2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #258 "JUDGE JIM GRAY FOR PRESIDENT!"

            Okay, this is breaking news.  On Saturday afternoon, April 4, I was in a telephone conference call with Lincoln Chafee, as well as many of the members of his staff.  As many of you know, he is a former mayor, US Senator and Governor in Rhode Island, and the Libertarian candidate for President that I was supporting.  But he told us that, as of two hours hence, he was going to drop out of the race because he wasn’t getting the support and backing he needed to be viable.  Even though I used my most persuasive and best efforts to dissuade him, he responded twice that “Judge, I have made up my mind.”  And by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he meant it.  So after he hung up the phone, his staff members asked if I would consider running in his place.  My answer was no.  But, since they were persistent, I told them that I would take two days to consider that possibility.

                During those next two days I spoke to several high-ranking and well-respected Libertarians around the country, and they were all supportive and even enthusiastic.  So, also considering the fact that I always thought I would be a good candidate, I called Larry Sharpe, who is a friend in New York who was a great Libertarian candidate for Governor in the 2018 election.  During the discussion I told Larry that if he would be my running mate, I would throw my hat in the ring.  On Friday April 10 he agreed.  So that afternoon we had a Zoom meeting of Governor Chafee’s staff, along with the campaign manager of Riverside County Board of Supervisor Jeff Hewitt’s campaign where we introduced ourselves to each other and then started planning our campaign.  We anticipate announcing our candidacy for the Libertarian nominations of President and Vice President within about a week, but you are my 2 Paragraphs Family, so I wanted to share the excitement with you right away.  And this will not be the last time, because I plan to keep you informed.  The Libertarian nominees are selected at a convention instead of at primary elections, and our national convention is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas over the Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, with the Coronavirus, all of that is up in the air.  But one way or the other, our campaign team will make every effort to do you proud and put a stop to the polarization that our great country has been experiencing for so long.  So stay tuned, and I hope you wish us well.

P.S.  Two rather unnatural things that political candidates are required to do are to be able to talk about themselves and to ask for both monetary and personal support.  The former is attached hereto, the latter will come soon!

Quote for the week:  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”  (Probably) Edmund Burke

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #256 "PLEASE! A BALANCE FOR LIBERTY!"

         So have you seen the recent news?  3.3 million workers in the United States of America filed unemployment claims in the one week that ended on March 21!  3.3 million lost jobs lost in one week alone!  As stated recently in this 2 Paragraphs series, yes, the Coronavirus presents us with serious situations.  But governments ordering businesses to close and people to stay home is decimating our economy and probably destroying more lives than they are saving!  Governments should not by fiat be able to decide which business is “essential” and which is not.  For example, a mattress store owner was complaining that his business had been closed as “non-essential,” but Costco was still open, where people could still purchase mattresses.  So government was arbitrarily assisting his competitor while running him out of business.  Sounds like a legitimate beef to me!  The Libertarian Way would be to “allow” the managers of stores to be able to establish precautions for the health of their employees and customers and advertise those precautions widely.  Then, in turn, customers would be able, armed with that information, to make intelligent decisions about when and under what circumstances to do business with the various stores.  The best results come from individual people making decisions based upon timely and accurate information, and this would result both in both safety and substantially fewer lost jobs.  So, once again, Liberty does a better job.  Yes, governments have a function, but one of them is an obligation to plan in advance for things like earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, pandemics and even the possible poisoning of our water systems – and boy did governments fail to be prepared for this pandemic!  So why trust governments to make your safety decisions?

Similarly, we all should understand how the private sector is equipped to respond much more quickly to distribution problems with products like testing equipment, masks and ventilators when government regulations are lifted.  So governments once again are the problem! The same thing is true regarding today’s shortage of nurses.  Since many state governments do not recognize the certification of nurses from other states, this has artificially restricted the supply.  And does anyone really think that a one-time gift of $1,200 to people who earned less than $75,000 in the year 2019 will go very far?  (We should also understand that this gift came from the $2.2 Trillion fund voted virtually unanimously by Congress, which is money that we don’t have and which will contribute substantially to our National Debt – much to the financial detriment of our children and grandchildren!)  Of course the health and safety of people are important.  But health and safety are also adversely affected by people losing their jobs, not having money to pay for food and other essentials like rent, and companies going out of business.  (Think homelessness and suicides, if nothing else.) A balance for Liberty would reduce the number and size of all of those adversities.  And one more thing: today the homeowner’s association where we live closed the swings that children use at our private park.  Why should a parent not be able to decide appropriate risks they would encounter when pushing their young child on a swing?  What if no one else is around, what if they wipe the touchable areas of the swings with a disinfectant – would that present a danger to the child?  Let the parents decide.  What if another child was swinging 15 feet away?  We need a balance because only individuals will have the added information necessary to make good decisions, instead of an associational government that only has a “one size fits all” edict!  Liberty promotes the goal of people being responsible for the decisions they make which, in turn, promotes making good decisions.  That is how our country was founded.  I hope you agree with me, and continue to vote for Liberty! 

Maybe you heard this one: “Our cleaning lady just called and told us that she would be working from home and will be sending us instructions on what to do.”

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #255 "LIBERTY AND THE CORONA VIRUS"

       Yes, the coronavirus situation is serious.  And, yes, steps should/must be taken to control it and also to “flatten the curve.”  But we first must understand that we should not put people in charge of our lives and welfare who are not held responsible for bad decisions, including decisions on liberty and economic freedoms.  And government officials are not, so there is no balance!  The answer is for the government to help to put accurate and timely information out into the marketplace and then treat people as adults – and hold them accountable for the decisions they make.  So, for example, if people know they are contagious, they should be held civilly as well as criminally responsible for the assault and battery they inflict if they do not take effective steps to keep themselves from passing on the virus to others.  And it also means that people who are older or who otherwise have health problems will have more incentives to “shelter” and protect themselves from contact with the general population.  And all of us will have the obligations to be careful, for obvious reasons.

        But we all must understand that the standard for people in government, including elected officials, is not to make decisions based upon liberty and economic realities and conditions.  Instead, their political incentives are almost completely regarding health: i.e. not to have anyone get sick “on my watch.”  So “I am looking out for your health” is basically the only political criterion.  If governmental officials overdue their mandated precautions, they still politically look like they were caring and successful.  And if people get sick and even die, “at least we did everything we could” is their political defense.  So government officials still will not be held to blame.  That is the nature of politics.  In the meantime, companies will be forced by governmental decree to close down, with many not being able to survive.  Many workers will lose their jobs and go broke, and tenants will not be able to pay their rent, which will also adversely affect landlords.  And there will be no help in sight.  Of course, some companies and some people will receive some money from government, but those results will be random, “cronyized” and insufficient.  Furthermore, that is not beginning to take into account the maybe permanent effects upon our liberty if we blindly allow the government to dictate how, when and where we can live our lives.  Bottom line: Yes, government does have an important part to play in situations like this.  Provide that honest and timely information to us, including information and recommendations about voluntary “social distancing,” home isolation, and household quarantine, so that “We the People” can make intelligent decisions.  That would also allow customers, shopkeepers, employees and all of the rest of us to make intelligent economic decisions, which is not happening under today’s governmental edicts.  Another is for governments to use their resources to help medically where they can, such as providing military MASH teams and naval hospital ships.  But, otherwise, once again we must understand, Government is not our Mother.  The only valid and effective response is Liberty!  Yes, the results will be imperfect, but they will result in a balance that is conspicuously missing by following today’s governmental edicts.      

Quote for the week: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.”  Winston Churchill

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.