UNR Students for Liberty

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2008

NEVADA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY ENDORSES
JUNE 28TH RECONVENING OF GOP DELEGATES

Widespread support among a growing, diverse coalition of
Republican state delegates bolsters planned assembly.

RENO, Nev. – Members of the Nevada Republican Assembly (NVRA) — “The Republican Wing of the Republican Party” — have voted to support the reconvening of Nevada State Republican Delegates at the Grand Sierra Resort on Saturday, June 28, 2008. The organization of politically-active conservatives will participate in the lawful reconvening of elected delegates, including taking leadership roles in the event’s planning and execution, as necessary.

The NRS, Nevada GOP and RNC Bylaws, and the Rules adopted by the convention delegates restrict the options for where and when the party’s business must be conducted. After more than a month in what Convention Chairman Bob Beers called a “recess,” the elected delegates chose a date, time and place to reconvene to complete the business their neighbors elected them to conduct.

“The general consensus seems to be the Nevada State Republican Delegates have been far more than patient in waiting to hear the Central Committee’s plans to gather for the completion of the party’s business,” said Bill Anthony, local business owner and NVRA member. “The reconvening on June 28th was announced, and is a completely acceptable date and place to what will undoubtedly be a majority of state delegates.”

One key item of business left unfinished by the state delegates when the convention on April 26, 2008, was unceremoniously stopped, is the election of delegates to represent Nevada Republicans at the National Convention September 1-4, 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“It’s completely unacceptable to imagine that in this important presidential election year, Nevada republicans may not be represented by delegates they themselves elected,” said Juanita Cox, NVRA member and chair of the Storey County Republican Party. “There is a process clearly outlined in our state party Bylaws for election of delegates – from precincts, counties and the state – who can speak for the republican voters of Nevada at the national convention. This reconvening of delegates will follow those bylaws, and the rules adopted by the delegates during the convention in April, to elect national delegates who represent Nevada republicans.”

With reconvening less than two weeks away, NVRA is encouraging all elected Nevada Republican Delegates to make plans to attend the June 28th meeting. Party business will be conducted and completed, and the NVRA expects the national delegation elected during this reconvening to be seated at the Republican National Convention.

“Any time we have a good chance for a democratic process, without impediment, that respects the rule of law, Nevada delegates should participate fully,” said Dr. Michael Kressler, President of the NVRA.

Touting membership across the state, the NVRA has mobilized throughout Nevada to mentor political activists and recruit like-minded conservatives to run for local, state and national political offices. Monthly meetings are centered in Washoe County.

For more information, go to www.nevadaGOPconvention.com. Contact the NVRA at 866-704-8320, www.nvra.com, email nvra@callmykate.com.

About the Nevada Republican Assembly
The Nevada Republican Assembly (NVRA) is a grass-roots political organization working with the Republican Party to get principled Republican conservatives elected to public offices at all levels. www.nvra.com, http://republican.meetup.com/598

The NVRA is affiliated with the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) (http://www.gopwing.com/). Founded in 1997, the NFRA actively brings conservative, pro-Constitution, pro-life, pro-family values to the national forefront. Working as a national coalition, NFRA chapters in more than 40 states have issued endorsements that have attracted attention from national political leaders, including many Republican presidential candidates.

# # #

Listening to all the fluff, fear mongering debates, proposals, and straight out bullshit in regards to UNR’s budget crisis has caused me to join the discussion. After much Googling, I have pierced through countless pages of lies and misinformation to arrive at the numbers.

Let us begin our journey as we explore UNR’s past budgets, specifically the Revenues by Appropriations and Source of Funds beginning in each fiscal period from the year 2000.

Please Note: The difference between the total amount and the State Funds account consists of tuition, student dues, donations, etc. The only thing I will be noting is the State Funds account, which is where the source of the debate lies, and where the majority of the money comes from :

For 2000-2001, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $114,016,759

Let’s continue to 2001-2002:

For 2001-2002, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $126,622,136, for a difference of nearly $12,605,377 from the previous year. That is a 10% raise! Not bad!

Let’s continue to 2002-2003:

Summary of FY 2002-2003 Revenues by Appropriation & Source of Funds

For 2002-2003, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $133,395,138, for a difference of nearly $6,733,002 from the previous year. That is a 5% raise! Not bad!

Let’s continue to 2003-2004:

For 2003-2004, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $160,107,319, for a difference of nearly $26,712,181 from the previous year. That is a 17% raise! AWESOME!

Let’s continue to 2004-2005:

Summary of 2004-2005 Revenues by State Appropriation & Source of Funds

For 2004-2005, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $169,353,059, for a difference of nearly $9,245,740 from the previous year. That is a 5.5% raise! Not bad!

Let’s continue to 2005-2006:

For 2005-2006, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $184,120,286, for a difference of nearly $14,767,227 from the previous year. That is an 8% raise! Not bad!

Let’s continue to 2006-2007:

For 2006-2007, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $197,895,116, for a difference of nearly $13,774,830 from the previous year. That is a 7% raise! Not bad!

Let’s continue to 2007-2008:

For 2007-2008, the great state of Nevada gave a whopping: $207,175,572, for a difference of nearly $9,280,456 from the previous year. That is a 4.5% raise! Not bad!

Now, before I continue, I thought making a graph of the progression is in call… besides, I love making graphs, who doesn’t?

(Click Image to Enlarge)

Wow! Thanks Nevada! From the year 2001-2008, you have given UNR a pay increase of $95,158,813! That is a 55% pay raise! (% calculated as a lump sum) I suspect neither you, or I, or any type of private entity has gotten a pay raise like that so easily. Too bad we’re short-minded and selfish individuals that don’t consider the past ten years and instead dwell only upon ourselves and our current situation…

This now leads to the topic at hand: The Fiscal Year of 2008-2009. Unfortunately, after pulling together this data, I have been left with more questions than answers. The many speakers and news articles I hear and read speak of a hysteria that is capable of dropping entire parts of the college, firing teachers, expanding class sizes, lowering possible credit hours per student, and demolishing the new student union, knowledge center, the soon-to-be new gym, and the sky as we know it if we don’t take action. Good thing they installed those $300,000+ wireless blue panic beacons! (emphasis added for wild speculation) It has been established that on average, the school experiences an 8% increase in funding each year. Not all that bad considering how horribly school administrators and students speak of our great state. Considering this information, it draws me to these questions:

• If the 14% budget cut speculation is true, does this 14% already take into account our annual raise? To clarify: Let’s say our school administrators predicted an 8% budget raise as they would usually receive, and they already spent that money on those invaluable administrative assistants that they can’t fire due to teachers/workers unions and government bureaucracy in general, does that mean the 14% will be subtracted from the 8% raise already?
• From 2005 to 2008, the school has experienced a pay raise of 18.3%. Let’s just say, for the sake of an argumentative example, our school bureaucrats were fiscally responsible and did not already spend what they were counting on. With a 14% budget cut off of our last fiscal cycle, does that mean we would have to return to a budget we had 2 YEAR AGO?? Say it ain’t so!

I hope to have established that instead of simply jumping on the budget bandwagon, or any other type of misinformed public hysteria for that matter (Y2K, crop circles, etc…), you take the time to become informed, and then find an inference. Quit claiming to have Nevada pride, but then to turn around and slander it based upon your ignorance. It’s disgusting. Instead of jumping to step #8 like what so many of us tend to do, lets calmly sit down, determine the problem at hand, and proceed calmly and thoroughly with step #2….

I just received this in my email inbox, and I figured that I would pass it along.

Please end this to everyone you know who was a delegate to the Nevada Republican Convention

A personal message from Mike Weber to all Republican State Convention Delegates:

Should you attend the convention of delegates on June 28?

I have been involved in the Republican Party in Nevada for over 20 years. During this period, I have been a county chairman, have served on the State Central Committee, have been a national delegate 4 times and have served Nevada on the Rules Committee at the last two national conventions. During this time, I never witnessed such blatant disregard for Party traditions, rules and processes as I saw in the Republican State Convention in April. Because of this, I have invested thousands of dollars out of my pocket to work with Dr. Terhune to convene the Republican state delegates on June 28. I am dedicated to challenge the process all the way to Minneapolis. If this convention process and my appeal fail, you are likely to never have an open process of electing national delegates from Nevada again.

Now you know what this is about.

I have received several messages from people stating that since Ron Paul is dropping out of the presidential race that having a convention on June 28 is a waste of time. Here’s a hint, folks – I HAVE NEVER BEEN A RON PAUL SUPPORTER. This is not about Ron Paul. He and his supporters are being used as the scapegoat of a larger agenda. This is not about presidential candidates. This is not about national delegates. This is about right and wrong. We are convening on June 28 to take a stand for right – and you have that choice to make.

If you think it was okay for Party leaders to illegally shut down the April convention, stay at home. If you think it is right that Republican Party leaders purposefully crafted a set of rules to shut a group of Republicans out of the process, don’t bother coming. Since 2/3 of the state delegates voted for an open national delegate nomination process but you think it is okay for Party leaders to ignore this vote and appoint your national delegates behind closed doors, go ahead and sleep in on June 28. I have no confidence that Party leaders are capable of running a fair and open convention in July. In fact, I’m not even sure they intend to reconvene the convention at all. But if you think this is okay, perhaps you ought to attend the Clark County Party All American Barbecue conveniently scheduled for June 28 (and I suppose that you think this is just a coincidence as well.)

In the past 20 years or so, I have picked up a bit of knowledge of the rules and procedures of the Republican Party. I have tried to teach a few of you about the process along the way. Now I will be faced against our state’s best legal minds in front of the Committee on Contests at the national convention – a daunting task. This is very serious business.

A little over 230 years ago, Paul Revere rode though town warning that the British were coming. Most people turned over in their beds and went back to sleep. But a small, rag-tag group of patriots stood against injustice on that day. They were called rebels. They were called troublemakers. They were told they had no chance of winning. But they stood against the most powerful force on earth and gave us a country where ordinary citizens decide who represents them. Now we face a powerful force to decide if ordinary citizens will select our Party’s national nominee.

So choose this day who you will serve. Are you going to conform silently and march like lemmings into the sea? As for me, I am going to stand against the injustice being handed to me by Party leaders and do what is right. I’m asking you to stand with me on June 28 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno at 9:00.

If you want to join in, please let us know.

Mike Weber

Ron Paul has officially ended his campaign for the Presidency of the United States today. Here is the farewell address he gave on June 12, 2008:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7312714499723068171&hl=en
(The audio was just as atrocious on the original video)

However, It has only begun. Here is an email I received from his campaign which describes his new project, http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Over the past 17 months you and I delivered a message of freedom, the likes of which American politics has not seen in decades. With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign has come to an end. But the Revolution has only begun.

Today I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty. Please visit our new website and join us: http://www.campaignforliberty.com

Over the next few months I will be developing a program, assembling a team, and announcing new and exciting projects. We will have a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you.

Right now, I need your patience and support. I want the Campaign for Liberty to be a grassroots campaign; so your energy, your creativity, your feedback, and your participation are essential.

Together, we will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We will write commentaries and broadcast videos on the news of the day. And I’ll work with friends whom I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we will expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We will make our presence felt at every level of government. We will keep an eye on Congress, and lobby against legislation that threatens us. And we will identify and support candidates who champion our great ideas.

“In the final analysis,” I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, “the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them.”

Our time has come to act on these words.

May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country.

For liberty,

P.S. Please join me. Go to our website, www.campaignforliberty.com, and become a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?

I just read on Lew Rockwell that Ron Paul is going to bow out of the race tonight. I have to admit, it made me a little sad to hear the news, but I know that the movement does not stop here. He has established his Campaign for Liberty, and I have confidence that we are still growing in numbers.

Regardless of Dr. Paul’s exit from the race, I think it’s important that we still attend the June 28th Convention. The organizers have made a commitment to finish the business from the April 26th meeting. This was a promise made to all Nevada Republican Delegates, not just those who supported Ron Paul.

It’s easy to become discouraged with what just happened, but remember that the message lives past Ron Paul’s candidacy.

Ron Paul really talks about “change”.

The Nevada Republican Convention has been scheduled for July 26th, according to Chairman Sue Lowden’s Blog. The proprieters of the June 28th date have not withdrawn their offer.

Here are the two dates:

June 28th, 2008
Grand Sierra Resort
Reno, NV

July 26th, 2008
Peppermill Hotel and Casino
Reno, NV

And here’s another little snippit about the whole thing.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mike Weber Endorses June 28th
Republican State Convention

“Given the dismal performance of the Nevada
Republican Party at the April Convention, I have no confidence that they have
the ability to convene a fair and legitimate process,” Weber stated.

Reno,
NV, June 9, 2008: Long-time Republican leader Mike Weber has endorsed the
assembly of Nevada Republican State Convention Delegates on June 28, 2008 at the
Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

Responding to the Nevada Republican Party call back to Convention in late July, long-time Republican leader Mike Weber of Reno is throwing his support behind the Republican gathering being organized by Dr. Wayne Terhune.

“I have been involved in the Nevada Republican Party for over twenty years. Given the dismal performance of the Nevada Republican Party at the April convention, I have no confidence that they have the ability to convene a fair or legitimate process,” Weber stated. “The call to the Convention issued by the State Party Executive Committee is unprecedented, is not legitimate, and is not supported by Party rules or processes.”

Weber, a former Washoe County Party Chairman and four-time Delegate to the Republican National Convention, has served as Nevada’s representative on the national Committee on Rules at the last two national conventions. Dubbed “Mr. Rules” at the April convention, Weber has a demonstrated knowledge of party processes and a well-known reputation of fighting for open and fair Party
procedures.

“I am excited that the Republican Party has attracted so many new people into the process from many camps. To welcome these Republicans into the process, I offered free Parliamentary Procedure classes open to all Republicans. Many new people and several Party regulars attended.” Over the past several months, hundreds attended Weber’s classes in Robert’s Rules, and these classes seem to have paid dividends. During the recent state convention many delegates credited Weber with providing them a familiarity in the process permitting them to express their viewpoints in the large convention crowd.

Now Weber has sided with Terhune to reassemble the Republican State Delegates to complete the business of the Republican Convention. They believe that they can provide a fair and open process that will be recognized by the national Party.

“Nearly two-thirds of the attendees at the April Convention demanded an open process of nominating and electing National Delegates. If these reasonable Republicans gather together at the Grand Sierra on June 28, we will complete the Convention in the best traditions of the Republican Party,” Weber stated. “I am prepared to defend this gathering all the way to Minneapolis in September. With all of the video available from the previous State Convention, Party leaders would be well-advised to drop their futile efforts to reconvene in July and join us later this month, lest they invite further national embarrassment to themselves and the Nevada Republican Party.”

####

Update:

• 6/11/08 1:38pm – A website has been established for the June Convention. http://www.nevadagopconvention.com/

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently started using body scans on randomly chosen passengers in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque and at New York’s Kennedy airport. As mentioned in my previous post regarding the Top 10 Events that Threatens Liberty in 2008 that I wrote at the beginning of this year, the TSA is moving forward with the backscatter technology that can virtually undress passengers, “… by blurring passengers’ faces and deleting images right after viewing. Yet the images are detailed, clearly showing a person’s gender. “You can actually see the sweat on someone’s back,” Schear said.”

The woman stepping into the 9-foot glass glass contraption is, “Eileen Reardon of Baltimore looked startled when an electronic glass door slid around the outside of the machine to create the image of her body. “Some of this stuff seems a little crazy,” Reardon said, “but in this day and age, you have to go along with it.”“

The citizen who says “this day and age you have to go along with it” is exactly what’s wrong with this post 9/11 country. The TSA is nothing more than a facade to pacify stupid people and make them feel safe. They do little if anything to actually make airline flights safer. Most of the absurd rules they have such as taking your shoes off, taking your belt off, throwing away your water bottles and toothpaste serve no real purpose other than to inconvenience passengers and possibly give the TSA employees a laugh at the passengers’ expense. (Next time you are in an airport checkpoint removing your clothing, gaze upon the faces of your fellow citizens, and you will find a deep dreary pain on everyone. I find it incredibly depressing looking at everyone else around me, and I encourage you to take notice.) What’s just as enraging at this development is the peoples’ reaction to it. These devices are unhelpful and an unnecessary invasion of privacy. Why aren’t people angry? Why aren’t they fed up with this inconvenient, ineffective, and invasive security facade? The answer is that the average person is complacent, apathetic, and stupid. They can’t think further in front of them than their own nose, and given the choice, they’d continually give up liberty for expediency to the point of living in a totalitarian state. The problem when people treat our republic as a democracy and ignore the ideals of the Constitution for expediency is the subjugation of the minority (those who understand and value liberty) by the will of the majority (the stupid and complacent masses who unquestioningly march toward a totalitarian state because they are told that it is in their best interest).
/rant

————–
“The privacy and dignity of our citizens [are] being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen – a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of a [person's] life.” – William O. Douglas (1898-1980), U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Osborne v. United States

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” – Winston Churchill
————–

Article -> http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080606/a_bodyscan06.art.htm

Hey guys,

Recently the Nevada GOP Chairman Sue Lowden posted a blog about the “upcoming” reconvening of the State Convention. Check out this blog here. If you’re so inclined you can also enjoy the comment storm that ensued after. I’m not sure if this comment appears on the page (it could have been deleted quite a few times), but I thought it was exceptional.

4/27/08:

“This delay (of probably more than a week) will give the nomination committee time to produce a comprehensive list of national delegate candidates”

- Bob Beers on the Bob Beers Blog

5/02/08:

“Rest assured that once we determine the process by which we can complete our business, all delegates will be notified directly. We would like to thank everyone for their patience during this time.”

- Sue Lowden on the Lowden Line

5/07/08:

No decisions on how to proceed have been made yet, contrary to accusations some have made. If anyone has any suggestions on how best to resolve this matter equitably and quickly, I’m all for it. Post your suggestions here or email them privately to me at: chairman@nevadagop.org

- Sue Lowden on the Lowden Line

5/14/08:

“The party continues to make preparations to re-start the convention in order to finish up the business of electing delegates to the national convention. No final decisions have been made. However, on the table are two proposals: One, reconvene again in Reno in a few weeks. Two, finish up the elections via a secure, mail-in ballot.”

“It is for this reason that other options are still being considered. But as I stated, no final decisions have been made.”

- Sue Lowden on the Lowden Line

5/21/08:

” The State Party has been in touch with several facilities and are currently weighing all our options. In the very near future the State Party will be sending out an email to all delegates with the location and date announced.”

-email from Zac Moyle

5/24/08:

“News 4 made several calls to Nevada’s republican party headquarters today; all of those calls went unanswered. However representatives from Washoe county republican office say that they have been told that scheduling of the next state convention will occur in the next seven weeks.”

-KRNV News channel 4 report

( http://youtube.com/watch?v=HMkAI5CQvwE )

5/28/08:

“I understand we had some differences at the state convention,” McCain said. “I know we can work it out. I would not let the state of Nevada not be represented at our national convention. We will get it worked out. I’m sure we will.”

- John McCain Town Hall, Reno.

6/02/08

“We apologize that a new date and location have not yet been finalized. However, we want to assure you that we are actively working to find both a date and location in order for the convention to reconvene.”

- email from info@nevadagop.org

6/02/08:

“News 4 has made numerous attempts since Friday to connect with state GOP leaders and our calls have not been returned” (reported on Monday – three days later)

-KRNV News channel 4 report

( http://youtube.com/watch?v=TZ7YaqelM3k )

——————————————————————————

5/15/08 – Dr. Terhune offers free turn-key convention to Nevada state party

5/19/08 – Sue Lowden reject offer (and notifies the public 20 days later)

5/30/08 – Dr. Terhune and concerned delegates offers free turn-key convention to Nevada State Delegates

6/03/08 – Sue Lowden dismisses concerned delegates willing to host entire convention.

——————————————————————————

And here we are right back where we started! Does anybody see a pattern developing?

6/03/08:

“IF (emphasis added) the plan is approved, delegates will be officially notified as to when and where the meeting will take place. Thank you for your patience.”

- Sue Lowden on the Lowden Line

Credit for the comment: KC (He’s the man!)

Oh and btw digg this please!

The media outlets around the state have been flooded with calls and e-mails, demanding that we hold the convention on June 7th at the GSR. Way to go!

Here is some TV news coverage from Reno that you might want to see: