Dinner with Bob Barr in St. Paul, Minnesota

It's all set. Bob Barr is coming to have dinner with supporters on Monday at Muffuletta, in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul. He's planning to give a speech and answer questions afterwards.

Tomorrow is the Liberty Parade. I just finished painting the base to a 15-foot, pine liberty pole I made with a red liberty cap. I plan to raise it somewhere in Loring Park during the concert in the afternoon after the parade.



Meetup event - Dinner with Bob Barr

Dinner with Bob Barr in Minneapolis/St. Paul - Labor day, September 1

Bob Barr, candidate for President, is coming to town, and he'd like to meet with us for dinner. Please join us. This is your chance to hear him speak and answer your questions in person. This is not a $1000 per plate affair. We're just getting together to have dinner and talk with Bob Barr.

This event is scheduled for 5 pm, Monday, September 1, Labor Day evening. We'll chose a location once we have a better sense for the size audience we'll have. We just found out 2 days ago that he'd be available. Please let others know if you would.

Here's a link to the invitation, where you can sign up - Dinner with Bob Barr

Bob Barr is coming to Minnesota

I just got off the phone with Mike Ferguson, Midwest Regional Coordinator for Bob Barr 2008. According to Ferguson, Bob Barr is coming to the Twin Cities in late August or early September.

Update (Aug 26, 2008): Barr is coming on Aug 31 and will stay through Sep 1 at least, according to Ferguson, with whom I just spoke on the phone.

Article in Sunday Star Tribune by Jill Burcum

There's an article in the Sunday Star Tribune written by Jill Burcum, assistant managing editor, which appeared on the front page of the opinion section. She mentions Bob Barr and his 8% showing in Minnesota and Iowa in the recent Zogby poll.

This is no accident. The other day she interviewed me and four other people active in the liberty movement. Jill's initial focus was on the Ron Paul phenomenon, but she learned from us (and perhaps others) that the movement was more than just about one man.

The first half of the 4th-to-last paragraph reflects what I discussed with her. I pointed out how I came from a staunch Democratic Party background. I mentioned how I grew up in San Francisco in the 60s and felt strongly about our entering wars such as Vietnam, Haiti, and Iraq without constitutional process. I also strongly emphasized the importance of civil liberties in this election. So I think she was looking at her notes from her discussion with me for those sentences. I also mentioned to her how Barr was in this to win. I mentioned the Zogby poll, which surprised her (as it had me, when I had first heard about it). She asked me for info on it via email, which I sent her later.

The great thing about the whole conversation was the tone. It was friendly and relaxed. We put our trust in her, and I think she sensed that. You know there's a great deal of power in what editors can do with your statements. I was very pleased tonight to see what she had written.

Burcum's article is not online yet, that I can see. It'll probably appear at http://www.startribune.com/opinion later this morning sometime. The title is It's not the man--it's the movement.

Update (August 10, 2008): Here's the article.

Baby steps for Bob

Calling all Minnesotans

Remove your party blinders, and help restore civil liberties.

Baby steps for Bob -

• Baby step #1 - Walk around a lake. Think about things.
• Baby step #2 - Construct a pair of blinders. I did it for just a few bucks. I bought a mask and some black cardboard paper at a party supply store on Ford Parkway in St. Paul. Cut two 8" x 3" rectangles and fold them in half. Staple them at the loose ends with the elastic string of the mask inside. 2 staples each will do. Place the mask on top of your head and the elastic under your chin, positioning the two black cardboard blinders forward at eye level.
• Baby step #3 - Walk around the lake again, this time with the blinders on.
• Baby step #4 - At the end of your walk, symbolically take off your blinders
• Baby step #5 - Sign the nominating petition for Bob Barr

Adult step #1 - Join the Minneapolis Bob Barr Meetup.



Update (August 10, 2008): At Rejaw, I wrote -

Bob Barr is in this to win, but he can't do it without you.

Help us remove the party blinders from people.

I don't see a check on power. Obama fails on surveillance, McCain on torture.

If you cherish due process, habeas corpus, and privacy, then please consider doing something. Baby steps for Bob.

A college friend of mine wrote me via email, commenting on the two issues I brought up regarding the other two candidates. In response, I added -

I picked two issues of great importance, which I care deeply about, where each has done a 180 or at least a 90 degree turn.

Regarding McCain…

A college friend of mine, who read this, felt, if I understand him correctly, that McCain was just pandering to the Republican base, but would, once elected, come to the rescue and stop the torture.

My perspective is different. At a debate Nov 28, 2007, shown on two big-screens at a local hotel, McCain came out strongly against torture. I nearly broke my arms applauding. Later in February he dropped the ball, I believe. See this article from the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate.

McCain supports Bush veto of bill banning harsh interrogation tactics
Doesn't want CIA limited to methods used by military
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, March 9, 2008

Regarding Obama...

Obama said he would filibuster a bill such as the recent FISA bill. Instead he voted for cloture. Here's a CATO podcast on the issue by Tim Lee.

Warrantless surveillance and torture, is this America? I don't see a check on power rising from either of the two parties, in contrast to the Watergate era.



Baby steps for Bob...

When you go to the Minnesota State Fair, please do stop by the Liberty Center and sign the petition. We need your help. It's close by. If you look at the map, you can see that it's about as far to walk from one end of the fairgrounds to the other as it is to walk to the Liberty Center. -

5 minutes by car

30 minutes by baby steps

Update (Aug 13, 2008):
The Liberty Parade

Maybe we could do this as part of the Liberty Parade!! It would fit in perfectly with the spirit of the parade. We'd wear party blinders and symbolically take them off when we arrive at Loring Park. What's funny is that the organizers of the parade are encouraging people to be creative and use cardboard paper. What a coincidence!

Triggering a war with Iran

Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker reports that someone at a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney seriously suggested that a fake incident be staged to provoke the American public against Iran, to start a war. Who was this man? Has he been fired? Where is the outrage? If there is a unitary vice-presidency :-/, Cheney, if he condoned a breath of this behavior, if he did not drum him out, adds a count, a count to his impeachment. Where is Congress?