thinkLIBERTARIAN Blog

As much as I say that I need to, this written blog is certainly the bastard step child of our world at the moment.  Sorry for that.
Between organizing the heavily anticipated Ron Paul Rockfest, which is now under a month away, and doing our sort of regular, though soon to be more so, audio podcasts, along with life, it is challenging to find the time to just sit here and write out some thoughts.

My thoughts at the moment revolve around smiling.

I just saw that the Ron Paul Rockfest has made the front page of www.dailypaul.com and that makes me smile.

Watching  Dr. Paul once again display his prowess and strength in a debate, the All American Presidential Forum on PBS, made me smile.

Putting my Ron Paul cabbi-style sign on top of my car always makes me smile; I smile even wider when I get to plug it in for night time driving. 

Getting acknowledged by Sean Hannity at his live broadcast here in Atlanta today made me smile.  When he saw my shirt at the back of the room and asked why I liked Ron Paul, and I said “because he supports freedom and the constitution”, this made me smile.  And I smiled even more when the gentleman in the hallway asked for and got an interview from me for a live webcast he was doing, all because I was wearing my baby blue Ron Paul tshirt; my smile nearly knocked me over!

Ron Paul makes me smile.  Thinking LIBERTARIAN  makes me smile.  The revolution makes me smile.

This wonderful moment we are all experiencing together, and as individuals, makes me smile because we are truly witnessing a unique moment in the course of human history and freedom.

I love this stuff.

Smiling.

Mark Augustyn

What a great time to be a part of the freedom movement!

The Libertarian Party has seen membership increase almost 20% this year.  The Ron Paul Revolution has taken off in a way that I doubt anyone could have ever imagined.  And every day, more and more Americans are seeing the wisdom of the constitution and limited government.

As an active Libertarian and active Ron Pauler, I have been a strong advocate for bringing both groups together.  One way or another, the Ron Paul Revolution will run its course (fingers crossed for President Paul) and it is profoundly important that Ron Paulers know that they have a friend and home in the Libertarian Party.

Well I am happy to report some very real results of this friendship here in the metro Atlanta area…

Last week, I received an email from  the Libertarian Party of Georgia reminding everyone that the deadline to file paperwork for local 2007 elections was August 31st.  I took this email as a chance to see if I could find some more people who would be interested in running for available local offices as Libertarians.

I targeted the meetup group thinkLIBERTARIAN sponsors here in Atlanta, along with local Ron Paul meetup groups I’ve been in touch with.  In the last week I have spoken to 11 interested people; 5 came through the Greater Atlanta Libertarian Meetup group, and 6 came from local Ron Paul meetups.  Do you need any more proof??
Libertarians must take advantage of what may be a once in a life time opportunity through Dr. Ron Paul’s candidacy, to grow and nurture relationships that can immediately and in the future, bear fruit for the cause of the constitution and limited government.

It is this humble person’s opinion that Libertarians and Ron Paulers are one and the same.  The sooner we accept this reality, the sooner and quicker we can find and run an army of Ron Paul-like Libertarians, along with Ron Paul republicans, and mark my word, along with Ron Paul democrats!

Keep up the good fight Libertarians!  Keep up the good fight Ron Paulers!  Ours is the noble path.  Fortunately for us, looks like we’ll have to widen the path for a lot more traffic!!!!

Always in liberty,

Mark Augustyn

Currently at 3:55 a.m. on Sunday July 22nd, I had intended for this entry to be more than it will probably end up being right now.

However, a short nap snuck up on me. This was probably caused by waking up yesterday at 6:15 a.m. in order to ride my motorcycle out to Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina to attend two Ron Paul events. Hmmm, that is 22 hours ago…
With the excuse now out of the way, let me start by telling all of my fellow freedom lovers that Dr. Ron Paul filled both rooms today. 250 to 300 at the luncheon in Spartanburg and around 1,000 for the rally in Greenville.

It was an amazing experience and one that would warm the heart of any Libertarian or libertarian thinking person.I’ve now come to realize that Dr. Paul is more than just a rockstar; he has in just a few months become the Grateful Dead of the political world. If he shows up, they wil come. They will bring their signs. And they will bring their heart.

And this ‘they’ is so wonderfully diverse as to include young and old, men and women, and colors of all shades that it becomes hard not to think in terms of ‘possibilies’ rather than the normal ‘fears’ we are battered with if we are not careful.

Yes my fellow Libertarians and libertarian thinking friends, the Ron Paul Revolution is quite real and growing quickly. And it feels great.

Enjoy the pics.

Mark A.

As an active and passionate Libertarian, the growing buzz around Dr. Ron Paul’s candidacy certainly has me unbelievably excited on one hand, but torn on another.

And less than wanting to come to any conclusions, this piece is simply about wanting to get this issue talked about by Libertarians and others sympathetic to the cause of freedom, before we lose what could be a great opportunity.

What has happened with Dr. Ron Paul since May 3^rd has simply been amazing to witness.  It was on that date that the message of liberty and hope, as delivered through Dr. Paul, finally re-emerged in America and directly shared the national stage with the republican voices, and indirectly the democratic voices, who have been betraying the hard working people of this country for quite some time now.

I hope that May 3, 2007 will someday be a day that is remembered for being the start of America’s Second Revolution.

It was on that day that Dr. Ron Paul’s message of liberty rang out across this wonderful place we call America like the wake up call of wake up calls.  In return, people from across America shouted back that they had received the message, we’re in fact awake, and were wondering what took so long.

Are we at a magical moment in America’s history?  Are the results of the polls after the debates a strong indication that Dr. Paul’s message of non-interventionism, limited government, and adherence to the constitution (get this, the same message Libertarians promote!) has come at the right time for a country desperate for a refreshing and honest political voice?

If this is true, what an amazing example it would be to America if the Libertarian Party, the party of principle, was so principled that when confronted with the opportunity for freedom that Dr. Ron Paul’s candidacy is quickly growing to be, decided that the only course of action was to endorse his candidacy and encourage other groups to join the effort as well.

Think of the possibilities.

The Libertarian Party would get major respect and publicity for being so devoted to the cause of freedom, that it would put aside party labels and be willing to endorse a candidate from another party whose commitment to liberty is as clearly obvious as it is in Dr. Ron Paul.  That is putting principles and ideals ahead of labels and that is noble, best, and productive for the greater cause of freedom.

From a marketing standpoint, official or unofficial Libertarian Party support would link Dr. Paul’s growing and popular ‘brand’ of politics to our growing Libertarian ‘brand’.  Once made, this connection would only help Libertarian candidates gain more attention from a public hungry for a viable political option.  This could then translate to improved results for Libertarian candidates.

In light of the recent surge in interest about Dr. Ron Paul, only good things would come of the two brands being closely associated.  Why do you think there always seems to be Burger King next to a McDonalds?  They offer a similar product and attract the same sort of burger craving people; could the Libertarian Party become a leading provider for freedom craving people and can being associated with Dr. Ron Paul help?  I think so.

And if some or all of these things did happen, the Libertarian Party could become the lightning rod for the even larger freedom movement which involves a broad cross section of Americans and groups who simply want to be left alone to live their lives as they see fit.

Could Dr. Ron Paul’s presidential candidacy be the singular event we have all been waiting for?

Is there a Libertarian out there who has not at one time or another thought of how cool it would be if Dr. Ron Paul ran for president?

What if somehow Dr. Paul did become the republican nominee, is there a Libertarian out there who would not vote for him?

Am I torn?  Yes I am.  I know that our bylaws do not allow us to endorse a candidate from another party.  I am aware that this will have an impact on our current Libertarian presidential contenders.  I am also wise enough to know that there could be other as of yet unknown consequences of such a move.

In spite of these and other not mentioned potential ramifications, I think endorsing Dr. Ron Paul is worth the risk.

Ultimately, it is my opinion that the Libertarian Party at the local, state and national levels should be far more excited about the possibilities of riding Dr. Ron Paul’s wave, than fearful about the possible negative consequences of doing so.

We have far more to gain by associating ourselves with Dr. Ron Paul than we have to lose.

Just a thought..

Mark Augustyn

If you have not yet, please go to our video page and listen to the interview we did last week (5/30/07) with the Libertarian Party’s southeast regional representative, Mr. Bob Barr. Though we lost the second half of the interview to a technical glitch, there is still 15 minutes of insights and opinions from the former Georgia congressman. Whether it is the current state of the Libertarian Party, Dr. Ron Paul, or advice for Dr. Jim Sendelbach (Georgia Libertarian congressional candidate), Mr. Barr’s wisdom and experience is always worth a listen.

And speaking of listening, we will be moving into a new phase with thinkLIBERTARIAN by beginning to record and regualrly post thinkLIBERTARIAN podcasts. These podcasts will be focused on delivering news and information, in audio form, from a decidedly Libertarian/pro-freedom perspective. They will be short, timely, and will deliver information that is not reported or under-reported by traditional media sources like commercial t.v. and radio.

We’re also working to edit the footage we shot at our successful LET FREEEDOM ROCKFEST held on 5/23/07 here in Atlanta. Our second fundraiser for the Libertarian Party of Georgia brought out over 100 people and we ended up donating $1,000 to the state party. That comes to $2,000 that we have raised since last fall for the state party here in Georgia and this is a good thing. If there is anyone reading this who would like to learn more about how we organized the concert, feel free to email us; we would love to lend any ideas, suggestions, or support to anyone interested in organizing a Libertarian fundraiser where they live.

These are exciting times to be a supporter of liberty, the kind of liberty Dr. Ron Paul is advocating. And if the response to Dr. Ron Paul’s message is any indication, the future does indeed look bright and hopeful for all of us working to advance the cause of freedom. Never, ever, ever give up!

In liberty,

Mark Augustyn and Mark Solomon

Bill Maher Is No Libertarian

Dear Bill,

I had a chance to watch your recent interview with presidential contender Congressman Ron Paul from Texas on your HBO show. For the record, I do not have cable and watched it on Youtube so no, I do not support your career by being a cable subscriber.

You claimed in the interview that you are ‘somewhat’ of a Libertarian. I would have never guessed so from how you conducted your interview.

You had on your show the leading Libertarian leaning politician in congress and you refer to him as being ‘pretty far out there’? Well that is just fucking great; way to blow a great opportunity el grande stupido Maher. If you were ‘somewhat’ of a Libertarian like you claim, you would have known how revered Congressman Paul is and shown him some respect. The tone of the interview was anything but respectful.

If you really were ‘somewhat’ of a Libertarian you would know that Ron Paul is revered by both liberals, conservatives, and libertarians because of his unassailable voting record in congress. They do not call him Dr. No for nothing. If that is ‘pretty far out there’ for your taste, you have a lot to learn about Congressman Ron Paul and Libertarian principles Mr. Maher.

You could have asked him any one of a number relevant questions and you chose to ask him about the Civil War?! Funny thing is that even on that one, Mr. Paul made you look pretty dumb by pointing out your lack of historical knowledge. In fact, if you watch the interview here, Congressman Ron Paul did a great job of displaying your lack of perspective on a variety of subjects. Score 1 for Ron Paul, and a big fat 0 for you Mr. Maher.

Mr. Maher, you are nothing more than a tow-the-line, television non-personality who ultimately will never venture far from the status quo.

You had a chance to expose millions of people to one of, if not the most honest, down to earth national politicians we have in this country and you blew it.

There is nothing cool or hip about you. That you can swear on your show doesn’t mean shit. If how you handled and marginalized Congressman Ron Paul is any indication of your respect for Libertarian ideals and principles, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Just like your brethren on the rest of the channels on the stupid box (read: television), you seem to have an issue with anyone outside of the ‘mainstream’. I thought you were better than that.

I used to make a point to catch your show when you were on regular television. I even recently rented one of your stand up videos from Netflicks. To be truthful, up until your interview with Congressman Paul, I always said that I liked you. I will not do so anymore and would encourage anyone reading this to click on the link to the interview here, and decide for themselves.

Mr. Maher, you might as well be Bill ‘Clinton’ or Bill ‘Bush’. As ‘somewhat’ of a Libertarian, you missed a great opportunity with your five minutes with Congressman Ron Paul. What a shame.

And most embarrassing for you Mr. Maher, your interview with Congressman Ron Paul was barely funny.

Mark Augustyn

Over the weekend, thinkLIBERTARIAN hosted its 8th meetup since last summer here in Atlanta. The guest speaker was Dr. Jim Sendelbach, who is running as a Libertarian in a special congressional election this June, due to the untimely death of 10th district congressman Charlie Norwood.

In a normal election year here in Georgia, any third party wanting to run a congressional candidate would need to submit 30,000 verified signatures (in reality over 40,000 would need to be submitted as the good folks in secretary of state’s office would throw out a large percentage for who knows what reasons!).

This is a great opportunity for freedom so having Dr. Jim stop by the meetup was an honor. After a brief opening statement, Dr. Jim took a variety of campaign and issue oriented questions from the over 25 people in attendance. Though Dr. Jim and the Libertarian Party of Georgia are still formulating the campaigns specific plan, the doctor displayed a great ability to speak about the issues. From Iraq, to terrorism, taxes, education, health care, and other related issues, Dr. Jim articulated his points well and the crowd was incredibly appreciative.

Along with the q&a session with Dr. Jim, the state party’s political director, Doug Craig, made an impromptu appearance to briefly talk about what the party had in mind for the Dr. Jim’s campaign.
The date for April’s meetup is still being finalized, but the plan is to continue Saturday night’s discussion into more specifics about what we can do as a group to really help out Dr. Jim’s campaign. With under 3 months until the June 19th election, Dr. Jim can use all of the support we can muster.

Over and out. In liberty…
Mark Augustyn

After a few weeks of staring at my brand new Libertarian Litter Patrol t-shirt, today I finally got out and put my money where my mouth is.

Living on the east side of Atlanta, I regularly use the on and off ramps for interstate 285, which runs right near my house. These ramps are always strewn with litter and debris. Why ‘dirty people’ regard highway ramps as garbage cans is beyond me. Regardless, someone has to clean up after these filthy people and today that person was me.

After donning my brand new Libertarian Litter Patrol t-shirt, I headed off around 3pm to go and pick up some trash. Armed with some plastic bags and a ‘litter picker grabber’, I ended up filling 3 GARBAGE bags worth of bottles, cds, paper, detergent bottles, and general trash. Along with this small stuff, I also picked up some stupid signs, a peice of a car, and a long, 6 foot piece of metal tubing that I have no f’ing clue as to what it is for.

I can’t tell you how good it felt to help clean up my neighborhood. Even better was when I was acknowledged by passers by! A honk here, a cheer there, a fist in the air, it was freaking amazing. Who knew picking up and beautifying your neighborhood would illicit such a response from random people passing by! And keep in mind, my bright yellow t-shirt was advertising the Libertarian Party the entire time.

I apologize for not getting any pictures. I’ll be sure to do so next time, and I might even shoot some video and post it so you can see for yourself how the Libertarian Litter Patrol works.

Clean up your neighborhood, feel great about doing so, and show people where you live that Libertarians are an active bunch who understand that real change happens one person at a time.

First our neighborhoods need to be rid of litter; next we will work to get rid of some of the litter populating our government institutions.
Happy litter collecting fellow Libertarians.

Mark Augustyn

The latest addition to the site has just gone up, our MUSIC PAGE.

We’re going to feature bands that have or will be performing at our fund raiser concerts, along with bands from all over the country who want to voice their support for the cause of freedom and the Libertarian Party.

We’re really excited about getting this part of the site rolling and would like to add as many bands, artists, and musicians as possible.  Please help spread the word.

And if there is anyone out there who would like to organize a LET FREEDOM ROCKFEST in their hometown, please reach out to us via our contact page. Imagine LET FREEDOM ROKFESTS all over the country raising money for the freedom movement!? With some motivated bands, this could easily become a nationwide reality.  Together with your talent and our experience, we can become a real force raising much needed funds for Libertarian causes.  Think about it!   Email us.

Off to bed. In Liberty.

Mark Augustyn

As you may have guessed, selling ads for The Georgia Libertarian newspaper has taken a bit more time than we had anticipated. Fortunately, we successfully sold the ads we needed to and the paper will be off to print early next week. Finally some time to attend to things here at thinkLIBERTARIAN.

Since we last wrote you, we had a great opportunity to interview former Georgia Congressman and recent Libertarian convert, Bob Barr. If you have not, please listen to the audio recording we made and posted on our site by clicking here. Thanks again Mr. Barr for your time.

We’ve seen many opinions about Mr. Barr’s decision, so for the record, here is ours: We love the fact that Mr. Barr decided to join our Libertarian ranks. He brings intelligence, experience, knowledge, and a host of other talents and skills to our Libertarian family and that can only be a positive for all of us.

Yes, Mr. Barr has held or may even hold some positions that do not line up with every Libertarian out there. So what? So f’ing what?! Is it somehow wiser and more strategic to tell someone like Mr. Barr that they are not welcome in the Libertarian Party because of their past positions or decisions? Can we afford to shun or push away ANYONE who says they want to be a part of our organization, let alone shun someone like Mr. Barr who can attract for us a lot of attention? We say the answer to that question is a resounding ‘NO’!

As a party and as individuals, let’s start accepting the fact that there are many different shades of Libertarians. Some lean a little more to the left, some may lean a little more to the right, yet so long as we all remain true to the simple ideas of individual responsibilty and limited government, then let’s get over the petty and ultimately non-productive ‘nit picking’ and get on with using all of the resources available to us to market, sell, and promote Libertarian principles and ideals as far and wide as we can. Mr. Barr can help us do just that. Any press is good press my fellow Libertarians. That’s Marketing 101.

Thanks also to Dr. Jim Sendelbach of Conyers, Georgia. Dr. Jim has decided to run for congress as a Libertarian in a special, non-partisan election in June to replace the 10th district seat left open by the passing of Charlie Norwood. Dr. Jim has graciously agreed to be the guest speaker at the next thinkLIBERTARIAN sponsored Greater Atlanta Libertarian Meetup on March 24th here in Atlanta. Meetups bring candidates and people together. Why not start a Libertarian Meetup where you live? Click here.

Until next time….In Liberty…

Mark Augustyn & Mark Solomon