Published using Google Docs
đź—˝The Beacon | January 2022 Articles
Updated automatically every 5 minutes

đź—˝The Beacon | January 2022 Articles



County Affiliate Spotlight: Sacramento

Liberty Is Alive In Sacramento 
By Ben Weir (Secretary @ LP Sac)



        2021 was rough on California. We have faced never-ending mask mandates, vaccine mandates, the permanent closure of many businesses, record high unemployment, over 2.6 million acres lost to wildfires, and failed recall elections. Not all is lost though! One good thing to come out of all of this, it’s the incredible wave of new activists and libertarians popping up all over the State! As the Secretary for the Libertarian Party of Sacramento County, I can attest to this first hand.
The two party system is broken. We, as Libertarians, have the greatest political philosophy in the history of man. A philosophy of peace, prosperity, and absolute freedom. Our country has never been more divided over politics. We have the opportunity to create a lasting and permanent change in our community.

Back in August, we held our first annual community potluck at the William B. Pond Recreation Area. It was amazing to see so many people brought together under their common interest of libertarianism. The conversations were thought-provoking and truly inspiring. We even had some of our neighbors in Solano County and Placer County join us as well! It was so successful, that we decided to turn it into a yearly recurring event!

The highlight of my entire year was our Anti-War Rally, which was held on the steps of the State Capitol Building on the 20
th Anniversary of 9/11. We were joined by Adam Kokesh (Veteran, Activist), Jeff Hewitt (Recall Gubernatorial Candidate), and Angela McArdle (2022 LNC Chair Candidate). Their speeches were electric, and all in attendance went home with a burning passion to fight for liberty. The event was picked up by ABC 10, News2Share, and Slow News Day. We had approximately 60 people. Going into 2022, the Sacramento County Affiliate will remain active on this front. We will not stop fighting back against US interventionism, vaccine mandates, and all of the other pressing issues that we are faced with today.

We are lucky to have such an incredible team of leaders here in Sacramento. We plan to continue these upward trends in 2022. We hope to have even bigger events, more meet-ups, and a rally against the tyrannical and draconian vaccine mandates. Sacramento County is also currently seeking individuals who are interested and willing to run for local (and winnable) offices. Sacramento will continue to be a beacon of liberty in the Northern California region. We aim to grow the Libertarian Party in Sacramento and hope to meet some more of our neighbor affiliates as they continue to grow with us! On behalf of Sacramento County, we wish you all of the health and prosperity that 2022 can offer. We hope to see you at some events in the future.


The War on Covid - And Other Unlearned Lessons 
By Zack Kincaid

         We find ourselves 20 months into flatten the curve, the latest excuse for state expansion and abuse, in the 20th year of you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide. It should be surprising to see Americans, who claim such a rich history of rugged individualism and a codified protection of universal human rights and liberties, so eagerly trade personal responsibilities and freedoms for authoritative centralized control, tyranny disguised as a false sense of security. It should be, but fear can be leveraged by petty despots, inspiring enough doubt among the masses to convince even those generally considered secure and steadfast to relinquish not only their own sovereignty, but also that of their fellow countrymen. This could be no more apparent given only a brief overview of the repeated failures of the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, and our current bout against an abstract enemy where the overwhelming majority of Americans beg for a savior even when the most well intentioned intervention consistently delivers not only dangerous and destructive, but generally opposite results of the stated goal.

None should be faulted for their panic clouded judgment, perhaps unaware of the costs of their decisions or possibly a misguided faith in the state to act in a way best benefitting society as a whole, but they should be encouraged to withdraw their consent or at the least disavow the misplaced authority being claimed by those self declared leaders and experts. Unfortunately the societal trauma experienced over the last two decades of propaganda and outright lies, where the narrative is canon and dissemination of any non approved messaging is a heretical crime worthy of censorship or exile, has discouraged any expression or defense of individual rights either by the dismissal classical liberal American culture and philosophy, or worse, by the demonization or mischaracterization of anyone holding the ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence.

It is a daunting task, however, to ignore their complacency and complicity, especially while many have been trained to view those speaking out against government action as enemies of the people endangering the common good. We view government action, especially when couched with rhetoric surrounding the common good or national security, as detrimental to a free people and to the advancement of society in our examination of the lies, propaganda, and obscene transfers of wealth we have experienced in modern times. External threats, imagined or exaggerated, are the tool of choice for those bent on attaining or maintaining power and control, and the programming promoting the lies merely pivots from alleged crisis to crisis to maintain its relevance. Slogans and threat assessments get upcycled, “weapons of mass destruction” becomes “misinformation” and “terror alert level red” becomes “county covid tier purple.” In every case, the solution takes our society further away from actually solving the crisis. At no point will a less free and prosperous society offer actual outcomes worth the sacrifice.  

The towers fell; the virus has spread. How we behave following a disaster is an important part of our surviving it, especially if we expect to keep our humanity intact. We have spent twenty years erasing the foundation of the freedom, liberty, and individual rights promised to us, and now we have spent twenty months knocking down the remaining pillars. Some lessons can only be learned after it's already too late.



California Libertarian Candidates

2022 is an election year for federal midterms, the California gubernatorial race and local elections.  Two candidates who have announced their run for office are Kelly Carden and Michael Lema.

Kelly Carden


Candidates often have a memorized schtick about who they are and why they are running, hit the usual talking points, and end it on “visit my website Carden4Kern.com for more information.” I thought I’d do something different and take this chance instead to explain why you should consider running too.


I’m Kelly Carden and I’m running for Kern County Supervisor, but I’m not from a wealthy or politically connected family, and being a politician has never been my aspiration. Until last year I had never really even considered being politically active. I was just a regular guy upset about another proposed water rate increase, one more hurdle for us to clear, one more thing to make our lives more difficult. So I decided to call in to the Water Board meeting to explain how this decision would affect all of us, and that it would hurt the people already struggling. I just spoke from the heart, and got quoted in the local paper.

I grew up in an immigrant family in the district I want to represent. My five year old son is in the same classroom I was in. My experiences here give me unique insights into how to address the problems facing my community. Yours will too. I've spoken out at the Board of Supervisors meeting and at the local School Board, made sure my voice was heard. You can too. I was even able to get a small feature article for my campaign announcement.

Police response times are terrible where I live. My neighbor complained to the Sheriff's Department who said he should make an online complaint to the County Board of Supervisors. Interactions like that have grown my confidence in my decision to run. These local offices have so much influence on our daily lives and most of us are not being represented by the people elected. We can field Libertarian candidates who are relevant; normal community members can run and win.

The number one thing that has helped me as a candidate is my ability to tell my story. Your story can be just as compelling and just as relatable, and there’s potential to make a real impact in the lives of your family and your neighbors. Signature collection for ballot access begins in February and I’m looking forward to gathering them, not just to let people know who I am and why I’m running, but also to hear their stories as well.

I’m Kelly Carden and I’m running for Kern County Supervisor because I want to make life better in my community. When you see a need, fill it.  
www.carden4kern.com

 
Mike Lema

Michael Lema, the Secretary for the Libertarian Party of Alameda County, announced his candidacy for the Hayward City Council last November.

To kick off the campaign, he hosted a toy drive for the Hayward Fire department and continued park cleanups that he spearheaded earlier in the year. Working to make change even when not in office, he attended the annual Christmas party at Mayor Halliday's house in Hayward to work closer with existing leaders and start to improve his city. Already, his candidacy has broken Alameda County's candidate fundraising record and web traffic goalposts. He has a clear path to victory, community support, and a great campaign team. If you want to get involved, the campaign needs volunteers and donors (sign up at www.lema4hayward.us)! Be on the lookout for events in the future as well!

Michael is a true Hayward Native. Born in the city in 1996, he attended local schools, including Hayward High, found his friends, family, and community in the city, and coached soccer and baseball for over six seasons. Now he is running for City Council to give back to his city in a new way: making it a better place for all of its residents. Michael is also a veteran. Serving in the United States Marine Corps for five years and advancing to the rank of Sergeant, he got to see firsthand what it meant to fight for his country, and now he wants to do the same for his city. After being deployed in 2018 to the Middle East to support Operation Inherent Resolve, he is ready for a new challenge, using the freedoms he fought for to better his entire community. Now he is back in Hayward as a Journeyman Electrician, studying to become an Electrical Engineer, and take his next steps as a dedicated member of the Hayward Community.

========

If you plan to run for office this year, let the staff at The Beacon know so you can be featured in the next issue, highlighting your campaign and spreading the word so that volunteers and donors can find and support you.  Contact The Beacon co-Editor Elizabeth Stump at estump@ca.lp.org