“Are libertarians just librarians that take liberties? Why is a Libertarian Party even necessary? Aren’t you guys just Republicans?” We’re launching a new program to help teach the LP’s beliefs and how we’re different from other parties. This site – http://www.lp101.org is a portal to information on our principles, stances on issues, links to sites, [...]

A number of people, through choice or misunderstanding, fail to draw a distinction between what are called large “L” Libertarians, small “L” libertarians, and anarchists. While there are similarities, there are also some differences. Anarchists are probably best described as being in opposition of all government.  Small “L” libertarians are a little more accepting of [...]

Muslim immigrants reacting Violently

From Eric Dondero:

Western European countries are starting to enforce statutes meant to preserve their language and culture. With vastly increased immigration from mostly northern African Muslim countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, Euro nations like Britain, Austria and Italy are taking a stand, with a requirement of basic knowledge of the native language, and even knowledge of history and cultural values. Predictably, the immigrants are not reacting favorably to the changes.

From Yahoo News, "Italy makes Immigrants speak Italian for Work Visa":

Italy

Italy is the latest Western European country turning the screws on an expanding immigrant population by demanding language skills in exchange for work permits, or in some cases, citizenship. While enacted last year in the name of integration, these requirements also reflect anxiety that foreigners might dilute fiercely-prized national identity or even, especially in Britain's case, pose terror risks.

The United Kingdom

Since 2005, would-be citizens and permanent residency holders have been asked to prove their command of "Britishness" by answering multiple choice questions, in English, on British history, culture and law, from explaining the meaning behind the fireworks-filled Guy Fawkes Night, to knowing which British courts use a jury system.

Britain's government has pledged to dramatically cut immigration, and the language requirement is effectively a tool to put a cap on the number of newcomers, said Sarah Mulley, an immigration expert at the Institute of Public Policy Research, a London think tank.

Austria

In Austria, terms are tougher. There, where native speakers have been sometimes known to scold immigrant parents for not speaking proper German to their children, foreigners from outside the European Union need to prove they speak basic German within five years of receiving their first residency permit. Failure to do so can bring fines and jeopardize their right to stay.

The government argues that foreigners who master German can better integrate and help foster understanding across cultures. But, like in Italy, critics say it's a just a pretext for erecting barriers.

Strong opposition of course, is being voiced by a coalition of Leftist parties and Muslim immigration advocates.

"The German language is increasingly being used as a marginalization tool," said Alev Korun, a Turkish-born member of the opposition Greens party who immigrated to Austria when she was 19.

And Muslim violence on native Europeans has increased dramatically in the last few months, and weeks.

Just last week in Spain: A Morroccan Muslim stabbed 12 people in Ibiza and a crazed Muslim attacked staff and patients at a hospital in Madrid. (Source: BNI).

And in France, hordes of Muslim Youth rampaged through neighborhoods in Marseilles, attacking local French citizens, and shops after a soccer match. (LR, March 4).

Photo of Algerian man yelling at Italian woman. Korun right.

Using Middle-Eastern/Northern Africa uprisings as excuse to Immigrate for Job opportunities

From VOA "Italian Island Crowded by North African Refugees" March 6:

The people of Lampedusa, the southern-most island in Italy and the first port of call for migrants fleeing the strife in North Africa, have been preparing themselves for potential mass arrivals...

The people of Lampedusa fear it’s just a question of time. Soon, they say, their island will again be inundated with migrants fleeing the political turmoil in North Africa. After the collapse of the Tunisian regime in mid-January, more than 6,000 arrived on the tiny southern island, braving the stretch of sea that separates it from the African coastline.

Most are young men who hope they will be able to find a job and send money back to their families

Continuing:

Simona Moscarelli is the representative of the International Organizations for Migration on the island. She says they expect to see more flows from Tunisia and then migrants arriving from Libya.

They were Shouting "Allahu-Ahkbar"

From Eric Dondero:

Rioters threw gas cylinders into a Church a few miles away from Cairo. A riot started during a dispute between Muslim families; a dispute that appears not to have involved local Christians.

From AINA.org (h/t Pamela Geller):

A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was "in order now."

Witnesses say that the rioters burning down the Church were shouting "Allahu-Ahkbar."

Photo of Christian Coptic church in Cairo, not the one burned down.

Muslims shouted "Allahu-Ahkbar" as they stoned Christians and beat them with rods

From Charismag.com Feb. 27:

One of the Oma villagers started arguing with the missionaries. The situation quickly escalated as the man’s anger incited a mob that attacked the students. The Muslim mob was shouting “Allah Akbar,” which means “God is great” as they stoned the Christians and beat them with rods.

The Christian missionaries fled the village, but the angry mob didn’t end its attack. The Muslim persecutors tried to set fire to the car. The arson attempt failed, but 17 Christian college students were wounded in the Feb. 26 assault, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

“We thank God that no one was killed,” one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told ICC. “It’s sad that we suffered the attacks despite the Ethiopian laws which say there is freedom of religion and equality in the country.”

When the price of an item rises, fewer of the items are sold. The rate at which the sales of an item declines is called elasticity of demand. The greater the decline, the greater the elasticity.

Products will vary greatly in their elasticity. Necessary products like fuel and medicine tend to be less elastic. This is because they are quite vital to the running of the economy. Though an increase in fuel prices will decrease its use, it will not make it fall as rapidly as the rise in cost of a leisure product, for example, the price of lawn gnomes. -- Indepthinfo.com

•The number of close substitutes for a good / uniqueness of the product – the more close substitutes in the market, the more elastic is the demand for a product because consumers can more easily switch their demand if the price of one product changes relative to others in the market. -- Tutor2U.com Price Elasticity of Demand

From Eric Dondero:

It's a well-known principle of free market economics - Henry Hazlitt, Frederich Hayek, Milton Friedman - that when Price goes up due to factors such as increased taxation, consumers will seek "replacement" goods.

A strong tradition has developed in Washington State in recent years to just roll your own cigarettes. Washington State has some of the highest cigarette taxes in the Nation.

From the Seattle Times "New Port Orchard tobacco business for DIY smokers":

Taxes on cigarettes have increased since the passage of the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Smokers in Washington now pay just more than $3 of federal tax and just more than $1 of state tax on a pack of cigarettes typically costing around $7.50, according to Mike Gowrylow, spokesman for the state's Department of Revenue.

The Times gives an example of a local resident beating the system. Continuing:

Kathryn Davis, 78, lives on a fixed income, and has at times passed up grocery items to buy cigarettes.

On Thursday, Davis made her first visit to DIY Tobacco in downtown Port Orchard, where customers purchase loose tobacco and roll their own smokes at a deep discount.

Davis inserted a tray of paper tubes with filters into a large machine, dumped the tobacco in the top and waited. The contraption hissed and banged methodically, churning out the equivalent of a carton of smokes in about eight minutes.

The cost for materials and use of the machine is about $33 for 200 smokes, half to two-thirds of what Davis might pay for a carton of commercially manufactured cigarettes.

North Carolina is on the verge of boosting the State's cigarette tax by an astounding $1.00 a pack.

As John Stephenson of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU.org) points out:

Cigarette taxes are notoriously unreliable sources of revenue. The projection that North Carolina will see a windfall of more than $300 million does not account for the losses of revenue that will surely result from higher taxes as smokers seek out cheaper alternatives from other lower-tax jurisdictions or smugglers.

Meanwhile, the "roll-your-own" shops appears to be a growth industry in Washington, with similar stores opening up throughout the State.

Could North Carolinians and smokers in other states learn from Washington State's example?

From Eric Dondero:

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, surprised many Nevadans and observers nationwide, with an out-of-the-blue rant last week against legalized prostitution in rural counties in his home State.

Some have speculated that since Reid won urban Las Vegas overwhelmingly, and lost big time in rural Nevada to Republican Sharron Angle, it's payback time.

Whatever the reason, his comments have won him Reason's Nanny-Stater of the month distinction.

Newly-elected Gov. Sandoval backs local control

From Eric Dondero:

Harry Reid's call for making prostitution completely illegal throughout Nevada is being met with fierce opposition from those in the industry, and even strong opposition from Republicans.

From CNN "Reid takes on Nevada brothels":

Under Nevada law, prostitution is illegal in major cities such as Las Vegas and Reno. More sparsely populated rural counties, however, have the option of allowing brothels. Ten counties currently do so.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a first-term Republican, has said he believes that any decision to ban prostitution should continue to be made by county governments.

Dennis Hof, owner of the famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch, slammed Reid on Wednesday, calling the senator's proposal a "red herring" to compensate for his "lack of performance" in office.

"We're not rolling over," Hof said. "Reid will have to pry the keys to the cathouse out of my cold dead hands."

Church-going Republicans say keep the Brothels open

Some even believe Reid is pursuing this course as a sort of revenge against rural Nevada, which voted in big numbers for staunchly conservative Republican candidate Sharron Angle.

Republican Senator John Ensign also expressed his opposition to Reid's call to close down the brothels.

And this from MSNBC:

Ed Goedhart, a church-going Republican widely considered the most conservative in the state Assembly, blasted Reid's stance as an attack on freedom and an attempt to "legislate morality."

"This is a transaction that's conducted on the acceptance of both individuals, and I don't believe that we should go there," Goedhart said. "Nevada is still one of the last, best free places. We should be embrace that heritage of freedom and libertarianism and that's going to bring people out here."

Editor's note - This website was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Brian Sandoval for Governor.

From Eric Dondero:

It's still way early. But The Hill is saying that Republicans have a good shot of picking up the Senate for 2012. Five seats are seen as very vulnerable for Democrats due to retirements, and other factors.

The first edition of The Hill's 2012 race ratings puts five Democratic-held seats in the toss-up column. Republicans need a net gain of at least three seats to win the Senate.

Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) are the two incumbents that top of the list of vulnerable Senate Democrats in 2012. And, thanks to retirements, another three Democratic-held seats are toss-ups -- the ones held by Sens. Kent Conrad (N.D.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.) and Jim Webb (Va.).

Nebraska and North Dakota are virtually certain GOP pick-ups with only nominal Dem opposition emerging to strong established GOP contenders. Montana near certain with Cong. Mike Rehberg on the GOP side.

Note - Hawaii too has become open with the recent retirement announcement of Dem Sen. Danial Akaka.

Photo of fmr. NM Cong. Heather Wilson, likely GOP nominee.

From Eric Dondero:

Bill sponsored by Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, against EPA regulations shutting down the coal industry. Mines in Kentucky taking up to 10 years to win approval by bureaucrats in D.C. affecting job growth in the region.

There is No, repeat No scientific evidence that oogling women's breasts promotes male longevity

From Cliff Thies:

MyFoxBoston is the latest to fall for the internet hoax that a study of 500 men in Germany provides scientific proof that starring at women's breats promotes longevilty (as in life expectancy). Judy Walker and Quynh Le of the University of Tasmania, at the 6th Annual Rural Health Conference in Canberra, stated conclusively that there was no such study, that the report was never published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, and that Karen Weatherby, the purported author of the report, does even not exist. They then went on and on about something called "Critical Discourse Analysis." I suppose this reflects that, in their theory of male longevity, boring them is more effective than exciting them.

From Fox5:

Five-hundred men participated in the German study. Half were told to refrain from looking at breasts for five years, the other half were told to ogle them daily.

The study found the men who stared at breasts more often showed lower rates of heart problems, a lower resting heart rate and lower blood pressure.

The authors of the study recommend that men stare at breasts for 10 minutes a day.

Editor's note - Apologies, of course, to the more socially conservative readers of LR.

"Staunch Conservative" with an obvious libertarian streak

From Eric Dondero:

Libertarian-conservative New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has a very mixed record on marijuana decriminalization. But his latest move may send a wave of cheers among the libertarian wing of the GOP.

From NJ.com "Christie nominates N.J. Assemblyman Carroll to be superior court judge":

Gov. Chris Christie has nominated Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, a Morris County Republican and one of the most conservative lawmakers in New Jersey, to be a judge on the state Superior Court.

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said today the nomination had been approved, but that it would not be official until Thursday.

"The governor feels he’s qualified and will be a great judge for the Superior Court," Roberts said.

Carroll has a long history with the Republican Party that dates back to President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972. He’s known as a staunch conservative, but has also pushed for medical-marijuana legislation and tax incentives for electric cars.

In a great irony, Carroll actually defeated Christie a few years ago, in the Republican primary for the Assembly seat that he holds. They have since become friends.

From Eric Dondero:

According to the Baltimore Sun, the overwhelmingly Democrat-controlled House passed the so-called "Dream Act," opening the floodgates for illegal aliens to win taxpayer-subsidized tuitions at state universities and colleges.

The small Republican contingent in the Legislature is fighting back.

Advocates have long wanted to grant the children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition at Maryland's university system. Opponents say widening the pool of applicants will only make admission more difficult for those who've played by the rules.

Senators will have the chance to weigh-in on the issue during next week's debate and the GOP caucus signaled that they will offer multiple amendments to the bill.

Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, called the idea an "unfunded mandate" to the state's community colleges, which he said would have to absorb costs associated with a slew of new students.

From Eric Dondero:

Muir Boda is Vice-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Maryland. He's a candidate for Salisbury City Council (Eastern Shore).

He is a staunch supporter of the local "Safe Streets" initiative.

From Salisbury News Feb. 27:

We need to take a three pronged approach to addressing the root causes of crime, which must be approached as a regional problem.

Short term requires us to develop strong, multi-jurisdictional partnerships on targeting gangs, organized crime and our most violent offenders. After all, criminals know no boundaries and neither should our approach in dealing with them.

From LP.org:

Libertarian candidate Muir Boda, running for the Salisbury City Council in Maryland, placed fourth in the March 1 primary. He will advance to the general election on April 5.

Boda is vice-chair of the Maryland LP.

See related LR article on Boda's campaign, Dec. 25.

From Eric Dondero:

A Republican-sponsored measure to legalize the sale and distribution of raw honey easily passed the Utah House yesterday. It now goes on to the Senate and then to the Governor for his signature.

From the Deseret News "Utah lawmaker wants to define raw honey" Feb. 28:

The food Rep. Stephen Sandstrom wants the Legislature to define — raw honey.

The Republican from Orem is sponsoring the short, one-page bill because he said raw honey and its close cousin — pure honey — are being intermixed, and beekeepers in his district want to preserve their niche in the "raw" market.

Raw honey from Redmond Heritage Farms is picture in this hand out photo and is the subject of Rep. Stephen Sandstrom's bill that will define raw honey. Sandstrom believes raw honey and its close cousin pure honey are being intermixed, and beekeepers in his district want to preserve their niche in the "raw" market
In order to be labeled as raw under HB148, honey that is produced or sold in the Beehive State could not be pasteurized or heated above 118 degrees.

Sandstrom said raw honey legislation is "just a good place to go." He said he wants to pursue more raw food bills in the future and raw honey is an "easier transition" than, say, raw milk.

See related article at LR, from February, "Raw Milk: Obama administration cracks down on Family Farms"

Republican-sponsored Bill

From Eric Dondero:

In a monumental move, the Utah House of Representatives took the first step yesterday, to full legalization of gold and silver as currency, something long supported by libertarians.

It does not mean that gold and silver will replace the dollar as the accepted currency for the State of Utah. However, the legislation allows for the use of gold and silver as "legal tender."

From Fox News "Utah House Passes Bill Recognizing Gold, Silver as Legal Tender":

The House voted 47-26 in favor of the legislation that would also exempt the sale of gold from the state capital gains tax and calls for a committee to study alternative currencies for the state.

The legislation now heads to the state Senate, where a vote is expected next week.

There are 90 members of the Utah House; 63 of them are Republicans. The Bill was sponsored by Rep. Brad Galvez, R-West Haven. He is quoted in the SLC Tribune (via Gata.org):

This is a step in preparedness, a step in security," Galvez said, "that allows us to be able to help hold up our economy as the dollar continues to shrink."

Release...

Washington, Feb 24 -

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement in response to the thwarted terror plot in Texas. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a 20-year-old citizen of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. on a student visa, is charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and is alleged to have listed the home of former President George W. Bush as a possible target.

Chairman Smith: “The terror plot in Texas underscores that the lax enforcement of our immigration laws is a gaping hole in our security system. According to the affidavit, Aldawsari has been planning to commit a terror attack against the U.S. for years. That is precisely why he applied for a student visa, in order to gain entry to the U.S. and carry out his plot.

“We shouldn’t be surprised that terrorists continue to enter the U.S. on visas when our immigration laws are so loosely enforced. The 9-11 hijackers entered the U.S. after obtaining visas. And the Christmas Day bomber was able to board a plane en route to Detroit because he too had a visa.

“History is only repeating itself because we are letting it. We must do more to screen visa applicants to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. in the first place.

“According to the affidavit, Aldawsari wrote in his journal that to avoid detection, he would need multiple drivers’ licenses and a forged U.S. birth certificate. The 9-11 hijackers fraudulently obtained more than 30 drivers’ licenses and identification documents. These allowed them to ultimately board commercial planes on September 11. That’s why Congress passed the REAL ID Act, which established national guidelines for the issuance identification documents to prevent terrorists from obtaining drivers’ licenses. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration continues to delay the full implementation of this law.

“In addition to stronger enforcement of immigration laws, we need the PATRIOT Act to prevent attacks from both terrorist organizations and rogue terrorists acting alone. Provisions of the PATRIOT Act are scheduled to expire in May. We cannot afford to leave our intelligence community without the resources they need to keep Americans safe.

“This was a victory for our law enforcement community, but a failure of our immigration system. We have not learned the lessons of 9-11. Until we crack down on our immigration laws that allow terrorists to enter the U.S., history will continue to repeat itself.”

Swing States moving solidly anti-Obama

by Bryan K. Donnelly

The Zogby International poll conducted on the 17th has GREAT NEWS for real Americans!

From Zogby:

If President Obama runs his re-election campaign on the issues he discussed in his State of the Union Address, the outcome is not likely to be good for Democrats.

My newsletter, The O'Leary Report, in cooperation with ATI-News, recently commissioned a poll of 10,000 likely voters with Zogby International to determine what voters in each of three categories of states think on a wide range of issues.

For polling purposes, we divided all 10,000 voters into three camps: 1) Red states that did not vote for Obama in 2008 and are unlikely to do so in 2012; 2) Blue states that did not vote for McCain in 2008 and are unlikely to vote GOP in 2012; and 3) Battleground "Green" states that could go either way in 2012. The following 12Green states all saw significant changes brought about by statewide and congressional GOP victories and GOP wins in state legislatures as a result of the 2010 midterm elections: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.

Absolue Stunner! Blue States want someone other than Obama

Continuing:

Voters in Blue states would prefer someone new over President Obama by a slim 3-point margin (48% to 45%). The President should easily be able to make-up this ground once his campaign gets into full swing.

In Red states, however, voters would prefer someone new by a sizeable 22-point margin (58% to 36%), a sizeable margin that the President is unlikely to overcome. In Green states, voters want someone new in the White House by a 13-point margin (54% to 41%), showing that Obama's quest for the critical middle-ground will be a severe uphill climb.

So, not only do majorities in most “battleground” states like my own Florida heavily disagree with Obama’s socialist policies, they’re likely to vote against HIM and his Democrat-socialist brethren in next year’s election. We are most likely to see a GOP White House, Senate, and House AND an end to Obamacare. Hurrah!

And three cheers for WI courageous governor Scott Walker! The same scene is about to be played out in FL, MI, OH, MO, TN, KY, PA and many other states. The libertarian/conservative tsunami is just beginning.

Editor's note - Bryan is a regular reader of LR, a member of the RLC, and a diehard pro-Israel/pro-defense libertarian. He is also a constituent of Cong. Allen West, and was an active volunteer in his campaign.

Tours the District looking for GOP support

From the Norwich Bulletin
"Libertarian candidate begins cross-endorsement tour tonight - Plainfield resident 'open' to Republican nomination," Feb. 25:

Montville, Conn. — Libertarian Dan Reale, the only declared candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, will begin his “cross-endorsement” speaking tour today at 7 p.m. before the Montville Republican Town Committee.

The meeting will take place Thursday in Room 102 of Town Hall. Reale announced earlier this week he wants to speak to local Republican town committees interested in limited government and cross-endorsing him and other Libertarians. Reale, who is also chairman of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut, issued a press release on Tuesday titled “I’m Open to the Republican Nomination.”

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