Libertarian on Ballot for Governor

For Immediate Release:
Charles Peirce
Campaign Manager
(440) 471-0322HQ
(216) 235-7049 Cell
peirceohio@gmail.com
www.peirceforohio.com

Press Conference
Ohio Secretary of State Offices
180 Broad Street, Columbus,
11:00 a.m. Monday, May 1

Peirce for Governor Campaign to Reach Signature Goal

Libertarian to be only Minor Party Candidate

The Peirce for Governor Campaign announced today that it has obtained more than 9,000 signatures and will have close to 11,000 by the filing deadline of Monday, May 1. This should be enough to ensure the 5,000 valid signatures required on a nominating petition for an independent gubernatorial candidate. Bill Peirce and his running mate Mark Noble are running as independents because the Libertarian Party of Ohio, which endorses their candidacy, does not have ballot status. Peirce and Noble will present the signatures to the Ohio Secretary ofState, 180 Broad Street, Columbus, at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 1.

The campaign has received support from all parts of Ohio. The signature drive has extended to all of the major cities and most of the rural areas of the state. Peirce said he was overwhelmed by the popular support for the Libertarian principles of limited constitutional government, lower taxes, and a government that protectsindividual rights rather than interfering with private lives.

Bill Peirce earned his A.B. degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Economics at Case Western Reserve University,where he started teaching in 1966. He has published books about bureaucratic failure and energy economics and has written on a wide range of public policy issues. Mark Noble left an established careerin website design to return to Ohio State University to studyelectronic and computer engineering.

The Peirce/Noble platform calls for reduced taxes, elimination ofeminent domain abuse, elimination of property tax on houses and otherbuildings, and a school choice program open to all families.

Contact: Charles Peirce, campaign manager, at peirceohio@gmail.com

--Charles Peirce
Campaign Manager
(440) 471-0322 HQ
(216) 235-7049 Cell
peirceohio@gmail.com
www.peirceforohio.com

New Jail Shows Failure of an Old Problem

This past week, the Hamilton County commissioners made a deal with Butler county to house criminals in their prison cells. The jails in Hamilton County have gotten overcrowded. In an effort to be tough on crime, our politicians and law enforcement officials have placed a big effort in fighting the War on Drugs. In fact, in 2005, the City of Cincinnati seized 17,855 grams of cocaine. That is up from 11,090.74 in 2004 and 10,111.45 in 2003. In that same time period, there was also an increase in the amount of arrests for non-violent drug use, 13,252 arrests in 2005, 12,626 arrests in 2004, and 11730 arrests in 2003. A 13% increase in the three year period.

During the same three years, there was also an increase in the murder rate (up 21.5% from 2003, and up 14.4% from 2004) and rape rate (up 3% from 2003, and up 6% from 2004). As well, there was a drop in the number of DUI offenses, (down 12.2% since 2003, and down 2% since 2004).

This shows the exact failure of the War on Drugs. When one does not even consider the violence that arises from rival drug dealers fighting over turf, or violence caused by drug deals gone bad, one should be concerned by the fact that the police are using their resouces to go after non-vilonet drug offenders, rather than to fight violent crimes.

When one sees a reverse coorilation between the amount of drugs seized and the number of DUI arrests made, one should feel less safe about driving at night (for fear that there are more drunk drivers on the road). And when there is a coorilation between more non-viloent drug arrests and more violent crimes, it should be obvious that the War on Drugs is doing more harm to our cities than drugs could ever do.

And the only solution we seem to be doing is to build more jails or to export our criminals.

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/downloads/police_pdf10076.pdf

Will We Let Bush Invade Iran as Well?

A recent press release from the Libertarian Party

Americans Should be Wary of an Upcoming Bush Administration Pitch to Invade Iran

(Washington, D.C.) When the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, it did so preemptively (the US homeland had not been attacked by Iraq) and unilaterally (the global community overwhelmingly opposed this invasion). Nonetheless, the members of the administration, including Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, and President George W. Bush himself, employed tactics of fear and coercion to gain the support of the American people.

Time and again, Americans were told that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had close ties with al-Qaeda, and played some role in the September 11th terrorist attacks. Additionally, the Bush administration repeatedly supported intelligence that indicated that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Now, after more than three years of fighting, and at the expense of thousands of American lives, we now know the truth; Saddam's Iraq posed no threat to our nation.

Today, it appears that a similar pattern is forming. Instead of Iraq, however, the administration has chosen Iran as its new target. In the media, and in White House press conferences, similar rhetoric is appearing.

"The American people should be wary of the Bush Administration's mounting rhetoric against Iran," stated Michael Dixon, chairman of the Libertarian Party. "If you treat someone as your enemy, they will be your enemy. It's time for the Bush administration to take a grown-up approach to foreign policy and stop playing the schoolyard bully."

The Libertarian Party understands the importance of a strong national defense; however it is rational enough to oppose preemptive warfare. This stance is clearly written within the party's platform: "The United States should not inject itself into the internal matters of other nations, unless they have declared war upon or attacked the United States, or the U.S. is already in a constitutionally declared war with them."

Chairman Dixon continued by saying, "I stand by the Libertarian Party's platform and encourage the rest of America to do the same. We need reason within our nation, not rhetoric."