Archive
Arizona Republicans Target Libertarian Candidates
By Elisha Dorfsmith
Arizona Republicans have pushed through legislation that will make it extremely difficult if not impossible for Libertarian and other third party candidates to qualify for ballot access.
In the past, third party candidates had to collect a percentage of signatures from people registered in their respective party. With the new changes they are now required to collect so many signatures that the requirement often outnumbers the number of people registered Libertarian or Green or whatever in a district.
Republicans say the measure is needed to combat scenarios were Republicans lose to Democrats by a few thousand votes. They’re still upset that Jonathan Paton lost to Ann Kirkpatrick in the CD1 Congressional race last year. Republicans insist that all the votes that went to the Libertarian candidate would have gone to Paton (a complete MYTH).
It’s safe to say that no voter who voted for the Libertarian candidate was forced to do so. If Republicans think their candidates are so weak that simply having other names on the ballot will drain GOP votes then maybe they should run better candidates.
This new state law is as bad as “Top Two” and any other piece of legislation that limits ballot access and voter choice. It essentially tells YOU that you’re too stupid to mark the correct box on your ballot so they’ll do it for you.
Republicans who support this new law say they lose elections because Libertarians steal their votes. Maybe the real truth is that they lose elections because they’re corrupt and will cheat and scheme every chance they get and people are sick and tired of their dirty tricks.
Matthew Papke At The Arizona Freedom Fest
By Elisha Dorfsmith
Like many of you, I was very disappointed that I missed the Arizona Freedom Fest last weekend. Fortunately for us, video of the event is starting to get posted and the speeches are excellent! I’ll post them as they are sent to me.
To start, here’s a great speech from Matt Papke, one of the most dedicated liberty activists I know.
Two New immunizations Required For 6th Grade Kids This Year In AZ
By Elisha Dorfsmith
This school year children starting 6th grade will be asked to get two new immunizations before they are allowed to attend classes. The new immunizations “required” by state law are a meningitis vaccine and Tdap booster.
What many parents in Arizona don’t realize is that they have the right to opt out of any immunizations for any reason simply by filling out a form and returning it to their child’s school.
You can find the Arizona Immunization Opt Out form here:
http://azdhs.gov/phs/immunization/documents/school-childcare/school-exemption-form.pdf
Don’t expect the Flagstaff Unified School District to inform you of your right as a parent to opt out. They have a tendency to do everything they can to keep parents in the dark about their rights. I have had members of the FUSD board get very angry at me for sharing this opt out information in the past.
Of course I would never want to tell parents what I think they should do with their children’s health decisions and immunization choices. I simply believe that all parents deserve to know their rights and the options available.
Do lots of research and make an educated decision.
SEDI Gives Your Tax Dollars Away…No Strings Attached?
By Elisha Dorfsmith
Each year the City of Flagstaff gives $20,000 of your tax dollars to SEDI, the The Northern Arizona Sustainable Economic Development Initiative.
How does SEDI use those tax dollars? Well, according to the Daily Sun, SEDI likes to give away no strings attached checks for $1,000 each to teachers who implement their goals in the classroom.
Is this how you want your tax dollars spent?
Someone with detailed knowledge of SEDI’s finances may point out that the money given away comes from other sponsors or revenue sources. Well that’s fine but if SEDI has funds to give away with no strings attached why do they still need our tax dollars?
Flag Liberty Events And Food Freedom Update
Good evening Flagstaff Liberty Alliance members and friends,
I wanted to remind you that Flagstaff Liberty Alliance will have a table in Heritage Square tomorrow for the June 7th First Friday Art Walk. We’ll be setting up at 6:00 pm and will be out there for a couple hours.
As always we’ll be handing out Flag Liberty literature and free liberty books. We’ll also be handing out issue cards to educate the public about threats to civil liberties (Patriot Act), the importance of sound money, urban chicken farming, industrial hemp and why we need a Constitutional foreign policy.
Food Freedom
After much work and countless re-writes we officially have a Food Freedom Resolution ready to present to the Flagstaff City Council and County Board of Supervisors. We have met with several City Council members and made changes here and there to create a resolution that everyone is comfortable with.
A resolution does not have the teeth that an ordinance has but it is a big first step in getting our local elected officials to support food freedom in Northern Arizona. The resolution has the potential to act as a catalyst for a future food freedom ordinance as things move forward.
Our resolution has support from people across the political spectrum and we believe it has a good chance of being approved by the City and County.
In a few weeks we’ll be asking for your help in contacting our elected officials and asking them to support the resolution.
Here’s a link to the updated (much smaller) resolution text:
http://flagliberty.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/flagstaff-food-freedom-resolution-draft-completed/
Keep fighting the good fight for liberty!
Flagstaff Liberty Alliance
On a side note, It was great meeting Rosa Koire (Democrats Against Agenda 21) last night. She is an extremely articulate and well researched speaker. Check our her book Behind The Green Mask HERE.
Author Rosa Koire To Speak In Flagstaff
By Elisha Dorfsmith
Nationally known speaker and author Rosa Koire will be speaking in Flagstaff at the NAU Cline Library Auditorium tomorrow June 5, at 6:00 pm.
Rosa is the founder of Democrats Against Agenda 21, an organization dedicated to exposing the goals and policies that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio.
This event is being sponsored by the NAU Republicans and is free and open to the public.
For more information on Rosa Koire, visit Democrats Against Agenda 21:
http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com
Rosa Koire
Flagstaff’s Second Hand Ordinance One Year Later
By Elisha Dorfsmith
It’s been almost a year since the City of Flagstaff passed a second hand ordinance that charges just about any business that buys items from the public a $3.00 fee per transaction so police can document the sale. The ordinance was passed to expand city regulation beyond pawn shops which were already impacted prior to the second hand ordinance being implemented.
Last night the Flagstaff City Council received an update from the Flagstaff Police Department touting the success of the ordinance.
This is what Flag PD reported:
ONLY 24 cases were investigated involving secondhand stores in the past six months. 7,465 secondhand transactions were logged into the police database. Police made $22,395.00 in fees on these transactions. Police retain all information on these individuals in their database including a detailed record of what has been sold (serial numbers, book titles, movie titles etc.)
Several local businesses have told me that the $3.00 fee per transaction is excessive and hurting their business. Hastings employees told me that this ordinance was one of the main reasons they closed their Flagstaff store.
After the presentation, the majority of council seemed satisfied with the Flag PD update. A massive burden on countless local businesses seemed to be a fair tradeoff for leads in 24 investigations (keep in mind that these investigations did not always translate to a conviction).
Council To Discuss Immigration Tonight
By Elisha Dorfsmith
Tonight the Flagstaff City Council will consider a resolution supporting the Arizona Accord, a set of five principles to guide immigration discussion modeled after the Utah Compact.
The five principles are as follows:
FEDERAL SOLUTIONS Immigration is a federal policy issue between the U.S. government & other countries, not Arizona and other countries. We urge Arizona’s congressional delegation, and others, to lead efforts to strengthen federal laws and protect our national borders. We urge state leaders to adopt reasonable policies addressing immigrants in Arizona.
LAW ENFORCEMENT We respect the rule of law & support law enforcement’s professional judgment and discretion. Local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not civil violations of federal code.
FAMILIES Strong families are the foundation of successful communities. We oppose policies that would unnecessarily separate families. We champion policies that support families and improve the health, education and well-being of all Arizona children.
ECONOMY Arizona is best served by a free-market philosophy that maximizes individual freedom and opportunity. We acknowledge the economic role immigrants play as workers and taxpayers. Arizona’s immigration policies must reaffirm our global reputation as a welcoming and business-friendly state.
A FREE SOCIETY Immigrants are integrated into communities across Arizona. We must adopt a humane approach to this reality, reflecting our unique culture, history & spirit of inclusion. The way we treat immigrants will say more about us as a free society and less about our immigrant neighbors. Arizona should always be a place that welcomes people of goodwill.
I have been reading through some of the discussion about the Arizona Accord on Facebook today and I am seeing mixed reactions.
On one hand, people support the idea of local police focusing on issues more important and pressing than immigration.
On the other hand, people think it’s ironic that Flagstaff is saying the state should stay out of Federal business while at the same time the City is getting involved in State and Federal business by considering this resolution.
Here are some interesting thoughts from Judge Andrew P. Napolitano on freedom and immigration:
http://lewrockwell.com/napolitano/napolitano85.1.html
What are your feelings? Please post in the comments section below.
Flagstaff To Join March Against Monsanto Protests
By Elisha Dorfsmith
In coordination with protests around the world on May 25th, Flagstaff Liberty Alliance will be hosting an anti Monsanto rally in front of Flagstaff City Hall from 10:00-11:00 am.
This will be a great opportunity to let Flagstaff know that you support food choice and food freedom. Bring your signs and take a stand!
Also, be sure to check out our local food freedom efforts:
http://flagliberty.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/local-food-a-trending-topic-in-flagstaff/
Page Rejects Property Tax
By Elisha Dorfsmith
The Coconino County Elections Office has just released the unofficial results of today’s general election for the City of Page. Over 75% of ballots cast were NO votes against Proposition 407 which would have created the first ever property tax in the 38 year history of the city.
Today’s election is the only time Page residents have had a chance to weigh in on the idea of a city property tax. Some media outlets thought Page voters would jump at the prospects of a tax if they just had an opportunity to approve it.
Tonight’s election results can be found HERE.
5-22-2013 UPDATE: Yesterday Page also elected Levi Tappan, a Libertarian to the City Council! More on that story here:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/libertarian-levi-tappan-wins-city-council-election-in-page-az
