================================================ |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*| Old Dominion Liberty Letter Issue #39 |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*| ================================================
In this issue: 1. Litigious Americans Eyeball Toyota Loot 2. Gov. McDonnells office lays out plan to sell liquor stores 3. Is There a Problem, Officer? 4. BOOKS: Teach Yourself Free-Market Economics in Two Hours 5. Yeah, But They Have "Free" Healthcare 6. The Power of One Libertarian 7. EXPLORING LIBERTY: The LP's "3.7 Self-Determination" Plank 8. NATIONAL NEWS: LP Issue Bumper Stickers 9. VIRGINIA EVENTS 10. Libertarian Radio in Virginia Interested in taking over ODLL? Contact us to volunteer. Click: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=volunteerodll> ================================================ 1. Litigious Americans Eyeball Toyota Loot ================================================ You know, there is only one endemic flaw to modern automotive brakes: you have to push the brake pedal down for them to work. But I digress. Have you noticed that the reports of out-of-control Toyotas have mostly stopped? Perhaps the main reason is that the highest profile cases are all well-known now as simply pure unmitigated lies. The public has now become inured to the fact that most of these "Sudden Unintended Acceleration" stories are blown fabrications bloviated into existence by the lamestream media, rich lawyers, greedy would-be plaintiffs, "victims" who want to be absolved of their responsibility for pushing on the wrong pedal, and government bureaucrats aiming to increase their regulatory penetration of the automotive industry and to make the waters more hospitable for Government Motors (GM). Cases in point: - Lawsuit-lotto hopeful James Sikes in California, who went on the televised 25-mile joy ride http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento.html - Gloria Rosel, the house keeper who drove the Prius into a wall in New York http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/03/23/2010-03-23_runaway_prius_driver_didnt_use_brakes__westchester_cops.html - Myrna Marseille swore she was standing on the brake pedal of her 2009 Toyota Camry when it crashed into the Sheboygan Falls YMCA on March 29. http://tirekicker.blogspot.com/2010/04/wisconsin-camry-crash-driver-error.html All of the above were found to be 'driver error' (although Sikes' was in reality just a hoax). Since then, reports have tailed off and almost stopped. Was it magic that stopped the daily out-of-control Toyotas, or was it the fact that government police have -- mostly -- finally admitted the real cause (driver error) of these crashes? Did it have anything to do with the corrollary that, as a result, potential 'victims' hoping to get off scot free with a chance at a lawsuit lotto win began to understand the party was over? My guess is it wasn't magic. Hmmmm... it is annoying to see it took government cops almost a year longer than it took skeptics to figure out the truth. A stuck pedal does not drive you into the wall while the "victim" was 'pushing the brake pedal to the floor'. Neither does a stuck floor mat. A foot stuck on the long skinny pedal does though. I have owned many powerful and fast cars in my lifetime, but not a single one of them can accelerate when the brakes are firmly applied. Owners of older muscle cars can attest to this: pressing on the brakes to lock up the front wheels while flooring the accelerator is a 'powerbrake'. It's how we hot rodders raise clouds of rubber-and-asphalt smoke when showing off (doing "burnouts"). http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8997678374575540869 The brakes on a Prius are *better* than those on those old muscle cars, and their little motors are lucky to put out about a third of the power. Brakes against the motor? Don't make me laugh. The brakes will win every time. And yes, it works when the cars is already at speed, also. If your accelerator really is stuck, you are in danger only until you realize it is -- a realization that should set in within three or so seconds with a *good* driver. It is a truly rare event that a stuck pedal -- like a really stuck pedal, not someone mashing the wrong pedal -- causes a crash that otherwise would not have happened. These crashes usually happen within 3 seconds of the pedal getting stuck, before a driver recognizes the problem. The brakes will haul down that same muscle car from 80 with the gas pedal floored with little trouble. Sudden Unintended Acceleration is a hoax now as much as it was with the Audi twenty years ago. The government agencies that are "investigating" these accidents aren't helping anyone and in fact are impeding the market's ability to "cure" itself. Abolish the NHTSA, abolish all the other federal regulatory bodies that meddle in the automotive business, move liability torts into private arbitration and mediation services, and let the market work as it should. Sudden, Unintended Acceleration: Remember, if you heard it from the lamestream media, it's probably false. Read it online: http://FreeVirginia.blogspot.com/2010/07/litigious-americans-eyeball-toyota-loot.html ================================================ 2. Gov. McDonnells office lays out plan to sell liquor stores ================================================ Finally: The state is [kinda] getting out of the drug dealing business: http://virginia.statehousenewsonline.com/390/gov-mcdonnells-office-lays-out-plan-to-sell-liquor-stores/ ================================================ 3. Is There a Problem, Officer? ================================================ From: http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?page_id=2 Did you know that the last time the US government bothered to gather any information about the problem of police misconduct in the United States was in 2002? Even then, the study they did only covered 5% of the police departments in the US and, on top of that, participation was only voluntary and relied on what police departments were willing to report about misconduct within their own ranks. One of the biggest obstacles in the way towards solving the problem of police brutality and misconduct is a fundamental lack of information about police misconduct. The National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project (NPMSRP), established in April of 2009, is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental project devoted to help resolve that problem. The NPMSRP gathers data on police misconduct through reports of misconduct made available through the media and generates statistical and trending information based on those reports. Just remember, no matter what happens, you'll hear "there were no 'policy violations', and no rules or procedures or laws were broken". ================================================ 4. BOOKS: Teach Yourself Free-Market Economics in Two Hours ================================================ "If you want to understand whats happening to the world economy, read Peter Schiffs new book (co-written with his brother Andrew): How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes. You dont need any background in economics to understand it; an intelligent child could follow its arguments." See more: http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff100.html ================================================ 5. Yeah, But They Have "Free" Healthcare ================================================ >From Bill Anderson: Supporters of communist states like North Korea, Cuba, or the old Soviet Union (and China before it turned away from much of its communism) always would point out two things: (1) "there is no unemployment," and (2) "they have free healthcare." This was supposed to be the Final Word. We read today of the wonderful state-run healthcare system of North Korea: "North Korea's health care system is in shambles with doctors sometimes performing amputations without anesthesia and working by candlelight in hospitals lacking essential medicine, heat and power, a human rights watchdog said Thursday.... North Korea's state health care system has been deteriorating for years amid the country's economic difficulties. Many of its 24 million people reportedly face health problems related to chronic malnutrition, such as tuberculosis and anemia, Amnesty International said in a report on the state of the health care system." Unfortunately, most supporters of Obamacare will claim that the USA wont fall to those levels. What they dont understand is that what we see in North Korea is the natural direction of socialism, and it will be the natural direction of government-run medical care in this country, too. http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/61628.html ================================================ 6. The Power of One Libertarian ================================================ DID YOU KNOW... Roy Scherer is only one man, but he accomplished some rather incredible things since he began showing up at the General Assembly in the seventies. Medical marijuana -- Virginia was the first state with it -- long before the California initiative that addressed the issue there in the nineties. Virginia's MedMar law was enacted in the late seventies, mostly due to Roy's quiet persuasion. Unfortunately, it wasn't a self-executing law, and remained mostly unused. However... A little-known secret is that the only doctors in Virginia who could legally suggest it without the DEA raiding their house, shooting their kids and dog, and revoking their medical license, were those at the V.A. hospitals. If I recall, most of the couple of dozen legal federal users of the late seventies and eighties were residents of Virginia, and, several of them were VA patients. Some cracks in the wall are finally appearing in the rest of the country: The federal government now says patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it's legal. Read the rest: http://www.wric.com/global/story.asp?s=12864114 Another example of Roy's handiwork is the historically-lenient Virginia possession law (under, again going from memory, 1/4 ounce is (or was) a ratehr cheap misdemeanor fine, rather than a jailable offense). And Roy has been exceptionally successful in stopping bad legislation in committees by pointing out flaws even the sponsors had to agree with. Yes, more would get done with numbers, but no one should be quick to dismiss the incredible success Roy has had as a single lobbyist. So many times it can be just a matter of remembering that lawmakers are human (or at least resemble them), and having an interested citizen around to do a "second reading" from a hands-off starting point often shows legislators where their ideas smash up against reality. It often takes only takes one or two Libertarians in the right place at the right time to get what can be huge reforms enacted. For instance, the only time in U.S. history that a state income tax was *abolished* happened to coincide with the terms of just **two** Libertarian legislators -- Dick Randolph and Ken Fanning in the Alaska state legislature. It was the Libertarians who introduced the repeal bill, and persuaded their 18th century political opponents to support it. ================================================ 7. EXPLORING LIBERTY: The LP's "3.7 Self-Determination" Plank ================================================ This issue, we bring you the Libertarian Party's platform position #3.7, "Self-Determination", which reads: -------- Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty. -------- ================================================ 8. NATIONAL NEWS: LP Issue Bumper Stickers ================================================ And now, a word from our sponsor: Wear the LP colors! Check out these bumper stickers: http://www.zazzle.com/immigration_is_also_called_moving_bumper_sticker-128096227542326068 http://www.zazzle.com/abolish_the_irs_vote_libertarian_bumper_sticker-128151456887305334 http://www.zazzle.com/repeal_prohibition_libertarian_party_sticker_bumper_sticker-128231895702692440 http://www.zazzle.com/abolish_the_fed_bumper_sticker-128034935072085282 How about a "Libertarian Precinct Captain" sign: http://cl.exct.net/?qs=60dd440acd057ed8274bd68a30fd9bb390791c8b8cf1435503819d525e340ec05bd645539a27a964 Or a "Repeal the Income Tax / Abolish the IRS" sign: http://cl.exct.net/?qs=60dd440acd057ed8274bd68a30fd9bb390791c8b8cf14355a536f38defdc0d72181e66827dc4f9e8 ================================================ 9. VIRGINIA EVENTS ================================================ To stay current on upcoming activities of Libertarians across the state, check out the Calendar: http://lpva.com/Calendar/events08.asp ================================================ 10. Libertarian Radio in Virginia ================================================ What's on your mind? Unlike those right-wing or left-liberal extremist shows, Free Talk Live is talk radio that ANYONE can take control of. Yes, even you. Free Talk Live is the next generation of issues oriented talk. What is the meaning of freedom? This show is about Liberty with a capital L. Check out some of the archives on the FTL Main Page http://freetalklive.com/ to get an idea of what this all means. FreeTalkLive ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call Freq Band City Affiliate Live? Days Hours Sign Since On On ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WCHV 94.1 FM C'ville 2008-10-18 Yes Sat 7-10p ET WCHV 1260 AM C'ville 2008-10-18 Yes Sat 7-10p ET WSVG 790 AM Mt. Jackson 2008-08-23 Yes M-F Sat 8-10p 7-10p ET WTAR 850 AM Norfolk 2009-10-31 Yes Sat 7-10p ET ================================================ The editors of Old Dominion Liberty Letter are always seeking stories for our regular features: STATE NEWS: The "Government Behaving Badly" Files: This Issue's Criminal Bureaucrats VIRGINIA TASER TALLY: Something for the Police State to be proud of FEATURED LINK ================================================ ================================================ |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*| Old Dominion Liberty Letter Issue #39 |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*| ================================================ Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by Marc Montoni. ================================================ Publishing Schedule: Every couple of weeks - But it depends on YOU! Publisher: LPVA Communications Committee Editor: Marc Montoni Distribution: 500 + readers, via LPVA-Announce ================================================ Sign up for the latest news from The Libertarian Party of Virginia: http://www.LPVA.com/html/EmailLists.asp ================================================ Got a news tip? Click: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=vlw> Allow me to emphasize this: We prefer Virginia news to news you can get elsewhere. If you have a good liberty-oriented story centered in Virginia, please alert us to it. ================================================ WHAT'S GOING ON where you live? Make sure all Virginia Libertarians are informed of your activities. Send announcements and news to <[email protected]> or <mailto:[email protected]?subject=vlw> ================================================ JOIN THE PARTY - Never been a member of the Libertarian Party of Virginia? There's no time like NOW to become a member of Virginia's third largest political party. http://Membership.LPVA.com ================================================ RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP - Have you been a member in the past, but for one reason or another chosen not to renew? Renew today and resume the fight for Liberty! http://Membership.LPVA.com ================================================ BEGIN YOUR PLEDGE - Are you ready to help with a regular commitment? Join the LPVirginia Pledge Program and help us promote our Libertarian ideas to all your friends and neighbors! http://Contribute.LPVA.com ================================================ ############################################################# Have an announcement you'd like to post? 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