by Ryan Roberts – Chair

I started this organization with the hopes of bringing real freedom, unity, and love to the UP. In recent years I have seen the mainstream media and the other two major political parties sow hatred and division among our fellow Americans. They propagandize with fear tactics and persuade us that our own neighbors are evil because they voted for Biden or for Trump. What I truly see is common people on all sides, desperate to try what they know, to use the political process to fix this country.

I joined the Libertarian Party because I read the platform and started doing research on what free markets are and how we could build a society that doesn’t require welfare coming from a central authority. I thought that taxation was a necessary evil and that it was okay to be part of a civil society, where our hard-earned money is taken and redistributed to help the rest of society.

Now I’ve realized that this isn’t necessary and that we have only been indoctrinated into it. I realize that our lives and welfare aren’t getting better. In fact, our lives are getting harder. The American dollar is not the powerhouse it once used to be. We are fighting in endless wars of aggression and have military bases planted all across the world imposing our will and dominance on other countries.

The long-standing established politicians operating within the two big parties are not interested in changing their plans for the people, and only seek power through corporate bailouts and the robbery of future generations of Americans. They lie and deceive us and give us false hope. Real change will only come to us when we realize that empowering those in Washington will not advance liberty in our country. Instead we should focus on stripping them of their imbalanced power and giving that power back to common citizens.

We are losing sight of what the American experiment was supposed to be. We now live in a society of people who live in fear, and beg our elected officials to give them their rights. Those fear-driven individuals have even advocated for stripping those same rights from others, all in the name of security. We should instead be holding our elected officials accountable for passing bad legislation and using authoritarian, executive orders to force an agenda. We are living in a society where we are afraid to let migrants into the country in fear that they will take our jobs, homes and culture from us and advocate locking them up in cages at our southern border because they are assumed to be bad actors and infiltrators. We deny them rights they wish they had in their own country and then lock them up or turned them away.

We can no longer accept the use of government as a tool of force and coercion. Our Bill of Rights have been thrown out the window. Our natural and inalienable rights do not matter to those at the top, and they do not operate within the bounds of the constitution. I came to this party to truly seek a solution, for citizens to have freedom from government coercion. If you have any interest in standing up for our civil liberties and would like to learn more about our philosophy and strategies, contact me and help me further organize this growing movement.

by Daniel Bowling – Treasurer

The UPLP attended the 2021 March for our Rights at Harlow Park in Marquette, Michigan on May 9, put on by C.U.F.F. The rally included several speakers including the Libertarian Party’s candidate for Michigan’s First Congressional District in 2020, Ben Boren. Other Speakers included Beau LaFave, State Representative for Michigan’s 108th State House district and several others.

Our Chair Ryan Roberts joined myself, Ben and his cohort of Hawaiian shirt enthusiasts to help spread the good word of liberty to the people of Marquette. We all met several liberty loving individuals and were able to distribute several copies of the First Edition of our monthly Newsletter with good reception. After several Republican speakers rallied against our Governors tyrannical rule during the pandemic. Ben introduced by Ryan shared a different kind of message.

He shared one of working with others despite differing views and ended his speech by saying “kill them with kindness.” He quoted Ben Franklin saying, “those who give a little liberty for a little security, deserve neither and will lose both.” Those who are attempting or supporting infringing on American’s 2nd Amendment rights are only looking for safety from what they are told to fear. Ben spread the message of being kind to one another and most importantly don’t be afraid of one another.

Thank you to Bob and C.U.F.F for inviting us to the rally and we hope to work more with them in the future. Overall the even was a success for the affiliate and helped to build more momentum following our Convention in April, which featured Baraga County Prosecutor Joseph O’Leary, and the launch of our Newsletter.

by Lucas Limon

Mark Gerhard is a retired US Marine Colonel from Rochester who has spent a lifetime of service to his country. He was very proud that Lucas Gerhard, his son, was attending Lake Superior State University in Sault St. Marie, pursuing a career in law enforcement. Given his father’s career of service, it would make perfect sense that his son Lucas would soon follow his father’s footsteps in some manner. It’s likely that neither Mark nor Lucas Gerhard imagined that their lives would be forever changed by just one post on a social media app. A post by Mark’s conservative son Lucas, was seen through the eyes of an insecure leftist and exploited by an overzealous Prosecutor’s Office run by Robert Stratton.

Beginning in August of 2019, Lucas Gerhard posted a photo to his Snapchat group of a legally owned Colt AR-15 Rifle, writing “Takin this bad boy up, this outta make the snowflakes melt, aye? And I mean snowflakes as in snow.” This one prophetic statement cost Lucas his liberty now going on almost two years.

Another student, someone Lucas had already blocked on his Snapchat from previous political disagreements, was shown the post by someone still in the group and decided they were now scared and threatened. This is the only discernible “victim” in the entire case. This complainant then told school officials who then told the police. Apparently, the prosecutors in Chippewa county also became scared and threatened by Lucas practicing multiple constitutionally protected rights. Lucas Gerhard is described by his father Mark as a very opinionated, conservative teen that has never been in trouble with the law. Lucas was an Eagle Scout and continued to work hard into adulthood.

Ever since that post, Lucas has been kept on 24/7 electronic monitoring after serving 83 days in the Sault. St. Marie jail. Lucas has also been detained on house arrest since being released into his father’s custody; He is not allowed to leave home, not allowed to go to work or school, and not even allowed to be on the internet, all while presumed innocent before being proven guilty in a court of law. As if out of a page from Philip Kindred Dick’s Minority Report, Lucas is being prosecuted and convicted for a pre-crime. He committed no crime, and his words went without a crime scene or a victim. He had no plan, motive or even a real threat of violence. Surely, Tyranny has landed on the shores of this pleasant peninsula.

Keep your eyes on this case and crank up the pressure! Rarely do so many important principles of Liberty and Freedom meet squarely in one unfolding event like this, involving pre-crime prosecutions. In this particular U.P. courtroom arena, it is at very least the First, the Second, Fourth and Sixth Amendments that come into play. Both the Federal and State Constitutions are on trial here for all the world to see. This is a story reminiscent of classical David versus the modern Goliath, a college student versus an overzealous prosecutor on behalf of the State. Such a Goliath, unchained by constitutional restraints, is a manipulative beast, lacking common sense and completely out of We The People’s control. God help us, because without constitutional restraints, we’re all just one social media post from being thrown in a dungeon, put on house arrest with 24/7 electronic monitoring, and facing spending 20 of the best years of our adult lives in prison.

By Joshua Jongema – Secretary

Health is set to become the new forever war, and you have been drafted. Americans have been coerced and forced into submission to a new normal. You used to have a right to informed consent, but now you’ve been rightly informed that you must consent. The Nuremberg Code states all have a right to informed consent, in a time of peace or war, so why has this widely acclaimed ethic been so casually disregarded?

No free American should accept eugenics policies of companies and governments, such as mandatory masking, mandatory testing, mandatory vaccines, and vaccine passports.

In 2019, under the Trump Administration the USA began harvesting DNA from all migrants and asylum seekers held at the border. The Biden Administration quietly continued the program, that might be controversial if the public knew anything about it. A few news reports were all the attention given to the continuity of that policy; the same attention given when the policy was enacted to begin with.

In March 2020, the Donald Trump Administration signed the Coronavirus Relief Act into law, which among other things allotted 500 million dollars for a new database of COVID-specific genomic data. The CDC has held that data in the Public Domain since then, unbeknownst to many. The act gave 50 million to genomic sequencing and testing. The next year, Biden gave 1.75 billion to that cause among others, as well as 500 million to the CDC directly.

One billion dollars will be spent this year on boosting “vaccine confidence.” In March this year, the United States launched an initiative to expand the CDC’s database program. The COVID Relief Act of 2021 claims to use genomic data to “forecast and track hotspots for COVID–19, its variants, and emerging biological threats.” Why is the media silent on this part of the new law, while articles on when to expect money are churned out in high volumes?

The Coronavirus vaccine is the first to use RNA transcription methods. The new type of vaccine gives your body instructions for copying genetic information.

The claim is that this causes your body to create a molecule which has a surface identical to the coronavirus. This, in turn, is fought by your immune system, which is said to limit symptoms should you get COVID. The vaccine is certainly experimental and it is uncertain whether it confers immunity, so why is it being rapidly forced on employees to work, students to attend school, and politicians to speak and vote in Congress unmasked?

Coronavirus testing, which has become mandatory for many people, involves a harvesting of nasal fluid which has a high white blood cell count. White blood cells are packed with your DNA. Labs then use a type of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to determine if you have COVID.

While a few of many labs have been quoted in the media, assuring people they destroy samples, under the 2021 Relief Act samples for all positive tests in the nation are being sent through federally sponsored labs called SPHERES and to multiple genomic databases including national ones like at the CDC, and international ones like the GISAID. The Broad Institute at MIT tests samples and has expanded this year to answer the calls by leaders of genomics databases, for more testing and open sharing.

A few months ago, US Senators called for increased protections of the DNA of Americans, but this seems to have fallen on deaf ears. For the first time in history this information is being put in the Public Domain with identifying information attached. The CDC has not made statements promising to destroy the samples they receive or the information they log.

Important questions remain. How long is your DNA sample and personal information kept at the federal level and at big national and international databases, and will they respect privacy now that they have tricked, coerced or forced Americans to submit their DNA?

Michiganders and all Americans should become Conscientious Objectors in this new forever war. The best approach here is to limit suffering. While eugenics claims to limit suffering by stamping out genetically inferior people, to be ethical we should simply remove barriers to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.

Call to order
A meeting of the Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party was held on Zoom on May 26th, 2021, and began at 8:10PM EST. Attendees included Ryan Roberts, Daniel Bowling, Joshua Jongema, Kristen W, and Lucas L. A quorum was had.

Approval of minutes
The minutes from the previous meeting, held on May 4th, 2021, were voted on and approved by a 51% majority vote. The current meeting minutes were approved by a 51% majority vote.

Reports
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Daniel Bowling presented a report on fiscal affairs of our society since our last meeting. As of this date, the balance between income and expenses is $273.80. We have received donations totaling $817.07 and have had expenses totaling $537.27.
Newsletter Committee Report: Secretary and Newsletter Committee Member Joshua Jongema presented a report on the affairs of the Newsletter Committee’s activities, which to date include the planning, creation, and printing of the first issue of the UPLP Newsletter, released May 1st, 2021. The newsletter was posted in pdf format for downloading on our website, UPLP.org. It has been shared to Facebook, as well as printed and shared personally at the March for Our Rights Rally in Marquette, as well as other places. To date, the newsletter has been views 35 times. To date, the website has had 260 views by 130 visitors.

Unfinished Business
No unfinished business was discussed.

Motions
Joshua Jongema proposed a motion to “fund and attend 4 fairs this Summer, at Schoolcraft, Baraga, Gogebic and Dickinson Counties. The motion was seconded by Daniel Bowling. 3 voted yay. 0 voted nay. The cost was estimated between $800-$1000.
Joshua Jongema proposed a motion to table discussion of holding events on July 4th until the next General Meeting. The motion was seconded by Kristen W. 3 voted yay. 0 voted nay.

New Business
No new business was discussed.

Announcements
No announcements were given.

Adjournment
The UPLP General Meeting adjourned at 9:35PM EST.

*These minutes are approved by the UPLP Secretary, Joshua Jongema

by Lucas Limon

After months of searching for transparency regarding COVID-related nursing home deaths in Michigan, Charlie LeDuff announced on Tucker Carlson that he was suing Whitmer’s DHHS for answers. LeDuff, a Pulitzer Prize winner from Portsmouth, Virginia stayed true to his word and has teamed up with non- partisan Mackinac Center for Public Policy lawyers to accomplish this goal. Just like Cuomo in New York, governor Whitmer’s DHHS chose to adopt the policy of sending COVID-positive patients into state-run long-term care facilities where the most vulnerable to the disease were supposedly being protected by the State of Michigan. Predictably, this grim policy reaped outbreaks of COVID-related illnesses and deaths among staff and residents at multiple facilities throughout the state.

These death counts undoubtedly helped scare the public, bolstering the number of COVID-related deaths that were used to justify Whitmer’s draconian lockdowns and the shutting down of businesses across the state. But two years into the pandemic while eying re-election, it seems the Whitmer administration is now hiding the total number of hub-related nursing home deaths in fears of facing the same political backlash that recently plagued Cuomo’s administration in New York.

Charlie LeDuff is not alone in his calls for transparency. Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido has been urging residents to speak up if they lost loved ones in Michigan nursing homes during the pandemic. Pete Lucido is calling for a panel to review COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes. Lucido has also established a reporting and review process as a 3-page form that can be filled out by family members and turned in to the local police. This then will get the case brought to a medical review board headed up by the Macomb County medical examiner. These are the steps necessary to establish probable cause for possible crimes, including misconduct and reckless endangerment due to the fact that Whitmer created these nursing home COVID-19 hubs herself through executive order.

According to a University of Michigan researcher Marianne Udow-Phillips, the state set up 21 hubs inside nursing homes to isolate and care for COVID-positive patients. Figures show that over 5000 nursing home residents died from COVID-19, approximately 1/3 of all deaths in the state. As Libertarians, this is an inexcusable violation of our principles and regardless of partisan politics, the truth should be shared with all citizens, not deflected and buried in accusations of political witch hunts. Whitmer lied and Grandma died.

(April 17, 2021) – Baraga County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph P. O’Leary spoke as the Guest Speaker at the Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party’s annual convention. He had the following to say, on Liberty in America today.

L’Anse, Michigan –The Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party (UPLP) announced today that it will be holding its annual convention at the Freemason lodge hall on River Rd. in L’Anse, on April 17th (2021), tentatively from 11Am to 5PM. Baraga Co. Prosecuting Attorney, Joseph P. O’Leary will speak after official business in the morning and a social hour with drinks and refreshments. More speakers are tentatively slated to speak, and everyone interested in liberty is encouraged to attend.

The UPLP Convention will start with official business, which includes the electing of officers for the coming year, and the election of delegates which will attend the state LP convention and cast their votes for state LP officers. 

About the UPLP

Newly registered in 2020, the UPLP is a collection of new and longstanding state LP members who intend to advance the cause of liberty and justice in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, through the application of Libertarian philosophy. The Libertarian Party is committed to a mixture of personal and civil liberty for all.

Contact

To learn more, donate or become a member, visit https://www.uplp.org
Email: admin@uplp.org

by Joshua Jongema – Secretary

Q) What is the foundation of the entire Libertarian platform?
A) “All individuals are sovereign over their own lives and are not (to be) forced to sacrifice their values for the benefit of others.”

Q) What are some of the most core beliefs atop that platform?
A) “We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.”

Q) What would the world look like if Libertarians were elected to serve in office?
A) “The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power.”

Q) Does the end justify the means?
A) “Government force must be limited to the protection of the rights of individuals to life, liberty, and property, and governments must never be permitted to violate these rights. Laws should be limited in their application to violations of the rights of others through force or fraud, or to deliberate actions that place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.”

Q) How strong should our military be?
A) “We support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression.”

Q) Should we engage in mutual defense pacts, or assist other countries militarily if they ask?
A) “The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world. ”

Q) If the nation is under threat, shouldn’t all individuals living and born within its borders unite for that cause?
A) “We oppose any form of compulsory national service.”

Q) Isn’t the best defense a good offense?
A) “The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression.”

Q) Does a war mean civil rights should be restricted?
A) “The Constitution and Bill of Rights shall not be suspended even during time of war.”

Q) If the danger is high enough for me, shouldn’t everyone else help me fight or even better, protect me while I hide?
A) “People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others.“

by Joshua Jongema

The world is experiencing a crisis of conscience, as many have lost faith in humanity, allowing authoritarian policies to enter into effect for the false promise of a better life. To echo Nietzsche, humans were born free, but are chained by the lies they believe. The beliefs of individuals result in their behaviors and choices to involve themselves in exchange with others. Control over trade and markets have caused the US economy to decline, as inflation has spiked and our wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living. The solution to this crisis would involve replacing the people who have mismanaged our funds with local, decentralized, voluntary, free market, and libertarian solutions. A better life is one best lived by the one living, and not the broken machine of a dehumanizing central authority.

Humans are born without prior knowledge, and spend their lives grasping at the truth of reality. Some objective truth may be known, but the majority of human knowledge is speculative at best. Ontology is a philosophy of truth that has two parts. The first is to describe the nature of reality, or ‘what is’. The second is to describe the relationship between things. While many people disagree on what is, even more disagree on the relationships between things. Even fewer agree on the way to achieve a shared goal. Many goals and judgements are not shared, and belong to individuals only. To respect our shared uncertainty, means to respect a free mind.

One cannot practice freedom of mind, without the freedom to travel and trade. To understand how this works requires knowledge of economics, which is difficult to define, but generally means a measure of events involving exchange. There are two major, competing schools of economics, Keynesian and Austrian.

Austrian economics is grounded in reality while Keynesian has no real foundation. Austrian economists measure ‘what is’ in the form of human action, without valuing any particular action. They measure the relationship between human action and the price of market goods. They follow from the tradition of economists like Carl Menger (1840-1921), who brought on what became called the marginal revolution in economics. Menger taught that subjective choice drove the market, and discarded the defunct Labor Theory of Value. Ludwig Von Mises (1881-1973) developed the Austrian school by describing economics as a branch of Praxeology, or the study of human action. He taught Catallactics, which is a study for tracing the price of goods back to a human decision. Catallactics is an analysis of price as ‘it is’, and not ‘as it should be’.

Keynesian economists focus on what they think ‘should be’, and force their values on the market. Keynes was an economist that proposed in his essay, A Tract on Money Reform (1923), that ‘what is’ measurable, is the record of all market activity. He proposed that by regulating and controlling the flow of money in the market, a nation could grow economically and avoid the pitfalls of the free market’s unpredictability. It is central planners like Keynes that led to an upset in China recently, where ten new skyscrapers were demolished wastefully because nobody wanted to live in them. It turns out that predicting what people will want is impossible.

Because of Keynesian economists and their meddling, inflation in the US is beginning to skyrocket. The federal administration has boldly lied in claiming their printing of money and control over production, supply and prices will magically smooth everything over in the near future. 80% of the US dollars in existence were printed in the last two years. The money supply went from $4 trillion to over $20 trillion. Yearly inflation is at 7%, the highest since mid-1982. Some places in the country are charging over $6 for a gallon of gasoline. Take-home pay is down 2.4% from last year.

Meanwhile, the federal government has the most bloated budget ever imagined. They keep printing money, and none of it seems to trickle down. Something has to return our society to normalcy or we will continue to be forced into endless wars for profit.To know truth, one must be free to explore it. Likewise, to know what you desire, you must be free to pursue it. In our time, as in the time of Mises, wars and social problems seem hinged on the competition between different schools of economics. While central planning has led to prosperity for those who use the government to funnel money into their own pockets, it has not produced a fair or more prosperous society. It won’t.

Luckily, the solution is simple. Give freedom to fail for our markets, and freedom of choice for people, and the economy will improve. This would be great for those who work hard to offer a fine product at a fair price, and would be bad only for those who can no longer rig the game in their favor.