NJLP Annual Convention
Tavern on the Lake
Tentative Meeting Agenda
Doors Open at 8 AM, Coffee and light breakfast available
Call to order & quorum check	9:00 AM
Agenda review & approval	9:05 AM
Secretary's Report
Minutes of prior meeting (Steering Committee Meeting 2/12/2012) 9:10
2011 and 2012 budget presentation 9:15
Election of NJLP Officers and At-Large Reps (9:30)
Ongoing Business & County Committee Reports
Most of these ads have been around for a long time. Feel free to share!
Major Site Migration
The NJLP website has been migrated from one server to another. If any problems are found with the site, including our donation, membership, and convention registration pages please contact the NJLP webmaster.
Try to include exactly what you were doing and any error messages you may have seen.
My Marijuana Hero - NJ Weedman
Written by Johnny Green
There Are Few People That Fight For Marijuana As Hard As NJWeedman
[reprinted with permission from http://www.theweedblog.com/my-marijuana-hero-njweedman/]
If you don't know about NJWeedman, and you consume marijuana, where have you been smoking your marijuana, under a rock? Meeting NJWeedman was on my bucket list for several years now, and I'm happy to say I had that honor at the activism panel at the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Los Angeles. The first time I ever saw NJWeedman on video was footage of a pro-marijuana protest NJWeedman was being arrested at. As the cops put the handcuffs on NJWeedman, NJWeedman just kept taking hits from his blunt and blowing the smoke in the cops' faces. It was one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen to this day.
NJWeedman even mailed marijuana to politicians in a form of marijuana prohibition protest! I could try to tell the story of NJWeedman myself, but I will let him do it. Here is the 'about' page from NJWeedman's official website:
Robert Edward Forchion (born July 23, 1964), also known as NJWEEDMAN, is a cannabis activist and a perennial candidate for various New Jersey elected offices. Forchion identifies himself as a member of the Legalize Marijuana Party and campaigns primarily on the single issue of cannabis legalization. Forchion has done various stunts to bring attention to cannabis legalization, including smoking cannabis in front of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, as well as attempting to legally change his name to NJWeedman.com.
TCNJ Event - "Myths of Immigration"
Professor Scott Beaulier, Adams-Bibby Chair of Free Enterprise at Troy University, will speaking at TCNJ this Friday. His topic is The Myths of Immigration, and he will be speaking from 3pm to 4:30pm in the Library Auditorium.
Professor Beaulier is the author of the recent Freeman article Tough on Immigration is Tough on Economic Growth.
2012 NJ Libertarian Party Convention
Written by Joe Siano
Come to the NJ Libertarian Party Convention.
This is a great year for the cause of Liberty.
Ron Paul is reshaping political thought through his incredible Presidential run. I hope that he wins his Party's nomination. However, if he doesn't he has still made a a big contribution and the LP has a potentially great candidate in the wings with Gary Johnson.
In New Jersey, we have a very accomplished gentleman who wants to represent the NJLP as a candidate for Senate. I believe that he has the time, energy, talent, resume and resources to to make a high visibility run. He will speak and you can decide for yourselves. In addition to him we will other great speakers and we will present our other aspiring candidates.
The Board has worked to make this convention
Convenient - It is right in the middle of Jersey, less that a mile from Turnpike Exit 8. Also, plenty of free parking nearby.
Affordable - $35 - includes hot buffet lunch and continental breakfast. Students rate is $25
And fun - We are on the second floor of a pub.
As I said before, more Americans are awakening to the cause of liberty than ever before. And if Ron Paul wins the Republican nomination, that would be grand. Nonetheless, the Libertarian Party still stands as the few, the proud, the true keepers of the flame.
I want to see you in Hightstown on March 24, to kick off a great year for the NJLP. Register today!
Different Party - Same Policies
A recent poll shows that the 83% of Americans support Obama's drone policy, 53% of liberal Democrats and 67% of moderate or conservative Democrats now support keeping Guantanamo Bay open.
Glenn Greenwald blogs about it here. Jim Bovard blogs about at Liberals Love Obama's "Liberty Drones".
During the Bush Regime the left would have been screaming and protesting while the right would have been silent. Now the roles are reversed. What is wrong with the public? Why do they continually choose party over principle? Instead of being principled, people treat politics like a sports event while cheering on their favorite team to victory.
The good news is that voters are quickly abandoning the Republican and Democrat Parties. According to the USA Today the Democrat Party is down 800,000 voters, the Republican Party is down 350,000 voters and independent voters are up by 325,000 voters.
Fair Haven Man Vows Fight Over Pot Bust
"I'm not going to stop doing what I'm doing," says medical marijuana advocate Eric Hafner.
Among those cheering at the Statehouse when New Jersey's law allowing medical marijuana passed in January, 2010 was Eric Hafner, an 18-year-old who found in cannabis what he did not in prescription drugs: relief from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by a "traumatic, horrifying" incident two years earlier.
Two years later, however, the law has yet to be implemented, and Hafner is a facing a charge of possessing less than 50 grams of marijuana as a result of an early-morning traffic stop in Middletown in late November.
Read the full story at RedBankGreen.com...
Mitt Romney: Champion of Big Government
Written by Carla Howell
Carla Howell is the Executive Director of the National Libertarian Party
Dear Friend of Liberty,
I ran for governor against Mitt Romney in 2002 in Massachusetts. I read his every press release, read every major newspaper article about him, and followed his every move throughout his governor campaign -- and in each of the four years he served as governor.
Mitt Romney IS Big Government -- to the core.
Which is why I nearly fell off my chair one day when I was asked by a libertarian, "Aren't you glad to have Mitt Romney as your governor? He's pretty libertarian, isn't he?"
It is critical that voters know the truth about Big Government Mitt Romney. Please forward the below column to every voter you know who would consider voting for him.
Little Silver Asked to Reduce Late Tax Penalties
The following email was sent to the Borough Council in Little Silver today. Many towns across New Jersey are charging exorbitant late fees for property taxes. Much thanks go to John Paff for his contributions to this effort.
Hon. Robert Neff, Jr., Mayor and members of the Little Silver Borough Council
Little Silver, NJ 07739
Dear Mayor Neff and Borough Council members:
I write in my capacity as chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party. As you may be aware, Libertarians take a pretty dim view of taxation (Note1) and, if we had our way, we would a substantially reduce the size and scope of government causing a corresponding decrease in the tax burden presently shouldered by New Jersey citizens. While we don't expect the Little Silver Borough Council to adopt a Libertarian viewpoint overnight, we would like for you to effect a small change that would help reduce the burden on some of the Borough's most vulnerable residents.
New Jersey Jury Power: 20 Years Ago
In wrapping up the year, I looked over some my old files and found some news articles from April of 1991 about a New Jersey Superior Court judge who successfully stepped on a juror's right to judge for herself whether New Jersey's drug laws were fair and proportionate. I thought this 20-year old bit of history would be interest, so I put these articles on the internet.
I remember this case well, as I visited the juror several times and recall hand-typing her May 17, 1991 letter into a text file - in the days before scanners and OCR--so that I could distribute it more easily (the text file is also at the above link). I also remember the case well because I traveled more than once to the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton to visit the man who was sentenced to life imprisonment because of the juror's forced verdict. Anyway, here's the story.
Gary Johnson's Big Announcement
On December 28th, Gary Johnson held a news conference in Santa Fe, NM announcing his switch from the Republican to the Libertarian Party.
Following Gary's announcement, National LP Chair Mark Hinkle welcomed Gary back to the Libertarian Party.
Libertarians say Bill of Rights Day is reminder of need to downsize Big Government
Written by Wes benedict
WASHINGTON - Today, December 15, libertarians celebrate Bill of Rights Day.
On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights was ratified, creating the first Ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
The Libertarian Party platform expressly supports the Bill of Rights and calls for restoring our freedoms lost as a result of laws passed in violation of the Constitution by Democratic and Republican politicians.
The Bill of Rights guarantees important individual freedoms and restrains the powers of the federal government. Among them, our rights to free speech, self-defense and justice. These restraints were later extended to the states with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Democrats and Republicans regularly violate the Bill of Rights, especially the Tenth Amendment which states that the powers of the federal government are strictly limited to those enumerated in Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution - a short list which stands in stark contrast to the incalculably long list of functions comprised by today's Big Government.
NJLP Activist Faces Charges for Leafleting
NJ Libertarian Party member and former Libertarian candidate for NJ State Assembly is currently facing a charge of jury tampering for distributing Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) literature near the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He is facing a hearing on December 12th in front of Judge Kimba Wood. So far the courts have denied his request for a jury trial.
The U. S. Constitution is quite clear on this issue in two places. In Article III, Sec. 2, it states: "The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury." In Amendment VI, it states: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,..."
- Julian Heicklen in a letter to Judge Wood
Julian's story was the subject of last nights Free Talk Live show.
Cato @ Liberty also covered it here. The New York Times has a story on it here.
Julian is currently out of jail on a bond while his conviction and sentence for leafleting in Florida is under appeal.
Oppose the E-Verify National ID System
New Jersey 2011 Ballot Question
Libertarian Party Reaches Out to Occupy Trenton Group
Libertarians to Bernanke: You're Wrong