Jonathan Morris won the nomination for US House of Representatives for District 1, and will appear on the ballot in November, facing off against a 26-year incumbent who has faced ethics charges during his career.
In this interview, Morris details his platform issues, talks about running against an incumbent with ethics [...]

Some decisions follow a clear ideological path. Others, such as the City of Indianapolis’ proposed sale of the water utility, can be a little tricky. What is the best deal for the residents of the City?  Is it better to sell to a private operator, even if that operation then becomes [...]

El marcado libre avanza por todas partes del mundo

From Cliff Thies:

Add Spain to the list of countries in the world indicating they are ready to shift from the socialist-left orientation to a center-right orientation. A recent survey gives the center-right Popular Party (better translated as People's Party) a ten point lead over the Socialist Workers' Party. In the last election, the Socialists eked out a thin, four point victory over the Popular Party.

(See chart for survey at electometro.com)

And this from Reuters, "Spain's Socialists pay high price for crisis":

(Reuters) - Spain's economic crisis has seen support for the minority Socialist government nosedive and increased doubts about its ability to remain at the helm of the eurozone's fourth largest economy.

A 15-billion-euro austerity bill scraped through parliament by just one vote on Thursday, narrowly avoiding setting off a vote of no-confidence.

And if there were any doubts about the national mood, opinion polls in the weekend papers put Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government as much as 10 points behind the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP).

The next Spanish general elections are due in 2012, but an early election is a possibility though not likely in the near-term...

The Popular Party and its leader Mariano Rajoy could muster sufficient support in parliament for a vote of no-confidence on any pretext, which would mean early elections.

"There's a high probability the PP will win the next election, no matter what, considering the current economy, but Spain really doesn't need an election right now," said professor of economics at Grenada University Santiago Carbo Valverde.

In addition to the two main parties, there are a number of smaller parties, including both center-right and socialist-left nationalist parties in the several "national" regions of Spain. Four governments ago, the Popular Party ruled in coalition with the center-right nationalist parties. Three governments ago, obtaining a majority in the Spanish parliament in its own name, the Popular Party ruled alone. Implementation of the kind of reforms that are needed would be helped by securing a large majority in the parliament, so that even if the Popular by itself won a majority, it should consider forging a coalition with the center-right nationalist parties.

Photo - Mariano Rajoy Brey, leader Popular People's Party

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

About 50 Tea Party protesters gathered in front of the offices of Rep. Mel Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, to voice their concerns over federal Bail-outs. A lone counter-protester came up to the crowd and began to yell at them.

He went over to a man and his wife and started putting his finger in their faces. The Tea Party protester told the man not to "touch his wife." Then the man swung.

The extended video shows the assaulter telling the Tea Party protester to "Fuck off." Later he can be heard saying "shove it up your ass."

(Hat tip Michael W. Dean, Libertarian Punk)

by Clifford F. Thies

An exit poll indicates that the market-liberal Peoples Party and the center-left Labor party will finish in a tie for first, with Geert Wilder's Freedom Party, a populist-right party, coming in third and the center-right Christian Democrats fourth. Together, the three main center-right parties would have exactly 75 of the 150 seats in the parliament.

Peoples Party - 31 seats
Freedom Party - 23 seats
Christian Democrats - 21 seats
TOTAL: 75 seats

The Freedom Party is therefore in a very strong positon for negotiations pursuant to forming a new government.

From the UK Telegraph:

Results from Dutch exit polls show that Mr Wilders and his hard-right Freedom Party, PVV, could become the kingmakers in a new coalition, which is likely to take months to emerge.

The BBC says that the two parties have much in common:

Mark Rutte, the Liberal party leader, is set to be the first Dutch prime minister from his political camp since World War One.

He told Dutch TV how pleased he was, and said he would discuss the details of his policies later. He has pledged to slash the deficit, mainly by cutting welfare programmes and stimulating new jobs, reducing income tax and cutting benefits for immigrants.

Assuming these numbers stand up - and the actual vote count may add or subtract a few seats to the indicated totals - the Peoples Party might want to bring the small Christian Union Party into a ruling coalition. The Christian Union is simultaneously more to the left on spending issues and more to the right on social issues than the Peoples Party.

The real importance of bringing the Christain Union Party into the ruling coalition would be to insure that legislation passed in the Dutch House of Representatives would be OK'ed in the Dutch Senate, where the Freedom has zero representation, but where the Christian Democrats, Peoples Party and Christian Union together have a majority. The Senate, elected to fixed terms by the state councils of the country, cannot pass or even amend legislation, but it can veto legislation passed by the House of Representatives.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

With 91 percent of the vote counted, it appears that the center-right parties did slightly better than was indicated by the exit polls. The market-liberal Peoples' Party appears to have finished with 31 seats, in first place, with Labor finishing with 30 seats (one less than indicated by the exit polls). The populist-right Freedom Party appears to have finished third with 24 seats (one more than indicated by the exit polls); and, the Christian Democrats appear to have finished fourth with 21 seats. Were these numbers to hold up, the three main center-right parties would have 76 seats, i.e., a majority of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.

Pro-Free Market, Pro-Gay Rights & Pro-Israel

Excerpt from Ed West, columnist & social commentator at the UK Daily Telegraph "The future of Right-wing politics – 'libertarian Islamophobes'" June 9:

Wilders is the philosemitic, pro-gay rights, free marketer usually referred to in the British media as “far-Right” for holding the outrageous opinion that the Dutch should not be a minority in their own country. But the BBC gave a better description this morning when they described him as a “libertarian Islamophobe”.

That is true enough, for Wilders is part of an interesting trend in European politics towards socially liberal ethnic nationalists...

in Europe in general and in the Netherlands in particular, where the anti-immigration movement has become increasingly socially liberal. This might have been an inevitable result of a liberal, tolerant and/or (delete as applicable) depraved and rather sex-mad continent importing immigrants from the most puritanical parts of the world...

From Eric Dondero:

The Swedish Democrats have been gaining in recent polls. They could play a vital role if the election is tight, as is expected, between the Center Right and Center Left.

From the AP (Stockholm):

Jimmie Akesson is running for Parliament, preaching sharp cuts in immigration and calling Islam the greatest threat to Swedish society.

polls are predicting gains for Akesson's far-right Sweden Democrats that could give them a king-maker role in national elections this year if neither mainstream bloc wins an outright majority.

Opinion polls show the Sweden Democrats could get 4 to 6 percent of votes in the September election, enough to win 15-20 seats in the 349-member Riksdag and potentially throw Swedish politics into disarray.

Rightist, but Pro-Israel, and Pro-Tolerance

Akesson (photo below) and his Party are routinely described as "Far Right." Ironically though, they are both Pro-Israel in foreign policy and on social matters for maintaining Sweden's tradition of free speech rights and sexual tolerance.

For example, the Democrats are the biggest defenders of Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who has been continually harassed, beaten and even had his house set on fire, over depictions of Muhammed.

Akesson also points to attacks against artist Lars Vilks, who drew the prophet Muhammad with a dog's body. Last month furious protesters chanting "God is Great" in Arabic disrupted Vilks' guest lecture at Uppsala University and vandals tossed firebombs at his home.

Sweden has also been known to be a sexually permissive society. However, with the onslaught of Muslim immigrants, moral repression is beginning to be seen. Continuing:

What worries many Swedes is the clustering of immigrants in neighborhoods with nicknames such as "Little Baghdad." Few native Swedes ever set foot in these districts, viewing them as dangerous slums infested with criminal gangs and Islamic fundamentalists.

In the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby, aka "Little Mogadishu," a 20-year-old Somali woman in a black head scarf says: "Not even a non-Muslim dares to walk around with a short skirt in Rinkeby." She doesn't give her name for fear of neighbors' reaction.

Akkeson is staunchly anti-racist and has expelled members who show the slightest hint of bigotry:

Swedishness is not in your skin color or in any part of the body. It's in your values and how you behave," Akesson said.

In fact two leaders of the Democrats are the brothers Kent and Ted Ekeroth, (Ted is far right in the photo). The Ekeroths are Jewish. They are expected to hold seats in Parliament if the Democrats crack the 3% support threshold needed to be considered a major party.

Mildly libertarian on economics

While generally free enterprise on economic stances, the Democrats are more pragmatic than libertarian. They support tax cuts, but also maintaining Sweden's extensive welfare state.

From The Local, Sweden's English News, June 1:

Sweden's small far-right Sweden Democrat (SD) party presented a shadow budget on Monday pledging lower taxes and higher benefits, to be financed by cutting international aid and refugee quotas.

The party said their first shadow budget would "re-establish Swedish welfare and at the same time lower taxes."

The budget "mainly involves reallocating the funds of the expensive immigration policy and ineffective development aid to necessary welfare and safety commitments, and raising direct assistance to real refugees in the world," it said.

The party proposed cutting the number of refugees allowed into Sweden, along with immigration by relatives of foreigners, by 90 percent.

It also called for slashing Sweden's direct development aid...

by the Left Coast Rebel

Libertarian Republican readers:

Tim here, Eric's left coast compatriot with a note on today's Libertarian Republican content. It seems that the blogger platform is experiencing a glitch that is affecting certain areas of the country. Eric cannot access Libertarian Republican so I am taking the helm for today.

Rest assured that content here will keep flowing in the manner that you have come to expect.

Be sure to visit Left Coast Rebel.

Expresses support for States' Rights

Asked by Pageant judge Oscar Nunez for her position on Arizona's new law against illegal immigration, Miss Oklahoma Morgan Elizabeth Woolard answered forthrightly:

"I'm a huge believer in States' Rights. I think that's what's so great about America. So, I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law. And I'm against illegal immigration, but I'm also against racial profiling..."

Woolard finished first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant held May 16.

See Video.

The judicial committee in the Oklahoma House just approved a ballot measure for the November election, which would ban Sharia Law from being instituting in any manner in the state court system.

From the Edmonton Sun, June 4:

State Question 755, which likely will be on the ballot in November, would make in-state courts rely on federal and state laws when deciding cases and forbid courts from using international law or Sharia law when making rulings.

The proposal, which has an Edmond connection, would amend Article 7, Section 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution, and stems from House Joint Resolution 1056, dubbed the “Save Our State” amendment, passed during the just-finished legislative session.

The legislation was sponsored by State Rep. Rex Duncan of Sand Springs.

Duncan commented on the inspiration for the ballot measure:

Duncan, an attorney who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the amendment is needed because judges in other states and on the federal bench have increasingly cited international law in their decisions. He said he feels that action is inappropriate in a sovereign state.

Duncan said Sharia law is entrenched in the United Kingdom.

“It is a cancer upon the survivability of the UK,” Duncan said. “SQ 755 will constitute a pre-emptive strike against Sharia law coming to Oklahoma.”

The co-sponsor on the Senate side is Rep. Anthony Sykes of Moore. Continuing:

State Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, a co-author of HJR 1056, said American courts are being more frequently challenged that international law should trump U.S. law.

“Sharia law coming to the U.S. is a scary concept,” Sykes said. “Hopefully the passage of this constitutional amendment will prevent it in Oklahoma.”

Sen. Sykes (photo) has been on the forefront of legislation to establish Oklahoma's 10 Amendment rights for State Sovereignty.

Contrary to the famous quote by Mark Twain there are four, not three, types of lies. Twain’s famous trio is Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics. To his credit he never envisioned the Big Lie.  In short, the Big Lie can be defined as a lie so outrageous, so inconceivable, and so preposterous that its [...]

Sometimes things just have a way of working out.
Last week THIS STORY came out about a judge in the Hagerstown Town Court (who just happens to be my bride of 34 years and a twice elected Libertarian, Susan Bell), and a man who wanted to pay his seat belt ticket fine with [...]

Executive Director Chris Spangle recently appeared on a special edition of “Abdul in the Morning” with Abdul-Hakim Shabazz. It was titled the “Politics of Hypocrisy” and ran on WXNT over Memorial Day weekend. It examines the Mark Souder affair and morality and ethics in politics. The panelists were Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute [...]

The Executive Director of a State Party gets little sleep during the election season, especially before an event like a state convention. LPIN Ed Chris Spangle details what his office has been doing in the days before the convention, and will be doing in the half year leading up to November’s [...]

"Legalize and Tax Marijuana, Prostitution"

Davis is petitioning to get on the ballot for Governor under the Free Libertarian Party label.

Sports oddsmaker, Fox News commentator and member of the Libertarian National Committee Wayne Root was quoted in NewsMax June 7:

"I think the morale of Republicans across the country is sky high," commentator and author Wayne Allyn Root tells Newsmax. "Speaking purely as an analyst, I predict everything is in motion for a gigantic, historic Republican victory in November."

The article was titled "GOP Poised for Surge in California." It was on Republican voting strength increasing in the Golden State, largely due to the rise of Whitman and Fiorina.

BUSTED!

Told Border Patrol he was coming into US to pick up his wife at the Target in Bellingham

The Target Store was closed

From Eric Dondero:

This one may go down on some future Crime show series as Stupid Terrorist blunders. Hamid Malekpour, alias Oliver King, an Iranian citizen living in Canada, was busted last week trying to cross the border into Washington State.

Used the old "my Passport went through the washing machine" line

Yamhill Valley Register, May 28:

He told Customs and Border Protection officers he was entering to pick up his wife at a Target store at a mall in nearby Bellingham. However, agents have determined the store actually closed prior to King’s arrival at the border.

He presented a Canadian passport that had just been issued that morning. When questioned, he said his old passport had gone through the washing machine.

Suspicious about King’s Target and passport stories, ICE agents began tailing him when he crossed the border. They quickly determined he had lied about going to the mall, because he drove past without stopping or picking anyone up...

A self-proclaimed "Modeling Agency executive"

Adding even more suspicions Malekpour's papers listed him as an executive from Vancouver with a "Modeling Agency." More descriptions of the bust:

Agents started tailing King — the name on the passport he used both for recent visits to Iran and last week’s border crossing — in Blaine, Wash. They followed him to the McMinnville gun shop, where he is listed on the lease, and watched him load several boxes of high-powered firearms and ammunition there last Wednesday morning.

They then followed him back north to a storage facility in Ferndale, where they took him into custody.

Local sheriff; he clearly wasn't on a hunting trip

Malekpour had a literal arsenal of weapons. Continuing:

Confronted there by agents, King initially agreed to let them search his vehicle. That search turned up two shotguns, two semiautomatic handguns and about 480 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition... agents obtained a warrant to search a storage unit he was renting at the facility. In it, they found a .50-caliber sniper rifle, two .308-caliber sniper rifles, three .300-caliber sniper rifles, eight law enforcement style .223-caliber rifles, three Glock semi-automatic handguns, 100 .223-caliber magazines, 3,800 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, various high-powered scopes and other equipment.

Local Sheriff Jack Crabtree (photo) comments:

“Have you ever seen a .50-caliber round?” he asked. “That’s a big round — the stuff you shoot at airplanes and tanks.

This story has received no national media attention; only limited coverage in the Seattle media.

Protect the Northern Border too!

Republican Congressman Rob Bishop of Utah will be a guest on LR's "Libertarian Politics Live" this evening at 8 pm cst.

(click on radio button above).

Rep. Bishop will discuss his new legislation on border security and immigration, which protects the nothern border with Canada in particular.

Host - Andre Traversa

Co-Host Jim "Right Guy" Lagnese

Two More Guests: TBA!