Excuse me as I play catch up here. I have been pretty busy outside of my political life. I am working on my fraternity website; catching up on my reading and spending time with some of my non-political friends. All politics and no play makes Thomas a dull boy, don't you know!
Last month, I drove (all by my lonesome) out to St. Louis for the Libertarian National Committee meeting. I must confess, my main reason for such a long road trip was the opportunity to see Dr. Ruwart again (sorry Lee Wrights, you come in a distant 2nd, ;^P). She was kind enough to provide me and my good friend Sean Haugh a room to share. Dr. Ruwart is such a thoughtful and giving person! Of course, anybody who knows Dr. Ruwart will tell you the same thing.
It was great seeing so many good friends from all across this great land. Among those were Dr. Jim Lark from Virginia, Rachel Hawkridge from Washington state, Julie Fox from Illinois, Dr. George Phillies from Massachusetts, and St. Louis home boy, Thomas Knapp. It was good to see Wes Benedict again, especially as the new Executive Director of the LP. He is a perfect fit for the job. Hiring Wes was by far the best action taken by the LNC this term.
I also got to spend some time with Jake Porter. Jake is a fine young man. I expect great things from Jake. He is a rising star in the LP. I also met Donny Ferguson, Communications Director of the LP. Donny is also a rising star in the LP. I just wish he would broaden his communications beyond the right side of the political spectrum.
It was great hanging out with fellow North Carolinian, Chris Thrasher of Free & Equal. Chris is another young person with a bright future ahead of him. I especially enjoyed dinner on Saturday night with Chris, Sean Haugh, local LP'er Rob Cunningham and LP Vice-Chair, Michael Jingozian. Michael is fun to hang out with. He is very talented and I hope the LP will utilize his skills in the future.
The meeting itself was pretty much a waste of talent and time. A lot of time was spent in executive session. I hope the delegates at next year's LP convention choose new leadership. It would suit me if they completely picked a new slate. That includes replacing those I tend to agree with most of the time. The LP really needs to clean house.
The week after the St. Louis trip, I worked the LP booth at the Vans Warped Festival in Charlotte. Rick Smith from Mecklenburg County helped me out. Except for the storm that passed through near the end of the event, the weather was as good as could be expected for this time of year. It was plenty hot enough, but thankfully there was cool breeze blowing most of the time.
I have been doing these outreach events for almost ten years now and this event was one of my best experiences. Quite a few angry people came by the booth. They were glad we were there. My favorite moment happened when a young fellow, probably around 17 years old, approached our booth. I welcomed him with my usual line, "Are you familiar with the LP?". He grinned and answered, "I'm a anarcho-capitalist whom happens to support the LP." I was surprised and thrilled at the same time!
There may be hope for us yet!
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