A Libertarian Christmas Classic

(Editor's Note: George Getz wrote "Will the Feds Bust Santa Claus?" in 1999, when he was Libertarian Party Communications Director. This and other libertarian Christmas classics were included in the Dec. 23 Liberator Online, the newsletter of The Advocates for Self Government.)

When Santa Claus comes to town, he'd better watch out — because the federal government may be making a list of his crimes (and checking it twice).

"Hark the federal agents sing, Santa is guilty of nearly everything," said former Libertarian Party press secretary George Getz. "The feds know when Santa's been bad or good — and he's been bad, for goodness sakes."

Does Santa belong in the slammer? Instead of stuffing stockings, should he be making license plates?

Yes, said Getz, if he's held to the same standards as a typical American.

From the The Liberator Online, newsletter of the Advocates for Self Government 

There are two significant Bill of Rights milestones to celebrate this week. Today (Dec. 5) is the 81st anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment, prohibition. Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the day in 1791 when the Bill of Rights went into effect. 

Just three years before repeal in 1933, the “Father of National Prohibition” and author of the 18th Amendment, Texas U.S. Sen. Morris Sheppard, had said, “There is as much chance of repealing the 18th Amendment as there is for a hummingbird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.” 

"I love that quote," said Sharon Harris, Advocates for Self Government president. "Those of us fighting to end the War on Drugs can take heart from it." 
 
When Sen. Morris made his declaration, Prohibition had been a part of U.S. law for nearly a decade. It must have seemed to many to be a permanent fixture of American life.

In a Cato Institute study "Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure" economist Mark Thornton sums up the bitter fruit of this disastrous policy:

"Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became 'organized;' the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism. Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition."

This is an exciting time for the Libertarian Party of North Carolina. Our dedication to realizing a free, peaceful and prosperous North Carolina is striking a chord with people from the mountains to the coast.

Where do we focus our limited resources? How do we engage and motivate voters? What can we expect to accomplish, and by when? Those were the questions put to a select committee created a few months ago. And their report was eye-opening.

Go here to watch a video about the report.

Like the story about Washington cutting down the cherry tree and throwing a dollar across the Potomac River, the story of Thanksgiving we tell our children is just that, a story. The real story of Thanksgiving is far more interesting and meaningful. 

The famous oil canvas above, The First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899) illustrates some of these common misconceptions. Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains.

The real story, however, is far more basic and fundamental than dress and food. It is about the foundational principles of our nation. Here are just two articles about the real story of Thanksgiving.