Volume 15, No. 1 January 8, 2010
The Liberator Online
for everyone who loves liberty
published by the Advocates for Self-Government
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"The Advocates has been responsible for almost all the libertarian outreach tools you can find: from wallet-sized copies of the famous World's Smallest Political Quiz, to instructional tapes on communications skills and political activism, to the ubiquitous 'libertarian event in a kit': the Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) booths that you've seen at parades, festivals, and other events."
-- Henry Hazlitt Foundation (July 24, 2001)
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WELCOME to the Liberator Online!
In This Issue
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
* Celebrate: It's the Advocates 25th Anniversary!
* Las Vegas: Our 25th Anniversary Celebration
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
* Hey, Mr. President: Where Are Our Troops?
* Poll: Voters Distrust Government and Want It Smaller
* Is ObamaCare Unconstitutional?
* L.A. Times: Ron Paul's Ideas on The Rise
QUICK SHOTS: Wake up, young people.... Federal spending biggest since World War II.... Why the War on Drugs cannot be won....
PERSUASION POWER POINT #281
* Are You Ready For Your Coming Warhol Moment?
by Michael Cloud
ASK DR. RUWART
* Can we cut military spending without endangering U.S. security?
ONE-MINUTE LIBERTY TIP
* Great Tool to Reach Conservatives on the Drug Issue
by Sharon Harris
WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ADVOCATES
* FREE OPH KITS for libertarian student groups!
* Join the Advocates on Twitter.
* Join the Advocates Facebook Fan Club.
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 President's
Corner
by
Sharon Harris
2010: Our 25th Anniversary!
2010 is a special year for us: we're celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Advocates for Self-Government!
The Advocates was founded in 1985 by Marshall Fritz. Marshall, a longtime libertarian activist, saw an urgent need for an organization that would help libertarians become successful and persuasive communicators of the libertarian philosophy.
Marshall had seen too many libertarians turn people off to libertarian ideas. He wanted to correct this, and to encourage libertarians to use more effective ways of communication. This would help libertarians take the ideas of liberty to ever-larger numbers of people -- and win them to our side.
Marshall immersed himself in studying communication science, to learn how to apply this to libertarianism. He took the insights of the growing communication industry and applied them to the liberty movement.
He identified numerous common mistakes libertarians were making that greatly hampered the growth of our movement. And he created numerous tools and techniques to help libertarians reach more people more effectively. They included:
* The World's Smallest Political Quiz: Marshall resurrected a near-forgotten political chart created by David Nolan, affixed 10 questions to it, and created the most popular libertarian outreach tool in the world. Today millions of people encounter it every year on the Web, in newspapers and magazines, and in the supplementary material of some of America's most popular textbooks.
* Operation Politically Homeless (OPH): This unique and fun "event in a kit" transforms an ordinary outreach booth into a exciting, crowd-drawing event. Every year thousands of Americans learn about liberty face-to-face through OPH.
Marshall also began teaching acclaimed seminars on effective libertarian communication around the country. Marshall and other Advocates created audio and video learning courses, and new outreach material.
All this had a revolutionary effect on the libertarian movement. Many longtime libertarian activists have told us that the Advocates has had a major impact on the liberty movement, by helping libertarians communicate our ideas more successfully to the public, and by drawing in huge numbers of new libertarians through the Quiz, OPH and other tools.
Marshall passed away in 2008 -- after a lifetime of achievement that touched millions of lives. The Advocates has continued, and expanded on, his vision.
Our goal remains the same: to build a stronger libertarian movement by helping libertarians become successful communicators of these ideas -- whether one-on-one, neighbor to neighbor, speeches to community groups, the written word, or in political campaigns.
The year 2010 is special to us for another reason, too. This year the Advocates is undertaking an expansion unlike any in its history. We'll be taking the Advocates message to more libertarians than ever before, and helping them in turn take the ideas of freedom to many millions of Americans, in the most effective ways possible.
I believe 2010 will be the most exciting year in Advocates history since our founding. So stay tuned!
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July 7-11. 2010: Join us in Las Vegas for our 25th Anniversary Celebration!
Reserve this date on your calendar, because you won't want to miss the fun! We'll be celebrating our anniversary in conjunction with FreedomFest 2010 -- a gathering of around 2000 liberty-loving folks. We'll enjoy some of the world's greatest freedom movement speakers, great food, and some of the finest people you'd ever want to meet. (I hope one of them is you!) More details coming soon.
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Welcome to 203 new Liberator Online subscribers this issue!
The purpose of the Liberator Online is to build a stronger movement for liberty. We do this by providing information about the libertarian movement, news analysis from a libertarian perspective, and, most importantly, information and resources on how to best communicate the ideas of liberty. Thank you for being a part of this!
Learn more about the Advocates and our work for liberty.
Learn more about libertarianism -- the philosophy of liberty.
-- Sharon Harris, President
Email: sharon@TheAdvocates.org |
Good News,
Bad News,
Unbelievable News
by James W. HarrisPromises, Promises
 "I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end in 2009. It is time to bring our troops home."
-- candidate Barack Obama, February 2008, speaking of the Iraq War.
"I was opposed to this war in 2002.... I have been against it in 2002, 2003, 2004, 5, 6, 7, 8 and I will bring this war to an end in 2009."
-- candidate Barack Obama, March 2008, again speaking of the Iraq War.
(Source: David Boaz, Cato Institute blog.)
Poll: Voters Distrust Government and Want It Smaller
Trust in government is nose-diving, and voters are calling for smaller government, according to a mid-December poll by NBC and The Wall Street Journal.
The survey asked voters whether they thought that "government should do more to solve problems and help meet the needs of people" or if "government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals."
Fully 47% replied they thought government is doing too much. Only 44% believed that government should do more.
Not only is that a sizeable plurality, it's a startling change from the early days of the Obama administration, when Obama's pro-government rhetoric swayed many to support bigger government. In February 2009, 51% said government should do more, and only 40% were wise enough to say it should do less.
Even more startling is the rapid decay of trust in  government the poll found. Only 18% of voters surveyed said they trusted government to do the right thing "most of the time." (That's a huge drop down from 36% in July 2004 and 27% in August 2005.)
And a whopping "Don't tread on me" 32% said they trusted government to do the right thing "almost never." Great answer -- except, what's this "almost" stuff?
Is ObamaCare Unconstitutional?
Yes, according to an op-ed entitled "Why the Health-Care Bills Are Unconstitutional," by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), law professor Ken Blackwell, and Kenneth Klukowski of the American Civil Rights Union.
It was published in the Wall Street Journal on January 2. An excerpt:
 "[T]he Constitution does not give Congress the power to require that Americans purchase health insurance. Congress must be able to point to at least one of its powers listed in the Constitution as the basis of any legislation it passes. None of those powers justifies the individual insurance mandate. Congress's powers to tax and spend do not apply because the mandate neither taxes nor spends. The only other option is Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce.
"Congress has many times stretched this power to the breaking point, exceeding even the expanded version of the commerce power established by the Supreme Court since the Great Depression. It is one thing, however, for Congress to regulate economic activity in which individuals choose to engage; it is another to require that individuals engage in such activity. That is not a difference in degree, but instead a difference in kind. It is a line that Congress has never crossed and the courts have never sanctioned."
The article argues that the recent bill passed by the Senate is unconstitutional in other ways as well. Of course, that hasn't stopped Congress in the past from voting for plenty of other measures that obviously violate the spirit or word of the Constitution.
L.A. Times: Ron Paul's Ideas
on The Rise
Ron Paul's economic ideas are "getting serious attention."
So reported the respected Los Angeles Times on January 2.
"For three decades, Texas congressman and  former presidential candidate Ron Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far fringes even among conservatives," the article begins. "Not a few times, his views put him on the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.
"No longer. With the economy still struggling and political divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy."
The article notes that Paul's "warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras" and that "Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be on its way to becoming law."
Further, "with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending and the deficit."
The article dismisses Paul's calls for a gold standard and for abolishing the Fed as unrealistic. But, of course, lots of people would have said the same thing about his Audit the Fed bill not so long ago.
The article focuses exclusively on Paul's economic ideas. It doesn't mention his libertarian views on foreign policy and civil liberties. When you consider the increasing bi-partisan support he's winning in these areas as well, you begin to see that Ron Paul's influence is considerable indeed -- and definitely on the rise.
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Quick Shots...
 WAKE UP, YOUNG PEOPLE: "Young people need to figure out that the big government policies of both parties in recent years are particularly disastrous for them. Big governments kill job opportunities, kill new industries, kill innovation, kill dynamism, and kill growth. The young need to stand up and defend themselves against the fiscal insanity in Washington, else they will be crushed by a tidal wave of taxes never seen by any generation in American history."
-- Chris Edwards, Cato Institute blog, Dec. 28, 2009.
BIGGEST GOV'T SPENDING SINCE WORLD WAR II: "The Obama administration estimates that federal spending will reach 28% of GDP in 2009, up from 19% a decade ago. It's the largest share of the economy consumed by the federal government since the fighting stopped in World War II."
-- Rasmussen Reports polling firm, Dec. 28, 2009.
WHY THE WAR ON DRUGS CANNOT BE WON: "In the 40 years since U.S. President Richard Nixon declared a 'war on drugs,' the supply and use of drugs has not changed in any fundamental way. The only difference: a taxpayer bill of more than $1 trillion. ...
"Because governments make drugs illegal,  the risk associated with transporting them translates to high rewards for those willing to take that risk. The wholesale price of a single kilo of cocaine, for instance, costs $1,200 in Colombia, $2,300 in Panama, $8,300 in Mexico, and between $15,000 and $25,000 in the U.S., depending on how close you are to the Mexican border. At a retail level on the streets of New York, it can run close to $80,000. With markups like that, the business is bound to keep attracting new entrants, no matter what governments do to stop it."
-- David Luhnow, "Saving Mexico," Wall Street Journal, Dec. 26, 2009.
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"Good News, Bad News, Unbelievable News" is written by Liberator Online editor James W. Harris. His articles have appeard in numerous magazines and newspapers, and he has been a Finalist for the Mencken Awards, given by the Free Press Association for "Outstanding Journalism in Support of Liberty."
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 PERSUASION
POWER
POINT #281
Are You Ready For Your Coming Warhol Moment?
by Michael Cloud
"In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes," said Andy Warhol in the 1960's.
Reality TV. YouTube. Facebook. Twitter. Cable TV. Podcasting. Citizen journalism. Blogs. Ezines. Talk radio. Tea Parties. Town hall eetings. Even newspapers, magazines, and network TV.
All have voracious, insatiable cravings for new, different, and more information. For new faces and voices and stories.
If you go to a Tea Party tally, a town hall meeting, a libertarian conference or convention, or simply staff an Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) booth, you just might come face-to-face with your Warhol Moment.
Your 15 minutes of media attention. Your 15 minutes in front of the spotlight -- with audio recorders and cameras rolling.
"What are you protesting at this Tea Party rally? Why? Are you guys conservatives? Republicans?"
"Which issues brought you to tonight's town hall meeting? Why are they important? What do you propose we do?"
"What's being discussed at this libertarian conference? What is libertarianism? Why are you a libertarian? How are libertarians different from liberals? From conservatives?"
"What do you mean by the phrase 'politically homeless?' Why did you make up a new political chart? What's the matter with the left/right political spectrum? Why are you asking people to take your World's Smallest Political Quiz? What are you trying to accomplish?"
There's your Warhol Moment. Your 15 minutes in front of the microphone and camera.
Will you be able to give A+ responses to the questions? Will you say things that make viewers drop everything else and pay rapt attention to you and your message? Will you say things that send people to their computers -- to visit your group's website?
Not if you're like 999 out of 1,000 people. They get stuck and stammer. Their answers are boring and littered with clichés. Forgettable.
Why? They failed to ask themselves these questions. They didn't think through, plan, and practice their answers.
They neglected to prepare for their Warhol Moment.
How do you prepare for your 15 minutes of media coverage? Rely on Kipling's teachers:
"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who."
Consider Operation Politically Homeless (OPH):
* What is it?
* Why do we do it?
* How does it work?
* What's the World's Smallest Political Quiz?
* How is it different from the left/right political spectrum?
* Why is it better or more accurate than the left/right spectrum?
* Who says the Quiz is accurate or valid?
* Where can people take the Quiz online?
* Where can they learn more online about the Quiz and OPH?
Why not write down your answers to these questions? Why not practice your answers a few times?
Why not seize your Warhol Moment -- and win dozens of new people to liberty?
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Michael Cloud is author of the acclaimed book Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion, available exclusively from the Advocates.
In 2000, Michael was honored with the Thomas Paine Award as the Most Persuasive Libertarian Communicator in America.
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 Ask
Dr.
Ruwart
Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column.
Can we cut military spending without endangering U.S. security?
QUESTION: In a libertarian society, the U.S.  military would be scaled down. By doing this, won't the U.S. be putting itself at risk should it face a country with a larger military that is aggressive towards the U.S.?
MY SHORT ANSWER: Although it's likely that we'd have a smaller military in a libertarian society, we'd probably have a much more efficient one.
Navy Seal Commander Richard Marcinko was asked by his superiors to infiltrate key Naval bases with a handful of colleagues. Commanders of the target installations were given notice that Marcinko's raiders were coming. Nevertheless, with only seven men, Marcinko planted dummy demolition charges on nuclear submarines, captured the women and children living on base, and even gained access to Air Force One as it was being refueled! The Commanders complained that Marcinko had cheated by coming in by water or other "back doors" that they hadn't prepared for. (You can read more about it in Marcinko's book, Rogue Warrior.)
Our military is a subsidized monopoly that has trouble protecting us on our home turf. Like most government services, it costs much and delivers little, wasting the energy and lives of our brave soldiers. This isn't the fault of our soldiers. It's due to politics and the inevitable inefficiency of government. Our soldiers deserve better -- and so do we!
LEARN MORE: "The U.S. Should Cut Military Spending in Half" is the name of a short article by the libertarian Cato Institute's Benjamin H. Friedman that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor April 27, 2009.
Says Friedman: "To really keep us safe, we should slash defense spending. Americans should prepare for fewer wars, not different ones. Far from providing our defense, our military posture endangers us. It drags us into others' conflicts, provokes animosity, and wastes resources. We need a defense budget worthy of the name. We need military restraint. And that would allow us to cut defense spending roughly in half. ... Our defense budget is almost half the world's, even leaving out nuclear weapons, the wars, veterans, and homeland security. It is also more than we spent at any point during the Cold War."
Cato's Friedman explains in more detail what cuts should be made, and how they would actually make America more secure, in the Cato Handbook for Policy Makers.
* * * * * * * *
Got questions? Dr. Ruwart has answers! If you'd like answers to YOUR "tough questions" on libertarian issues, email Dr. Ruwart at: ruwart@theAdvocates.org
Due to volume, Dr. Ruwart can't personally acknowledge all emails. But we'll run the best questions and answers in upcoming issues.
Dr. Ruwart's previous Liberator Online answers are archived in searchable form.
Dr. Ruwart's outstanding books Healing Our World and Short Answers to the Tough Questions are available from the Advocates.
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One-Minute
Liberty Tip
A Great Tool for Reaching Conservatives on the Drug Issue
by Sharon Harris
Conservatives are often resistant to the idea of re-legalizing drugs. And conservatives often criticize libertarians on this issue.
Here's one of the most powerful tools I know to counter such conservative criticisms -- and to open conservative minds on this issue.
It's the February 12, 1996 issue of National Review.
 National Review is the bible of the conservative movement, and it has been for over fifty years. The magazine's founder, William F. Buckley (who died in 2008) is universally known as the father of the modern American conservative movement. The magazine has defined and led American conservatism for decades.
Yet this cover story announces, in bold letters: THE WAR ON DRUGS IS LOST.
Inside, the introduction to that cover story includes these striking words:
"... it is our judgment that the war on drugs has failed, that it is diverting intelligent energy away from how to deal with the problem of addiction, that it is wasting our resources, and that it is encouraging civil, judicial, and penal procedures associated with police states. We all agree on movement toward legalization, even though we may differ on just how far."
It is signed "The Editors." Following this dramatic introduction are excellent short articles by commentators from the left, the right, and from libertarian Thomas Szasz.
You can get the text of that article here.
This is a revelation for many conservatives. Here is William F. Buckley, the father of modern conservatism, along with the editors of the world's leading mainstream conservative magazine -- denouncing the War on Drugs as a failure and a threat to liberty! And -- this was more than a decade ago.
To the best of my knowledge, this remains the magazine's position today. On May 17, 2006, for example, National Review's editor-at-large Jonah Goldberg (who is against re-legalization of drugs other than marijuana) wrote: "National Review is foursquare against the drug war (though I dissent from my colleagues on this front)."
This is wonderfully useful for libertarians. For example, if you speak to a conservative audience, carry a print-out of the February 12, 1996 article. When discussing drugs, you can quote from it. You can cite the distinguished conservative leaders who shared your libertarian view -- well over a decade ago.
Similarly, if you are criticized by a conservative on the drug issue, you can use this article to point out that some of America's leading conservatives, and America's leading conservative magazine, have long endorsed drug re-legalization. You can point out that ending the Drug War is no longer just a libertarian issue -- although libertarians can claim credit for raising it first. Drug re-legalization is now a legitimate conservative position, too.
If you speak to conservatives or to a conservative audience, this article, with a copy of the cover attached, makes a powerful visual aid. You can hold it up while you quote from it in a speech. (Note: I will shortly post a large color copy of that cover that you can download and print along with the text. When I do so, I'll announce it in this column.)
You might want to have several copies of this article with you -- you're liable to be asked for them.
As always, use these tools to open minds and create useful discussions, not as a sort of trump card or "gotcha!" to win an argument. We want people to agree with us. It doesn't do liberty much good if we win arguments, but lose hearts and minds.
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Sharon Harris is president of the Advocates for Self-Government. See more One Minute Liberty tips.
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What's Happening
with the Advocates
FREE OPH KITS FOR LIBERTARIAN STUDENT GROUPS: We're giving our acclaimed OPH (Operation Political Homeless) outreach kits to libertarian  student groups FREE -- if they simply promise to use them a minimum of three times a year and send us photos documenting their OPH activity. OPH -- praised as the best recruiting tool in the libertarian movement -- normally sells for $50.00. Contact us for information on getting your free OPH kit. Email: info@TheAdvocates.org
JOIN US ON TWITTER: Twitter is the first place to learn about breaking Advocates and liberty movement news, expert communications tips, and exclusive Advocates discounts and specials. (And don't worry -- we won't bombard you with tweets. We're keeping it fun, fast, and useful.)
Joining the conversation is easy. If you don't already have a Twitter account, it only takes a few moments to sign up for one.
Then go to the Advocates Twitter account and click the "follow" button below our picture.
That's all it takes! You'll then get our tweets -- and we can get yours.
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About Us
THE LIBERATOR ONLINE, created by James W. Harris and Paul Schmidt, is the official newsletter of the Advocates for Self-Government.
Mail: 1010 North Tennessee Street, Suite 215, Cartersville, GA 30120
Phone: 770-386-8372. For orders: 1-800-932-1776
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"May it be to the world... to assume the blessings and security of self-government." -- Thomas Jefferson, June 24, 1826.
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