Gray County Libertarian Party

Precinct, County Conventions

2006-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

The paperwork for the Gray County Precinct and County conventions has been filed. The precinct convention will be held on March 14, 2005 at 7:00 pm at 410 e. 9th St. Lefors, Texas to select delegates to the County Convention, which will be held on March 18, 2005 at 7:00 Pm. The district convention will be held at Milano's Pizza, 310 W. Foster, Pampa, Texas at 7:00 pm on March 25, 2005.

Gray County LP Stance RE: The Republic of Texas

2005-11-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

There's a movement afoot on the state LP's message boards by a member of the Republic of Texas movement to enlist Libertarian candidates for their cause. While the Gray County Libertarian Party respects their right to free speech, we do not, as principle, support the movement.

The Gray County LP will support any government that is duly elected to represent the State of Texas and the United States of America. We operate under the Libertarian Party resolution against the initiation of force to achieve political or social means, and do not support any organization that opposes that stance. Furthermore, we are, by nature, a REFORM party, NOT a Separatist Party.

While the GCLP supports free discussion on any politically related topic, we look at the historical stance of the ROT, whose constitution did not support the equality and fairness which we as Libertarians hold dear and which activists have worked hard to achieve in the constitutions of our nation and state. The ROT would represent a move backwards in equality and fairness, a move that political activists cannot afford to make.

We actively support the free speech of our members, of all Texans, and of all Americans. But we cannot support or endorse a government that has not been duly elected by the citizens of this nation in a democratic election. While we wish the ROT movement well in their endeavours, we cannot support them at this time.

Post Thanksgiving Update

2005-11-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, as I hope many of you did! I wanted to give readers of this blog an update.

I am currently working towards becoming a paralegal. In the process, I am studying CPS policies/ procedures manuals from various states and taking courses in social work. I am hoping to eventually be qualified to do advocacy work for parents affected by CPS in various states.

In addition, I am preparing to run for public office. I have the forms available from the state chair and will be filing within the next two weeks. It should be an interesting year.

Ok, so it's not the most exciting update ever. But I hope as the campaign progresses to involve the readers of this blog in the campaign. Since this is the site for the gray county LP, however, most of my blog topics don't fit within the described content of this blog. More personal work can be found at http://gideon-macleish.joeuser.com (my blog about anything and everything), or at http://gideonmacleish.blogspot.com (my blog about "unconventional" living: homesteading, homeschooling and the like).

If CPS SHows up at Your Door

2005-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

The following is a paper written by Christopher J. Klicka, Senior Counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association detailing how parents who are subjected to anonymous CPS complaints should deal with CPS caseworkers at their door. Because the Gray County Libertarian Party has dedicated itself to assisting parents who are wrongfully accused, we felt this piece appropriate to post:

The Social Worker At Your Door: 10 Helpful Hints

By Christopher J. Klicka, Senior Counsel for the
Home School Legal Defense Association

More and more frequently, home schoolers are turned in on child abuse hotlines to social service agencies. Families who do not like home schoolers can make an anonymous phone call to the child abuse hotline and fabricate abuse stories about home schoolers. The social worker then has an obligation to investigate. Each state has a different policy for social workers, but generally they want to come into the family's home and speak with the children separately. To allow either of these to occur involves great risk to the family.

The home school parent, however, should be very cautious when an individual identifies himself as a social worker. In fact, there are several tips that a family should follow:

Always get the business card of the social worker. This way, when you call your attorney or Home School Legal Defense Association, if you are a member, the attorney will be able to contact the social worker on your behalf. If the situation is hostile, HSLDA members should immediately call our office and hand the phone out the door so an HSLDA lawyer can talk to the social worker. We have a 24 hour emergency number.

Find out the allegations. Do not fall for the frequently used tactic of the social worker who would tell the unsuspecting victims that they can only give you the allegations after they have come into your home and spoken to your child separately. You generally have the right to know the allegations without allowing them in your home.

Never let the social worker in your house without a warrant or court order. All the cases that you have heard about where children are snatched from the home usually involve families waiving their Fourth Amendment right to be free from such searches and seizures by agreeing to allow the social worker to come inside the home. A warrant requires "probable cause" which does not include an anonymous tip or a mere suspicion. This is guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the courts. (In extremely rare situations, police may enter a home without a warrant if there are exigent circumstances, i.e., police are aware of immediate danger or harm to the child.)

However, in some instances, social workers or police threaten to use force to come into a home. If you encounter a situation which escalates to this level, record the conversation if at all possible, but be sure to inform the police officer or social worker that you are doing this. If entry is going to be made under duress you should say and do the following: "I am closing my front door, but it is unlocked. I will not physically prevent you from entering, and I will not physically resist you in any way. But you do not have my permission to enter. If you open my door and enter, you do so without my consent, and I will seek legal action for an illegal entry."

Never let the social worker talk to your children alone without a court order. On nearly every other incident concerning our members, HSLDA has been able to keep the social worker away from the children. On a few occasions, social workers have been allowed to talk with children, particularly where severe allegations are involved. In these instances, an attorney, chosen by the parent, has been present. At other times, HSLDA had children stand by the door and greet the social worker, but not be subject to any questioning.

Tell the official that you will call back after you speak with your attorney. Call your attorney or HSLDA, if you are a member.

Ignore intimidations. Normally, social workers are trained to bluff. They will routinely threaten to acquire a court order, knowing full well that there is no evidence on which to secure an order. In 98 percent of the contacts that HSLDA handles, the threats turn out to be bluffs. However, it is always important to secure an attorney in these matters, since there are occasions where social workers are able to obtain a court order with flimsy evidence. HSLDA members should call our office in such situations.

Offer to give the officials the following supporting evidence:

a statement from your doctor, after he has examined your children, if the allegations involve some type of physical abuse;

references from individuals who can vouch for your being good parents;

evidence of the legality of your home school program. If your home school is an issue, HSLDA attorneys routinely assist member families by convincing social workers of this aspect of an investigation.

Bring a tape recorder and/or witnesses to any subsequent meeting. Often times HSLDA will arrange a meeting between the social worker and our member family after preparing the parents on what to discuss and what not to discuss. The discussion at the meeting should be limited to the specific allegations and you should avoid telling them about past events beyond what they know. Usually, anonymous tips are all they have to go on, which is not sufficient to take someone to court. What you give them can and will be used against you.

Inform your church, and put the investigation on your prayer chain. Over and over again, HSLDA has seen God deliver home schoolers from this scary scenario.

Avoid potential situations that could lead to a child welfare investigation.

Conduct public relations with your immediate neighbors and acquaintances regarding the legality and success of home schooling.

Do not spank children in public.

Do not spank someone else's child unless they are close Christian friends.

Avoid leaving young children at home alone.

In order for a social worker to get a warrant to come and enter a home and interview children separately, he is normally required, by both statute and the U.S. Constitution, to prove that there is some "cause." This is a term that is synonymous with the term "probable cause". "Probable cause" or cause shown is reliable evidence that must be corroborated by other evidence if the tip is anonymous. In other words, an anonymous tip alone and mere suspicion is not enough for a social worker to obtain a warrant.

There have been some home-schooled families who have been faced with a warrant even though there was not probable cause. HSLDA has been able to overturn these in court so that the order to enter the home was never carried out. Home School Legal Defense Association is committed to defending every member family who is being investigated by social workers, provided the allegations involve home schooling. In instances when the allegations have nothing to do with home schooling, HSLDA will routinely counsel most member families on how to meet with the social worker and will talk to the social worker to try to resolve the situation. If it cannot be resolved, which it normally can be in most instances by HSLDA's involvement, the family is responsible for hiring their own attorney.

HSLDA is beginning to work with states to reform the child welfare laws to guarantee more freedom for parents and better protection for their parental rights. HSLDA will be sending out Alerts to its members in various states where such legislation is drafted and submitted as a bill.

For further information on how to deal with social workers, HSLDA recommends Home Schooling: The Right Choice, which was written with the intention of informing home school parents of their rights in order to prevent them from becoming a statistic. Federal statistics have shown that up to 60 percent of children removed from homes, upon later review, should never have been removed. The child welfare system is out of control, and we need to be prepared. To obtain The Right Choice or join the Home School Legal Defense Association, call 540-338-5600, or write HSLDA, P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134.

Official Announcement 10/25/05

2005-10-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Timothy Justice, the Chair of the Gray County Libertarian Party, announced today that he will be resigning his post as chair to run for partisan public office. His wife, Amy, will manage the duties of party chair following his resignation, which will take effect November 4, 2005.

While not specifying the office he will be seeking, Tim has stated that he will run on a platform of restoring rights to families who have been harassed repeatedly by the unconstitutional acts of Child Protective Services. He will further seek to find ways to establish a low cost, privately funded public transportation service in the Texas Panhandle, where such services are desperately needed due to low income levels of residents and an aging population that is increasingly unable to manage driving duties.

Watch this blogsite for any updates.

What is a Libertarian?

2005-10-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Many who are reading this may be wondering what, exactly a Libertarian is. Many prominent columnists such as Walter Williams bandy about the adjective "libertarian" (most, such as Williams, give proper credit to the term in their writing, a few espouse ideas that are anything BUT libertarian under the same banner).

The best definition I can give would be best given by referring to an article written by the Texas Libertarian Party's executive director, Wes Benedict:

http://www.tx.lp.org/docs/ShortSimple2005LPTX1.pdf

In this concisely written document, Wes explains what the party believes and why. He begins with the "World's Smallest Political Quiz" (which you can take online by going to www.lp.org, the LP's official website), and goes on to summarize the beliefs commonly (although not necessarily universally) held by Libertarians. It can be read in a couple of minutes' time and is also available in word format by going to the Texas LP website (www.tx.lp.org) and following the proper link.

When I was 18 and preparing to vote (I graduated in a Presidential election year), I asked my teacher what a Libertarian was and was given the curt answer "they're so far right, they're left", and advised not to "waste my vote". There are many reasons why a vote for the Libertarian candidate is NOT a wasted vote, but I won't address those at this time. The internet gives us access to so much more information that there is little excuse for being ill informed about ANY political party if you wish to have the information.

So go on, look. Check out the LP and see if it describes you. You just might find a party that suits you better than you know.

Gray County Libertarian Party Resolution

2005-10-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

A Resolution concerning Child Protective Services, known by different names in various states:

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the first amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by denying parents the right to make medical, disciplinary and educational decisions based on their religious convictions, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the fourth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by asserting their right to "home visits" and interviews with the children without first obtaining a warrant based upon "probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describibg the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized", as required by said amendment, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the fifth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by holding parents accountable for capital or infamous crimes without the presentment of an indictment by a Grand Jury, and further compel parents to bear witness against themselves in a court of law, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the sixth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by frequently denying parents the right to a fair, public and speedy trial by a jury of their peers and further denying parents the right to confront witnesses against them, and denying parents the right of legal counsel to defend them in actions against them, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the eighth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by removing their children and subjecting said parents to unreasonable standards for the return of said children in violation of the eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the thirteenth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by setting work standards and subjecting parents to terms of involuntary servitude, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services infringe upon the fourteenth amendment rights of parents in the routine performance of their duties by abridging the privileges and immunities of said parents as set forth in other constitutional amendments and denying them due process, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services routinely operate without proper governmental accountability for their actions and the harm inflicted on innocent parents and caregivers in their attempt to discover and intercept the guilty, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Servces routinely employs a standard of "guilty until proven innocent" in defiance of accepted American judicial tradition, and

WHEREAS Child Protective Services routinely intimidate the poor, the uneducated and other segments of society that are incapable of mounting a credible defense on their own;

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Gray County (Texas) Libertarian Party does hereby condemn the actions of CPS in their unconstitutional persecution of innocent parents and caregivers, and will dedicate itself to educating, informing, and offering support to parents who are the wrongful targets of CPS actions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Gray County (Texas) Libertarian Party will only support innocent parents and caregivers insofar as their actions are legal and consistent with the constitution and the nonuse of force to obtain political and social goals, as outlined in the Libertarian Party pledge.

2005-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is the official blog site for the Gray County (Texas) Libertarian Party. All news releases and updates will be posted here. For more information, I can be reached at graycountylp@hotmail.com