OK: Libertarian Ballot Access Push

From the Edmond Sun:

Oklahoma Libertarians want their party recognized by the state and represented on the ballot in political primary elections, one local Libertarian leader said.

Oklahoma is the only state recognizing only the Democrat and Republican parties on the ballot without an “unfair” effort required by a third party, said Aletha Lingo, president of the Edmond Libertarian Party. Democrats and Republicans don’t have to collect signatures for ballot representation.

“It’s insane, unfair and to me unconstitutional and ridiculous that we have to go to other Libertarians outside the state to raise money to get on this ballot one time,” Lingo said . . .

OK: Party System Undermines Independence of Independent Official

From News OK:

The only independent candidate in Oklahoma to be elected during the last general election said Friday he is considering a switch to the Republican Party.

Lance West, who was the first-ever independent elected as a Noble County Commissioner, said he would switch not for political reasons, but because he may need the financial support of the Republican Party in 2014.

OK Pirate Party Ballot Effort Profiled by Oklahoma City Deluxe

The Oklahoma City Deluxe is an independent crafts bazaar.  From Oklahoma City Deluxe:

At Deluxe, we have a soft spot in our hearts for the underdogs, the underrepresented, the minority. We like to give an opportunity to community groups and artists who might not find an outlet at many high-profile events. Today we’d like to introduce you to a group that will be at Deluxe collecting signatures for their petition regarding ballot access.

What is your organization’s mission?
The Pirate Party of Oklahoma is a new political party with the goal of promoting the Privacy Rights of Oklahomans, push for increased Government Transparency, advocate for Ballot Access Reform, and encourage reform of Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks. Our goal is to embrace the ideals behind the constitution, and to make sure these ideals are honored in a time filled with technology that our founding fathers could never have imagined.

Who is your target population?
All Oklahomas concerned about their privacy and being able to use technology in a meaningful way, as well as Oklahomas who are concerned about having accountability from their government. We don’t have a specific target population in mind, but a large portion of our membership comes from the generations that are more exposed to the constant advances in technology and are aware of the potential to use, and abuse, this technology.

OK: Pirate Party Endorsed Candidate Received 20% Support in Race for State Legislature

From the Oklahoma Pirate Party:

The Pirate Party of Oklahoma would like to take this opportunity to thank the candidates that have received our endorsements and congratulate them for standing up for democracy in Oklahoma. It takes courage to become involved in the political process, and these candidates endured hardships and time away from their families in order to bring choice to Oklahoma. We are happy to share the preliminary results of their campaigns:

• Angelia O’Dell, US Representative, District 1: 23.19%
• Clark Duffe, US Representative, District 5: 1.75%
• Zachary Knight, State Representative, District 46: 19.7%
• Edward Shadid, State Representative, District 85: 10.53%

Again, the Pirates want to give a very heartfelt thank you to these candidates for running, and for accepting our endorsement.

Knight and Shadid, respectively, were previously identified by the OKPP as Independent/Green and Independent/Libertarian candidates.

OK: Pirate Party Rallies for "Freedom Not Fear"

From the Pirate Party of Oklahoma:

A rally to stand up for privacy, our right to assemble, and a free press. Stand up against the growing surveillance state.

South Plaza of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.
October 30th, 2pm-5pm

Help us get the word out!

Print out a flyer, or two, ot 25. We have both letter size as well as 11×17 sized flyers available to download and post or hand out. They do look better in color, but should do well in black & white as well.
Letter Size Flyer
11×17 Size Flyer

If you are on Facebook, please RSVP on our event page. We also encourage people to use Facebook to invite their friends to this event.

What is “Freedom, Not Fear”
We are living in a nation of constantly increasing surveillance. Every year that passes results in a government that has more means to monitor the activity of every person within our borders. They monitor electronic communications, telephone records, and online browsing histories of citizens without warrants. They are collecting our biometric data without cause, requiring finger prints and facial recognition pictures in order to issue identification documents. License plate recognition cameras will store the time and location that your car has been spotted, even if no crime has been committed.
Our executive spies on American citizens, and when taken to court it simply dismisses accountability by claiming that answering to the court would hurt our national security. They are now seeking a backdoor into all forms of secure digital communication and encryption, to make sure that no communication will ever be outside the reach of our government.

OK: Pirate Party Plans Protest Against Surveillance State, Attacks on Civil Liberty

From the Oklahoma Pirate Party:

We are living in a nation of constantly increasing surveillance. Every year that passes results in a government that has more means to monitor the activity of every person within our borders. They monitor electronic communications, telephone records, and online browsing histories of citizens without warrants. They are collecting our biometric data without cause, requiring finger prints and facial recognition pictures in order to issue identification documents. License plate recognition cameras will store the time and location that your car has been spotted, even if no crime has been committed.

Our executive spies on American citizens, and when taken to court it simply dismisses accountability by claiming that answering to the court would hurt our national security. They are now seeking a backdoor into all forms of secure digital communication and encryption, to make sure that no communication will ever be outside the reach of our government.

Our legislature ignores the concepts of privacy envisioned by our founding fathers in the Bill of Rights and continually pass legislation that result in less freedoms for Americans. They are now talking about passing a bill that would give the government the power to the internet.

Our judiciary is failing to act as a check on the other branches and has approved the GPS monitoring and the collection of cell phone location data without requiring a warrant. And for the rare occasions that the government is unable to spy on it’s populace, it has no problems encouraging us to spy on each other. We are constantly urged to report suspicious activity, to turn in our neighbor, and to watch everybody for anything.

We believe that it is time for the people to push back against the growing surveillance state. To fight for our right to have privacy in our lives. To have our government accept the reality that we are allowed to have secrets, and that having them does not make us criminals.

Pirate Party: With proposed blacklists, Senate has its "foot in the door" on internet censorship

In a post yesterday at Poli-Tea on the Democratic-Republican national security police state and surveillance society, I noted that S.3804 (a bipartisan bill aimed supposedly at "combating online infringement and counterfeits") represents a threat to freedom of speech online and would conceivably provide the government with the authority to target and censor groups such the US Pirate Party.  I contacted Marcus Kessler from the Pirate Party of Oklahoma and asked him for his response to the fact that this bill could result in the censorship of the Pirate Party's website.  Via email, he writes:

I honestly would not be surprised if the websites of the Pirate Parties would be some of the first sites that get taken offline due to this bill. If we take a look at the various "Internet Black Lists" that are used by numerous countries around the world, we find that many of sites listed do not fit the stated purpose of the list. In addition these lists are often the proverbial foot in the door, and once a system is put in place more criteria for inclusion are added. For example, after the passage of Germany's Internet Blacklist targeting child pornography, multiple groups started a push to include violent video games, online gambling, and political dissent as criteria for inclusion.

Even if this bill only blocks sites based on Infringement, this definition alone could be easily used as a justification to shut down the web presence of private competitors and political opponents. A perfect example would be the current gubernatorial race in Ohio where a political ad was taken off YouTube under a DMCA notice arguing infringing use, despite the fact that the use of copyrighted material falls under fair use. If the current DMCA laws are sufficient to remove a political ad from the internet, then it is very reasonable to believe that COICA [i.e. S.3804] can and will be used to silence political opponents. We hope that our politicians follow their own criticism of countries such as China when it comes to promoting open access to information for citizens and realize that without the free flow of  information, we cannot have democracy.

Thanks for your response Marcus!  Check out the Pirate Party's website.

OK: Pirate Party Slams Google CEO on Transparency, Privacy and Surveillance

From the Oklahoma Pirate Party:

“In a world of asynchronous threats it is too dangerous for there not to be some way to identify you. We need a [verified] name service for people. Governments will demand it.” – Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

There is so much wrong with this statement that we are having a hard time even deciding where to start. The Government will always attempt to increase the monitoring of the governed, and the self appointed leaders of the internet are only too eager to assist. Being able to identify all individual users, as well as being able to track their location and all activities, will benefit the business side of the online world more than anybody.

“True transparency and no anonymity” – Eric Schmidt, Google CEO

We have to admit that Mr. Schmidt is a master at marketing, and to be able to market effectively you have to be a master at spinning the truth. Transparency, after all, is a noble cause. Who would say no to transparency? It is one of the main issues the Pirate Party is pursuing. Mr. Schmidt picked his words very wisely, but the course he is pursuing will lead to only one outcome: Full surveillance and no privacy. Transparency is a choice where people make the conscious decision to reveal details about themselves and about their activities. We, not Google or the Government, weigh our options and decide to reveal the details. When these details are, as Mr. Schmidt himself states, demanded by the Government; then transparency becomes surveillance.

Mr. Schmidt also was very wise in picking the word anonymity. For many people anonymity implies that you have something to hide, that you must be “up to something” or you would not try to hide your activity. “Privacy” is a word that is received more favorably, and that is the reason it was not used. Anonymity and privacy have the same meaning: That you will reveal information about yourself and your activities selectively. It does not imply malicious intent or bad character, and frequently it is the perceived privacy of the internet that encourages many to turn online for help: A partner in an abusive relationship looking for help to leave their abuser; a couple who just had a miscarriage looking for support; a person with an addiction trying to change their life. Without privacy these people might never take the first step towards help.

Read the whole thing.

OK: Pirate Party Objects to Expansion of the Surveillance State

A press release from the Pirate Party of Oklahoma, sent via email:

Oklahoma City, OK - August 11th, 2010 - The recent obstacles in implementing a state-wide camera system to monitor Oklahomans should bring a sigh of relief to residents of the Sooner State says the Pirate Party of Oklahoma.  "We are very happy that the delay in implementing this technology has surfaced," states Marcus Kesler, state administrator of the Pirate Party of Oklahoma.  "But we remain disappointed that the reason for the delay is purely logistical and does not take into account the legal and ethical implications of monitoring every driver in Oklahoma."

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) is pursuing a contract with a private for-profit company that would require the monitoring of all motor vehicles on Oklahoma roads, even if no laws are being violated.  The contract would also require the retention of all data collected using this automated system.  This system would allow DPS to maintain records that would document the date, time, and location of each vehicle that drives past a particular camera or bar code reader. "You may drive the posted speed limit, wear your seatbelt, have valid insurance, and be in full compliance with all Oklahoma statutes; yet DPS want to maintain a database tracking your lawful activities.", states Marcus Kesler.  "How does operating a car in Oklahoma give DPS the right to maintain these records without any reasonable cause of an actual crime?"

OK: Third Party Candidates Call for Reform of Ballot Access Laws

From NewsOK:

State voter registration figures show the number of independents in Oklahoma has increased in the past 30 years, growing from 15,830 in 1980 to about 232,350 this year.Several political parties are classified as independent parties in Oklahoma, including the Green Party, the Pirate Party and the Libertarian Party. 

Under current state law, a candidate from a third party must meet candidate requirements and pay a filing fee to appear on the general election ballot. Activists argue that Oklahoma needs ballot access reform to allow political parties to appear on the ballot along with the candidates' names.

Otter Limits Interviews Clark Duffe, Libertarian Candidate in OK-5

From the Otter Limits blog:

Clark Duffe is the Libertarian Party candidate for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District. He will be running against Independent Dave White, Democratic candidate Billy Coyle and whoever wins the August 24 Republican runoff between Kevin Calvey and James Lankford.  I had a chance to do an interview with Clark and below is the transcript of that interview:

1. Why are you a Libertarian as opposed to being a Republican?

[Duffe:] Republicans only go halfway towards freedom . . .

I suppose that implies Republicans are halfway against freedom.  

OK: Pirate Party Stands Up Against Closed Primaries

From the Oklahoma Pirate Party blog:

Today Democrats and Republicans across Oklahoma are turning to the polls to pick the candidates for their respective parties. Democrats pick Democrats, Republicans pick Republicans, and everybody else is well aware that they are not welcome. Oklahoma suffers from the horrible combination of having a closed primary, as well as the most restrictive ballot access laws of the nation.

Members of the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Socialist Party, the Constitution Party, and of course the Pirate Party, are unable to show their party affiliation when running for any office in Oklahoma. There might be other third parties present in Oklahoma, but they all share the same fate. I am sure that there are also many true Independents in this great state, and they proudly run for office with the label “Independent” on the ballot to show that they have shed the restraints that come with a party affiliation. But many others are proud members of the third parties that seek to make a difference in Oklahoma. Our labels mark our ideals, our convictions, and our goals. Yet the Elephant and the Donkey show bipartisanship when it comes to keeping competition off the ballot.

In addition to keeping Independents off the ballot, Oklahoma has also made it very clear that we are not welcome during the primary season. This decision is a double edged sword, keeping democracy away from the voters, and taking away the “independent vote” that could decide the election for either party.

OK: Independent Candidate for Congress Slams Congressional Cowardice

From the Edmond Sun:

Congress is full of “fundraisers” who are scared to take a stand on any issue until disaster is upon them, said Dave White, an Independent candidate for the U.S. Congress, 5th District of Oklahoma.

“They see these problems that are coming way off in the distance. Yet nobody has the backbone to be fixing those things until the disaster is upon us,” said White, a 1987 Naval Academy graduate with a degree in economics who served his country as a Navy SEAL officer.

“Social Security is going bankrupt, yet there’s not a one of them willing to stick their neck out,” White said.

Social Security is a promise made to senior citizens, he said. Protecting Social Security will require gradually pushing back the age eligibility beyond age 70, said White of Deer Creek.

“I switched my party because first of all, the Republican Party has become too liberal for me during the past few years,” White said.

OK: Calls for Ballot Access Reform Continue to Mount

From Julie Bisbee at NewsOK:

If you’re a third party candidate in Oklahoma and want to get on the ballot, good luck, according to a ballot access reform group. According to Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform, Oklahoma is one of the most restrictive state’s for ballot access. The national chairman of the Libertarian Party met with lawmakers on Monday urging them to support measures to change candidates get on the ballot in Oklahoma. Advocates point out that Oklahoma was the only state in both 2004 and 2008 where voters only had two choices for president.

Other parties are also looking for reform. The Pirate Party of Oklahoma, would also like to see signature requirement decreased, said Marcus Kesler, with the Pirate Party.

Oklahoma Pirate Party Responds to Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" Video

From the Pirate Party of Oklahoma:

The Pirate Party of Oklahoma gives these soldiers every benefit of the doubt . . .  The problem with this story is the way this incident was handled by the Military and the US Government after the engagement. FOIA requests were denied, Reuters was told that the military did now know how their reporters died. All knowledge of the incident was denied. Wikileaks reporters were trailed by US agents, detained, questioned, and they had their computers and media devices confiscated in order to prevent this footage from being leaked. The incident lasted just over 10 minutes. The cover-up lasted almost 3 years.

OK: Independent Tea Party Candidate to Run for Congress

The Post and Email interviews independent candidate for congress from Oklahoma Miki Booth:

Miki Booth was “the most apolitical person you could ever meet”  until the 2008 presidential election.  She has lived in Japan as well as Massachusetts, Hawaii and for the last 15 years in Oklahoma, and is now a candidate for Congress from that state’s Second District.  An experienced equestrian, gardener, businesswoman, wife and mother, Miki’s candidacy sprouted from her formation of the Route 66 Tea Party group early last year.

OK: A Profile of the Oklahoma Pirate Party

Oklahoma Citizen profiles the newly organized Pirate Party of Oklahoma:

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce the Pirate Party of Oklahoma to everybody.
The Pirate Party is a movement that started in Europe as a response to increased monitoring of internet activity by the government, loss of privacy in all aspects of life, a lack of accountability of the Governments, and the concerns of misuse of copyright laws. The Pirates are concerned about wiretaps without warrants, reading and storing emails without court orders, increased video monitoring of our every move, and being treated like potential criminals or terrorist for common activities like flying or photography. We worry about our government entering into secret treaties with other nations with such efforts as ACTA. Our government increasingly cites "national security" as a reason for not being accountable to its citizens. We look forward to being a part of Oklahoma politics and being able to provide content here that affects all Oklahomans. We also want to invite everyone to check us out on our website.

OK: Columnist Calls for Ballot Access Reform

A column in the Oklahoma Daily calls for ballot access reform in the Sooner State:

Oklahoma has the worst ballot-access laws in the nation. To run for president as a third party requires a candidate to collect signatures equal to 5 percent of the number of votes cast in the last presidential/gubernatorial election. To run as an independent requires 3 percent which, although slightly lower, is still impossibly high.  Even under the best case scenario, a third-party candidate or independent attempting to meet the 3 percent signature threshold still has to collect as many as 44,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot. Taking into consideration many signatures end up being invalidated because the signatory is not a registered voter or puts wrong or illegible information, this signature requirement can, in practice, easily double. . . .

How do the Republicans and Democrats get on the ballot? So long as they can manage to draw 10 percent of the vote in every presidential and gubernatorial election, they do not have to collect a single signature. With third-party and independent candidates effectively barred from competing with them, something catastrophic would have to occur to prevent them from meeting this benchmark.  So, the system is rigged. Republicans and Democrats get automatic access to the ballot so long as they meet a fairly low level of electoral support and third parties are not even allowed to run unless they meet a nearly impossible signature requirement.  This is bad for democracy and bad for voter choice.