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Open Thread for April 2016

By Jill Pyeatt on April 1, 2016 1:08 AM

i will

Here it is–our monthly column that’s open to all of you. If you have an article, or some bit of information you’d like to share with the group, here’s the place to do it! Hopefully, it will have something to do with third-party politics or Independents, but that’s not such a rigid rule.
Just make sure it doesn’t involve slander or plagiarism, and it’s probably just fine.

In honor of April Fool’s Day, here’s a look at some of this county’s esteemed leaders:

https://youtu.be/HMdRUZFGojk

https://youtu.be/cay8GC9N8ak

Jill Pyeatt

Jill Pyeatt is a small-business owner and jewelry designer from Southern California. She currently serves on the Judicial Committee of the Libertarian Party of CA. She can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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83 Comments

  3. Libertarian in Colorado (parents from New Mexico) April 28, 2016

    Was doing a google search for “Libertarian Party News” to see where IPR ranked and found out Gary Johnson was interviewed on “Democracy Now!” (national TV audience; probably caters to Greens and Bernie Sanders types) W4/27/16 in a panel of 4 New Mexico politicians in Albuquerque. Video and transcript at link (roundtable separate; Gary Johnson comments are there as well).
    http://www.democracynow.org/2016/4/27/why_did_the_former_republican_gov
    (an IPR story ranked around 25)
    (my isidewith.com (promoted by Johnson in roundtable) partial (I skipped the “show more” questions) results interesting: “moderately libertarian” (I would agree with that overall) but most closely aligned with Perry, Feldman, Petersen, Johnson, Trump, Cruz, McAfee in that order; much less with Sanders, Stein, Kasich, Clinton)

  4. Darcy G. Richardson April 27, 2016

    Well said, New Federalist, but I’m afraid this might be shaping up as one of the greatest missed opportunities in the annals of third-party politics in the United States.

    Johnson’s dreamy-eyed supporters are going to be sorely disappointed once his record as governor is subjected to a little scrutiny — the kind of opposition research that Tom Knapp and others are now diligently conducting. There’s a lot of troubling stuff there, prompting at least one of his critics at the time to suggest that Gov. Johnson had “the ethics of an alley cat.” If Johnson is considered the most viable alternative to Hillary and Trump this autumn, he’ll be mercilessly ripped to shreds.

  5. NewFederalist April 27, 2016

    Well, now that Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald J. Trump are just about set for their respective coronations, is anyone out there with some stroke ready to swoop in at the last minute and save the LP from themselves? Anyone? NOT Gov. Ventura, thank you very much. Judge Andrew J. Napolitano, perhaps? Someone who is viable and not in debt up to their eyeballs and can actually stand for something? Please? This is no longer remotely funny. The greatest opportunity in LP history and what’s going to come of it? Zip! Nada! Nothing! What a shame.

  6. Freudian slip April 27, 2016

    Looks like Austin Peterman has announced his running mate: girl #3 from the base of the pyramid pile of pussy.

  8. Jill Pyeatt Post author | April 26, 2016

    Nevermind, I got it. Sorry to see that, Dr. Feldman. I can’t imagine why this couldn’t have been worked out.

    You were a delightful surprise in CA! We enjoyed having you.

  9. Jill Pyeatt Post author | April 26, 2016

    Dr. Feldman, your link says that the info is unavailable.

  11. Nicholas Sarwark April 26, 2016

    From my email reply to Mr. Reid:

    Dear Mr. Reid,

    I’m flattered you would ask, but I am not interested in either the
    Presidential or Vice-Presidential nominations in 2016. I will be
    remaining neutral in those races and seeking re-election as national
    Chairman.

    Yours in liberty,
    Nick

  13. Freudian slip April 26, 2016

    Nicholas,

    What is your reaction to Libertarian frontrunner Derrick Michael Reid naming you as his running mate?

  15. Jill Pyeatt Post author | April 25, 2016

    Has everyone seen this priceless gem that’s in the proposed bylaws, which is, amazingly, chaired by none other than M Carling?

    “Though the National Committee has a registered trademark on the name “Libertarian Party”, and though the bylaws already state that no organization may use that name except an affiliate party, the reality is that intellectual property laws are quite complex. If a hijacked state affiliate were to disaffiliate and a new group of Libertarians in that same state wanted to become the affiliate, a state government might allow the previous affiliate to continue to use the name and require that the new affiliate place candidates on the ballot with a party label other than “Libertarian Party.” Back when we had unified state and national membership, state affiliates signed agreements requiring they remain an affiliate to use the trademark, and that provision would still be in effect after the agreement’s termination. Unfortunately, those signed agreements were lost. By having all affiliates sign new agreements that they may only use the name as long as they are affiliated with the national party, we increase the likelihood of the national party being able to successfully protect the use of the name for our current affiliates.”

    I made a few comments in the comment section of this bylaw in the survey. Some of you may want to, also.

  18. George Phillies April 24, 2016

    In a bit of European third-party news, Austria had the first round of its Presidential election which shrinks the candidates from about six down to two. Third Parties Win!

    The Guardian reports: Norbert Hofer of the Freedom party (FPOe) won 36.7% of the vote, followed by Alexander Van der Bellen of the Greens at 19.7% The two parties of the governing coalition, which between them have been in charge since Austria started having elections, tied for fourth and fifth. The former governing parties are eliminated.

    There will be a second round. The Austrian Parliament is still in control of the duopoly, but the President has the power to dissolve parliament.

  20. Andy April 24, 2016

    Wow, so another nobody has jumped in the race for the LP’s presidential nomination.

  22. William Saturn April 24, 2016

    I’ve been keeping an eye on the LP website’s list of presidential candidates and it seems a new one was added today: Brian Briggs of Mississippi.

    He has not been mentioned in previous IPR articles or comments. His campaign website is http://www.votebrianbriggsforpresident.com/home

  23. Close The Damn Mailbox Party April 23, 2016

    Are you sick and tired of finding your favorite magazine or important documents destroyed and/or stolen because the incompetent mailman left the mailbox open? Our taxpayer dollars provide a huge salary, benefits, and pensions for these people, who have the simplest job in the world, and they can’t even do the basic hand motion required to close a mailbox after putting the mail in it? I’ve had it with this, and so I’m doing something about it. Today I announce the creation of the Close The Damn Mailbox Party. We will do whatever it takes to fix this problem, whether we simply need to spread our message to those in charge or elect candidates who demand accountability and competence in the Postal Service. Our goal is very simple: compel the mailman to do his job and close the damn mailbox. Imagine how improved our lives will be if only we could receive greeting cards from our grandchildren or our monthly subscription to National Geographic, without the fear that they won’t be there as they should.

  25. Steven R Linnabary April 22, 2016

    http://www.netonenews.com/2016/04/20/report-george-clooney-organizing-3rd-party-run-for-president/

    Just days after hosting a fundraiser for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Hollywood icon George Clooney appears to be gearing up his own run at the presidency.

    Sources report that Clooney is troubled by Clinton’s inability to “close the deal” on the Democratic nomination prior to the Convention, and that a weak and damaged candidate is setting up a “perfect storm” for a Trump presidency.

    Although Clooney has previously denied an interest in running for office, his family has not shied away from acting on their political ambitions. Clooney’s father, Nick, ran for Congress to represent Kentucky’s notoriously conservative 4th Congressional District as recently as 2004 — and some say that his father’s defeat has become something of an obsession with an actor who has always been concerned about leaving a lasting legacy.

    But the tipping point seems to have emerged only in the last few days or weeks, as Clooney and many political insiders have come to grapple with what a Trump Presidency would really mean. Last week on NBC’s Meet The Press, Clooney appeared to be sharpening his general election talking points.

    When asked of his opinions on Donald Trump and the Republican campaigns, Clooney said, ” Trump and Cruz are making this a campaign of fear. We have to be afraid of everything. We have to be afraid of refugees. We have to be afraid of Muslims. We have to be afraid of minorities. And the question is and this is an important one, are we really going to be scared of the very things that have made our country great? And if the answer is, “Yes,” then we have history to answer to because we’re not afraid. We are not a country that is afraid and I refuse to accept that.”

    When asked why “fear” seems to be working, Clooney went on to say “Because fear’s always worked one way or another. In elections, fear has always been a great — one of the great tools of any election. But the reality is we are not the descendants of fearful people. We’re not. So no, we’re not going to ban Muslims from this country. That’s never going to happen. And we’re not going to go back to torture and we’re not going to kill the families of terrorists or suspected terrorists because that is not who we are. And if we did, our grandparents and their parents would be ashamed of us.”

    For years, people have speculated that Clooney’s marriage to the human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin would spur him into greater political activism. But, similar to George W. Bush following in his father’s footsteps, it appears that George Clooney’s own family is the driving force motivating to him enter politics — and on this, the biggest stage of his career.

  28. Andy April 20, 2016

    Orwellian Reality: Big Brother Watching You on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/04/no_author/big-brother-trolling/

    From the article: “The US Central Intelligence Agency has become increasingly focused on monitoring social media, according to a document obtained by The Intercept; the intelligence agency is pouring money in start-ups mining tweets, Instagram photos, and Facebook posts.

    Every time you post a message on Facebook or share a photo on Instagram, remembers this: Big Brother is watching you. No, it’s not a quotation from the famous “1984” by George Orwell. The truth of the matter is that the US Central Intelligence Agency has set its eye on social media platforms.”

  29. Steven Berson April 18, 2016

    The Veterans Party of America, a centrist, pragmatic and Constitutional political party formed in 2013 is currently beginning petition signature drives for their Presidential/VP nominees Chris Keniston and Deacon Taylor, with a goal of achieving ballot or official write in status in all 50 States for the General election.

    There has been a Facebook Group page setup for those wishing to volunteer as Electors or to collect signatures at ->
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1003950266342355/1015165871887461

    Info on the Keniston campaign at http://chriskeniston2016.com/
    and the VPA at http://www.veteranspartyofamerica.org/

  34. Andy April 13, 2016

    Oh, in terms of political parties, they rated me as follows:

    1) Libertarian Party

    2) Constitution Party (was listed under parties even though none of their candidates were listed)

    3) Republican Party (this of course does not account for the fact that I think that the Republican Party is corrupt and that they lie frequently)

    4) Green Party (Green Party would probably move ahead of the Republican Party if Republican corruption and lying could have been reflected in this quiz).

    5) Socialist Party

    6) Democratic Party

    THESE WERE THE ONLY PARTIES THEY LISTED.

  35. Andy April 13, 2016

    I just took the I Side With quiz for matching up with presidential candidates at http://www.isidewith.com/ .

    I took the quiz twice. The first time I did not weight any of the questions, and I went through it more quickly than the second time I took it. My results the first time were as follows:

    1) I had a three way tie between Austin Petersen, Marc Allan Feldman, and Darryl W. Perry at 93%.

    2) John McAfee at 89%.

    3) Gary Johnson at 87%.

    I do not recall the rest of my results, but I think that next in order was Ted Cruz, and then Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton was at the bottom of this list at 37%.

    NOTE THAT NO CONSTITUTION PARTY CANDIDATES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS. They only included the five Libertarians mentioned above, Jill Stein from the Green Party, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and John Kasich from the Republican Party, and Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton from the Democratic Party.

    Here are my results from the second time I took the quiz (where I weighted the questions and put a little more thought into the answers/note that I made up a few of my own answers instead of clicking one of their options on a few questions):

    1) Darryl W. Perry at 94%.

    2) Marc Allan Feldman at 92%.

    3) Austin Petersen at 89%.

    4) John McAfee at 86%.

    5) Gary Johnson at 86%.

    6) Ted Cruz at 78%.

    7) Donald Trump at 61%.

    8) Bernie Sanders at 55%.

    9) Jill Stein at 46%.

    10) John Kasich at 39%.

    11) Hillary Clinton at 28%.

    The results likely are not a perfect representation of how exactly I’d match up with each candidate, but still interesting.

    I’d probably get a slightly different result if I took the quiz again, but this is close enough.

  37. George Phillies April 9, 2016

    I had a conversation with John McAfee. In it, he mentioned that there was a Belizean newspaper that had published an official statement from the government of Belize, saying that McAfee had never been a suspect in the neighbor’s murder. The Government had wanted to speak to him as a possible witness. I have not seen the statement, which in any event is in Creole, which I cannot read.

  38. George Phillies April 9, 2016

    The Florida convention had a debate Perry-Petersen-Feldman-Johnson and separately taped McAfee taking all the same questions

  39. NewFederalist April 9, 2016

    natural born citizen- Did you think your post was so nice you posted it twice?

  40. natural born citizen April 9, 2016

    Stossel read a tweet from Mr. Perry complaining about why he wasn’t invited.

    Perry and Petersen have both been polling below Vermin Supreme, who was also excluded from the debate!

  41. natural born citizen April 9, 2016

    Stossel read a tweet from Mr. Perry complaining about why he wasn’t invited.

    Perry and Petersen have both been polling below Vermin Supreme, who was also excluded from the debate.

  42. Election Addict April 9, 2016

    Asher Edelman should run for president.

  43. Andy April 9, 2016

    I just found the video above about a petition circulator in Oregon being arrested for gathering signatures on public property back in 2012.

  46. NewFederalist April 8, 2016

    “Openly Muslim…” as opposed to what? Say, closet Muslim? Some really questionable “journalism” in there!

  49. NewFederalist April 7, 2016

    Is anyone looking into the intermittent SSL security warnings that IPR is giving when using Firefox?

    I was getting the warning frequently when using Internet Explorer but since switching to Firefox I’ve had no problem.

  50. Andy April 7, 2016

    Nicholas, I have noticed the same warnings here on multiple ocassions. I have got to wonder if it has something to do with IPR’s troll problem.

  51. Nicholas Sarwark April 7, 2016

    Is anyone looking into the intermittent SSL security warnings that IPR is giving when using Firefox?

  52. Jill Pyeatt Post author | April 6, 2016

    Jed said: “I think I remember seeing them have the same IP address…”

    Busted! So they ARE in the same room at the same time!

  53. Andy April 6, 2016

    “Jed Ziggler
    April 6, 2016 at 21:03
    I think I remember seeing them have the same IP address…”

    Whoah, the plot thickens!

  54. Jed Ziggler April 6, 2016

    I think I remember seeing them have the same IP address…

  55. NewFederalist April 6, 2016

    “Has anyone seen Paulie and Wang Tang Fu in the same room???” – Jill Pyeatt

    Senor Wang and Monsieur Paul have posted at the same time BUT it is possible the Senor Wang is NOT a real person. I know that is very difficult to believe but it IS possible. As far as being in the same room… isn’t Senor Wang supposed to be in China? That would have to be a fairly large room!

  56. Jill Pyeatt Post author | April 6, 2016

    Has anyone seen Paulie and Wang Tang Fu in the same room??? Maybe you’re on to something–

  57. Jed Ziggler April 6, 2016

    I’ve suspected that for a while now.

  58. Andy April 6, 2016

    I have to wonder if Wang-Tang Fu is Paul.

  59. Jed Ziggler April 6, 2016

    “Colbert or Maher?”

    That one’s easy. I don’t care what their political views are. Colbert is hilarious, Maher is not.

  60. Wang Tang-Fu April 6, 2016

    Mr. Frankel’s whereabouts were discussed in the article and comments at https://rwm4prez2012.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/where-is-paulie-banali ; however, Mr. Milnes also reports that Mr. Frankel was in an online meeting yesterday: https://rwm4prez2012.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/my-report-on-lp-radical-caucus-online-meeting/

    No word yet on whether it was the real Paulie in that meeting or a FBI supercomputer in Quantico, perhaps sitting right next to the one that replaced the real William Saturn after he was abducted by the ZOG, as Mr. Milnes has suggested. Nor was it revealed whether Mr. Frankel is still in the US, or perhaps being held in Israel.

  61. NewFederalist April 6, 2016

    He wasn’t taken by the ZOG or some other conspiratorial organization? I highly doubt your sources. 😉

  62. Andy April 6, 2016

    Should read, “is not…”

  63. Andy April 6, 2016

    Paul’s lap top was stolen back in September, and he bought another shortly after that, so unless he had another computer stolen from him, which I am not aware of having happened, that is nit why he had not posted here lately.

    He is alive. I think he just got burned out on IPR. I would guess that he will probably return at some point, but who knows?

  64. NewFederalist April 6, 2016

    I remember reading that paulie had his laptop stolen but since he has not posted in a very long time the question must be asked… is he dead? I was listening to some old Beatles albums recently and I could have sworn I heard Paul say “paulie’s dead”. Confirmation, anyone?

  66. Election Addict April 6, 2016

    Moynihan: “Why for some reason that the Swedes and the Danes and the Norwegians managed to have socialized medicine and you can actually vote for opposition parties, can say whatever you want, without being thrown in jail, I don’t understand that quite yet.”

    He should certainly start a blog specifically about that and keep us updated on his research into this miracle.

    But overall a good point, Bernie used to take a stand against crooked foreign policy.

  70. NewFederalist April 3, 2016

    “Things difficult to choose between:” – Election Addict

    Hangnail of Inflamed Hemorrhoid
    Genital herpes or Gonorrhea
    Trump or Rodham Clinton
    Hmm….

  71. Election Addict April 3, 2016

    Things difficult to choose between:
    Petersen or Trump?
    Barr or McCain?
    Reagan or Clinton?
    Colbert or Maher?
    Taft or Coolidge?
    Jaime or Stannis?

    I will say certainly Taft… and probably Jaime *ducks*

  74. Andy April 1, 2016

    This debate seems kind of bogus to me since it did not include Darryl W. Perry.

  78. William Saturn April 1, 2016

    I think the articles should be on wacky topics, wacky but mostly true. For example, here’s another I just published: Nathan Norman Flaunts New Campaign Logo https://thesaturnalian.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/nathan-norman-flaunts-new-campaign-logo/

    I’m not a fan of posting unfunny and misleading stories like the Rand Paul endorsement article. Nevertheless, I really do like the Gary Johnson cannabis border wall article and Jill’s PC article is good as well. They are clearly satire.

  79. Bondurant April 1, 2016

    Perhaps I’m a curmudgeon but I’d prefer an end to April Fool’s articles. It drives legitimate articles further down the chain and causes some confusion (at least some comments would indicate).

  82. Andy April 1, 2016

    One has got to wonder how many of these government trolls have popped up on IPR over the years.

    What You Need To Know About The Government Manipulating You Through Social Media

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9ljlOpPiQE

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