LNC Meeting June 5-6, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

TaxProf Blog — Source: **https://www.lp.org/lnc-meeting-june-5-6-2021-in-chicago-illinois/**

by LP Secretary on April 26, 2021 in Meeting Announcements, News

The Libertarian National Committee will be meeting on June 5-6, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. This post will be updated as more information is made available. You can always contact the LNC Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos at secretary@lp.org or 561.523.2250 with any questions.

Room reservation information is here:

What: LNC Meeting 06/05-06/06

Where: Swissotel Chicago 323 E Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601 (note “Upper Wacker Dr.)

Our Room Rate: $119 Single or Double includes free wifi in both sleeping & meeting rooms. Please note our rate includes the upgraded Riverview Rooms (value $239) which show about 1/2 down the list of available rooms!

Reservations: Via https://book.passkey.com/go/LIBE0621 or call (312) 565-0565 & ask for LNC Meeting Discount Group Code LIBE0621

Parking: Our group has a special highly discounted self-parking rate of $30 day & overnight – no airport shuttle. Discount from front desk. Directions to self park: https://www.chicagoswissotelparking.com/selfdirections.htm
Public Transport (thanks Tim): For public transportation from Midway, you can take the Orange L (Elevated train) line to the State/Lake station, which is a half mile from the Swissotel. Takes 42 minutes (31 minutes on the L and 11 minute walk). From O’Hare, you’d take the Blue line to the Clark/Lake station, which is 0.7 miles from the Swissotel. At Clark/Lake you can transfer to the Orange line and get off at the next stop, State/Lake, to save some steps and be 0.5 miles from the hotel. Takes about 58 minutes.

Meeting Time & Location: “Vevey Ballroom” 2 floor event center – time TBD (but typically 9 am – 6 pm Sat & 9 am – 3 pm Sun). No meals are planned

Saturday Event: 6pm – 8pm – VIP Meet & Greet at the hotel at the Élevé Penthouse or other location TBD. Cash bar & light hors d’oeuvres provided. LNC Members (& staff) complimentary. All others suggested donation $TBD. Link will be provided soon.

Local Area: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/local-things-to-do/ralmc-marriott-riverside-at-the-convention-center/

Current Cov-19 Info at Hotel: Masks required all public areas & meeting rooms. In Room Dining will be available daily from 8:00AM – 9:00PM. Amuse Bar and Lounge is expected to re-open June 1st. The Palm is open carry out and in-door dining, limited to lunch and dinner daily from 11:00AM – 9:00PM. For breakfast / fast lunch there is Dunkin Donuts just a minute walk away (connected to hotel) and then there is a great little diner Eggys behind the hotel as well as Wildberry a 1/2 block away. Stan’s Donuts is a block & 1/2 away on Michigan Ave. The Penthouse Fitness Center is open to guests daily from 5:00AM until 10:00PM (you must go up just to see the view) – get pass from front desk.

Former CP vice-chairman Randy Stufflebeam founds the United America Party

April 18, 2021 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

Randy Stufflebeam, the former vice-chairman of the Constitution Party (who run for the national chairmanship of the CP several times) and the former chairman of the Constitution Party of Illinois, has founded a new political party called the United America Party.

From the United America Party website:

“Taking back America – one city at a time

Don’t look to the feds, the media, or even your favorite talk show host to reverse this trend toward socialism. Let’s start taking back our communities and then we use the power of nullification to win back our freedoms.

Contact the UAP and ask how you can help.”

https://unitedamericaparty.org/

My comment at Ballot Access News about the Constitution Party

August 5, 2020August 5, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

Krzysztof Lesiak on August 5, 2020 at 6:24 pm said:

Don Blankenship’s nomination has to be the beginning of the end for the Constitution Party. I’m not surprised they chose him but Charles Kraut would have been a much better candidate, though like Blankenship on foreign policy he’s seems to lean more towards neoconservatism than paleoconservatism.

The CP should just be left to die a slow, peaceful death. However, where will the paleocons go to once the party dissolves? The LP? Or something smaller but more ideologically fit like the Life and Liberty Party.

http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/04/u-s-district-court-denies-injunctive-relief-to-don-blankenship-in-california-ballot-access-case/#comment-791169

American Third Party Report turns 6 years old today!

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

ATPR Record NEW 9 14 2016 — All time- ATPR record based on Alexa rank (September 14th, 2016)

One of the premier destinations for third party news and views, American Third Party Report, turns 6 years old today. The website (originally found at amthirdpartyreport.com) was founded on July 16th, 2014 by me along with third party activists and bloggers Cody Quirk and Joshua Fauver. The website gained a significant amount of traffic before the 2016 presidential election until September 19th, 2016, when I single handedly hijacked the site from my co-editors and transferred ownership to an activist and writer Max Dickstein, who used the handle “BasedZionist.” This decision to stab my co-founders in the back was a horrendous one, a move that I deeply regret to this day and I lost the privelage of being part of ATPR, but here is the good news:

In the last year, ATPR has grown significantly, adding new authors and posting a large amount of unique content, and the site layout and design is a marked improvement over what it was a WordPress site (now the site is hosted by Blogspot). ATPR has been consistently cited by the other “bigwigs” of third party news (Independent Political Report and Ballot Access News) as well as other media sources and political candidates and parties as well.

ATPR is succeeding in its stated mission to be “one of the leading websites for news and varying commentaries that relate to minor/alternative political parties and independents since 2014.” The current ATPR website is also 100% correct when stating that “We are multi-partisan and include individual authors and contributors from the left, right, and various odds & ends of the political spectrum.”

As the site’s original co-founder, I wish ATPR another 6 years, and hopefully the site sees unprecendented growth and continues to be an influential news source for those in the sphere of America’s third political parties!

PS: Old ATPR articles from July 16th, 2014 to September 19th, 2016 can be found at the following address: https://thegrandinquirer.wordpress.com/ .

Krzysztof Lesiak

July 16th, 2020

La Grange Park, Illinois

James Taylor responds to Spike Cohen on Jo Jorgensen “actively anti-racism” controversy

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

The following is a comment on Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee Spike Cohen’s YouTube video, “Mr Bearded Truth 34 – It is simply not enough to be passively in favor of DACA…” posted by a user named James Taylor:

James Taylor 3 dni temu (edytowany)

Dude, you have an opportunity to discuss this “ACTIVELY anti-racism” controversy honestly, but you blew it. Everybody knows what she means and that her heart is right where it needs to be. Its not a question of whether she meant what she said. She is 100% sincere and genuine. rather its a question of did she REALLY say what she means? There is no need to dig in your heels and pretend that what she said was not extremely vague and subjective. Whether or not it is prudent to be “active” or “passive” is not a matter of logical deduction. It is a matter of judgement on a case by case basis. Sometimes, being passive in a situation actually is the right thing to do and telling me it is NOT is presumptuous at best and creepily Orwellian at worst. Dont tell me 2+2=5 especially in a situation where I have to make the judgement call on how to conduct myself in a group of potentially hostile people. Bottom line, these hot button issues are not appropriate to be just casually blurted out on twitter where there is a character limit. These are complex issues and deserve in depth discussions. These are not bumper sticker enthymemes. These topics deserve MUCH MORE RESPECT THAN THAT. Dont be naive and pretend that “anti-racism” isn’t already an ideology with particular meaning behind it. If you sincerely don’t know, that is fair enough. But the politics of race in the present moment is not simple because there is a very loud and vocal minority that is really making a mess of things. AND YOU ARE NOT HELPING by labeling people racists or in your cowardly way, “anti-anti-racists” who otherwise, by and large, support Jo. Furthermore, Jo is NOT getting flack from the “RIGHT”. She is getting flack from that wing of the libertarian movement/ party that takes the philosophy seriously. I mean, if she was running as a DSA candidate, Jo’s words would take on a completely different meaning with all kinds of dog whistles and unstated premises built into it. Dont pretend you dont know that. You are better than that. But, again, its not that nobody understands what she means. Rather its about how she said it. Its tedious, i know. But it is important to maintain the separation. To craft our OWN rhetoric rather than appropriate the rhetoric of our philosophic antithesis. Not in regards to the merits/demerits of racism (it is 2020 afterall, nobody is on favor of racism) but our antithesis in regard to all of the completwly unrelated and false conclusions that that vocal minority tries to smuggle in with it through the back door. The topic should not be treated with such carelessness in this day and age.

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James Taylor 3 dni temu (edytowany)

I wanna add something or rather ask a question. Do you understand WHY a positive right cannot come with a mandate? Its the same reason why in contract law, specific performance is generally not an option. The example i gave earlier of a potential situation where a person might CHOOSE not to be “actively anti-racist” may be considered as a form of “efficient breach”. Anyway, the arguments in support of the criticism of Jo are not well understood by yourself and others whose knee-jerk reaction is to come to her defense. That is noble of you and worthy of respect. But, judging by this video it is clear you dont really understand the nature of the criticism, which is made crystal clear by you pulling the really lazy and tired “racist” card.

Third Party Observer – Krzysztof Lesiak, founder

Green Party of the United States to Hold Presidential Nominating Convention Online, July 11, 2020

June 8, 2020June 9, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

The Green Party’s 2020 Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) will take place online due to ongoing public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gathering will be conducted over Zoom from July 9 to July 11, with the PNC proceedings scheduled for July 11 beginning at 12:00pm Eastern Time.

The Green Party will broadcast the PNC live, for free on social media for all. The convention will feature candidate speeches, guest speakers (see below) and approval of the Green Party’s 2020 platform. The 2020 convention’s theme is “Climate Justice, Social Justice, Economic Democracy.” Credentialed members of the media will be granted access to the Zoom webinar that will host convention delegates, candidates, guest speakers and facilitators.

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACTS:

Michael O’Neil, Green Party Communications Manager, meo@gp.org, 202-804-2758
Holly Hart, Green Party Media Committee Coordinator media@gp.org | 202-804-2758
Craig Seeman, Green Party Media Committee Coordinator media@gp.org
Deeanna Taylor, Tamar Yager, Green Party National Meeting Committee Coordinators, anm_info@gp.org
John Andrews, Sanda Everette, Green Party Presidential Campaign Support Committee Coordinators, pcsc@gp.org

What: Green Party of the United States 2020 Presidential Nominating Convention

When: Thursday, July 9 to Saturday, July 11, 2020

Where: Online, broadcast live to GP.org and social media platforms

2020 Green Presidential Nominating Convention Page

Media Credentialing Application

All delegate voting from state Green Parties and identity caucuses will be conducted online via roll call from designated election reporters or through a secure electronic voting application, as determined by convention procedure.

Additional media opportunities will include press conferences with national Green Party leaders, 2020 Green candidates and officeholders, candidates seeking the Green Party presidential nomination, and the Green Party presidential and vice-presidential nominees. Press conferences will be hosted on a dedicated Zoom conference line.

Online workshops and panels will be offered to convention registrants throughout the week. Please register on themedia credentialing page if you are interested in covering program events and news conferences.

Candidates Seeking the Green Party Presidential Nomination

About the Presidential Nomination

Schedule of Press Events – TBA

Details for all events are subject to change. A follow-up advisory with updates and candidate and speaker details will be published before the meeting.

Confirmed 2020 speakers:

Ajamu Baraka, Green Party 2016 vice-presidential nominee, political activist and scholar, whose work has appeared in Black Agenda Report,Common Dreams, Dissident Voice.

Cam Gordon, elected member of the Minneapolis City Council since 2006, co-founder of the Green Party of Minnesota and has been called “the most prominent Green elected official in the US.”

Robin Harris, Green Party National Black Caucus Co-Chair and 2018 Green Party candidate Orange County Commissioner, Florida

Jenny Leong, two-term elected Green Party Member of Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, Australia.

Lisa Savage, the Maine Green Independent Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate, running in a ranked choice voting election for that office.

Previous Green nominees, convention sites:

2016 Jill Stein (P), Ajamu Baraka (VP), August 4-7, 2016. Houston, TX

2012 Jill Stein (P), Cheri Honkala (VP), July 12-15, 2012, Baltimore, MD

2008 Cynthia McKinney (P), Rosa Clemente (VP), July 10-13, 2008, Chicago, IL

2004 David Cobb (P), Pat LaMarche (VP), June 23-28, 2004. Milwaukee, WI

2000 Ralph Nader (P), Winona LaDuke (VP); June 24-25, 2000. Denver, CO

1996 Ralph Nader (P), Winona LaDuke (VP); August 19, 1996. Los Angeles, CA

Additional Information:

2020 Annual National Meeting and Presidential Nominating Convention
Green New Deal

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Newsroom | Twitter: @GreenPartyUS
Green Party Platform
Green New Deal
Green candidate database and campaign information
Facebook page
YouTube
Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
Green Papers

~ END ~

Source: https://www.gp.org/green_party_of_the_united_states_to_hold_presidential_nominating_convention_online_july_11_2020

George Floyd Response: Green Party US National Black Caucus Demands Accountability, Structural Changes to Save Black and Brown Lives From Police Brutality

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

George Floyd Response: Green Party US National Black Caucus Demands Accountability, Structural Changes to Save Black and Brown Lives From Police Brutality

Green Party National Co-Chair Trahern Crews Part of Community Response in Minneapolis

On Tuesday, May 25th Officer Derek Chauvin forced his knee on the neck of George Floyd for eight grueling, life-taking minutes until he died — as Officer Tou Thao looked on. Community members were present and recorded the horrific, traumatizing incident that has sparked protest and anger in the Black community across America.

National Black Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
https://www.gp.org/caucuses#black

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Contact:
Trahern Crews, Green Party National Black Caucus and Green Party of Minnesota, trahern@mngreens.org
763-260-4233
Robin Harris, GP National Black Caucus Co-Chair, oyaa4afrika@gmail.com
Green Party Media, media@gp.org, 202-804-2758

The resident who recorded the event can be repeatedly heard telling the officers to stop — even as Mr. Floyd, himself, can be heard exclaiming that he could not breathe — because they knew they were killing him.

Darnella Wade, Co-Chair of the Green Party of the 4th CD (MN) said, “these officers need to be held accountable. This video shows the lack of humanity for Black Lives in the criminal justice system in the state of Minnesota and shows why all police officers in the State of Minnesota should be required to carry personal professional liability insurance for their position.”

Under such a policy, Officer Chauvin’s history of police misconduct and settlements would have disqualified him from insurance coverage, he would not have been employed by Minneapolis Police as an officer and so would not have been able to kill George Floyd for no reason at all and to the horror of an entire nation.

The officers were fired the following day. That is a first in the state of Minnesota, which has become ground zero for the fight in police accountability in recent years. The family of Mr Floyd, activists, organizations and community members have wanted more accountability and want charges to be filed against the cops who murdered George Floyd.

Toya Woodland, Minneapolis Green Party-endorsed candidate for congress in the 5th congressional district said, “we need Community Control of the Police. We should decide which cops get hired and fired in our community. This is why the FBI was called: because our local government is not equipped to protect the lives of Black residents from white supremacy and institutional racism”.

Protestors and family members gathered at the corner of 38th and Chicago to hold a vigil and protest that included nearly 20,000 people. Trahern Crews, Co-Chair of the Green Party of the United States and an organizer with Black Lives Matter Minnesota, declared, “George Floyd was a father, brother, uncle, and loved community member who was unjustly taken from us by a racist criminal injustice system. We are calling on all activists, community members and lawmakers to put pressure on the city of Minneapolis to hold these officers accountable and begin changing the culture of the Minneapolis Police Department”.

The National Black Caucus (NBC) of the Green Party of the United States has found “that these incidents are part of a larger, systemic problem stemming from the legacy of slavery and the devaluing of Black and Brown people and communities. It is time for a moratorium on police brutality in the name of public service,” stated Darryl! LC Moch, Co-Chair of the NBC and Chair of the DC Statehood Green Party. “Furthermore,” said Robin Harris, Co-Chair of the NBC and Co-Chair of the Florida Green Party, “we must build strong coalitions, advocacy groups, and elect legislators who will prioritize ending the brutal lynchings and killing of Black and Brown bodies at the hands of the government at all levels. We must hold governments and police departments accountable.”

MORE INFORMATION

Trahern Crews quoted in The Daily Beast:
“Derek Chauvin, Minneapolis Cop Shown Kneeling on George Floyd’s Neck, Hires Philando Castile Shooter’s Lawyer”

Green Party national platform on criminal justice and ending police brutality
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-319-7191

~ END ~

Source: https://www.gp.org/george_floyd_response_green_party_us_national_black_caucus_demands_accountability_structural_changes_to_save_black_and_brown_lives_from_police_brutality

IPR: Nevada and Utah to LNC: Remote Participation Option or Disaffiliation

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

Libertarian_Party_of_Utah_logo download (5)

Independent Political Report, June 8th, 2020:

In similar, separate resolutions submitted earlier today to the Libertarian National Committee, the Libertarian Party affiliates of Utah and Nevada have demanded full participation by their previously elected delegates in the second sitting of the currently paused convention, with a remote option for those who cannot attend in Orlando in person on the currently scheduled dates.

The resolutions urge development and testing of that remote participation technology begin in a timely fashion to ensure its availability prior to the opening of the convention.

Should the in-person delegates not authorize remote participation, or should the technology not be immediately available should the in-person delegates authorize such participation, the language of the Nevada and Utah resolutions indicates disaffiliation would occur.

In a phone interview earlier today, Utah Libertarian Party Chair Barry Short explained, “If the delegates at the second sitting do not allow remote participation by every previously credentialed delegate who participated remotely in the first sitting, and who is unable to be present through no fault of their own, or if the convention organizers do not have the technology to allow for remote participation tested and in place, then you tell me — WHO has disaffiliated WHOM?”

Read the rest of the article here.

Justin Amash: People Want a President ‘Who Is Normal, Honest, Practical, Capable.’

May 3, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

ReasonTV, May 1st, 2020 (length: 58 minutes):

Constitution Party Nominates Don Blankenship for President on Second Ballot

May 2, 2020 ~ Krzysztof Lesiak ~ Leave a comment

Don-Blankenship-
By William Saturn, Independent Political Report, May 2nd, 2020:

At its National Convention online today, the Constitution Party nominated former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship for President on the second ballot. William Mohr was nominated unanimously for vice president.

As posted at Ballot Access News, the vote went as follows:

First ballot:

Blankenship 139.5 (46.19%)
Charles Kraut 77.8 (25.76%)
Samm Tittle 46.35 (15.35%)
Don Grundmann 25.25 (8.36%)
Daniel Clyde Cummings 13.1 (4.24%)

Second ballot:

Blankenship 177 (57.28%)
Kraut 86.75 (28.07%)
Grundmann 24 (7.77%)
Tittle 21.25 (6.88%)

Blankenship, 70, was the CEO of Massey, a coal mining company, from 2000 until 2010. During his tenure the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster killed 29 people in West Virginia. Blankenship blames the disaster on the negligence of officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The federal investigation that followed the disaster led to the prosecution of Blankenship. At the criminal trial, the jury rejected three felony charges but found him guilty of conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws, a misdemeanor with a prison sentence of one year. The prosecutors were later found to have committed reckless misconduct due to their failure to disclose witness memoranda. Blankenship continues to maintain his innocence and decided to run for West Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat after leaving prison in 2017.

Read the rest here: https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2020/05/constitution-party-nominees-don-blankenship-for-president-on-second-ballot/