Liberty on the Rocks™ Denver

David K. Williams, Jr. | March 8, 2010

In its zeal to collect more and more tax money, the Colorado legislature recently passed new sales tax regulations for online transactions in the state. They assumed this would have no impact on the number of online sales in Colorado, and the State would take a cut of each transaction, and revenue would be raised for government programs. Oh, the ignorance.

Not only will the State not get a cut of each transaction – because some online companies will no longer do business in the State – but now the State can’t tax the extra income of Colorado residents who are no longer able to transact commercial business online.

So, in its unquenchable desire for money money, the State has driven business out of Colorado and cost Coloradans an untold amount of income.

This letter from one of the largest online businesses in the world shows exactly how this works:

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules.

The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax.

Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado’s new law to members of the General Assembly [ http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2010A/csl.nsf/directory?openframeset=]

and to Governor Ritter [ http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovRitter/GOVR/1177024890452 ], who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule.

Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

Category: Californication, Colorado State House, PPC, taxes | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 28, 2010

It’s convention time!

The Libertarian Party of Colorado’s convention is Saturday, March 20, at the Red Lion Inn.

LPCO Business Meeting /State Convention

Red Lion Hotel

The Jefferson Room

3200 S. Parker Road

Aurora, CO 80014

303-695-1700

The doors will open at 7:30 am, registration begins at 8:00 am, and the business meeting will start at 9:30 am.

Vendor tables available for advertising your business.

Please complete a quick questionnaire if you’re attending, so we can provide the best possible convention.

Book your king sized non-smoking room for $89 a day by calling the hotel directly or by going to: RedLion.com & using access code 0319libe.

If you call 1-800-Red-Lion through central reservations, simply request the Libertarian Party of Colorado rate.

Currently, we have three people seeking our nomination for Colorado Governor.

We have candidates seeking our nomination for every U.S. Congressional District and the U.S. Senate. This is good news.

We have some candidates seeking our nomination for state General Assembly seats. We need more. If you score near the top of the Nolan Chart and can effectively articulate why you answer each question on the World Smallest Political Quiz the way you do, consider running.

With growing dissatisfaction to the big-government two-party duopoly, the Libertarian Party of Colorado has an opportunity to do well in the 2010 elections. We are the only political party that actually believes in small government and free markets. The ONLY ONE. However, to capitalize, we need to provide an option to the public. The best way to provide that option is to run as many qualified Libertarian candidates as we can. We are off to a good start. Let us keep up the pressure.

====

The night before our Convention, there will be a candidate reception at the Red Lion Inn. You are encouraged to attend and meet them all. I will see you there.

LPCO Candidate Meet & Greet

Red Lion Hotel

Rooms A & B

3200 S. Parker Road

Aurora, CO 80014

303-695-1700

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Come meet the 2010 LPCO Candidate Pool,

and schmooze with fellow Libertarians.

$10 donation suggested.

Cash Bar.

All Donations Welcomed.

===

National Update

As I write, I’m in Austin, TX, attending the yearly Libertarian State Leadership Alliance conference. It is a good opportunity to meet members of other state parties and to learn what is working in their states.

The Libertarian National Committee is also meeting at the same time. Our current National Chairman, Bill Redpath, is not seeking another term. As of now, there are five announced candidates to replace him. All five spoke at the LSLA.

They are: George Phillies, Ernie Hancock, Wayne Allyn Root, John Jay Myers and Mark Hinkle.

Redpath’s successor will be selected at the National LP Convention this summer in St. Louis, Missouri. The convention will be the weekend of May 28.

In addition to selecting our candidates for the 2010 elections, we will elect our delegates to the National Convention.

If you have interest in attending the National Convention as a delegate, you are encouraged to attend the State Convention and seek a seat. Even if you can not attend the State Convention but wish to be a National delegate, you can have someone nominate you at the State Convention.

Other National News

Tony Ryan is our District Four representative on the LNC. Tony has done a great job representing us, but is not seeking another term. Tony’s alternate, Rob Latham of Utah, does not want the position but is willing to remain the alternate. Enter our own Jim Remmert, of Boulder. Jim is seeking the District Four spot on the LNC being vacated by Tony. Jim is the former Associate General Counsel for Exxon and has retired in Colorado.

Jim is also in Austin meeting many of the LNC and letting people know he is running.

Jim has my full support and I hope you all get a chance to meet him if you have not yet.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…

The Obama administration and the Democrat controlled congress extended the USA PATRIOT Act.

Category: 2010 Elections, Libertarian Party, Libertarian Party of Colorado, PPC, State Convention | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 17, 2010

Below the jump is a press release from Sensible Colorado.

From their website:

Sensible Colorado envisions a system where drug use becomes a health issue, not a crime issue, through innovative drug policy reform that focuses on prevention and harm reduction education, provides accessible treatment opportunities, and reduces incarcerations, crime, drug use by minors, and strains on the judicial system and police departments while increasing the resources available for healthcare and treatment.

Treating drug use like a health issue? Whoaaaa now… that’s just crazy talk.

For those “conservatives” that profess a belief in the Tenth Amendment and state sovereignty, do you mean it? Or do you only mean it when it is convenient?

My position is clear: Medical marijuana is a state issue, and the feds should stay the hell out of it.

All “conservatives” that support the DEA in this matter, please, never mention the Tenth Amendment again.

You don’t believe in it.

I will be at this event, waving a Tenth Amendment sign. I hope you’ll join me.

==================================

MEDIA ADVISORY — For event on Thursday, February 18

Contact: Brian Vicente, Sensible Colorado, 720-280-4067

Medical Marijuana Patients and Supporters to Rally at President Obama Event

Protesters call for end to recent “rogue” DEA raids; Release of licenced provider and recent arrestee Mark Bartkowicz

DENVER, CO — On Thursday, February 18, at an event to be attended by President Obama, medical marijuana patients and supporters will participate in a protest of the continuing federal raids of medical marijuana patients and providers in Colorado. This event is a response to the recent Drug Enforcement Administration raids of two front-range medical marijuana testing facilities and the Feb. 12 raid of a licensed medical marijuana grower in Highlands Ranch.

“These DEA raids are out of compliance with both the will of Colorado voters and that of the White House,” said Brian Vicente, event organizer and director of Sensible Colorado. “In particular, the recent, armed raid and arrest of licensed medical marijuana provider Mark Bartkowicz, highlights the rogue nature of the regional DEA office. “President Obama needs to be made aware of this agency’s miscreant actions.”

Colorado voters passed a medical marijuana law in 2000. In October, 2009, the Department of Justice issued a memo instructing federal agents to refrain from focusing resources on the arrest and prosecution of individuals following state medical marijuana laws. That memo is available here.

WHAT: Medical Marijuana Protest at Event Attended by President Obama

WHO: **PHOTO-OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE** with Sign-Waving Medical Marijuana Patient, Providers, and Supporters.

WHEN: Thursday, February 18 from 12-1pm

WHERE: Across from the Fillmore Auditorium, at the corner of Colfax and Clarkson in Denver, CO. See Directions HERE

# # #

Sensible Colorado is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a more sensible, evidence-based approach to drugs and drug policy in Colorado. For more information visit http://www.SensibleColorado.org.

–
Brian Vicente, Executive Director
Sensible Colorado
P.O. Box 18768, Denver, CO 80218
Ph# 720 890 4247
Fax# 303 861 0915
brian@sensiblecolorado.org

Please visit www.sensiblecolorado.org to sign up for Sensible Colorado’s
free email updates.

–
Brian Vicente, Executive Director
Sensible Colorado
P.O. Box 18768, Denver, CO 80218
Ph# 720 890 4247
Fax# 303 861 0915
brian@sensiblecolorado.org

Please visit www.sensiblecolorado.org to sign up for Sensible Colorado’s
free email updates.

Category: Medical marijuana, PPC, State Sovereignty, Tenth Amendment | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 15, 2010

Who determines Colorado law?

Category: Drug Enforcement Agency, Government Abuse of Power, Jeffrey Sweetin, PPC, Tenth Amendment, War on Drugs | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 13, 2010

As the Denver Post reports, “Major metro grower jailed,” federal agents have asserted their authority, primacy and superiority over its mere subjects in the district of Colorado.

I say “district,” because states have rights. Districts are mere political subdivisions of, and exist at the whim of, the larger federal government.

Last night the feds, asserting their supremacy, arrested a man who was in full compliance with Colorado state law.

With the federal government’s decision to completely ignore the Colorado Constitution and assert its statutes, any semblance of Colorado autonomy has been crushed.

=====

Lest there be any doubt, Special Agent Jeffrey Sweetin, who is in charge of the DEA’s office in Denver, was very clear:

“Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law. The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They’re violating federal law; they’re at risk of arrest and imprisonment.”

And you thought the Governor, state legislature and state Supreme Court had some say what goes on in Colorado.

Not if the feds decide they do not like it.

====

TAKE ACTION

Remember, this is not about medical marijuana. It is about Colorado sovereignty.

In a polite, reasoned manner, tell the feds you do not appreciate them stepping into a Colorado law enforcement matter. Tell them if they have enough time and money to spend usurping Colorado’s sovereignty to enforce federal policy, they have too much time and money.

Tell them to leave us alone. We can handle our own business.

CALL NOW IF YOU CAN

Here is the Denver DEA office contact information:

Media Contact – Special Agent Mike Turner

Phone: 720-895-4214

Email: Robert.M.Turner@usdoj.gov

You can also call these other Colorado field offices:

Colorado Springs, CO — (719) 866-6100

Durango, CO — (970) 385-5147

Glenwood Springs, CO — (970) 945-0744

Grand Junction, CO — (970) 683-3220

And let your U.S. Representative and Senators know you want him/her to get the federal agents out of Colorado state business:

United States Representatives

District 1 – Diana DeGette

(303) 844-4988

District 2 – Jared Polis

D.C. # (202) 225-2161

District 3 – John Salazar

D.C. # (202) 225-4761

District 4 – Betsy Markey

D.C. # (202) 225-4676

District 5 – Doug Lanborn

D.C. # (202) 225-4422

District 6 – Mike Coffman

D.C. # (202) 225-7882

District 7 – Ed Perlmutter

D.C. # (202) 225-2645

Colorado Senators

Mark Udall

Toll free # 877-7-MUDALL

(877-768-3255)

Michael Bennet

Toll free # (866) 455-9866

====

Please forward this to any other citizen concerned about Colorado’s sovereignty.

David K. Williams, Jr.

Category: Drug Enforcement Agency, Government Abuse of Power, PPC, State Sovereignty, Tenth Amendment, federalism, government force | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 13, 2010

Little Brother had an idea, but he knew his big brother did not approve.

Little Brother went ahead and tried it, but tried to keep it small so as not to bring undue attention to himself. Big Brother eventually noticed, however, but said, “sure, Little Brother, go ahead and play with your little idea, I don’t care.”

Little Brother, no longer concerned about undue attention, really expanded his idea. He still had lots of issues to work out, but he felt he could work them out eventually.

Well, Big Brother decided one day he did not like Little Brother’s idea any more. So he stepped in and stopped it. Just like that.

He does not need a reason. He is Big Brother.

======

This is exactly what has happened in Colorado and its burgeoning medical marijuana industry.

And Big Brother is not in a fairy tale or contained in an Orwell novel. He wears a windbreaker with “DEA” across the back in yellow letters.

See “Major metro grower jailed.“

Category: Government Abuse of Power, PPC, State Sovereignty, Tenth Amendment, government force | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 12, 2010

Category: PPC, Tort reform, demonization, trial lawyers | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 11, 2010

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the most successful presidents in our history. This is unfortunate.

His vision of a government that could provide bounty to all is fanciful. Far worse, it is malignant. And it lives on today as strong as ever.

One may assume FDR had good intentions. But we all know what paves the road to hell, or, in our case, the road to serfdom.

FDR’s version of utopia was laid out in his State of the Union address on January 11, 1944.

In this speech, he lays out a “Second Bill of Rights,” which include:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights, no matter how well-intentioned, have disastrous results.

Let us look at just one: “The right of every family to a decent home.”

If such a right were to exist, then every family would have the right to demand it.

If they have the right to demand it, then someone has the obligation to provide it.

If someone has the obligation to provide it, that person MUST provide it. What if they don’t? Then the government must use force to make the person provide it.

The result is not freedom. It is the opposite.

And this is perfectly acceptable to FDR and the “progressives” he has spawned.

Category: FDR, Government Abuse of Power, PPC, Second Bill of Rights, road to serfdom | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 9, 2010

It is a familiar sight at the legislature.

Category: Democrats, PPC, Republicans, fiscal restraint | Comments Off
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David K. Williams, Jr. | February 7, 2010

There is more than one problem with Mark Hillman’s Denver Post column published yesterday. (Trial Lawyer Hypocrisy Act.)

Category: HB-1168, Mark Hillman, PPC, Tort reform | Comments Off
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