The Liberty Lamp: Libertarian News & Editorials

Test of Wills & New Defense Liberty Dollar

If you were one of the few who responded to our urgent call for a donation to help us fight the US government... THANK YOU! We greatly appreciate every dollar you sent... even if it was those dreaded, depreciating US dollars... every dollar counts!

This “test of wills” with the US government will not be decided overnight. The government now has 60 days to respond to our lawsuit. We don’t expect them to be in much of a hurry... as they have every reason to be slow. Then a schedule will be set for discovery, briefs, orals and finally a judgment. All this takes time and money...

Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my first announcement... “most people are not very responsive.” In fact, we even got some hate mail... from our own list when we announced the lawsuit!

So let me be blunt, honest and to the point: We need your help, please.

The US Mint would have us believe that it is illegal for Americans to exchange gold and silver (such as the Gold and Silver Eagles minted by the US Mint or any other gold and silver for that matter) on a voluntary basis between consenting adults. Just imagine that at a time when “consenting adults” can legally exchange “fluids” between themselves, the US Mint would have us believe that you and we cannot trade gold and silver between ourselves. This is ridiculous and an assault on the concept of a free market.

Make no doubt about it... The very idea of a free market is at risk due to the US government’s assault on our right to use anything of choice in the marketplace. While we have never asked for a donation in over eight years, we need it now. Donations are accepted in Liberty Dollars: metal, paper or digital, even those dreaded Federal Reserve Notes that pass themselves off as US dollars are accepted, and credit cards.

Yes, a special Defense Liberty Dollar will be sent to you for every $20 you donate... after we win. This Defense Liberty Dollar is only available to those who donate $20 or more. This special Defense Liberty Dollar will not be “sold.” If you don’t donate... you will not be able to get one. We really need your support, please.

NEW DEFENSE LIBERY DOLLAR:

Plus a specially hallmarked one ounce $20 Defense Silver Liberty is available for only $25 each plus S&H (while silver is under $15 spot). Each Defense Silver Liberty will feature two special hand stamped hallmarks: the “Scales of Justice” and my personal Mintmark. This issue is strictly limited to only those Defense Silver Libertys issued during this fund-raiser. They will not be available after we win...

And if you like gold... there is a special Defense Gold Liberty auction on eBay. Please click HERE for more info.

Again... my most heartfelt thanks for those of you who actually sent in a donation. You have been wonderful... and I only hope you might donate again. And for those who have not joined the party... we are only asking for $10, but you can send just a dollar from your eLD account. But remember... you will receive a special Defense Liberty Dollar for every $20 you donate while we fight for your right to use any money of choice in the marketplace.

Labels: legal, liberty dollar, us treasury

Bob Barr, who as a Georgia congressman authored a successful amendment that blocked D.C. from implementing a medical marijuana initiative, has switched sides and become a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project.

But that doesn't mean he has become a bong-ripping hippie. He isn’t pro-drug, he said, just against government intrusion.

"I, over the years, have taken a very strong stand on drug issues, but in light of the tremendous growth of government power since 9/11, it has forced me and other conservatives to go back and take a renewed look at how big and powerful we want the government to be in people’s lives," Barr said.

Good to see that the Libertarian Party is changing Bob Barr and not the other way around.


This is good news for the prospect of ending the so-called "War on Drugs". Now the movement has some "main stream" credibility, and detractors will no longer be able to attack free drug advocates as "crazy nutjob potheads".

Labels: drug war, federal government, politics

On Tuesday, March 20, the Liberty Dollar filed suit against the U.S. Mint in U.S. District Court in Evansville Indiana. The organization asked the court to declare that the use of the Liberty Dollar is not a 'federal crime,' as claimed by the U.S. Mint. And the organization further asked the court to enter a permanent injunction against the U.S. Mint requiring it to remove any reference that the use of Liberty Dollars is a federal crime from its website.

This is quite interesting, as I'd assumed that the issue had died. Now, it seems that The Liberty Dollar (formerly NORFED) is suing the US Mint in Federal court in order to get a solid ruling in favor of competing private currencies. On a similar note, I spent a $20 1oz silver Liberty piece at a handmade soap and beauty products store last week. The owner was very happy about this, and she asked if I wanted to "waste" it on something as "simple" as her products. I said, "yes"! I can't remember the exact name of the place, but if you're ever in Lynden, WA, be sure to have some Liberties with you! Lynden is a few miles North of Bellingham, WA, and is a cute little Dutch themed tourist trap and rural town. I highly recommend visiting (no sarcasm here).

Labels: federal government, liberty dollar, travel

Libertarian issues are at the heart of everything we do here at the Libertarian Action Network (LAN). LibertarianActivism.com has been providing you, the freedom minded activist, with unique, high quality information about activism, politics, economics, and financial privacy for almost three years now. It's hard to believe, but this site began life sometime in Fall, 2004, as a random act of political activism prior to the November, 2004 General Elections. Back then, it was called the Phoenix of Light Network, accessible at PhoenixOfLight.com, which was sold about two years ago for a whopping $65 to someone who may be in Italy. $65 isn't much, but it was at least 10% more then than it is now, thanks to your local thieves and warmongers in DC and at the Federal Reserve. That argument is for another post, so search this site for germane topics.

Change is afoot again here at the LAN. First, the user contributed nature of this project never really caught on. There are a few guest essays here, to be sure, but my original vision of this site was to have regular blog contributors, original articles on current events, etc. This failed to materialize, so this site has primarily been a one person job over the last few years. Additionally, all content and site layout up to this point has been manually coded. My current template consists only of CSS and SSI, with a couple of random CGI elements here and there. It may not be the best looking hunk of HTML out there, but I'm a bit fond of it. Unfortunately, I want to expand the site quite a bit with hot new privacy and financial content. After all, liberty is solidly built on the four pillars of determination, integrity, brotherhood, and independence. To achieve it, you must be able to be financially independent. Why do you think the state so frequently controls our lives through economic restrictions and not the naked club?

Long story short, I'll be selling out to a CMS, specifically Joomla! 1.0.x. It will make publication easier for both publisher and reader. User contributed material will also be as easy as creating an account, and articles can be added in a snap. There will be a lot of conversion to do, and not a lot of time for me to do it. In all likelihood, visitors will get the same old site until May sometime, but you could get lucky. College and several jobs tends to suck up a lot of time, so please bear with me.

In a similar vein, the Downsize DC Electronic Lobbyist System will be also be getting a complete make-over in the next month or two. For those who were paying attention, this was supposed to have happened a few months ago, but better late than never, I guess. And yes, there will be a better CAPCHA solution with improved instructions, or so I'm told.

Labels: downsizedc.org, libertarianactivism.com, technology

From the desk of Jim Babka, President of DownsizeDC.org...


How vs Why of Real ID


Last week, the Department of Homeland Security released 162 pages of proposed regulations for the Real ID Act. The bill was (and basically still is) slated to take effect by May, 2008.

There's going to be a ton of things to say about this topic, as well as more than one kind of action to take on it. Over the next couple of weeks we will break down the complex web of information into simple bite-sized chunks for you.

But the most important thing you'll need to know today is that there are bills now offered in both the Senate and the House to repeal (not delay) the implementation of the Real ID Act. They are gathering co-sponsors and steam.

But this is going to be a tough battle. We'll need to do everything we can to fight it effectively.

* That means, we're asking you to please use our convenient Congressional Contact System to send a message of support for the bills to repeal (not delay) the implementation of Real ID.

* It also means that we need to continue making progress on monthly pledges to stay in this fight.

The thesis of today's message is that surveillance is not necessarily security, and that as a technique for crime and terrorism protection, surveillance is nowhere near as important as motivation.

Let's start with a hypothetical scenario.

You've seen it in the movies: A determined and experienced criminal learns that a very valuable art exhibit is coming to town, but to get in and see it, one must produce a valid ID, pass through checkpoints, and view it, while lasers, cameras, and security agents keep guard. Yet the thief succeeds. He gets the highly prized art.

Now, the movie entertains us by focusing on the "how" -- showing us what clever method the thief employed to secure his prize. Inevitably, we learn that the burglar exploited some vulnerability of the security system.

As you leave the theater, you might get the impression that sprinkling additional technology or resources (money) on the problem might've stopped the master thief -- the exhibiting museum could've foiled his plan.

Many things in life are determined by the quality of questions we ask. Protecting valuable art, or ourselves from terrorist attackers is no different. The right question is important.

The better question to ask if one is seeking to _prevent_ crime is "why" -- "What's the motivation for doing it?"

For the art thief, perhaps you can make the steal more expensive than it's worth.

But what if someone is willing to lose their life in the process of killing others -- in the belief that their cause is eminently just and that they will receive eternal reward? What then? Is more surveillance really going to work? Is sprinkling technology on the problem really going to protect us?...

Read the full DownsizeDC Blog entry by clicking on the title link of this post. This crappy program has been stalled for another year thanks to your efforts, but we need to keep the pressure on. Put this sick plan out of its misery ASAP! ;-)

ID: a Real Bad Idea!

Labels: activism, downsizedc, police state, RealID

Blogger.com, owned by Google, recently upgraded its blog publication service. This means that the Liberty Lamp blog now has some useful new features that make it easier to browse and search for topics. At the bottom of recent posts, you'll see a series of topic links. Clicking one of them will take you to a new page displaying all posts that relate to that keyword. Sexy, isn't it? Perhaps not, but it should make browsing this site easier and more productive.

In other news, the Free State Project has been cranking out the successful events! NH Liberty Forum was a smashing success, and I hear Ron Paul and John Stossel were amazing, as was the friendly company. The next major event of the year will be The Porcupine Freedom Festival ("PorcFest"). This yearly event in New Hampshire is THE place to meet pro liberty people, become more familiar with the state, and participate in all kinds of cool events! I'll be going there with some buddies of mine. You should too! It'll be a blast.

Labels: events, Free State Project, NH Liberty Forum, PorcFest