Mediaboss Marketing

With little fanfare Saturday in Orlando, six candidates vying to be the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party — a growing third party advocating "more freedom, less government" — championed ideas that would make most politicians quake.

Legalize drugs. Abolish the tax system. Slash the defense budget. Overhaul Medicaid.

The two-hour Libertarian Party presidential debate, staged in a meeting room of a hotel near Orlando International Airport and broadcast only on the Internet, capped the party's state convention, where attendees were asked to choose their preferred nominee in a straw poll.

In sharp contrast with the bickering wave of Republican presidential candidates who recently politicked through Florida, the Libertarian candidates on the dais ran no attack ads and linked arms on nearly all issues.

A modest audience of about 60 people applauded all of the candidates at least once.

The party's strategy seemed clear even in the hotel lobby, where guests could pick up a Libertarian National Committee door hanger that asked, "Have the Republicans and Democrats let you down?" It insisted, "Liberals tend to value personal freedom. Conservatives tend to value economic freedom. Libertarians value both."

Some of their debating candidates merely hope that Libertarian ideas get heard in the fall.

Not Gary Johnson, the former two-term governor of New Mexico and former Republican presidential candidate who is the Libertarian Party's front-runner. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think there was a possibility of actually winning. Maybe that just sounds crazy to everybody sitting here," Johnson said during his closing remarks.

Johnson, 59, who withdrew from the GOP race last month, said he found common ground with tea party conservatives — "Let's slash spending" — and with those in the "Occupy Wall Street" movement who were outraged over corporate bailouts.

He expressed optimism that, although the nation is floundering, "We can fix it."

Johnson's participation in the debates may serve to boost the party's profile.

"Naturally someone who already has a certain amount of media appeal is going to be appealing to the delegates," said Lee Wrights, 53, a lifelong member of the Libertarian Party and a rival presidential candidate who has made ending "all war" a key plank of his platform. "Gary Johnson is doing a good thing. But we still need to be Libertarians, stay on message, stay on point … because people are sick and tired of what they've been getting."

The other candidates included Leroy Saunders, 42, a chauffeur in Georgia who took time away from his day job to run for president. "Somebody's got to be a voice for the middle class," he said before the debate.

The other candidates are Bill Still, 64, an author and filmmaker; Carl Person, 75, a New York attorney who previously ran for Attorney General in New York; and R.J. Harris, 39, a native American from Oklahoma and a career Army National Guard officer.

Johnson was named as the preferred nominee on 42 of the 60 ballots cast in the straw poll. Still was named as the top candidate on seven ballots to finish second.

The party will select its presidential nominee in May at a national convention in Las Vegas.

shudak@tribune.com or 407-883-5267

Read the original post:
'More freedom, less government': Libertarian candidates for president debate in Orlando

It looks like Gov. Jerry Brown will not get his wish, and his tax plan will not be the only one on the November ballot.

Multimillionaire Molly Munger, with her income-tax increase for education, and the California Federation of Teachers, with its millionaires tax, show no signs of backing down.

Unlike the governor, who fears that multiple measures will amount to a circular firing squad, I say choice is healthy.

Let's be honest - all the tax plans are set up to pay for the interests of their backers. Munger and the teachers are all about money going to education. Brown, while saying his plan will help education, actually would give himself the freedom to spread the money around to a host of state programs.

Why not let the voters compare and decide, much the way they did with the dueling pension reform measures on the last San Francisco ballot? You'll notice, by the way, that one of those plans managed to pass, even though it had competition.

Compare, contrast and decide.

As for the antitax forces taking advantage of the situation? They are going to be antitax no matter if there are one or three measures on the ballot.

There's a real surprise in store for President Obama when he comes to town later this month.

You might recall that just a couple of weeks ago, when he was in Harlem, Obama stepped out of his professorial character when he sang the opening bars to Al Green's hit "Let's Stay Together."

It was a rare glimpse of the guy hanging loose.

Well, his San Francisco host, Robert Mailer Anderson, has lined up the Reverend Al himself for the president's fundraiser.

Who knows, maybe they can sing a duet.

The Chinese New Year's Parade is, of course, mandatory for our politicians. And you have to hope you're insulted by Rose Pak at the grandstand so people will remember you were there.

But it's the Coronation Ball for Miss Chinatown, which was held Friday, that's the big one for our town's big shots.

The pecking order is determined by when you're called from your table to dance with the contestants - with the biggest names in the house being summoned to dance with the winner.

There's a move in town to string 25,000 LED lights off the western span of the Bay Bridge, part of the bridge's upcoming 75th anniversary.

They rolled out the plan at the Waterbar restaurant the other night to kick-start a $7 million fundraising effort. It's going to be one of the most spectacular displays you've ever seen.

The LEDs will create a floating light show that will outdo anything Las Vegas has ever tried. Leo Villareal, who's known the world over as a light artist, is designing patterns that will vary depending on where you're looking at them.

Mayor Ed Lee and many of our local tech types were at the preview, because this is going to be the ultimate symbol of San Francisco as the high-tech capital of the world.

A few years back, the first Heroes & Hearts auction of giant painted hearts to benefit San Francisco General Hospital was held in Union Square.

They're still doing it, and so many people come now that Thursday's event had to be held at AT&T Park. The first event was 90 percent women. This year, it was a 50-50 split.

Guess the guys are getting some heart.

Movie time: "Safe House." Denzel Washington gets out of the car from "Training Day" and into a CIA quadruple double-cross in South Africa.

Run, don't walk, to see this one.

The Museum of the African Diaspora is having an informal Black History Month film festival. They're playing "Stormy Weather" with Lena Horne, "St. Louis Blues" with Nat King Cole, "Pinky" and "Harlem Nights," among others.

Not only is the museum playing them, it's selling them on DVD as well.

The other night this guy comes up to me and says, "Those swipes you've been taking about Silicon Valley millionaires exporting jobs are really hypocritical, especially considering all the jobs you've created overseas."

"What jobs are those?" I asked.

"Tailoring. Everything you wear is made in Italy."

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Link:
Jerry Brown tax plan has competition

27-05-2010 11:43 This video from the TaxPayers' Alliance shows how long each day an average worker spends working for the tax man. Adam works from 9am until 1.21pm to pay tax, only after which he is free to earn for himself. Welcome to working in modern Britain. Sources - http://www.taxpayersalliance.com You can join the TaxPayers' Alliance for free here - http://www.taxpayersalliance.com

View post:
How long do you work for the tax man? - Video

The Treasury was "surprised" to learn that ?10.9 billion of unpaid tax had been written off by HM Revenue & Customs in one year, according to an influential group of MPs.

The department was apparently not fully aware of the estimate until after it appeared in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) for 2009-10.

It also had "no knowledge" of whether plans were in place to cut the taxpayer's huge ?15.7 billion liability for clinical negligence claims, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.

The criticism came in a report on the accounts - which were compiled and published for the first time last year.

The cross-party MPs welcomed the potential of the WGA for helping the Government identify the "risks it needs to manage".

But officials' evidence had suggested their understanding of some aspects was "poor". "For instance the Treasury showed surprise at the estimated ?10.9 billion in outstanding tax and it had no knowledge of recent trends in clinical negligence claims or whether plans were in place to reduce the estimated ?15.7 billion cost to taxpayers of meeting these claims," the MPs said.

The report added: "We were surprised to find that Treasury did not have a grip on trends in some key areas of risk or plans for managing them."

The committee complained that it had taken the Government 20 months to prepare the accounts - twice as long as in other countries such as France and the US. PAC chair Margaret Hodge said the document also "currently falls short of giving a true and fair view of the UK's financial position".

The Treasury said the WGA represented "the most ambitious public sector account prepared anywhere in the world" and that it was working hard to remove the qualifications. "No other country has sought to fully consolidate all public sector bodies, including the local government sector, in one statement of accounts. We will build on this first publication and are working hard to remove any qualifications," a spokesman said. "HMRC collects almost all tax debt and write-offs are relatively low. What's more, around 90% of those write-offs are due to insolvency where further debt pursuit is actually barred by law."

The spokesman added that the Government had for the first time published a clear assessment of PFI liabilities and launched a review which would "mean the end of PFI as we know it".

See the original post:
Treasury 'unaware' of tax write-off

The 40TH ACCORD, Inc. announces that the Freedom Trail Audio Tours of Historic Civil Rights Sites is open to the public. This interactive feature can be accessed through the use of one’s own cell phone. Individuals visiting any of the 31 Freedom Trail Markers in and around St. Augustine and St. Johns County can experience history in another medium.

Gwendolyn Duncan, president of ACCORD commented: “ I never thought, growing up in Lincolnville and living through part of the Jim Crow Era, that someday the civil rights movement could be revisited just by pressing numbers on a cellphone, but that has now come to pass in St. Augustine, Florida, the nation’s oldest city: one of the great battlefields of the civil rights movement. Thanks to the audio tour of our permanently marked Freedom Trail of landmarks from that era, people who remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can share their memories at the touch of a number, while the tour-taker is able to see, at the same time, the actual house where Dr. King stayed in the course of changing history. One can also hear Dr. Robert B. Hayling’s voice while visiting the site of his former dental office. The 20th century comes alive, thanks to 21st century technology!”

While visiting a beach in Flagler County, Duncan saw the technology used for the first time on an A1A Scenic Highway Stop and asked her daughter, Elizabeth to find out how this feature could be incorporated in the already established ACCORD Freedom Trail of historic civil rights sites, sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Corporation. Elizabeth, the webmaster for ACCORD contacted OnCell and received instructions on how to use the system. A few Duncan extends a special thank you to all involved in bringing this featured project to fruition, especially Elizabeth Duncan, David Nolan, Daryl Price, Janie Price, Dr. Robert B. Hayling, Kenneth and Kathy Ginn, Marcus Ginn, Zebulun Duncan of Duncan & Duncan Construction, Dr. Kathryn Fentress, Audrey Nell Edwards, Sarah Exley, OnCell Marketing Communications Manager and Fast Signs.

Businesses or individuals wishing to sponsor the Audio Tour on a monthly, bi-monthly, semi-annual, or annual basis may contact Audrey at 829-3996 for more information. The 40th ACCORD, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible.

See the original post:
Freedom trail audio tour available