Elections and politics

November 4, 2009

It has been too long since I blogged. Will try and make up for it here just a little.

Last night, Republicans won the Governor's races in both Virginia and New Jersey. Republicans are crowing that this is a referendum on the Obama administration.
Well, everyone is concerned about the economy and the deficit. Hopefully, this will remind the President that we cannot spend our way back to prosperity on borrowed money. But, the Republican Party in my native State of New York continued its march to oblivion, losing one of the three congressional seats (out of 29) it has held there. National Republican leaders, including Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh had endorsed the New York Conservative nominee against the Republican, and the result was a Democrat victory. Is the country on a move back to conservatism? I certainly hope not, and the results from yesterday do not show this. The sometime Republican Mayor of New York was barely re-elected, though he outspent his opponent well over 10 to 1. Most other races in the City went to Democrats.

Perhaps the most interesting election was in Maine, where the voters refused to approve of the new law passed by the legislature which legalized gay marriage. At the same time, they approved of a more liberal medical marijuana law. Mixed results for those of us who think neither item is any of the government's business. We still have so far to go to our goal of getting the government out of our personal lives. Now is not the time to quit. We need to keep working at it, confident that we will win in the long run.

Here in Utah, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff withdrew from the U.S. Senate race today for family reasons. I actually like Mark (but not his politics) and wish him and his family well. It is now one year from the election for Utah's Governor, the Senate, and a host of other races. Our little Libertarian Party receives inquiries every day, and I joke that we will soon be bigger in Utah than the Democrats. There are many people who do not like the choice between the two "major parties". The Democrats are way too free with our money. The Republicans, while claiming they are for smaller government, constantly interfere with our personal lives, pushing their personal ideas of morality on us with the force of the State. We need to build a real third alternative, and today would be a good day for you to get involved in it. Join us in the fight for real freedom. www.lputah.org

This and that

September 24, 2009

It has been a month since I blogged, and there is so much going on. But there is no way I can comment on all the stuff that needs commenting, so I will just hit a few high notes.

First, a relatively non-political note that an old "friend" passed away last week, Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary. The very first concert I attended as a 14 year old was one of theirs, in the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, NY. It was a wonderful experience, and was followed by at least 7 more of their concerts over a span of many years. Not really totally divorced from politics, as PP & M tirelessly campaigned for social justice in the world. She will be missed by those of us who grew up enthralled by the 60's folk music scene.

Yesterday, I argued the first appellate case in Utah over the application of a recent law providing for the compensation of a person who has been incarcerated for a crime of which he is later found to be innocent. The attorney general is quite determined to avoid compensation without total and absolute proof of innocence. In the meantime, a man who spent over four years in prison for a crime he almost certainly did not commit, continues to suffer from the disruption of his life. For more information, see my website at www.andrewmccullough.org, and read my brief to the Utah Court of Appeals. A decision on whether he even gets a hearing where he can attempt to prove his innocence will be rendered in a few months.

Today, Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah's Third District was interviewed on KSL radio over an incident at the airport where he was directed to the extra scrutiny line, and had to choose between being man-handled by TSA personnel or screened by the new machine which creates a virtual image of the person nude. He protested and was given a very hard time. All appearances are that he was picked out for special treatment because of his efforts to outlaw the virtual nudity machine. Some onlookers say he was obnoxious. I rather doubt he was as obnoxious as I would have been in the situation. Thanks, Congressman, for standing up for freedom. And I must ask the question: Are we any safer because airport personnel can pull a congressman out of line and subject him to humiliating searches? Having been subjected to the enhanced security treatment a few times myself, I am convinced the answer is "no".

A couple of weeks ago, the President spoke via satellite to school children to encourage them to stay in school and take their education seriously. Now, I don't like everything he is doing. As a Ford stockholder, I do not like the fact that GM is now government owned and appears to have a better deal with the UAW than does my company. I do not approve of his handling of the economy, but I do think he has tried to make the best of a bad situation. I am NOT a Democrat, as I agree with Republicans that the President's party does not know the value of taxpayers' money. But, before the speech, I listened to a sobbing, hysterical mother on the radio who said she was trying to avoid her daughter listening to the talk, as she would be "indoctrinated in socialism". My reaction was that this woman probably should not be allowed to have children, as she is likely to indoctrinate them in lunacy. As Utah Chair of the Libertarian Party, I sometimes have to wish a plague on both "major parties". But the hysteria and the hate need to be diminished. Listening to the right wing radio and other media, one would think we have been invaded by the worst sort of totalitarian despots. I really do hope that hate will lose out. And it is so unfortunate to see the Republican Party so dominated by it. Maybe one of these days, people will give us Libertarians a chance to help govern; and I hope we will prove wiser than those who have gone before us.

If you too have had enough, check out www.lputah.org and join the fight to bring sanity back to government. Do something to help, and try not to make things worse. And, by the way, while the Party has not formally endorsed the effort to bring Utah a redistricting commission dedicated to taking partisan politics our of the redistricting process, I support the effort. Contact me to sign the Petition to put this on the ballot. Hopefully that is a small first step to bringing better government.

Equality in Utah

August 24, 2009

This past week, Equality Utah, the GLBT Political Action Committee in Utah, held its annual "Allies dinner". The main speaker was Bishop Gene Robinson, the only openly gay Episcopal bishop in the United States, and the cause of much controversy. I actually would have liked to hear him speak; but this year I did not receive an invitation to the dinner, and was unaware of the date and content until after it happened.

The reason that I did not know about the dinner was that I was taken off the mailing list after I protested that Equality Utah has become an arm of the Utah Democratic Party. Last year it supported and endorsed only candidates of the Democratic Party. As Utah Chair of the Libertarian Party, I was saddened at this, especially after receiving support from Equality Utah for my own campaign for Attorney General in 2004. In 2008, that changed, and I could not in good conscience attend the dinner. And so, my name was removed from the mailing list.

What a shame. I currently am working on three legal cases in which gay or bisexual men have been arrested in public parks for the crime of expressing interest in other men, who happened to be undercover police officers. At the risk of sounding like I am bragging, I must note that I took a similar case up to the Utah Supreme Court several years ago, and won. I intend to win these cases too; and it is my hope that the police will gradually come to realize that being gay in a park is not a crime. On one of the police reports, the officer had the heading: "Criminal objective: homosexual act." Well, I was among a good crowd on the steps of the Utah Capitol to celebrate on the day when the U.S. Supreme Court said that homosexual acts were no longer criminal. The officer has not yet heard this, but he will. and so will his colleagues.

It really is a shame that the party that supports personal freedom in all its aspects is frozen out of the election process, and that we are now ignored by Equality Utah. Maybe be one of these days, Equality Utah will start supporting those who have supported them for so long. In the meantime, I will have to be satisfied with reading of Bishop Robinson's talk in the newspaper.

Another "family values" champion bites the dust

July 28, 2009

I was getting ready to go home tonight when I came across a great AP article that I just had to comment on. Tennessee State Senator Paul Stanley has just resigned after an affair with a 22 year old intern. Senator Stanley has a wife and two children and voted against funding for Planned Parenthood because "unmarried people should not have sex."

"'Whatever I stood for and advocated, I still believe to be true.' he said during an interview Tuesday with Memphis radio stations WREC-AM. 'And just because I fell far short of what God'; standard was for me and my wife, doesn't mean that standard is reduced in the least bit.'"

The Republican Party sets itself up as an organization of those who are just more "righteous" than others, and that facade has crumbled so fast lately that it makes one dizzy. We Libertarian do not make a practice of claiming that we are better than others, so it just isn't interesting when one of us has an affair. Perhaps it is time for the Republicans to come down off their pedestal and admit that the moral high road is not exclusively theirs.

And the "wars" go on

July 23, 2009

On this eve of Utah's Pioneer Day holiday, it is important to remember that the State of Utah was founded by those who were forcibly ejected from polite society for their different religious views, including the right to have multiple wives. Times have changed, and now the outcasts see themselves as the bulwarks of society, the ones who can now "prevent the breakdown of conventional marriage" by doing such things as harassing gay men who happen to express affection while walking by the LDS Temple. After the Church issued a statement earlier this year urging respect for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, many of us hoped for more.

On Saturday, several groups, including the Libertarian Party, will sponsor a rally at the State Capitol to urge sensible policy toward drugs, especially marijuana. Today the U.S. "Drug Czar" dashed hopes that the Obama administration would change policy to go along with its previous announcement that it would no longer use the term "war on drugs" in policy statements. Today the Drug Czar announced "Marijuana is dangerous and has no medical benefit." Most educated people know that this is utterly without factual basis; so we now know that the new government will lie to us, just like the old one. And our hopes of something better are dashed once again.

On the local front, the Salt Lake County Sheriff reopened the "Oxbow Jail" on Monday, to help hold the prisoners that are being held for minor drug crimes and other victimless offenses. On Wednesday, it was announced that the jail might have to be closed again, because there is no money to operate it. If the waste of taxpayers money that has already gone into this farce wasn't so tragic, it would be very funny. Even staunch Republican Doug Wright of KSL radio wondered aloud if the time hadn't come to stop incarcerating people for possession of marijuana. To me, it is too obviouis to require much discussion.

Back to the national stage. Republicans have used every possible opportunity to criticize the President for his "Stimulus Package" to increase government spending to stimulate the economy. Libertarians, along with Republicans, think it is only common sense that the government must tighten its belt and cut spending when everyone else is forced to do the same. This week, however, the Republicans in the Senate put up fierce resistance to cutting back on the production of F-22 fighter aircraft. We have already built over 150 of them; and have yet to find a use for them. They have not been used once in the two expensive wars now being waged overseas. So, the Pentagon suggested that we should not build more. The reason for the fierce resistance to this request was NOT that we really need them. No, it was that those employed to build the worthless machines need the jobs! And many of them appear to work in States with Republican Senators. Wow!

Some of my Libertarian cohorts suggest that the only way we will ever elect our members to public office is to change the electoral system to something like proportional representation. I maintain that, if the two "major parties" continue to do dumb stuff to our country, the electorate will look elsewhere for a real alternative. If you are seeing some of what I see, please join us in our efforts to bring common sense back to government, and to support our freedom from a government that has gotten too big and too intrusive. Unfortunately, the two "major parties" will not restore the freedoms we have lost, so we must do it without them.

Letter to Ogden Standard Examiner

July 17, 2009

Last week there was an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about an Ogden Standard Examiner reporter who has made the restricted flyer list, though he cannot figure out why. My letter to that newspaper (which I think is very good and should be circulated widely) is linked at my website at www.andrewmccullough.org blog page. Please go there and read it and then pass it on.

I am writing this in Vancouver, BC, which is a beautiful city, where I am attending a conference of First Amendment Lawyers. Will comment more soon.

July Fourth and other fun events

July 3, 2009

Tomorrow is Independence Day, and a great cause to celebrate. Our country has many problems; and there is much disagreement over solutions. We all have to admit, however, that it is a better place than most alternatives. And we all can and should work to make it better. Tomorrow, for instance there will be a "Tea Party" rally at the Utah Capitol from 1 to 4 PM. These anti-tax rallies started as protests on "Tax Day" in April, and have expanded to remind us that the government is too big, spends too much of our money, and makes too many rules. I have been asked to make a short speech between 2 and 3 PM, so if you are utterly bored with other Fourth activities, come up and join us. Our tax protesting Founding Fathers would feel right at home.

Today I first heard that Governor Palin of Alaska would not run for reelection in 2010. Then, in only an hour or so, it was announced that she will resign next month. Some say she will devote full time to running for President. I sure hope not. Her resignation announcement today was disjointed, rambling and almost incoherent. I was very grateful that she was not a heartbeat from the presidency. Wow, for those of us who like to watch Repbublcian follies from afar, it has been an interesting time. Perhaps we will soon hear that she has been having an affair; but at any rate, I can only believe that the citizens of Alaska will be better off.

Yesterday, it was announced that the National Security Agency will be building a large "spy center" in Salt Lake County, near the national guard camp. that will bring lots of new "Federal money" to Utah; and some see it as an economic boots. Personally, I am not thrilled to be surrounded with Federal spies. If I were given a choice between this and a nuclear waste depository, I would have to give it some thought before deciding.

Well, I always spend part of the July Fourth holiday time watching my favorite old movie -- "1776". It is a wonderful musical about the Declaration of Independence, and is a great history lesson. If you haven't seen it, buy it or rent it and find out more about how your country was started. So, I am off to watch my movie, as tomorrow evening I will be out watching fireworks with friends. Hope you have a great holiday too.