Libertarians should be allowed to define themselves Re: “Prisoners of the Republican-Democrat duopoly,” June 27
Examiner Columnist Timothy Carney was a little unfair to the Libertarian Party.
Unlike the Democratic and Republican Party leviathans, we are a small organization with a budget of less than $2 million a year, yet we run hundreds of candidates in election years and generally get a very big bang for the buck.
However, because our megaphone is relatively small, we tend to get defined by our much larger opponents — who invariably paint us as utopians or extremists. But the Libertarian Party is much more focused on cutting government and expanding freedom across the board than on philosophical extremism.
Instead of listening to old stereotypes, I hope people will come to our website, LP.org, and check us out for themselves.
Wes Benedict
Washington
Lawsuits will help educate Montgomery citizens
Re: “Police union targets MontCo officials,” June 27
If we didn’t have The Examiner as a source of Montgomery government news, we’d be in deep trouble. Most of the news emanating from the county is indicative of governmental dysfunction that the Washington Post apparently doesn’t like to report.
Montgomery County, after all, is a bastion of liberalism, and the
Post seems to consider even liberalism running amok as preferable to restoration of efficient and effective government.
A flurry of lawsuits is likely to be launched by the unions to determine which will govern Montgomery County — elected officials or the unions. What should the response of the County Council and the county executive be? Very simple: Bring it on. That’s what courts are for.
The lawsuits would require an expenditure of time and money, but there would also be another very beneficial result. The resulting publicity will enable citizens to decide whether to support the forthcoming Ficker referendum that would eliminate collective bargaining entirely in the county.
This would transfer power back to the people’s elected representatives, who, at present, have little to say about expenditures and resource allocations.
Richard C. Kreutzberg
Bethesda
D.C. gangs make the case for concealed weapons
Re: “D.C.-area gangs younger, violent and tech-savvy,” June 26
Events at the Caribbean Carnival serve as another example of the dangers D.C. residents and innocent bystanders regularly face from roving gangs of vicious, violent perpetrators at any time.
As this article documents, gangs and teen mobs are increasingly tech-savvy, creative and ambitious. Police can’t be on scene at a second’s notice. A full three minutes and 42 seconds elapsed during the video capturing Saturday’s melee before a policeman arrives. A lot can happen in 3:42.
Each person is endowed with the human right of self-defense. Whether and how they defend themselves is for that individual to choose, but the District government impedes us by infringing upon our right to carry concealed firearms. It’s time for the mayor and council to get real.
Brian Wrenn
Washington
