State Board May Need a Minor Party Member

State Board May Need a Minor Party Member

Continue Reading December 29th, 2006

A legal quirk is opening the door to a possible third party or independent appointment to Missouri’s Clean Water Commission.

Thanks to Eric Dondero for this tip. Full story from the Belleville News-Democrat…

The commission that oversees Missouri’s water quality regulations has more Republican members than allowed by state law.

As a …

Marvin Pro-Life Richardson running for US Senate in Idaho as an independent

Continue Reading December 29th, 2006

“He ran for governor as a Constitution Party member. But he said he has left that party because it has taken compromising positions on issues like abortion and public education. ”

Full article here.

Gerald Ford (1913-2006)

Continue Reading December 29th, 2006

Former President Gerald Ford died today at the age of 93, reports his wife Betty. News is still sketchy about the exact cause and circumstances.

Ford is the only President to never have been elected as either President or Vice-President. He took over as Vice-President after the resignation of …

EDWARDS MAKES IT OFFICIAL; ARI SAYS NO; GIBBONS SKATES; FORD DEAD AT 93.

Continue Reading December 28th, 2006

THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.

EDWARDS MAKES IT OFFICIAL; ARI SAYS NO; GIBBONS SKATES.
Former US Senator and 2004 VP nominee John Edwards (D-NC) officially announced his candidacy for President on Thursday in New Orleans. Actually, he announced it online a few hours ahead of schedule, but the formal announcement is in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where Edwards and his staffers will volunteer time to work on the continuing effort to rebuild the poor neighborhood destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Focusing on issues of economic justice, Edwards vows to make the eradication of poverty in America his top priority. His other leading concerns are to “provide moral leadership in the world … guarantee universal health care for every American … [and] lead the fight against global warming” … Despite recent published reports to the contrary, former Bush Administration Press Secretary Ari Fleisher said Wednesday he will not be a candidate for Congress in New York in 2008 … Prosecutors in Nevada have cleared Governor-elect Jim Gibbons (R) of sexual assault charges that arose from a purported a drunken, late night, parking lot altercation he had in Las Vegas with a waitress just two weeks before the election. Prosecutors said the evidence was inconclusive and not sufficient to sustain a belief they would have prevailed at trial. Gibbons and others tied to the Gibbons campaign remain under investigation for related witness intimidation charges involving the women in the days immediately after the incident.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122806a’);

PRESIDENT FORD DEAD AT AGE 93.
President Gerald R. Ford (R) died in the early morning hours on Wednesday at age 93. While best remembered for his full pardon of President Nixon — an act historians now deem a courageous and correct act that helped heal the nation’s Watergate wounds — he is also credited with being a decent, modest man who restoring a much-needed sense of integrity to the Presidency. Ford was the last President from the almost vanished Eisenhower-Rockefeller-Nixon “moderate” wing of the GOP. He barely survived a bruising nomination challenge from Ronald Reagan in the 1976 primaries, then bounced back from a major gap in the polls to lose to Carter by a small margin. Ford’s campaign seemingly closed the gap just a little too late, as he would likely have won based upon polling trends had the election been a week or two later. Before being selected as VP by Nixon in 1973, Ford served in the US House for 26 years. Ford rose to be House Minority Whip and later — after deposing the incumbent in a challenge — House Minority Leader. In his final years, Ford became more outspoken in defense of his moderate wing of the party. He was vocal in support of abortion and gay rights, and critical of the the political influence of the Religious Right. The various memorial and funeral services will take place on several days over the next week in California, then DC and finally Michigan, starting on Friday. Ford will be buried on the grounds of his Presidential museum in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. A personal aside: I met Ford once — just a handshake and a hello — on the ski slopes in Vail in the early 1990s. While I should have expected the former college football star (two national championships) to be a large guy, I was still struck by how strong and athletic he appeared to be (and he would have been around 80 then).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122806b’);

FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Your daily open thread.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.28.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122806c’);

Libertarian Gets Eagle off Endangered List

Continue Reading December 26th, 2006

It looks like the Bald Eagle will soon be off the government’s official endangered species list, probably by February of next year. The story from MSNBC…

Seven years after the U.S. government moved to take the bald eagle off the endangered species list, the Bush administration intends to complete …

An Infuriating Letter to the Editor

Continue Reading December 26th, 2006

This is a particularly nasty letter to the editor from a newspaper in Bloomington, Illinois. The author is clearly anti-third party and uses the wasted vote argument to make voting for an alternative candidate sound like treason.

Here’s a link to the letter. Note that commenting is enabled, and …

EARLY PEAK AT THE 2012 REAPPORTIONMENT; BAYOU GOV HOPEFULS LINING UP.

Continue Reading December 26th, 2006

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.

EARLY PEAK AT THE 2012 REAPPORTIONMENT; BAYOU GOV HOPEFULS LINING UP.
The Hotline reported some interesting analysis of the official Census Bureau’s just released 2006 population estimates. Based upon this data, and the population shift trends that can be extrapolated, the 2012 reapportionment of US House seats will be interesting. Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania will all lose at least one seat (and NY and Ohio look likely to each lose two seats). Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Texas and Utah will each gain at least one seat apiece — although Florida looks likely to gain two seats and Texas could gain as many as four seats. Unexpectedly, California looks likely to neither gain nor lose any seats — making 2012 “the first time since statehood [that it] may not pick up any seats” … Congressman Bobby Jindal (R) and State Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell (D) both announced in recent days they would run in the ‘07 race against Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D). State Senator Walter Boasso (R), attorney Hardy Parkerson (D) and businessman Lee Horne (Libertarian) are among other announced candidates in the race against the embattled incumbent.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.26.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122606a’);

FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Posting will remain on a light schedule for the remainder of the year as I take a much-needed break. There will be updates … but on an irregular schedule. Best wishes for a restful holiday season.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.26.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122606b’);

Merry Christmas!

Continue Reading December 24th, 2006

It’s Christmas Eve and I’m about to head off to visit some family until late tomorrow night.

Here’s wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday, whatever your plans may be!

Libertarian Fights for Open Government

Continue Reading December 23rd, 2006

Here’s an interesting item about New Jersey Libertarian John Paff and his crusade to enforce the laws that require government meetings and discussion to be kept public and in the public record.

A little unusual to think of a Libertarian as a stickler for the enforcement of laws, but this makes …

OBAMA, EDWARDS LEAD DEMS IN IOWA; McCAIN & GIULIANI HOLD SOLD LEAD IN GOP RACE.

Continue Reading December 21st, 2006

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE.

OBAMA, EDWARDS LEAD DEMS IN IOWA; McCAIN & GIULIANI HOLD SOLD LEAD IN GOP RACE.
A new KCCI-TV/Research 2000 poll of Iowa Democrats shows that US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is now tied with former US Senator John Edwards (D-NC) for the lead in that key early contest state. The numbers: Edwards and Obama have 22% apiece, followed by Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA) at 12%, US Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) at 10%, former VP Al Gore (D-TN) at 7%, US Senator John Kerry (D-MA) at 5%, retired General Wes Clark (D-AR) and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) tied with 4% each, and everyone else at 1% or less. On the GOP, there are two frontrunners followed by everyone else. The results: US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at 27%, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) at 26%, Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) a distant third at 9%, followed by former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) at 7%, Secretary of State Condi Rice (R-CA) at 4%, and the others at 1% or less.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.22.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122206a’);

FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Short posting today, but the good news is that I’m not nearly as livid as I was yesterday. Mainly because I’m tired from having spent hours writing my Motion to Dismiss in that lawsuit filed against me and others (Rudy Giuliani, Mike Bloomberg, Yahoo!, etc.) by that jackass frequent candidate from New York. The good news is the Motion to Dismiss is just about finished, so I’ll get it filed tomorrow — and start the clock ticking on his ten days to respond before the Christmas holiday begins..
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 12.22.06 | Permalink | postCount(’122206b’);