Free Republic

Congress is the place to challenge McCain’s or Obama’s qualifications to be President The New York Times has twice ran articles questioning whether John McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone would disqualify him to be President based on Article II of the U.S. Constitution: “No Person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President”. “Natural born” is not defined. The blogosphere is ripe with speculation that Obama may also fail to meet the qualification, since his supporters posted online an inauthentic copy of a birth certificate purporting to be for Barack...

In a case that could determine how far local governments can go in limiting forest-clearing across entire watersheds, a state appeals court ruled Monday that a King County law went too far. Rural property-rights advocates hailed the decision as repudiating excessive regulation, while environmentalists said it could degrade some of the county's most pristine streams and further jeopardize Puget Sound's threatened chinook salmon. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled that the 2004 clearing and grading ordinance — part of a package of laws collectively but imprecisely called the critical-areas ordinance — is an indirect but illegal "tax, fee, or...

A river regained JEFFREY P. MAYOR; The News Tribune PORT ANGELES – Floating down the Elwha River on Thursday, Robert Elofson nodded his head in appreciation. A trio of harlequin ducks skittered across the river’s tumbling surface as they took off. Downstream, a handful of mergansers quietly dozed, ignoring the three rafts drifting by their riverside roost. Rings on the river’s surface marked the occasional rise of a trout as it slurped in a bug for a midday meal. With the Elwha River already a remarkable outdoors experience for kayakers, rafters and anglers, Elofson believes it will become so much...

After a nasty campaign season in which both sides traded insults and accusations, can they work together in the future? It is a question sure to be directed at Republicans and Democrats, but it might be profitably be asked of feuding libertarians and social conservatives as well. The midterm elections didn't make a peaceful outcome more likely. Instead both sides acquired new ammunition. Reputedly libertarian Arizona narrowly rejected a ban on same-sex marriage (though similar measures passed everywhere else they were on the ballot), rebuffing social conservatives. Minimum-wage hikes passed in six states, which isn't very libertarian -- and neither...

[Final two pharagraphs] So in the nature of things conservatives and libertarians can conclude no friendly pact. Conservatives have no intention of compromising with socialists; but even such an alliance, ridiculous though it would be, is more nearly conceivable than the coalition of conservatives and libertarians. The socialists at least declare the existence of some sort of moral order; the libertarians are quite bottomless. It is of high importance, indeed, that American conservatives dissociate themselves altogether from the little sour remnant called libertarians. In a time requiring long views and self-denial, alliance with a faction founded upon doctrinaire selfishness would...

OPERATION WETBACK. Operation Wetback was a repatriation project of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to remove illegal Mexican immigrants ("wetbacks") from the Southwest. During the first decades of the twentieth century, the majority of migrant workers who crossed the border illegally did not have adequate protection against exploitation by American farmers. As a result of the Good Neighbor Policy, Mexico and the United States began negotiating an accord to protect the rights of Mexican agricultural workers. Continuing discussions and modifications of the agreement were so successful that the Congress chose to formalize the "temporary" program into the Bracero...

The Living Constitution is dead Judicial recognition of a Living Constitution causes the very problem that the idea of a living Constitution is supposed to solve. Proponents of a Living Constitution want a more flexible document. When the Supreme Court issues a decision the result is to lock in current opinion and to forbid opinions from evolving in the future. Justice Kennedy along with four Justices recently declared that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute a person for a crime they committed as a minor. Justice Kennedy discovered an "Evolving Standard" that he perceives to be a long...

The Democrats and Republicans continued their race to the bottom this week, and for a while they wish to run on the same track. Democrats spouted their annual pretended outrage at gas prices, and this time the GOP joined them, with Senate Leader Frist, Speaker Hastert and President Bush all rushing to call for another fruitless price gouging investigation. While we wait for the Beltway bloviators to call for repeal of the law of supply and demand, let’s look at eight facts they don’t seem willing to discuss. 1. The big oil companies recently posted record profits, but they also...

WASHINGTON - Call it an early, conservative rehearsal for the 2008 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, four senators supporting a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, one opposed. "Some call it amnesty. I call it probation and parole," says Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), willing to push back against conservatives — many of whom presumably will vote in primaries and caucuses in 20 months' time. "In poll after poll after poll, Americans support earned citizenship and a comprehensive solution," adds Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, echoing Brownback's view as well...

To Dawn Morrell State Legislator, Puyallup I began writing to you in early December about problems with the Governor's election. You waited more than a month until after you had certified and inaugurated Christine before condescending to respond. Your form response claimed that the legislative role in certification was merely clerical. In the hour and a half that I spent discussing this with Jim Kastama (Democrat State Senator, Puyallup) he completely disavowed any support for such a limited legislative role. No reasonable reading of the State Constitution or understanding of constitutional principles can support your contention. The reason for the...

This year, the Libertarian Party is -- for the first time -- taking part in the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) annual conference as a co-sponsor. The conference will be held February 17-19 at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, DC. A disparate group of organizations will sponsor the event, including the Objectivist Center, Americans for Tax Reform, the National Rifle Association, Regent University, National Taxpayers Union, the ACLU, Heritage Foundation, Bureaucrash, Log Cabin Republicans, Drug Policy Alliance, the College Republican National Committee and a host of others. "A prime example of the variety of opinions in CPAC sponsors...

this guy ran a hard fought campaign for State Rep. in Illinois. Wonder how the GOP will accept him? NEWS RELEASE COMMITTEE TO ELECT BLUDORN FOR STATE REP. * BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS 60089 * E-mail FOR RELEASE: Monday January 10, 2005 Contact: Scott Bludorn (###) ###-####(cell) BLUDORN TO JOIN REPUBLICAN PARTY (BUFFALO GROVE) – Sunday evening in Des Plaines at the Libertarian Party of Cook County monthly meeting, R. Scott Bludorn announced that he was stepping down as President and joining the Republican Party. “I’d like to thank the membership for their steadfast support of my efforts to reign in...

Taunting the Libertarian Bull There's an old saying my dad taught me as a kid: Don't fool with the bull or you'll get the horns. It appears Washington state GOP chairman Chris Vance missed that day in Life's Lessons 101. And a Republican candidate is now paying the price. Of course, I'm talking about Dino Rossi, who now appears to have LOST the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election by just 130 votes out of darn-near 3 million cast. The Fat Lady hasn't finished her aria on this one yet, but she's choking out the final chorus. Rossi will need to...

Hello, I was invited to join this Forum by a Libertarian Party member who is thinking of switching to the GOP. Didn't even know it existed. Great that it's here. I'm usually over at Yahoo Groups - Libertarian Republican, Republitarian or Mainstream Libertarian. Nice to be here. I see some old friends like Phil Blumel and Al Guitierez and John Reed. I founded the RLC in my living room in Tallahassee, Florida in 1990. After pronouncing the previous group - Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee (LROC) run by Justin Raimondo, as pretty much defunct. Glad to see that the RLC has...

WASHINGTON -- Move over, Ralph Nader: A New York Times analysis says that Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik could be 'critical' to the outcome of the 2004 election, and that the party's 2000 candidate may have cost Bush at least four states. In the Sunday, October 24 "Political Points" column, New York Times writer John Tierney asserts that in 2000, Bush "could have won Florida easily, and possibly several other states, if the Libertarian candidate, Harry Browne, was not in the race," assuming that Browne's votes would have gone to Bush. In Florida, Browne earned 16,415 votes, while Bush defeated Al...

My definition of a "true" conservative is pretty simple: A political conservative is someone who believes that the least government is the best government. A political conservative believes the only valid function of the US Federal government is to provide for the common defense and to regulate interstate trade. A political conservative believes that anything more than this leads to tyranny and must be resisted at all costs. A political conservative also believes that the sovereignty of the US is sacrosanct because it was purchased with the blood of her children. A political conservative believes that treaties and trade agreements...

  Shoot The Bastards? Claire Wolfe says, "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." [from: 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution].The Autonomist thinks we missed the cue to shoot the bastards in 1791, although some involved in the Whisky Rebellion tried. Since then, the government has grown ever more powerful, more intrusive, and more repressive. That provocative statement by Claire Wolfe sums up the two most prevalent views about what ought to be done to reverse this trend of government oppression and to restore the...

Why President Clinton was impeachedThere is another liberal Documentary out "The Hunting of the President." Susan McDougall has been promoting the movie. She claims in recent interviews that President Clinton’s impeachment was entirely do to a right wing conspiracy to get the President no matter how or what the cost. I have also had liberal friends and acquaintances ask why President Clinton was impeached. A free society can only function when most citizens obey the laws and cooperate with their government out a sense of respect for the rules and for their government. A police state exits when citizens follow...

Immediately following the 2000 election fiasco, there were loud cries to change the electoral process. Hillary Clinton called for an end to the Electoral College. Others called for a system of proportional representation. Some people even called for a parliamentary system of governance. Third-party enthusiasts complained about the uneven playing field and the built-in bias that favors the two major political parties. As bad as it may be, however, the two-party system, functioning through the winner-take-all Electoral College, is the best mechanism for maintaining a stable federal republic and avoiding the horrors of a splintered democracy. Italy is an excellent...

Saying the Libertarian Party is highly unified around his candidacy, presidential nominee Michael Badnarik hopes disenchantment with the Republican Party and high-profile TV commercials will help him garner unprecedented support in November's election. Badnarik, who describes himself as "almost everyone's second choice" for the Libertarian nomination, was able to win the party's nod after front-runners Aaron Russo and Gary Nolan failed to garner enough votes at the national convention to win. In an interview with WorldNetDaily, Badnarik says his nomination actually brought the party together. He says both Russo and Nolan are working to get him elected. "The Libertarian Party...