Liberty Jubilee is set for March 28-29

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The 29th Annual Liberty Jubilee, a family-style fun festival, is set for Friday and Saturday, March 28-29, in downtown Liberty.

Often described as one of the best small town festivals in the State of Texas, the Liberty Jubilee is held around the historic downtown area on the fourth weekend of March each year. The festival dates back to 1986 when it was designed as part of the Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration. The original event, however, was such a success that the City of Liberty decided to continue holding it each year.

The festival opens at noon on Friday, March 28, with various food vendors, arts and crafts vendors and the Liberty Municipal Librarys book and bake sale. That evening there is a fish fry sponsored by the local Lions Club, a fireworks display and a street dance. A popular barbecue cook-off competition is held each year with teams setting up on Friday afternoon and judging held on Saturday.

The festival is greatly expanded on Saturday, March 29, beginning that morning with a parade featuring costumed children on bicycles, walking their pets or riding on small floats. There is literally something for everyone in the family to see or do throughout the day on Saturday. There are three stages of live entertainment, strolling clowns, childrens games and rides, outdoor recreation section, arts and crafts and, of course, great food.

Some of the more popular events are booking up fast, and deadlines for these events are rapidly approaching:

BOOK AND BAKE SALE An annual fundraiser for the Liberty Municipal Library, the Book and Bake Sale is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and gets under way at noon on Friday and continues all day on Saturday. The Book Sale will be held upstairs you can get there by means of the elevator in the foyer. Pat Craig is chairing this part of the event.

The Bake Sale, which will be held in the foyer of the Cultural Center, provides homemade baked goods, frozen casseroles, jams, jellies, and other popular items. Anyone who would like to contribute such food items to the sale may contact Beverly Davis at 936-336-7476. Food items can be dropped off there on Thursday, March 27, or on Friday morning, March 28.

JUBILEE COOK-OFF This is one of the most popular events each year, and competition is limited to only 20 cooking teams. Spaces are going fast, although the deadline is March 21.

The cooking competition has been one of the highlights of the Jubilee since it was first organized as Texas Sesquicentennial celebration in 1986. Prizes are awarded for brisket, ribs, chefs choice, rib eye steaks and margaritas. Cook-off teams will begin setting up on Friday, March 28, and all meats will be tagged and all food items must be inspected before cooking can begin. Complete rules and application forms are available at city hall.

There will be a number of trophies given in the cook-off contest. Judging will be on Saturday, March 29. A list of all rules, entry fees and other information is available through Liberty City Hall or the citys website Fees or $25 per category or $100 for all events. For more information, call Tom Warner or Naomi Herrington at City Hall, 936-336-3684.

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Liberty Jubilee is set for March 28-29

Here a libertarian, there a libertarian. But will there be libertarians everywhere soon?

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During the 2012 Republican primaries, young Ron Paul supporters received national attention that far outweighed their influence on the party's eventual presidential pick. NPR quoted a Georgetown graduate student who said about millennials, "This is the most libertarian generation that has ever existed. I just think it's taking a little bit longer for people to realize ... but in 10 or 20 years, once our age group starts to have more of an influence in society, we're going to see very significant shifts in what's happening."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

We're only two years removed from his prediction, but it's clear that libertarians are becoming a vocal faction within Republican ranks. In the annual straw poll that takes place at the Conservative Political Action Committee, Rand Paul took first place, winning 31 percent of the vote despite the fact there were 24 other people on the ballot. Paul also won the straw poll in 2013.

The pollster who has run the straw poll since CPAC's founding says nearly half of the weekend's voters were 18 to 25. Eighteen to 25 year olds are also the demographic least likely to vote, so the populace of CPAC might not match up perfectly with the populace that will pick the 2016 presidential candidate. As Molly Ball pointed out in her CPAC recap, "Though CPAC draws right-wingers of all stripes, from Oliver North to Santorum to a guy on stilts in a Ronald Reagan costume, it isincreasingly dominated by libertarians, a combined result of their passionate engagement in movement politics and the discount rates the conference offers to college students." Republicans may be subsidizing their young libertarian members, but they aren't quite listening to them yet.

But, as that grad student said in 2012, 10 or 20 years from now, libertarians will likely be the Republicans to watch if current trends hold. Here are a few ways to look at the the libertarian crowd in 2014, as the group tries to expand their influence within the Republican Party.

A poll released by the Public Religion Research Institute in October 2013 showed that 22 percent of Americans consider themselves libertarian or lean libertarian. Forty-five percent of libertarians side with Republicans, while 5 percent identify as Democrats. Fifty-three percent of libertarians consider themselves reliable primary voters. A CNN poll from 2011 had 63 percent of respondents saying government was doing too much. A poll commissioned by the Harvard Institute of Politics last year showed that a majority of 18-29 year olds do not want the government collecting any of their personal information data. A new Pew Research Center survey shows that 69 percent of millennials think marijuana should be legalized. Philip Bump at the Atlantic Wire summed up Pew's findings as, "if that portrait holds, it's not terrible news for conservatives. It fits with the growth of political libertarians." However, leaning more libertarian may not stave off the biggest problem the Republican Party currently has. As Claire Thompson noted in February 2012,self-described libertarians trend "white, male, and financially secure." Which happens to be how much of the party writ large trends. If they can only keep the twentysomethings that look like them on board, the Republican Party is going to continue to attract fewer and fewer members of the electorate. Libertarians may grow, but right now, trending toward the Rand model doesn't seem the safest outreach.

Rand Paul is the star and lighthouse of the libertarian movement, as evidenced by his success at the past few CPACs, success he seems to have inheritedfrom his father. The issue that Paul has received the most attention for in 2014 is civil liberty, especially pertaining to Internet privacy concerns after the National Security Agency leaks of last year. He filed a class action lawsuit against the Obama administration in early February over the NSA's collection of phone metadata. Many of his public appearances including his speech at CPAC this weekend feature a shout-out to civil liberties. Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who released data to the media, has been described as a "libertarian millennial."

There are plenty of other libertarians at the state and local level that are mixing up party politics on a less noticeable level than Rand Paul and the congregating millennials at National Harbor. Charlie Earl gave the keynote address at the Libertarian Party of Ohio's convention yesterday, railing against state secretary of State Jon Husted for taking Earl off the 2014 gubernatorial ballot because of a clerical order. Or as Earl more colorfully put it,I really am the equivalent of a book in Boston.Yeah, Ive been banned." He was clearly very passionate about the libertarian issues he spoke of during his speech, seeing as he cried twice within five minutes of starting, apologizing with aExcuse me. When I cry, I snot. In the Florida special congressional election under close watch nationally, Libertarian candidate Lucas Overby is seen as someone who could change up the results, pulling Democratic or Republican voters away from a very close race. A group of 50 Libertarians (and members of the Free State project have moved into the tiny town of Grafton, New Hampshire and made town meetings hectic. That's just a start. What does this all say about libertarians and the future? Well, that they are there. That there are many people who agree with them on the issues they fret about most, even if these people don't self-identify with the group. And, that libertarians have yet to win any big victories they are still on the sidelines, bringing up issues for the main political actors to discuss without getting much of the limelight themselves. Could this change if Rand Paul and his platform continue gaining ground? Sure, but at least for now, lets not read too much into Rand Paul's luck, especially given the fact that when you broaden the electorate beyond CPAC to the general public, Rand Paul is still no different from the other hundred names that get mentioned as potential presidential material. There are many different wings of the Republican Party fighting for a chance to turn their presidential fortunes, and no reason to believe that its the libertarians' turn.

Must-reads:

"As CPAC ends, rival Republican factions remain adamant in opposition" Robert Costa, The Washington Post

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Here a libertarian, there a libertarian. But will there be libertarians everywhere soon?

JOONTE on Tour Canary Islands JOONTE FOOTBALL skills Freestyle jonte fotboll shots – Video

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JOONTE on Tour Canary Islands JOONTE FOOTBALL skills Freestyle jonte fotboll shots
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JOONTE on Tour Canary Islands JOONTE FOOTBALL skills Freestyle jonte fotboll shots - Video

PM welcomes visit of Solomon Islands PM

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Prime Minister John Key has welcomed Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo who arrived in New Zealand today.

"New Zealand and the Solomon Islands are close partners in the Pacific region and I am looking forward to seeing Prime Minister Lilo again," says Mr Key.

"Last year I attended the 10th anniversary of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in Honiara and marked the transition of RAMSI from a military operation to a policing mission. This was a major milestone for the Solomon Islands and I am interested to hear about the progress that has been made since then."

Mr Key says New Zealand maintains a significant aid programme in the Solomon Islands and this financial year New Zealand will contribute $37 million to programmes that support the development of critical infrastructure, fisheries, business, education, policing and revenue collection.

"The links between our two countries continue to go from strength to strength, in part driven by the Recognised Employer Scheme. Over 400 Solomon Islanders came to New Zealand last year," says Mr Key.

Prime Minister Lilo will be in New Zealand from March 10-14.

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PM welcomes visit of Solomon Islands PM

Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity preparing for Carthage project

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CARTHAGE, N.Y. The Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity is about to embark on its biggest project yet. The non-profit will build six to eight homes on the former site of Braman Manufacturing.

"This is the first time we've done a concentrated project, with six houses in one area," said Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity executive director Lynn Morgan.

The organization has built 21 homes for low-income families since its launch in the early 1990s, but for the most part, those homes were constructed in different locations.

"It really is exciting to have a whole neighborhood to work with and to be able to have an impact on the block," said Morgan.

The biggest impact will surely be felt by the families selected to live in the homes.

"It's interest free for the life of the mortgage, which is huge for them," explained Morgan.

The homes won't just benefit those who will live in them, as Morgan says the village will also gain from the construction.

"All of these houses will be put back onto the tax rolls which is huge for the village," said Morgan.

In return, the village has agreed to help out with the project wherever they can. They took care of subdividing the property and plan to provide infrastructure to all the homes.

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Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity preparing for Carthage project