Meeting of 8 June, 2013

Libertarian Party of San Francisco Minutes of Meeting June 8, 2013

 

Meeting Location: San Francisco Main Library, 4^th Floor Conference Room

Members Present: Phil Berg, Marcy Berry, Michael Edelstein, Aubrey Freedman (Chair), Leslie Mangus, Starchild, Richard Winger.

Guests: Mort Kantor, Dan The Man, Gary Weber

 

Welcome and Introductions

 

Activists Report – Past & Future

 

Phil: Took train to visit a Reno, Nevada gold mine, to learn about the area’s history, geology, and current developments. He reported on the difficulty of establishing mining operations, with the requirement of 70 permits that are difficult to obtain.

 

Marcy: Attended the Commonwealth Club “Week to Week” political forum; not much audience participation, and therefore, not much opportunity for libertarian input.

 

Michael: Arranged for a talk by Malcolm Greenhill, “Does Anarchy Have a Bad Rap,” at the Wellness Central meeting of June 26 (more details under Announcements).

 

Aubrey: Continued calling legislators encouraging them to approve AB 351, California nullification of the indefinite detention clause of the NDAA.

 

Gary: Communicated libertarian messages on Facebook.

 

Announcements:

 

Michael:

 

Wellness Central Vegetarian Dinner Meeting, June 26, 6:00 pm, Community Room 601 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco. $15 donation requested for all you can eat. Guest speaker: Malcolm Greenhill, “Does Anarchy Have a Bad Rap.”

 

Wellness Central Vegetarian Dinner Meeting, July 10, 6:00 pm, Community Room 601 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco. $15 donation requested for all you can eat.   Debate: “Self Esteem;” David Koot in favor and Michael Edelstein against.

 

Aubrey:

 

San Francisco Tesla Society presentation of “Strategies for Maintaining Alternative Energy Technologies,” by Foster Gamble. June 9, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm, 2415 Mission Street, San Francisco.

 

Golden Gate Liberty Revolution U.S. Constitution Study Group, June 10, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Moksha Life Center, 405 Sansome Street, San Francisco.

 

“Our Vanishing Civil Liberties,” Panel discussion/forum with Daniel Ellsberg, June 11, 7:30 pm, 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley.

 

Plan Bay Area Meeting, June 14, 9:30 am, Joseph P. Bort Metro Center, 101 8^th St, Oakland. Staff will present key messages heard and seek direction on revising Plan in response to public comment.

 

Treasurer’s Report: Les Mangus reported bank balance of $3,509.26

 

Website Report: Rob Power (former LPSF Chair and website volunteer) removed old LPSF website from the archives to decrease the large size of the website. Marcy researched strategy for importing blog content from Wordpress.

 

Bay Area Mini-Convention: Aubrey reported that there was not a lot of enthusiasm or favorable responses for the idea. He will cancel the plans until a later date. Meanwhile LPSF members can reach out to neighboring Libertarian/libertarian groups by attending their meetings and events.

 

SFUSD Political Party Day: Aubrey reported not much luck in learning more about this event from the SFUSD offices. He will call the individual high schools when school resumes in the fall.

 

Nullify NDAA: AB 351 passed the Appropriations Committee, as well as the State Assembly by 71-1, and is now in the State Senate. Aubrey encouraged everyone to call their representatives and encourage them to vote YES.

 

Plan Bay Area: Final public meetings are being held before final adoption of the plan. It is Important to attend meeting of June 14 (see announcements). The Save Polk Street Coalition is gathering support to fight the removal of parking spaces in favor of bike lanes; there was no decision on LPSF supporting this coalition.

 

Pride Booth

 

There is still need for volunteers to staff the booth June 29 and 30. Aubrey is working with a volunteer to produce a cutout figure of Bradley Manning. At Phil’s suggestion, there will be discussion after the meeting on showing “Collateral Murder” and other DVD’s using a laptop and monitor. Phil said he would consider volunteering his laptop for the event; Dan said he would inquire if he could borrow any equipment from other groups.

 

Dan indicated that if any work needed to be done on the cutout figure, space and tools are available during the month of June at Freespace, 1131 Mission St, San Francisco.

 

Starchild announced the Bradley Manning Freedom Torch virtual march from San Francisco to Washington D.C. A Torch ceremony will take place after the Pride parade. A motorcycle parade also is being planned. For information visit the Bradley Manning Freedom Torch website at http://freedomtorch.us/

 

Ballot Measures for November 5, 2013 Municipal Elections

 

Aubrey reported that so far there are two qualified measures and one pending measure. He will keep us posted on further measures, and plans to submit ballot arguments.

Referendum Against Ordinance 104-12 Washington Street: - Qualified

Declaration of Policy regarding Prescription Drug Purchases – Qualified

Initiative Ordinance regarding 8 Washington Parks, Public Access and Housing – Pending