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APRIL 2015, Issue 16
Libertarian Party endorses Surveillance State Repeal Act
The Libertarian Party endorses the
Surveillance State Repeal Act (H.R. 1466)
introduced by Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI),
which would substantially scale back the
surveillance apparatus of the U.S.
government.
Nicholas Sarwark, LP Chair said, “The
Surveillance State Repeal Act would
dramatically improve the privacy of
Americans’ personal and business
communications and restore substantial
Fourth Amendment rights now routinely
violated by the U.S. government.”
The New York Times editorial board
endorsed an earlier version of the bill, stating
that it “deserves full Congressional support.”
The Surveillance State Repeal Act would:
1. Repeal the PATRIOT Act (which
contains the telephone metadata
harvesting provision).
2. Repeal the FISA Amendments Act
(which contains the email harvesting
provision), with the exception of the
provisions regarding FISA court reporting
and WMD intelligence collection.
3. Make retaliation against federal
national security whistleblowers illegal
and provides for the termination of
individuals who engage in such
retaliation.
4. Ensure that any FISA collection
against a US Person takes place only
pursuant to a valid warrant based on
probable cause (which was the original
FISA standard from 1978 to 2001).
5. Retain the ability for government
surveillance capabilities to be targeted
against a specific natural person,
regardless of the type of communications
method(s) or device(s) being used by the
subject of the surveillance.
6. Retain provisions in current law
dealing with the acquisition of
intelligence information involving
weapons of mass destruction from
entities not composed primarily of U.S.
Persons.
7. Prohibit the government from
mandating that electronic device or
software manufacturers build in so-called
“back doors” to allow the government to
bypass encryption or other privacy
technology built into said hardware
and/or software.
8. Increase the terms of judges on the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
(FISC) from seven to ten years and
allows their reappointment.
9. Mandate that the FISC utilize
technologically competent Special
Masters (technical and legal experts) to
help determine the veracity of
government claims about privacy,
minimization and collection capabilities
employed by the US government in
FISA applications.
10. Mandate that the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) regularly
monitor such domestic surveillance
programs for compliance with the law,
including responding to Member requests
for investigations and whistleblower
complaints of wrongdoing.
11. Explicitly ban the use of Executive
Order 12333 as a way of collecting bulk
data, which pertains to the collection and
storage of communications by U.S.
persons.
“The Libertarian Party would like to see all
aspects of government mass surveillance
ended, including complete elimination of
the secret FISA court whose work issuing
warrants for terrorist and criminal suspects
can be easily assumed by existing federal
courts,” said Sarwark. “But this bill is a
good first step.”
The Libertarian Party calls on all
Americans to contact their congressmen
and women and urge them to support H.R.
1466, the Surveillance State Repeal Act,
and to spread this message through social
media and whatever other means possible.
SOURCE: http://www.lp.org/news/pressreleases/libertarian-party-endorsessurveillance-state-repeal-act
Learn More About the Libertarian Party of El Paso County! Visit: LPepc.org
Inside this issue:
1. Libertarian Party endorses Surveillance State Repeal Act
2. Treasurers Corner
2. Former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson falls over during
Marijuana debate at CPAC
3. April 2015 Calendar of Events
3. From the Chair – a Message from Paotie Dawson
Visit Us Online:
www.LPEPC.org
facebook.com/LPEPC
twitter.com/EPCLibertarians
El Paso County Libertarian
contact us: [email protected]
Former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson
falls over during Marijuana debate at CPAC
Treasurer’s Corner
By John Hjersman, LPEPC Interim
Treasurer - April, 2015
John Hjersman is new to the position
and new to Colorado Springs but has
been a Libertarian officially since
2001, unknowingly, most of his
life. He retired from a long career in
the US Merchant Marine in 2012.
The Libertarian Party of El Paso
County needs your help so that we
have the funds needed to do all the
things we need to do in 2015!
Our donation page at lpepc.org has
not been working but once the new
Treasurer is accepted by PayPal it
should be back in operation. Also,
the Treasurer tries to make all
meetings and would be happy to
accept contributions then.
Thank you in advance for your help
in spreading the Libertarian message!
Please Note: All Contributing
Members for 2014 are invited to
renew their memberships for 2015 by
paying the $25 annual dues.
Don’t forget to come to the annual
convention on April 11.
LPEPC Interim Treasurer, John
Hjersman, is always available to
discuss ways to give money to the
LPEPC or answer your questions
about how the money will be spent.
[email protected]
“Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was participating in a
debate about marijuana laws yesterday, and fell out of his chair. It was
just a joke though . . . he was pretending to have a heart attack,
because one of the other panelists was talking about the dangerous side
effects of smoking weed.”
Watch the Viedo Here: https://youtu.be/QNZYLconqvU
SOURCE: http://wsfl.com/2015/02/27/watch-former-governor-ofnew-mexico-gary-johnson-falls-over-during-marijuana-debate-at-cpac
Libertarian Party of Colorado State Convention
Friday April 24th
- Sunday April 26th, 2015
DoubleTree by Hilton
Aurora, Colorado
MORE INFO:
LPcolorado.org/convention
WRITERS NEEDED!
If you have a passion for Liberty
and want the world to know what
you have to say, you are needed!
The Libertarian Party of El Paso
County is looking for contributors
to their monthly newsletter …
THIS newsletter! … Interested?
Please send your submissions to
[email protected]
Visit Us Online: www.LPEPC.org
El Paso County Libertarian Party
March Calendar of Events
Keep track of events and meet-ups with our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LPEPC/events
You can keep up with the latest events, news, and updates about the
LPEPC, county political issues and more with our social media posts
on Facebook, tweets on Twitter, and Meetups. If you haven’t yet,
please bookmark our website: www.lpepc.org
3rd Annual Libertarian Party
of El Paso County Convention
Saturday, April 11 at 10:00am
Tilted Kilt – N/E Corner of Commerce Center/Woodmen
Please RSVP as soon as possible so that we
can reserve plenty of room!
At this election meeting we will choose Board Members and possibly
changing the bylaws regarding who can be a board member.
Contact us if you would like to run for a Board Position
[email protected]
El Paso County Libertarian
Libertarian Party
of El Paso County
Calendar of Events
Third Thursday of Every Month
El Paso County LP Meeting
Various locations throughout
El Paso County
6-9 pm
LP Colorado Calendar of Events
www.meetup.com/lpcolorado
3rd Annual Libertarian Party of
El Paso County Convention.
Saturday, April 11 at 10:00am
Tilted Kilt – (Old TGIFridays)
Commerce Center & Woodmen
From the Chair
Spring’s in the air, and for us in Colorado, that means a time of renewal and regeneration are upon us. In political terms, that means we will be
watching the April elections in Colorado Springs to see if, and how political change(s) will happen. As the political seasons come and go, one
thing seems to remain constant: the threats to our freedoms and liberties continue to grow each week.
Liberty and freedom are under assault from nearly every aspect of today’s media. Each day, a new proposal is inked in the press and hailed by
many as the next, viable solution to whatever imagined problem. For example, President Obama has floated the idea of mandatory voting … I
really don’t need to say more than that about how such a thing would be disastrous for our country, to say nothing of how mandatory voting
would ruin more of our liberties and freedom.
But this is spring, and this is a time for hope and sunshine, not doom and gloom. For as long as there will be Libertarians, there will be someone
to shine a light and offer warmth and nurturing for our liberties and freedom. That is our job as Libertarians: to protect our Constitution from
those who would destroy it for the most whimsical of things.
Libertarians, I encourage you to help us continue to shine a Liberty-enhanced light on all political issues we face, whether at the local, county,
state, or national level. We must continue to fight ignorance, fight deliberate indifference, and fight against horrible ideas that do nothing to
protect our freedoms and liberties and do everything to destroy our Constitution.
Get involved. Write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. Call in radio shows. And most importantly, get involved with the Libertarian
Party of El Paso County, and help us continue to fight the good fight. We need more volunteers, more financial resources, and a few other things
to help us move up to the next level.
I am proud of my time involved with the LPEPC, from its formation to where we are today. We have made many mistakes along the way. And
yet, we have managed to make quite a big difference in the Pikes Peak region: in the last general election, two LPEPC board members generated
among the highest percentage of votes in their election races in all of Colorado. We do much with very little! And we need more: we need YOU.
We will be holding our Annual Convention, Saturday, April 11th. Please click this Facebook link to RSVP and to sign up for more updates and
information. You can help us grow the party, protect our freedoms and liberties, and above all, make the world a better place -- because that’s
what Libertarians do. See you in April!
- Paotie Dawson - Chair, LPEPC
El Paso County Libertarian
facebook.com/LPEPC
twitter.com/EPCLibertarians
TAKE ACTION!
Register as a Libertarian info:
•
•
www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/vote/VoterRegFormEnglish.pdf
https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/
Pending Board and Committee Appointments:
• Voter Registration Drive Chair
• Platform Committee Chair – required by LPCO
• Political Issues Liaisons
• Fundraising Committee Chair
• Campaign Committee Chair
• Convention Committee Chair
If any of these interest you please, send a message to [email protected]
or visit: LPEPC.org/volunteer-opportunities
Note: If you wish to run for a Board position you must be a Contributing Member.
**In order to be a Contributing Member you must be registered with the El Paso
County Clerk & Recorder's office as a Libertarian & have paid your $25.00 2015
LPEPC Dues.
El Paso County Libertarian Party
P.O. Box 7952 Colo Spgs CO 80933
(719) 445-1949
[email protected]
pinterest.com/LPepc