Monthly Archives: May 2017

HELENA This story is the first of a three-part series, profiling the candidates in the May 25 special election for Montanas sole U.S. House seat.

Hi-Line farmer and rancher Mark Wicks, whos never run for political office until now, vaulted into Montanas political consciousness two weeks ago with one of the more memorable closing statements at a candidates debate.

Wicks, vying for Montanas U.S. House seat in a May 25 special election, called his Republican rival Greg Gianforte the luxury car in the race that will end up parked at the country club, and Democratic contender Rob Quist an older, smaller pickup truck that doesnt run too well any more.

And where did Wicks place himself, in the parking lot of political vehicles?

Im the work truck, he said. Im the guy, when youre pulled over on the side of the road, and youre broke down, you want to see that big pickup pull up behind you that has the tow ropes, the chains, the tools everything to get the job done.

Wicks, the Libertarian candidate in the three-way race, is pitching himself as the person that Montana voters can trust to be a pragmatic, independent voice in Congress, for less government but not at the expense of Montana.

When I go back to Washington, nobody but the voters of Montana will be pulling my strings, he said during that same debate in Great Falls on April 29. I will not have the political hierarchy telling me how to vote, or when to vote, and they cant threaten me to pull my campaign funds away. So I can do whats right for Montana.

The 47-year-old Wicks and his family run cattle and hay at an operation north of Inverness, near the U.S.-Canadian border. He grew up on the Hi-Line, about 40 miles west of Havre, delivers mail, and sells fruit in eastern Montana during the summer.

His fellow Libertarians chose Wicks at a delegate convention March 11 in Helena and hes been running a steady but low-key campaign, communicating with voters via Facebook the medium I can afford, he says and traveling the state to visit with TV stations and newspapers and attend various public events.

Wicks says hes garnered way more attention since his appearance with Gianforte and Quist at the debate televised statewide on the Montana Television Networks CBS affiliates.

Still, as a low-budget, third-party candidate, Wicks struggles to compete with the more than $12 million thats been spent so far on the other two major-party candidates.

Wicks says hes trying to appeal to disaffected Republicans and Democrats to consider him as an alternative to the usual politicking.

I feel like the voters are in an abusive relationship, he said on MTNs Face the State last Sunday. They get promised one thing during the campaign, and as soon as (politicians) get back to Washington, were cheated on. This is a chance for Montanans to get out of an abusive relationship.

The Libertarian Party is known for its free-market views and desire for minimal government.

Wicks subscribes to some of these traditional Libertarian views. For example, he believes marijuana should be legalized and taxed, says the U.S. military budget could definitely use some trimming overseas, and says hes probably the biggest supporter of the 2nd Amendment ever running for this office.

He also says legalizing the growing of hemp can be a huge boost for Montanas rural, agricultural economy.

But on many other topics, Wicks is on board with a democratic government using its power to help improve the lives of Montanans and other U.S. citizens.

He says he will never vote to take money out of Social Security or Medicare, and that he opposes privatizing Social Security.

For military veterans, Wicks says they should be granted Medicare health coverage if they cant go to a Veterans Administration hospital or medical center, so they dont have to wait for care.

On prescription drugs, Wicks says U.S. pharmaceutical companies should be required to sell drugs for the same price in the United States, as theyre offering in cheaper overseas markets.

He also would like to simplify U.S. income taxes and reduce corporate tax rates, but says if Americans want government services, they must expect to pay adequate taxes.

Wicks insists that a vote for him is not a wasted vote, because hes the only candidate not influenced by special interests.

He notes that almost 100,000 people voted for Republican Attorney General Tim Fox last November did not vote for Republican Gianforte for governor.

If you come out and vote for me in this election, I win this, and your vote is not lost, he said.

Tomorrow: Democrat Rob Quist.

See the rest here:

Libertarian Mark Wicks: The work truck candidate for US House - KTVH

A Libertarian think tank representing manufacturing companies argues in a letter to President Donald Trump that climate pacts like the Paris Climate Accord are a disadvantage to US companies as it insists on reducing energy consumption while also competing with global companies.

All costs of reducing GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions, whether imposed on the electric generation sector or the oil and gas sectors, are eventually imposed on us, the consumer, argued Industrial Energy Consumers of America in its letter to Trump on Monday. [W]e are often already economically disadvantaged, as compared to global competitors who are subsidized or protected by their governments.

The Washington, DC-based IECA argues that US manufacturing is already 26 percent below 1973 levels, as is its industrial sector. The group argues that when energy costs rise due to GHG reduction mandates, manufacturing companies will move jobs and facilities off shore and could become worst polluters if another country has less stringent regulations and standards.

The group argues that, while California with its climate program appears to show the state is reducing GHG emissions, they are in fact shifting GHG emissions to other states and countries.

The group called it perverse and economically damaging when a state like California continues to consume manufacturing products like steel, chemicals, plastics, paper and cement but instead of manufacturing them in the state they import them.

California has the dubious rank as the stop state for air pollution, according to the American Lung Association.

"California has dominated the top 10 list every year. In fact, a California city has been number one every year since the report began in 2000," Will Barrett, senior policy analyst for the American Lung Association in California, told RT. "For ozone pollution, Los Angeles has topped the list the past 17 or 18 reports."

IECA said while the Paris Climate Accord does not mandate GHG reductions from US manufacturing, the Obama administration committed in 2016 to reduce emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, whereas China pleaded under the agreement to increase GHG emissions by 117 percent by 2030 before starting to reduce emissions, which would put us in a perilous competitive disadvantage.

The letter was issued as Florida researchers into the effects on climate change on Americas migratory songbirds found. Using date from satellites and citizen scientists, that nine out of 48 birds were unable to return to their northern breeding grounds on time to produce the next generation of fledglings. The decline was observed after looking at data from 2001 to 2013.

That report was published the same day NASA released data showing the Arctic had its second warmest spring in April, with global warming and unusual weather conspiring to shrink sea ice and push up polar temperatures.

If its just natural variability, its a type of natural variability I am not familiar with, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Theres a lot going on here and I think theres some catchup to do in the research community.

Temperatures were also well above average in the Eastern US, China and across Africa. Only a few patches of the globe were cooler.

The Arctic was warming faster than other regions as greenhouse gas pollution traps heat. The average Arctic temperature last year was 6.3F (3.5C) higher than in 1900. Temperatures elsewhere are rising by about a quarter of that rate.

The reports were released after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed the Arctic agreement last Thursday that offers a commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to extend scientific cooperation in the Arctic region.

The Arctic agreement between eight circumpolar nations including Russia, Canada and Norway, will make it easier to move equipment, samples and data across borders in the north and facilitate scientific collaboration and sharing.

The treaty made only a passing reference to the Paris climate change accords by noting entry into force of the pact and its implementation and called for global action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

Tillersons signing of the document was a surprise. The secretary of state sought to reassure the international Arctic community by saying, Were not going to rush to make a decision, but the American government would make the right decision for the United States.

We are appreciative that each of you has an important point of view, and you should know that we are taking time to understand your concerns, Tillerson told the Arctic Council, according to AP.

Read the rest here:

Libertarian think tank to Trump 'no benefit' in climate agreement - RT

It is interesting and fascinating, inspiring and frustrating to fight for the cause of liberty.

Once involved, it is very easy to let ones mind wander with regard to the barriers we have to our success in life, as well as the barriers to peace. This is a process in which we are all taught in our formative years that the enemies to these highly prized desires are people, groups, countries, political foes, religions, criminals, and other entities that are not supposedly under the control of the people.

The lessons that formed our thinking during the years that we receive formal education are ingrained in most of us, until we experience a key event that rattles our perceptions and we make a different recognition that the infrastructure that was created for the protection of the people is the very same infrastructure that violates peace, blocks our success, sustains violence, stifles our creativity, limits our freedoms, and destroys the spark in many of us to live our lives to the fullest, essentially standing firmly in the way of the pursuit of happiness and a peaceful world.

For many of us, this realization is a serious wake-up call which ignites a spark that inspires us to do something about this travesty. We are awake, but feel alone and frustrated because so many other people with whom we communicate have either not made this realization, or have already recognized the situation and find it insurmountable to change.

So, we fight the current and begin to fight the system. Some of us are so outraged that we make mistakes and the system destroys us. Some are more thoughtful with respect to their communications, plans and goals that they can help to raise awareness and grow the numbers of people that will subscribe to the fight for freedom. Others fight and become weary from a fight that on occasion feels futile.

Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I am prepared for the opposition from those who either strongly support government control, or who simply have not yet made the recognition as to the importance of casting these negative and controlling entities out of the way of self-actualization. What wearies me is the discouragement that I receive from people fighting the same fight as me, because my end goal does not match their end goal.

Having identified government as the culprit in so many violations against the happiness and peace of the individual, I too have been though a deep process of soul searching and analysis of this reality to which I was luxuriously oblivious only a decade ago. I have noticed myriad disastrous and destructive actions promulgated and acted upon by entities of government. It was easy for me to envision a society without government, a world without borders, and a truly free human society it was exhilarating!

Sadly, in my most rational analysis, this utopia cannot and will never exist in a grand scale on a planet in which the vast majority of the inhabitants are indoctrinated with political systems and religious beliefs to the contrary, as well as personal inflictions such as mistrust, fear and paranoia which are the reality of the landscape of life on Earth.

Where there is a void, there will always be a filler of that void. Where there is a weakness, there will be someone taking advantage of that weakness to satisfy whatever their need may be. Governments will always exist. Borders will always exist, unless there is only one government over the entire world, which is the complete antithesis to the growth and happiness of the human condition.

The internal arguments are powerful and with great fervor. Our struggle, the way I see it, is between reality and fantasy. The fantasy is that there will be a sustained period absent any government. The reality is that the entire planet would need to subscribe to this philosophy for it to be possible. While this would be beautiful, it will simply never happen.

If I am to inspire a positive change toward peace, happiness, growth, progress, freedom and individual prosperity, I must be rooted in the real world as it exists today; for if I am to be effective in this goal, I must address the actual challenges we face in order to begin the process of the reduction and removal of these barriers to human success that so many people do not see as barriers.

The road to a resurgence of liberty is a lonely road, and discouragement to the fighters from within our ranks makes this road even lonelier. I have made many friends in this movement, from all spectrums and all viewpoints, and each makes valid and pertinent points.

Today, I appeal to you all for unity within the liberty movement.

How can we be united when we have so many different visions of what the end goal should look like? The immediate answer is simple. We all have a common enemy. That enemy is an over-reaching, violent, oppressive, expensive and destructive government that will never be reduced if we are our own enemies, standing in the way of our progress.

Let us focus on the short term first. Stand together as one in the exposure of the reality of today, and the recognition that each elimination of a barrier to freedom and peace is a victory in its own merit. Let us work together toward each of these smaller goals and experience success together.

If we are to reach a point in which some of us are satisfied with the reductions and want to stop, while others want to keep going that is the time for the debate to begin. The longer we fight amongst ourselves, the longer the establishment will continue to grow itself unfettered. If there is no group that is organized enough to stand in the way of those currently in power, nothing will change and the opportunity to reverse their atrocities will no longer exist. They will simply remove our ability to institute change for the better.

I respectfully call on all of us in the liberty movement: Moderates, radicals, anarchists, and everyone in between to put your battles with each other on hold, so that we all can stand up together against the common enemy that we all have identified.

I look forward to the day when we can once again argue about the end goal because that would mean that we were successful; and the only way we can be successful is to use the strength that we all have as a unified power against tyranny.

Featured image: Libertarian Wing Media

This post was written by Steve Kerbel.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Steve Kerbel is a businessman, author, and former Libertarian Party candidate for President of the United States.

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Originally posted here:

Steve Kerbel: Libertarians must unite against our common enemy - Being Libertarian