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The Libertarian State of the Union: Privacy and Surveillance (Julian Sanchez) – Video

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The Libertarian State of the Union: Privacy and Surveillance (Julian Sanchez)
Follow the link below to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/libertarian-state-union-2014 Featuring Chris Edwards, Director, Tax Policy Studies,...

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The Libertarian State of the Union: Privacy and Surveillance (Julian Sanchez) - Video

Are libertarians 'ultraconservative'? Are 'free markets' 'liberal'

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Watch Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz enourage Nancy Pelosi to do an interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.

By CHARLIE SPIERING | 02/11/14 07:16 AM

Fox News producer Jesse Watters was recently in Washington chasing around members of Congress trying to convince House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to do an interview with Bill O'Reilly. Watters revealed his results of...

By BYRON YORK | 02/11/14 06:39 AM

Recently the New York Times reported that Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who owns a duplex in Dodge City as well as a house in Alexandria, Va., does not live in the Dodge City home when he is in Kansas. Instead,...

By CHARLIE SPIERING | 02/11/14 06:34 AM

NBC's Bob Costas on Tuesday downed a glass of vodka on air after both of his eyes became infected during his trip to the Sochi Olympics in Russia. "I'm not really that much of a vodka guy, I'm looking at it this way...

By PHILIP KLEIN | 02/10/14 06:33 PM

A provision in President Obama's health care law that required larger employers to offer acceptable health insurance or face a penalty has been delayed again for most businesses. The administrative delay, which directly...

By JOEL GEHRKE | 02/10/14 06:06 PM

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Are libertarians 'ultraconservative'? Are 'free markets' 'liberal'

Libertarian Conference Lands Pols, Conspiracy Theorists and Comics

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By Warren Rojas Posted at 11:27 a.m. on Feb. 10

The 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference is rolling into town for a weekend (Feb. 14-16) celebration of freedom, information-sharing and spirited discussion.

The annual gathering attracts students from around the globe but typically features homegrown speakers and performers who share the same passion for living sans restrictions. House Republicans Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky are scheduled to address the youth-oriented gathering, as are Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone, veteran newsman John Stossel and former Hill-staffer-turned-comedian Andrew Heaton.

Heaton, who made light of the congressional grind as bumbling Chief of Staff Elliot Clarice in the satirical Web series Cap South, has been tapped to do standup on Saturday night.

The federal government is a large, slow-moving target, much like a solitary buffalo on opioids. Ill be whacking at that some, he told HOH of his plans for the gathering. But Heaton noted that his material is much broader than whats typically wrong with Capitol Hill.

First, Im not particularly mean-spirited by nature, so Id rather make fun of concepts than people, Heaton said of his big-picture approach to joke writing. Sure, he might lay into Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for getting all, well, Biden-y (He strikes me as a genuinely likable person whom Id happily get drunk with, Heaton said), but Heaton would rather keep things more conceptual.

Plus, he cant count on every audience being as inside baseball as those of us who live and die by C-SPAN.

Since Saturday will be a group of international students, theres no guarantee they would pick up on Chuck Schumer references or gems about Sheila Jackson Lee, Heaton said, referring to New Yorks senior Democratic senator and the Texas Democratic House member.

Not that hes letting that stop him from putting the finishing touches on a new book of political humor Laughter Is Better Than Communism that he plans to unveil at the conference.

Hopefully a few of the scholars will read it and further irritate their professors! he quipped.

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Libertarian Conference Lands Pols, Conspiracy Theorists and Comics

2012 Libertarian Presidential Candidates

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After a bruising two-year battle (lets face it, the presidential race effectively commenced immediately after the 2010 Congressional elections), an estimated cumulative $6 billion in campaign expenditures, dozens of Lettermans Top Ten Lists, and several thousand hours worth of political ads (remember this?), the 2012 United States Presidential Election finally concluded with President Barack Obama securing a second term in office.

One more time, in case anyone missed it: $6,000,000,000.

This is larger than the entire annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the 54 smallest economies in the world. Its even larger than the 2011 GDP of the Principality of Monaco, where billionaires spend their summers watching $7 million F1 race cars zooming around town. Its larger than the combined 2010 and 2011 GDP of the Cayman Islands. Its larger than Grenada's last ten years GDP, where Clint Eastwood once famously led an American invasion force. Wait, that was Heartbreak Ridge.

Was it worth it? You bet. Every single cent was worth it, regardless of how one looks at it. We are, after all, speaking about electing the leader of the most powerful country in the entire recorded human history, either relative or absolute.

However, President Obamas victory doesnt appear to be banishing the sense of uncertainty that is enveloping the nation. America appears to be more divided than ever in the backdrop of the most challenging economic climate in living memory. The $16 trillion albatross hanging around the countrys metaphorical neck only adds to the growing anxiety of the populace. Congress is still split between the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate.

And to top it all off, perhaps the sight of what many consider as the most contentious, spiteful and fractious presidential election ever, between two equally forceful candidates, has led many Americans to look at the future with a little trepidation. There seems to be a growing culture of hatred in the national political discourse.

Surely the country has never faced anything even remotely similar to this, right? Wrong.

Compared to what the nation experienced in the third presidential election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, what we are seeing now is childs play.

When George Washington indicated his preference for John Adams to be his Vice President in 1789, such was his stature, the Confederation Congress and state electors fell in line and voted accordingly, despite concerns over his volatile temperament. So when Washington declined to run for a third term in office, and spend his retirement in Mount Vernon, there was a scramble for the presidency.

The most influential Federalist in Philadelphia, Alexander Hamilton, was fearful that Vice President Adams might decide to back off from running in favor of his good friend, the genius Thomas Jefferson.

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2012 Libertarian Presidential Candidates

Rand Paul, visiting Dallas, says hes considering White House bid

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Sen. Rand Paul acknowledged Friday he is strongly considering a run for the White House, predicting that libertarian philosophies would revitalize the Republican Party and boost his potential bid.

What the party needs is somebody who will invigorate the party and bring new people, the Kentucky Republican said in an interview for Lone Star Politics, airing Sunday on KXAS-TV (NBC5). African-Americans and Hispanics, Asian-Americans are going to look to the Republican Party, if we express ideas of freedom and liberty.

Paul noted that he has a trip scheduled in April to New Hampshire, site of the first presidential primary, and he is widely expected to carry the libertarian standard once held by his father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson.

I keep looking at my schedule, and I see New Hampshire, I see Iowa, I see South Carolina, and I dont understand why I keep going to these states. Paul joked. We are considering it. We havent made a decision yet, but I am interested in the idea.

Paul acknowledged that Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Rick Perry were possible Republican presidential contenders in 2016. He said his libertarian views distinguish him from the pack, offering as an example his goal to fix the racial outcome of the war on drugs, in which punishments hit minority offenders particularly hard.

While he did not compare himself directly to Cruz or Perry, Paul touted his own appeal.

Ive got to try to stand on my message, he said. We need to get back to the boldness of our message.

Paul was in town Friday for meetings and a rally to help the Texas Senate campaign of Dallas businessman Don Huffines.

Huffines, a fellow libertarian, is running in the GOP primary against longtime incumbent and Dallas businessman John Carona.

Huffines, who also recorded a segment for Lone Star Politics, said he would focus on rebuilding infrastructure and developing viable solutions for transportation problems while adhering to conservative principles.

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Rand Paul, visiting Dallas, says hes considering White House bid

One Silicon Valley, Under Libertarian Hero Senator Rand Paul

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Internet-savvy Tea Party activists have shoved the once small-government fringes of the Republican party into the spotlight, with Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul a leading figure.

At the State of the Net Conference, I spoke with this new leader in the Republican party, asking about what life wouldbe like for innovators if he and his small-government brethren continue their rise to power.

I kept it deliberately philosophical to understand how Paul will view issues in the future. Here are a few take-aways.

Science Funding, If You Can Find It

The real explosion of the Internet was the lack of control, argues Paul, in response to my question about if the Internets origins in military labs proves that government is essential to American innovation.

Paul maintains that we shouldnt overestimate the need for government to support Silicon Valley. But, hes a fan of federal-funded science and technology, just so long as it doesnt add to the countrys trillion-dollar-sized debt. Id rather spend the money on R&D if theres not a marketplace for that, he says.

Paul is admirably consistent here; scientistsfreaked out over one of his early budget proposals to slash R&D funding, but calmed down after he brokered a deal with Democrats that would slightly increasefundsfor higher education and research (by finding other programs to cut, of course).

Civil Liberties Galore And No Killing Of Hackers

Paul infamously said that whistleblower Edward Snowden and intelligence director James Clappershould share the same jail cell(Clapper for lying to Congress). I pressed Paul on how he would treat information activists.

There do have to be some rules and there are some problems with disclosing secrets and people could die, he warns. But, security hawks are calling for the death penalty for Edward Snowden, and I think thats inappropriate.

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One Silicon Valley, Under Libertarian Hero Senator Rand Paul


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