2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY #260 "CAMPAIGN SLOGANS"

 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.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #206 "SYNCHRONIZE OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS"

      Okay, do you want to know how we could lower our overall gasoline consumption, improve mileage in vehicular transportation, reduce lost time in commuting and increase the air quality all around us – all at the same time?  Synchronize our traffic signals!  We certainly have the technology.  In fact, when my family took a vacation to New York City, way back in 1957, the taxi driver was able to travel about 30 miles per hour through the city streets without stopping because, as he explained it, the signals were synchronized at that speed.  So why has this not occurred in every town and city in our country!  This is a ridiculous situation!

         Yes, I understand, the bane of this approach is pedestrians, whose needs are inconsistent and who obviously take longer to clear an intersection than does a vehicle.  But surely this is something that today’s engineers can figure out.  As you know, I am not a fan of the federal government intruding into many of these areas.  But maybe just this once, the feds could come up with a workable set of specifications, and even some funding, to get this plan in operation.  The government wastes so much money on other things, maybe we could actually benefit from some of these expenditures!  If you agree with me, let’s get on this!

Quote for the week:  “If we can send a man to the moon, why don’t we send all of them?”  Anon

Judge James Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

By the way, these columns are now on 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.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #205 "LIBERTY IN ELECTION CONTRIBUTIONS"

     Okay, we now have passed all of these election maximum donation laws which have really not particularly helped things, but have made things much more confusing, bureaucratic and, in my view, more harmful to our system of democracy.  I start with the premise that wealthy people who want to donate money to their favorite candidates or issues will, as a practical matter, virtually always be able to do so.  Maybe not directly, but through PACs, (supposedly) independent expenditures or other means.  In addition, if wealthy people are candidates themselves, they can make unlimited contribute to their own campaigns.  So what have been the results?  Much chicanery by wealthy people, unfair advantages for the wealthy as candidates and it has required most candidates who are not wealthy themselves to spend much of their time trying to raise small donations from lots of people.  And how does one raise money?  Often by direct mailers that attempt to appeal to the recipients on one particular emotional issue and also to vilify their opponents on that issue.  And those approaches to fundraising have strongly contributed to the polarization that has now prevalent in our country.

       So what should be done?  If Bill Gates could spend as much money as he would want on his own election campaign, he should also be able to spend all he wants for other candidates or issues of his choice!  It is a matter of free speech – and Liberty!  However, all contributions above a certain threshold amount should immediately be disclosed both to the government election commissions and on the internet.  So then if voters think that a particular recipient candidate is in Bill Gates’ “pocket,” they can always vote for that candidate’s opponent.  But no non-human entities should be allowed to contribute to any candidates or initiatives whatsoever.  Why is that?  This is also a matter of Liberty.  If corporations contribute money, they should first get the unanimous consent of their shareholders because they are spending their shareholders’ money.  And often those shareholders do not support that particular candidate or cause.  Of course, corporations would always be free to appeal to their shareholders to contribute their own money if they wanted, but that would be all they should be able to do.  The same thing would be true for labor unions or any other entities.  This approach engaging Liberty would reduce the chicanery, unfairness, polarization and frustration that is heavily present in our elections at this time and increase freedom of choice.  So, once again, Liberty works!

Quote for the week:  “If you ain’t where you’re at, you’re no place.”  Colonel Potter in MASH

                                                                                                                                                    Judge James Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

                     

                                                                              

By the way, these columns are now on 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.