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Bret Baier: If Obama Prosecutes NSA Leaker Edward Snowden, He Opens Door To Libertarian Movement – Video

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Bret Baier: If Obama Prosecutes NSA Leaker Edward Snowden, He Opens Door To Libertarian Movement
6/10/13 - Fox News Channel #39;s Special Report anchor Bret Baier joined the hosts of Fox Friends on Monday to discuss the revelations surrounding Edward Snowden, a private security contractor...

By: MichaelSavage4Prez

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Bret Baier: If Obama Prosecutes NSA Leaker Edward Snowden, He Opens Door To Libertarian Movement - Video

E. J. Dionne: The libertarian problem

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If you start there, taking a stand on the issues of the day is easy. All efforts to cut government functions - public schools, Medicare, environmental regulation, food stamps - should be supported. Anything that increases government (Obamacare, for example) should be opposed.

In his libertarian manifesto For a New Liberty, economist Murray Rothbard promised a nation characterized by "individual liberty, a peaceful foreign policy, minimal government and a free-market economy." The book concludes: "Liberty has never been fully tried in the modern world; libertarians now propose to fulfill the American dream and the world dream of liberty and prosperity for all mankind."

This is where Lind's question comes in. Rothbard freely acknowledges that "liberty has never been fully tried," at least by the libertarians' definition. In an essay in Salon, Lind asks: "If libertarians are correct in claiming that they understand how best to organize a modern society, how is it that not a single country in the world ... is organized along libertarian lines?" In other words, "Why are there no libertarian countries?"

The ideas of the center-left - based on welfare states conjoined with market economies - have been deployed all over the democratic world, most extensively in social-democratic Scandinavia. We also had deadly experiments with communism. Lind asks another question: "If socialism is discredited by the failure of communist regimes in the real world, why isn't libertarianism discredited by the absence of any libertarian regimes in the real world?"

The answer lies in a kind of circular logic: Libertarians can keep holding up their dream of perfection because, as a practical matter, it will never be tried. Even many who say they are libertarians reject the idea when it gets too close to home.

The strongest support for a broad antistatist libertarianism now comes from the tea party. Yet tea-party members, polls show, are older than the country as a whole. They say they want to shrink government in a big way but are uneasy about embracing this concept when reducing Social Security and Medicare comes up. Thus do the proposals to cut these programs being pushed by Republicans in Congress exempt current recipients. There's no way Republicans are going to attack their own base.

But this inconsistency (or hypocrisy) contains a truth: We had something close to a small-government libertarian utopia in the late 19th century, and we decided it didn't work. We realized that many would never be able to save enough for retirement and, later, that most of them would be unable to afford health insurance in old age. Smaller government meant that too many people were poor and that monopolies were formed too easily. And when the Depression engulfed us, government was helpless, largely handcuffed by this antigovernment ideology until Franklin Roosevelt came along.

In fact, as Lind points out, most countries that we typically see as "free" and prosperous have governments that consume around 40 percent of their gross domestic product. They are better off for it. "Libertarians," he wrote, "seem to have persuaded themselves that there is no significant trade-off between less government and more national insecurity, more crime, more illiteracy and more infant and maternal mortality. ..."

This matters to today's politics because too many politicians make decisions based on a utopian theory that never can or will be put into practice. They use this theory to avoid a candid conversation about the messy choices governance requires. And this is why we have gridlock.

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E. J. Dionne: The libertarian problem

Libertarianism’s Achilles’ heel

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WASHINGTON In politics, we often skip past the simple questions. This is why inquiries about the fundamentals can sometimes catch everyone short.

Michael Lind, the independent-minded scholar, posed one such question last week about libertarianism that I hope will shake up the political world. Ill get to his query in a moment. Its important because many in the new generation of conservative politicians declare libertarianism as their core political philosophy.

Libertarians have the virtue, in principle at least, of a very clear creed: They believe in the smallest government possible, longing for what the late philosopher Robert Nozick, in his classic book Anarchy, State and Utopia, called the night-watchman state. Anything government does beyond protecting people from violence or theft and enforcing contracts is seen as illegitimate.

If you start there, taking a stand on the issues of the day is easy. All efforts to cut back on government functions public schools, Medicare, environmental regulation, food stamps should be supported. Anything that increases government activity (Obamacare, for example) should be opposed.

In his bracing 1970s libertarian manifesto For a New Liberty, the economist Murray Rothbard promised a nation that would be characterized by individual liberty, a peaceful foreign policy, minimal government and a free-market economy.

Rothbards book concludes with boldness: Liberty has never been fully tried in the modern world; libertarians now propose to fulfill the American dream and the world dream of liberty and prosperity for all mankind.

This is where Linds question comes in. Note that Rothbard freely acknowledges that liberty has never been fully tried, at least by the libertarians exacting definition. In an essay in Salon, Lind asks:

If libertarians are correct in claiming that they understand how best to organize a modern society, how is it that not a single country in the world in the early 21st century is organized along libertarian lines?

In other words, Why are there no libertarian countries?

The ideas of the center-left based on welfare states conjoined with market economies have been deployed all over the democratic world, most extensively in the social democratic Scandinavian countries. We also had deadly experiments with communism, aka Marxism-Leninism.

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Libertarianism’s Achilles’ heel

Libertarianism is in vogue. Again.

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Looking for the hot new(ish) thing in American politics? Try libertarianism.

Yes, that long-dismissed political philosophy that eschews government intervention in favor of individual liberty is again coming into vogue, particularly among young voters.

Chris Cillizza

Chris Cillizza is founder and editor of The Fix, a leading blog on state and national politics. He is the author of The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insiders Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics and an MSNBC contributor and political analyst. He also regularly appears on NBC and NPRs The Diane Rehm Show. He joined The Post in 2005 and was named one of the top 50 journalists by Washingtonian in 2009.

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Libertarianism is in vogue. Again.

Libertarian think tank rates Oklahoma fifth-freest state

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By JULIE DELCOUR Associate Editor on Jun 9, 2013, at 2:04 AMUpdated on 6/09/13 at 7:34 AM

Norman Meyer carries his fair tax sign during the Tea Party rally on the south steps of the state Capitol in April 2010, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman file

Oklahoma at No. 5 and the Granite State at No. 4, are perilously close to the top of the list of freest states, according to the "Freedom in the 50 States" report produced by the libertarian-leaning Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

I say "perilously" since not all of us define fiscal, economic and personal freedoms the same as the report, which reflects the libertarian litmus test: - the least government possible is the best government.

The "freest" states in the U.S., say researchers, are North Dakota, No. 1, South Dakota, No. 2, and Tennessee, No. 3. New York, unable to slip the surly bonds of high taxation and the red tape of extensive regulation, is ranked No. 50. California, New Jersey and Hawaii also are floating face down at the bottom of the freedom pool.

Using 200 variables, the study ranked states according to how their public policies impact individual freedoms in the economic, social and personal spheres.

Aha! That explains why Gov. Mary Fallin is posting guards on our state's borders to keep out all those Oklahoma wannabes - freedom-starved refugees from New York and Hawaii, etc., dying to run free by becoming Sooners.

After surveying some of the damage wrought in the last few legislative sessions, I certainly am not in the throes of a full-blown freedom high. Freedom is relative. How free do the up to 180,000 Oklahomans feel who won't receive health insurance because of the governor's decisions relating to the Affordable Care Act?

How free are public school students to receive a quality education when the Legislature has cut common education appropriations by $200 million in four years. How free do thousands of teachers and staff feel who've lost jobs because of the cuts?

Oklahoma ranks 49th in per-pupil spending. That's not OK.

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Libertarian think tank rates Oklahoma fifth-freest state

Libertarians says their message resonates locally, ready to compete in City Council race

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"Liberty is local" was a recurring theme of speakers today at the inaugural convention of the Genesee County Libertarian Party.

Some 30 people gathered Homestead Event Center in the Batavia City Centre to ratify the party's charter and nominate the party's first two candidates for office.

Jim Rosenbeck and Lisa Whitehead will be on the November ballot as candidates for at-large seats on the Batavia City Council.

"The Genesee County Libertarian Party is going to represent trust, transparency and truth," said Phil Ricci, party chairman. "We're not going to tell you what to think. If you disagree with our position, we will try to educate you on why we believe what we believe. The Republicans and Democrats will tell you that we're on the fringe, but we will show people we're on the local level, we're here to represent you."

Guest speakers included Drew Beeman, Greater Rochester Libertarian Party chairman, attorney Paul Wolf (first inset), and Mark Axinn (second inset), chairman of the New York Libertarian Party.

Beeman congratulated the Genesee County libertarians for coming together with an energy and numbers that is unique to the region.

His group represents all of the counties surrounding Rochester and he said he would welcome more counties breaking way and forming their own parties. It will take that kind of energy, he said, to reverse the trend statewide and in the nation to constrain individual liberty.

"Gary Johnson got one present of vote," Beeman said. "Are you going to have a Libertarian Party president any time soon? Probably not. But we could have a Batavia City Council member. We could have a school board member. Liberty is local."

Picking up on Ricci's comment about the propaganda of the major parties to portray libertarians as on the political fringe, Beeman noted that when you sit down and talk with people about their views of individual liberty, they actually believe what the Libertarian Party believes.

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Libertarians says their message resonates locally, ready to compete in City Council race

Is it time to cut back on wasteful food stamp programs? – Libertarian v. Socialist – Video

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Is it time to cut back on wasteful food stamp programs? - Libertarian v. Socialist
Thom Hartmann invited Austin Petersen back on The Big Picture to debate over whether it is time to cut back on food stamp programs.

By: Austin Petersen

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Is it time to cut back on wasteful food stamp programs? - Libertarian v. Socialist - Video

IRS Tax Scandal: Targeting of Conservative and Libertarian groups: Truth Revolt Ep 9 – Video

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IRS Tax Scandal: Targeting of Conservative and Libertarian groups: Truth Revolt Ep 9
IRS Tax Scandal: Targeting of Conservative and Libertarian groups: Truth Revolt Ep 9 The IRS Tax Scandal that involved Acting commissioner of the IRS Steven ...

By: Atlas Nearyon

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IRS Tax Scandal: Targeting of Conservative and Libertarian groups: Truth Revolt Ep 9 - Video

Alex Hammond: Libertarian's Leger

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St Leger. Click here to bet.

Last weekend we enjoyed the Derby at Epsom and there were certainly a few fingers burnt with the poor show from Dawn Approach. Who knows what caused him to run so keenly, but it was a total disaster from the point of view of his connections and let's hope it hasn't left its mark.

Certainly the slow early pace contributed to him unravelling so spectacularly, but for a horse who is normally so relaxed he blew it big time. The good news is if you read the blog last week, hopefully you will have backed Libertarian each way. I really fancied him to run a big race and with the news that he had galloped the 'wrong' way round Middleham's High Moor gallops I was even more confident of a bold show.

If he had been trained by any of the so called leading players he would have been a much shorter price and I was amazed the Dante winner returned at such a generous SP. He now looks like being supplemented for the Irish Derby where he could meet the winner, Ruler of the World, again. I'd be more interested to see him take the same horse on again in the St Leger though.

He is currently 5/1 second favourite behind Ruler of the World at 4s and over the extra couple of furlongs on a more conventional track I'd fancy him to reverse the placings.

Back Libertarian for the St Leger with Sky Bet

Onto this weekend now and things are much more low key as we build up to Royal Ascot in a couple of weeks. There's a decent card at Leopardstown on Friday night though with the feature race the Listed Saval Beg Stakes over 1m 6f. Aidan and Joseph O'Brien team up with one of the leading contenders, El Salvador, who like the Derby winner last weekend will wear cheekpieces, although in this horse's case not for the first time.

He has to put a disappointing run in the Vintage Crop Stakes behind him when he was beaten favourite and it will also be the first time he has encountered fast ground on turf, although he has won twice on the polytrack at Dundalk. He has a habit of sweating up badly before a race, but he has done than a couple of times and it doesn't seem to stop him.

Dermot Weld had Rite of Passage entered in the race, but he goes straight for the Ascot Gold Cup now in order to avoid a run on fast ground. Weld does have a chance of winning the race though with the filly Pale Mimosa. She hasn't run since October, but the trip should suit and the ground shouldn't be a problem either.

This will only be her fifth start and there could be much more to come from her. To date she has won two of her four starts including the Listed Galtres Stakes at York over a mile and a half. She's an exciting prospect and I hope she can win this en-route to better things.

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Alex Hammond: Libertarian's Leger

Nevada Libertarian Party urges governor to veto gun bill

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The Libertarian Party of Nevada calls upon Governor Brian Sandoval to VETO Senate Bill 221 as a violation of the Second and Fifth Amendment Rights of Nevada citizens.

This bill is an attack on the constitutional rights of Nevada citizens and sets a dangerous precedent for our nation. It requires universal background checks for the transfer of firearms to be conducted by a gun dealer and unreasonably violates the Second Amendment rights of Nevada citizens. We concur with the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association and the Nevada Firearms Coalition that this bill will not keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals.

The Libertarian Party of Nevada further points out that SB 221 mandates that if one is hospitalized for a mental health issue, one automatically becomes a prohibited possessor of firearms without due process of law (court hearing and adjudication). This includes voluntary commitments, and is an unreasonable requirement and contrary to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This provision, allowing for the loss of Second Amendment rights due to a voluntary commitment, will discourage people needing help from seeking mental health treatment, as such treatment could severely restrict their constitutional freedoms.

The Libertarian Party of Nevada strongly urges all Nevada citizens to contact the Governors office at 775-684-5670 and select option 2 when prompted to express your opposition to SB 221 as an infringement of the constitutional rights of all Nevada citizens. For more information contact the Libertarian Party of Nevada by phone at 702-382-1776 or by email at info@LPNevada.org.

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Nevada Libertarian Party urges governor to veto gun bill


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