the 2012 parcel tax on the November 2016 ballot – four years ahead of when the tax was supposed to expire. 

o  A bit of conspiracy never hurts.  Also we need to emphasize that The Blob is everywhere, not just in San Francisco.  In Agenda 21: The Inconvenient Truth About Mixed-Use Development, the author says, “Pick just about any Bay Area city and you will easily identify any number of RRMU projects that have been proposed, entitled and/or developed over the past ten years.  And with rare exception, these projects suffer the same ills…relatively high vacancy rates, substantially below market rents, poor credit tenancies and a high turnover rate of the brokerage firms that try, with little success, to lease what is un-leasable.”  RRMUs are “residential over retail mixed-use development,” one of the requirements of central planning programs such as our own Plan Bay Area.  We bet they won’t go away no matter what either.

Turning our attention to what is good often replenishes our strength to continue finding ways to counter what is bad.  In this spirit, we offer 4 Good Things – 4 events representing ordinary people getting together with neighbors and friends to present solutions to challenges:

o  Screening of “Class Dismissed” with filmmaker Jeremy Stuart Saturday, July 16, 2016, 11:00 am Michele Brown’s House, 2060 36th Ave, Oakland, CA 94601.  This is an event presented by Full Circle Family, a new homeschooling group that’s getting organized in Oakland.  The film opens eyes to the need to find the right fit in education for our children.  Event is free.  RSVP is required. http://www.meetup.com/FullCircleOakland/

o  A meeting with Dr. Helen Caldicott to discuss the question “Can Nuclear Weapons be Abolished?” August 13, 2016, 2:00 pm Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
The event was organized and is presented by members of the War and Law League, to call attention to the dangers of U.S.’s undeclared wars.  Event is free.  RSVP appreciated. https://www.facebook.com/WarandLaw/

o  The growth of regionalism in the Bay Area, whereby planning and taxing decisions are made by regional agencies, has energized some Bay Area residents to organize and proselytize!  Members are attending public meetings, writing about the issue on their websites and Facebook pages, and meeting as a group to strategize.  Events might be coming up in the near future. http://nine-county-coalition.squarespace.com/

o  San Francisco’s Westside residents are tired of having their cars broken into.  “They figuratively shook their fists and let it be known they’re ‘mad as hell and not going to take it anymore;’” that according to Joel Engardio in his S.F. Examiner Op-ED of July 10.  So, Westsiders formed the Criminal Justice Accountability Coalition.  Read about it, http://www.sfexaminer.com/accountability-in-criminal-justice-sought-on-the-westside/

o  Ordinary people, who go to work every day, take care of their kids, and generally mind their own business at times do get “mad as hell,” and good things can come out of that.

Independence Day! A happy American ritual on July 4th since 1776, when the colonies walked out of the British Commonwealth.  This year, another country is celebrating its own walking out, Britain!  As it is good to remember why the colonies parted company with King George – a belief in a people’s right to self determination – it is good to understand the British exit from the European Union.  Brexit the Movie is available for free on Youtube and Vimeo, and we hope you will watch it. 

For fun, here are some quotes from our Founding Fathers and from the people interviewed in Brexit:

“That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.”  Richard Henry Lee

 “We’re being asked to give up the right to govern ourselves. What are we being offered in return that could possibly be worth it?” Narrator of Brexit

“I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states.” John Adams

“If I were told I would be stewing grass to feed my family because we left the E.U., I would still do it.” Simon Heffer

“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” Patrick Henry

“Democracy only works if you know who your representatives are.” Narrator of Brexit

“There is something very unnatural and odious in a government a thousand leagues off.  John Adams

“You should have the power to remove the people who govern you.”  Claire Fox

“Taxation without representation is tyranny.” James Otis

“If I am to pay taxes, I want to be told where the money goes and who spends it, so that if he spends it stupidly, I can throw him out of office.” Simon Heffer

Good Independence Day quotes from both sides of the Pond.

Written by Aubrey Freedman, Chair of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco

Well, another Pride has come and gone, and I’m glad we were there again.  This year we added our Spinning Wheel of Crazy San Francisco Laws, and I’m glad we included the ordinance and government code numbers because most folks were astounded at how crazy most of the laws are.  They have such faith in government in this city—perhaps our spinning wheel helped a tiny bit to create a speck of doubt about the wisdom of our elitist leaders.  If not, it was good fun anyway.  Of course, we also had the world-famous World’s Smallest Political Quiz.  I just compared the results of the last 4 years of our WSPQ (I save the charts for the record), and as usual the Left Liberal and Libertarian quadrants were fairly evenly matched.  The Centrist quadrant was especially heavy this year.  One man felt the quiz needed nuancing, so he scored his results as 52 and 48—that was a first!

This year, as expected we had a lot of questions and interest in Gary Johnson, and also quite a few inquiries about Brexit and gun control.  I didn’t see any reason to pussyfoot around about gun control, so I let them know we generally favor no restrictions at all on guns and the Second Amendment—and no registration too because the criminals and crazies aren’t going to bother with all that.  Surprisingly, when folks landed on one of the 2 winning slots (things that are still legal, for now) of our spinning wheel and chose to pick a button, quite a few picked one of the leftover buttons from one of the gun shows:  “I’m not a Gun Free Zone.”  Definitely not politically correct for San Francisco, and good to know that some folks are not afraid to run against the tide.  Also another thing I noticed that I hadn’t seen before was folks coming up to our booth and asking what is a Libertarian and what is Libertarianism.  There does seem to be more interest in the topic these days—even in a leftist city.  Also, the Chelsea Manning contingent marched again this year, and a few folks inquired about the status of Chelsea (they may have noticed her poster at the back of our booth).  All in all, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and most of those who stopped by seemed to be at least moderately interested in our ideas.  If there was any Libertarian within a few miles of our booth, they definitely found their way to us and were grateful to have us there!

The only down incident was that our donation jar was stolen on Sunday morning with around $25 in it when I turned my head for a moment to look for something.  Fortunately I had removed a very large donation from the jar earlier that morning and stuck it in my pocket, and thank goodness I did that or I would have taken the gaspipe had I lost that amount of money.  Live and learn, as they say.

And finally a heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers who helped out at the booth this year:  Jason, Brent, Francoise, Alex, Dylan, Mike, Jim Elwood, Will, Peter, Phil, and Starchild.  Thank you for schlepping out and helping to make the booth look half-decent and interacting with our “customers.”  One mind and one heart at a time—that’s what outreach is really all about.  Per one Facebook report, the Green’s booth looked pretty pitiful and ours looked like “Grand Central Station.”   Special thanks to Marcy for promoting Pride 2016 with an article on our website and also to Phil for getting the new poster made up.  It turned out great, and though we didn’t give out that many of them, we will use them in future outreach events.  Love that Rothbard touch!  Also the shoe rack worked out great for all the pamphlets and brochures—thanks, Francoise!

The Libertarian Party lost one of its own today, Dr. Marc Allan Feldman, 2016 LP presidential candidate. Marc’s “No Votes for Sale” campaign exemplified what all campaigns should be like. His closing speech at the LP convention in Orlando in May 2016 gave us a picture of what a “Libertarian” should be.

We are trying, Marc.  We will keep trying to be what you described in your epic “I am that Libertarian” speech in Orlando. 

     What you want to be Libertarians
      Anarchist no apologies success freedom Ninjas world class bad-ass Libertarians
      No pain no gain get those petitions signed in the rain Libertarians
      Sorry I’m not sorry Libertarians
      No excuse Libertarians 

Rest in peace, our friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_toYr_Hcdo

http://reason.com/blog/2016/06/23/5th-place-libertarian-presidential-finis

The Pride Celebration is always a big time for the Libertarians.  It brings us back to decades earlier when “equality” was not even an “in” word, when you better love the “right” person, when others told you who you are.  Way back then, Libertarians already felt in their hearts and minds that equality is a given, and who you love is your own business.  Since its founding in 1971, the Libertarian Party has held equality and individual liberty as core beliefs.

Years ago, one of our members, Michael Acree, wrote Honoring LGBTQQII Rights – And Everyone Else’s:  A Libertarian Tradition.  To this day, the LPSF distributes this popular brochure at Pride – and everywhere else.  To this day, the Libertarian philosophy, so clearly expressed in the article, remains constant:  “Pro-choice on everything – everything peaceful.  The Libertarian philosophy, nicely captured in that slogan, embodies a profound respect for individual differences.”  We invite you to read the entire article, in the Issues section of our website.

The LPSF booth will be located on the south side of McAllister between Polk and Larkin Streets. Thank you to the volunteers who will set up and staff the Libertarian booth at Pride this weekend June 25 and 26, 2016. 

The old, fuzzy picture?  Members of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco marching at Pride 2003. The one riding in the car is Michael Denny, 2003 candidate for Mayor of San Francisco.  To his right wearing the white T-shirt is Michael Acree, author of Honoring LGBTQQII Rights – And Everyone Else’s:  A Libertarian Tradition.

Latest news on the national front:  Former governor of New Mexico and Libertarian 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson was nominated on May 29 at the Libertarian National Convention as the presidential candidate to represent the Libertarian Party in November.  Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld won the vice presidential nomination.

There are factions in every political party, and the LP is no exception.  Referring to the convention delegates, Johnson promised to represent “everyone in this room.” That promise, the fact that Johnson has received more media attention than any other recent LP presidential candidate, and dissatisfaction withe the major parties’ candidates might propel all liberty-leaning voters of all political persuasions to get behind Johnson, push him up the polls so he has a chance to get into the national debates, and vote for him in November.

C Span covered the Libertarian Party convention, and clips are on the C Span website.  There are numerous articles on the Web regarding the convention; among them is one in The Washington Post which describes the issues involving the candidates well.

Gary Johnson, along with other Libertarian presidential candidates, will be on the June 7 ballot as well as the November ballot. 

The Libertarian Party of San Francisco lost a friend.  Sergio Klor de Alva, an enthusiastic and affable 24-year old already a veteran of political campaigns of several local office holders, was killed in a car accident on April 26.  Several of us at the LPSF had the pleasure of knowing Sergio, and were uniformly impressed not only by his efficiency but also by his friendliness. 

At the time of his death, Sergio was the campaign coordinator of Joel Engardio’s Board of Supervisor’s campaign.  Engardio had the sad task of advising those of us involved with Sergio’s campaign work of the tragedy.  He said, “I’m devastated to announce that Sergio Klor de Alva, our campaign coordinator, was killed early Tuesday morning in a car accident.  This is a tragic loss for me personally and for our campaign.”

Indeed, a loss for all who knew Sergio.  Friendship crosses political and partisanship boundaries.  Our heartfelt sympathy goes to his family.

The Libertarian Party of San Francisco extends huge thanks to the participants of the 3rd Annual Panel Discussion – Bay Area Growth and Transportation of Sunday, April 10th.  The room was full, the audience was most attentive, and the Q&A lively.  Starchild did his usual great work as panel moderator, keeping the discussion moving but focused. 

Gerald Cauthen and Thomas Rubin are fountains of knowledge and experience, and we are grateful that they gave so freely of their time and talent as our panelists.  At this event, they also proved to be resourceful when the projector we were provided refused to work!  Even though they had prepared PowerPoint presentations, they promptly switched to analog and gave excellent talks without a single prop.  Speakers can only do that when they really know their stuff!

The panelists covered solid material on the subject of local transit systems.

o All systems, including transit, eventually fall victim of their own success. After decades of growth, automobile travel has given rise to gridlock. BART’s trains are now crowded and stations not well maintained, as the system’s capacity has reached its limit.

o Systems must evolve and adapt to new realities, but people responsible for them often prevent effective evolution as they “flag wave” in favor of their own narrow interests. The dismal performance of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area) is a case in point.

o There are cities that have succeeded in designing and implementing novel transportation systems that work well. The City of Curitiba, Brazil, developed Bus Rapid Transit, a system that has the characteristics of a rail system (movement on dedicated streets unimpeded by other traffic, payment of fares made before boarding, accessibility by riders with deferring needs) as well as characteristics of a bus system (avoidance of the very high capital costs of rails and tunnels, so that funds can be allocated to reliability and frequency).

o Effective transportation systems require the selection of “good people,” dedicated to good planning. The Bay Area’s regional agencies are led by board members who hold official positions in their own local communities, and are therefore not completely engaged in regional needs. As a result agencies have become “staff driven” rather than leadership driven.

o Bay Area’s transportation is broken. Complete reorganization of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is essential. If such reorganization is to occur, the public must become involved, since public officials are not presently inclined to shake up the status quo. Both panelists recommended public involvement in transportation, neighborhood, and other types of groups, where ideas are discussed and communicated to local officials.

Based on our audience’s comments and questions, our guests agreed that Bay Area’s transportation is broken. Hopefully, our panel incentivized some to participate in actions to fix it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We at the LPSF make the following suggestions for action:

Participate in the work of the Bay Area Transportation Working Group or SaveMuni:

http://www.batwg.org/contact.html

http://www.savemuni.org/join-savemuni/

Become informed about successful transit systems:

http://www.reimaginerpe.org/node/344

Read other than the mainstream media about how some people are researching on what actually works in “freedom, mobility, and affordable home ownership.”

http://americandreamcoalition.org/