Well, that didn’t take long. Wisconsin’s Senator Ron Johnson barely renewed his oath of office before violating it.

“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; …”

Unfortunately, the very first bill to be considered by the United States Senate was not intended to deal with an American problem, such as the deficit, border security, or re-opening the government. It was legislation to defend the government of Israel from economic pressure to end its policies of apartheid, repression, racial discrimination, and violations of international law. The type of economic pressure which helped end apartheid in South Africa. A bill which encourages states to adopt the very same anti-boycott laws that two federal courts blocked on First Amendment grounds. Now the message to Americans is that they will be penalized if the dare to disagree with Israel.

Not every senator agreed with the bill. Senator Rand Paul, the lone Republican who voted against the bill, said the right to boycott is an essential part of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. “It is a fundamental aspect to freedom; to be able to dissent, to protest, even when everybody thinks you’re wrong.”  Senate Bill 1 passed and goes on to the House of Representatives.

“The Senate chose politics over the Constitution and trampled on the First Amendment rights of all Americans.” American Civil Liberties Union

U.S. citizens expect to be able to peacefully express their political opinions without being punished by their government and the United States used to provide a good example for other countries.

The right to organize boycotts, to marshal economic pressure to effect political change, is protected under the First Amendment,” explains the National Lawyers Guild.

They are at it again in Madison. “Wisconsin lawmakers introduce prostitution surcharge bill.” AP headline

“Wisconsin legislators are bringing back a bill that would impose a new fine on anyone convicted of soliciting prostitutes.”

The bill circulated by Senators Jacque and Wanggard along with Representatives Taylor and Brandtjen would impose a $5,000 fine on anyone convicted of patronizing, pander or soliciting prostitutes or keep a place of prostitution.

“Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” H.L. Mencken

We believe that for there to be a crime, there must be a victim. In this case, a sex worker offers sex for a price. A customer is willing to pay the price. There is no victim to file a complaint. Since both get what they want from the transaction, the usual way for the police to arrest a buyer is by entrapment, or a “sting.” 

The purpose of government is supposed to be to protect life, liberty, and property from violence or fraud. the government should not be concerned with keeping people from vice or bad habits and regulating or prohibiting activities that take place between consenting adults. A "nanny state" is a perversion of government.

As Libertarians, the Party of Principle, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest and we welcome the diversity that freedom brings. We apply that to sex work.

And, while members of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin advocate abolishing laws governing certain voluntary behaviors, this does not necessarily imply endorsement of such behaviors. We only make the statement that in such matters an individual's right to free choice must be recognized and the morality of such choices is not a concern of government.

Based on these principles, the Libertarian Party of the United States officially "supports the decriminalization of prostitution," according to a new plank in the party's political platform. This makes the L.P. the only notable U.S. political party to stand unequivocally for sex-worker rights and in opposition to cops persecuting people for consensual sex.

"We assert the right of consenting adults to provide sexual services to clients for compensation, and the right of clients to purchase sexual services from consenting sex workers,”

Leave people who aren’t hurting anyone alone!

James Maas
Former Chair, LPWI

Madison, WI— 1/23/2019 — The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin (LPWI) voted on a resolution condemning the effort of the United States Government in expanding the border wall along the US/Mexico border.  The LPWI believes that the only role of law and government is the protection of natural rights for all individuals, regardless of their citizenship, from initiations of force or fraud.  A wall would violate multiple rights, including the consensual visitation and habitation of individuals on private property.  The LPWI also recognizes that economic freedom requires the unrestricted movement of humans and capital across national borders.

The resolution reads as follows:

WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin believes that the only proper role of law is in the protection of the natural rights of individuals from the initiation of force or fraud;

WHEREAS, no individual has a natural right to prohibit consensual visitation to or consensual habitation on the private property of another individual;

WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party believes that eminent domain is a violation of private property rights;

WHEREAS, we affirm the right of individuals to set whatever standards they wish for entry onto their own private property but not that owned by others;

WHEREAS, we believe that all individuals have the same natural rights regardless of their citizenship;

WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party acknowledges that economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin condemns and opposes efforts to build a governmental border wall.

For more information, press only:

    Phil Anderson
    Chair@lpwi.org
    https://www.lpwi.org

PDF Press Release Download

“We live the Wisconsin Idea by incubating new educational opportunities, sharing what we learn along the way, and supporting efforts to close opportunity gaps and eliminate achievement gaps.” Vision statement of the UW Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) which reviews applications for charter schools. (https://www.wisconsin.edu/oeo/about/)

Sounds like a great goal to serve some families in Wisconsin. It has not been well received by the government school district in Madison, however.  

Nevertheless, some tax paying parents in Wisconsin prefer to choose schools for their kids rather than let the government choose for them. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Madison school Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham fears that approval of parental choice schools is done “at the expense of our public school students.” If the government schools aren’t satisfying the parents in the school district, shouldn’t they have an option? Charter schools aren't taking money from public schools; some parents are enrolling their kids in other schools. (https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/two-years-after-launch-of-uw-charter-schools-office-tension/article_ff15312e-ae3c-55de-9ed8-570d77594a89.html)

In opposing the UW Office of Educational Opportunity vision, Cheatham has claimed that “our schools will be serving students so well that there isn’t a need.” Well, that is how it is supposed to work, not to prevent the competition from competing. Some parents still see a need. “If we are ever going to get equity we are going to have to focus on outcomes over institutional self-interests,” stated Gary Bennett, OEO Director. 

Data released by the Department of Public Instruction shows that students in the Parental Choice Programs are outperforming their peers on the ACT. “Higher scores. Lower cost. The continued growth of the programs is good for students and taxpayers in Wisconsin,” according to School Choice Wisconsin. 
(https://schoolchoicewi.org) 

What is the lesson the Madison school board seems to be teaching parents in their community? 

Jim Maas
Past Chair, Libertarian Party of Wisconsin

With the elections over, the Fox Valley Libertarians are now looking into moving into the next phase. Our two goals for the Fox Valley Libertarians are as follows:

-Get more Libertarians running for local office - this means your County Board, school board, city clerk, treasurer and/or city council. Growing our party starts with the ground up, building a strong establishment and demonstrating how Libertarians can be effective on their local government. This means repealing restrictive city ordinances and excessive building codes, stopping spending bills, voting down spending motions and higher/more local taxes.

-Increase our presence throughout the valley by finding common ground in other groups which share a common ground with Libertarians. 

We could be well on our way in doing both of those things. Recently at a campaign event for Phil Anderson's Gubernatorial race in Appleton, we spoke to someone interested in running for the Grand Chute town board. In another campaign event in Hortonville, we spoke to someone interested in running for School Board in Fremont. This is what we would like to see - not just Libertarians expressing support, but Libertarians running for local office. Are you interested in running for office? Send an email to Fox Valley Libertarians Chair Brian Defferding at briandefferding@gmail.com and let him know!

Then, we started to get involved with other activist groups in the valley. Fox Valley Libertarian chair Brian Defferding is currently on the Winnebago County Board. He started attending meet-ups with ESTHER, a non-profit faith-based social justice group, in Neenah. They have a Prison Reform Task Force that is looking to support and be active in reforming our jail system - reducing recidivism, reforming revocation laws for people on probation and ex-convicts, opposing jail expansion, end racial profiling and putting convicts with mental health disorders on a path to treatment instead of punishment. Brian Defferding is looking to establish a mental health court in Winnebago County, in order to reduce recidivism and get mental health convicts the treatment they need. ESTHER can bring the valuable feedback he needs to establish a proper policy to lessen our jail population. To find out more about Brian, head to his County Board Facebook page, or you may contact him at briandefferding@gmail.com. 

Some exciting news - The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin just appointed Appleton's own Carmen Collar to be the Affiliate Chair at Large. This means she will be in charge of helping local affiliates throughout the entire state of Wisconsin get the support they need to expand, network, advertise, volunteer, make inroads everywhere. What brought her to the party was helping out Phil Anderson's gubernatorial race, traveling to different locations dropping off signs and creating events for him all around the Fox Valley. This will be an exciting and challenging new chapter for her, we look forward to seeing her talents unleashed to Wisconsin!

INFORMAL POLL! We are looking at reaching out to having our social hours and business meetings twice a month, to help cater to those unable to make our Wednesday meet-ups. But we would like to hear from you, dear Fox Valley libertarians (big L and small l) - what days of the week work out best for you? And do you have a preference in time - mornings, noon time, afternoon or evenings? Head to the post made at the Fox Valley Libertarians facebook page and let's hear your input! We want to see you at a meetup somewhere, let's see what we can do as a team!

That's all for now. Thank you for taking a few minutes of your day to check in with us! Keep spreading that message of liberty far and wide!

Veterans Day, a day to recognize veterans and their service, was called Armistice Day when I was a child. On the 11^th day of the 11^th month at the 11^th hour, my classmates and I stood, faced the east, and had a minute of silence to remember the signing of the armistice which ended “The Great War”.

On November 11, 1918, the world finally had enough of the irrational killing spree known as World War I. Twenty million individual human beings had perished in what was the largest military conflict the world had yet seen. Many thousands more died of starvation and disease after the war. World War I convinced much of the world of the insanity of war. 

America had lost 112,000 of its soldiers in a conflict which had little to do with American interests. Americans found themselves extremely disenchanted with war, and, like the rest of the world, they observed Armistice Day as a time to remember veterans and appreciate the blessings of peace.

After the Korean War, President Eisenhower signed a bill in 1954 that changed the name of the national holiday to Veterans’ Day. There were good intentions: America’s veterans of wars other than World War I deserved some recognition. 

Sadly, unlike WWI, our troops did not come home after WW2 was over. Our country hasn’t been at peace ever since, with more and more veterans to honor every November. We have too many veterans. We have too many living veterans. We have too many dead veterans. We have too many wounded veterans. We have too many disabled veterans.  

“Low information voters, also known as misinformation voters, are people who may vote yet are generally poorly informed about issues.” – Wikipedia

Sadly, Wisconsin citizens who depend upon the usual media sources for information on the races which include third party or independent candidates, may be low information voters. How can that be? Why is that?

The Marquette University Law School Poll recently reported that more likely voters consider themselves “independent” rather than affiliated with either of the two old parties. 

“A majority of Americans, 57%, say there is a need for a third, major political party, while 38% of Americans believe the current two party system does an adequate job of representing the people. These views have been consistent since 2013.” Gallup, Inc.

How has the traditional news media responded?

• The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association’s so-called “gubernatorial debates” excluded three third party and one independent candidate who qualified for the ballot voters will see on Tuesday. Libertarian Phil Anderson has filed a complaint with complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. “By providing valuable primetime exposure to the Democrat and Republican candidates and by excluding all others, the WBA has made an illegal in-kind donation to both campaigns.” So far, no response.
• In an article called “Voter guide: Here's what you need to know about Wisconsin's Nov. 6 general election,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “At the top of ballots statewide: incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker's bid for re-election is opposed by Democrat Tony Evers, the state superintendent of public instruction …”, ignoring four other candidate. 
• Radio and television “news” reports have excluded third party candidate positions on issues which they cover with the major parties. Sometimes they even report what the latest attack ads say about each other as news, as if voters haven’t seen enough of them already, over and over. How does it happen in a democracy?

Want to be an informed voter? Reading newspapers and watching the “news” in Wisconsin won't make one an informed  voter in 2018. Can we have a democracy without accurate information on our political choices?

Jim Maas
Marathon County Libertarians

The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin demands that MSDF, the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, be closed.

“Wisconsin incarcerates way too many people as it is,” says Phil Anderson, Chair of LPWI. “On top of that, incarcerating anyone at MSDF is cruel and unusual punishment.”

If there are six candidates on the ballot and only two are invited to the debate, can it still be called a “Gubernatorial Debate”?

Did you witness the “Gubernatorial Debate”? Did you know that besides the two candidates inside the studio, there were two more who are also on the ballot on the other side of the police barricade? If not, can you trust your source of information?

Phil Anderson, one of the "gubernator" candidates excluded from the debate, let people know what was wrong with broadcasters, who receive advertising revenue from the two old parties, choosing who gets to debate.

Wisconsin voters expect and deserve political news coverage that is non-partisan, not bi-partisan.Will Libertarians “spoil” the election for the two Old Parties in 2018 or will voters send a message to Madison? 

Libertarians Attempting to “Meddle” with Election!

They are at it again! They confess.  The sneaky Libertarians are again attempting to grab political power in Madison from the two Old Parties and … give it back to the people of Wisconsin! No apologies.

Libertarians aren't alone. There has been growing discontent with the so-called “two-party system." For example, Gallup found that "60 percent of Americans say the Democratic and Republicans parties do such a poor job of representing the American people that a third major party is needed. A new low of 26 percent believe the two major parties adequately represent Americans." Rasmussen Reports recently exposed the fact that "the majority of Americans no longer feel represented and no longer support the two party system monopoly of American politics.” According to a recent Marquette University poll, there are more “Independents” and Undecided voters in Wisconsin than either Republican or Democrat voters. [34%, 33%, 30%]

Most Wisconsin voters support more choices on the ballot and want all qualified candidates to be included in debates. Other polls have indicated that voters would prefer more than two choices, not less. That is not how the Wisconsin Association of Broadcasters sees it. As it has in previous years, the WBA is planning to exclude all candidates except the Democratic and Republican nominees from their televised debate for candidates for governor while still calling it a “Gubernatorial Debate."

Looking at those numbers, it is difficult to understand why in the world the so-called “news” media would choose to ignore such a large portion of the electorate. One might image that including news of interest to a third party and independents would increase the drama and interest in their political coverage. 

In the case of the television news, BI-partisan news reports and televised “Gubernatorial Debates” look like free infomercials for the benefit of sponsors of millions of dollars of political attack ads (As if they needed any more advantages.)  Follow the money.

Wisconsin voters expect and deserve political news coverage to be non-partisan, not bi-partisan.Will Libertarians “spoil” the election for the two Old Parties in 2018 or will voters send a message to Madison? 

Jim Maas, Marathon County Libertarians