Monthly Archives: April 2017

The head of the Libertarian National Committee on Friday condemned the Trump administrations missile strike in Syria, saying history shows that time and again the United States has failed when it tries to be the worlds policeman and that it is uncertain who carried out the chemical attack that spurred the president to retaliate.

Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the group, called for an end to interventionist foreign policy, warning there is no clear, straight-forward path to peace and advising President Trump to focus more of his energy on helping Syrian refugees that are seeking to enter the United States.

Since World War II, American foreign policy has been highly interventionist, Mr. Sarwark said in an email blast. This has dragged our country into many wars and conflicts that were not in the best interest of the American people.

These wars and conflicts have cost many thousands of lives and billions of dollars and have not made the American people any safer, he said. Our military is very powerful but these issues are too complex to be solved by military might.

Mr. Trumps decision to target an airbase in Syria has received positive reviews from members of both parties, though some lawmakers have said Mr. Trump has made a mistake and overstepped his constitutional authority by ordering the attack.

Mr. Sarwack said the nations push to end terrorism in the Middle East has often backfired and become a recruiting tool for terrorist organizations. He said he is concerned that the missile strike in Syria could lead to a proxy war with Russian and worried that Mr. Trump might have acted prematurely.

The use of chemical agents against civilians is abhorrent but, according to news reports, the cause of that chemical release is uncertain, Mr. Sarwark said. It is believable that the Assad regime could have purposefully caused it but when war and peace are at stake, as they are now, we must not jump to conclusions, no matter how natural they may seem.

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Libertarian National Committee chair denounces Syria airstrikes - Washington Times

Palm Beach Post (blog)

Libertarian Party: drop adult ID card requirement for Palm Beach County strippers Palm Beach Post (blog) The party also issued part of a column about the Palm Beach County cards by Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Reason.com, the web page of the Libertarian-leaning Reason Foundation. It read in part that the prevention angle is ludicrous; anyone willing to force ...

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Libertarian Party: drop adult ID card requirement for Palm Beach County strippers - Palm Beach Post (blog)

BY: Mary Lou Lang April 7, 2017 2:10 pm

The Wichita State University student government has refused to recognize a libertarian group on campus because of its First Amendment principles, and a nonprofit group that defends freedom of speech and academic freedom on campuses is asking the university president to reverse their decision.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education in a letter on Friday to Wichita State President John Bardo demanded he immediately reverse the student government's decision. The letter also asked Bardo to instruct the student government that it cannot discriminate against prospective student groups based on their own viewpoints.

"The Wichita State student government is engaged in a full-frontal assault on the First Amendment: It unconstitutionally denied a student group official recognition because, ironically, the student group supports the right of freedom of speech," said Ari Cohn, director of FIRE's Individual Rights Defense Program, in a prepared statement.

"The Wichita State administration cannot give its student government authority to grant or deny recognition to student groups and then stand idly by when that authority is exercised in a viewpoint discriminatory manner," said Cohn, adding that the university must reverse the student government's "unconstitutional actions."

The student government questioned student Maria Church about her application to form a campus chapter of the Young Americans for Liberty on April 5. They also asked her about the group's political positions, the issues it will address, and even the group's views on the First Amendment.

Church was asked about her position on "safe spaces", YAL's position on "hate speech", and YAL's opposition to "free speech zones."

Several senators were against officially recognizing YAL because other chapters of the group have invited speakers such as former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulous to speak on campus.

"We've seen very dangerous statements being said in the name of free speech," said one senator. Another said, "if you want to talk about having free speech, [YAL's] definition of free speech is highly skewed, based on the empirics of this.

After debating YAL's application, the student government voted against recognizing the libertarian group.

According to FIRE, their decision is directly in conflict with longstanding First Amendment jurisprudence. In Healy v. James (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public college may not deny recognition of a student group "simply because it finds the views expressed by any group to be abhorrent."

Church was discouraged by the student government's decision and claimed they are attacking and silencing students they claim they stand for.

"It is discouraging to see elected student officials opposing the free speech of those who disagree with their political agendas," said Church in a prepared statement. "While they claim to stand for diversity and acceptance, they are attacking one of the most diverse groups on campus. The student senate is effectively silencing the very people they're claiming to stand up for."

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Wichita State Student Government Refuses to Recognize Libertarian ... - Washington Free Beacon

Being Libertarian

The Third Largest Political Party: Why the LP Fails Being Libertarian The Libertarian Party often boasts of being the third largest political party in the United States, and seems to think that fact alone is something earned or worth being proud of. But I see it as merely a circumstance, and one that actually bodes ...

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The Third Largest Political Party: Why the LP Fails - Being Libertarian

Issued today by the Libertarian Party National Chair:

The Libertarian Party denounces last nights strikes on Syria.

Purportedly these strikes were a retaliation for the release of a chemical agent which wounded and killed many Syrians earlier this week.

The use of chemical agents against civilians is abhorrent but, according to news reports, the cause of that chemical release is uncertain. It is believable that the Assad regime could have purposefully caused it but when war and peace are at stake, as they are now, we must not jump to conclusions, no matter how natural they may seem.

The situation in Syria is very complex. There is no clear, straight-forward path to peace. Additional air strikes will just kill more people and further inflame an already highly volatile situation.

For decades, the United States has pursued a foreign policy based on the idea that we can play policeman for the world. Time and time again we have seen this fail. Sadly, our intervention into Syria will be no different.

Launching missiles into Syria risks pitting the US against Russia in a proxy war. There is no way in which a proxy war can be beneficial for humanity, the United States, or Syria. Such a war will only elevate Russia on the world stage, further destroy Syria and Syrian lives, and cost the US many American lives and resources.

If the President wants to help the Syrian people, he should facilitate more refugees entering the United States to find safety here rather than demonizing them and hampering their escape from the dictator who is slaughtering them.

Since World War II, American foreign policy has been highly interventionist. This has dragged our country into many wars and conflicts that were not in the best interest of the American people. These wars and conflicts have cost many thousands of lives and billions of dollars and have not made the American people any safer. Our military is very powerful but these issues are too complex to be solved by military might.

The Libertarian Party calls for an end to interventionist foreign policy.

Specifically, the Libertarian Party recommends ending American military aggression in Syria and the rest of the Middle East. Our actions there, while meant to reduce terrorism, instead often serve as a rallying cry for terrorists and facilitate terrorist recruitment.

Nicholas Sarwark Chair, Libertarian National Committee

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National Libertarian Party Denounces US Air Strikes on Syria - Antiwar.com (blog)

Being Libertarian

The Chief's Thoughts: The Rule of Law and Liberty Being Libertarian Instead, we concern ourselves with this often-elusive concept of 'the rule of law', which is certainly not often discussed among libertarians. So why are a bunch of classical liberals so concerned with the rule of law, when we should all theoretically ...

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The Chief's Thoughts: The Rule of Law and Liberty - Being Libertarian

by David Webb

David Webb is a veteran journalist who has written for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. He is now a freelancer who lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. He is the editor of cedarcreeklake.com. E-mail story ideas to davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.

The Henderson County Libertarian Party will host a discussion about proposed Texas legislation to legalize the medical use of marijuana at Cedar Creek Brewery, Sunday, April 9, 2017, at 3 p.m.

The event will include guest speaker Brook Bailey of DFW NORML, which is a marijuana advocacy group (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). Bailey also serves on the Texas Libertarian Partys Executive Committee, and she formerly served as chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party chapter.

Henderson County Libertarian Party Coordinator Desarae Lindsey said all are welcome at the event regardless of their political affiliations and views.

Even if people dont feel compelled to join our party, I hope they start to pay attention to what is happening in Austin, she said.

For information call 469-418-2757 or email henderson@lptexas.org

For information on NORML visit: https://www.texasnorml.org/

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Libertarian Party of Cedar Creek Lake to host NORML speaker - CedarCreekLake.com

Being Libertarian

Shortcuts Ampersand Delusions: Fun With the TSA Being Libertarian If a TSA agent is going to just check my waistband for whatever it is he decided he has to search me for, then I demand that he be at least slightly handsome and have breath that smells like something other than asparagus. The TSA agent's face was ... and more »

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Shortcuts Ampersand Delusions: Fun With the TSA - Being Libertarian