Freedom Is Not Rhetoric...

"Freedom is not rhetoric, it is the power to own your own life, make your own choices, discover the best in yourself and others. Freedom is crafting that life with the power God placed in your hands from birth. Freedom is an absolute. It is a whisper in your ear that says, take your life and live it, own it, make of it the glorious truth that speaks the best within you. The choices are yours as long as you do no harm."

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

Healing Choices...

If licensing laws do us more harm than good, how do we ensure that our drugs are safe and effective?

If the aggression of licensing laws ended, patients and their physicians could buy whichever drugs they felt might be helpful, regardless of the stage of testing. Since they could not competently evaluate every drug for themselves, they would probably rely on a professional or consumer's group for a status report on pharmaceuticals they were considering. Patients and physicians could choose to defer to one of these "authorities," but none could force adherence to their verdict.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

Liberty, Not License!

For most of us, state-of-the-art knowledge of how to stay well and get well will be the primary factor in determining how long and how well we live. Licensing limits the availability of a service, thereby lowering the overall quality delivered. Thus, we would expect our health care to be of substantially lower quality than it could be in the marketplace ecosystem undisturbed by our aggression.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

More Pie, Please!...

If small businesses were not stopped at gunpoint from creating goods and services, consumers would have more options and lower prices. No one would need to support enforcement agents, lobbyists, or the unemployed. Available wealth would be increased greatly and everyone's piece of the pie would be correspondingly larger.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

Protecting Workers From Exploitation...

In a society without minimum wage or licensing laws, disadvantaged individuals would not be excluded from creating wealth, as they are today. Opportunity for on-the-job training with pay would be readily available. If employers did not give adequate pay raises to individuals who performed well, the employees would have the option of starting their own businesses, possibly competing with their former employer. In this way, the marketplace ecosystem protects a worker from exploitation.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

Free From Aggression..

The "free market" is the name given to describe the marketplace ecosystem when it is free from aggression. In the 1800s, our country came closest to this ideal. As a consequence, penniless immigrants flocked to our nation to make a better life for themselves and their loved ones. America became known as the "land of opportunity" and the richest nation on earth. Wealth was the natural by-product of a marketplace ecosystem free from aggression.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

LP Speaks Up For Privacy...

New DNA collection raises privacy concerns

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Libertarian Party issued a statement from Executive Director Shane Cory following the announcement of the federal government's new practice of collecting DNA data from people arrested, though not convicted, for federal offenses:

"The new practice of collecting DNA data from people arrested for federal crimes raises serious privacy concerns. The government will now be compiling a databank from people arrested, though not convicted, of any federal crime. Therefore, if you are detained for a federal crime, even a minor offense in a national park, you will have your DNA stored forever with the federal government. This is a sad day for privacy rights in a country that used to value the idea of 'innocent until proven guilty.' However, this comes as no surprise given this Republican administration's eagerness to increase the power and scope of the federal government."

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange a media interview, please call Andrew Davis at (202) 333-0008 during normal business hours, or at (202) 731-0002 during any other time.

Our Own Reactions...

War and poverty are caused, not by "selfish others,"
but by our own reactions to them.
If we wish to change the world, we must first change ourselves.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart

A Tax Day Message From Mary Ruwart...

“Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Conventional wisdom puts the so-called “necessary evil” of taxation on par with death—inevitable, unavoidable, the way the world works. Our society seems to believe that taxation is indispensable to civilization. Our ancestors once believed the same thing about slavery.

Today, we know better. Slavery is not only unnecessary to civilization, but hinders its development. What we call “evil” has a way of doing that.

One day, the “necessary evil” of taxation will be recognized for what libertarians know it to be: legalized theft, a hindrance to civilization, prosperity, harmony, and happiness.

We’ve been so conditioned to accept taxation, that we often forget it’s an “evil.” Yet if we closely examine the process of taxation, we find it looks a lot like stealing.

Imagine, for example, that we wanted to have a new neighborhood park. We could get together with other neighbors who wanted the same thing and raise the necessary funds. We could even hire a manager to do this if we didn’t want to.

If some of our neighbors didn’t want to contribute, they wouldn’t have to. If they changed their mind later, however, they might have to pay an extra entry fee. Everyone would be free to choose whether or not they wanted to help create a park.

However, we usually prefer not to honor our neighbor’s choice. If we are part of a majority that wants the park, we vote to impose a tax on all of our neighbors, even those who don’t want a park or wouldn’t use one. The majority forces the minority to its will. The minority is no longer free to choose.

If one of our neighbors refuses to pay the park tax, he or she will be forced—at gunpoint, if necessary— to do so. For example, if the new tax is a property tax, a lien will be placed on the dissenting person’s home. Eventually, if the tax is not paid, armed officers will forcibly evict our neighbors from their home. If they resist, they may even be shot and killed, yet they have harmed no one. Their only crime is that they didn’t agree with the majority about how their hard-earned money should be spent.

Most of the time, our dissenting neighbors will pay the tax before they are forced to do so at gunpoint. Eventually, they will retaliate in kind by becoming part of a majority that opposes what we might prefer. For example, people who don’t want a park may want a library instead. They will vote to force us to pay a library tax, even though we buy our reading material at a bookstore rather than patronize a library.

With taxation, we take turns being minorities and majorities, victims and aggressors. We become irate and belligerent as the stakes escalate, reminiscent of the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud.

You can see this interplay in the verbal venom used by the liberals and conservatives, as they decry the way the other group wants to spend your hard-earned money. They never question whether or not your money should be forcibly taken from you in the first place. They clearly believe that it is their “divine right” to do so.

Libertarians believe that it is your divine right to spend your money as you wish. If you are smart enough to earn it, you are smart enough to spend it. Stealing from Peter to pay Paul is still stealing. Taxation is indeed an evil, an evil that tempts us to grab as much as we can from each other. Voting for a tax is a declaration of war on our neighbors and is eventually responded to in kind. No wonder we have so much strife in our fair land!

Not only is taxation “evil,” it’s unnecessary as well. When government provides a service, it costs us twice as much as a private firm would charge us (for examples, see my book, “Healing Our World,” available as a bound book (2003 edition) or a free download (1992 edition) at www.ruwart.com). If we all spent our money the way we chose to, instead of trying to tax each other, we’d have twice as much to spend. Imagine how much better off we’d be! Civilization would flourish, instead of being suppressed. Harmony would be restored.

The only major party candidate who understands that taxation is an unnecessary evil is Dr. Ron Paul, GOP hopeful, and 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. If he doesn’t get the Republican Party’s nomination, many supporters will write in his name on their ballots. Sadly, such loyalty will go unreported by the press, since write-in votes are rarely counted and even more rarely reported.

I see only one way that his supporters can make their voices heard if Dr. Paul doesn’t receive the GOP nomination. If the Ron Paul Revolution votes en masse for the Libertarian Party (LP) candidates, including the presidential nominee, the LP will receive an unprecedented number of votes. The Ron Paul Revolution votes will likely land LP candidates in local and state offices, and empower them to help Dr. Paul with his programs.

The press tied the libertarian label closely to Ron Paul. The Revolution will get credit for the surge in LP interest. Sympathetic politicians may feel it’s safe to come out of the closet and support Congressman Paul’s proposals.

Of course, all this is possible only if the LP runs a principled Libertarian and Ron Paul supporter for their presidential candidate. I propose to be that candidate. I have supported Dr. Paul’s congressional campaigns since 1988 and have been active in his presidential run. Dr. Paul has supported me by endorsing my book, “Healing Our World,” and writing President Bush in support of my application for FDA Commissioner some years ago. As the LP presidential nominee, I will refer to Dr. Paul’s ongoing efforts, such as passage of the “Health Freedom Protection Act,” as part of my program to deregulate the health care industry.

If Ron Paul does get the GOP nomination, what a wonderful dilemma we will face. I would be delighted to educate voters on choosing between the greater of two goods, rather than trying to discourage them from voting against the lesser of two evils!

Originally published by the Arizona Libertarian Party.

Dr. Mary J. Ruwart is current seeking the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States. Visit her website at http://www.votemary2008.com.

N.C. Libertarians Nominate Candidates...

LIBERTARIANS NOMINATE DUKE PROFESSOR FOR GOVERNOR

RALEIGH (April 13) -- Dr. Michael Munger was nominated as the Libertarian candidate for North Carolina Governor today at the party's state convention in Burlington. Dr. Munger is a professor and chair of the Duke University political science, economics, and public policy departments.

"We have have planted the tree of liberty, now it's time to pick the fruit," Dr. Munger told the convention after the unanimous vote.

His campaign themes will be controlling municipal aggression against property, establishing a broad-based education vouchers system, ending corporate welfare, and imposing a moratorium on capital punishment.

"We're not the third party in North Carolina," Dr. Munger declared. "In many legislative districts we are the second party, since nearly half of the General Assembly seats are unopposed races."

The Libertarian Party is on the verge of collecting the nearly 70,000 signatures required by law in order to be recognized as a political
party by the State Board of Elections.

Libertarians also nominated candidates for state and local officers. Mark McMains of Fuguay-Varina was nominated for Insurance Commissioner. Thomas Hill of Concord was nominated for U.S. Congress District 8.

Libertarian candidates for the General Assembly are: Sean Haugh, House 30; Lawrence Hollar, House 96; Susan Hogarth, House 38; Barbara Howe, House 32; Brian Irving, Senate 17; Richard Evey, Senate 44, and; Stephanie Watson, Senate 16.

Paul Elledge is the candidate for Guilford County Commissioner at-large.

Dr. Mary Ruwart of Texas, a candidate for the Libertarian presidential nomination, was the overwhelming choice of delegates in a non-binding straw poll. Several other presidential candidates attended the convention, including former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr.

Libertarians amended their platform, adding a plank calling on the state to "refuse to implement any national identification program," like the Real ID. Additional new planks include a call for the the repeal of all local sign ordinances as an infringement on free speech, a repeal of state regulations that prohibit the reuse of privately owned water on private property, and a call to stop fluoridation of public water supplies.

The convention filled several vacancies on the state executive committee, chose delegates to the Libertarian National Convention in
Denver, May 23 to 25, and selected Presidential Electors.

Why You Should Nominate Mary Ruwart...

Some words of wisdom from long time LP activist, Melinda Pillsbury-Foster...

If the Heartland's 5-state straw poll is any indication, the LP has sadly lost its way and forgotten the core values that brought it into existence nearly two generations ago now. Some few of us still remember the tears that welled in our eyes when we came together to work for the vision that is America. Like no other nomination in our history this one matters and this is why.

The original idea was freedom for all of us, man and woman, every race, every kind and part of that cantankerous collation of living, beating spirits who comprise humanity. We felt that in those opening days, saw ourselves as new revolutionaries fighting a new battle for a war never truly won. It was all about the individual; it was never about playing into the frame of corporate glitz that is strangling America today. Now, at a time when the make up of those seeking our nomination clearly indicates that American politics faces a realignment of political parties, we need to choose for principle. This is the time for which we have been waited so long. Everything tells us so.

No one anticipated that a cantankerous family doctor from Texas, his words ignored for so long, would become an icon. But it happened. It happened because America is ready to hear the truth about freedom from the Party that made freedom its unifying goal. Dr. Paul gave Americans the thing for which they most hunger, hope and the promise of a renewed freedom. That ground swell awakened hundreds of thousands of Americans to the reasons America lost its way. War, corporate greed, rapacious government, the strangling of hope from all sides. Some among us decided that efficiency was a greater virtue than individual rights. Some of us came with only one issue clutched to our heart, the other issues we shrugged off as irrelevant. Too often we ignored the always present truth that until all are free no one is.

In all of these ways we went a long way down the path to losing everything that really matters. Now, we can redeem all the errors. This is the moment when we rediscover freedom for ourselves and help all Americans find it for the first time. We need the right candidate, and when you finish reading this the right candidate will be obvious.

To be a Libertarian is to understand that the people must govern themselves. To be a Libertarian is to know, down to your innermost being, that you own yourself. When you realize that you stand up a little straighter, feel the ease of tension across your back.

We have settled for words, rhetoric, that while well honed, was empty of the truth found only in action. It is actions, not words, that matter. True liberty is what we live. Ron Paul's message resonated because his actions, a full measure, speak his truth. That is the message for which Americans hunger; Not words but a life-time of proven truth.

We need a candidate we can trust, who understands us because they have withstood the terrible temptations of power. We need a candidate with honor we can take to the bank, not just another practiced salesman with eyes on the potential for publicity this nomination could bring. Most of all, we need a candidate who understands what it means to be a Libertarian.

And because this is a realigning campaign we need a candidate who can do the job if elected. If we ever had the opportunity to smash the two party system this is the moment. To grasp that opportunity we need a candidate who has been a consistent Libertarian and who can bring into their campaign people from both Right and Left. By so doing we could, finally, elect a Libertarian president. That is not an opportunity to be wasted.

That said, these are the candidates who offered themselves.

Wayne Allen Root, who received 22 votes is a polished speaker. He has practiced speaking the words of freedom. But what does his life say to us when examined? His professional association is with the gambling industry and he intends to recruit on-line gamblers who are angry with the government for Internet restrictions on their favorite pastime. Root has been a LP member for only a short time and has no record of activity with his state party. Root's presidential run is his first LP campaign ever.

Until late February, Root told delegates that we needed to be in Iraq, but has recently changed his tune. Root uses his initials (WAR) proudly all over his web site. Root has been getting prime radio spots and some TV exposure because of his reputation in the gambling industry. Root might play well in Nevada, his home state, but how is the LP going to play to the public with a gambler at the top of our ticket? For years we've fought the image of gun-toting pot heads who advocate prostitution. The kind of media coverage we're going to get with Root may brand us for decades. It will speak a powerful negative to our allies in the anti-war and peace movements.

The candidate is not words. The candidate is the message Americans will hear.

Next in line was Bob Barr, who has not formally announced his candidacy, but is expected to do so shortly. A former Republican congressman, Barr's reputation as a drug warrior, Patriot Act supporter, and homophile have all been well-documented. Barr converted to the LP a couple years ago and currently serves on the LNC.

Barr probably has the most name recognition of any candidate, except Mike Gravel. He also has the most checkered past. Barr is actively hated by the gay community for his authorship of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies the federal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. The LP will alienate the gay community, one of the LP's strongest support bases, with Barr.

But that's just the beginning. Barr is also the author of the legislation, which has effectively ended the possibility of medical marijuana in DC. The MPP recently paid the newly-reformed Barr big bucks to unsuccessfully lobby against his own legislation. Barr is likely to alienate yet another of the LP's staunchest allies, those who want to end drug prohibition.

Barr now regrets his support for the Patriot Act, as do many others. I realize that he says he has had a change of heart and I am thrilled to have Bob in our party. However, we all must live with the consequences of our actions. Bob voted for the most egregious piece of legislation to pass through Congress in our lifetimes without even seeing it. He has been a typical Republican for many years, and only flip-flopped to the LP recently when the Republicans no longer had any use for him. His candidacy only serves to divide this party.

This background gives the media carte blanche to blacken the LP's name. I can just see the headlines now: "Drug Warrior Receives LP Presidential Nomination." "Patriot Act Supporter Nominated by Libertarians." "Author of Marriage Defense Act to head the Libertarian ticket."

Since Barr got 19 votes, when not even present, he could possibly, according to the straw poll, be the LP's leading contender. The LP should welcome former evil-doers with open arms once they sincerely reject their past. Should they become the LP's standard-bearer, when that same past will alienate large segments of the LP? Isn't that a steep price to pay a little more media exposure, and potentially damaging exposure at that? We have fallen for the promises of big money and huge media attention before, and what did it get us? Nothing! It is time we stop believing in empty promises and select the best Libertarian nominee we can. We should have a messenger at the top of the ticket that we can be proud of, not one that we will have to make excuses for during the whole campaign!

Does Barr send a message that says NO to the concentration of power in Washington DC? Ask yourself and be honest.

Placing third was former Democrat Gravel, party member for all of 7 days. Gravel supports universal health care, a subject which he carefully avoided during the debate. As stated in the debate, he wants to replace the income tax with the Fair Tax (which appears to be about the only thing he and Bob Barr agree upon), rather than do away with it altogether. Two-time LP candidate Harry Browne used "eliminate the income tax and replace it with nothing" as his signature issue. Republican candidate and former LP nominee Ron Paul garnered a lot of support pledging to do the same thing. Will Libertarians back off from their "taxation is theft" stand in the hopes that Gravel's, or Barr's, name recognition will garner them a few new votes?

And what about Gravel's signature issue, total democratic referendum, where every piece of legislation is passed not by Congress, but by direct vote of the people? The Constitution is out the window if a slick ad campaign can convince a majority of the voters to do so, an easy sell in the days of public education. Ron Paul has demonstrated that a large segment of our population is set on fire by the Constitution, but it looks like the LP is ready to throw the Constitution to the flames in the hopes for a bit of media.

Mike Gravel has done heroic things for America – but he has not even begun to understand freedom.

Running fourth in a field of over a dozen candidates is Dr. Mary J. Ruwart, long-term libertarian author and activist. Ruwart, a cancer survivor, has claimed for years that she would rather write than campaign. She has lived freedom, showing her courage in quiet ways that last, speaking loudly to those who know her. Eloquent and yet able to touch her audience, she is the author of Healing Our World, Short Answers to the Tough Questions, and an Advocates for Self-Government web-column. Through a career decades long she, like Ron Paul, has stayed on message in her own life as well as in what she says.

No other candidate has campaign books while Ruwart has a comprehensive libertarian primer and a short version for our public school graduates. Her life proves that what matters to her is freedom. She is one of the few who have extended the reach of the freedom message to the Left, and there she also has a following.

Ruwart decided to run not because one person asked her but because many veteran LPers asked saying they desperately needed an experienced, principled candidate. Ruwart, a veteran of close to a dozen state and local races, garnered one of the first major news endorsements (The Detroit News for State Board of Ed).

You may well be one of the many she has brought to the LP.

Ruwart brings the people together. She sees every person is a potential libertarian because everyone benefits from liberty and her fervor is tangible. She not only explains Libertarianism, she has lived it. When someone sits down with her to listen they understand our message from both heart and mind. They learn the same things by watching her live her own life. Man, woman and child, they get the message.

Mary is what we need. We must stop acting out of desperation. We must never fear that Americans cannot understand that vital, inner need to be free. The Ron Paul Revolution has proven the opposite to be true. Self doubt has made us weak just when we most need to be strong.

Go to Denver and nominate Mary Ruwart as your candidate for president. Give Americans the opportunity to see what freedom means when someone has lived it all of their life, in every way. If you really believe in freedom then believe in Mary.

Pick Your Poison...

This applies to Obama, Clinton and The Third Term of George Bush McCain. A vote for any of the three is a vote for tyranny, war and collectivism!

Myth Busters...Ron Paul & Bob Barr...

My response to the misinformation surrounding Ron Paul's support of
Bob Barr...

I believe Bob Barr will not receive Ron Paul's endorsement. First, Ron
Paul does not give endorsements outside of the Republican Party. Mary
Ruwart called Ron's office and his staff is not aware of any
endorsements from Dr. Paul.

Mary Ruwart has been working with Dr. Paul since the 1980's. He
reviewed Mary's book, "Healing Our World" and wrote a letter
recommending Dr. Ruwart for the FDA in 2002. Mary and her husband, Ray
Carr have been actively involved in Ron's campaign. Matter of fact,
when I spoke to Mary over Easter weekend, I mentioned the fact that I
was a precinct leader for Ron Paul. She thought that was wonderful
because her husband serves as a precinct leader for Dr. Paul in Texas.

Mary Ruwart has real ties to Ron Paul.

I am waiting for any evidence that Bob Barr has any real ties to Dr.
Paul...

Until then, I guess I'll just have to compare congressional voting
records between Paul and Barr.

Thomas Hill
Volunteer Coordinator,
Mary Ruwart For President