Hi -- My name is Andrew McCullough, and I am the new State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah. I am also running for Utah Attorney General. Click the link on this page for candidates, and see my website and blog.

I am an attorney specializing in First Amendment (free speech) and Fourth Amendment (searches and seizures) matters. I bring a slightly different outlook to Libertarianism than some. I believe it is more important to fight what the government does TO us (intefering with our personal freedoms),than what it tries to do FOR us (public transportation, schools, etc). No, I don't like taxes, and I see much that the government does that is wasteful, counterproductive, and just dumb. But what really scares me is that the government appears to by systematically eroding the consitutional rights that we have fought for since 1776, in the name of public safety. As Ben Franklin said: "Those who would give up essential liberty in order to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". That is my philosophy of libertarianism in a nutshell.

As my tenure as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Utah draws to a close, I pass along the following observations:

• While institutionalized aggression continues to metastasize in this heart of red-state darkness, more and more Americans are embracing the libertarian program of peace and prosperity.
• A former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Representative are among those who will likely seek the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination over the Memorial Day weekend in Denver, Colorado. The 2008 Libertarian National Convention will probably be the most widely-viewed event in the party of free agency's history to date.
• With more than four out of five Americans of the opinion that the country is on the "wrong track" -- and they are correct -- never before have so many people been ready to consider the electoral options outside of the irretrievably corrupt, two-party duopoly.

Dear Fellow Utahn,

The Libertarian Party of Utah is once again authorized to nominate candidates for partisan elected office. And voters may also now register to vote as Libertarians.

Several races across Utah, including many at the county level, will be uncontested. That is, unless you file to give voters a choice between

• tyranny and liberty
• fantasy and reality

Ron Paul is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party. Ron Paul was the Libertarian candidate for President in 1988. Why? Because Ron Paul and the Libertarian Party share the same values:

* Individual Liberty
* Personal Responsibility
* Limited Government

Although the Republican Party occasionally talks about these values, they certainly don't walk the walk. Nowadays, Republicans are the Party of runaway spending and unending war — that's not Ron Paul at all.

Ron Paul is not the choice of Republican voters either: 97% of Utah Republicans rejected Ron Paul in the February 5, 2008 presidential primary.

Ron Paul is the choice of Libertarians: nearly three-fourths of Libertarians support Ron Paul.

Ron Paul's message is distinctly Libertarian, as shown in the following video recounting his appearance last year on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":

As Ron said, "The message is powerful. You know, I have my shortcomings. But the message has no shortcomings. The message of liberty is what America is all about."

The message of liberty is what both Ron Paul and the Libertarian Party are all about.

We invite you to join the Party that believes what Ron Paul believes. Join the Party that welcomes you and your belief in the values of liberty.

Join the Libertarian Party. Start by joining the LPUtah. We need every Ron Paul fan to join us and nurture the seeds of liberty that Ron Paul plants every day.

You want to be involved, but you don't know what to do? Here are some ideas inspired by Mark Selzer.

As a volunteer champion of liberty, you can get burned out and bored easily when asked to do a task that does not challenge you or fit your interests. This list is to find things for you to do as a volunteer, and let you know about some of the things that need to be done. This list can also be shown to other volunteers so they can find things that they would like to do, or a new thing to do when they no longer want to do what they are doing.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Libertarian Party of Utah is pleased to announce that the Lieutenant Governor's Office has determined that the organizing committee's petition contained the required number of voters, and that the LPUtah is once again a registered political party in the State of Utah.

According to the Lieutenant Governor's Office, county clerks in the State of Utah have been notified that voters may now change their party affiliation to or register as a Libertarian.

SALT LAKE CITY – The Libertarian Party of Utah is asking for help from Utahns who desire liberty-friendly choices on their 2008 general election ballot.

Many Utahns may not know that the LPUtah lost is ballot status in the 2006 general election because no Libertarian candidate received more than two percent of the vote cast in all three congressional races – about 11,400 votes.

The LPUtah needs 2,000 petition signatures by registered voters to re-qualify as a registered political party.

Last month the LPUtah submitted 2,170 petition signatures to the State Elections Office, which deemed nearly one-third of the signatures invalid. The deadline to submit petition signatures to the State Elections Office is February 15, 2008.

Unruly boys
Who will not grow up
Must be taken in hand
Unruly girls
Who will not settle down
They must be taken in hand

A crack on the head
Is what you get for not asking
And a crack on the head
Is what you get for asking

--The Smiths, "Barbarism Begins at Home"

When we talk about the state, we are really talking about authority, which is nothing more or less than the power that one person has over another. When children are young, each family operates as a kind of "mini state."

--Stefan Molyneux, "Man, Family and State"

The winter holidays provide opportunities not only for celebration, but to bond and renew commitments with family members.

Sadly, ‘tis also the season when existing conflicts between parents and children can become more pronounced, often preceding acts of domestic violence.

More and more libertarians are exploring the ideological implications of traditional parenting practices on existing institutions.

For example, what is the source of man’s authoritarian and inhumane treatment of his fellow man?

SALT LAKE CITY – By a vote of its membership, the Libertarian Organizing Committee is encouraging Libertarians and liberty-minded Utahns to vote for Citizen’s State Referendum Number 1.

"On balance, voter approval of education scholarships through Referendum 1 will improve educational outcomes for children compelled to participate in taxpayer-funded, constitutionally-mandated government education systems in Utah," says Rob Latham, chairman of the Libertarian Organizing Committee.

"Unless the government changes course, sooner or later we may take notice of the loss of our freedom, realize that we may have been pushed too far – and, finally, it may dawn upon us, individually or collectively, that today may be, if necessary, a good day to die for our rights and our liberty."
--Miguel A. Faria Jr., M.D., "The Ballad of Carl Drega - a Review"

Troubling questions were raised by columnist Vin Suprynowicz in his essay about former New Hampshire resident Carl Drega's 1995 slaying of two law enforcement officers, a judge, and a newspaper editor.

Whether Drega was an "extremist" or had been provoked into defending himself against escalating bureaucratic harassment may depend on one's perspective.

"When is it the right time to say, 'Enough, no more. On this spot I stand, and fight, and die'?" writes Suprynowicz. "When they're stacking our luggage and loading us on the box cars? A fat lot of good it will do us, then."

Many Utahns are familiar with the story of John Singer, who resisted the State of Utah's attempts to force his children to attend its indoctrination camps, which ended in similar tragedy.

How should one who adheres to the non-aggression principle act when confronted by an abusive authority figure? And when is the appropriate time to engage in self-defense?