Much has happened again since our last issue of Doing Freedom!, most notably, LRT held our 4th annual realspace get-together. In this update we have plenty of news and ACTION items you can do (many at no cost) to really make a difference. Remember, the Liberty Round Table is not a think tank--we're all about taking action that is principled, educational, and fun. So, please read on, and try to pick at least one item (or many more!) that you'll act upon as this day's contribution to creating a freer society for us all.

1] 4th LRT Conclave -- No "imperial entanglements" and a lot of fun!
2] LRT Essay Contest -- Things you can do to really make a difference
3] Fellow Travelers Department -- Sierra Times, F. Paul Wilson
4] RKBA Department -- NEW & IMPROVED WWW Gun Defense Clock, Walmart & Guns, G&A on the WWW, 50 Cal info, Help JPFO!, Another march, SAS memberships
5] Activism Department -- Liberty ICS info, National Directory of Environmental and Regulatory Victims, Petitioning resources, Save John Stossel campaign, IBT standoff, Stealth activism
6] Humor Department -- MMM spoof site
7] International Department -- Corruption Downunder
8] Computer Security Department -- Nixing userIDs, Stopping Spyware, Computer privacy links

Enjoy,

DLT

1] 4th LRT Conclave ---------- No "imperial entanglements" and a lot of fun!

As you may recall, the "theme" for this year's physical get-together was "security". Well, maybe there were two themes, since, after "Wood Stock '99" we decided that this year's should be "Ugly Black Composite Stock 2000". But that theme got shanghaied by a dude with a suitcase full of titanium guns that sorta stole the show (though there was plenty of black plastic and rubber, and other gun component material present, and not all of it was ugly ;-).

At any rate, our security exercise went quite well. Not many folks could stay for the whole conclave, so, during the one day we had the most people present, our more important social functions (S&SS: Shooting and Stirring Speeches) took precedence over the security review and awards I wanted to conduct. However, I did check with folks, and near as I could tell, no one present spilled the beans in any major way, and few allowed many modest leaks. There was no way any protection racket or other criminal organization could have bugged or set up other monitoring of our site before we got there, and once we were there, it would have taken a team with some very expensive toys to spy on us unnoticed (at least, if I were an underpaid and over worked LEO, I wouldn't want to spy on a large group of visibly armed people from anywhere too close). One person left an envelope with vague information about where she might be, in case she failed to return. Others had to make flight arrangements, but no one reserved a car in advance, and from the information such trails revealed, anyone looking for us would have had not less than tens of thousands square miles of forest to scour.

There are two things that most enabled this level of security: one was that I didn't tell anyone in advance where we would be camping, and the other was that people trusted me enough to come anyway. Some folks didn't trust me enough to do this (which is fine--it's a lot to ask and I have no problem with that) and others took it as a grave personal insult that I would not ruin everyone's security and send out detailed directions (or any directions at all to people who were not committed to coming and cleared by personal reference of someone I know). How did we manage to get together at all under such circumstances? Well, I arranged all post-air transportation myself and waited unti right before drivers had to leave to release encrypted directions to within a hundred square miles, or so. The directions for people traveling over land only took them as far as a certain landmark, where I affixed further directions, the day the Conclave was to begin--AFTER our people had secured our site. No one got lost, everything went smoothly, and no one could have given our precise location away, even if they had wanted to. I regretted not seeing some folks because of our security measures, but don't regret the procedure at all.

Our procedure worked so well that even the outlaws among us felt very comfortable and safe enough to display themselves "in public". The most annoying feral encounter we had was with rangers who didn't want any fires lit. It was a bummer, not so much because we weren't tempted to go ahead with our fire as soon as they left, but because they were right. It was a very dry summer, after a very dry winter, and we've all heard about the many forest fires that ravaged the West this year. In fact, several fires were burning within line of sight of the airport and highways we used. None of us wanted to get burned out of our camp site, nor cause any damage to the beautiful canyon we were holed up in.

And it was beautiful! The canyon was warm during the day and cool at night, a snow-melt stream enabled some invigorating baths, and the rat snakes and rattlesnakes kept our hikes as exciting as the mountain scenery kept them interesting. Mostly, however, it wasn't nature that brought us there, but the company. It was great to see so many old friends and experience realtime connect in full bandwidth for the first time with new ones. Thirty-three Friends of the Liberty Round Table and Knights of Non-Aggression, including 9 children, made it to the site in spite of the trust hurdle created by our security measures.

In keeping with the security theme, we will not publish any photos this year, but I'll tell you that we had a great time. Our guest speaker had a crisis in his publishing business and he didn't make it to teach his class, but our Nurse Knight delivered her lecture on field medicine and many LRTers with different kinds of knowledge shared it with others present. Sunni and I delivered our stirring speeches and, if I do say so myself, I think we both hit on some very important subjects--it would be a good LRT project to disseminate these speeches (or the URLs) as far and wide as possible.

Next year, we're planning on finally having a Conclave east of the Mississippi. We've formed a Conclave planning committee and are looking for volunteers to help with various aspects of planning and coordination. Please send me an e-mail (to DonLobo@hushmail.com) if you're interested, and I'll forward your address to her. We are also still working on a midwest regional conclave, though it's getting a bit cold for camping anymore this year. Maybe a hotel is finally in order, one near some nice x-country skiing venue...

For those of you who didn't make the Conclave, there are still plenty of the beautiful color T-shirts Hunter had made. We have scads of L and XL available for immediate shipment, and can have just about any size made up special order for the same price. Prices are:

S-XL $15
+$1 per X thereafter
+$3 shipping and handling

Hunter says: "Payment will be accepted in any form you can convince me is negotiable."

Please send me an e-mail (to DonLobo@hushmail.com) if you're interested, and I'll forward the order to Hunter.

2] LRT Essay Contest ---------- Things you can do to really make a difference

Our essay contest is about two things: outreach--teaching young people about the freedom philosophy; and rewarding young people who already grok and who communicate the value of freedom well. We've continued to grow with each year, and want to continue that this year. Here are three things you can do to help accomplish that:
1. If you have kids with a clue, encourage them to enter the contest. If you know kids with a clue, encourage them to enter the contest. If you have libertarian friends and they have kids who have a clue, encourage them to enter the contest! Last year, we received lots of entries, most from fairly clueless individuals. This is great for outreach, but not so great for our other goal... and we really want to give the prize money to bright young people--we know they're out there!--who understand and value freedom. Especially in the younger age brackets, the competition is usually fairly light, so there's a good chance a decent entry will win a prize. Give them the URL of the contest announcement <http://home.LRT.org/lrt.ec5.announcement.html> and/or rules page <http://home.LRT.org/lrt.ec5.rules.html>, or print them out and give them to your clued-in young people. Helping to spread the word like this can take just a little bit of your time, but may really make a difference--both to the contest and to young freedom-loving individuals!
2. Become a judge for the contest. Now, you may remember that to be a judge, you need to contribute money to support the contest. We've funds left over from last year's contest, so this isn't a backwards way of asking for donations; we really would like to see more people help judge the contest. It might seem like a lot of time, but it doesn't have to be... and previous judges generally report having a positive experience, reading all the good essays we receive. A contribution of just $5 enables you to judge, and also completely funds a prize! If you're interested, e-mail me at DonLobo@hushmail.com for more information.
3. You can also help by generally spreading the word around among folks who might be interested (no spamming, please!). Other libertarian groups, realspace or online, are good candidates; so are homeschooling and unschooling organizations, youth groups (particularly ones that advocate youth rights), youth shooting clubs, college Objectivist clubs... I'm sure you can think of some more, too. Put the URL for the announcement page in your sig for a couple of weeks... print out some flyers to post or distribute at functions... link from your Web page to ours... announce our contest at relevant meetings... it doesn't need to be a lot, or to be expensive; any little bit of advertising helps!

Thanks!

3] Fellow Travelers Department

---------- Sierra Times

We've mentioned the very freedom-oriented Sierra Times (headquarters of the "Sagebrush Rebellion") before. They are doing great work, but need help keeping up the ferocious pace they have set for themselves. Given the overlap, I'd say that our Lady Knight of Non-Aggression who works there is right-on about ST being her "LRT project". Here's her plea: "I'd like to invite you guys and gals to join me in my ongoing "PROJECT" for liberty at The Sierra Times. The whole site operation is presently being taken care of by the owner, J.J. Johnson, a very part time webslinger, Ed, and me. You can see why we need some help! We don't make any money yet, so we can't pay, but it is a wonderful way to contribute to the education of people all over the country and, indeed, the world. Please seriously consider offering your help of either time or money. Thanks so much." You can check out the Sierra Times (and see what you can do to help) at: http://www.SierraTimes.com

---------- F. Paul Wilson

Shameless plug for a friend:

Paul is actually more than a friend; he's a fellow traveler. I don't just say that because he contributed a great story (which we could never have afforded to buy) to our last issue of DF!, but because of what he writes. Let's just say that his Repairman Jack character is here to help you, but is not from the government. Paul's science fiction is even more explicitly freedom-oriented, especially his classic novel of rebellion against tyranny, Enemy of the State (currently out again in a fat book of good stories called The LaNague Chronicles), which set a high standard indeed for subsequent freedom fiction to live up to. So click on his banner and drop in for a visit--and buy some of his books. This is not a plea for charity for a good cause; you get to support a fellow traveler who is bringing many of our ideas to millions of people (who would never read a treatise on politics or economics) and hours of reading fun!

4] RKBA Department

---------- NEW & IMPROVED World Wide Web Gun Defense Clock

J. Neil Schulman's famous Gun Defense Clock Web site has been revamped and expanded. You can check it out at:
http://www.gunclock.org/

---------- Walmart & Guns

Walmart is now taking a call-in count of whether they should continue to sell guns in their stores. To voice your opinion call:
(800) 925-6278, select option #1, then option #4, which -- after an 8-10 minute wait -- will give you a real-live representative in the CEO's office.

---------- G&A on the WWW

Guns & Ammo Magazine is now on the Web at:
http://www.gunsandammomag.com

You can go there, register, and let them know how you feel about their policy of running S&W ads! (Plus join in on many other discussions!)

---------- 50 Cal info:

The Fifty Caliber Shooters Association [FCSA]
http://www.fcsa.org/
The Fifty Caliber Shooters Policy Institute [FCSPI]
http://www.50-cal-policy.org/
Barrett Mfg.
http://www.barrettrifles.com/
Sarco Inc. [M-2 Browning Machine Gun .50 Caliber parts]
http://www.sarcoinc.com/m2mg50.html
Knight's SR-50 .50 Caliber BMG Semi Auto
http://www.impactguns.com/store/kmscr50.html

---------- Help JPFO!

ALERT: Do you speak another language like a native? Please help JPFO

If you are perfectly bilingual, or speak one of these languages like a native, or if you know another person who is, please let us know: Portuguese; Mandarin Chinese; Vietnamese; Arabic; French; Cantonese; Hmong; Hebrew; Italian; Japanese; Cambodian; Russian; Korean; Laotian.

JPFO would like to publish the Bill of Rights in each of these languages -- and if you could help with this project, you would be advancing the cause of liberty among immigrants to North America as well as to other people around the world.

OR: if you have a copy of a published book or article that contains the Bill of Rights translated accurately into a foreign language, please let us know.

Contact JPFO via e-mail or by telephone (262) 673-9745 or by fax (262) 673-9746.

---------- Another march

This message speaks for itself:

From: heaa9901@STCLOUDSTATE.EDU <heaa9901@STCLOUDSTATE.EDU>

To whom it may concern,

I am a college student in Minnesota and I am trying to organize a second Amendment March on May 20, 2001. It would be based on the model of the MMM with the main march on the Mall in DC and many smaller ones in different state capitols. It would involve mothers speaking about how they saved the lives of themselves or their children with a gun, victims of police brutality and/or indifference, hunters and police officers whose lives have been saved by armed citizens.

Nationally, I have recieved the endorsment of Chuck Morris, a talk radio host in Boston as well as several state organizations. Please let me invite you to be the next one. If you are not interested as a group would you please at least pass this information on to your membership so that any interested individuals may partake in it.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for your time.

Hecht

---------- SAS memberships

Also self explanatory (this is a good group that did wonders to counter the Million Misguided Moms March):

We are proud to announce the Charter Membership Campaign of the Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. We are a grassroots organization devoted to promoting the civil right of self-defense. Join us in our advocacy of liberty and our defense of the Second Amendment! We have regular, junior and associate (for men) memberships available now. To read more about the membership campaign and/or to join online, please follow this link:

http://www.i-charity.net/bin/1097/1589

5] Activism Department

---------- Liberty ICS info:

A powerful idea for organizing pro-freedom efforts is the Liberty Incident COmmand System (ICS). Check out the latest work on the idea at:
http://rosie.acmecity.com/cool/308/libertyics.html

---------- National Directory of Environmental and Regulatory Victims

The 2000 National Directory of Environmental and Regulatory Victims, a great resource for finding documentation on unintended consequences and real harm done by state policies, can be found at:
http://www.nationalcenter.org/VictimDirectory00.html

---------- Petitioning resources:

http://www.iCharity.net
http://www.e-thePeople.com
http://www.PetitionOnline.com
http://www.PetitionPetition.com
http://www.SpeakOut.com

---------- Save John Stossel campaign

There appears to be an attack on John Stossel, intended to force his dismissal or at least permanently damage his standing at ABC. If you don't know anything about John Stossel, please check out CEI's site at:
http://www.savejohnstossel.org

There's a petition there you can sign, and here are some other ways to help:
1) Send an email of support via the ABC feedback system. You can do so here: http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/email.html. (Be sure to select the "John Stossel Reporting" button.) This only takes a minute!
2) Mail a letter of support regarding Stossel to ABC. Physical letters take more time but they're also taken more seriously for just that reason. Here's the address:

Network Programming
ABC Inc.
77 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023

3) Forward this news to friends.

---------- IBT standoff

Some LRT activists went down to monitor the situation when the IBT vs. US Marshals situation seemed to be heating up. Things have since simmered down. You can check out the last word on the situation (it's a church vs. the IRS, really) at:
http://www.sierratimes.com/arpz092100.html

---------- Stealth activism

The following "Do It Yourself" project was proposed on the LRT list for lowering confidence in certain institutions of coercion:

If you have nothing better to do, call into a talk show. But don't be yourself, take a statist position and work into the conversation that you work for the government and have an 'important job'. The important thing here is to act like a total idiot so that listeners will get the impression that they are being governed by morons. Well, of course they are but most do not realize it.

6] Humor Department

---------- MMM spoof site

This site is pretty well done... Check it out:
http://www.millionmisguidedmommies.com

7] International Department

---------- Corruption Downunder

We pick on Uncle Sam a lot, but he's not the only dirty old man trying to rape Miss Liberty, Justice, and other friends of ours. Check out this site relating to some expose books (including exact copies of the government directives) from Down Under:
http://www.smuggled.com/MedRel48.html
http://www.policecorruption.com

8] Computer Security Department

---------- Nixing userIDs

Guideon is available from Vector Development's website at: http://www.vecdev.com/guideon.html removes userIDs from MS documents

---------- Stopping Spyware

Programmer Steve Gibson has writting a simple program that downloads and runs very quickly and stops commercial spyware from running on your system. There's other cool stuff on his site:
http://grc.com/optout.htm

---------- Computer privacy links

The following URL takes you to a selection of PRIVACY Links at FreeRepublic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a383c06436b41.htm

Once again, thank you all for reading, for taking ACTION, and for DOING FREEDOM!

Bests,

Don Lobo Tiggre