During the 1987 Colorado Libertarian Party convention in Fort Collins, I was elected to the communications chair of the party by acclimation.
Immediately thereafter, I met Mark Shepard, who drafted me into the Ron Paul ballot access drive.
After travelling to Lincoln, Nebraska and West Fargo, North Dakota for disappointing responses to my petitioning efforts, I wound up in Wyoming, where I was credited with having been the largest single petition signature getter and the primary reason for Dr. Paul getting on the ballot there. I still remember the conversation I had with the late Burt Blumert when he told me that he was going to stop confirming my signature counts with Kathy Karpan, the Wyoming Secretary of State, because I had set a record for the highest signature validity rate in the country in the LP ballot access drive. I also remember sharing his C-store salad with him at Camino Coin in the mid 2000s.
I had returned to Colorado to find them begging me to take their ballot access drive in hand and get Dr. Paul on the ballot there.
One day, I found myself in the LPC office surrounded by board members who were waiting for the arrival of Dr. Ron Paul, who arrived after half of them had left because his driver and campaign manager had been given bad directions. After Dr. Paul had talked to those who remained and had left, his driver was on the phone to headquarters, leaving Dr. Paul and I alone together. Having heard that I was a taxi driver, he asked me if I'd give his driver good directions to all the places they had to visit. I offered to ride alone with them as navigator if that was OK, to which Dr. Paul responded, "That would be great." I'll never forget Pat's eyes at Legacy Investments (where I had been buying my gold and silver) when I walked in behind Dr. Paul. After we got back to the office and his driver was back on the phone, I asked Dr. Paul for a favor.
He seemed surprised that would ask him for a favor but asked what it would be. I told him I wanted to be appointed as the chairman of the FCC. When he asked me why I'd want to be the chairman of the FCC, I corrected myself by saying that I wanted him to appoint me to be the LAST chairman of the FCC, which he immediately understood after I told him I'd spent several years working as a broadcast engineer and two-way radio technician.
The next and last time I saw him in person was when he filled the Temple Center to capacity a few weeks later.
Good interview. Yeah, Americans are fed up because they can't get fed. The Fed isn't helping the fed-up get fed. Housing costs are insanely high, and the Fed cut short-term interest rates, but the 10-year Treasury interest rate went up by 1%. Home mortgages today are at 7%+ interest. Housing and rental prices will crash. This is good and bad. The counties won't be getting all that property tax money. Boo-hoo.
Yes, our hearts beat purple slush for the poor downtrodden States.
It may be 6-7% will become the 'New Normal'. Only the Affluent will be able to Buy/Sell without tapping their IRAs (very expensive!) or a forced sale of family jewels (depressing the price). OTOH, the Fed's in a box. Can't raise %, can't lower % - just keep printing to keep Congress and K Street happy. Crash Implosion, here we come! Trump may be able to put a temporary cork in it. Either way, 25 should be a year of great reckoning.
Hi Brian, You know New Orleans well. What's your take on the Mad Trucker on Bourbon Street early New Year's Day?
My younger brother was in New Orleans, staying at a hotel in the French Quarter this morning. He went to Notre Dame and was there for the ND vs. Georgia football game at the Superdome.
The hotel staff woke everyone up in the hotel at 3 AM, right after the terrorist struck.
My brother learned what was happening, packed his gear, and went to the airport. In the late afternoon, he caught a flight home to St. Louis.
Get out of town as fast as you can when caught up in one of these Big Media/Government Events. Avoid the feeding media/political frenzy.
Lotta NOLO/Bourbon Street memories. Could be another book!
My take? Good choice/great timing for chaos, mass murder and mayhem. Some bodies planned that pretty well. Last time on Bourbon, street bollards had been put in place since earlier Mardi Gras 'issues'. Someone had to re-con the geography to navigate around them and on to Canal. If the subsequent "discovery" of "other planted IEDs" report is true, I wonder why it took the vehicular slaughter to start searching for them? Considering the under-reported world political situation, Sugar Bowl crowds, NO crime stats, why didn't Bourbon have Security equal to Time Square? OTOH, NO Political Studs are never MENSA members. (See Katrina fall-out)
Good move on your bro's part. OTOH, those Events are a magnet to media types (ahem). With such LEO presence and MSM cameras, the Bad Shit has already happened and (surviving) perps generally don't wanna lead the Evening News. As a "Crime Scene, all the Bourbon and Royal Street bars and restaurants were probably closed but I wonder if the Riverboat Casinos at the end of Canal, a few blocks away, were open for business...?
In Atlanta, 1990, I jumped on the Libertarian train and started doing the Johnny Appleseed thing on the show. The GA Party asked me to MC the Convention that year. Featured Speakers: Walter Williams and Gene Burns; Bobbie Gentry showed up in this Daffodil Yellow outfit! Walter and I went on to became best friends (Story #37 in your copy of my "50 Stories" book). Gene and I worked together at KGO/FKSO. You may have heard him there. Most of the political guests I booked for my shows were from Libertarian ranks. Back then, Libertarians were just starting to get noticed on Talk radio. Our discussions consistently lit up the phones with Republicans, Democrats, Statists - always supportive "EXCEPT for that part about......". What a hoot.
Hi Brian, Great stories. Bobbie Gentry lived on Skidawy Island outside of Savannah, GA, in the delta. My folks lived on Skidaway for 20 years after they retired. I visited often. Bobbie had a nice brick two-story house in the area of development designed to look colonial. Bobbie kept to herself. My folks never met her.
Yeah, with people they always say, "I agree with your Libertarian positions, but..."
Good to hear you in the interview guest chair. Blessed New Year to ya!
Thanks, Dom. Never really comfortable in that seat. Hope you have a banner year in this target rich environment.
During the 1987 Colorado Libertarian Party convention in Fort Collins, I was elected to the communications chair of the party by acclimation.
Immediately thereafter, I met Mark Shepard, who drafted me into the Ron Paul ballot access drive.
After travelling to Lincoln, Nebraska and West Fargo, North Dakota for disappointing responses to my petitioning efforts, I wound up in Wyoming, where I was credited with having been the largest single petition signature getter and the primary reason for Dr. Paul getting on the ballot there. I still remember the conversation I had with the late Burt Blumert when he told me that he was going to stop confirming my signature counts with Kathy Karpan, the Wyoming Secretary of State, because I had set a record for the highest signature validity rate in the country in the LP ballot access drive. I also remember sharing his C-store salad with him at Camino Coin in the mid 2000s.
I had returned to Colorado to find them begging me to take their ballot access drive in hand and get Dr. Paul on the ballot there.
One day, I found myself in the LPC office surrounded by board members who were waiting for the arrival of Dr. Ron Paul, who arrived after half of them had left because his driver and campaign manager had been given bad directions. After Dr. Paul had talked to those who remained and had left, his driver was on the phone to headquarters, leaving Dr. Paul and I alone together. Having heard that I was a taxi driver, he asked me if I'd give his driver good directions to all the places they had to visit. I offered to ride alone with them as navigator if that was OK, to which Dr. Paul responded, "That would be great." I'll never forget Pat's eyes at Legacy Investments (where I had been buying my gold and silver) when I walked in behind Dr. Paul. After we got back to the office and his driver was back on the phone, I asked Dr. Paul for a favor.
He seemed surprised that would ask him for a favor but asked what it would be. I told him I wanted to be appointed as the chairman of the FCC. When he asked me why I'd want to be the chairman of the FCC, I corrected myself by saying that I wanted him to appoint me to be the LAST chairman of the FCC, which he immediately understood after I told him I'd spent several years working as a broadcast engineer and two-way radio technician.
The next and last time I saw him in person was when he filled the Temple Center to capacity a few weeks later.
Good interview. Yeah, Americans are fed up because they can't get fed. The Fed isn't helping the fed-up get fed. Housing costs are insanely high, and the Fed cut short-term interest rates, but the 10-year Treasury interest rate went up by 1%. Home mortgages today are at 7%+ interest. Housing and rental prices will crash. This is good and bad. The counties won't be getting all that property tax money. Boo-hoo.
Yes, our hearts beat purple slush for the poor downtrodden States.
It may be 6-7% will become the 'New Normal'. Only the Affluent will be able to Buy/Sell without tapping their IRAs (very expensive!) or a forced sale of family jewels (depressing the price). OTOH, the Fed's in a box. Can't raise %, can't lower % - just keep printing to keep Congress and K Street happy. Crash Implosion, here we come! Trump may be able to put a temporary cork in it. Either way, 25 should be a year of great reckoning.
Hi Brian, You know New Orleans well. What's your take on the Mad Trucker on Bourbon Street early New Year's Day?
My younger brother was in New Orleans, staying at a hotel in the French Quarter this morning. He went to Notre Dame and was there for the ND vs. Georgia football game at the Superdome.
The hotel staff woke everyone up in the hotel at 3 AM, right after the terrorist struck.
My brother learned what was happening, packed his gear, and went to the airport. In the late afternoon, he caught a flight home to St. Louis.
Get out of town as fast as you can when caught up in one of these Big Media/Government Events. Avoid the feeding media/political frenzy.
Lotta NOLO/Bourbon Street memories. Could be another book!
My take? Good choice/great timing for chaos, mass murder and mayhem. Some bodies planned that pretty well. Last time on Bourbon, street bollards had been put in place since earlier Mardi Gras 'issues'. Someone had to re-con the geography to navigate around them and on to Canal. If the subsequent "discovery" of "other planted IEDs" report is true, I wonder why it took the vehicular slaughter to start searching for them? Considering the under-reported world political situation, Sugar Bowl crowds, NO crime stats, why didn't Bourbon have Security equal to Time Square? OTOH, NO Political Studs are never MENSA members. (See Katrina fall-out)
Good move on your bro's part. OTOH, those Events are a magnet to media types (ahem). With such LEO presence and MSM cameras, the Bad Shit has already happened and (surviving) perps generally don't wanna lead the Evening News. As a "Crime Scene, all the Bourbon and Royal Street bars and restaurants were probably closed but I wonder if the Riverboat Casinos at the end of Canal, a few blocks away, were open for business...?
My Dad and I met Stephen Moore at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas years ago. Moore is a good guy. Brian, you met an all-star team of Libertarians. Great!
PS: My wife and I are also recovering from the Holiday Galluping Crud. The stress of the holidays is hell on the immune system.
In Atlanta, 1990, I jumped on the Libertarian train and started doing the Johnny Appleseed thing on the show. The GA Party asked me to MC the Convention that year. Featured Speakers: Walter Williams and Gene Burns; Bobbie Gentry showed up in this Daffodil Yellow outfit! Walter and I went on to became best friends (Story #37 in your copy of my "50 Stories" book). Gene and I worked together at KGO/FKSO. You may have heard him there. Most of the political guests I booked for my shows were from Libertarian ranks. Back then, Libertarians were just starting to get noticed on Talk radio. Our discussions consistently lit up the phones with Republicans, Democrats, Statists - always supportive "EXCEPT for that part about......". What a hoot.
Hi Brian, Great stories. Bobbie Gentry lived on Skidawy Island outside of Savannah, GA, in the delta. My folks lived on Skidaway for 20 years after they retired. I visited often. Bobbie had a nice brick two-story house in the area of development designed to look colonial. Bobbie kept to herself. My folks never met her.
Yeah, with people they always say, "I agree with your Libertarian positions, but..."