FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 17^th, 2012

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

For the latest outrage, we can look no further than Monterey, TN. An innocent man, George Reby, was driving on Interstate 40 when he was pulled over for speeding by Officer Larry Bates. One of the questions asked by Officer Bates was if Mr. Reby was carrying any cash. Since Mr. Reby was going to be doing some business at a later point in his travels, he happened to be carrying $22,000. Because he was carrying this amount of money, Officer Bates confiscated it. You read that right. Mr. Reby’s money was taken by the police officer. Why you may ask? According to the officer, it’s because this money could have been used to buy drugs.

Officer Bates admitted that it isn’t illegal to carry cash but expressed the concern about the money being used for drug trafficking. When confronted with the fact that there was no proof that this was the intended purpose, Officer Bates replied, “And he couldn’t prove it was legitimate”.

So there you have it; the War on Drugs turning innocent, law-abiding citizens into suspected drug-smugglers. Is this the America we want our children to grow up in? An America where the simple act of carrying too much money can put you at odds with local law enforcement? Where you are guilty until proven innocent?

"Drug abuse is a serious problem and is harmful to the users and their families and friends." states Jay Polk, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee, "But is it really the government’s business how we conduct our lives? The government seems to think so and has gone as far as presuming guilt where there is none. Not only is this policy more harmful to the Liberties of innocent individuals, it's indicative of an out-of-control government that doesn’t hesitate at the boundaries of private property."

From the Libertarian Party’s platform:

1.2 Personal Privacy

Libertarians support the rights recognized by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure should include records held by third parties, such as email, medical, and library records. Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating “crimes” without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, which is active in all 50 states and has more than 250,000 registered voters.

For more information visit us at
www.lptn.org
or call 1-888-980-1776 x1
Media Relations: Daniel Lewis

Ron Paul’s announcement today that he will “no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted” may finally have some of his supporters considering the possibility that he will not be the Republican Party’s nominee. That may be overly pessimistic considering that Paul also stated that he will continue to pursue his delegate strategy, which has been far more successful than his quest for a primary win.  Read The Full Story

For the second straight year, the Metro fair board has contracted with a group of state tourism and agriculture leaders known as the Tennessee State Fair Association to hold the Tennessee State Fair.  Read The Full Story

Friends and supporters,

 We are different.

 

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney support the Patriot Act.  I will advocate repealing it.

 

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will keep waging war in Afghanistan. I will get us out immediately.

 

Neither Obama or Romney has proposed actually cutting government spending.  I will propose a balanced budget in 2013.

 

Mitt Romney, in a speech three days ago at Liberty University, repeated that he is against marriage equality.  Barack Obama now says he supports gay marriage, but says he will leave it up to the States .  I believe the right to marry under the law is a constitutionally-protected right the Federal government is obligated to defend.

Both Obama and Romney have pledged to continue the failed War on Drugs even if it means sending federal marshals to shut down medical marijuana businesses operating legally under state law.  I have pledged to not only call off the marshals, but legalize marijuana.

 

On issue after issue, when you look past the rhetoric, there really isn't a great deal of daylight between the Democrat Obama and the Republican Romney.

 

And America is looking for daylight: The daylight between the tired business-as-usual that has driven us to the brink of bankruptcy, kept us in Afghanistan 10 years longer than necessary, and inserted the government into more and more corners of our privacy and daily lives and an America that is living within its means, ending senseless intervention abroad, and where government protects our liberties rather than destroying them.

 

America is longing for a real choice in November, and with your support, we can tell America that the choice they are looking for will be on the ballot.  Please go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and help deliver that message.

A few days ago, after months of hard work by many great supporters like you, I received the Libertarian Party's nomination for President.  Former federal prosecutor and California Superior Court Judge Jim Gray was nominated for Vice-President, with my enthusiastic endorsement.  With those nominations, we will be on the ballot in every state as the candidates who truly offer voters something different: The Governor Gary Johnson difference.

 

Voters will have a chance to vote against war.  Against the Patriot Act, the NDAA and other assaults on civil liberties.  Against deficits as far as the eye can see.  And vote FOR marriage equality and ending the War on Drugs.  And all you have to do is look at the polls to see that millions of Americans are not just ready, but anxious to cast those votes.

 

In short, we have now put ourselves in a position to make history.  To give voters the choice they REALLY want, not just the ones offered by the two major parties.

It is now up to us to capitalize on the incredible, historic opportunity our hard work has created. 

 In the few short days since becoming an official nominee for President, I have appeared on Cavuto, CNN, Newsweek/Daily Beast, C-SPAN and a host of radio talk shows across the nation.  That news coverage certainly helps, but you know as well as I that we cannot depend on the media elite to get our message out and let frustrated voters know that there will be a real choice in November.  A choice that reflects their own views of liberty: Freedom from a government that does too much and spends too much.

 

We cannot wait for someone else, like the news media, to carry our message. We have to do it ourselves, and that, my friends, requires money.  Real money.  Right now, our campaign is identifying states, media markets, available voter lists and potential coalitions where we can get the most bang for our buck.  But none of that will matter without your financial support.

 

We have come an amazingly long way on very little funding.  The fact that I am already earning 6-9% in national polls, without buying a penny of TV or radio advertising, is nothing short of remarkable.  And we owe much of that to supporters like you.

 

But now the real work begins.  We have to reach voters in key states, and we have to reach them directly – not through the whims and biases of the news media. In short, we have to buy it.  Advertising, direct mail, social media tools.  And we have to step up our grass-roots efforts.  All of those require funds, no matter how frugal and efficient we are.

The nomination and the wake-up call it has given the tired two-party establishment have given us momentum.  But without the resources to seize that momentum, it will be forgotten in the wake of the next big news story.  Your contribution today will provide those resources.  Please go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and help make absolutely certain that voters know that liberty, freedom, and a real choice are on the ballot.

 

Thanks for your friendship and your support.  We can do this!

 Governor Gary Johnson

 P.S.  Now that the Libertarian Party nomination is secured, we must mount a truly national campaign.  Help us reach voters in your state and all across the nation by sending your contribution. Go to www.garyjohnson2012.com.

Now that Ron Paul has effectively suspended his campaign, libertarian third party candidate Gary Johnson is making a play for his suporters.

“You can’t suspend liberty,” Johnson said in a statement. “The Ron Paul revolution must continue, whether he is actively campaigning or not. His message must be a part of the conversation leading to November.  Millions of Americans, particularly young Americans, are energized by Congressman Paul’s challenge to the status quo, and I am confident that energy will only build in the weeks and months ahead. And as much as the business-as-usual political elite would like to do so, you can’t put a lid on the enthusiasm and commitment Ron Paul and his supporters bring to the process.  Whether it is at the Republican Convention or at the polls in November, the revolution Ron Paul has ignited will be seen and heard in the months ahead. I will continue the Ron Paul Revolution.”

Ron Paul said today he'll stop spending money on GOP presidential primaries, but will still try to obtain delegates for the national convention in Tampa.

In a statement today, the Texas congressman said he will soon outline his strategy for amassing delegates so he can impact change within the Republican Party and go to the convention with a "strong message."

"Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process. We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that liberty is the way of the future," Paul said.

"Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have," he said.

Mitt Romney has been campaigning as the presumptive GOP standard-bearer, even though he is short of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the nomination outright. As of today, Romney has 966 delegates and Paul has 104, according to an Associated Press tally.  Read The Full Story

The FairTax is the most transformational piece of legislation in Congress right now and 67 co-sponsors have signed onto the bill with grassroots’ support!

But where do the presidential candidates stand on this issue of extreme importance to every American?

Now that Gary Johnson has been nominated to represent the Libertarian Party in November, we have a clearer picture of the candidates and their positions and have updated the Presidential Scorecard at FairTax.org/Scorecard.

Gary Johnson – Libertarian Nominee

On his website the FairTax is a key issue:

“Abolish the Internal Revenue Service. Enact the Fair Tax to tax expenditures, rather than income, with a 'prebate' to make spending on basic necessities tax free. With the Fair Tax, eliminate business taxes, withholding and other levies that penalize productivity, while creating millions of jobs.”

President Barack Obama – Democrat Nominee

The White House launched a website for Americans to petition the government but distorted the FairTax in their response:

"In short, because it raises burdens on middle-class families and asks less from the most fortunate, this national sales tax is inconsistent with President Obama's principles for tax reform."

Ron Paul – Republican Party

While not supporting the FairTax legislation in the House, Congressman Paul says he is focused on other issues:

"I'm not a co-sponsor of that but I'd probably vote for it… But the big thing is, you got to cut spending.”

Mitt Romney – Presumptive Republican Nominee

His response to the FairTax is somewhat positive but his reservations lack any factual support:

"That has a lot going for it... The study that's been done on it so far is that it tends to lower taxes a lot on the very high income people and then raise taxes on middle income people. And that's not a good idea. So I like the idea of a consumption based tax but it’s got to be structured in a way that it doesn't provide a windfall for the very, very wealthiest and a burden on middle income Americans.

Responding to Distortions with Facts

Dan Mastromarco, co-depeloper of the FairTax plan, penned a factual defense to the tired claims that the FairTax would increase the burden of the middle class:

“The Kotlikoff study [of the FairTax] examined 42 hypothetical families, including a middle-aged couple with two children earning $20,000, $70,000 and $500,000 per year…

The low-income family received an 86 percent cut in its average remaining lifetime tax rate; the middle-income family a 46 percent cut, and the high-income family a 42 percent cut.

The Fair Tax's progressivity is attributable partly to repeal of payroll taxes middle-income wage earners bear, and to the novel concept that government should not tax us before we have met our own sustenance. The Fair Tax totally exempts from taxation expenditures below the poverty threshold for all households.

But fairness is defined in many ways. Whether taxpayers have more money in their pockets after enactment is one common-sense definition. Another Kotlikoff study shows that low-, middle- and high-income households respectively experience a 26.7, 10.9 and 4.7 percent welfare gain.

Because the Fair Tax untaxes work, savings and investment, but taxes spending, it promotes economic growth, raises marginal labor productivity and real wages, creates jobs and encourages upward mobility. Neither study incorporated the more than $380 billion in compliance-cost savings from the Fair Tax."

But why the needless distortions of the FairTax? Why the misinformation when our current tax code continues its rampage through our economy and sacrifices new jobs to Washington’s tax games? Mr Mastromarco reminds us:

The FairTax movement presents presidential candidates with a choice they would prefer never to make: Pander to the corporate lobbyists on which their campaign contributions depend, or assume the political risk of a new idea that the special interests oppose.

Indeed. It’s our job to ensure they are forced to make this choice as publically as possible and are rewarded or condemned accordingly.

Thank you for your efforts to transform our nation!

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Tell your friends what you like best about the FairTax Act by sharing this picture here!

The FairTax in the News

Ex-New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson wins Libertarian presidential nomination - MSNBC

The Libertarian Party on Saturday chose former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, once a Republican White House hopeful, as its presidential candidate in the Nov. 6 election…

Johnson, 59, is running on a platform that includes slashing government spending to balance the federal budget by 2013, as well as ending the war on drugs, beginning with the legalization of marijuana. He also supports the so-called "Fair Tax," which would replace the income tax with a 23 percent national sales tax…

A Fair Tax for Progressives – The Huffington Post

Millions of Americans who recently endured needless hours of toil and stress completing tax returns want fundamental tax reform and relief from the oppression of the current tax code, which includes a $400 billion annual compliance burden and which even progressive economists concede is a national disgrace…

The FairTax is not a tax cut for the rich. By definition, "rich" people are those with high net worth and/or high lifetime income who consume a lot -- like Bill and Melinda Gates. People with high wealth and lifetime income who theoretically consume at the poverty level would not be materially rich but impoverished -- until they spend more commensurately with their wealth and lifetime income. Until they do, why would we want to tax away their investments (which presumably expand employment and global output) or their charitable contributions (which presumably direct aid to the least advantaged and most deserving)?...

The May FairTax Webinar

With Special Topic: Why we don't want 9-9-9 or any other modified Income Tax

When: Thursday, May 24, 2012

Time: 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 6 pm Mountain, 5 pm Pacific

Where: At your personal computer, anywhere!

Why: To provide an interactive forum for people who cannot get to local meetings to learn about the FairTax and to present special topics that are frequently misunderstood or not generally discussed.

Who: Join Marc Manieri, webinar producer and host from Orlando, Florida. In their fourth year now, Marc’s webinars draw national participation from seasoned FairTax supporters as well as those just getting introduced to the FairTax.

Join: To participate, register here and watch for the confirmation email. For more information contact Larry Walters at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It is only individual human beings who can be carriers of ideals and principles. And it is an unseemly superstition to think that inanimate objects or institutions can be. Like any other institution, political parties go from the motion imparted to them by individuals acting as leaders, members, and supporters. That motion can well consist of an assortment of mutually exclusive goals and a variety of contradictory ideals, or no real ideals at all.  And it is apparent from experience that parties are often little more than the vehicles of cronies seeking influence and the predatory hungry for power.  Read The Full Story

Just how unpopular is President Barack Obama in some parts of the country? Enough that a man in prison in Texas is getting 4 out of 10 votes in West Virginia's Democratic presidential primary.   Read The Full Story

One of the current hot buttons around the country is Agenda 21. For those unfamiliar with it, it is “a comprehensive plan of extreme environmentalism, social engineering, and global political control that was initiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.”  Read The Full Story

Thursday, May 10, 2012

6:00 PM PT/ 7:00 PM MT/ 8:00 PM CT/ 9:00 PM ET

Governor Johnson's next on-line Town Hall will be held tomorrow evening. Please join us on-line at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 PT. To participate, go to www.garyjohnson2012.com.

Geoffrey J. Neale is chair of the Libertarian National Committee, the executive body of the Libertarian Party of the United States. He is a software engineer consultant from Texas.

Mr. Neale was elected as the new LP Chairman at the Party's national convention in Las Vegas on Sunday.  He and Governor Johnson, who received the LP nomination for President at the convention, will discuss their plans for an aggressive national campaign in the weeks and months ahead.

These informal on-line video chats are an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas regarding important issues of the day, and we urge you to participate if you can.

If you do not have a web camera, you can still participate via text questions.  If you have technical questions, please visit http://www.yowie.com/faq.

If you can't join us "live", and would like to watch the video later, you can always go to Yowie.com to view my video archives.

Again, go to www.garyjohnson2012.com tomorrow evening and join what I am sure will be a great discussion.

Hope to see you on-line!

Governor Gary Johnson

A Tennessee man was charged and jailed by police Friday after he used an old $50 bill to pay for goods at a Quik Mart store.

“A clerk at Quik Mart, South Cannon Boulevard, notified police after the marker used to detect counterfeit bills didn’t check as real.” reports David Melson of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette.

“The front side of the bill was off center and it didn’t feel like a normal bill, it did look to be counterfeit,” officer Brock Horner said in his report.

The man, Lorenzo Gaspar was taken to jail by the officer, but was released after a sergeant noted that old bill are still legitimate legal tender but do not “check” with modern cash markers.

Two separate banks declared the bill to be real after studying it. Mr Gaspar was released from jail with an apology and told to change the note for a newer traceable one.  Read The Full Story

The November election is looking to be another dreary choice between the lesser of two evils. Do you want the big spending interventionist or the big spending interventionist? One probably would spend a bit more money while the other one probably would start a few more wars.  Read The Full Story

Gary E. Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, offering a quirky style and a platform — legalization of marijuana! — that seemed out of sync with voters.

But despite dropping out of the Republican race a week before the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Johnson has not given up his hopes of competing for the White House in November.

In fact, he’s got a much better shot now that he’s the favorite to receive the Libertarian Party’s endorsement for president this weekend. Having switched to the third party, Mr. Johnson says he is confident that he will be one of three people to compete in all 50 states in the fall. (President Obama and Mitt Romney would be the other two.)

The Libertarian Party is holding its national convention in Las Vegas beginning Thursday and will pick a presidential and vice presidential nominee. Mr. Johnson said on Monday he intends to run with Jim Gray, a former California judge, as the party’s vice presidential nominee.

Here’s an edited and condensed version of an interview The Caucus conducted with Mr. Johnson while he was in Washington last week.  Read The Full Story

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder respectfully announce the loss of Tennessee soldier, Specialist Jason K. Edens of Franklin.  Read The Full Story