[Updates below.]

So I went to the September Business Meeting of the Travis County Libertarian Party, the first time I've ever made the effort to get this close to political activism. I made the decision to do this after finally choosing to act upon a message from the Austin Liberator e-mail list. The message promoted the next event in the Distinguished Speaker Series: Ed Clark from Austin Energy, who'll be speaking about deregulation, the California energy mess, the recent northeast blackout, and other things. After calling Rick McGinnis (a very friendly guy) to confirm a slot, I figured I should check out the TCLP and get a personal feel for the people there.

They usually meet at the Old Quarry Library on 7501 Village Center Drive off Far West Blvd from 6:45pm till 8. I screwed up and didn't find the place in time back last year when I resolved to check them out, but I got there early and made it fine tonight.

The atmosphere was relaxed and mostly productive. Patrick Dixon, the TCLP Chair, got things moving. Having the attitude I have towards formal organizations, it took me a bit to adjust to the format of the proceedings. Recognizings, reports, agendas, minutes, and all that. I apparently picked a good night to drop by, as several folks mentioned attendance was the highest they'd seen in some time.

Much of the meeting was devoted to the ways the TCLP and the Libertarian Party in general is trying to gain ground and membership. Every now and then the topic would get sidetracked by a quickie political debate on the nature of some specific issue, but for the most part, the discussion was straightforward party issues and needs. I get the sense that this problem of wishing to debate political issues interferes in grassroots organizing...I know it certain broke up the monotony of the structured format.

A nifty thing I wasn't prepared for was a report on an Environmental Impact study done by a volunteer (I forget his name) for the Austin area. According to his research ozone levels have been steadily declining since the 1970's in the Austin area. He didn't have enough time to really put together a full presentation, but he promised to upload a more complete report on a TCLP website in the upcoming weeks.

I was enlightened to the sobering reality of Texas ballot access, a process that requires parties that did not recieve 5% or more of the popular vote in the last general election to gather tens of thousands of qualified voter signatures in a mere 75 days. Ugly shite, that, and doubly hypocritical: it's a democratic process designed to supress the democratic process.

Also there was a rep from the national Libertarian Party on hand. I thought he was introduced as the "national chair" but Geoffrey J. Neale doesn't ring a bell. Hm. Anyway, it was an interesting enough meeting that I'll probably go the the next few and see what happens. Will I become a card-carrying member? I haven't decided.

The meetings end with a visit to a nearby Double Dave's, which I decided to join at the last minute. I wanted to get a better feel for the attitudes and leanings of the people there, which wasn't practical at the meeting proper. I ended up sitting with Dan Eisler and two other men and we chatted for some time. While it would be wrong to say I share all the views these people have, it was quite refreshing to be in the company of humans who agree on some fundamentals.

We'll see how it goes from here.

UPDATE(8:40am)
Stupid me. Forgot a few details. Out of the 25-35 who attended, there were only three or four women. I didn't ask why, nor did I go there to pick anyone up, but it did strike me as worthy of noting. The TCLP does have a "women of liberty" calendar as a fund raising item, but I didn't check it out.

UPDATE 9/24/2004 5:30pm
The Austin American-Statesman, Voting, Free Speech, and Information