Running for CLC Secretary

While there aren’t many clamoring for the work of being the CLC Secretary I thought I would introduce myself for those that don’t know me. 

When I was getting close to turning 18 and getting emancipated from the foster care system I was geeky enough to wonder about voting and political parties. [Yes I know I was an unusual kid.] So I went and looked into different political philosophies and ran across materials from the Advocates for Self Government and decided the principles of the Libertarian Party were closest to mine. 

Over time my personal political philosophy developed further and at its core is the belief that all people are endowed with the ability to choose for themselves and that individual choice should be protected and preserved. Other rights and freedoms I relate back to this central principle of individual agency. I find that Classical Liberalism provides the best framework for providing the most social and economic freedom to individuals and thus the greatest amount of agency for individuals to be able to exercise in their life.

After high school I was a bit idealistic about the role of the military and joined the Army. I should mention this was pre 9/11 and that after 9/11 I got free personal lessons in why using the military the way we did was a bad idea as I was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. So I came out of those experiences and decided that I should support the LP more. At the time I lived in California and I became a county At-Large Officer and later County Chair. I also served on the state executive committee for a term before moving on to Texas. In Texas I took some time learning about Texas and LPTexas before becoming heavily involved again as a County Secretary and member of the state executive committee. I have also served on committees and have supported LP Candidates out here.

Professionally I am an IT Manager at an English Language School. I am married and the father of two children. I enjoy such geeky pursuits as reading, old video games, and D&D. Though much of my spare time ends up in use with my family, church, community, or in helping different parts of the Libertarian Party.

You can read more about my involvement with the LP on my LPedia page at: https://lpedia.org/wiki/Paul_Darr

You can also read more about me personally on my blog when I remember to post here.

Lawn Care the good stuff

I normally list off stuff available at the big box type stores so people can easily find stuff that works at a good price.If you want to spend a little more and step up to the best stuff around this is what I use.

The Andersons PGF Balanced 10-10-10 Fertilizer with Micronutrients and 2% Iron (5,000 sq ft) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FXR8R75/ This one is very mild and balanced. I use this in the early spring and fall when the lawn is starting up or slowing down.

The Andersons Barricade Professional-Grade Granular Pre-Emergent Weed Control – Covers up to 5,800 sq ft (18 lb) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZ2BMMK/ I put down per-emergent at least once a quarter. This stuff is great to stop my neighbors weeds from spreading to my lawn.

The Andersons DuoCide Professional-Grade Lawn Insect Control – Covers up to 9,000 sq ft (18 lb) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PH2ZZJH/ I typically place this down in early March, late May, and September to control grubs and other burrowing insects.

The Andersons Professional PGF Complete 16-4-8 Fertilizer with 7% Humic DG 5,000 sq ft https://smile.amazon.com/Andersons-Complete-16-4-8-Fertilizer-sq-ft/dp/B07SYLCKRH/ This is my spring fertilizer for when things need lots of energy to grow like crazy.

Advanced 16-4-8 Balanced NPK – Simple Lawn Solutions (32 Ounce) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWFL84R/ This is great for supplemental treatments in the whole lawn or troubled spots. I typically spray it the day before getting rain or my irrigation system running. I find that helps to get it watered in for a quick response.

For spreading all of the dry material I just use a typical hand spreader. https://smile.amazon.com/Hand-Powered-Engineered-adjustable-assembled-immediately/dp/B07KMWVBJS/

I also like to add home compost, composted manure, and cheap garden soil in areas needing soil improvement but you can find that your average big box store.

2022 LPTexas Convention

So this past weekend was the LPTexas State Convention in Irving, TX. At this convention we elect state wide candidates, elect party officers, elect delegates to the LP National Convention, amend Bylaws, and amend the party platform.

In preparation for this convention I served on the Rules (Bylaws) Committee where we crafted 63 proposals over 19 business meetings and multiple additional working meetings. During the convention we were able to get to Bylaw 50 and had five additional bylaws passed after that were included in the earlier non-controversial bundle. This was quite an accomplishment as we had never proceeded through that many amendments before. It was also a personal accomplishment as I crafted the base for several of the bylaws presented to include a few I wasn’t as excited about but had been requested by members.

In our SD Caucus I was elected to SLEC again. In the previous term I helped to affiliate three new counties in my senate district. While I worked with the new county chairs only one held a county convention to retain status as an affiliate. My already established counties retained their affiliation. In this next term I will invest even more time working on any new county affiliates. I am optimistic that the new CRM will help give me the data I need to do better there. In the next term I will also try to review the policy manual to make updates that are required since Arthur Thomas has declined to run for another term. I have worked with him in the past and feel I am the most up to date on the policy manual to make amendment proposals. I have also consulted individuals about potential longtime members that would make good Judicial Committee candidates. I plan to reach out to some to see if they would accept the nomination.

As far as the delegates to the National Convention, that part has me feeling very down about my involvement. While I have been very actively engaged in my county as part of the executive committee and as part of the state executive committee, I apparently have drawn the ire of some members of a particular caucus. Even with my work benefiting them, they seem to want to retain my work but not my voice. I later was shown a list of individuals to vote “no” on with my name on that list. If we go by rankings on the list of those that will be delegates it seems some members that have very little participation and are often hindrances to the basic work the party gets done are valued more than I am. This was a difficult revelation to me and will impact my decisions for the type of work I will do for the party in the future. Luckily many other good hardworking members of the party had enough support to overcome this but I was a casualty of the factionalism within the party currently. All of this while I have been expressing the stance of trying to not be a part of any of the factional caucuses but apparently there is a “if you aren’t with me, you are against me” attitude from a particular faction.