Last week many news sources took note of tax day protests, this year designated as "tea parties". They were well attended in Utah, despite the fact that most Utahns do not drink tea, on moral grounds. The idea behind this type of tax protest comes from Libertarians, though Utah Republicans jumped in to show their frustration with the tax policies of the new government in Washington. Frankly, I did not give these events the proper amount of publicity through our party website and newsletter. Despite this fact, there was good participation among our members, and some new members as a result. Next year, we will be in the forefront of this movement, where we belong.

The Crossroads of the West Gun Show was held in Salt Lake City over the least two days, and members of our party were out working at our booth, passing out literatre, answering queastions, and signing up new members. Thanks to those who participated in this activity. This week marks our return to the Gun Show after missing the last couple of years. Hopefully, this once again raises our profile in the community.

Upcoming events include a film on the hopeless "war on drugs", a rally to "End the Fed", and a party booth at the Salt Lake Pride festival. In previous years, we have done less when there were no elections. With the leadership of our State Executive Committee, however, the party has been growing well in this non-election year. We have decided that we cannot wait until election years to do the groundwork needed to make the party grow. I am excited to be a part of this effort, and to see the results. Our party Facebook page has grown especially fast, and our e-mail list has also expanded. I have worked to make news of many libertarian activities avalable here on the website as well. And we recently completed a Facebook ad campaign directed at getting more Utah taxpayers to contribute to the party on their income tax forms. We will soon see how successful we were at that. With over 60,000 votes last year for our State Auditor candidate, we know that there are many people who are willing to consider our candidates. As more people become discouraged by the two "major parties", we expoect to see our own numbers continue to rise.

All in all, this ia a great time for us to work hard to and prepare for bigger things in the next election. If you value your freedom, and you want to help with this effort, please let us know. "You have nothing to lose but your chains."