Ted’s essays

sanctioned grand thefts

When a SWAT team does a middle-of-the-night raid, everyone is tossed around naked, or in their bedclothes. Resistance is normally fatal (that’s what these guys practice for), and most importantly, there is nobody to call for help. Turns out these are quite common, but not the only way government confiscates your stuff. Thanks to the cover provided by “THE WAR ON DRUGS”, every police agency, and even numerous non-police agencies, can take your stuff IF THEY FEEL LIKE IT. Roadside, bedside, at your place of business, or wherever they feel like attacking, they can come scoop up your stuff and keep it… no provocation necessary. This is politely called “Asset Forfeiture”. It applies to anyone government agencies feel like applying […]

my card

dangerous school choice

Public Education Is Superior and Must Be Protected from Competition Opponents of School Choice Can’t Make Up Their Minds Kevin Currie-Knight from the Foundation for Economic Education Defenders of public education often point to data showing public schools to be as good as or better than private alternatives. A recent book celebrating such data is The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools. Public schools, according to the authors, tend to outperform private rivals on a variety of metrics. Such groups as the National Education Association teachers’ union have used this research to make a case against “privatization.” (The book’s research has been criticized in some quarters for using flawed research methods, and other data show that […]

the wasted vote

Image Credit:http://www.korsgaardscommentary.com/2012/10/is-a-vote-for-a-third-party-really-a-wasted-vote.html 5 Reasons Why Voting Third Party Is Not A Wasted Vote Vote with pride, fellow Americans. Kasey Cross from the odyssey online This November will be my first election that I can vote in, and I’ve already got my candidate picked out. I’m not a Trump supporter, I’m not vying for Hillary, and I’m definitely not “feeling the Bern” (which, by the way, is a tagline that really just makes me think of a bad UTI). I’m supporting a third party candidate. Ultimately, the response that I get when I tell others I’m voting third party is that I’m “wasting” my vote. To all my third party friends who are getting the same backlash: don’t listen to […]

drug war

Today I ran across the clipping to the right. It fits with everything I know about the so called “war on drugs”. There is no war on drugs. There is a war on people… people who use drugs OTHER THAN those sold by the big pharmaceutical mega-corporations. I was a teenager when they outlawed cannabis. I had never seen it, did not even know anyone who had, and the Libertarian party was years away from even being thought of. Yet the concept was so blatantly wrong that I wrote my first ever letter to the editor, ridiculing the Nixon drug doctrine. . Here we are, 50 years into a policy that completely failed to do any good for good […]

introducing Ted Dunlap for governor

Ravalli Republic reporter Perry Backus visited with me for an hour and a half last Thursday. It was a pleasant, amiable conversation. I felt good about him and trusted his integrity to treat my candidacy fairly. I was right. Towards the end of our chat, Perry suggested I show him “my thinking rock” where he did the clickity-clickity-click-click thing with his full-pro camera. With dozens of photos to choose from, he surely could have caught me looking worse than average. But the photo he published is very nice. The article he wrote, published in over half a dozen syndicated newspapers in Montana, also treats me kindly and respectfully. I really appreciate that … and respect Perry for it. He […]

real presidential debate

Forget the Circus, a real debate is coming to town … nation-wide, that is. The Libertarian Party, often known as “The Party of Principle” is having a debate among their leading candidates for the US Presidential race broadcast nation-wide on television. We are not talking high-rolling showboats, but philosophically based candidates who are well-read and knowledgeable about cultural, economic and political sciences. The debate will be hosted by John Stossel and aired on his weekly show. April 1st, Fox Business Channel, John Stossel show, 6:00pm Mountain time. That will show on Dish network channel 206 and on Direct TV channel 359 I found the schedule from this website: http://www.locatetv.com/person/john-stossel/245383/schedule My ignorance regarding what is on television is nearly complete, but […]

gun control

Gun control is hitting your target. There is no simpler, more concise way to say it. Those who pass laws, or those who refuse to repeal laws restricting possession and use of self-defense weapons are either not thinking clearly or have evil intent. Laws against killing people do not stop knife attacks, bomb attacks, acid attacks, brutality against women, baseball bat attacks, gang violence against innocents, or any other violent crimes. Restraining orders are flimsy pieces of paper. Violent criminals are stopped by superior force. Period. Armed citizens prevent violence thousands of times every year. Most of the times without firing a shot. In a state as liberal towards personal freedoms and individual liberty as Montana, one as rich in […]

this site under reconstruction

This website has served many years for political and personal communication. I am now officially the Libertarian candidate for Montana Governor. As you might imagine, it will take a little time to transition this website back into a political one. Meanwhile, you can view a mix of both Ted Dunlaps. Most likely, the big political focus for Montana will be on the upcoming Republican and Democrat party primaries. I will work to provide a clear choice in November for liberty lovers.

motivation – part 2

You might have noticed the quotations that appear over to the right. I have accumulated a large collection that scrolls through that space randomly. Interestingly, 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson addressed the very same question I did yesterday and it popped up as my random quote when I came to this website today. Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived have forced me to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passions. — Thomas Jefferson I enjoy a wide range of pursuits. There is nothing inherently wrong with being a hedonist. Obviously, doing things that are enjoyable is preferable to […]

motivation – why run?

There are two elected positions in every USofA location where one man of courage, integrity and knowledge can make a serious difference. A constitutional sheriff is the highest law enforcement official elected by the people in each county of our country. Sadly, sheriffs who know and are willing to do the job correctly are a minority. Happily, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is working to change that, and many have stood strong for the people of their counties. I have done some work in that direction myself, as you can see elsewhere on this website. The other is the governor of each state. Since this Constitutional Republic of ours is a federation of sovereign states, the governors are […]

because they can

Twice a year the intrusive government effortlessly pokes me with a sharp stick. If someone wants to get up earlier in the morning, then please do. If you want to go to work earlier in the day, for goodness sakes, go to work earlier. Don’t drag me into your wishes. Time zones make sense. If we all used sundials where high noon is high noon, we couldn’t synchronize clock-based events from east to west. Until 1883, that is how it was. Localities each had their own time standard based on the sun. Sunrise, sunset and daylight were set by the sun. It was a scheduling nightmare for the railroads, however. So they divided North America into four time zones that […]