To: villagechoice@topica.com Subject: THE VILLAGE CHOICE - Volume 2, Issue14 From: Manhattan Libertarian Party <villagechoice@manhattanlp.org> Add to Contacts Date: + Fri, Apr 4 2003 7:31:28 PM0000 View Message Source THE VILLAGE CHOICE A Weekly Rundown of News, Views and Events Affecting Freedom in NYC Volume 2, Issue 14 * April 4, 2003 THE VILLAGE CHOICE is brought to you by the Manhattan Libertarian Party. http://www.manhattanlp.org In this issue: * DEC poisons reservoirs! * Civil rights group sues to restrict rights! * City Hall bullies take on schoolyard bullies! * Your calendar of upcoming pro-freedom events! * Much more!
* News Bites * Environmentalists Versus the Environment The city's Department of Environmental Protection is continuing to allow toxic leakage at some of its facilities, and an independent monitor should be empowered to clean up the agency, federal investigators say. In a scathing letter from the Department of Justice sent to U.S. District Judge Charles Brieant last month, U.S. Attorney James Comey says the DEP is violating the terms of a probation set in 2001 when it was found guilty of dumping mercury into reservoirs, and calls for an immediate sit-down to set new terms for the agency's probation. How about we just shut down the DEP before they do any more damage to the environment? If anyone in the private sector behaved this way, they'd have been hauled off in handcuffs long ago. http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/70921.htm NAACP Sues to Disarm Black Folks The NAACP faced off this week against 85 gun manufacturers and distributors in a legal duel that could have nationwide implications for the gun industry. NAACP lawyer Elisa Barnes accused the gun makers in Brooklyn Federal Court of ignoring the proliferation of illegal weapons. If the jury of six whites and six blacks is convinced that the gun industry is a "public nuisance," Federal Judge Jack Weinstein could order sweeping new regulations on the sale and distribution of firearms. Meanwhile, a gun trade association launched a new attack on Weinstein, issuing a news release describing him as a "well-known liberal activist judge." The group already had blasted the veteran judge as an "anti-gun jurist." "The worst case is one unelected judge sitting in Brooklyn will rewrite federal law and the law of 50 states," said Lawrence Keane, vice president of the Hunting & Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation. "That is why this case is so dangerous." http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/71795p-66598c.html Legislating Cool A new City Council bill will require sensitivity training for teachers at private and public schools in an attempt to reform the city's bullies. The bill would also require schools to establish a broad policy that bars harassment based on sexual orientation, race, disability, and literally everything else that inspires kids to torture other kids. It is also unusual in taking private, as well as public, schools into its scope. While critics call the move unnecessary at best, Mr. Gerson says it could bring sweeping changes to student life in New York. "We have to make it uncool to pick on people," Mr. Gerson said. "We have to evolve our youth culture in a way so that harassment and taunting and the pecking order and picking on people is not a normal part of our youth culture." Unfortunately, it is a normal part of our government culture. http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2003/04/04&ID=Ar00103 War Resistance Through Tax Resistance Police horses won't stop them. Ranks of cops in riot gear won't stop them either. Even rush hour traffic on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue won't stop Americans determined to end the war in Iraq. The tax man, however, gives them pause. "It's surprising to me that people are more willing to risk arrest than refuse to pay their taxes. The fear of the IRS is tremendous in this country," says Ed Hedemann, author of the 144-page War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support From the Military. Hedemann has not paid any federal income tax since 1972 and does not plan to start this April 15. More power to him. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0314/lee.php
* Rant of the Week * Good Government vs. Bad Government By Jak Karako Many of us, Libertarians, believe in a small government whose sole purpose is to protect individual rights. Most all others believe government should use its authority to forcibly fix the problems of the society. I dare to add a third alternative. Government can lead and sometimes should lead efforts that can objectively be proven to be worthy, WITHOUT using its coercive power. An example is on the news. Mayor Bloomberg has gained a reputation for fighting the smoking habit. First he was able to raise cigarette taxes to punitive levels, then he managed to pass legislation to ban smoking in most establishments, and finally he was able to influence the state legislators to pass an even stricter ban at the state level. All of which are good examples of bad governance. Contrary to popular belief, earned income actually belongs to the person who earned it. Government, no matter how noble its cause - and their causes are all noble! of course - should not make a claim on our income. Thus the cigarette taxes, just like other taxes, are wrong. It is a violation of property rights. The new smoking ban in restaurants, bars and workplaces is based on, at least on its face value, the desire to protect the health of the employees who are forced to work where they are exposed to second hand smoking. Leave alone the fact that no one forces them to work there, since slavery is illegal, or whether they mind the work environment or not. There is actually a more dangerous threat in this ban; it classifies - thus regulates - private property as public property. An office, a bar, a restaurant, a club is NOT public space. Again this ban is a violation of property rights. Having said all this, should government have no role, take no position on a nasty, habitual, unhealthy activity like smoking? I think it should, and it did just that. NY Quits hotline: The city launched a program to assist those who want to quit smoking by providing nicotine patches to those who ask for them. Although it would have been much better if they used voluntary contributions to fund the program, this is the type of activity the government may undertake. Governments can lead efforts for a happier, healthier society, so long as they do not use their coercive powers in the process. In an environment where most members of society are turning to government for solutions, the NY Quits program is a welcomed effort.
* Upcoming Events * Saturday, April 5, 9:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. Sunday, April 6, 10:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. Making Democracy More Democratic: Running for the City Council 2003 Seminar taking participants through the entire process of running for office. Registration $50; students with ID $15 Pace University, Multi-Purpose Room, 1 Pace Plaza http://webpage.pace.edu/cmalone/runningforthecitycouncil.html Wednesday, April 9, 7:00 p.m. Manhattan Libertarian Party monthly meeting Free admission; dinner and socializing at 7:00; meeting will start promptly at 7:30 p.m. 1050 Restaurant, 735 10th Avenue http://www.manhattanlp.org Thursday, April 10, 8:00 p.m. George Orwell's 1984 New York premier Stage adaptation of the classic dystopian novel Runs through April 27 Nicu's Spoon, 155 Bank Street http://www.spoontheater.org/Programs/On_Stage/1984/1984.html
* News tips, rants and events wanted! * Help us improve THE VILLAGE CHOICE. Send news bites, rants and event announcements to villagechoice@manhattanlp.org. Please include a web link whenever possible. We will occasionally consider broader topics, but our strong preference is for items pertaining to freedom (or the lack thereof) in New York City. THE VILLAGE CHOICE is edited by Jim Lesczynski. To subscribe to THE VILLAGE CHOICE, simply send a BLANK email to: villagechoice-subscribe@topica.com Read the current issue or back issues of THE VILLAGE CHOICE on the web at: http://www.topica.com/lists/villagechoice/read If you like THE VILLAGE CHOICE, please FORWARD it to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. If you're offended by anything in this newsletter, you're obviously a humorless socialist of either the right-wing or left-wing variety. See you next week! ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: getlibny Or send an email to: villagechoice-unsubscribe@topica.com TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================