Meeting of 8 January, 2011

Minutes of the LPSF Meeting of January 8, 2010 Members Present: Marcy Berry (Chair), Michael Edelstein, Aubrey Freedman, Ron Getty (Vice Chair), Jawj Greenwald (Secretary), Francoise Fielding, Marc Joffe, Leslie Mangus (Treasurer), Rob Power. Guests: Cynthia Lee. Officers’ Reports: Chair: Agendas and minutes have been posted on the LPSF website. Non-public documents such as membership lists have been posted on google.docs, where LPSF officers have access. Vice Chair: No report Treasurer: The LPSF has $5312.34 in its coffers. Secretary: Minutes of the December meeting will be posted online for review. Committee Reports: Internet Communications/Social Networking: Since Rob Power is leaving for New York City in 6 months, we need someone to take over his role as webmaster. Marc Joffe agreed to look at what’s involved, with a view to possibly taking over. Membership: Marcy Berry reported that our updated membership list has 16 or 17 paid up members, down from over 200 8 years ago, when local membership flowed automatically from state or national membership. Political Candidates’ Reports: No reports Activism Reports: Those who felt so moved reported on what they had done to strike a blow for freedom this month. Announcements: CPAC 2011: This largely Republican gathering will take place on February 10 in Washington, D.C. There will be a straw poll of support for potential 2012 Republican Presidential candidates which will include an opportunity to support Ron Paul. California LP Convention: This will be held April 8-10 in South Lake Tahoe just over the Nevada border. Upcoming Vegan Society Dinners: Michael Edelstein announced two upcoming dinner debates of the SF Vegan Society of libertarian interest. On January 19 the Special Police Patrol will be discussed; organized by Starchild. On January 26 there will be a debate about whether or not the poor would fare better without government programs; debate organized by Michael Edelstein. Dinner is at 6pm, and the programs start at 7pm for these Wednesday night events, held in the community room at Civic Center Plaza. Old Business: Subscription to a Survey Program: We further discussed the possibility raised last month of subscribing to an online survey program such as Zoomerang or Survey Monkey. We decided that we would not pay for any such service, but that in future we might have a use for one or other of their free services, both allowing surveys of 10-12 questions to be sent out to 100 potential respondents. For purposes of the survey project launched last month, however, the “JOOMLA” capability provided as part of our website service is all that we need. It allows us to post polls of up to 5 questions on the website and record any number of responses. Participation in Pride Festival, June 25/26 2011: We made plans for having a booth at this year’s Pride Festival. Rob said that we could again obtain the nonprofit rate for our booth rental by signing up under the aegis of Outright Libertarians, and he will give Marcy the password she needs to act on their behalf. Because of his move, he will not be able to participate, but several of those present indicated they could help man the booth. Aubrey Freedman agreed to store tent, table and chairs in his garage. An allocation of up to $500 for expenses (including booth rental, insurance, literature and publicity) was unanimously approved. Establishing By-Laws Committee: We discussed the need to re-vamp our by-laws to conform to those of the California LP party which spawned us (and from which we have no separate legal existence). Marcy will ensure the current by-laws are posted on our website so that we can all read them. It was unanimously agreed to form a by-laws committee to propose a re-draft. Its initial members will be Rob Power and Starchild. New Business: Election of Officers for 2011: The current officers were the only nominees for their respective posts: Marcy Berry, Chair; Ron Getty, Vice Chair; Jawj Greenwald, Secretary; Les Magnus, Treasurer. They were re-elected by wild acclamation. We will try to find new blood next year. Monthly Meeting Location: It was unanimously agreed to continue to meet at the Civic Center Main Library indefinitely. Marcy will renew our room reservation at three-monthly intervals as required. Support for other Organizations: We discussed the ways in which we might support other Libertarian-leaning organizations. Currently the only cause to which we donate as an organization is Californians for Electoral Reform, mainly involved in ballot access issues, to which we contribute $20. Given our lack of resources, the consensus was that we should not contribute to other organizations, other than indirectly by continuing to buy appropriate literature from other groups for our outreach efforts, as we now do from ISIL and Advocates for Self-Government (producer of the world’s smallest political quiz). We agreed that we should try to forge links with other organizations through shared projects and outreach efforts, especially local campus organizations. Marc Joffe will see what, if any, libertarian groups currently operate at SF State and SFU. Michael Edelstein will look at the Mises Institute and another organization that publishes literature to see if they have anything suitable for our use. Ballot Arguments: We discussed the possibility of submitting arguments for the next voters’ ballot pamphlet and agreed that we should do more of this, as we had in the past. Aubrey Freedman will look into the timeline and procedures for submitting arguments for the next election. Given the short time frame usually involved, assignment and review of arguments can be delegated to the Executive Committee if there is no upcoming monthly meeting. Since paid arguments are fairly expensive, and the possibility of winning the lottery for submission of a free “official” argument is usually slim, we could raise money from interested parties to sponsor specific arguments. Aubrey Freedman, Starchild and Ron Getty will spearhead our efforts, and form a ballot argument committee if a separate committee seems desirable at our next meeting.