ANNOUNCEMENTS

An Initiative and Referendum bill has been submitted in the state house. See the details in the Help Wanted section.

The party has a rather attractive sign available for you to use when you are doing street cleanup. If we are going to do the work, why not get credit for it? The double sided sign is mounted on a sturdy tripod-like stand, and is easy to move around. At present, it is in Wilmington, but your county chairs can arrange to get it from me.

The next 'Libertarian Discussion Group' will be 11am Sunday May 4th at 'A Piece of Ireland' (enter through the door facing Rt 4 to find us most easily). Notice that this is a week earlier than usual. The topic will be 'Libertarian Approaches to Taxation'.

There will be a forum on Delaware's Incarceration rate at the First Unitarian Church at 7pm May 4th. Tom Eichler, who spoke to us at the convention, is one panel member. Others include Jane Brady and Bob Valihura. The church is just off Concord Pike on Whitby (behind the former NCC library). Call them for details at 478.2384, or at www.firstu.org

Rachael VerNooy has arranged a 'Free State Project informational meeting' for Saturday, May 31, 2:30-4:00pm, at the Hockessin Public Library, 1023 Valley Road, Hockessin. If you'd like to stay afterwards to discuss ways to further publicize the Free State Project around here and the weather is okay, bring a folding chair or blanket and food--we'll adjourn to the park next door.

For directions or meeting info, contact Rachael VerNooy at rachaelvernooy@attglobal.net.

(Please see the ADDENDUM for Rachael's full paper newsletter article on this.)

LP DE IN THE NEWS

Did you make news this month? Let me know. Send any 'Letters to the Editor' (LTTE) or articles you have published to Tom Uffner (tom@uffner.com) to post on the web site. Include where and when, and copy me to be listed here.

George Smith: Brandywine Community News 4/4: No change in air noise (LTTE) (Not a LP issue) Jim Larsen: News Journal 4/13: Wilmington has not gotten rid of the fat (LTTE) Bill Morris: News Journal 4/17: Allow legal medical use of marijuana (LTTE) Larry Sullivan: News Journal 4/30: Alan Greenspan has wrecked the economy (LTTE)

HELP WANTED

As discussed last month, we have been working with the Green Party, the Independent Party and the Natural Law Party on establishing a referendum process in Delaware. This would open the door to all kinds of things (term limits, for example) that just won't fly otherwise. House Bill No 119 "...Advisory Initiatives" has now been submitted by Rep. Cathcart. It is being cosponsored by Reps. Caulk, Valihura, Ennis, Hall-Long and Keely, and by Sens. Sokola, Bonini, and Cloutier.

I think this bill is worthy of our support. You can find it on the General Assembly web site if you would like to read it for yourself. If you believe this is a good move for Delaware, then please, call or write both your representative and senator. Either thank them for signing on already or ask them to sign on to this bill. Please copy me at the newsletter address on any emails.

Bill Morris is leading a street cleanup on Naaman's road, weather permitting. I have worked two of these so far, The work is not difficult, and it is an opportunity to meet some good people. Give him a call at 475.7060 if you can help out. Obviously, the more people, the faster the work goes.

CANDIDATE TIPS

19 Months to the next general election!

Hopefully you are thinking about offices to run for; whether or not you would really want the office in a winnable race; the point you want to make in a bigger race where the odds are against you; attending relevant meetings; talking to the incumbents, etc.

Our 'Libertarian Discussion Group' is a great way to practice verbalizing your Libertarian approaches to solving the world's problems!

RESOURCES

Libertarians vs. Conservatives

"Libertarianism is simplicity itself. It proceeds from a single, quite beautiful, concept of the primacy of individual liberty that, in turn, infuses notions of free markets, limited government and the importance of property rights. . . . Sometimes these policies are argued in a totally unforgiving way so that it's not easy to separate the lunatics from the libertarians. But it's a snap to separate the libertarians from the conservatives." - Columnist Susan Lee, "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll," OpinionJournal.com, 2/12/03. To read the full, very informative and interesting column, go to: www.opinionjournal.com/ac/?id=110003062

Congressman Ron Paul: <93>Mr. Speaker, America survived and prospered for 140 years without an income tax, and with a federal government that generally adhered to strictly constitutional functions, operating with modest excise revenues. The income tax opened the door to the era (and errors) of Big Government. I hope my colleagues will help close that door by cosponsoring the Liberty Amendment.<94>

Read his entire message at http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2003/cr013003c.htm His web page: http://www.house.gov/paul/ is worth reviewing on it's own

CALENDAR

The Libertarian Party of Delaware state board meetings are open to the public, as are all of the county monthly meetings. As things are always subject to change, please email the indicated party before attending.

State Board: 2pm Saturday May 3rd (not the scheduled last Saturday), South Smynra Email Terri Lewis: tslewis@comcast.net

2pm Saturday May 31st, Nino's Pizza, South Smynra Email Terri Lewis: tslewis@comcast.net

NC County: 6pm Sunday May 18 (third Sunday), Chi-Chi's at Rt7 & Churchmans, Christiana This location may change, so watch for a confirming email! Email Lisa Busch: ldbusch@yahoo.com

NCC Discussion Group: 11am Sunday May 4th (not the usual second Sunday), A Piece of Ireland (Chesmar Plaza, Newark). Email John Colgan: colgan@snip.net Kent County: 7pm Tuesday May 20th (third Tuesday), Dover Email Jim Conk: jconk4@comcast.net

Sussex County: 7pm Tuesday May 27th (fourth Tuesday), Bella Capri Restaurant, Georgetown Email John Elliot: tyre@dmv.com

Next issue of First State Libertarian deadline for editorial content: May 28th

Join the Libertarian Party of Delaware or contribute. Visit our web site at www.de.lp.org

Thanks to Tim Young and 123clickit.com for making libertarian@123clickit.com available to us.

QUIP of the MONTH

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. --James Bovard (1994)

ADDENDUM

FREE STATE PROJECT INFORMATIONAL MEETING by Rachael VerNooy

Did you hear Jason Sorens speak at our convention about the Free State Project? Have you read the article about the Free State Project in the November-January issue of this newsletter? Want to know more?

The Free State Project is a plan in which 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people will move to a single state of the U.S., where they may work within the political system to reduce the size and scope of government. It is a chance to make a real difference in the politics of one state, to implement more libertarian ideas than has been possible until now. To find out more, and to view some of the careful planning and research that has gone into this so far, visit www.freestateproject.org.

Note that the rules for signing up to be one of the official 20,000 have recently been changed. There are ten low-population states under consideration for the project, one of which is Delaware. It is no longer possible to register as a new voting member and yet opt out of moving to all states but the one you already live in. Therefore, if you do not want to commit to moving to the chosen state, you can now sign up as a "friend" but not as a voting member. However, anyone can participate in the online forums and email lists. If you have good arguments for why Delaware should be the chosen state, this is the time to let them be known, as the state vote will likely take place later this year.

On Saturday, May 31, 2:30-4:00, Keith Murphy of the Free State Project will be speaking at an informational meeting at the Hockessin Public Library, 1023 Valley Road, Hockessin DE. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and to meet some freedom-minded people from outside of Delaware. Please come, and encourage others to come and learn more about the Free State Project.