Randy Langkraehr Weblog

Sunday November 27, 2005

The Quiz

Quote Of The Day - “People whose lives are barren and insecure seem to show a greater willingness to obey than people who are self-sufficient and self-confident. To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief of the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility." ~Eric Hoffer “The True Believer”

The Advocates have a very popular tool called "The World's Smallest Political Quiz". With ten quick questions you can get a very quick and surprisingly accurate assessment of where they stand politically. You can take it online at my website at http://www.voterandyforchange.com (click on the spinning arrow on the ball diamond), or at the Advocates website direct:http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html. I have given it hundreds of times at fairs and events and when interviewing volunteers and candidates, and over 90% say that it represented their position, and quite a few are surprised to learn they are Libertarian. Despite where they mark off the grids on the test, I tend to consider anyone Libertarian leaning that lands in the upper half of the ball diamond.

Thomas Knapp, a friend and one of the better known Libertarian activists and writers today, http://www.rationalreview.com/ and http://www.knappster.blogspot.com/ to give a few examples, wrote in a message to the MOLP mailing list: "I like the Advocates, you like the Advocates, we all like the Advocates ... but do we have any evidence that this particular tool actually brings in votes, members or other support? Over time, I've come to believe that booth space/activist time may be better used on other things. I'm open to arguments to the contrary, of course. "

I of course had to answer that one. I like a challenge.

"Actually I can name one person. That would be me. It was 1993 and it wasn't exactly the same quiz, but I went on what was called the internet then (long distance to AOL to Kansas City) and did a search for Libertarians. I was actually looking for local Libertarian contacts in Johnson County, because I was trying to get one of my candidates, Glenn Seymour for Sheriff, ballot access, but all they had was a phone number where you could order an info pack (very primitive at that time) which I did. About 2 weeks later they sent a really healthy thick pack of materials, full of booklets, pamphlets, etc. We had already decided to get our candidate on the ballot by petition, and I was busy and really had very little interest in the packet at that point, but kind of gave it a brief sort through, since they had spent postage and been kind enough to go to the trouble and expense of mailing it to me. Amongst the booklets and pamphlets, there was one single sheet of paper in there that was a short quiz. Not exactly the little ball diamond quiz but real similar. Out of curiosity since it was short and quick, I read it and then scored it in my head. To my surprise I fell solidly in the Libertarian range. It was at that point I thought ironically that it was weird because I always thought I was Republican, but apparently I was Libertarian. From that point on, any time asked me what party I belonged to I told them I was Libertarian, just to watch and enjoy the strange look on their face because they really couldn't categorize me. I never did get around to reading anything else in that packet. It sat on the edge of the table for several years (never have been much of a housekeeper) until something got spilled on it or the cat threw up on it or something and it got thrown away. If that quiz had not been in there, I would probably still be under the impression that I was Republican (and extremely mad at Bush at the moment for the Patriot Act). I stayed in that mode for about 9 years until I watched our freedoms dramatically eroding and in October 2002, as I tuned into the debates, wanting to see whether the Republican or Democrat was going to win, I watched Tamara Millay perform brilliantly in the debates and later not even get 2% of the vote, and I decided to do something. I didn't know what, and I didn't know anything about the Libertarian Party itself or how it was set up or how it worked or who to contact, but the Internet was now a lot more advanced, and I knew that I wanted to get involved in politics again, and figured it might as well be bigger than running countywide campaigns, (wanted to run campaigns, not be a candidate), and found my way to the Missouri LP Executive Committee meeting in Jefferson City. That was January, 2003.

So on the strength of that one little quiz, I became a Libertarian and stayed a Libertarian for almost ten years with no other contact or positive reinforcement. (I caught a few minutes of Harry Browne on Phil Donahue once and wasn't overly impressed). Marketing experts say that it takes an average of 7 contacts to make someone buy into a product, so that is powerful. I think the quiz can be a pretty great tool. I have been meeting people everyday that hear that I am a Libertarian candidate and activist, and out of the blue say, "Oh I have been Libertarian for years, and always vote Libertarian". I am going to have to start asking them how they made first contact. There may be a lot of them out there that we have put the seed in their head, and just have to hit that certain trigger that makes them say, Enough is enough!!! I want my country back the way our founding Fathers set it up."
( Nov 27 2005, 03:39:05 AM CST ) Permalink Comments [1]

Thursday November 17, 2005

Licensing Laws In Missouri

Quote of the day - "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their 'constitutional' right of amending it or their 'revolutionary' right to dismember or overthrow it." - Abraham Lincoln, First inaugural address, March 4, 1861. (sometimes incorrectly cited as an April 4th speech)

Every two years insurance agents have to do 10 hours of continuing education. This has to be accomplished prior to relicensing. Since my license is set for renewal on November 18th., I am of course on top of completing the continuing education requirements as usual, sitting on-line doing my 10 hours on the 17th. at 4:29 AM. (If you remember my previous post, I do my best "homework" after 10:30 pm anyway), and actually wondering why I always put this off till the last minute. My Real Estate Brokers license requires 16 hours every two years, and I once got it completed at 4:59PM of the due date with 30 seconds to spare, so this is actually an improvement, having 36 1/2 hours to spare, and now our post office in Warrensburg has this fantastic mail center machine (always been competent with and utilized the latest technology) I can postmark items up until 11:59 PM with their mail center, so I realistically have 43 hours and 29 minutes to spare.

I decided to do this at home versus the office, because there were to many distractions at the office, but in the last 7 hours I have raided the kitchen 5 times, made a trip to Big Boxmart, done laundry, worked on email, found a couple tv shows to be interested in, and am now writing this column, so I guess the you can find distractions anywhere, and I may need all 42 hours and now 25 minutes to get this done (it also takes time to work the math on how how long I have left before midnite on Thursday ever so often). For those interested in my work habits they are way better, because when I am meeting with clients and they pay for my time, and if someone wanted to pay me to do this, I would probably kick this 10 hour project out in 5 hours, but so far no one wants to pay me to study. In fact, I have to pay for the 10 hour class and then pay a $100 licensing fee to the state. And yes, here comes the purpose of this column...

Why do we have licensing in Missouri? I have some cold hard facts for you. Business licensing in Missouri has absolutely no practical use in Missouri. I don't care what the talking heads in Missouri (who are out to protect their jobs and the status quo) tell you. Licensing in Missouri offers the public no protection, and cannot help you if a licensed agent rips you off or damages you. In fact, they probably expose more people to harm than they do good.

Take my Missouri Real Estate license for example. Let's say I sell you a hundred thousand dollar house, and the next day your roof falls in from termite damage. When you come to my office I tell you I already have spent your money at the riverboats (I have NEVER gambled a penny at the boats or been to Vegas, etc. by the way, this is just an example) and I tell you to get out of my office. Did you check me out prior to doing business with me? Probably not. After all, I am a licensed real estate broker with the State Of Missouri. You will be shocked to find when you call the State License Bureau that they can't and won't help you get your money back, and could care less if you ever do. The only thing they can do is if they get enough complaints take away my real estate license, and in this case that probably won't happen since I have great attorneys, and unless I do it often enough. (By the way, I want to stress again that I have never had a real estate or insurance client sue me, and no one has ever complained of termite damage or their roof falling in, this is just an example.) You will still have to take me to court and sue me, just like you would if there were no licensing. If there were no licensing and you knew you had to check out everyone on your own first (which you should be doing anyway), you probably would have asked around and found out who to deal with and who not to deal with, or got a buyers agent, not just assumed that you were dealing with someone reputable because they had a license. Always ask how long they have been a realtor (in my case pushing my 20th anniversary next year) or insurance agent, or whatever field they do, and how tied into the community they are so they won't skip town and leave you with no recourse. Oh by the way, you can have all kinds of past legal problems, including problems like many types of felonies and drugs convictions and still get a real estate license and open a storefront with no financial backing and operate without the public knowing about your history. Same with Insurance and most other fields. There is a Realtor in Warrensburg right now as I type this convicted last month of a major felony that is going to prison in the next month for probably two years that is still actively doing real estate in Warrensburg and has signs all over town.

Why have licensing? Because the talking heads in Jefferson City want to justify their existence and their jobs. They create the false sense of illusion they are protecting the public to keep their government jobs. They offer the public virtually no protection from ther licensees, and don't protect their licensees either. Boxers and Wrestlers even have to have a license in this state. Does this keep boxers from getting hurt? No. But if you want people to punch you in the head, legally you have to have a license from the state. It's disgusting how stupid this whole process is, yet Matt Blunt, when trying to balance the budget, instead of cutting out the 90% of unnecessary licensing to save the state millions, instead chose to cut medical help to children and the poor and needy. How sad, how tragic, but then what can you expect from someone born and bred to believe that government is good and here to help you, and the more government, the better.

By the way, when you are looking for a licensed professional or anyone else to do business with, you don't call the state to see how many violations a person has, your best bet is to check with your local friends and neighbors that have been in the area for awhile. When you are looking for a new cosmetologist (someone who does hair) you ask your friends and neighbors, especially someone whose hair you admire and would like to have yours done that way (no one has asked me who does my hair in a good way in years, sigh, and my cosmetologist would prefer I didn't tell anyone who does mine). In no way do you call the state and ask who to go to. And yet we continue to fund these idiots in Jefferson City. By the way, anyone from the public talking heads who wants to publicly debate me on the merits of Missouri State Licensing this just email me and we'll set it up. Would love to broadcast it when you lose.

But, it is now 5:00 AM and I have to get back to my 10 hours of continuing education (also, the laundry is ready to come out of the dryer) since I now only have 42 hours 59 minutes to get this done.

( Nov 17 2005, 05:33:20 AM CST ) Permalink

Sunday November 13, 2005

The Johnson County Libertarian Party Meeting Tuesday, Nov. 15th

Quote of the day: If Government were valuable, taxes would be voluntary - Unknown (If anyone can give me the origins of this quote it would be appreciated)

The Johnson County Libertarian Party meeting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15th, at 7:30 pm at the Action Realty Conference Center (downstairs in the Action Realty Building next door to Hardees) in Warrensburg Mo. Dress is casual and the meetings are short, informal, fun, and to the point. Some of the topics will be upcoming elections and potential candidates, planning community outreach events, and what everybody did last month that they want to share, Libertarian related or not. For more information go to http://libertarian.meetup.com/213/
( Nov 13 2005, 09:28:05 AM CST ) Permalink

Saturday November 12, 2005

Kevin Craig Announces Candidacy Against Roy Blunt

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." : Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Here is an excerpt from Kevin Craigs announcement as a candidate for US House 7th. District. Anyone from 7th. District or the counties listed please contact Kevin and lets start getting him some support. Since his announcement didn't mention his website here it is: http://kevincraig.us/

...I ran in 2004 and I'll be running in 2006 for U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District, currently held by Roy Blunt. The District includes all of the following counties (or did in 2004 -- maybe they've done some gerrymandering since then):

Barry
Christian
Greene
Jasper
Lawrence
McDonald
Newton
Polk
Stone

and the western half of Taney County.

I'm going to start working in January to register voters in Taney County (close to where I live) and make connections with Republican voters in the 137th district and beyond (courtesy of Rob Brantley's database) . My point of contact with people is the SPP -- "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America." For people I meet in person I've ordered reprints of this article:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_2239.shtml

For phone contacts I just tell them I'm conducting a political poll and I ask if they're "in favor of the government's plan to merge the United States and Mexico." That gets the attention of people who are likely to vote. Or I ask if there are other issues they're interested in, if they seem free to talk. I try to collect addresses and especially email addresses. ...

...Comments and suggestions appreciated, and if anyone wants a handful of phone numbers to call, and my own script as I develop it, that'll be great.

Thanks for your support!
--
Kevin Craig
P.O. Box 179
Powersite, MO 65731
417.334.8927 (v)
417.339.4417 (f)

( Nov 12 2005, 01:17:50 AM CST ) Permalink

I normally don't do this but....

Quote worth thinking about: "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion."-- Thomas Jefferson, September 28, 1820

Ok, I made myself a promise I wouldn't pass on any of the 100 jokes and funny links people send me a day, but....

http://www.jibjab.com/Movies/Home.aspx

Check out their new musical animation video Big BoxMart. Besides being hilarious it sends an important political message.

By the way, if you haven't seen them watch their three political videos:

THIS LAND, SECOND TERM, and GOOD TO BE IN DC

I still laugh every time Hillary slaps Bill.
( Nov 12 2005, 12:42:57 AM CST ) Permalink

Friday November 11, 2005

Why We No Longer Have A Constitutional Republic Form Of Government

Quote of the day: The reason that we can't find a relationship between the Constitution and the government is that there is none. -Michael Badnarik

Bonus Quote: They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years, and [heck], we're not using it anymore." - Jay Leno

Michael Badnarik, former candidate for President, offers a great class on the constitution and how the government has strayed from the model set up by our founding fathers. Watching it will make you angry how the world's greatest government has been changed and abused. It can be purchased through his web site http://www.badnarik.org/ or on Amazon.com, but someone archived an earlier version that is worth watching. It is divided up into hour long .wmv files playable in Microsoft Windows media player. There are 7 hour long videos (class takes a whole day), and if you are on dialup may take forever to download, but if you have never seen his class, this older version is extremely educational and an eye opener. Kind of like a good book you can't put down, watch the first hour and I bet you won't quit till you have made it through the whole program. Get it at: http://www.archive.org/details/Michael_Badnarik

( Nov 11 2005, 02:41:12 AM CST ) Permalink

Thursday November 10, 2005

Previewing The Senate Race 2006

Favorite Quote of the Week: Patriotism is honoring your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

Two of the main components of the Senate race have been announced. Claire McCaskill has formerly announced she will be running for State Senate, and while the Republican incumbent Jim Talent has not made the "official" formal announcement he will be running for re-election, he would have made an announcement by now if he weren't going to run, and the Republicans would be scrambling to field their best candidate. There will very likely be three other candidates on the ballot, the Libertarian Party candidate, The Constitution Party candidate, and the Progressive Green Party candidate.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest party in both the United States and Missouri, and we have maintained our ballot access by our statewide candidates getting at least 2% of the vote in every November election since 1992. Getting 2% maintains our ballot access for the next four years. Since our Lt. Governor candidate Mike Ferguson and our State Treasurer candidate Lisa Emerson both received over 2% in November 2004 (our Attorney General and Secretary of State candidate also got close), then we have secured ballot access through 2008.

The Constitution party and Green party will have to get ballot access by petition. This requires 10,000 signatures by Missouri registered voters. In 2004 the Constitution Party (also know as the One Party under God Party) paid petitioners to help them get the signatures they needed to get on the ballot, but failed to get 2% of the vote in the 2004 general election. They have already started to gather signatures for 2006 and should reach their goal.

The Progressive Green Party, who the Libertarians have little in common with platform wise, have been very good friends to both myself and the Libertarian Party. Their presidential candidate David Cobb and our candidate Michael Badnarik, cooperated on quite a few appearances, activities, and even some lawsuits during their Presidential runs. In 2004 the Missouri Progressive Greens attempted to get ballot access by petition and gathered between 13,000 and 14,000 signatures, but county clerks disqualified many of them, and it was a sad (from a third party point of view anyway) to find out there were so many disqualifications that they were a few hundred short of gaining ballot access. They have vowed to try again in 2006, and since they don't have money to pay petitioners, will have to do it the hard way and gather the petition signatures themselves.

Several Libertarian activists have asked if I would be interested in being the US Senate candidate in 2006. I turned them down, saying I still planned to run in 2008, and wanted to save my time and energy and resources towards that race, but if we did not have a qualified candidate for State Auditor, and we need to have an accountant running in that race, I would think about running, since I have owned and operated a bookkeeping and tax service for 20 years, but would prefer if another qualified accountant stepped up to the task. Since then the pressure has been on from a lot of people for me to run for State Auditor. As soon as my decision is made, which may be February, I will post it here promptly. Any feedback is welcome.

Who will step up and run as the Libertarian candidate for US Senate against Talent and McCaskill? Keep in mind it is not official yet, and people could still step out of the woodwork, but the readers of this column are going to get a sneak preview of our most likely candidate and you can say you heard it here first.

I was working our State Fair Booth the last Friday night when a guy came up and took the World's Smallest Political Quiz (you can take it on my web site http://www.voterandyforchange.com). He said he was an independent and when the test was done scored in the moderate range. We were talking for a little bit and he said he followed politics somewhat and had voted for us in the past. This was before Claire had made her official announcement. Not word for word but the conversation follows:

Him: I tell you who I really thought was great and that was your Senate candidate in the debates.

Me: Yeah, Kevin Tull, a lot of people thought he won that debate. He is a long time activist for us.

Him: No, this was a chick running.

Me: (Thinking to myself, Kevin isn't that bad looking but his voice would give him away). Hmmm, maybe you had us confused with one of the other parties. Nancy Farmer was running as a Democrat.

Him: Naw, the one that kicked Talents A** a couple of years ago.

Me: Oh, you mean Tamara Millay. That was the 2002 race. She was running against Talent and Carnahan.

Him: Don't get me started on that B***** Carnahan (next few sentences deleted for adult content but safe to say not a Carnahan Dynasty fan either)

Me: (Trying to get back on subject) Yeah, I thought Tamara did a fantastic job in that debate, it encouraged me to get active in the party.

Him: Yeah, she made that debate, what ever happened to her?

Me: She ran to become our US Vice Presidential candidate in 2004, but didn't quite make it. To much party politics.

Him: Well, you ought to get her back to kick Talent's A** again. Do you know who the Democratic candidate is?

Me: A lot of people think Claire McCaskill and if she doesn't there is a state Senator in a wheel chair from the Columbia area (his name had escaped me at the moment) that will probably run.

Him: Well, you guys ought to get her out there to bash on Talent again.

Me: She is a friend of mine, I will personally pass on your message.
( Nov 10 2005, 02:03:18 AM CST ) Permalink

Wednesday November 09, 2005

How To Take Over Amazon.Com
Today's Quote - 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. - Mary Ruwart

Well, Oct 12th. Me a a few friends took over the Amazon Top 10 and hopefully changed a little history.

Mary Ruwart is a famous Libertarian speaker, former candidate, and the author of "Saving Our World In An Age Of Aggression". I have heard her speak twice at conventions, had dinner with her and got a chance to visit, and have seen most of her videos and tapes. She is a research scientist and a very gifted communicator.

About a month before, one of her people contacted me and asked for help promoting a little experiment. We would contact as many Libertarians as we could and get them to buy a copy of the book on Amazon.Com. Since I run several Yahoo groups, including the most influential Libertarian group of all, Badnarik2004, as well as have posting abilities to hundreds of other groups, I sent out a notice saying we were setting this up, with a reminder a few days ago, and several reminders on Wednesday the 12th. Lots of people started their Christmas shopping early (if your Libertarian relative sends you a copy for Christmas it could be my fault), and we watched as the book climbed the non-fiction ranks at Amazon.Com. By the end of the day there was much celebration as the book climbed to number 5 on the Amazon Best Seller List.

It was more than an interesting experiment though. First, with the exposure it received and its high ranking, lots of people hopefully saw the book listed and ordered a copy putting it in the hands of a lot of non-libertarians. Secondly, it showed a lot of Libertarians that just a few of us working as a group can make a difference in visibility. Thirdly, and most importantly, the plan was to get it listed as high as possible, giving both Mary and her book the chance to land a real major publisher leading to professional book placement in stores throughout the United States, as well as possible book tours, maybe some minor talk show appearances etc. Basically, by getting her in the top 10, we generated a lot of credibility for her and we may be able to create a competent visible Libertarian spokesman to the public. It didn't hurt to try. I am sure Mary will funnel some of the profits back into party activities and good causes. Also, I am sure a lot of non-Libertarians will be getting a great Christmas present this year, helping to promote Liberty. I would say it was a win-win-win project, and congratulations to Mary Ruwart and her fans who came up with idea and started it in motion. You can check her out at http://www.ruwart.com.

Elections are coming up in 2006, we will be looking for other ways to take a few volunteers and make a major impact in the visibility of our people and candidates. The more volunteers the more impact we can make. We have a county meeting on Tuesday, October 18th. How about signing up and checking us out? The meetings are interesting, fast paced (we get stuff done and move on) and can always use new faces. Please sign up today. http://libertarian.meetup.com/213/ ( Nov 09 2005, 02:24:56 PM CST ) Permalink

Monday November 07, 2005

Will The Time Keeper Please Put 365 Days On The Timeclock?
Quote of the day: All Politics is Local - Tip O'Neill

Monday, November 7th. I woke up this morning and the only thing I thought the day would bring was meet with a client and then go help my parents paint their house.

Got up this morning to check through my usual 100 emails. I got an email today from Claire Mcaskills campaign group. Only 365 days till the elections. You don't know what a lousy day that turned Monday into. To some people that doesn't mean a lot, but to me and any political activist, it means that it is time to get the game started. Kind of like back in college at CMSU when you had five tests on Monday and you had fun all weekend and waited till 10:30 on Sunday nite to get started on homework (I hope Mom isn't reading today's column). All of the things you really meant to accomplish next year suddenly loom as major projects to get done, working on databases, set up new computer system, start begging for campaign contributions, start lining up more local candidates to fill the County ballot, do a ton of webwork, and a dozen other things that I made the new year's resolution I would do in 2005 are suddenly looming as giant burdens ready to drop. As other political activists read this blog, they will probably suddenly get the same feeling of dread.

Ok, so I didn't get everything done that would have been nice to do in pre-season. I am going out to play the game. I'll catch up as I go. No matter what party you belong to, what are you going to do? Are you going to get off the bench and help your team play this year and get the yardage, or are you going to sit on the sidelines and think about going in for the last few seconds of the game to vote next November and then bitch because your team never stood a chance of winning? Our team needs you now. We need people to suit up to play now. We need candidates (we need you), we need money (we need you to start donating now, and start having fundraisers), we need volunteers (I have a ton of database entry stuff right now you can do from home. Email me and I will get you started. If you want to come use my office equipment even better). You can volunteer in your own area. If you have some time on the weekends or during the week while the weather is nice and want to do something, you can download handouts and start putting them out. Email me at voterandyforchange@yahoo.com and I will put to good use every free moment you can spare. Last year we had a few really good hardworking players, but we didn't have a full roster, and no backup players, and many of our people are tired and overworked and burnt out. We need you to suit up and play this year. You really can make a difference. Just a few people helping out a few hours a week this next year can shift the score of the game. We shift the score enough we can win. Or you can sit in the stands and complain that your team isn't winning and we never make the superbowl. It is your choice. I am going out to play.

( Nov 07 2005, 06:17:29 PM CST ) Permalink

Just Venting About Our Media Treatment

Quote Of The Day-Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet the neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. - GOD (Speaking to Moses who wrote this down, Exodus 20: 17)

Christopher Davis was our Libertarian Candidate for Secretary of State in 2004. He announced this year that while he is still a Libertarian, he would run as a Republican in 2006 in the State Representative race in District 23 (Columbia area). We have four or five Libertarians that have won State Rep. Seats this way (yes their are Libertarians in the State House, they are just incognito). While I don't like this approach, Chris is a friend of mine who I treat like a little brother, and I supported him in this decision.

Was watching KMIZ Channel 17, the ABC affiliate in Columbia tonite. Chris apparently withdrew from his State House race today due to an upcoming move. I haven't talked to him and this message is in no way getting down on Chris. More power to him.

When Chris was running as a state wide candidate for Attorney General as a Libertarian, he got virtually no attention from the media. In fact they went out of their way to shun him like the plague, and he is a good looking photogenic well spoken kid. If you want to see a picture you can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VoteChrisDavis/. This same station didn't even interview him during the Secretary of State debate, and if they showed him as a candidate in any of the newsclips during the debate, it was an accident on the editors part. Tonight, now that he is a Republican candidate, he gets full exposure with a 30 second news clip and his picture, saying the Republicans will now have to search for a new candidate against the Democrats, and this is a small State Rep race versus a major race when he was a Libertarian state wide candidate in 2004, but because he is a Republican or Democrat, now he is mainstream media newsworthy.

Not going to make this a whining complaint article about how unfair this is, and that we don't get fair media coverage by the mainstream media and somebody needs to do something. I already have ideas what I am going to do by 2008 and will outline them in the future. Just again pointing out that unless we as Libertarians get more recognition by the media, probably by buying more ad space and commercials, so we are considered big media customers also and get some attention, we will never become seriously considered as potential candidates and a credible force for change in Missouri and the USA. When you are donating to the big two parties, slip the Libertarian candidate a few bucks also. Unlike the other two parties, we are the ones looking out for your freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights and promoting less taxes and less government. No Libertarian candidate ever raised your taxes. No Libertarian candidate ever gave your child or grandchild a permanent police record for smoking a joint when they were a kid. No Libertarian candidate ever sent your son or daughter off to die needlessly in a foreign war. No Libertarian candidate ever took your family farm and gave it to a real estate developer to build a big box store to raise the county sales tax revenues. Get the picture?

I am through now and feel better. Thanks for letting me vent.

PS: Apparently the computer spell checker does not like the way half the words are spelled in the bible quote. Kind of sad when modern technology questions Bible grammar.
( Nov 07 2005, 12:56:08 AM CST ) Permalink

Sunday November 06, 2005

Calling Young, Hungry And Energetic Business People Craving Publicity

Quote Of The Day - Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.-Abraham Lincoln

I have been around politics since my dad campaigned for Ike Skelton (D-US REP 4th. District) who won his first seat in the US House in 1977. There were earlier campaigns he was involved with, but this one involved a candidate that I knew, and the whole Nixon/Watergate era had put a visible side to politics, as opposed to something that just happened in a vacuum somewhere out of the reach of the American people, and I actually saw that politics was really local and could be affected by the activities of local people. I, however, really didn't see myself as wanting to get involved in politics and campaigns.

Back in the mid 80's I was just struggling to start my tax service and trying to make some money in the off season as a real estate broker with a local realty company. One of the realtors there, Ray Maring, was a retired loan officer who decided to run for Presiding Commissioner. Every day he left the office early in the morning and walked a different part of the county handing out campaign info and shaking hands. Every day he went at this cheerfully and tirelessly, even though he was not the usual candidate predicted to win. I really admired his tirelessness and optimism, and we would talk on many occasions when he came back to the office to rest. I asked him why he was dedicating so much time to a race he probably wouldn't win, and he let me in on a little secret. He was running to win, but even if he didn't win, the publicity would boost his real estate career. He said that many beginning lawyers in the city starting their practices would run for Prosecutor, Public Administrator, Judge, or some other local office just for the publicity and the credibility it would provide. Getting coverage in the paper as a credible candidate would provide more advertising than buying thousands of dollars in ads. If he didn't win Presiding Commissioner, the publicity would boost his profile as a real estate broker, and improve his customer base.

Well Ray won the race and assumed the role of Presiding Commissioner, and had a long term in office and served the citizens of Johnson County well. He would still come into the office when he could, and an interesting city council race came up. There are 5 seats on the city council and three were already occupied by University employees. There were two seats up for election and two more CMSU employees were running for them. Ray encouraged me to run as an independent businessman, and reminded me that even if I didn't win, it would help my business, and as a real estate broker and tax consultant, I would be a definite addition to the city council.

I ordered several thousand brochures and set out on foot to walk the town, knocking on doors and handing out brochures and leaving brochures in door of those not home. Ray even agreed to be my campaign treasurer, even though I had no real campaign treasury, just so I could use some name recognition from him by placing Ray Maring, Campaign Treasurer on the bottom of my brochures. I learned a lot going door to door talking to people, and while I didn't win, I did learn a lot about political campaigns and politics. The publicity was fantastic, including a front page story with my picture on it, and an endorsement from the local paper to boot, and Ray was right, the next year my tax business went up dramatically. It was so good for business I put my name in the hat the next two election cycles, even though I didn't campaign and had no chance of winning, just because every year business grew because of the publicity. Even several years after this, when asking new clients about why they picked our firm, people would say they recognized my name from the elections, and it put my business over the top.

I figured this was the end of my need for fame and didn't see the need for me to run for anything else in the future, however, I felt sorry for other friends that were running for various offices, since campaigns are a whole lot of work, and volunteers are greatly appreciated, and I started volunteering for people who were running campaigns for county or city office. It didn't make any difference if they were Republican or Democrat, if I liked them and thought they were the best candidate for the job, then I volunteered time and advice and if I had a little extra, some money. I went into 2003 with no ambition to run for anything. I had come to realize I was a Libertarian and had contacted the state party about helping out on campaigns. Somehow I ended up being a candidate instead of a campaign worker in 2004. I was worried that this might hurt business, since a lot of people have weird ideas and impressions about Libertarians, but guess what, 2005 was the best tax season ever, and I got a ton of free publicity.

So here is the deal. We have a bunch of local elections on the ballot in 2006 and we can use qualified candidates to fill them. If you are a young, hungry business person (or a rich retired business person), are not crazy or weird, and would like to make the United States an even better country, and score at least in the top half of the ball diamond on The World's Smallest Political Quiz and want some free good credible publicity that money can't buy, then come to one of our county meetings and introduce yourself. Email me at randyforgovernor@yahoo.com to help you find the meeting or event nearest you. We can use good candidates, and you will get some real credible publicity that buying newspaper and radio ads won't generate. ( Nov 06 2005, 04:48:14 AM CST ) Permalink

Saturday November 05, 2005

Using Cows To Explain Politics

People often ask how Libertarians picture a perfect government, and if you keep reading this blog you will find out more, but here is a simple example used by a lot of Libertarians

Definition of Communism
You have two cows. The government takes both cows and gives you part of the milk.

Definition of Socialism
You have two cows. The government takes one of your cows and gives it to your neighbor.

Definition of Nazism
You have two cows. The government takes both cows and shoots you.

Definition of Bureaucracy (our government today)
You have two cows. The government shoots one cow (taxes), milks the other, and pours the milk down the drain (regulations).

Definition of Libertarianism (true capitalism)
You have two cows. Everyone leaves you alone. You sell one cow and buy a bull.

( Nov 05 2005, 06:42:08 PM CST ) Permalink

I Guess Introductions Are In Order

I guess a few words of introduction should be in order since many of you are wondering "Who is this guy?"

I am originally from Emma Missouri and now reside in Johnson County, and own and operate Affordable Tax And Insurance with offices in Warrensburg and Concordia. Am also a licensed Real Estate Broker and own The Davken Company which specializes in financial management and marketing. For more info you can check out www.randyforgovernor.com/aboutrandy.

I have always been interested in politics and am a Libertarian political activist, and am an elected Committee Man in Johnson County, The Johnson County Libertarian Party Treasurer, and a member of the Missouri Libertarian Party Executive Committee. I ran for Governor in 2004, and only lost the state wide primary by less than 300 votes to the previous 2000 Primary winner. I will most likely be running for state wide office again in 2008, but will postpone that decision till after the 2006 elections are finished.

I decided to start this blog because I though the free publicity of a public forum couldn't hurt visibility for future campaigns, and this would be an excellent opportunity to get the Libertarian message out. If anyone has any questions or would like a specific topic covered, by all means email me. I will get really busy January through April with tax season, and may not contribute much to this blog in that time period, but otherwise have lots of time, and enjoy spreading the message of less taxes, less government, and more personal freedom and responsibility.Thanks for taking the time to visit and please drop in again. This blog will not always be boring politics as usual, and you may be surprised at what is expressed here.

A final note, as I was spell checking this first post, the blogger dictionary could not find the word "blog" and asked me if I wanted to change it to something else. You would have thought that would be the first word in their dictionary.

( Nov 05 2005, 06:35:49 PM CST ) Permalink