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The annual Michigan Liberty Fest banquet began with a cash bar social hour at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Okemos on November 13. Sponsored by the Capital Area Libertarian Party, the event was opened by a town crier in colonial garb with a clanging bell exclaiming "Here ye, hear ye". This was followed by a humorous proclamation, supposedly direct from "King George the W" of the District of Columbia realm.
Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik delivered the keynote address, fresh off the campaign trail. When asked what was the dumbest question asked by interviewers, he answered "Who are you going to vote for?". He went on to cover some of the details of his arrest at the Presidential debates in St. Louis and the proposed recount in Ohio.
Author of a book on the U.S. Constitution titled "It's Good to be King", Mr. Badnarik presented a constitutional integrity seminar on Sunday at the same location. The seminar was well attended, with twenty-seven students enrolled for his insightful tutoring. Included in the fee was an autographed copy of his book, now a bestseller on Amazon.com.
Awards were presented after the banquet t
o Defenders of Liberty. Stewart Ruley was named posthumously as a Supporter of Liberty for his gracious estate gift to the Libertarian Party of Michigan. The Communicator of Liberty was presented to Jamie Lewis for his work on the state newsletter and untiring efforts in western Michigan as an activist and candidate. The award for Producer of Liberty went to Tim Beck, organizer of the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care, which was responsible for the medical marijuana initiative for Detroit approved in the November election.
Some of the libertarians attending came from the nearby states of Indiana and Ohio, which made for a full house. Winners of the traditional raffle took home antiqued copies of the original Constitution, "Liberty Works" mugs, and some federal reserve notes. The following Monday a nice write-up appeared in the MSU State News (45,000 readers) titled "Libertarians celebrate awareness, progress".
The event was videotaped and broadcast on the Lansing area cable access show "Voice of Liberty" the following week. Copies are available for a nominal fee by contacting Will Tyler White by phone at 517 349-3806 or his email address, treasurer@lpmich.org.
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