2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #264 “BEST WISHES DR. JO!”

​​​            Well, my life became much less complicated this past weekend because I did not receive the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President.  Instead the nomination went to Dr. Jo Jorgensen, who is an instructor at Clemson University.  My great team was sensational, and I believe my running mate, Larry Sharpe of New York, and I successfully got our message out.  But that was not what the delegates wanted.  Of course we believe they made a mistake, but they had every right to make it.  (You can make up your own minds using this link for the video clip of my nominators’ and my presentations to the delegates in the virtual national convention: https://vimeo.com/421983993.)  But now Onward: please join me in congratulating and supporting Dr. Jo as she carries the banner of Liberty forward – for all of us!

           

            Among other things, for me “onward” means that we all should focus this Memorial Day weekend upon the fact that it is our government, and if it isn’t working we have no one to blame but ourselves.  So in that spirit, here are the lyrics of the song You Are The We.  This is the encore to my new musical Convention: the Birth of America.  The song is first sung by George Washington and our moderator Benjamin Franklin and then, increasingly, the entire cast.  What do you think?  I wish you a Happy and Thoughtful Memorial Day Weekend!

           

            They say you like to call us Founding Fathers,

            Our portraits are still in your history books.

            To that we’d like to say we’re deeply honored,

            And glad to see the artists captured our good looks.

            But if we’re your Fathers, you’re our sons and daughters,

            With some greats and grands appended that’s for sure.

            And though we never met you, we knew you’d be coming along some day,

            So we wrote this Constitution to keep you safe and strong the American Way:

           

            Keep it alive, see that it thrives, and pass it along again.

            But open your eyes, you have to be wise,

You have to be strong and then:

            Teach your children well, maybe even tell them

Of our Founding Fathers, how their sons and daughters

Carried it through a hundred or two perilous years to hand it to you:

For now you . . . you are the People

It’s you . . . you are the We.

It’s yours, your Constitution,

It belongs to you and me.

Yes you . . . you are the People,

It’s you . . . you are the We.

It’s yours, your Constitution,

For this Land of the Free.

Carry it forward, carry it on.

Protect and defend it, in keeping it strong.

And when there is weakness, amend if you must,

But harbor no meekness defending this Trust.

For you . . . you are the People,

It’s you . . . you are the We.

It’s yours, your Constitution

For this Land of the . . . Free!

                                  

Quote of the week: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”                                                               St. Augustine

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 all 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 your friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #263 "A PLAN TO WIN"

 As you know, I am currently seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President of the United States.  Yes, I know, no third-party candidate has any chance to win the presidency.  But, actually, we do.  First of all, there is no question that we will not have the tens of millions of dollars and the media attention to compete in large states like California and New York, which will go to Vice President Biden (or whomever the Democrats nominate), or in Texas, which will go to President Trump.  Instead, we will spend our resources, time and energy in five small and independent states, as yet to be determined.  Then we will engage the local media and speak directly with the voters, looking them in the eye and telling them that their votes will make history.  Imagine if we win two or three small states – which could be done by receiving 38 to 40 percent of the vote!  In addition, it would almost certainly become newsworthy for the entire country if the Libertarian candidates were beginning to poll stronger in these smaller states.  So the national media would begin to explain why that was happening, which gain attention and would also likely result in increased votes for the libertarian down-ballot candidates in other states as well.

So what would happen if we won two or three small states?  That could likely result in neither Trump nor Biden winning enough delegates to get a majority in the Electoral College and this, in turn, would place the outcome of the vote with the House of Representatives (as covered by the 12th Amendment).  So if the election were to go to the House, it is virtually guaranteed that no Republican would vote for Biden, and no Democrat would vote for Trump. But the list would be restricted to the top three finishers in the election, which would very likely mean the Libertarian would win.  (In case you are interested, the Vice President would be selected by the Senate choosing between the top two finishers.)  In my view, this is exciting.  But even if we only won one state, this would be a revolution for the Libertarian Party, and that alone would help our down-ballot Libertarian candidates for years to come.  So life is certainly interesting, and I am excited to report to you about the possibilities.  Our nominating convention will take place (remotely) over the next weekend, so I will update you again next week.  So please stay tuned!

Song title of the week: “If I’d have shot you when I wanted to, I would be out by now.”

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 all 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 your friends, and send in a review.