The GraySharpe2020 campaign for the Libertarian nomination for President and Vice President is in full swing, so I thought you might like to hear some of our campaign slogans and cites. Of course, regular readers of this 2 Paragraphs series and listeners of my weekly podcast “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” will recognize many of them. But I see these as effective ways to show people how logical and effective our Libertarian principles, values and approaches really are. So they are:
· “I don’t care if you worship one God, 20 gods or no god. It doesn’t pick my pocket and it doesn’t break my leg.” Thomas Jefferson – a prototypical Libertarian;
· “We should judge our programs by their results and not their good intentions.” Milton Friedman;
· “Anyone who believes they can thrive by relying upon the Government need only talk to the American Indian.” Henry Ford;
· “Think about it: Can you point out any instance where the involvement of Government in the marketplace did not result in the prices going up and the quality of the products and services didn’t go down?” Judge Jim Gray;
· “Ron Paul told us that our country has about 400 military reservations in other countries all around the world. A simple audit performed by the military considering today’s realities would probably result in us being able to close down three-quarters of them without much controversy – and this would probably actually make us safer.” Judge Jim Gray;
· “We as a country must decide what the purpose is of our educational system: To educate our children (What a concept!), or to protect below-average teachers. And guess which one we are mostly following today.” Judge Jim Gray;
· Do you know that the USA has 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of its prisoners? When former US Senator Jim Webb of Virginia heard these statistics he responded: “Either we are the most criminally-oriented people in the world, or we are doing something wrong. Which do you think it is?”;
· “If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait ‘til it’s free.” P. J. O’Rourke;
· Our Founders bickered, debated and even fought at the 1787 Constitutional Convention about numbers of issues. But the one thing that each of the 55 delegates agreed upon was that the most important function of government is to protect our freedoms and liberties from the encroachment of government. The second most important was to keep us safe.
· “Our country will need a bloody revolution every generation to keep the vested interests at bay.” Thomas Jefferson. Fortunately, our Constitution allows the revolution not to be bloody, but how long has it been? Maybe since the Republicans took over from the Whigs? And don’t you agree that we Libertarians are the right ones for a new revolution?
· “We should reserve our prison space for people we are afraid of, not people we’re mad at.” Judge Jim Gray;
· “No society has ever raised itself up out of poverty except through a system of free enterprise and private property rights.” Milton Friedman; and,
· If you want your healthcare services to be controlled by the equivalent of the department of motor vehicles, we are well on our way.” Judge Jim Gray.
Please give me your feedback about how effective you think they are, and maybe some suggestions for others. In law school I was known as a “bearded outside agitator in disguise,” and, actually, I have never backed off from that definition. What do you think?
Quote for the week from a young surfer-type: “Dude! I just learned that there is no popcorn in popcorn shrimp. So I guess there’s no reason for me to eat pot roast.”
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.