Joe Dehn did a great job in the last newsletter summarizing the CA LP convention held in Sacramento, Feb 17-19, 2023. I would like to make some personal observations and highlight some of the things I found especially interesting.

There were several speakers and I want to highlight three in particular.

The breakfast speaker on Saturday was Spike Cohen who talked about his organization YouAreThePower. Spike was the LP VP nominee in 2020. The purpose of the organization is to find people who are the victims of governmental policies and then help them out. What I really like about this approach is that it helps people now without waiting for a more Libertarian society. In the longer-term, the goal is to promote a Libertarian society by showing how Libertarian policies produce a more compassionate society. Spike and his wife Tasha Cohen are caring people interested in both helping people and producing a better society. Any organization would be happy to have them as part of their team.

The breakfast speaker on Sunday was Maj Toure who founded the organization "Black Guns Matter". His main theme was that in talking with people we should lead with empathy and that people won't listen to facts until they understand that what you are promoting will improve the quality of their lives. He also discussed the racist origins of Gun Control Laws in the United States. One of most interesting things he said was that black people are the "test market" for oppressive government policies of which gun control is an example.

There were many speakers at the Saturday night banquet. One I wish to mention is Emily Tilford (Center for Harmony and Prosperity; Respect America Foundation) who showed a moving video about a lady named Katie who was not able to obtain certain pain-relieving medication because it was an illegal substance.

Finally, I was unable to submit an anti-war resolution since the convention adjourned before I was able to submit it. Even though it was a short resolution, I want to thank Marc Joffe (who I had the pleasure to sit next to during most of the convention) for his help in drafting the resolution. I was told I could present it to the executive committee if I attended as a guest. I approached the newly elected chair Adrian F Malagon. I mentioned that I was pleased he was planning to do Hispanic outreach since I think that is a demographic that is yearning for the Libertarian approach and I told him about my resolution. He was helpful in getting the resolution before the executive committee and it passed with no dissenting votes. So thanks to the new chair and the entire executive committee for their support with regard to the resolution.

The resolution states: "We support the withdrawal of the U.S. from NATO. We oppose taxpayer funds being spent on the war between Russia and Ukraine." (see: https://ca.lp.org/anti-war-resolution/) I submitted this resolution since it is timely due to the fact that the Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for about a year. I also wanted it to be clear that California supported the national LP in its stand against the war as evidenced by the Rage Against the War Machine rally co-sponsored by the national LP (see: https://rageagainstwar.com/) as well as the national LP's stand against "entangling alliances". The quote from the platform reads "The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and ...". (see https://www.lp.org/platform/).

So there is much in the Libertarian Party to be proud of. I am especially pleased with the strong and consistent stand of the Libertarian Party against war. Few organizations (political or otherwise) in the US come close to our strong anti-war stance.

Ed Wimmers is a Libertarian Party activist who lives in San Jose. He is a past candidate for Congress and a past Chair of the LP of Santa Clara County.

Commentary posts are the opinions of individual authors, and do not necessarily represent a formal position of the Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County unless so noted.