I suspect that it will prove harder to part people from their Bitcoins than from fiat FRNs, but hope springs eternal. I’ve added a page for Bitcoin donations here.
Fundraising has stalled. Making the fundraising goal of $3000 by March 7th is starting to look iffy. If you’d like to see a Libertarian on the primary ballot for AG, now is the time to give. It’s not going to happen without donations. More than $2500 to raise still.
All that is needed is 100 people to give $25 each. Peace to you all.
In addition to Kamala Harris (incumbent, Democrat) and myself, Orly Taitz (independent) and John Haggerty (Republican) have submitted candidate statements for the June 3rd primary ballot.
Therefore it is likely that there will be at least these three printed on the ballot in June. Whether I am on the ballot as well depends on whether or not I am able to raise enough to cover the filing fee by March 7th. If you would like to see a full-blooded Libertarian printed on the ballot for AG, please donate to my campaign fund. Donations of $20 or more will be returned if the fundraising goal is not obtained.
Over 100 signatures were submitted to various county registrars on or before February 20th, with our signature-in-lieu-of filing fee petition. Once confirmed valid, every one of these signatures can be used to meet the requirements for the nominating petition, which only requires 65 signatures. Therefore it is very likely that enough valid signatures have been obtained to meet the minimum nominating requirements.
My sincere thanks to all those who help gather and turn in signatures.
Richard Winger, editor and publisher of Ballot Access News and the nation’s leading expert on ballot access legal issues, has endorsed my candidacy for California Attorney General in 2014. Richard is a lifelong Californian and long time Libertarian activist. In 1985, Richard was instrumental in the founding of the Coalition For Free And Open Elections. I’m very honored and gratified to receive his endorsement.
Above, please find a link to a signature petition form for the California attorney general race. I’d be much obliged if you could make 2-sided copies and circulate as you have the opportunity, and return the originals to me on or before February 19th at 3200 E 3Rd ST, Los Angeles, CA 90063 (or turn in to the County Registrar yourself, see below). Any California registered voter can sign the form, regardless of political affiliation.
If the signatures are not gathered in Los Angeles County, the forms must be turned into the appropriate county elections official (usually county registrar’s office) where the signatures are gathered; you may have to do a little research to find the right office. The petition forms are due at the appropriate county offices no later than February 20th, and can be turned in any time between now and then. The original forms have to be turned in; please keep a copy (electronic is better, if you have access to a scanner) and send to me at jonathan@jaech.net.
If you have any contacts able to circulate the petition, feel free to forward it on. Please help us get the form out to as many people as possible. Signature gatherers must be 18 or over and willing to read, fill out and sign the declaration on the reverse of the form. There are no other requirements. Let me know if you have any questions about the process, but most of the information you need is on the form itself.
Many thanks for your help. Together, we can build and strengthen networks of liberty-loving people. The more people who sign forms, the more who will have an investment in our collaborative efforts to peacefully increase liberty wherever possible, of which this race is just a small part.
James P. Gray, national Libertarian Party nominee and candidate for Vice President in 2012, has endorsed my candidacy for California Attorney General in 2014. Jim is well known for his principled and tireless advocacy on behalf of legalizing marijuana and other compassionate libertarian issues, and is author of no less than four books touching on law and libertarian policy. Currently, he is active in the Our America Initiative with former running mate Gary Johnson, besides his professional practice as a mediator and arbitrator. I’m very honored and gratified to receive his endorsement.
Among the natural and inalienable rights recognized by the California Constitution is the right of “defending life and liberty.” While that document includes no express “right to keep and bear arms” in the manner proclaimed by the United States Constitution, the California Constitution does recognize, in Article 1, Section 24, that “this declaration of rights may not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people.”
It is apparent that under natural law and consistent with the U.S. Constitution, the right to keep and bear weapons necessary for defense is an inseparable part of the right to defend life and liberty. So long as violent predators have access to firearms, the peaceful citizens of this state cannot constitutionally be deprived of their only means of effective defense against an armed attacker, which is a firearm of at least equal effectiveness to that wielded by the attacker.
Over the years, the state legislature has passed many detailed regulations and restrictions on weapons owners and dealers. As Attorney General, I would not charge any person with a mere possession, transactional or registration violation of weapons laws, except in cases where the weapon is actually being used to further a crime with an actual victim. The scarce resources of the Attorney General must be preserved for prosecuting actual crimes, not politically expedient bans on possessing, trading, or transporting items reasonably necessary and useful for self-defense by otherwise peaceful and law-abiding citizens.
BitCoin and other forms of digital currency represent a new and growing industry with the potential to greatly benefit California residents. It’s become so successful, that it is now under attack by special interests in international banking, who fear that it might someday threaten their present-day monopoly over the international monetary system. As Attorney General, I would help Californians resist such attacks, to the best of my ability.
The Attorney General doesn’t work for international bankers, or even for politicians in Washington D.C. The Attorney General works for the people of the State of California, under the California Constitution. California has no interest in protecting the present-day monetary system. On the contrary, the people of California have been greatly injured by this system over the years, as the productive capital of the region has been sucked out or exhausted by monetary forces outside of the people’s control.
California has an interest in facilitating the use of honest measures and stable mediums of exchange by its people, building up environmentally sound productive capital in the region, and protecting the privacy of its citizens under the California Constitution. This includes the right of citizens to maintain privacy regarding their monetary exchanges, such as afforded by BitCoin and related technology. The Attorney General must be on the side of the people, and resist all government measures to institute capital controls and tracking of financial exchanges. Such control measures are fundamentally incompatible with liberty and the right of privacy as recognized by the California Constitution, and can only lead to greater totalitarianism and political corruption.
As Attorney General, I would resist attacks on digital currency and the right of privacy by refusing to enforce any laws against victimless conduct, writing legislation to protect digital currency from regulation offensive to privacy rights and personal liberty, and refusing to cooperate with international or federal agents seeking to prosecute digital currency exchangers, miners, or users.
As a large landowner and recipient of property taxes from all private land holders in the State, the State of California has legitimate interests in the protection of its property interests. When those property interests come under assault by parties outside of the State through environmental pollution, it should act to protect its property interests.
One such large-scale environmental attack is currently going on, and the present Attorney General has shown too little interest in investigating the damage or mitigating its effects. The meltdown, explosions and continuing releases of radioactive Strontium and Cesium from the Fukushima facility into the Pacific Ocean pose a very serious health and environmental risk to California property and residents. Both Strontium 90 and Cesium 137, with half-lives of about 30 years, were released to the ocean in large quantities, and some release may be ongoing still. These radioactive materials are arriving in California coastal waters by action of the Japanese current, and will accumulate here for many years to come. Bioaccumulation of radioactive materials in marine animals and residents may cause illness and early death of marine flora and fauna as well as people, and possibly extinction or permanent genome damage of less mobile species. Fukishima radiation undoubtedly poses a serious threat to California, yet is poorly understood and little investigated. This apathy and state of denial must end.
As Attorney General, I would use all available means to rouse the United States federal government from its deliberate denial and inaction, filing suit under environmental or other laws if necessary. I would also initiate proceedings against Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and the national government of Japan in any appropriate forum, possibly including Japanese, U.S., or International courts, seeking information and injunctive relief from inadequate mitigation and remediation measures at the Fukishima site. Longer term, I would seek appropriate recovery of damages, if possible, against Tepco and the national government of Japan for licensing and operating the Fukushima site without adequate safeguards, for covering up the full extent of radioactive releases, and inadequate remediation.
I would seek to form legal and investigative alliances with the states of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, the province of British Columbia, the Mexican coastal provinces from Baja California southward, and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of these alliances would include pooling resources for environmental monitoring and remediation, and to apply legal and political pressure on national governments to put in place effective long-term solutions to radioactive pollution threats. This may include taking legal action directed towards phasing out all nuclear reactors operating in California, if necessary. I am not anti-nuclear power in general, but Fukushima has proven that current fission designs susceptible to meltdown in the event of coolant loss are not safe in the event of natural disasters or war.
In short, if elected, I would direct the resources of the Attorney General’s offices away from prosecuting victimless crimes and serving special interests, and towards mitigating what is potentially the gravest environmental threat this State has ever faced.
The California Constitution is a great document, not without defects, but on the whole more protective of personal liberty than the United States Constitution. It begins with the following declaration of rights:
“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”
Doing justice requires that laws be understood and enforced in a way that is consistent with this declaration of rights. As Attorney General, I would keep this declaration of rights foremost in my thoughts, and perform my duties so as to prevent any intentional trespass of these inalienable rights.
This is what justice requires.