Flag Liberty Blog

Arizona Republicans Target Libertarian Candidates

Flagstaff Liberty — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:40:56 +0000

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.

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Matthew Papke At The Arizona Freedom Fest

Flagstaff Liberty — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:41:15 +0000

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.

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Two New immunizations Required For 6th Grade Kids This Year In AZ

Flagstaff Liberty — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:16:37 +0000

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.

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

SEDI Gives Your Tax Dollars Away…No Strings Attached?

Flagstaff Liberty — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:00:14 +0000

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?

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Voluntary Rainwater Harvesting In Flagstaff

Flagstaff Liberty — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:52:01 +0000

By Elisha Dorfsmith

Last year a friend picked up four 55 gallon water barrels for Cindy. I finally got around to installing them this weekend for our rainwater harvesting system.

There are countless how to videos on Youtube explaining different ways to install a rain barrel system. The process is generally simple and if you can get the barrels cheap, the rest of the parts are inexpensive so it’s a very affordable project.

Very easy to put together.

A great way to store rainwater for your garden.

Now we just need some rain!

With some states discouraging or even banning rainwater harvesting and some groups in Flagstaff trying to make rainwater harvesting mandatory, I think it’s safe to say that voluntary rainwater harvesting is the happy medium. I’m looking forward to putting this new system to use.

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Flag Liberty Events And Food Freedom Update

Flagstaff Liberty — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 04:08:32 +0000

By Elisha Dorfsmith

Below is an update sent to the Flagstaff Liberty Alliance email list (if you’d like to be added to our email list please contact us at FlagLibertyAlliance@gmail.com):

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.

We can always use help handing out literature. Hope to see you there.

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/

Next Wednesday I will be getting an update from City staff on the progress being made to change the animal keeping part of the City code. We have been working with the City to make it easier for residents to raise chickens, rabbits and other small animals. A lot of the concerns we had originally addressed in our first draft ordinance may actually be worked out with these changes to the City code. I’ll let you all know what I find out on Wednesday.

Don’t forget that our next monthly meeting is Thursday, June 20th at 6:30 pm at the Weatherford. We will be meeting on the second floor. Our meetings are always free and open to the public and kids are welcome.

In light of today’s news that the American people (you and I) are being spied on by our government (thanks to the Patriot Act), I want to encourage you all to keep taking a stand and keep fighting for your Constitutional rights. Some people get discouraged and want to give up when they hear these things. When I see confirmation that my biggest fears have been realized my reaction is to push back harder.

Keep fighting the good fight for liberty!

Elisha Dorfsmith

Communications Director

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.

www.flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Author Rosa Koire To Speak In Flagstaff

Flagstaff Liberty — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:40:32 +0000

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

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Don’t Miss The Arizona Freedom Fest June 14-16

Flagstaff Liberty — Thu, 30 May 2013 23:56:24 +0000

By Elisha Dorfsmith

On June 14-16, liberty lovers from Arizona and surrounding states will be gathering in Show Low for Arizona’s 1st Annual Freedom Fest!

The event is being held at the 30+ acre Owens Creekside Ranch and will have some really great liberty oriented entertainment, fishing, a gun show and fun activities for the whole family.

Be sure to check out the incredible lineup of speakers (including many Arizona liberty movement leaders who have worked closely with Flagstaff Liberty Alliance):

http://arizonafreedomfest.com/Arizona_FreedomFest/Speakers/Speakers.html

Volunteer Opportunities

Arizona Freedom Fest is seeking volunteers for the festival. The first FIVE businesses who round up 12 or more volunteers will be featured as sponsors. If you’d like to help out you can contact the organizers at:

http://arizonafreedomfest.com/Arizona_FreedomFest/Contact_Us.html
928.242.5100

Tickets

Get your tickets in advance. Tickets are available here:

http://arizonafreedomfest.com/Arizona_FreedomFest/Buy_Tickets.html

Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers will be speaking at the Arizona Freedom Fest on Saturday, June 15th.

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Flagstaff’s Second Hand Ordinance One Year Later

Flagstaff Liberty — Wed, 29 May 2013 14:26:16 +0000

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).

flagstafflibertyalliance.com

Flagstaff Joins March Against Monsanto Protests

Flagstaff Liberty — Tue, 28 May 2013 23:35:35 +0000

By Elisha Dorfsmith

On May 25th, Flagstaff Liberty Alliance hosted a Flagstaff March Against Monsanto event in coordination with anti Monsanto protests worldwide. I was out of town so I couldn’t be there but I heard it was very well attended.

Special thanks to Flagstaff Liberty Alliance Secretary Christine Burton for making this happen! Also, thanks to everyone who sent me their pictures from the event. I’m posting some of my favorites below (click to enlarge).

flagstafflibertyalliance.com