Galileo Galilei
01-18-2010, 11:34 AM
MLK Blast from the Past:
[This article was published on MLK Day in 2006]
Discrimination Against Libertarians Still Rampant in 21st Century
By Rolf Lindgren
http://www.wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=article.mdl&article=3316
On this Martin Luther King Day, Libertarians applaud the progress to reduce discrimination against African Americans.
But institutional discrimination against Libertarians continues to thrive:
* Libertarians, including even Ed Thompson, are excluded from televised candidate debates.
* Jim Crow election laws like the 6% Rule prevent Libertarians from receiving state campaign grants. This discrimination continues in the current campaign 'reform' bill, Senate bill 46.
* Public opinion polls are rigged to make Libertarians look bad.
* Another 'reform' bill pending in the state legislature, Senate bill 1, would kick the only Libertarian, Kirby Brant, off the State Elections Board.
* Caucus workers campaigned on the taxpayer dime for democrats and republicans, but not Libertarians. Since most of the caucus workers were rehired to other state jobs, there is no assurance that the illegal campaigning has ceased.
* There is no national holiday honoring a revered Libertarian, such as Ayn Rand or Thomas Jefferson.
* There are no affirmative action initiatives to benefit Libertarians. Affirmative action in the context that state employers should be instructed to consider hiring Libertarians.
* Criminal codes are written which violate Libertarian core principles, including crimes in which the state does not have to prove intent, produce a victim, or the law is unconstitutional. Libertarians are expected to follow these laws, which has led to a disproportionate rate of imprisonment for Libertarians. Almost 500,000 people in Wisconsin, 8% of the general population, are arrested each year.
* Polls indicate 10% or more of society is Libertarian, roughly the same portion as is African American, yet Wisconsin has only one Libertarian, Jeff Wood, out of 132 state legislators.
* Instant Runoff Voting and proportional representation need to be implemented to insure that the legislature accurately represents the populace.
* Public schools do not adequately teach students about Libertarians. The time is now to start a dialog on the problem of discrimination against Libertarians.
Appendix:
Excerpt from Amendment XIV, Section 1, of the United States Constitution;
"....nor shall any state .... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
--Lindgren is a Libertarian Party activist from the Madison area.
:cool:
[This article was published on MLK Day in 2006]
Discrimination Against Libertarians Still Rampant in 21st Century
By Rolf Lindgren
http://www.wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=article.mdl&article=3316
On this Martin Luther King Day, Libertarians applaud the progress to reduce discrimination against African Americans.
But institutional discrimination against Libertarians continues to thrive:
* Libertarians, including even Ed Thompson, are excluded from televised candidate debates.
* Jim Crow election laws like the 6% Rule prevent Libertarians from receiving state campaign grants. This discrimination continues in the current campaign 'reform' bill, Senate bill 46.
* Public opinion polls are rigged to make Libertarians look bad.
* Another 'reform' bill pending in the state legislature, Senate bill 1, would kick the only Libertarian, Kirby Brant, off the State Elections Board.
* Caucus workers campaigned on the taxpayer dime for democrats and republicans, but not Libertarians. Since most of the caucus workers were rehired to other state jobs, there is no assurance that the illegal campaigning has ceased.
* There is no national holiday honoring a revered Libertarian, such as Ayn Rand or Thomas Jefferson.
* There are no affirmative action initiatives to benefit Libertarians. Affirmative action in the context that state employers should be instructed to consider hiring Libertarians.
* Criminal codes are written which violate Libertarian core principles, including crimes in which the state does not have to prove intent, produce a victim, or the law is unconstitutional. Libertarians are expected to follow these laws, which has led to a disproportionate rate of imprisonment for Libertarians. Almost 500,000 people in Wisconsin, 8% of the general population, are arrested each year.
* Polls indicate 10% or more of society is Libertarian, roughly the same portion as is African American, yet Wisconsin has only one Libertarian, Jeff Wood, out of 132 state legislators.
* Instant Runoff Voting and proportional representation need to be implemented to insure that the legislature accurately represents the populace.
* Public schools do not adequately teach students about Libertarians. The time is now to start a dialog on the problem of discrimination against Libertarians.
Appendix:
Excerpt from Amendment XIV, Section 1, of the United States Constitution;
"....nor shall any state .... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
--Lindgren is a Libertarian Party activist from the Madison area.
:cool: