The Libertarian Party of Northeast Ohio is an affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Ohio. The Northeast LPO encompasses the counties of Lorain, Medina, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula. Our mission is to defend, advance, and restore the cause of liberty to our region and our nation through the political process of building membership, obtaining relations with the media, organizing our infrastructure, and ultimately fielding and running candidates for public offices. We are always looking for new ways to promote the Libertarian Party and our ideals to Greater Cleveland.

On Tuesday, January 27th, radio talk show host Norm Ezzie spoke to our group. Immediately he stressed he was not a libertarian, because he rejects labels, but is looking for people of all different leanings to get together and get active. The vast majority of Americans, he noted, don't know the true story of what's going on in Washington D.C., Columbus, or New York City (the United Nations headquarters), such as Clinton's plan to make war in the Middle East in order to switch our near-bankrupt economy to a war economy. It is the job of people like us to educate the masses as to what's really happening, and we need to recruit average Americans (he said to forget about the upper crust - they're part of the problem) to turn this country around before it is too late. He is encouraging his listeners to join with the Libertarian Party, the Reform Party, and any other disgruntled American we can find. Many people who are informed are afraid to be affiliated with Norm, the Patriot movement, and anyone else interested in sharply reducing the power of the feds and the world government. This is because it creates serious problems in your life, especially with harassment from the Ohio and Federal government. Be courageous and "come out of the closet." Your future is at stake!

Besides his rejection of labels, he also disagrees with libertarians due to his belief in government-supported Christianity, arguing that the Bible is the foundation for America, and also gave a sharp criticism of homosexuality. He stressed that his main tenents of what America should return to is the Constitution and the Bible. In other issues, however, he was mostly in line with libertarians, especially concerning the issue of returning to honest, hard money (copper, silver, gold, etc.) instead of the "paper money" we have today. He complimented Libertarians for getting active and trying to save our country through action. He said he had no interest or care for organizations and people who complain about our state of affairs, but do nothing about it. One speaker criticised him for being inconsistent, saying Norm was just talk himself. Norm said his job is to motivate people to join groups like the Libertarian Party, and then it's our job to make them active.

Norm Ezzie is the host of "We the People," which airs on WERE 1300 AM, every Tuesday night from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. We are arranging for the Northeast Ohio LP spokesman, Garry Seman, to appear as a guest on Norm's radio show.

Jim Babka, Chairman of the Summit-Portage chapter of the Libertarian Party of Ohio and candidate for the chairman post of the Ohio Libertarian Party, will discuss the 1998 thru 2000 goals of the Libertarian Party of Ohio. Learn what you can do on a personal level to further the libertarian beliefs and principals. For February 24th, our meeting will be held at Glenn's Restaraunt instead of Denny's. Glenn's Restaraunt is located on 4220 Pearl Road north of State road off of I480.

Join us at Glenn's Restaraunt on Wednesday, February 18th at 6:00 PM for our platform meeting. Each LPO member is welcome to discuss and debate changes they intend to make with the Libertarian Party Platform, to be submitted on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Northeast Ohio, to the Ohio LP and the National LP for the 1998 Libertarian National Convention. The Convention is sceduled to take place in Washington, D.C. from July 2nd through July 5th.

Garry Seman, our Media Director, will be protesting the treatment of Alleen Rose Donohoe, who, on January 2nd, was forcibly injected against her will with tuberculin protein, to be tested for tuberculosis. Sherrif Hassinger, who ordered the forced injection, violated the order of the court, Ms. Donohoe's wishes, and the Bill of Rights. Garry Seman will also be passing out literature promoting the Libertarian Party. The protest is scheduled to take place near Medina City Hall on Saturday, February 14th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Garry is anxiously looking for volunteers to help. For more information, or to get involved, call (440)-734-8143.