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Category Archives: Libertarian

Arthur Christopher Schaper: Scott Walker's right-to-work reticence understandable

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Dear Editor: Contrary to the assertions of libertarian economist Daniel Mitchell and conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer, right to work is not a conflicted attack on unions, but a reform which respects workplace fairness and equity. In 2015, Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin want to initiate this policy. Because of political pressures at home and nationally, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker now confronts his own right-to-work dilemma.

In 2011, Walker faced an uphill fight following the introduction of collective bargaining reforms. Labor unions from all over the world descended on the state capital to stop the bill. Democratic legislators fled to Illinois to disrupt the quorum process, and the Wisconsin business climate suffered for a time because of the illegal walkouts from public sector employees, who demonstrated vigorously. Walker most likely fears that a Wisconsin right-to-work law would incite labor union violence in Madison.

Walker has a responsibility to ensure efficiency and safety in his state, as well as fiscal, legal and moral policy reforms. Besides, the governor has other problems to consider, like resolving a budget shortfall, sizing up the required steps for a balanced budget, yet also seizing the opportunity to expand school choice, cut taxes, and reduce spending.

Walker supporters (and detractors) should understand his reticence, even if they believe (as I do) that he should support right to work and sign the measure into law.

Arthur Christopher Schaper

Torrance, Calif.

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Arthur Christopher Schaper: Scott Walker's right-to-work reticence understandable

Millennials' surprise: There isn't an app to solve all problems

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Poverty? Isn't there an app for that?

None of my college journalism students has asked me that one yet. But I wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them did.

Millennials, it seems, have very different ideas about how to solve urban problems. And unlike the notions of this retirement-age New Dealer, their solutions typically don't include raising taxes or expanding the reach of some government agency.

This is, I think, a fast-evolving yet underappreciated phenomenon in American life and politics. The millennials, roughly defined as those born between 1985 and 2000, are so smitten with mobile technology and its social and economic applications that they see tech as the solution to just about everything.

Need a cheap ride? Punch-up Uber on the iPhone.

Hungry? Go to grubhub.com.

Their universe of digital conveniences is extensive and extending. When she needs a movie listing or a sports score, my 20-something daughter would no more pick up an ink-flecked sheet of dried tree mulch (aka a newspaper) than she would scan the horizon for smoke signals.

But is this new way of thinking birthing a new kind of politics? I think it is. And the new digital mindset is, at its core, libertarian. Which is to say: very liberal on social issues such as gay marriage and legalized pot, yet very skeptical of government efforts to regulate the economy or levy taxes.

So they're trending toward the Republican side of the ballot.

This was driven home in November's election when the two Chicago wards most associated with upwardly mobile millennials downtown's 42nd Ward and Lincoln Park's 43rd Ward carried, in the aggregate, for Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner.

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Millennials' surprise: There isn't an app to solve all problems

Why Are So Few Black People Using Bitcoin?

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The digital currencypopular among a mostly white, mostly libertarian contingentmight prove useful in communities where it's relatively difficult to secure a loan or transfer money.

Lauren Giordano/The Atlantic

Edwardo Jackson will gladly drop a Bitcoin primer on anyone who's curious. Beyond his outer enthusiasm for the digital currencywhen he talks about Bitcoin, he speeds up as if discussing a newly-discovered oil reserve in his backyardhe loves trading it and tracking its movement in the markets.

In 2013, Jackson, a 39-year-old Las Vegas-based pro poker player and former writer for Upworthy, started spreading the gospel of the currency via his blog, Blacks in Bitcoin, where he claimed that he would spontaneously combust if he had no other outlet to voice his obsession with the digital barter.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to own a piece of email technology in 1994? asks Jackson, who believes the currency is still very much in its early adoption phase. Thats what Bitcoin is like right now, and its only getting bigger. While it's still being debated whether Bitcoin will ever gain a full foothold in the global financial ecosystem, there has been less discussion about the currencys potential effects within communities that arent well served by traditional financial services. Bitcoins promise in the African American community has been especially overlookedmore time has been spent worrying that the currency would facilitate criminal activity.

Jackson doesnt neatly fit the image many have of the typical Bitcoin userthe affluent, white, libertarian-leaning male. Jackson isnt white, and hes neither an Austrian School devotee nor a card-carrying member of the Seasteading Institute. (Im not what you would call an anarcho-capitalist, he says. I do believe that government can provide basic rules so that everybody can get along.) As overall awareness of Bitcoin has grown, African Americans like Jackson might be able to serve as the currency's cultural ambassador to certain minority communities.

From the looks of things, thats where the currency needs a higher profile. A study conducted in May 2014 by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the Massachusetts Division of Banks showed that African Americans are less likely than whites and Hispanics to have heard about virtual currencies in general. Another study, released in July 2014 by the digital media company Morning Consult, found that African Americans are less likely than white and Hispanics to know a lot about Bitcoin.

Bitcoin traders might interpret those findings to mean that there isnt a market for the currency in the black community. Nicholas Colas, the chief market strategist of the brokerage firm ConvergEx Group, doesnt believe thats the case. Having written online commentaries and appeared on cable financial-news outlets, Colas is one of Bitcoin's earliest and most vocal evangelists. He believes the currency would be useful to a variety of demographics. Bitcoin is a Rorschach test for anybody interested in banking, because different people see different things in what Bitcoin can offer different communities, he says.

With the African American community, Colas sees the currency filling a significant financial-services void. As support, he cites a Senate committee letter written in 2013 by then-Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, along with a Bitcoin primer published by the Chicago Fed. Neither offered any official endorsement of the currency, but both missives noted the possible benefits of facilitating low-cost transactions in communities where currency exchanges, pre-paid cards and payday loan services are prevalent. Thats where the promise is for the African American community, because in a finished form, it allows for a cheaper money-transfer system than anything that the current financial system can provide, Colas says.

According to Shawn Wilkinson, the founder of Storj, a cloud-storage service, Bitcoin could enable people to engage in online microloans. Bitcoin, or some kind of cryptocurrency, has the ability to decouple African Americans from the economic system in a positive manner, he says. With Bitcoin, there are a lot more methods with microlending, where you can have communities using cryptocurrencies to help themselves without any intermediaries."

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Why Are So Few Black People Using Bitcoin?

Millionaire 'Bitcoin Jesus' denied entry to the US

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A letter from the US government informed him that: You have not demonstrated that you have the ties that will compel you to return to your home country after your travel to the United States.

Ver officially lives in Tokyo, where he moved in 2005 after serving a ten month prison sentence in the US for selling large firecrackers on eBay, which the Department of Justice described as dealing in explosives without a license. However, he has a second home on Saint Kitts, a small island in the West Indies, which is where he was applying for the visa from.

Bloomberg reported in June that Ver had started a service offering a passport from the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis - which allows international travel to many countries without the need for visas, and a low level of taxation - in return for a Bitcoin payment. The small government had offered a similar service since 1984 but residents of some countries had found it difficult to get the necessary $400,000 real estate investment out of their own countries. Ver hoped that the unregulated nature of Bitcoin would make that process easier.

Speaking to Coindesk, Ver said: I would be fine with them denying my visa if it was for a valid reason, but they are either lying, ignorant, or stupid when they claim that I plan to secretly overstay my visa and live as an illegal immigrant in the USA."

Ver bought his first Bitcoins in 2011 at a price of around $1. Since then they have risen dramatically to as high as $1,242, but have since fallen back to around $287.

Since then he has been extremely active in the Bitcoin startup community, funding several companies and often handing out coins for free in order to raise awareness of the currency, earning him the nickname Bitcoin Jesus.

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Millionaire 'Bitcoin Jesus' denied entry to the US

Martin Anderson, GOP presidential adviser, proponent of ending the draft, dies at 78

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Martin Anderson, a conservative and libertarian-leaning intellectual who was a key adviser to Republican presidents and was credited with providing many of the ideas and arguments that created Americas all-volunteer military, died Jan. 3 at his home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 78.

The Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where Dr. Anderson had been a senior fellow since 1971, announced his death but did not cite a cause.

During the presidential campaign years of 1967 and 1968, Dr. Anderson provided GOP candidate Richard M. Nixon with proposals that helped end the military draft and replace it with the volunteer force that in recent generations has been the basis of American defense and the underpinning of American foreign policy.

Dr. Anderson also was the first domestic policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, becoming known as a member of the close circle of aides who set the ideological tone for Reagans administration in the 1980s.

One of the pioneering chroniclers of American politics, Theodore H. White, noted Dr. Andersons prominent position in Washingtons highest councils, those places where ideas intersect with actions.

In his book America in Search of Itself, White described Dr. Anderson as having been enlisted from the academic world to become in time Reagans Seeing Eye dog . . . a one-man warehouse of facts . . . guiding [Reagan] to that growing minority revolting against the dominant liberal ideas that reigned on American campuses.

A bespectacled man with a skeptical glance who swam against prevailing currents of academic opinion, Dr. Anderson over the years held many titles in Washington that suggested his proximity to power but did not always reveal the influence he wielded.

In the Nixon White House from 1969 to 1970, he was special assistant to the president and later a special consultant to the president. After being Reagans chief adviser on domestic policy, he served as a member of the presidents Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1982 to 1989.

From 1987 through 1993, during the later Reagan years and throughout the succeeding administration of President George H.W. Bush, Dr. Anderson sat on the presidents General Advisory Committee on Arms Control.

In addition, he was a trustee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and, from 1993 to 1998, served on the California Governors Council of Economic Advisers.

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Martin Anderson, GOP presidential adviser, proponent of ending the draft, dies at 78

Stay out of politics, Qld cops told

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New crime statistics show tough anti-bikie laws in Queensland have cleaned up the streets and should stay despite an opposition plan to repeal them, the state government says.

Since the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) legislation was implemented over 12 months ago, 1706 criminal gang members have been arrested on 4710 charges, acting Police Minister John McVeigh says.

"The LNP (Liberal National Party) government is very satisfied with the progress of these laws, we're very satisfied with the implementation of the laws by the police, and we'll continue this strong stance against criminal gangs across Queensland," he told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Although he accused the opposition of wanting to take Queensland back to "the bad old days" by repealing the VLAD laws, he declined to speculate about whether they would remain in place past a review date in 2016.

"That review date is roughly 18 months away, I certainly won't pre-empt what cabinet's consideration may be of a review that is due at that time," he said.

"We're obviously very committed to them right now."

Mr McVeigh heralded the "impressive progress" shown in new crime statistics, including a 27 per cent dip in the number of robberies between July and November 2014, and a 35 per cent decline in extortion offences over the same period.

More than 1400 calls to Crime Stoppers also resulted in the arrest of 131 people.

An unsuccessful High Court challenge of the laws and comments from senior police officers showed they were supported by police and the community, Mr McVeigh said.

Critics of the legislation say the VLAD Act draconian and encroaches upon the right to associate.

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Stay out of politics, Qld cops told

Challenges Loom for Paul as He Speeds Toward 2016

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Rand Paul may only yet be a candidate for re-election to the Senate in 2016, but the first-term Kentucky Republican already is sprinting toward the race for president.

The libertarian-minded lawmaker is set to visit several Western states this month before reintroducing himself to voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and his team is working to strengthen his political network in nearly every state.

At the same time, he is readying for a leading role in the GOP's new Senate majority while pushing to improve a Republican brand he says is "tattered."

Aides insist that Paul has not finalized his decision about the White House, but his aggressive steps leave little doubt about his ambitions.

"Everything's being prepared as if it's happening, with the knowledge that the final trigger hasn't been pulled yet," said Paul senior aide Doug Stafford.

Some see the son of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a two-time presidential candidate, as a transformational figure capable of expanding the GOP's appeal beyond its traditional base of older, white men.

While calling for a dramatic reduction in the size and scope of the federal government, the 51-year-old Paul plays down social issues such as gay marriage, criticizes a criminal justice system that overwhelmingly incarcerates blacks, and favors a smaller U.S. footprint in the world.

Rand Paul should expect challenges every step of the way.

About his father's legacy. About contradictions between his past comments and today's words. About his willingness to take on the status quo. About a Kentucky law that says he cannot run for president and re-election to the Senate at the same time.

"I just don't see him getting too far with an isolationist foreign policy and a pro-gay marriage agenda," said Hogan Gidley, a GOP operative who previously worked for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and ex-Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who have run for president before and may again in 2016.

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Challenges Loom for Paul as He Speeds Toward 2016

Judge allows Libertarians' court challenge in New Hampshire to proceed

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Published January 01, 2015

A federal judge has ruled that the Libertarian Party can proceed with its challenge to a New Hampshire law it claims could prevent its candidates from getting on the ballot.

A third party can have its nominees placed on the New Hampshire general election ballot by winning at least 4 percent of the vote for either governor or U.S. senator in the most recent election or by collecting signatures equal to 3 percent of the total votes cast during the prior election. Under a law that took effect in July, parties can't begin gathering those signatures until Jan. 1 of the election year.

The state argues that the change ensures that signatures on nomination papers are valid, but the Libertarian Party sued, arguing that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the party to petition its way onto the ballot.

The state asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro refused. In a ruling this week, he noted that the right to vote must be balanced against the state's interest in conducting orderly elections, but said whether or not the new restrictions are reasonable depends on factors that have yet to be explored.

"The state offers a number of arguments in favor of dismissal, but none are persuasive," he wrote.

In 2012, the Libertarian Party ran candidates for president, vice president, Congress and several state-level seats after collecting the necessary signatures, but it began the collection process in 2011. For the 2016 election, it would need to collect 14,864 signatures.

"This signature-collection process is like a marathon that's hard enough just to finish, and now the state is essentially demanding that the Libertarian Party run the marathon in less than two hours. This is unfair and unconstitutional," said attorney William Christie, co-counsel on the case along with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.

Attorneys for the party argue that the time limit also effectively prevents the party from meaningfully participating in the general election because it would have to use its limited resources collecting signatures instead of on campaigning and fundraising.

Assistant Attorney General Laura Lombardi, who is representing Secretary of State William Gardner, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In court filings, she argued that the new time limits are both nondiscriminatory and reasonable and would impose only a minimal burden on third parties.

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Judge allows Libertarians' court challenge in New Hampshire to proceed

New Hampshire ballot access challenge continues

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CONCORD A federal judge has ruled that the Libertarian Party can proceed with its challenge to a New Hampshire law it claims could prevent its candidates from getting on the ballot.

A third party can have its nominees placed on the New Hampshire general election ballot by winning at least 4 percent of the vote for either governor or U.S. senator in the most recent election or by collecting signatures equal to 3 percent of the total votes cast during the prior election. Under a law that took effect in July, parties cant begin gathering those signatures until Jan. 1 of the election year. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

CONCORD A federal judge has ruled that the Libertarian Party can proceed with its challenge to a New Hampshire law it claims could prevent its candidates from getting on the ballot.

A third party can have its nominees placed on the New Hampshire general election ballot by winning at least 4 percent of the vote for either governor or U.S. senator in the most recent election or by collecting signatures equal to 3 percent of the total votes cast during the prior election. Under a law that took effect in July, parties cant begin gathering those signatures until Jan. 1 of the election year.

The state argues that the change ensures that signatures on nomination papers are valid, but the Libertarian Party sued, arguing that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the party to petition its way onto the ballot.

The state asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro refused. In a ruling this week, he noted that the right to vote must be balanced against the states interest in conducting orderly elections, but said whether or not the new restrictions are reasonable depends on factors that have yet to be explored.

The state offers a number of arguments in favor of dismissal, but none are persuasive, he wrote.

In 2012, the Libertarian Party ran candidates for president, vice president, Congress and several state-level seats after collecting the necessary signatures, but it began the collection process in 2011. For the 2016 election, it would need to collect 14,864 signatures.

This signature-collection process is like a marathon thats hard enough just to finish, and now the state is essentially demanding that the Libertarian Party run the marathon in less than two hours. This is unfair and unconstitutional, said attorney William Christie, co-counsel on the case along with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.

Attorneys for the party argue that the time limit also effectively prevents the party from meaningfully participating in the general election because it would have to use its limited resources collecting signatures instead of on campaigning and fundraising.

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New Hampshire ballot access challenge continues

Ballot Access Ruling Favors N.H. Third Party

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Concord A federal judge has ruled that the Libertarian Party can proceed with its challenge to a New Hampshire law it claims could prevent its candidates from getting on the ballot.

A third party can have its nominees placed on the New Hampshire general election ballot by winning at least 4 percent of the vote for either governor or U.S. senator in the most recent election or by collecting signatures equal to 3 percent of the total votes cast during the prior election. Under a law that took effect in July, parties cant begin gathering those signatures until Jan. 1 of the election year.

The state argues that the change ensures that signatures on nomination papers are valid, but the Libertarian Party sued, arguing that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the party to petition its way onto the ballot.

The state asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro refused. In a ruling this week, he noted that the right to vote must be balanced against the states interest in conducting orderly elections, but said whether or not the new restrictions are reasonable depends on factors that have yet to be explored.

The state offers a number of arguments in favor of dismissal, but none are persuasive, he wrote.

In 2012, the Libertarian Party ran candidates for president, vice president, Congress and several state-level seats after collecting the necessary signatures, but it began the collection process in 2011. For the 2016 election, it would need to collect 14,864 signatures.

This signature-collection process is like a marathon thats hard enough just to finish, and now the state is essentially demanding that the Libertarian Party run the marathon in less than two hours. This is unfair and unconstitutional, said attorney William Christie, co-counsel on the case along with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.

Attorneys for the party argue that the time limit also effectively prevents the party from meaningfully participating in the general election because it would have to use its limited resources collecting signatures instead of on campaigning and fundraising.

Assistant Attorney General Laura Lombardi, who is representing Secretary of State William Gardner, did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week. In court filings, she argued that the new time limits are both nondiscriminatory and reasonable and would impose only a minimal burden on third parties.

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Ballot Access Ruling Favors N.H. Third Party

Diverse field in sprint for Texas House seat

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Tuesdays special election in Texas House District 123 offers an array of eager candidates vying to replace 14-year state Rep. Mike Villarreal.

Hopefuls include Green and Libertarian contenders, three Democrats and one Republican, all faced with an abbreviated campaign schedule during the holidays, no less to seek support in a potentially low-turnout election.

Villarreal, D-San Antonio, was re-elected Nov. 4, but with lawmakers set to convene Jan. 13, he doesnt intend to serve. Instead, hes giving up the seat to run for mayor.

His departure set up the special election scramble, which could result in a runoff if no candidate captures a majority. Early voting concludes today at 14 polling sites.

Also on the short ballot is a five-candidate race to replace state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, whos also exiting the Legislature to run for mayor in May.

Candidates for the House seat are relying largely on social media to win voters attention, but some have extensive door-to-door campaigns underway and a few have issued numerous direct-mail pieces.

The Libertarian candidate is salesman Roger V. Gary, 68. He served six years on the board of the San Antonio River Authority before running for the Texas Railroad Commission in 2010 and for president of the United States in 2012. He said hes been a watchdog of local water-management policies and opposes current plans for a new water pipeline, as well as toll roads.

Representing the Green Party is clinical psychologist and sleep disorder specialist Paul Ingmundson, 62. He was Villarreals only opponent in November, garnering 14 percent of the vote. Responding to a League of Women Voters questionnaire for that race, he said he was active in progressive politics and an advocate for clean energy, Medicaid expansion, better regulation of water and protection of voter rights.

Republican Nunzio Previtera, 61, an insurance agent and small-business owner, is making his first run for office. A member of the State Republican Executive Committee, Previtera said he wasnt politically active until a few years ago when he decided the country was going in the wrong direction.

Rather than gripe about it you can get involved, he said.

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Diverse field in sprint for Texas House seat

Libertarian suit over ballot access gets federal court's OK

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CONCORD The state Libertarian Partys lawsuit against the state over a third partys ability to get its candidates on the ballot can continue, U.S. District Judge Paul Barbaroso wrote Tuesday in a decision rejecting the states request to dismiss the lawsuit.

The Libertarian Party is challenging a state law, passed this year, that requires third parties to collect the number of signatures equaling 3 percent of the total votes cast in the previous election in order to get its candidates on the ballot.

The law further requires that signatures can only be collected beginning in that election year.

The lawsuit claims the requirements are onerous because it forces third parties to spend resources collecting signatures, including during the second half of winter, rather than being able to campaign.

The result is to foreclose the third party from meaningfully participating in the general election and to substantially burden ballot access, the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the Libertarian Party, wrote in a press release.

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Libertarian suit over ballot access gets federal court's OK


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