I have been involved in politics for quite some time and it is only recently I have put myself out into the forefront. I am the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County and the Libertarian Party of Florida.
I am also a candidate for the small office of the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District with the election being held on August 26, 2008. I'm not creating a website or doing any "heavy duty" campaigning as my political focus at this time is with growing the Libertarian Party of Florida and all its county affiliates.
As a Libertarian, I believe in a truly smaller government and am very strong on individual rights. Libertarians know private charities are more efficient in dealing with social problems and nearly every program the government forces itself on the people results in failure. If you know little about the Libertarian philosophy (or perhaps may be mistaken on some points) I hope you will check out both "Myths of Libertarianism" and also more about the Libertarian Party.
THE FULL TEXT OF ALAN SHORE'S (James
Spader) ARGUMENT ON BOSTON LEGAL
When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out to be not true,
I expected the American people to rise up... they didn't.
Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced and it was revealed
that our government participated in rendition, a practice where we
kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who specialize in
torture, I was sure then the American people would be heard from. We
stood mute.
Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorists
suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial or even the
right to confront their accusers. Certainly we would never stand for
that, we did.
And now it's been discovered the executive branch has been conducting
massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its' own citizens. You and
me. And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally, the American
people will have had enough. Evidently we haven't.
In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is
we're okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizure,
illegal wiretappings, prison without a fair trial or any trial, war
on false pretenses. We as a citizenry are apparently not offended.
There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact there's no
clear indication that young people seem to notice.
...
She could have protested the old fashioned way, made a placard and
demonstrated at a presidential or vice-presidential appearance, but
we've lost the right to that as well. The secret service can now
declare free speech zones to contain, control and in effect
criminalize protest.
Stop for a second and try to fathom that.
At a presidential rally, parade, or appearance, if you have on a
supportive t-shirt... you can be there. If you are wearing or
carrying something in protest, you can be removed.
This in the United States of America.
This in the United States of America.
...
What I'm most sick and tired of... is how every time somebody
disagrees with how the government is handling things, he/she is
labeled UN-AMERICAN.
(Lawyer: Evidently it's speech time.)
And speech in this country is FREE, you hack! Free for me, free for
you.
I object to governments abusing its power to squash the
constitutional freedoms of its citizenry. And God forbid anybody
challenge it, they're smeared as being a heretic.
Melissa Hughes is an American!
Melissa Hughes is an American!
Melissa Hughes is an American!
...
Last night I went to bed with a book. Not as much fun as a 29yr. old,
but the book contained a speech by Adlai Stevenson. The year was
1952, he said,
"The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and
fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the bill of
rights, to freedom of the mind are concealed under the patriotic
cloak of anti-communism."
Today, it's the cloak of Anti-Terrorism. Stevenson also
remarked, "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up
to them."
I know we are all afraid, but the bill of rights... we have to live
up to that. We simply must.