LPQC NewsLPQC NewsThe Official Newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Queens County
Volume 3, Number 1 January/February 1997
City Council Member Julia Harrison Addresses LPQC Meeting
NYC Libertarians Gear Up for '97 City Races
The United Socialists States of America
The Don Gorman/Liberty Council Fund-Raiser
City Council Member Julia Harrison Addresses LPQC Meeting
New York City Council Member Julia Harrison, our first guest speaker at a general meeting, addressed the LPQC last November in our discussion entitled "Regulating Lust: pornography, prostitution and Politics." LPQC member Hollis Wagenstein moderated the program, which was covered in the November 14 Queens Chronicle. Ms Harrison first stated that she is not a moralist, nor is she concerned with the private activities of consenting adults. Her concern, rather, is the health of her constituents, and she is especially troubled about the transmission of AIDS to wives after their husbands have received it from prostitutes. She has introduced two measures in the city council to alleviate this problem. The first would require condom vending machines in all public sleeping places in the city; this would ensure the availability of condoms to those who need them urgently and might not otherwise take the trouble to get them. The second proposal was to regulate prostitution, making medical help and job counseling available to its practitioners.
A discussion about the political considerations related to prostitution and adult entertainment in general followed Ms.Harrison's remarks. Zoning is a particularly thorny issue. Given that some residential communities are rebelling against having doctors' offices in their midst, they could hardly be expected to welcome pleasure houses.
Ms.Harrison's response to a public health concern illustrates how sound reasoning would lead to greater personal liberty. Libertarians should have little difficulty accepting some regulation of prostitution: while prostitution does not inevitably injure innocent third parties, to the extent that it does, government interference in the form of regulation may be appropriate.
Many people still deny the futility of trying to stamp out humankind's most enduring profession, and the city council was unenthusiastic about Ms.Harrison's proposals. But her cool-headed application of reason to the matter is refreshing.
By Jim Strawhorn
NYC Libertarians Gear Up for '97 City Races
At its December meeting, the LPQC hosted a citywide caucus of local and state LP members to begin work on the 1997 New York City elections. Some 20 libertarians from four of the five boroughs attended (Staten Island was not represented).
This year, three citywide officials-mayor, comptroller, and Public Advocate-will be elected. Voters will also choose all 51 city council members, and Borough Presidents and District Attorneys will be elected in each of the five boroughs.
A number of issues were addressed, some by informal consensus and others by formal motion. The first was to decide what kind of entity we were because there is no official citywide LP organization. Based on the fact that all active members of the LPNY and the existing chapters in the city were notified of the caucus, and the opinion of LPNY Chair Lloyd Wright and several other LPNY officers that this was a legitimate LP meeting, we decided by general assent to proceed as an ad hoc citywide LP body.
Further issues included how to raise money for a campaign; how to select candidates, and for which offices; and the coordination of a citywide convention this spring to nominate candidates and develop support for their campaigns.
There was general agreement that NYC Libertarians should run a candidate for mayor, to take advantage of a new law that assures inclusion in debates for all citywide candidates. The idea of fielding as a mayoral candidate someone who would be a strong gubernatorial candidate in 1998 met with wide approval. This would give the candidate two campaigns in which to build name recognition, both for him-or herself and for the Libertarian Party. The possibility of combining local campaigns with other libertarian-oriented projects, such as a medical marijuana referendum, was also considered.
After discussion of general issues, a motion was made and carried to develop a list of work groups and constitute them with volunteers. It was pointed out in debate on the motion that we don't yet have announced candidates, but also that work on candidate selection and infrastructure building can take place concurrently.
The work groups are;
The caucus accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. LPQC News will keep you informed on progress as work proceeds: you can also find out more by attending monthly meetings and the upcoming spring convention.
A tremendous amount of work will need to be done in the coming months. If you would like to help, contact the LPQC (718-670-3270). Even a few hours here and there can add up to a substantial increase in our effectiveness.
Our work in this year's campaign will build a solid foundation for the future growth of the Libertarian Party in our city and state. With an all-out effort, we could elect libertarian officials in New York City this fall, and we will definitely increase our momentum going into 1998.
By John Clifton & Jim Strawhorn
Letters to the editor of local newspapers can be very effective in introducing the Libertarian Party to the public. Local papers are much more likely to publish letters than are major dailies, and they are widely read. LPQC Vice Chair John Procida sent the following letter to a number of papers; it was published ( without the footnote ) in the Queens Courier and the Flushing Times. Send us letters you've written to local papers and , space permitting, we'll reproduce them here. Of course, we welcome letters to LPQC News as well.
The United Socialist States of America
Does that title upset you? If you are one of the approximately 95% of the voters who voted in this past election for the Democrats and Republicans (or Repub-o-crats), you should not be upset. Instead you should be quite content, as you are getting exactly what you voted for.
Under the leadership of the Repub-o-crats our government has grown about 50% in the last 30 years. The Repub-o-crats have enacted into law 31 out of 32 planks the Socialist Party adopted in 1932. As a result of this legislation, it is clear Americans are now socialist. Most people are upset by the label, but if that is what you voted for, you are indeed a socialist.
During the debates, Dole said, "Clinton wants to grow the government by 20% in the next six years. I only want to grow the government 14% over the next six years." So you must understand that the person you voted for want to increase the size of the federal government. At the current growth rate of our government, we will be closer to communism than socialism in about 25 years. Balancing the budget is a smoke screen. The growth of government is the real problem. If you grow the government each year, balancing the budget becomes more and more difficult. Think about it: when the baby boomers retire, many of the present old people will still be alive as people are living to an older age than the government had hoped for. Where is the money to pay social security and medicare going to come from? If the young people of today ever collect social security, the tax rate will have to be 80-90% or no social security for them. Then how do we justify stealing their money? Fellow worker, we are heading for Russian type meltdown sooner than most people think.
The one party that can save America is the Libertarian Party. We are the party that still believes in the government of Washington, Jefferson, Madison*, Hamilton*, Jay*, etc., but we only got 0.7% of the vote even though a Harris poll found that there are 50 million libertarian thinkers in the U.S. But apparently they voted for the lesser of two evils, and, to no one's surprise, they got an evil.
John Procida,Vice Chair
Libertarian Party of Queens County
*Madison, Hamilton, And Jay wrote "The Federalist Papers", 85 essays explaining the philosophy of our constitution to the other representatives of the constitutional convention of 1787. How many Americans have read it? How many Americans have even heard of it? It should not only be read, but studied by every high school student in America, and if they don't pass the course they should not be allowed to vote.
But John, I'm not sure if I've ever read the entire Federalist Papers. How about having an exam on Milton and Rose Friedmans' "Free to Choose" or Henry Hazlitts' "Economics In One Lesson" instead? ;-) Editor.
Curtains for Curfews, A look at Local Tyranny
LPQC meeting are designed for participation. We begin with a brief business meeting, in which we discuss our activities and plans. That's followed by lunch and a lively topical discussion. Bring your ideas, questions, copies of articles you'd like to share. Most importantly, bring yourself.
The Don Gorman / Liberty council Fund-Raiser
It was a dark and stormy night, but 20 libertarians met for a $100 dollar a plate fundraiser on October 19th. They defied flood and flu, and they met to celebrate liberty.
The speakers plane may not have left the ground, but Gene Cisewski and Mike Buonocristiano were there to inspire us and instruct us, with hard-won truths of how to build a party and run an effective campaign.
There may have been no hotel vacancies in Manhattan, but Elliott Werner, Lloyd Wright and John Clifton made dinner arrangements and found places for people to stay.
Planes may not have been departing, but Chris Garvey was waiting by the phone for word of their arrivals.
As the participants left Hunan 5th. at 323 fifth Avenue, they felt good about raising money for the 1998 governor's race. It may have been a dark and stormy night, but the weather was no match for the light of liberty.
By Elliott Werner
After our editorial on the HANAC scandal ("Giuliani vs. Privatization") appeared in the June/July 1996 LPQC News, there have been several developments. First, a court ruled in June that the Giuliani administration had violated the due process rights of HANAC when it canceled all city contracts with the social service agency in the wake of favoritism charges. HANAC then sought redress for damages to its funding and reputation in the federal courts.
Second, a federal appeals court in Manhattan has ruled that the city's cancellation of the $43 million contracts relating to the Welfare Reform Initiative (WRI) was authorized. (the city is still allowing the agency to operate non-WRI related contracts, in accordance with the June ruling.) The appeals court also ruled that HANAC should have brought its case to a state court to reverse the city's action. And so far, nothing has come out of the various criminal investigations into the scandal since the probes were launched last spring.
Finally, we received correspondence from George Sarant, the former chief officer of HANAC, who thanked us for the editorial and included the following comments: "I recently came across your piece on the welfare contracts, and I was impressed by your cogent analysis, given the information available to you at the time... a day does not pass when I do not think of all the good people who were outrageously damaged by the greatest social policy disaster in recent times. Unfortunately, this is a case where all the bad guys came out on top, at least for the moment.
"There is, of course, a far bigger story, of mind boggling dimensions, political agendas, gross ineptitude, media complicity and irresponsibility, small minded, petty jealousies, vicious persecution, and, in general, sabotage by the entire social welfare complex. Little in the way of truth has emerged about all this, but it eventually will, and although the incredible injustice that has transpired can never be corrected, it will irrefutably demonstrate the ethical and intellectual bankruptcy of all the institutions involved.
"This is an interesting time to be a libertarian, given that the information revolution, the main dynamic of our time, mandates the diffusion of power, which is the only solution to its abuse. I grew up in another lonely time, when the prevailing wisdom was that nothing could stop the triumph of socialism, and spent most of my life fighting against it. It is a time of great opportunity for those who understand where things are going..."
By John Clifton
LPQC News
Jim Strawhorn, Editor
John Clifton, Contributing Editor
Bradford R.Arter, Associate Editor
Elliott Werner, Web Site Editor
LPQC News is published quarterly by the Libertarian Party of Queens County. Subscriptions: included free with LPQC membership;$6/year to non-members. Deadline for articles is the second Saturday of the month preceding publication. Opinions expressed in LPQC News are not necessarily official positions of the membership or the officers of the LPQC. Please direct all correspondence to LPQC News, c/o Procida Realty Corp., 161-09 29th. Ave.,Flushing, NY11358; or call (718) 670-3270
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