Published Letters and Articles by Mecklenburg Libertarians

Published May 22, 2005, Charlotte Observer

Neither GOP nor Dems are being fair to all

The writer is treasurer, Libertarian Party of Mecklenburg County.

The new policy also protects heterosexual workers from discrimination. County employment should be open to everyone, just as the county exists to serve everyone.

If the Republicans were fair, they would see this is a just policy.

If the Democrats were fair, they wouldn't be paving the way to forcing taxpayers to pay same-sex-partner benefits, unless the overall tax burden was very low and public support was high.

A policy of fairness and freedom doesn't discriminate in the public arena, but neither does it violate the private rights of citizens or pick taxpayer pockets.

Jennifer Schulz, Charlotte

Published April 13, 2005, Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC

Dream for the Rich

In "California Dreaming" (April 6) David Walters describes a beautiful, urban San Francisco with a shortage of children and affordable housing. Perhaps the taxes there seem less of a burden because it is a place in which only the affluent can afford to live. As a poor working single mother of one, Walter's vision for Charlotte does not seem to include many options. I work in the South Park area, and although I am moving to an apartment closer to work, a home in that area is far out of my reach. Just like whites in the past took a percentage of their colored slaves' pay, Walters wants to use the government gun to take our money in order prop up light rail and control us through urban planning. Only when the government stops controlling the market with housing codes, zoning rules, favors for builders, corporate welfare, and pork projects will we see real tax burden relief and competitive housing options. If we are not careful we'll create a pretty, yet authoritarian world in which the rich rule, but the poor have no rights, no choices, or quality affordable housing.

Jennifer Schulz, Charlotte

Published Dec. 25, 2004, Rhino Times, Charlotte, NC

On The Soap Box:
GovCo Monopoly Is A Game With No Winners
By JENNIFER SCHULZ MEDLOCK

Like a gigantic glacier, our Federal government, in conjunction with state and local governments, has been eroding your freedoms each and every day. We as citizens can use the tools we have, like our Libertarian vote and the guarantee of our freedoms by the Constitution to make our case. This may not seem like a lot to many of you, but it is all we have to keep this glacier from whittling our mountain of freedom down to nothing.

Since the Demopublican government in its hunger for power has branded itself as the answer to all of our problems, things have only gotten worse. Instead of finding community-based, voluntary solutions to individual situations ourselves, we say, "There ought to be a law." Laws themselves are only words on paper, and often they do a hatchet job to the rights of others and in turn limit our own.

What additional laws do we need? Murder, rape, theft, and slavery are illegal and have been for some time. Our Constitution was instituted so that no one else has the right to infringe upon our natural rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the fruits of our labor. Our government is beholden to this contract, and therefore should not be using its power to minimize it.

Along with the wave of "there ought to be a law" sentiment comes a tide of lawyer legislators who write laws that no ordinary citizen could possibly fully understand. These lawyers ensure they will have plenty of income from the general populace because of the very fact that only the lawyers know what the law is. Our society turns litigious, and all of the sudden we hear the sad chant of, "It's not my fault."

There are many examples these days of people refusing to take responsibility for their own lives. Perhaps many have gotten lazy because they mistakenly think that the government is there to clean up every mess every time something goes wrong. Or they think they are entitled to a lawsuit settlement, or money from the government, which, some forget, is forcibly taken from their neighbor taxpayers. Sadly, the concept of personal responsibility is being drowned out.

If you keep up with local news, you've probably heard the tragic story about 8-year-old Roddie Dumas Jr., who was mauled to death by his father's four pit bulls. This boy's father is entirely at fault for his son's murder. He was not in control of his animals and was not supervising his child. This man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for his negligence. Anytime someone violates another person's rights, they should lose their own.

In her grief, Roddie's mother, Tameaka Brown, lobbied for the City of Charlotte to ban pit bulls and other breeds of dogs usually perceived as violent. Although this ban would not bring her son back, I assume she thought it would help prevent other children from getting hurt. Ms. Brown had good intentions, but she is mistaken that a ban on certain dog breeds would make any difference. Roddie's life could have just as easily been taken away by some other means since his father was not acting as a responsible parent. Roddie could have been accidentally shot from a weapon in his father's house, from some person showing up to finish a drug deal there, or he could have drowned in the bathtub.

Ms. Brown, knowing how her son's father is, should not have allowed her son to be there in the first place. If there was a ban on pit bulls before this all happened, what would have stopped Dumas from having them anyway? This man was already guilty of violating the law. We must not allow tragedies to bring us to a knee-jerk, there-ought-to-be-a-law reaction. When we think people should not have certain types of dogs, and enact laws to this effect, we take away citizens' rights to own an animal when they have done nothing. Fortunately, this ban was not enacted. Of course if someone cannot control their animals and act responsibly, whether it is a golden retriever or a pit bull, they should lose that right.

In another example, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education recently had a meeting about what can be done with violent and disruptive students. The board is going to get legal advice regarding whether repeat, violent offenders can be expelled from school more frequently than is currently occurring. This is a sad symptom of our litigious society. When students who assault teachers and students have more rights than victims, the message of personal responsibility does not get through.

As a parent of a child in CMS, I wish that all of our local schools were privately owned and operated. We as parents would have more recourse since the schools would be competing against each other, and would want to attract students. With our current government monopoly on education, CMS does not have to compete at all or answer to parents or its own teachers. CMS administrators and bureaucrats know they are going to get funding from taxpayers anyway and that most parents cannot afford to send their children to private schools.

Recent talk concerning a possible proposal limiting the right of citizens to smoke in bars and restaurants is just one more assault upon our freedom. Members of a group called Smoke Free Charlotte are scheduled, in fact, to pitch the proposal at an upcoming board of county commissioners' meeting. As a non-smoker I don't particularly like cigarette smoke. However, I can go anywhere I want and patron a smoke-free business if I choose to do so. If we create a law upon which small business must comply because of someone's I-know-what's-best-for-everyone attitude, we do our country and our rights a great disservice. Furthermore, we remove citizens' ability to make choices and learn from the consequences of those choices.

Jennifer Schulz Medlock is an at-large member of the executive committee of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina.

Published July 8, 2004, Rhino Times, Charlotte, NC

To the editor:

I enjoyed reading your interview with County Commissioner Jim Puckett regarding the recent increase in Mecklenburg County's property tax. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Puckett. I am even happy that his reelection is assured this fall.

However, I feel compelled to challenge his explanation for the county tax increase. He claims that it only happened because Tom Cox abandoned his fellow Republicans to vote with the Democrats. Well, woulda-coulda-shoulda. Does that mean that Republicans shouldn't be held responsible for the tax increase? All-Republican commissions in Lincoln County and Union County have also raised their county taxes, by even larger percentages. Lincoln and Cabarrus are also seeking massive increases in county debt this fall. Has Tom Cox somehow undermined Republican principles in those counties?

As chairman of the local Libertarian Party, I could claim that a Libertarian-controlled commission would have halved the county budget, boosted the local economy by twenty percent, and located a lost Inca treasure at the bottom of Lake Norman. Of course, those things never happened. The difference is that the Republicans actually had a majority and could have achieved their claims.

As chairman of the Libertarian Party of Mecklenburg County, I point to this as my answer to the wasted vote question. If you want your children to pay less taxes and have more freedom than you have, then you have wasted your vote on the Republican Party. It is only logical to believe that, if you keep voting the way you have always voted, you will continue to get the results you have always gotten.

This fall, don't waste your vote. Vote for Libertarians at all levels of government. We even have Jack Stratton running for county commissioner, just to hold Republican commissioners to the fire. You can learn more at our website, http://www.lp.org.

Chris Cole

Sent to Mooresville Tribune, May 22, 2004

To the Editor:

Your article on unopposed NC legislative races was important. I don't think most Americans are aware of how broken our republican system of government is. On one side, voter apathy means that politicians need little worry about challenges to their decisions. On the other, the ability of incumbents to draw districts and set ballot requirements to eliminate their competition gives citizens little incentive to enter the ballot booth.

However, there is one bright side that your article missed. In five NC Senate districts (one Democratic, four Republican in the current Senate), and fifteen NC House districts (eight Democratic and seven Republican in the current House), politicians would have been unopposed if it weren't for Libertarian candidates. That doesn't even include local examples, such as Lincoln County, where one Libertarian is the only challenger to three Republicans for three county commission seats in the fall. In other words, twenty state legislative candidates will have to justify their election, simply because of the presence of the Libertarian Party.

Of course, this shows the lie of justifications for North Carolina's restrictive ballot access laws. The Democrats and Republicans say they fear voter confusion or an overflowing ballot if they allow third parties. What we really get is incumbents without challengers and a bipartisan effort to retain power.

Sincerely,
Rev. Christopher Cole
chair
Libertarian Party of Mecklenburg County