Updated Gary Johnson Update

Luftship! Launch the Gary Johnson Trial Balloon!


What a difference 5 hours can make. And the Thursday news cycle fetish. 


I could take complete credit for forcing Gary Johnson to take one more baby step towards actually, officially, really, really announcing his intention to appear in Las Vegas and sweep a swooning LP convention into his oh so Presidential arms like Rhett did with Scarlett. It's not really credible, but I could still say it.


I guess I'll decline the opportunity.


So the current situation has potential Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson making the official announcement on the 28th in Santa Fe in the company of the redoubtable Mark Hinkle, LP National Chairman, and scads of lesser luminaries, minions and underlings. Sounds like a party!


Speculation on why the process is taking so long in this digital age include the need for candidate Johnson to launch and land a trial balloon to see if any heads explode over there in RepublicanLand as the realization sinks in that this Johnson guy might "Nader" Romney come next November. To a lesser degree the same effect might be felt by Rockin' Barry O himself if word actually gets out that Johnson's LP compliant platform includes eliminating the war on drugs, gettin' government out of the marriage bizness and bringing our boys and girls home from WheretheHellisthatStan. Or least from Germany.


The trial balloon seems to working as a quick review of today's news stories on the event number in the 300+  range from traditional print/TV/media outlets. 300 + 1 if you count this blog.
The attendant comment trails provide an interesting read as things haven't gotten quite dire enough for an eruption of "WVS" or "LOTE" posts as yet. Give it time.


Of course, this being a LibertyLand thing, just because Gary announces his intentions does not automatically mean the rank and file Libertarians at the Vegas convention are gonna plop a first round nomination in his lap just for showing up. In the fractious world of participating Libertarian politics he's gonna have to deal with the various and sundry wings that make up the party faithful just like our republican and democrat brothers and sisters do. That means somebody is gonna get screwed to make make somebody else happy. That works in a multi-state selection process spread out over most a year, it's tough to do over two days when every swinging richard or richardette there knows what you told the last guy you spoke to.


And don't forget, there's still plenty-O-time left until May! Just about anything can happen.

Gary Johnson Update

Six days and no announcement?


It's starting to look like Gary Johnson is getting cold feet about renouncing his lengthy period of republicanosity and hooking up with the LP for a crack at the best temp job on the planet. The surge of postings and speculation has pretty much faded and good ol' Gary is continuing to  trudge along on his republican primary treadmill to nowheresville.


Can't say I blame him. Maybe he got a good look at the organization he was fixin' to pitch in with and realized "Hey, they have ballot access in 46 out of 50 states but they got no money." That can be sobering thought for a candidate with aspirations beyond one race not to mention that the republican party can be pretty hard on folks who wander off the reservation for the greener grass of Liberty. Just ask Bob Barr.


I would prefer the LP find a suitable candidate from existing LP stock for next years party with Romney and Obama and we do have more than three candidates working the ropes. Any one of them will pull the 500,000 or so votes the LP always gets in these affairs and do a fine job representing the Libertarian Party and it's platform. 


Granted, none of them are real sizzlers, none of them have held elected office and none of them are millionaires but each of them was Libertarian before it was cool. Except maybe that Bill Still cat, but that'll get sorted out at next years convention.


Speaking of conventions, the Georgia LP is having it's annual soiree in Athens next year on 24-25 February. I mistakenly mentioned in the previous post that it was scheduled for March and that was not an attempt to mislead any Johnson-O-Philes out there. Ya'll still have plenty of time to turn Libertarian if your boy actually decides to make a move.

Holy Crap! Looks Like Republican Gary Johnson is Jumping Ship!!!

Check it out, he doesn't even have to scrub the word "Republican" from his current campaign site!

The words out Kids.

The state of the race in LibertyLand is about to receive a seismic shock when Republican candidate for President, Ex-Gov Gary Johnson announces tomorrow that he's gonna seek the nomination of the Libertarian Party for next years big shindig. OK, maybe not tomorrow, maybe Friday, or next week or next month. Sometime soon for sure.

The guys and gals over at Independent Political Report have the inside skinny on the latest developments and Loads-O-Links to other blogs and sites that are reporting on the situation. It really is the biggest news in LibertyLand at the moment, even overshadowing Libertarian candidate for President Carl Person sacking his campaign manager for not driving the campaign bus in the correct manner.

So the next move for all you Johnson-O-Philes  here in Georgia is:

1. Pony up the annual $25 dollar state of Georgia LP admission fee.

2. Sign the Oath of Non-Initiation of Violence (You do get to slap back with no penalty).

3. Start making plans to pack the state convention in Athens in March and send your delegates to Vegas! 25 true Johnson believers should be sufficient to make that happen.

I'm sure he'll do as good a job as the last republican we nominated!

Turtle Meat is Bringing $65 a pound in China?!!

Have you ever seen one of these up close and personal? Believe me it ain't pretty.


Luke warm off the wire from yesterday's That's Just Peachy comes the news that the state of Georgia has taken steps to regulate the wild turtle trapping craze that been sweeping the soggier parts of our fair state ever since the price of turtles surged in the far east.


It seems that demand for hard shelled reptilian deliciousness  has caused a price spike and opened up a lucrative export market for those Georgians with the skills and abilities to outwit the wily turtle in it's native habitat.


Well kiss the good old days goodbye because as of 25 JAN 2012 the Georgia DNR will adopt a new rules and regulations for commercial wild turtle hunters/trappers/collectors that will have bag limits as a minimum as well as licensing requirements and maybe tags too. It is predictable that the state will come sniffin' around anybody who's found a way to make a little cash on the side.


So instead of growing a new industry here in Georgia that just might help some folks make some ends meet, the state's gonna jump in with both feet into a market that they know nothing about and grab their 30% for your efforts.


Statism, the closest thing to Piracy there is!

Lee Wrights on Individual Rights

Libertarian Lee Wrights on Individual rights.


Cool.


I'll be putting these up as I run across them during the Libertarian Presidential race leading up to next years convention in Vegas. I think Mr. Wrights did a fine job on this one and look forward to some pretty pithy pronouncements on other Libertarian concepts and principals as this series develops.

Gold or Hogs or Systema "D"?

Why not all three?


Video from the guys down at Jager Pro out of Columbus, Georgia. I wonder what the spot price for wild hog was at the Tokyo meat market yesterday? Anywhere close to Big Bluefin Tuna?


Gold is where you find it.

Hey, Hey, Hee, Hee, System D could be the Life for Me!

Yard Sale Anyone?


If you're wondering who's making out like fat bandits aside from those guys and gals down to Wall Street, K Street and any of the 7 counties surrounding Washington DC you might want to enlarge your definitions and start learning about the wonderful world of System D.


System D you ask? New weight loss program? New real estate pyramid scheme? Recovered alien relic stashed out at that funky Chinese place that's been all over Google? 


Nope. It's black hole that 10 Trillion dollars of goods and services have used to disappear from the prying, tax hungry eyes of governments world wide. I'm certain it's caught on here as embodied by the prevalence of yard sales, EBay, craigslist and swap meets for various and sundry hobbies and other interests. I also gotta wonder how big a chunk of that 10 Trillion dollar estimate rolls out of the good 'ol US of A. 20% sound right? We are the biggest economy on the freakin' planet and I hope we've got enough tax evasion genes left here to be able to hold our own with the other débrouillard's around the world.


That's the root of System D. Avoid government regulation, taxation and bureaucratic busybodies and make your self a little cash and keep every penny of it. I can't think of a more Libertarian system because if the state can't get at your money, the state can't keep growing. Hell, even the Chinese wouldn't lend our government any money if they didn't prop up the balance sheets with those rosy projections of taxes withheld in 2014, 2015, 2016,,,, all the way to 2099. 


Reading about System D causes me to wax nostalgic for those heady days of yesteryear, at least prior to 1913 when the bulk of America's small bidness worked just that way. A promise was a promise and a deal was a deal and nobody was standing in the wings ready to toss a couple of hundred billions of taxpayer money into the pot if the deal fell through. 


That's what Tar and Feathers were for.

State of the Race in LibertyLand

The graphic says it all.


Believe it or not, there is a race underway for the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party at next years convention in fabulous Las Vegas and the two leading contenders at the moment are republicans. Not only that, but both of these guys are actively seeking the republican nod to lead the dastardly R's to victory in November next year.


Wild ain't it?


The libertarian blog-o-sphere is all a-twitter about rumors that republican Gary Johnson might bolt the grand old party and show up in Vegas in May. Republican Ron Paul might bump into him the foyer and declared LP candidates Lee Wrights, RJ Harris, Rodger Gary and  Carl Person will glare at both of them and harrumph several times before they join the rest of the convention in lining up to get their pictures taken with their new competitors.


I would too. I'd really like a grip-n-grin with the redoubtable Dr. Paul. He is a freakin' legend. Gary Johnson, not so much, but he does have a track record of political success unmatched by any Libertarian I can think of. 'Tis a quandary to be sure.


In the three years I've been associated with the LP here in Georgia, I have noticed an incredible desire to win. Why in hell would you get involved if you did not want to win? This desire for unobtainable victory has been sufficient motivation for the candidates I've worked with to draw a deep breath and jump in the ring and see what happens. It even happened to me way back in 2010 when I was the Georgia LP candidate for the Office of Insurance Commissioner, a race that ended predictably with a victory by the republican nominee.


During my time here in Georgia I've heard and participated in the conversations that I'm sure every state level operation of the LP goes through. They all wind up at the same place, How can we win? And a lot of times us amateur LP politicians default to the concept of converting a suitable republican or democrat to our line of thinking and enticing him or her to run as a libertarian this time around. I've yet to see that approach work. I'm of the opinion that it never will.


Why would a successful republican or democrat defect to Liberty? There's no money in this Liberty thing, not much organization and just as much back biting and criticism as exists in their home parties. The only thing we have going for us as a national political party is ballot access in 46 out of 50 states.  That could be enough for a failed presidential candidate from another party to realize that he might be able to extract a pound of flesh from the RNC for blackballing/blocking/ignoring his attempt to compete in the primary process by scarfing up 3% to 5% of the vote and delivering victory to DNC. Or the other way around.


The question is, what would the LP gain by such a move? Would it bolster our numbers? Would it help to get the basic LP message of Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom resonating with the skulls of more Americans? Would such a move enrich the coffers of our state parties or of national by increased donations? Would there be any juice left over after the election that might be parceled out for further direct political action by other Libertarian candidates large and small?


If something like that happens, what does that do to the self defined LP farm team out there hills and hollows? Wouldn't it just reinforce the concept that the two party duopoly has things so locked down that there is no reason for a semi viable Libertarian Party to even exist except in service to disgruntled republicans and democrats? It would be hard not to look at it that way.


It's difficult to reach any conclusions about the possibilities of the 2012 contest and what it holds for the Party of Principle. Mind you, I absolutely love to hear republicans squealing about wasted votes and the lesser of two evils and Libertarians being responsible for the election costing a lot more money than it should have.


That's victory in it's own right.

Gizmo of the Week

Nerf custom Chain Gun?


You betcha!


Every now and then whilst cruising around the internets you'll come across some really cool stuff. Like this custom modded Nerf  Vulcan EBF 25 from the fine folks over at Mana Energy. It features a stunning 500 rounds per minute rate of fire with an LED round counter just like all the first person shooter games.


The last time I fired anything on a tripod or ring mount that was belt fed was way way back in 1982 at Benning's school for boys down Columbus way. I must admit a certain fondness for mechanical devices that produce deafening thuds at the users end and spectacular results at the distant end.


This particular foam dart monster won't get it all done, but with the ornery nature of the guys and gals down to the local ATF office, it's gonna have to do. The readership is encouraged to visit the link above and get the inside skinny on building one of these quite politically incorrect toys.


Get started now and you might have it built by Christmas!

Some Ideas for Upgrading Georgia's Park System

Hot off the presses from the mighty. mighty AJC kids!


Looks like the overall revenue shortage here in Georgia has forced the state to cut back on funding for our state parks. Please note that the programs that privatize the interstates via "toll" lanes get all the moola they want and yet the citizenry is summarily restricted from reasonable access to lands we all own. 


As a Rogue Libertarian (RL) I quite like the ideas put forth in the article by K. Torres concerning an expansion of activities at our various state parks and dare to offer some options for consideration.  


Moonshine Park - As the illustration above indicates, simple backwoods distilleries might be a huge draw for state park visitors. I'm not talking about some stale mock-up of one of the stills of yore and a gift shop filled with collectibles from the Peoples Republic of China. I'm talking about 20 or 30 fully operational 200 freakin' gallon a day whiskey stills each sited on it's own particular branch in it's own particular hollow with it's own particular blend of white lightin'.  These are not one man operations and would require trained, skilled and dedicated crews to operate them, a positive side effect for our state's economy in these dreary economic times. The biggest obstacle to creating a park of this type are numerous laws concerning the manufacture of distilled spirits at the local, state and federal level that work in concert to remind us all that we are the property of the state. Would be fun though!

Refugee Park - This killer concept would draw out of state tourists, especially from the industrial northeast where conditions are reportedly worse than daily life would be at this camp. Limited rations, no running water and sanitary facilities that would be described as horrific add to the cachet this specialty camp offers. Consider it a chance for us soft Americans to suffer the slings and arrows that afflict some 2 billion inhabitants elsewhere on this planet for a paltry $500 weekly family rate and the prospect of  getting the hell out of there at weeks end. If they open the gates like they promised.

OWS Camp - This might be chance to capitalize on the OWS movement by converting under utilized state property like the parking garage next to the Sloppy Floyd Building into a state park for the transient members of the Occupy crowd. It's difficult to calculate a daily or weekly rate for these stalwart protesters but if there are signs indicating that free weed, free beer and scandalous females are inside said parking deck, turn out might be extreme. Add in the benefit of reducing traffic obstructions and you have a winner!

Cannon Camp - This operation would be ideally suited for state properties below the gnat line where industry is scarce, flat lands abound and the steady drum 6 pound Napoleons would not disturb the locals. Visualize a camp where you could get trained to load, aim and fire a variety of ordnance from giant siege guns to the legendary French 75. Not the least expensive camp in the state system, but  distinct in the nation!


This list could go on and on and is limited only by the imagination of the readership. Single issue activist camps, End of the World next Wednesday  (EOTWNW) camps and host of others are possible. 


But not very damn likely.