November 2016 - Lnc-business - Moellman Enterprises Email

Affinity Group Support Committee
by Daniel Hayes 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

During the last ASC meeting Dr Phillies brought up the topic of Affinity Groups and the ASC like the idea of creating a new Affinity Group Support Committee to help create some of these groups for all interests. This was outside our scope but I told the members I would bring it for them to the LNC. Please give 20 minutes on the agenda for this topic. Here is Dr Phillies Explanation of the concept. Rationale: When Democrats and Republicans run for office, they get support from hordes of affinity groups, each pretending to speak for an issue but in reality working for a political party. For political victory, the Libertarian movement needs its own affinity groups, groups that support Libertarian candidates and points of view. Affinity groups assemblies of people interested in a single issue. Affinity groups include the Chamber of Commerce, the schoolteacher's union, and Washington think tanks. Most affinity groups are officially non-partisan, but bond tightly to one political party or the other. Indeed, many have been housed in their party’s headquarters. Affinity groups provide real support for their party. They mobilize people who might not be especially partisan, but who do care deeply about their one issue; affinity groups turn that enthusiasm about an issue into enthusiastic support for a political party. How do we advance? First, identify causes with a Libertarian theme. Identify causes where a Libertarian point of view would stand in stark relief to the statist viewpoint of current affinity groups Second, find the activists who will make your Libertarian affinity group fly. For example, identify all the mistletoe canners in your state. Now find someone who is attached to the affinity *and* is Libertarian *and* has the skills and dedication needed to make the affinity group work. Third, launch an affinity group linked to their cause, e.g., The Friends of the Third Amendment or the Liberty Belles. The affinity group should not be explicitly Libertarian. Fourth, fundraising and membership recruitment for the affinity groupadvances. Daniel Hayes LNC At Large Member Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [Lnc-business] [Lnc-votes] LP.org website transition botched (as predicted)
by Starchild 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

Thanks for the laugh this morning at your photo descriptions Daniel, lol... :-D But seriously, that's kinda what I like about some of the pictures – they help people come across as the diverse individuals we are. I'm not saying none of the shots could be better, and if the LNC members you've mentioned want to select or provide different photos of themselves, of course they should be able to do so. But I'd be disappointed if folks chose to reject individuality in favor of "institutional" type photos that look like they could have been plucked from a corporate annual report. Good catch on noticing that the LNC Policy Manual is missing from the new site, if that is the case. I tried to do a search, but either it isn't loading for me right now, or when you search for results of a term that can't be found, it just displays a blank page rather than a notice saying it couldn't find the term. Love & Liberty, ((( starchild ))) At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee (415) 625-FREE @StarchildSF On Oct 27, 2016, at 5:00 AM, lnc-votes(a)hq.lp.org wrote: > I have not looked very hard yet, but even at 5 am central in the morning the website is godawful slow to load. That's not a bitch, consider that informational purposes. > > On the LNC page. ( https://www.lp.org/libertarian-national-committee/ )Many of us paid for head shots. Moving away from that I think is a bad idea. Also, there are a lot of problems with this page from the standpoint of basic human psychology. Most of what I say below is Nov. 9th stuff, but I think correcting the pictures is a bit more pressing. > > Nick's looks real young and innocent. He reminds me of a kindergarten student in that picture. It's his picture but I suggest his pro head shot. I do think Valerie might like this one though but he convinced her to marry him so I think he is past the phase of convincing her he is credible and competent. > > Arvin's looks surprised like someone just told him he got selected to represent the school in the spelling bee and responded with. "REALLY? ME?!!!" > > Alicia's picture has her looking away and you can't see her eyes. She looks occupied. Its not as bad as the others but once again... Pro Head shot. > > Bill's picture is the one that caught my attention with this initially. Bill looks pissed off. He might have been pissed off. I feel ya Bill...I get pissed off a lot too like I will be in my next email after this one to the list. That said..NOT the picture to use. Pro head shot > > I think Larry's is a decent one but why not use a Pro head shot if he has one for consistency. > > That said... WHY? I now find myself involved in the task that this board shouldn't be involved in.. Micromanaging things. But at the same time, I am annoyed that staff time was spent deciding on putting these pictures here when all of the people I mentioned with "bad" pics in my opinion had professional head shots that they PAID for. Also where is Sam's? Never mind..I thought it was a broken link but it just failed to load the first time. Also, I think his picture is less than flattering compared to his head shot. I know there were others that had professional head shots. Now we have a bunch of blank spaces and many of our board members not looking very inspiring of confidence. > e > Additionally, the form of the page. Get the pictures of the people at the TOP instead of a Wall O Text mapping out all the regions. Put that below the pictures. IF someone needs to figure out their region or is interested they will look. Leave the link to the LNC reflector list at the top. Also, lose the spot where it lists the region of every member below the pictures because almost half the people listed don't have a region. Just list the region number in between the word Region and Representative where that is listed below each person's name. > Let's include a place for people's phone numbers that want those included. Mine is 504-258-6176. > > Also where is the link to the Policy manual these days? I used to be able to find it by going to this page. It doesn't seem to be listed here anymore and doesn't seem to be in with the bylaws. > > > Daniel Hayes > LNC At Large Member Region:At Large > > > On Oct 26, 2016, at 05:05 PM, Starchild <sfdreamer(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > >> Thanks, Kevin. Can you tell me which issues that I mentioned are not being addressed, and if/when you plan to address them? >> >> I'm also wondering about the specific issue I mentioned in my previous message about the LNC page losing information on the way over, because I got the impression from your comment "Staff has copied over existing pages and so nothing is lost or destroyed or anything of this sort", that this should not have occurred. Do you know how it happened in this case, and whether it may have happened in other cases as well? >> >> Love & Liberty, >> ((( starchild ))) >> At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee >> (415) 625-FREE >> @StarchildSF >>> >> >> >> On Oct 26, 2016, at 8:32 AM, Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>> Thanks, Starchild. >>> >>> Your feedback is well-taken and to your point, most of the issues you mention are being addressed. >>> >>> -Kevin >>> >>> On Wed, Oct 26, 2016 at 4:04 AM, Starchild <sfdreamer(a)earthlink.net> wrote: >>> On Oct 25, 2016, at 9:05 PM, Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>> >>>> Thanks, Ken, for the constructive position. >>>> As noted, I would really like to get actual problems with the site organized so that they can be tackled. Staff has been working on testing; I have been building the infrastructure. >>>> It is very useful to be informed of visible problems so that we can address them so any effort you're willing to make in that regard is highly appreciated. >>>> >>>> ~k >>> >>> Hi Kevin, >>> >>> Not sure whether you saw my original post to the LNC list informing on a number of actual problems with the site, but in case you missed it, here it is. In light of your explanations in response to Chuck and Caryn, I'm curious about one page which has been ported over to the new site but still somehow lost some information along the way, namely the LNC page (https://www.lp.org/libertarian-national-committee/) which no longer lists any phone numbers or other contact info beyond email addresses. I would like my phone number [(415) 625-FREE] and twitter handle (@StarchildSF) added to that page. (Ideally I think every LNC member's listing should include a phone number at which they can be contacted.) Thanks, and please let me know if you have any questions about anything else I wrote below. >>> >>> Love & Liberty, >>> ((( starchild ))) >>> At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee >>> (415) 625-FREE >>> @StarchildSF >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> On 10/25/2016 12:53 PM, Starchild wrote: >>>> >>>>> Yesterday, I'm told, the launch of the new and improved LP.org website took place. And on the whole, at a quick look, I'd say it is an improvement. Both appearance-wise and organizationally, I like the new site. I wouldn't call the difference earth-shattering, but my initial impression is generally positive. >>>>> >>>>> There are however a number of issues that have come to my attention which could use fixing, some more serious than others: >>>>> >>>>> • While the site looks good on the web, it looks terrible on my phone! The "Latest News" boxes show up as long, narrow, unreadable columns of type with a couple letters on each line. Considering how many people access websites on mobile devices, fixing this should be a high priority. >>>>> >>>>> • I don't see either the "Party of Principle" or "Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom" slogans shown anywhere (a search for key terms doesn't turn them up). Nor do I see the Nolan Chart except buried in a link. Each of these ought to be listed prominently, imho. The brief introduction statement when you click on "Libertarian Party" at the top of the main page is rather weak ("The Libertarian Party (LP) is your representative in American politics. We are the only political organization which respects you as a unique and responsible individual.") >>>>> >>>>> • The more detailed description of the party has a conservative leaning. Under "The Libertarian Option" (at http://libparty.zocalodesign.com/about/ , a URL that like that of many pages should also be fixed so that it doesn't include the web design company's website), it reads: >>>>> >>>>>> Consider voting Libertarian or joining the Libertarian Party because… >>>>>> We seek to substantially reduce the size and intrusiveness of government and cut and eliminate taxes at every opportunity. >>>>>> We believe that peaceful, honest people should be able to offer their goods and services to willing consumers without inappropriate interference from government. >>>>>> We believe that peaceful, honest people should decide for themselves how to live their lives, without fear of criminal or civil penalties. >>>>>> We believe that government’s only responsibility, if any, should be protecting people from force and fraud. >>>>> The first two points above appeal more to conservatives or people on the right (economic freedoms), while the second two points are more neutral in terms of left/right appeal. There is no balancing appeal to people on the left by explicitly mentioning things like a non-interventionist foreign policy or civil liberties such as ending Prohibition and reining in police abuse. >>>>> >>>>> • The URL for the candidate page has changed (hat tip to Thomas Knapp), and entering the former URL (http://www.lp.org/2016-libertarian-party-candidates) apparently now results in a page error rather than connecting people to the new page (https://www.lp.org/2016-candidates/) >>>>> >>>>> • If the information about how to subscribe to the LNC email list as a non-LNC member got ported over, I cannot find it. I would suggest listing this both on the LNC leadership page, and on the LNC meeting archives page. >>>>> >>>>> • The LNC page only lists email addresses. Previously at least a couple LNC members' listings included phone number and/or other info such as Twitter address, but now those listings are gone and only email addresses are listed. I would personally like my phone number and Twitter handle listed, and encourage my colleagues to request their phone numbers likewise be listed, so that our members can readily reach us directly as well as in writing. >>>>> >>>>> • Where email addresses are listed on the website (for candidates, LNC members, staff, college chapter reps., etc.), they are spelled out. That's unfortunately asking to get us spammed by web-crawling bots that harvest email addresses. I recommend changing this so that addresses are listed in a less literal format such as Nick.Sarwark[at]LP.org >>>>> >>>>> • The page https://www.lp.org/_2016/ mentions Johnson and Weld being our presidential and VP candidates, but the photo next to the text is not a photo of Johnson and Weld, but of Johnson and a woman I'm guessing is his girlfriend (which is fine, but should be labeled as such so as not to give visitors the impression that the images reflect the text). >>>>> >>>>> • Our bylaws are referred to in the info at the bottom of each page as "LNC Bylaws" rather than "Libertarian Party Bylaws" >>>>> >>>>> • A number of people (staff, LNC members) are missing photos. To whom can we send photos of these individuals, if we have them, as well as our contact info updates for the LNC page? >>>>> >>>>> I realize the site has just been updated; hopefully some of the above issues are being addressed even as I type this message. And on the bright side, the new "candidate pledges" section listing candidates who've signed each pledge is a nice addition, along with the listing by name and state of life members, candidates, and elected officials, not to mention the attractive photos from the convention scattered throughout the site. I like that the membership and donation forms are single-page, and that the FAQ page addresses arguments against participating in the system at all. And I love the "Help Us Grow" page (http://libparty.zocalodesign.com/how-to-help/) and the addition of a "worldwide" link in addition to the state affiliates and campus organizations! But I would suggest that link directly to a list of the libertarian parties around the world, with that page then containing a link to and information about the International Alliance of Libertarian Parties. Right now it immediately leads offsite to the IALP page, which is a little confusing. >>>>> >>>>> That's my feedback at this time. If staff would acknowledge receipt of this message and keep us appraised of the progress in addressing the above-mentioned issues, that would be great. >>>>> >>>>> Love & Liberty, >>>>> ((( starchild ))) >>>>> At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee >>>>> (415) 625-FREE >>>>> @StarchildSF >>> >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:59 PM, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: >>>> >>>> I've been involved in lots of various projects throughout my IT career. This website project seems to fit the stereotypical IT project. >>>> >>>> I personally don't like the layout of the website, but I'm a grumpy "old" man who still likes 2006-era website layouts with drop-down menus and whatnot. The design we need, however, is one targeted at millenials. We know this because of the Johnson campaign's polling. That's the future of this party. I believe that this website accomplishes that task. I'd be interested to see how it looks on a mobile (I'm also still using a Blackberry. Don't ask.) >>>> >>>> Kevin - Thank you for continuing onward with this project, even though you are no longer on the LNC. As one who's been embroiled in volunteer projects that have run over time and over budget, I know how much of a PITA it is to put the time in and also take the inevitable hits. I'm sure you're all too aware, as well. But I wanted to make sure you knew that at least I knew and recognized what's up. >>>> >>>> Chuck, and others with concerns - Let's make a list of the "what's wrong", try to prioritize that list based on importance and easy of resolution, and try to work through them. Any website changeover will take time to fix. I know there are some "broken links" where people externally linked things like LP.org/join ... I have a cool graphic from The Advocates that we used on LPKY.org that has the same problem. These can ad should be resolved. >>>> >>>> >>>> As the new IT committee is formed, I'm sure we'll be tasked with assessing these issues and implementing fixes. I ask that everyone please be patient. We have 2 weeks until the election is over. If there's anything election-related that's not working, then we definitely need to address that immediately. Otherwise, let's get through Nov 8th and then we can push forward with this and other projects. >>>> >>>> --- >>>> Ken C. Moellman, Jr. >>>> LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative >>>> LPKY Judicial Committee >>>> >>>> >>>> On 2016-10-25 23:38, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: >>>> >>>>> Thank you Kevin. I will cool my jets on that issue for a few days and check back in. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> No problem, Caryn. >>>>> >>>>> I wouldn't even think days. I would think A day. Staff was tasked with taking each page from the old Drupal system and importing it into the new one. As far as I know ALL pages were copied over. They were copied into 1 of 6 (or so) different page templates that were created to serve different formats of data. So I'm certain we have everything. Even if it hadn't been copied over, we still have it and it would just need TO BE copied over, but I don't believe this is the case. I believe in those cases the links structure may have changed. We have been updating these so that all incoming links to the old structure point to the appropriate new structure and send out PERMANENT REDIRECT notifications to Google and such (so things are updated). >>>>> >>>>> ~k >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:28 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Thank you Kevin. >>>>> >>>>> That is why I was asking staff about them. If we are talking a matter of days for that content - that is reasonable. If moreso, not so much. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Caryn, >>>>> >>>>> I genuinely am not trying to avoid those issues. I know content is there. What I'm trying to convey is that from my point of view, if those documents are "opaque" for another 12 hours, I'm okay with that. I realize you might not be, but this goes back to my volunteering work. I have to prioritize work that I am personally responsible for. >>>>> >>>>> So I will happily weigh in with staff and get links to them. I can even check the admin pages and see what the current URL is provided they have been copied and not linked. >>>>> >>>>> But I really need to know if anything is actually not functioning. This is what my current workload is. >>>>> >>>>> I apologize if any of that sounds dismissive. It's not my intent, but I can't do specific projects for you and/or Chuck or the LNC or whomever else right now as I need to make sure the site is fully functional. If/when it IS fully functional (which it very well may already be), then we can address any missing pieces. >>>>> >>>>> ~k >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:15 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Thank you Kevin for all your work. >>>>> >>>>> I can't though not desire answers on the minutes archives and LNC business list not being there. That is essential for members and cannot be optional. >>>>> >>>>> Can staff answer when those can be restored? This is an acceptable situation of opacity. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Caryn, >>>>> >>>>> I've always gotten along with you just fine as you're very reasonable. >>>>> >>>>> In this case, I respectfully disagree that it's useful to deliver a 6-page rant citing the "I told you so" lines when the decision has been done, executed, and is live. Further, I have been in this business for 20 years now. We had roughly 2.5 hours of outages this morning between roughly 7:45AM and 9:15AM EST. This was only because of the unknown. Staff has spent a lot of time testing this software. It was rolled over twice already and rolled back just to ensure we COULD roll it back if there was a major problem. The point being that we transitioned an entire infrastructure from 6 services to ONE, the monthly cost savings should be about $500 once everything is in place, and best I can tell nothing is broken - there are just complaints that some things are missing (which they're definitely not, but I'll concede that perhaps staff hasn't finished adding links - I honestly don't know right now). >>>>> >>>>> There are no major problems that anyone has reported save for the overloading this morning. The page content was always intended to / has been / and IS preserved. If a link isn't immediately visible, then staff can correct that if appropriate. >>>>> >>>>> IF there are broken links, namely as a URL may have changed and needs to be forwarded now, I would really, genuinely like to know so I can fix those problems. I offered that to Chuck. I offered it to you. >>>>> >>>>> That said, we can start however necessary. I have ostensibly worked on this for 3.5 straight weeks. That is not because of the website itself, but rather the years of garbaged up infrastructure. We would have rolled the site out 6 weeks ago if not for all of that. My point being that I've been voluntarily taking on FAR more work than was entailed in the website redesign itself because our infrastructure couldn't handle the modern codebase (it is roughly 8 years out of spec). >>>>> >>>>> I would ask that you leave whatever issues you have with content alone for the time being. I'm not saying they won't be addressed, I'm saying that it's not a primary concern. The primary concern is ensuring that the site is running so it can serve up any content. IF there is a problem with something not loading, we need to know that. >>>>> >>>>> Staff has copied over existing pages and so nothing is lost or destroyed or anything of this sort. >>>>> >>>>> I need to convey though, that I am not on the clock for the people on this thread. I have been, and am continuing to volunteer a tremendous amount of time to ensure this is completed smoothly. I am happy to try and fix things that are broken. I'm very uninterested in listening to Mr. Molton rant on about his discontent with the structure. It's done. That ship sailed in February. >>>>> >>>>> So that's where I'm at. By all means, please inform me of broken pieces so we can look at and correct anything ASAP. >>>>> >>>>> ~k >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:01 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Kevin, >>>>> >>>>> He was writing as a member to a busy elected to SERVE members. That means sometimes we will hear things we don't want to and have to respond to very upset complaints. No matter what anyone says - high-handed responses are not appropriate IMHO. >>>>> >>>>> I didn't agree with Chuck's desire to see heads roll. I said so respectfully, >>>>> >>>>> Can we start again? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Caryn, >>>>> >>>>> Chuck opened with whoever made the decision was a MORON and should be FIRED. >>>>> >>>>> I think my response was in line. >>>>> >>>>> Regardless, I remain open to seeing links broken. I'm sure some still exist. We launched the site this morning. Staff has spent weeks testing the site and fixing links and such. I'm all for fixing dead links, but 6 pages of complaints without any information is not helpful. >>>>> >>>>> Also, I'm not a member of the LNC. I'm a volunteer only. So I don't really owe anyone anything. I've delightfully put in a couple hundred hours so far. That's the best I'm willing to do at this point given such a response. >>>>> >>>>> K >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Kevin, that was an inappropriate response to concerns of a member IMHO- his concerns are valid and shouldn't be dismissed as "oh you Libertarians, you are a minority - we can safely ignore you." >>>>> >>>>> Where are the links to the LNC Business list, the old blog articles, and the past minutes? >>>>> >>>>> Can we have the discussion without sarcasm and without putting down Libertarians as inconsequential? >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 8:19 PM, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> Hey Chuck, >>>>> >>>>> Thanks for the constructive feedback. >>>>> >>>>> I'll delightfully take credit/responsibility for whatever and all actions you've written about. Please pardon Nick, Robert, Wes, and anybody else in your crosshairs. I'm sure they'll be relieved to be spared. >>>>> >>>>> I'm not going to read that entire document you've sent as I've spent the last 3 weeks trying to fix the party's infrastructure for the website TO go live. It was finished two days ago, it was launched last night. That was my call. >>>>> >>>>> What would be useful right now would be if you could point out the broken links so that we can assign permanent redirects to them. Any page content that existed STILL exists. This has been made clear over and over again. It's possible that some page links have not been forwarded, but I've been monitoring logs on all 4 servers all day and have not seen many 404s. The downtime this morning wasn't actually from an outage, but rather ME under-predicting the load our servers would take. This is admittedly because I didn't have any data to go on because -- well -- we've not really ever kept any before. I made the best prediction I could; I way under-estimated. The servers were scaled up and unless you're seeing something different, the site has been running fine all day since about 9:45am CST. It was running before that just fine too, but the morning surge in traffic overwhelmed it. >>>>> >>>>> So anyway, if you'd like to submit broken links, we'd love to set up additional forwards. Overall though, I'm pretty happy with the change. I'm happy we've done it before the election - even if it wound up being delayed from our proposed launch of September 29th. >>>>> >>>>> The old site was very, very bad. I know you're a tech guy all the way. I know words resonate with you and not colors and images and feelings and emotions. But you comprise a very, very, VERY small portion of the American electorate and the new site was designed to appeal to people who are visually oriented, not interested in reading walls of text, and might have the attention span of a few seconds at best (eg: the vast majority of people). It was designed for people who might not care about the Libertarian Party - in hopes that something grabs their attention and they begin to care. We don't need to "win over" existing Libertarians -- or at least one would think, but it's honestly hard to tell these days. Regardless, it was decided. It's done. You can hate it. But I'd still love your help in knowing where links are broken instead of mostly ignoring another wall of text. That would help ensure that it's in good shape. >>>>> >>>>> If you'd like to vent further, feel free to call me at 512-773-3968 to spare the group. >>>>> >>>>> Sincerely, >>>>> Kevin >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 8:56 PM, Chuck Moulton <chuck(a)moulton.org> wrote: >>>>> LNC members, >>>>> >>>>> Many of the problems I warned about have in fact come to pass. It is Cassandra's Curse: always right but never believed. >>>>> >>>>> See the exchange from IPR quoted below (in the P.S.) for context and institutional memory. I'll quote and discuss some of the highlights here. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> WARNING #1: TRANSITIONS CAN BE BOTCHED, LEADING TO DOWNTIME — AT THE WORST TIME IN THE ELECTION CYCLE FOR SUCH DOWNTIME: THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. >>>>> >>>>> This buggy transition was implemented 13 days before the presidential election. That is the 13th worst day in a 4 year cycle to unveil a new a new website. There were/are 1,448 better days to change to a new website in a 4 year cycle. >>>>> >>>>> Whatever MORON decided to switch to a new website today instead of after the election should be immediately FIRED. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. FIRED. I can't imagine a stupider, more incompetent, strategically insane decision than pulling the plug on a working website and trying out a new, buggy website immediately before a presidential election. It is INSANE. >>>>> >>>>> I like staff, but if Wes Benedict made this idiotic decision, FIRE HIM IMMEDIATELY. >>>>> >>>>> I like much of the LNC, but if Nick Sarwark made this idiotic decision, SUSPEND HIM FOR CAUSE IMMEDIATELY (I'll gladly recuse myself as a member of the Judicial Committee if he appeals). >>>>> >>>>> If Kevin Ludlow made this idiotic decision, RESCIND THE FEBRUARY 2016 MOTION GIVING LUDLOW UNILATERAL AUTHORITY OVER THE LP'S MOST IMPORTANT ASSET IMMEDIATELY. >>>>> >>>>> Everything we were told about a professional transition that does not suffer from the pitfalls I highlighted was a lie. >>>>> >>>>> It takes significantly more time for lp.org pages to load than before. The site has been down on & off all day long. For a while people were directed to another domain whenever they went to a LP page: libparty.zocalodesign.com. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> WARNING #2: A LOT OF CONTENT IS REMOVED. LACK OF THAT CONTENT MAKES IT MUCH HARDER TO ENERGIZE PROSPECTS; GET DONATIONS, VOLUNTEERS, AND CANDIDATES; AND TRAIN LIBERTARIANS ON BEST PRACTICES. >>>>> >>>>> In fact (as predicted), a lot of content has been removed from lp.org. >>>>> >>>>> For example, as chair of the Judicial Committee I wonder what happened to the webpage listing bylaws mandated committee members? >>>>> >>>>> Where is the link to the LP Business list? >>>>> >>>>> Where are the LNC minute archives before 2015? >>>>> >>>>> I could go on and on, but I cover this point more broadly in my next unheeded warning. >>>>> >>>>> I was repeatedly assured that content would not be removed, except that the front page would be made less cluttered. That was a lie. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> WARNING #3: BOTH CONTENT REMOVAL AND TRANSITIONS TO A NEW SYSTEM MAY LEAD SOME PAGES TO BE REMOVED OR MOVED, BREAKING LINKS TO PARTS OF THE SITE FROM ALL AROUND THE INTERNET AND MAKING US LOOK UNPROFESSIONAL WITH 404 ERRORS. >>>>> >>>>> The number of 404 errors is shocking! Activists have been out there for months / years promoting our website by linking to it -- especially during this presidential election. Most of those links are now broken. >>>>> >>>>> Just try clicking on many of these links: >>>>> https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=site%3Alp.org&oq=site%3Alp.… >>>>> >>>>> I've been told the solution is just to report each broken link. That is ridiculous! It is completely unprofessional for a website transition to be reactive instead of proactive -- especially given that broken links probably number in the thousands. We were assured that this would be a professional transition, but that was a lie. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> WARNING #4: A NEW SYSTEM REQUIRES RETRAINING STAFF ON PROCESSES — TIME THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO OTHER THINGS. EVEN AFTER RETRAINING THERE WILL BE A LEARNING CURVE... EXTRA TIME FOR WEBSITE RELATED TASKS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO OTHER THINGS. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> In fact (as predicted), staff has mentioned that the website transition has taken staff time that could have been devoted to other matters in this busy election season. >>>>> >>>>> Wes Benedict wrote: >>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/006577.html >>>>> I hope we can get those things below implemented early in 2017, >>>>> however, and get back to LPedia and many other projects, but first >>>>> we're trying to roll out the new LP.org website. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> WARNING #5: INTERNAL SCRIPTS THAT CURRENTLY AUTOMATICALLY SHOOT DATA TO STATE AFFILIATES SUCH AS THE VOLUNTEER FORM, THE WANT TO BE A CANDIDATE FORM, THE INFO FORM, ETC. MAY STOP WORKING, WHICH WOULD DEPRIVE STATES OF A VALUABLE SOURCE OF LEADS DURING A TRANSITION PERIOD. >>>>> >>>>> Do these all still work? I don't know. I can't currently test this as I am not a state chair right now. I hope someone is testing this stuff. Based on all of the other monumental errors highlighted above, I certainly don't trust whoever oversaw the website transition to have done this testing. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> You all made a monumental error when you voted on this website. Please do whatever you can to minimize the damage and triage the website that is being butchered before your very eyes. I hope the lost content can be restored and the bugs can be fixed ASAP. Even if everything is fixed within the next week though, the timing is still horrendous. >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Moulton >>>>> Life Member & Monthly Pledger, Libertarian Party >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> P.S. See below for context on this botched website transition and eerily accurate prophesies from people with a clue. >>>>> >>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/004164.html >>>>> 1) Our website is a joke. I mean a real, horrible, laughable, "maybe >>>>> it's 1996 and the www portion of the internet has just been >>>>> unleashed" joke. It's got ridiculous internal ads all over it. It's >>>>> terribly organized. It uses bad images. It has an outdated font, not >>>>> great font colors, and antiquated font-spacing and sizing. It barely >>>>> functions on mobile devices. It's full of information it doesn't need >>>>> to have. It conveys that we're not a serious organization. >>>>> >>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/004283.html >>>>> We want to do all of these things. So I'm asking you, just stop what >>>>> you're doing for 30 seconds, reflect what could happen if we >>>>> actually tried to accomplish this one little task. What is the WORST >>>>> that could happen? We fail? We're in a very slightly worse financial >>>>> position than we already are? But now consider what is the BEST that >>>>> could happen? Maybe this tailspin of a cash hole we're in stops. >>>>> MAYBE people would see that the LNC is doing something external. >>>>> MAYBE people would have their morale boosted just a little bit and >>>>> be more inclined to donate. MAYBE we could use it as a way to >>>>> leverage requesting donations from people. >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> What's the worst that can happen? It's not $20,000 wasted. That is >>>>> pretty stupid thinking there... accounting rather than economics. The >>>>> worst that can happen is the site is much worse than before. A lot >>>>> of content is removed. Lack of that content makes it much harder to >>>>> energize prospects; get donations, volunteers, and candidates; and >>>>> train libertarians on best practices. A new system requires >>>>> retraining staff on processes — time that coupd have been devoted to >>>>> other things. Even after retraining there will be a learning curve... >>>>> extra time for website related tasks that could have been devoted to >>>>> other things. Will conversion of new visitors go up with a new >>>>> flashy styled website? Maybe, but it could also go down, which is a >>>>> potential cost. This is especially likely when the focus is on >>>>> design/style rather than the technical features under the hood. When >>>>> content is removed it may piss off current donors and activists, who >>>>> may reduce their donations and activism. Both content removal and >>>>> transitions to a new system may lead some pages to be removed or >>>>> moved, breaking links to parts of the site from all around the >>>>> Internet and making us look unprofessional with 404 errors. New >>>>> sites often start out with a few bugs and errors which can take a >>>>> while to track down... the site may look less professional in the >>>>> interim. Transitions can be botched, leading to downtime — at the >>>>> worst time in the election cycle for such downtime: the presidential >>>>> campaign. Internal scripts that currently automatically shoot data to >>>>> state affiliates such as the volunteer form, the want to be a >>>>> candidate form, the info form, etc. may stop working, which would >>>>> deprive states of a valuable source of leads during a transition >>>>> period. That's just what I could come up with off the top of my head... >>>>> there are probably a lot more. >>>>> >>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> I've launched many large scale sites just in the past year and not a >>>>> single one of those sites had any of the problems you're referring >>>>> to. They DID – when they were on our development and testing servers >>>>> – but not when they went into production. That's how web launches >>>>> are done professionally. A thorough maintenance schedule would also >>>>> be implemented and the website would be designed for minimal >>>>> maintainability in the first place. ...also in accordance with best >>>>> practices. >>>>> >>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> Furthermore, there is absolutely NO intention to remove Libertarian >>>>> content from the website. This crowd has an astounding ability to >>>>> spin half-truths and bake them into something entirely different. I >>>>> will clarify specifically what is meant by moving them around. >>>>> >>>>> The FRONT PAGE of a website (for a non-profit, business, or any >>>>> other organization) is NOT to leave people with walls of text. It is >>>>> to create a fast and positive impression and to get a call to >>>>> action. >>>>> >>>>> Having dozens and dozens of options is incredibly poor design, >>>>> thoroughly proven to be ineffective, and generally an archaic >>>>> website idea. The current website is not responsive; it does not work >>>>> well (and not at all in some cases) on mobile and tablet devices. >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> Great! Somehow in all your emails to the LNC (I read every LNC >>>>> business list email) you never mentioned anything about the >>>>> transition process. All you talk about is design/style. >>>>> >>>>> If you can manage a transition process well, that's wonderful. It >>>>> certainly hasn't been done in the past. The transition from FoxPro >>>>> to Raiser's Edge was a disaster... it resulted in states not receiving >>>>> working dumps for a year and a lot of records being screwed up >>>>> (e.g., deceased coming back to life, etc.). During the website >>>>> transition a decade ago, the LNC meeting minutes archive and the >>>>> Success 97 and Success 99 seminars were removed. >>>>> >>>>> See the IT Committee discussion and report (pp. 15-16, pp. 51-59): >>>>> https://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20061111.pdf >>>>> >>>>> If there will be no transition hiccups, that's wonderful news. You >>>>> still didn't address all the scripts on the website right now and >>>>> the technical considerations Shane discussed. >>>>> >>>>> I'm concerned about giving management of the transition job who only >>>>> talks about design/style, wants to remove content (supposedly... >>>>> >>>>> though I see you have now clarified that), and never mentions a >>>>> transition plan to minimize problems. >>>>> >>>>> It's great that you're finally talking about a transition plan! It's >>>>> not my fault it's the first I've heard of it though. >>>>> >>>>> There are lots of people in the LP (myself included) who have seen >>>>> transitions mismanaged and are worried of a repeat of those >>>>> disasters. We're not saying the sky is going to fall because of you. >>>>> We're saying the sky has fallen in the past, we have documented >>>>> evidence of this, and you don't seem as on top of the process as we >>>>> would hope to prevent similar problems. (You also seem to lack the >>>>> institutional memory to be aware of these past issues.) That's a >>>>> matter of you not communicating your transition plan and experience, >>>>> not a matter of us being overly pessimistic. >>>>> >>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> I'm sorry you've had people half-ass these efforts in the past. I >>>>> definitely cannot say I'm surprised. I focus on style because to the >>>>> external world, style IS the most important thing. This in no way >>>>> means I neglect the engine, but in 20 years of delivering projects, >>>>> nearly 100% of clients will respond positively to a broken system >>>>> that looks amazing over a badass functioning system that looks ugly. >>>>> It's just psychology. Again, it doesn't mean it doesn't all get >>>>> done. >>>>> >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> I've found libertarians have a different psychology than much of the >>>>> world. The tech saavy folks will feel talked down to or ignored if >>>>> you only talk about style, ignoring tech under the hood. The >>>>> ideological folks will feel defensive if you malign content. I fall >>>>> in both categories, as do others on this thread. >>>>> >>>>> Just something to keep in mind for the future. >>>>> >>>>> Stewart Flood wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> So they're creating a new website committee and giving it authority >>>>> to screw everything up without having to go back to the LNC to get >>>>> approval on which one of their pals they give the money to? >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> Yes, they created a new committee with unlimited power over the >>>>> website. Then they spent the whole time debating an irrelevant >>>>> $10,000. >>>>> >>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote: >>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-national-committe… >>>>> I am hugely concerned about giving any one person carte blanche over >>>>> the website. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> ======================================================== >>>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>>> 512-773-3968 >>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> ======================================================== >>>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>>> 512-773-3968 >>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> ======================================================== >>>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>>> 512-773-3968 >>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> ======================================================== >>>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>>> 512-773-3968 >>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> ======================================================== >>>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>>> 512-773-3968 >>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> In Liberty, >>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos >>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org >>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado >>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Lnc-business mailing list >>>>> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> ======================================================== >>>> Kevin Ludlow >>>> 512-773-3968 >>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Lnc-business mailing list >>>> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> ======================================================== >>> Kevin Ludlow >>> 512-773-3968 >>> http://www.kevinludlow.com >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Lnc-business mailing list >> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > _______________________________________________ > Lnc-business mailing list > Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > _______________________________________________ > Lnc-votes mailing list > Lnc-votes(a)hq.lp.org > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-votes_hq.lp.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

10 17

Fwd: [Lnc-votes] Project
by Joshua Katz 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

Forwarded with permission; comments to follow under separate cover. Joshua A. Katz ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <travellingcircus(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 9:13 PM Subject: Re: [Lnc-votes] [Lnc-business] Project To: Caryn Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com>, Joshua Katz <joshua.katz(a)lp.org>, Trent Somes <Tsomes3(a)gmail.com> Oddly enough, the Republican study that Trent's proposal mentions came up with recommendations that were the opposite of the approach Trump took - reaching out more to Latinos, college educated women and young people - yet Trump won. On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 9:03 PM, <lnc-votes(a)hq.lp.org> wrote: > I will re-iterate what I said on Facebook. There are certainly areas in > which I think we need a cold hard look at things--however, a lot of this is > dependent on the candidate. The LNC does not direct the candidates, and as > such, I am not sure this is the best use of our money. Further, the > "messaging" part concerns me, and without serious parameters, I am not > interested in using member money for outsiders to tell Libertarians they > need to be less Libertarian. As worded, I would not support. If it focused > more on sheer mechanics, and laid out that messaging needs to be within our > Statement of Principles (as per our Bylaws - for which I see no mention or > concern here), I would oppose. Strongly. > > On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 7:07 PM, Joshua Katz <planning4liberty(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > >> A few thoughts: >> 1. My birthday is January 10. >> 2. I am generally in favor of this, but I agree with the comments in the >> document about inherent bias and would favor option 1. However, I'd like >> to have an idea of the cost. I'm having trouble understanding the motion >> presented - it starts by talking about taking bids, but then states the >> firm chosen will present their findings in December 2017. If all we're >> doing is taking bids, and more action will be needed to actually hire a >> firm, how will the firm be chosen? Will the committee choose them and >> forward their choice to the LNC for an up/down vote, or simply present the >> LNC with all the options? In any case, I feel like I'm in the dark because >> I don't have a sense of the neighborhood we'd expect for those bids. >> 3. I don't know what firms you have contacted, but here is a list of the >> usual candidates for such an endeavor: >> https://sipa.columbia.edu/system/files/Political%20Consultin >> g%20Firms_0.pdf >> There are, of course, others. >> 4. Thank you for thinking of this and putting together a package. >> >> Joshua A. Katz >> >> >> On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 7:55 PM, Trent Somes <tsomes3(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hello everyone, >>> >>> Please take the time to read the attached document. I can't wait to see >>> all of you again. If you have any questions, please text my cell phone or >>> message me on social media, however I am on vacation right now and may be >>> without service. >>> >>> Also, Chairman Sarwark, can I please have 15-30 minutes to discuss this >>> at the December meeting? >>> >>> Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving, >>> >>> >>> *Trent Somes, III* >>> Region 5 Alternate, Libertarian National Committee >>> Founder, Westmoreland County Libertarians <http://fb.com/wclibertarians> >>> National Chair, Libertarian Youth Caucus <http://fb.com/LYCaucus> >>> Facebook <http://fb.com/trentsomes/> Twitter >>> <http://twitter.com/TrentSomes/> Instagram >>> <http://instagram.com/trentsomes/> Address >>> <https://goo.gl/maps/gWqJw21CJZs> >>> Cell: (412) 496 - 8552 Home: (412) 646 - 1872 >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Lnc-business mailing list >>> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Lnc-business mailing list >> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org >> >> > > > -- > *In Liberty,* > *Caryn Ann Harlos* > Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, > Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. > Harlos(a)LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos(a)LP.org> > Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado > <http://www.lpcolorado.org> > Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus > <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org> > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > _______________________________________________ > Lnc-business mailing list > Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > _______________________________________________ > Lnc-votes mailing list > Lnc-votes(a)hq.lp.org > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-votes_hq.lp.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "lncvotes" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to lncvotes+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > >

2 2

Added Mortgage Payment
by Sam Goldstein 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

I intend to make a motion at our next meeting to spend a good portion of our 2016 surplus to make a payment on the principal on our office mortgage. Not knowing our final numbers at this time lends some uncertainty to that number, but I would like to start the bidding at $150,000. That amount ought to leave us in a very favorable position as to our ongoing reserve for unforeseen expenses over the next few years. Does anyone want to offer a lower/higher amount? If so, what is your reasoning. Thanks and Live Free, Sam Goldstein Libertarian National Committee Member at Large 8925 N Meridian St, Ste 101 Indianapolis IN 46260 317-850-0726 Phone 317-582-1773 Fax

9 37

Re: [Lnc-business] Added Mortgage Payment
by William Redpath 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

While would like to have a mortgage balance of zero, I think added mortgage payments are something that should be considered AFTER we decide what needs to be funded in 2017. There is going to be a proposal forthcoming from the LP of Ohio for a petition drive in 2017 to regain party status in Ohio. While I want to see the details of the proposal from the LPOH before I decide how I would vote on such a motion, I am predisposed to support such a motion. We need to try to maintain party status by earning 3% of the vote for Governor in Ohio in 2018, and I think it is very important that the LP respond to the bully boy tactics of the Republican Party of Ohio that got us kicked off the ballot. I am urging the LPOH to put a lot of skin in on this drive, and, to that end, being a native Ohioan, I have assumed personal responsibility for 750 gross signatures. (About 53,000 valid signatures will be needed.) I gathered about 100 sigs over Thanksgiving weekend and will do more over Christmas vacation. I will pay for what I don't gather. I also intend to ask the LNC to authorize the Chairman to enter into a loan agreement of up to $25,000 with a potential Governor campaign in Virginia in 2017 to fund a paid petition drive, with repayment from the Campaign of 50% of funds raised until repayment in full has been made. I think it is highly likely that the LNC would be fully repaid. Even if I make such a motion, I will abstain on the vote, being from Virginia. I think it is important to keep our occupancy costs in perspective. We were paying rent of over $10,000 per month at the Watergate. Our monthly mortgage payment is now about $3,000. We have done a great job reducing occupancy costs, regardless of how much more principal prepayment we do. Bill Redpath -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 11/29/16, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Added Mortgage Payment To: "ken.moellman(a)lpky.org" <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> Cc: "Libertarian National Committee list" <lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org> Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 1:23 PM Ken, I have been doing some thinking, and while I am not saying I support what I am about to say, I don't oppose it, and IF there is some compromise position (though with all due respect - when you say to satisfy the desires of some LNC members - you so far have been the only dissenting voice and are an alternate - we do not yet know what your regional representative thinks on the issue), using round numbers, this one: We shorted 2015 by about 40K. We have about 105K that we can take from the bequest that would not otherwise be accessible. That puts us at roughly 145K which would be satisfying our prior obligation AND accessing money that is not coming from any other line item next year (thus not shorting any other project). So we were proposing paying another 55K. If we did that, we could not make any further Wiener rule payments and still pay off early with no balloon. We could allot this 55K, not as an extra "payment" but as the 2017 Wiener rule payment which we *already have to pay* if we are going to be compliant. And we would be making an extra payment this year - only it is coming out of the bequest. So that is a 205K payment in 2017 which does not take away from anything else in extra payment. And we would still be committed to the Wiener rule payment in 2019. This is basically getting back to Sam's original proposal of $150K. That is the minimum I would accept in light of this information. We are obligation to do a 60K payment in 2017 - what is at issue is whether we do an "additional" 60K payment. But we could even perhaps do that - depending on how the bequest rules are- we could make the 105K building fund this year and exhaust the Bequest in the next year and use that generous donor's money to get us more quickly out of this. AND still fund-raise to make additional payments. And this does not keep us from having funds for other projects. I am not saying this is what I support but this is a reasonable path. -- In Liberty,Caryn Ann HarlosRegion 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.orgCommunications Director, Libertarian Party of ColoradoColorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 9:25 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: If people were looking for that amortization worksheet Daniel Wiener referenced, I dug it out of the LNC archives and attach it here. -- In Liberty,Caryn Ann HarlosRegion 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.orgCommunications Director, Libertarian Party of ColoradoColorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 8:02 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: I have stated my position. And assuming no earth-shattering new information or argument, how I intend to vote. Rationale already given. I have other motions and items that require my present attention. On Monday, November 28, 2016, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: Our Policy Manual also encourages specific fundraising for that purpose, in the same section that creates the minimums and creates priority. "It shall be the goal of the LNC to completely pay off the office mortgage as quickly as possible, and in any case prior to the due date of the 10-year balloon payment. Towards that end the LNC shall budget a minimum of $60,000 in each odd-numbered year to pay down the principal until the mortgage balance is zero. Fundraising for this specific purpose shall be made a high priority. This provision does not preclude additional fundraising and prepayments in even-numbered years. " (emphasis added) The Policy Manual specifically requires that we give high priority to raising money specifically to pay off the building. Have we done so this year? Do we have a plan to do so next year? The particular section specifically mentions specific fundraising twice. While I think it is a reasonable assumption, based on the wording in the manual, that a 1-for-1 match would be sufficient, I proposed a 2-for-1 because I do think it's important to pay down the mortgage and felt it might be an acceptable compromise. If we can create some priority - staff should exist - then we've already established that there's a balance to be struck. With that established, I believe that we can best comply with the Policy Manual and with the desires of multiple LNC members by having the 2-for-1 matching scenario. And if the membership wants this to be a high-priority project, then certainly they would put their money specifically toward that effort, would they not? --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-28 09:10, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: No it doesn't. We have the 100K from the bequest that isn't part of our fundraising windfall. We have the deficit from the last payment to catch up- putting us st around 150K. Our policy manual - urges us- on our own- to get ahead. Putting the extra amount ahead is what is reasonable and what I will be supporting. No one has suggested there is not money for other things and this insures saved money for other things. We can do a fundraiser next year with our fiscally responsible choice in Dec as a selling point centerpiece. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Monday, November 28, 2016, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: I guess it depends on who your target audience is. When I walk into a shop and their IT infrastructure is a decade old, my immediate thought is that the company doesn't have their priorities in order. Certainly, I'm biased in that regard. Smaller manufacturing businesses are notorious from being way out of date. The Democratic Party provides websites for their candidates for a nominal fee. Why? Because that way campaigns can focus on issues and real politicking, not spending excessive amounts of time on back-office work. They're out knocking on doors and building their base. The Republican Party, through the Kochs, is building a massive database of voters for their Big Data project. Why? Because that way they know what issues drive voters. They can micro-target messaging, making their outreach and GOTV more efficient. The Libertarian Party currently has a mailing list that sends everything to a Google list so that people can subscribe to the Google list to watch. If we are to appeal to the Millenial generation, we can't be running on a 286 in a basement. Once upon a time, the LP was ahead of the game when it came to technology. We have stagnated and let our competition overtake us. If our primary political opponents are crushing us on the phones and at the door, how do we ever expect to win? When I became chair of LPKY in 2007, we had no IT infrastructure. We had a website that was put in place by the previous chair, that cost too much money, was poorly organized, and didn't do the job. Thankfully, the situation isn't exactly parallel - while there are problems, we don't have to start over from scratch. But it will take time and investment to get the website to where it needs to be. That will happen. Likewise, other parts of our operation need to have similar focus. I'm all about paying down debt. I absolutely love it, conceptually. I just don't want to see us cripple the party in 2017 in order to achieve the goal of paying off that debt. So here's what I'd propose, if we want to put over $200K toward the mortgage. Let's do a 2-for-1 donation match. We put $60K in the budget, as required. Subtracted from the proposed $207,500, that leaves $147,500. For ease of numbers, let's round that up to $50,000. So, if we can raise $50,000 specifically for paying off the building, we will put $100,000 as the match. Let's let our membership determine the projects on which they want us to spend the money. Does that seem reasonable? --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-28 08:31, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: I would further note- if we make this payment now and make NO additional payments (which I do not support) because the 60k is needed next year (odd numbered year) - we will have freed future Libertarians from the balloon payment AND an amount in interest that would pay a good chunk of a ballot access drive. In every scenario, this is the right choice. And we would have only two more policy manual extra payments - 2017 and 2019- and the mortgage would be paid in full just by the 2020 election- a fantastic example for others. We will have set up the next LNC for success. And our fiscal responsibility can be used in our new member retention program as they can trust we are wise with funds. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Monday, November 28, 2016, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: There is no proposal to spend "all" of the discretionary monies. And Hagan pointed out this is a way we can have access to the bulk of a bequest that the donor certainly wished we had access to. The bequest money isn't available in that amount now for this OR that. It is available for this. Hagan's last option is the most prudent and responsible and does not require anything like an "all" scenario and doesn't burden the next decade of Libertarians with interest that the policy manual urged us to avoid in making more than the 60K extra- and here with the bequest we have the opportunity to access over 100K and have an unexpected windfall in new members. If any other priority is given as well - new member retention must be up there as mentioned in emails leading up to the Sept meeting. As for the website - well members were told that in 2006 too, and that data is still waiting. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Monday, November 28, 2016, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: My goal isn't to pull something over on people. If nothing else, know that I am open with my personal thoughts on matters -- as you may have noticed -- and I'm not trying to hide anything. I'm a Libertarian; I don't believe in using force or fraud. There are other IT issues beyond the website that I dare not mention on a public list; things that range from embarrassing to disabling. I'll be more than happy to discuss these issues in person in December. The new IT committee is taking over from a previous committee with an entirely different personnel makeup. The new IT Committee, such as it exists at the moment, is far from ignoring the calls for repairs and changes to the website. This is a priority of everyone involved. This is currently being done under staff direction, and they are working on it. The website continues to be populated with important information, and will continue to evolve and have more information added/returned, in addition to other important website changes. (Ironically, I was trying to find out exactly when the building was purchased and couldn't because that information wasn't brought over. Heh.) In sum, the website will get fixed to the best of our ability. But if all the discretionary income gets spent on the mortgage (which is not the worst way to spend it) then there won't be an opportunity to get other fixes in place. And that's just IT. I know there are Ballot Access drives in our future in 2017 - Arkansas and Ohio, specifically - and those won't be cheap. Arkansas will be about $37,500 and Ohio will be about $255,000, based on 2016 validity rates and assuming no volunteer signatures or other sources of funding (which there will be, of course). In my opinion, we need to really leverage 2016 to get a record-breaking amount of fundraising in the "after-year". --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-27 23:26, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: Now that wasn't the entirety of my argument, but I am not getting into another LNC spitting match. Interested members and readers can go through my comments and see what I said- the policy manual was a big part, but a part and not the entirety. It is indeed less out of date then than now. And something obviously know as the passage of time and aging is a known quantity. As is debt and interest, something Libertarians are supposed to model fiscal responsibilities for. And having not transferred 83% of our data certainly will look to our members like throwing good money after bad. This is selling the members a bill of goods. Just like they are suspecting on the website data loss. We have not inspired confidence, and I am not about to vote to further sell our word down the river. The ludicruousness of the proposition that a reading would mean to fire staff if my reading that surpluses need to be given priority there is as self-evident to me as the idea that we also do not need to sell ourselves into slavery as committee persons. If it is not self-evident, then the sky is a different colour in my world. With the data loss (more accurately lack of transfer - and there is still a folfer of files from the 2006 site that were supposed to be restored and not) and what I and enough others see as mismanagement of the website transfer, if I were an affiliate, I would not be entrusting my affiliate's email to a natonal-provided service. Let's get the website straightened out and then perhaps other investments will be in order. And certainly that is not a bigger priority than already incurred debt. There is ALWAYS something great to spend money on. We are selling the efforts of future Libertarians just like our country is selling the future of today's children. No. I will not do that. If we can't elimiante our own debt we have zero business thinking we can tell others that is how they have to live. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 9:13 PM, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: My contention is that there may be other priorities upon which a portion of the proposed $207,500 spending on the office mortgage should be spent. I included the examples of Ballot Access and IT Infrastructure. Your contention is that the priority must be given to the paying off of the mortgage, because the Policy Manual says so. The Policy Manual states in Section 2.03.17: "It shall be the goal of the LNC to completely pay off the office mortgage as quickly as possible, and in any case prior to the due date of the 10-year balloon payment. Towards that end the LNC shall budget a minimum of $60,000 in each odd-numbered year to pay down the principal until the mortgage balance is zero. Fundraising for this specific purpose shall be made a high priority. This provision does not preclude additional fundraising and prepayments in even-numbered years. " (emphasis added) The portion of the policy manual highlighted above seems to be that to which you reference when you made your statement. Additionally, you state that you are unwilling to give higher priority to the IT Infrastructure, stating that the infrastructure was a decade old when the building was purchased. First, the infrastructure was less out-of-date than it is now. It continues to get further and further out of date. We continue to use hacks and other non-standard practices to accomplish goals with the existing infrastructure, rather than upgrade. There is a real cost to this. LPedia's decay is an easy example of what happens when things don't get upgraded - upgrading MediaWiki to a newer version is incredibly painful at this point. Second, IT infrastructure upgrades would actually make staff and affiliate parties more productive. Imagine if LP National could, as part of a broader upgrade, provide basic services to affiliate parties such as email services. Instead of 52 organizations all trying to figure out how to manage email, we could upgrade National's email infrastructure and provide email services to all 51 affiliates. Third, there are real security issues that do need to be addressed. There are security patches released almost every single day. We're approximately 3000 days behind on security patches on a few pieces of our infrastructure. Now, if we are to forgo some projects with clear benefits, like IT Infrastructure improvements, because the Policy Manual tells us we must pay down the mortgage before all other things, then what is ludicrous with suggesting using the staff budget for further paying down the mortgage? Certainly, I think it's a bad idea. But I also think foregoing other important tasks in favor of paying down the mortgage is also a bad idea. That's just my $0.02 on the matter. --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-27 22:35, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: No frankly that is a ludicrous interpretation. And paying any more interest that we have to in member money (OPM) is even moreso. This is why members view this body with distrust. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 8:22 PM, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: I'm just pointing out that there are other items that also need attention. As an alternate, I probably won't get a vote anyway. If we are to take the strictest interpretation of 2.03.17, we should lay off all of the staff and put their salaries toward the building debt as well. However, I would suggest that doing so would be a foolish approach. Putting off IT infrastructure upgrades is only going to make the inevitable more painful in the long-term. --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-27 22:06, Caryn Ann Harlos wrote: Further the bequest rules make it a no-brainer in my view. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 8:04 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hi Ken, while I appreciate that, our Policy Manual puts the building pay-off as a priority. We can always find an excuse to put that off. I will not. If we are going to expect our government to follow commitments and shed debt, we must. The IT infrastructure that exists - existed at the same time we got the mortgage. We sold the idea of the mortgage to members on a certain committement and vision, and I fully intend to keep it. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 7:45 PM, Ken Moellman <ken.moellman(a)lpky.org> wrote: All - While paying off the building faster is a great goal, we may have other priorities. Specifically, we have 12 states without ballot access at this time, and we have an IT infrastructure that's from the last century - literally. These things will take money to remedy. Just something to keep in mind. --- Ken C. Moellman, Jr. LNC Region 3 Alternate Representative LPKY Judicial Committee On 2016-11-27 19:42, David Demarest wrote: Tim, Your plan sets a good example of fiscal responsibility for all Libertarians. I also support your higher amount. Thoughts? The War on Compulsory Authoritarian Majority Rule Cronyism Begins Now ~David Pratt Demarest From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces@h q.lp.org] On Behalf Of Caryn Ann Harlos Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2016 4:33 PM To: Tim Hagan <timhagan-tyr(a)yahoo.com>; Libertarian National Committee list <lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org> Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Added Mortgage Payment Tim, That sounds like the smart plan. Future Libertarians will thank us. I support your higher amount. -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 2:50 PM, Tim Hagan <timhagan-tyr(a)yahoo.com> wrote: I will call your $150,000 and raise it to $207,500. I request we add 20 minutes to the December meeting agenda for a motion to make a payment on the principal on our office mortgage. The mortgage's loan rate is 4.85% with a balloon payment at ten years, which is in July 24, 2024. Robert was kind enough to furnish the attached load amortization spreadsheet. I ran five scenarios on it to get the amount of interest we will pay from December 2016 to when the balloon payment is due, and to get the amount of the balloon payment that will be due at that time. Without any more prepayments (not paying an extra $60,000 on odd-numbered years): Interest: $139,400.40 Balloon payment due 7/24/2024: $301,040.34 With the current policy of paying an extra $60,000 on odd-numbered years: Interest: $84,900.77 Balloon payment due 7/24/2024: $6,540.71 Paying an additional $207,500 in the December payment, and not paying extra in future years: Interest: $45,751.59 Balloon payment due 7/24/2024: $0.00 Paying an additional $150,00 in the December payment, and paying an extra $60,000 on odd-numbered years: Interest: $32,805.22 Mortgage gets paid off July 2021. Paying an additional $207,500 in the December payment, and paying an extra $60,000 on odd-numbered years: Interest: $19,879.20 Mortgage gets paid off May 2020. As you can see, paying $207,500 in December will eliminate having a balloon payment in 2024 and will save at least $39k in interest. If we keep the Weiner rule, it will save $65k in interest and have the mortgage paid off four years early. The targeted Reserve is the sum of all monthly occupancy, labor and governance expenses, which comes to $45,292. At the end of October, the reserve was at $415,669, so I am comfortable with paying $207,500, even if next year's budget has a large deficit. We will have new reserve number before the meeting. The trust from a bequest has $167,404. We have been taking the maximum allowable amount out each year for the general fund. A law passed December 2014 now allows national political committees to have a separate segregated building fund with its own contribution limit of three times the limit for the general fund. We have not done this before, because we needed the bequest for the general fund, but we can transfer up to $100,200 from the bequest to the building fund and use those funds toward making a payment on the mortgage principal. My preference is to pay at least $207,500 toward the mortgage principal to save on interest payments and to ensure no balloon payment. If that passes, then I would favor reducing the policy to budget an extra $60k on odd years. Tim Hagan From: Sam Goldstein <goldsteinatlarge(a)gmail.com> To: lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2016 8:11 AM Subject: [Lnc-business] Added Mortgage Payment I intend to make a motion at our next meeting to spend a good portion of our 2016 surplus to make a payment on the principal on our office mortgage. Not knowing our final numbers at this time lends some uncertainty to that number, but I would like to start the bidding at $150,000. That amount ought to leave us in a very favorable position as to our ongoing reserve for unforeseen expenses over the next few years. Does anyone want to offer a lower/higher amount? If so, what is your reasoning. Thanks and Live Free, Sam Goldstein Libertarian National Committee Member at Large 8925 N Meridian St, Ste 101 Indianapolis IN 46260 317-850-0726 Phone 317-582-1773 Fax ______________________________ _________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org ______________________________ _________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus ______________________________ _________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org ______________________________ _________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty, Caryn Ann Harlos Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty,Caryn Ann HarlosRegion 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.orgCommunications Director, Libertarian Party of ColoradoColorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty,Caryn Ann HarlosRegion 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.orgCommunications Director, Libertarian Party of ColoradoColorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -- In Liberty,Caryn Ann HarlosRegion 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.orgCommunications Director, Libertarian Party of ColoradoColorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org

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Proposed budget
by Joshua Katz 28 Nov '16

28 Nov '16

Can someone please forward me the email in which the budget was distributed? I take it that it has been sent out, and I can kind of see that the email exists, but I cannot access it. Joshua A. Katz

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Committee Transparency Motion postponed to December meeting
by Caryn Ann Harlos 28 Nov '16

28 Nov '16

As you all know, the Committee Transparency Motion was referred to the December meeting so is presently on the agenda. I am attempting to work out an amendment to propose that might cure some of the objections as I would rather have something passed. I am asking for input from those of you *who would approve it* with changes. I already know of the complete arguments against, and ask that we not re-hash them - we can do so at the meeting, but rather this is a good faith attempt to see if some things can be cured. This is how it is currently worded: The names and contact information (phone number, email address, or both) for all committee members shall be posted on the LP.org website. Unless otherwise specifically excepted on a committee-by-committee basis, all committee meetings shall be open to any member of the National Party to observe or listen with the exception of executive sessions and all electronic committee correspondences shall be made available on a public reflector system on the LP.org website, the location of which will be published with the committee contact information. Notices, minutes, agendas, and call-in information of committee meetings shall be published to said reflector list or otherwise on the LP.org <http://lp.org/> website, including a record of all substantive committee actions and how each member voted. At least 48 hours public notice will be given for any committee meeting, with the exception of emergency meetings as defined within the committee's own published standing rules. One objection that seemed to me to be potentially negotiable at this point in times was: *All communications of committees being public as some were questioning if that meant PMs, texts, etc. Also some persons were objecting to phone numbers as that is not even on the site for LNC members.* That is something I would like to see, but the important substance of my motion that is essential are the following points: Identification and contact information for committees Notices of official meetings Minutes of official meetings Open meetings with the exception of executive sessions So I am putting out for feelers this potential amended Motion for amendment to the Policy Manual (the provision, not the lead-in language) *The names and contact information for all committee members shall be posted on the LP.org website. Unless otherwise specifically excepted on a committee-by-committee basis, all committee meetings shall be open to any member of the National Party to observe or listen with the exception of executive sessions. Notices, minutes, agendas, and location and/or call-in information of committee meetings shall be published on the LP.org <http://lp.org/ <http://lp.org/>> website. At least 48 hours public notice will be given for any committee meeting, with the exception of emergency meetings as defined within the committee's own published standing rules.* While I still hold to the deleted items (including that I think phone numbers of LNC members should be published unless a committee member explicitly asks their not to - the default should be open communication), this pared down provision would be a good start and seems to cure some of the objections (and some of the logistical objections were well-founded). -- *In Liberty,* *Caryn Ann Harlos* Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos(a)LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos(a)LP.org> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado <http://www.lpcolorado.org> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>

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Suggestion/Request from Region 7 Member
by Whitney Bilyeu 28 Nov '16

28 Nov '16

Colleagues, please consider the suggestion/request below from a Region 7 member... ---- *The media essentially works in favor of the old parties by pumping out constant talking points that feed into the public. This is created out of the never-ending churn of political events and legislation. An example is the TPP.The idea I have is to create a group of people committee/think-tank at the national level that could discuss and research issues that come up. As libertarians we talk a lot and have resources that we look at like CATO and Reason, but we do not have something like this of our own. A core group of people that could respond quickly if needed and do the research required to give a solid LP response to the issues of the day. These could be compressed into short briefs with talking points to the state parties that could use them as they wish.Many of us get the newsletter from national but a chair or ED cannot respond quickly to everything nor to detailed research on all issues that arise. This group would have that goal. These releases would be internal and the party structure could use them as deemed fit. The team would need to have people capable of looking more deeply into legislation than just a cursory overview and be committed to turnaround times that made us responsive to ongoing events.This group would allow us to speak with a more singular and united strong voice against the hailstorm of media people are inundated with every day.* *In general, each brief would be a short synopsis of the subject and the LP position on it. For, Against, Neutral (pro/con). Talking points should be listed. Details can be given further after that as needed but the goal would be to be brief. People simply do not look into the details of the constant stream of information we have in front of us. It's too much. We need to get out a quick tool that can be trusted and add a counter voice in a news market that we are forced to compete with.* ---- Thoughts? Whitney Bilyeu Region 7 Representative

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Re: [Lnc-business] Added Mortgage Payment
by Daniel Wiener 28 Nov '16

28 Nov '16

Hello LNC members, Concerning the current discussion on paying down the mortgage, I've attached below a couple of emails from 2014 and 2015 which may be helpful, along with an amortization spreadsheet that you can play with to see the effect of early payments. The 8/9/2014 email was a response to questions about the 10-year balloon payment. The 3/29/2015 email was in regards to the timing of early payments, and why it was better to make such payments as soon as possible to save on interest. (That is indeed what Robert Kraus subsequently did.) When I and several other of the LNC members originally voted to authorize the purchase of an office, we did so on the condition that every effort would be made to pay off the mortgage before the balloon payment came due. Of course nobody could guarantee what our future finances would look like and what actions future LNCs might take, but we adopted the Policy Manual provision in an attempt to nail things down as tightly as possible. At the very least, the LNC should make good the remaining portion of last year's budgeted $60,000 which we lacked the funds for at the time. If we can afford to make an additional early payment this year due to our improved financial condition, that would be great. However, the amount of such an expenditure should be weighed against other important needs. For example, I would hate to see our membership and fundraising numbers sharply drop back down next year because we failed to adequately invest in membership renewals and new acquisitions. Paying down the mortgage should remain a high priority, but "high priority" does not mean it automatically takes priority over everything else. Dan Wiener ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Daniel Wiener <wiener(a)alum.mit.edu> Date: Sun, Mar 29, 2015 at 10:20 AM Subject: Prepayment on office mortgage To: Wes Benedict <wes.benedict(a)lp.org>, Robert Kraus <robert.kraus(a)lp.org> Cc: "lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org" <lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org> Hi Wes, In answer to your question, I dug out the attached amortization spreadsheet for the office mortgage. By changing the value of the additional bi-annual payment in cell B9, you can see what the remaining balance will be after ten years in cell B12. For example, if we make an extra $60,000 payment in December of odd-numbered years (as now specified in the Policy Manual), the balance would be paid off in less than ten years (i.e., cell B12 shows a negative balance of $6,808.21). If you zero out cell B9 so there are no extra payments towards the principal, the ten-year balloon balance is $367,741.21 in cell B12. If we were to instead make an extra $10,000 payment in April, 2015 (i.e., subtract an extra $10,000 in cell F16) it would reduce the ten-year balance to $352,282 in cell B12 (a savings of $15,459.21). On the other hand, if that same $10,000 extra payment is delayed three months to July, 2015 (i.e., subtract the $10,000 in cell F19) it produces a ten-year balance of $352,467.94 (a savings of $15,273.27). So the cost (at the end of the ten years) of delaying a $10,000 payment by three months is $185.94. You can play with the spreadsheet to plug in other extra payments at other times to see what the alternative results will be. The basic conclusion is that paying down the mortgage as soon as the funds come in to the building fund, rather than waiting to do so twice a year, will save us a few hundred dollars over the long tern (especially when done early in the ten-year period). It's not a huge difference, but it's not nothing. However, don't empty out the building fund if there's a potential for other expenses associated with the office move. Dan Wiener ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Daniel Wiener <wiener(a)alum.mit.edu> Date: Sat, Aug 9, 2014 at 11:08 AM Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Financial woes To: lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org I only have time for a quick comment right now. We do not "have a balloon payment hanging over our heads." That balloon payment isn't due for another ten years, at which time the principal will have been reduced to $367,741 if we do nothing else but pay the monthly mortgage (which is much less than our previous office lease). At that time we could deal with the balloon payment by either (1) Refinancing the remaining amount, or (2) Having another big fundraising drive which would only need to raise the same amount we already raised for the purchase, or (3) Sell the office, which would have a large amount of equity, even if real estate prices declined from the $850,000 purchase price instead of rising. We made a large enough down payment that we do not have to worry about our loan ever being under water. Even that is a worst-case scenario. I authored the change to the Policy Manual which requires us to budget an additional $60,000 to pay down the principal in every odd-numbered (i.e., non-election) year, when we can mount pay-off-the-mortgage fundraising drives without interfering with ballot access priorities. As I showed in the attached spreadsheet, the result of that will be to completely eliminate the balloon payment at the end of the ten years. Dan Wiener

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Project
by Trent Somes 23 Nov '16

23 Nov '16

Hello everyone, Please take the time to read the attached document. I can't wait to see all of you again. If you have any questions, please text my cell phone or message me on social media, however I am on vacation right now and may be without service. Also, Chairman Sarwark, can I please have 15-30 minutes to discuss this at the December meeting? Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving, *Trent Somes, III* Region 5 Alternate, Libertarian National Committee Founder, Westmoreland County Libertarians <http://fb.com/wclibertarians> National Chair, Libertarian Youth Caucus <http://fb.com/LYCaucus> Facebook <http://fb.com/trentsomes/> Twitter <http://twitter.com/TrentSomes/> Instagram <http://instagram.com/trentsomes/> Address <https://goo.gl/maps/gWqJw21CJZs> Cell: (412) 496 - 8552 Home: (412) 646 - 1872

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