The Associated Press has this recent story, suggesting that we are entering a period in which more voters than usual are interested in looking seriously at voting for a minor party or independent candidate.
The Associated Press has this recent story, suggesting that we are entering a period in which more voters than usual are interested in looking seriously at voting for a minor party or independent candidate.
My take is that the [blown] golden opportunity of P2008 would blow a hole in alternative ‘Loyal Opposition’ politics that would take years to heal. Hope I am wrong!
—– Don [Perot, Perot, Nader, Nader, Nader] Lake
More statism or less statism ???
More than 2 choices are needed ???
Libertarian Official Shot almost to death in Vegas:
Reprint forwarded by Don Lake Oct. 31, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Identity of man shot by LV police revealed
By ANTONIO PLANAS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The man who was shot multiple times this week while fleeing from a Las Vegas police officer in the northwest valley is Raymond J. Duensing, police said Friday.
Police said an officer shot Duensing several times Thursday afternoon in the arm and torso after a Taser failed to subdue him and he reached toward his front pocket for a .45-caliber handgun.
Most Popular Stories
# Police shoot man at traffic stop
The shooting occurred after what police said was a routine traffic stop.
Police said in a release that Duensing is 31, but records from the Clark County jail, where he was booked in absentia, indicate his age is 33.
A Las Vegas lawyer by the same name and approximate age of the suspect unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Libertarian ticket against Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., in 2008.
Neither the Metropolitan Police Department nor Libertarian Party officials were able to say Friday evening whether the man shot by police is in fact the lawyer and Libertarian.
Duensing was listed in critical condition at University Medical Center on Friday night. He is expected to survive, according to police.
The shooting occurred about 2:25 p.m. Thursday near Cheyenne Avenue and Jones Boulevard.
Police Capt. Randy Montandon said a patrol officer saw the driver of a Silver Pontiac rental car make an illegal turn and then several illegal lane changes.
He said the officer pulled the man over on Cheyenne near Michael Way. The situation escalated when the officer did a records check and discovered the man was the subject of an outstanding warrant for misdemeanor violations.
Montandon said the man became combative when the officer asked him to get out of his car. The suspect fled west on Cheyenne and the officer tried to use a Taser on him.
“As the officer was chasing the individual giving him orders to stop, the individual reached into his pants pocket, front right, and retrieved what appears to be a .45-caliber handgun,” Montandon said.
Montandon said the officer saw the suspect try to pull out a “large folding knife.”
But a witness disputed some of the police account of the shooting. Brandi Burks, 19, said she was standing outside her apartment complex on Cheyenne, west of the Michael Way intersection, when the shooting occurred.
Motorcycle officers had been patrolling the street heavily, pulling over speeders, she said.
She said the officer who pulled over the man chased him when he fled.
Burks said that as the man was running, he kept grabbing his pants, as if to hold them up. She said she did not see a gun and did not see the officer fire a Taser.
She said she saw the officer shoot the man in the back when the man reached the sidewalk. He went down, and officers handcuffed him, she said.
“They shot him in the back,” she said. “He was just running.”
Police Department policy allows the use of deadly force based on the severity of the crime, whether the suspect is a threat to the officer or others and whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or trying to avoid arrest by fleeing.
When a suspect dies at the hands of police, a jury is convened at a coroner’s inquest to determine whether the shooting was justifiable, excusable or criminal.
Police spokesman Jacinto Rivera said the department is continuing its investigation into the shooting.
The name of the officer who fired his weapon will be released 48 hours after the shooting, according to department policy.
He or she has been placed on paid administrative leave.
If the investigation doesn’t go to an inquest, Rivera said, the internal investigation will be complete and fair.
“The biggest thing we’re looking for is to make sure it was appropriate use of force,” Rivera said.
Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said those who survive police shootings are able to speak for themselves, unlike coroner’s inquests conducted when someone dies.
The ACLU has been a frequent critic of the coroner’s inquest process.
Lichtenstein said if police investigate the shooting internally, he hopes the results of the investigation are released to the public. He said the investigation has to be transparent.
“We hope this investigation is done thoroughly and without bias,” he said.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
I would suggest the support for the Conservative Party candidate for Congress in New York somewhat backs up the theory.
We will know Tuesday what the voting facts are on the ground now.
There is an outstanding Independent Chris Dagget on the ballot in New Jersey. Anything over 10 per cent would be spectacular. Daggett may even do 20 or 30 per cent, which is Ross Perot number territory.
In Virginia, the Independent Greens have 27 nominated and endorsed candidates on the ballot for House of Delegates. 7 on ballot as Independent Greens, 3 on ballot as Constitution, 1 as Green Party Several in one on one races with the incumbent. The rest Independents.
The one with the best chance:
Gordon Hesel, who has raised over $100,000 has an excellent opportunity to be elected in a three way race.
Hesel has been local mayor for many years. A local Indy board of supervisor is managing the Hesel campaign.
Also the Indy Greens have a strong INdy endorsee in Gary Reinhardt, a Richmond lawyer. Reinhardt is in a two way race, has raised about $20,000. He has endorsements from firefighters, teacher groups.
Col. Albert Burckard (64th district) the IG in Isle of Wight county has a witty campaign. “I’m not running. I’m not even walking. I’m standing on the ballot for building light rail.”
Decent summary of Virginia House of Delegates races.
Also mentions Hesel.
http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5786