Category Archives: Libertarian

From staff reports

RALEIGH - Susan Hogarth of Raleigh has been named the Libertarian Party of North Carolina's new chairwoman.

N.C. Libertarian officials elected a new state party chair and a slate of officers during the party's annual convention held in Lake Lure, according to a release.

"I'm honored to have been chosen as chair of the Libertarian Party North Carolina," Hogarth said. "I couldn't be more excited at the prospect of working with all the intelligent and hardworking folks just elected to the executive committee."

Nathan Phillips of Asheville was named vice chair, Brent DeRidder of Hampstead will serve as secretary, Clement Erhardt of Greensboro is the party's treasurer, and at-large members are Angela Anderson of Winston-Salem, Matt Clements of Carrboro, Chris Dooley of Charlotte, James Hines of Asheville, Amy Lamont of Oxford, Ryan Teeter of Hampstead, Andreas Steude of Cary, J.J. Summerell of Greensboro and Alec Willson of Asheville.

Summerell was the Libertarian candidate for North Carolina's 1st Congressional District in 2016. Incumbent U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, won re-election with 68.6 percent of the vote, defeating Republican candidate and Stantonsburg town councilman Powell Dew (28.9 percent) and Summerell, who picked up 2.4 percent of the vote.

The Libertarian Party, formed in 1971, is the third-largest political party in the U.S. and North Carolina, as well as the only ballot-recognized alternative party in the state.

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Hogarth tapped to lead NC Libertarian Party - The Wilson Times (subscription)

Last week in TAC, Zoltan Istvan wrote about The Growing World of Libertarian Transhumanism linking the transhumanist movement with all of its featureslike cyborgs, human robots and designer babiesto the ideas of liberty. To say Mr. Istvan is mistaken in his assessment is an understatement. Transhumanism should be rejected by libertarians as an abomination of human evolution.

We begin with Mr. Istvans definition of transhumanism:

transhumanism is the international movement of using science and technology to radically change the human being and experience. Its primary goal is to deliver and embrace a utopian techno-optimistic worlda world that consists of biohackers, cyborgists, roboticists, life extension advocates, cryonicists, Singularitarians, and other science-devoted people.

The ultimate task, however, is nothing less than overcoming biological human death and to solve all humanitys problems. Throughout much of Mr. Istvans work on this issue, he seems to think these ideas are perfectly compatible with libertarianismself-evident evenso he doesnt care to elaborate for his befuddled readers.

While most advocates of liberty could be considered, as Matt Ridley coined it, rational optimistsmeaning that generally we are optimistic, but not dogmatic, about progressit is easy to get into a state in which everything that is produced by the market is good per se and every new technology is hailed as the next step on the path of progress. In this sense, these libertarians become what Rod Dreher has called Technological Men. For them, choice matters more than what is chosen. [The Technological Man] is not concerned with what he should desire; rather, he is preoccupied with how he can acquire or accomplish what he desires.

Transhumanists including Mr. Istvan are a case in point. In his TAC article he not only endorses such things as the defeat of death, but even robotic hearts, virtual reality sex, and telepathy via mind-reading headsets. Need more of his grand ideas? How about brain implants ectogenesis, artificial intelligence, exoskeleton suits, designer babies, gene editing tech? At no point he wonders if we should even strive for these technologies.

When he does acknowledge potential problems he has quick (and crazy) solutions at hand: For example, what would happen if people never die, while new ones are coming into the world in abundance? His solution to the fear of overpopulation: eugenics. It is here where we see how libertarian Mr. Istvan truly is. When his political philosophythe supposedly libertarian onecomes into conflict with his idea of transhumanism, he suddenly drops the former and argues in favor of state-controlled breeding (or, as he says, controlled breeding by non-profit organizations such as the WHO, which is, by the way, state financed). I cautiously endorse the idea of licensing parents, a process that would be little different than getting a drivers licence. Parents who pass a series of basic tests qualify and get the green light to get pregnant and raise children.

The most frustrating thing is how similar he sounds to communists and socialists in his arguments. In most articles you read by transhumanists, you can see the dream of human perfection. Mr. Istvan says so himself: Transhumanists want more guarantees than just death, consumerism, and offspring. Much More. They want to be better, smarter, strongerperhaps even perfect and immortal if science can make them that way.

Surely it is the goal of transhumanists that, in their world, the average human type will rise to the heights of an Aristotle, a Goethe, or a Marx. You can just edit the genes of the embryo in the way that they are as intelligent as Aristotle, as poetic as Goethe, and as musically talented as Mozart. There are two problems, though: First, the world would become extremely boring, consisting only of perfect human beings who are masters at everything (which perhaps would make human cooperation superfluous). Second, that quote was famously uttered by the socialist Leon Trotsky.

As Ludwig von Mises wrote sarcastically, the socialist paradise will be the kingdom of perfection, populated by completely happy supermen. This has always been the mantra of socialists, starting with utopian thinkers like Charles Fourier, but also being embraced by the scientific ones like Marx, who derived his notion of history in which communism is the final stage of humanity from Hegel. Hegel himself believed in the man-godnot in the way that God became man through Jesus, but that man could become God one day. Intentionally or not, transhumanists sound dangerously similar to that. What they would actually create would be the New Soviet Man through bio-engineering and total environmental control as the highest social goal. In other words, you get inhuman ideological tyranny taken to a whole new level.

It should be noted that sometimes transhumanists recognize this themselvesbut if they do, their solutions only make things worse (much worse). Take Adam Zaretsky as example, who says that these new human beings shouldnt be perfect: Its important to make versions of transgenic human anatomy that are not based on idealism. But his solution is frightening: The idea is that you take a gene, say for pig noses, or ostrich anuses, or aardvark tongue, and you paste that into a human sperm, a human egg, a human zygote. A baby starts to form. And: We could let it flow into our anatomy, and these peoplewho yes, are humansshould be appreciated for who and what they are, after they are forced to be born in a really radically strange way. Its no surprise that Rod Dreher calls Mr. Zaretsky a sick monster, because he truly seems to be one when it comes to his transhumanist vision. He wants to create handicapped human beings on purpose.

If this were what libertarians think should happen, it would be sad (thankfully its mostly not). As Jeff Deist notes, it is important to remember that liberty is natural and organic and comports with human action. It doesnt require a new man. Transhumanists may say that the introduction of their idea is inevitable (in Istvans words, Whether people like it or not, transhumanism has arrived) but that is not true. And in this sense, it is time for libertarians to argue against the notion of extreme transhumanism. Yes, the market has brought it about and yes, the state shouldnt prohibit it (though giving your baby a pig nose could certainly be a violation of rights), but still, one shouldnt be relativist or even nihilist about such frightening developments. It would be a shame if the libertarian maxim of Everyone should be able to do whatever one wants to (as long as no one is hurt by it) becomes Everyone should do whatever one can do just because it is possible.

Finally, it comes as no surprise that transhumanists are largely, if not all, atheists (or as Mr. Istvan says: Im an atheist, therefore Im a transhumanist. This just proves what the classical liberal historian Lord Acton talked about when he said, Progress, the religion of those who have none. In the end, transhumanism is the final step to get God out of the way. It would be the continuation of what Richard Weaver wrote about in Ideas Have Consequences: Instead of seeing nature, the world and life overall as a means to get to know God, humans in the last centuries have become accustomed to seeing the world as something that is only there for humans to take and use for their own pleasures. Transhumanism would be the final step of this process: the conquest of death.

You dont have to be religious to find this abhorrent. As we have seen, it would be the end to all religion, to human cooperation overall, in all likelihood to liberty itself, and even the good-bye to humanity. It would be the starting point of the ultimate dystopia.

Kai Weiss is an International Relations student and works for the Austrian Economics Center and Hayek Institute, two libertarianthink tanks based in Vienna, Austria.

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Transhumanism Is Not Libertarian, It's an Abomination | The ... - The American Conservative

A campaign to identify the marchers spread on social media following the bloody right-wing rally in Charlottesville. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Updated 3:15 p.m.

A white nationalist who participated in the torch-lit march through the University of Virginias campus this weekendhas lost hisjob at a Berkeley, Calif., hot dog restaurant after Twitter users posted his photo and place of employment. The employee, Cole White, was identified online after he was photographed among a shouting and torch-wielding mobduring the march Friday night in Charlottesville.

After being inundated with inquiries, his former employer, Top Dog, in downtown Berkeley, posted a sign on its door that reads:Effective Saturday 12th August, Cole White no longer works at Top Dog. The actions of those in Charlottesville are not supported by Top Dog. We believe in individual freedom and voluntary association for everyone, multiple news outlets reported. The shop has a political bent of its own, as its well-known in Berkeley forthe libertarian stickers and articles posted on its walls, and website.

Top Dogissued a statement to the Washington Post that read, in part:

Colechose to voluntarily resign his employmentwith Top Dogand we acceptedhisresignation.There have been reports that he was terminated.Those reports are false.There have been reports that top dog knowingly employs racists and promotes racist theology.Thattoois false.Individual freedomand voluntaryexchangearecore to the philosophy of Top Dog.We look forward to cooking the same great food forat leastanother50 years.

Another part of the statement noted: Wedorespect our employees rightto theiropinions. They are free to make their own choicesbutmust accept the responsibilities of those choices.

When asked by The Post if White would have been permitted to keep his job had he not resigned, the shop declined to comment further.

White wasin Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally, which turned deadly on Saturday.James Alex Fields Jr., 20, who was described as a Nazi sympathizer by one of hishigh school teachers,is accused of ramminghis car into a group of counterprotesters, injuring 19 and killingHeather Heyer,32.Two Virginia state troopers H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Berke Bates, 40 were killed while doing surveillance work during Saturdays rally when their helicopter crashed.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on Aug. 13 said Charlottesville is "stronger" a day after violence erupted in the city. The organizer of a white nationalist rally said clashes occurred because police declined "to do their job." (Whitney Leaming,Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

[Discomfort food: Using dinners to talk about race, violence and America]

The mostly male crowd that participated in Friday nights tiki-torch-lit rally did not cover their faces, and they were widely photographed. A Twitter account,@YesYoureRacist, began posting photographs of participants and uncovering their identities. White was among the first itnamed.The account would soon identify students enrolled at the University of Nevada and Washington State University, leading both of the schools to issue statements condemning racism.

Top Dog, a Berkeley campus fixture, isnt shy about its libertarian values. The walls are covered with libertarian bumper stickers, yellowed newspaper articles urging the privatization of the postal service, and hand-lettered signs with statements like, Beware the leader and Theres no government like no government,' wrote SF Weeklyin 1996.

A section of the restaurants website is dedicated to Propergander, posting articles about sanctuary cities, nuclear war and diversity.A recent article about an anti-diversity memo circulating at Google read, in part, Jim Crow is long gone, but it seems that Progressives (which gave us Jim Crow in the first place) now are imposing what essentially is a new form of segregation, that being ideological and religious segregation that is more reminiscent of how the former USSR treated dissidents than anything we have seen in private enterprise. The website was down for a time after the weekends incidents but was online as of Monday afternoon.

[In good hands: How immigrants craft your favorite restaurant dishes]

The restaurant wrote to one Twitter user that it had been overwhelmed with inquiries about White:

The restaurants Facebook page has been deluged with complaints about White, and its Yelp page is under active cleanup alert, due to the high number of people posting negative comments about him (Yelps note says it tries to remove comments related more to news events than users experience with the business). One sample review: Great place for Neo-Nazis. For people who arent Neo-Nazis? Not so much. A hot dog is a hot dog, but a hot dog place thatnot only employs Neo-Nazis but posts alt-right screeds on their webpage is a place that makes me want to vomit. But if you hate minorities, you might have a friend in Berkeleys Top Dog.

By the way, the hot dogs arekosher-style.

Charlottesville residents respond to the violence that erupted in their city Aug. 12. (Elyse Samuels,Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

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Discomfort food: Using dinners to talk about race, violence and America

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Charlottesville white nationalist demonstrator loses job at libertarian hot dog shop - Washington Post

August 16 - To the Editor:

The recent events in Charlottesville have left me disgusted and ashamed. Our country is better than what was on display last week.

What was even more frightening to me was the echoed silence coming from many members of the Republican Party. For too long they have turned the other cheek to their racist and bigoted members within their party base, fearing to lose their vote come election season.

For too long their silence has enabled the factually incorrect and morally repugnant wing of their party to grow in numbers and in power, to spread their hate-filled ideology, to the point of placing a white-nationalist enabler in the White House with known white-nationalist advisors.

To those in the Republican Party who are as appalled and sickened as I am seeing the racist views and openly practiced neo-Nazism on their airwaves, I beg of you to make a stand. Denounce the evil within your party and root out those within your party who treat others as second class citizens.

Or simply abandon the sinking ship of the GOP, because there is another political party which believes in fiscal conservatism and human rights. There is another party out there that believes that all people are created equal and inhibit certain inalienable rights. There is another party out there that believes all human rights apply to all humans, regardless of demographic. There is a party that believes this so strongly, they put it in their platform for all to see.

Join the Libertarian Party, and leave the racists and bigots to their festering party of white-nationalism enablers, and join a party of principle. Join the party that pledges never to use force to achieve political or social goals. Join a party that accepts everyone of faith, everyone of color, and every one of every gender not because it is popular, but because it is the right and moral thing to do.

I am Brian Shields, and I am running for State Representative in Dovers first ward, and I am doing so as a proud Libertarian because Dover needs a new voice in Concord. A voice that will not stand for bigotry, misogyny, and hatred, and will not turn the other cheek. This, I can promise you. You need someone who will protect your rights, all your rights. You need someone who will not have their vote bullied by party power leadership to further an agenda that doesnt benefit Dover. I am the independent voice Dover needs in Concord.

The Libertarian Party is the independent voice New Hampshire needs in the State House. If you are politically homeless, check us out. We welcome everyone with open arms.

Brian Shields

Libertarian Candidate for State Representative, Strafford 13

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Libertarian Party is the independent voice for NH - Foster's Daily Democrat

George Santayana once said, Those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it, which cuts particularly deep this week for those who have been keeping up with the news. In America, communism is in on college campuses, the media is actively attempting to push us into a cold possibly hot war with Russia, and now we are contemplating whether or not a repeat of the Korean War is worth it. Its official, weve been thrown back to 1950 at least politically.

Its amazing how many people, given the overwhelming abundance of historical evidence against their case, will try to operate as if we havent dealt with our current predicaments before.

Libertarians have become rather well-versed with this line of reasoning, from the responses you get anytime you ask a collectivist where their theories have worked. That wasnt real [insert failed ideology]! theyll say, as they attempt to convince you to try some old-fashioned theory dressed up in a revamped, modern-day term. In 2016, for example, we had a self-described democratic socialist almost win the Democratic Partys nomination, if it wasnt for the party eating its own. Seeing students in America embrace a broken system with messianic zeal reveals just how blatant our regard for historical evidence has become.

And its the same story when you ask Republicans as well; just mention foreign policy. No matter which failed attempt at regime change you bring up, the neo-cons always seem to be convinced that this time will be different. Never mind the fact that when pressured into explaining why, the best response youll get will be Make America great again.

Whos to blame for this lack of basic historical knowledge though?

Is it our public education system, with their appalling literacy rates and test scores? Or perhaps its our media outlets, who openly claim its their job to scare people to death in order to push the narrative they want imposed. They successfully polarized both sides so extensively in the last election that our political sphere looks more like the 1850s than the 1950s in that respect.

In actuality, its all our faults, though. Anyone with an internet connection has the ability to learn history, yet the overwhelming majority do not.

Now, if you observe American politics through any sort of objective lens, it would appear as though George Orwells predictions have come true. War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength was the mantra of the Party in the dystopian novel, 1984. Nowadays, Republicans are claiming to achieve peace from war; Democrats are espousing policies that say freedom will bring slavery; and everywhere, you see ignorance on both sides being rewarded as strength. Weve all heard the #FakeNews accusations being used on both sides. You mustnt let those other people tell you lies they like to say as the majority of Americans eat up the propaganda, leaving those of us who study history left to look on in horror.

Unless were willing to admit that some of the decisions made in the past were, in fact, mistakes, well sentence ourselves to suffer more loss of life in vain. Regardless of affiliation, lets allow ourselves to examine and consider the events of the past as they relate to our current situations. Because remembering history is crucial in making the correct political choices today. We may not be able to undo our mistakes, but we can certainly learn from them.

Lets embrace our history and stop pretending that any hot war, whether it be North Korea, Russia, or any of the superfluity of countries weve been involved in militarily the past 15 years will ever result in an improvement by any measurable account. Lets stop acting like more freedom for the individual in society will result in slavery for the rest of us. And for the love of God, lets recognize that collectivist attempts at egalitarianism never bear the results that they were supposed to on paper. This way we can spare our children from having to find themselves being thrown back into the political nightmare that 2017 has been fifty years from now. Lets get our act together, America.

Featured image: Encyclopdia Britannica

This post was written by Thomas J. Eckert.

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

Thomas J. Eckert is college grad with an interest in politics. He studies economics and history and writes in his spare time on political and economic current events.

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Welcome Back to 1950, America The Lowdown on Liberty - Being Libertarian

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Libertarian Party Of Indiana Expands Leadership To Several More Counties

Updated August 11, 2017 5:27 AM|Filed under: Politics

(UNDATED) - The Libertarian Party of Indiana announces the installment of new leaders in several counties across the state. This continues the pattern of growth for the LPIN, even in an off-cycle year for elections.

LPIN State Chair Tim Maguire stated that the Party has installed new County Chairs in Jackson, Knox and Hendricks counties. Those roles have been filled by Erin Meadors, Micah Haynes and Eric Knipe respectively.

"We're continuing to experience a surge in activity all around the state," said Maguire. "After the 2016 election, we never saw new interest in the Libertarian Party dwindle. Through that desire for liberty from our citizens, we have been able to identify the excitement found in these new leaders. They are just a small portion of the former Republicans and Democrats that have realized that the old parties don't represent us anymore."

Micah Haynes, the new chair of the Knox County LP, can be reached via email at micahcoyhaynes@gmail.com or by phone at tel: (469) 600-1821. The Knox County LP can be found on Facebook at http://facebook.com/KnoxCountyLP.

Eric Knipe, the new chair of the Hendricks County LP, can be reached via email at eric@ericknipe.com or by phone at tel: (317) 456-2297. The Hendricks County LP can be found on Facebook at http://facebook.com/hendrickslp.

Erin Meadors, the new chair of the Jackson County LP, can be reached via email at erinmpyle@gmail.com or by phone at tel: (812) 271-1500. The Jackson County LP can be found on Facebook at http://facebook.com/groups/165783433853863.

The first half of 2017 saw the expansion of Libertarian leadership in Carroll, Morgan, Montgomery and Jasper Counties.

Maguire went on to say that, "the Libertarian Party of Indiana is always looking for people interested in helping spread liberty by taking leadership roles in their community. I encourage anyone looking for a way to participate to reach out to me. We are excited about the possibility of working together with you."

Have a question or comment about a news story? Send it to comments@wbiw.com

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Libertarian Party Of Indiana Expands Leadership To Several More Counties - WBIW.com

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. Im Amy Goodman. A new investigation published by The Intercept exposes how a libertarian think tank called the Atlas Network is remaking Latin American politics with the help of powerful conservative institutions and funders in the United States, some of whom you may recognize, like the Koch brothers. This is part of a promotional video released by the Atlas Network.

ATLAS NETWORK VIDEO: Welcome to the Atlas Network. Were your connection to a network of freedom champions across the United States and around the world in more than 80 countries. Atlas freedom champions are knocking down barriers to wealth creation, fighting corruption and fostering free enterprise by reducing the role of government and protecting individual liberty. While politicians operate within the confines of what they consider politically possible, Atlas and our global partners think its more cost-effective in the long term to change what is considered politically possible.

AMY GOODMAN: The Intercept reports the Atlas Network is behind dozens of prominent groups that have supported right-wing forces in the antigovernment movement in Venezuela, as well as those that ousted Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

For more, were joined by The Intercepts investigative reporter Lee Fang, who covers the intersection of money and politics, his new piece headlined "Sphere of Influence: How American Libertarians Are Remaking Latin American Politics."

Lee, welcome back to Democracy Now! Explain how you discovered what the Atlas Network was and what it is doing.

LEE FANG: Amy, thank you so much for having me.

This is kind of the very first look at the Atlas Network and its history from a critical perspective. This is a relatively obscure think tank and foundation in Washington, D.C., but its played an incredibly prominent role in taking the successful conservative strategies to push a hard-right libertarian policy agendayou know, ideas like cutting taxes for the rich, privatizing industry and privatizing pension programs, deregulation and attacks on labor unionsand taking the model of, you know, groups like the Heritage Foundation or the Cato Institute or the more local think tanks that weve seen proliferate around the Midwest, and teaching libertarian activists and business leaders all over the world to duplicate the American model in their home countries, you know, flying out localforeign leaders to Washington, D.C., to teach them management techniques, fundraising techniques, modern communication strategy, including even creating very clever YouTube videos to make these ideas go viral. And theyve played kind of a quiet role in reshaping the politics in countries all across the countryor, all across the world. But theyve had a special focus in Latin America, and were seeing their efforts really pay a large dividend with the political changes that are going on all across Central and South America.

AMY GOODMAN: And explain its title, the Atlas Network.

LEE FANG: Yeah. I think the Atlas Network is pretty clear tip of the hat to Ayn Rand. The current president of the Atlas Network, Alex Chafuen, grew up in Argentina. He was kind of in a family that was part of the Argentine elite, and kind of grew up in the turmoil of the '60s and 70s with multiple military coups and, you know, incredible violence towards leftists and perceived leftists. And Alex Chafuen was a devotee of Ayn Rand. He's still the president of Atlas Network today. And, you know, this is a group thats worked very closely with a small network of libertarian economists, folks like F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman, to basically push back and win the war of ideas. And, you know, the model that theyve kind of set up in the United States is very well known, but what hasnt really been reported is how theyve translated these libertarian textbooks, but also exported the political strategies, that have put these policies in place in the United States, to other countries.

AMY GOODMAN: So, I want to go to Brazil, one of the places youve mentioned theyve been involved, to the former President Dilma Rousseff, comments she made last year after the Brazilian Senate voted to impeach her.

DILMA ROUSSEFF: [translated] Theyve just overthrown the first woman elected president of Brazil, without there being any constitutional justification for this impeachment. But the coup was not just carried out against me and my party or the allied parties who support me today. This was just the beginning. The coup is going to strike, without distinction, every progressive and democratic political organization.

AMY GOODMAN: So that was the ousted Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Talk about the significance of what she said and how you think the Atlas Network was involved.

LEE FANG: We cant point to one single factor that led to the downfall of Dilma, but what I can say is that the Atlas Network has made a special effort to develop their think tank and kind of independent institute model in Brazil, so that the Atlas Network has over a dozen separate entities as part of their partner affiliates in Brazil, each organization kind of working using its own strategies but with the same goal. And the goal recently has been the impeachment and downfall of Dilma and her Workers Party. So, you know, one organization thats in the Atlas Network in Brazil is the Students for Liberty youth group that organized these mass demonstrations focusing anger at Dilma. There are Heritage Foundation-style think tanks that develop policy papers and host media pundits, who have, you know, gone out into the media and try to channel public outrage at Dilma. They develop YouTube videos, which have been very effective in spreading kind of viral political attacks against Dilma. Theres a religious institute thats an affiliate of the Acton Institute, which is affiliated with Betsy DeVos, now the education secretary. But theyve created an affiliate of that think tank in Brazil, that makes kind of a theological argument for hard-right economic policies.

So, you know, theres a network effect here, where the recent downturn in the Brazilian economy, these recent corruptions scandals have presented an opportunity. And the Atlas Networkand this is what theyve told metheyve taken the kind of political and economic crisis and seized it and used it as an opportunity to focus anger at Dilma and to push their very narrow set of economic ideas, you know, ideas that were popular in the United States in the early '90syou know, privatizing prisons, privatizing the education system. They're using the political crisis in Brazil to now push this very narrow set of, you know, once very unpopular ideas and push them to the forefront by taking advantage of this crisis that, in part, that theyve helped orchestrate.

AMY GOODMAN: Lets go to Venezuela. I want to go back a few years, toI think this was 2014, to the Venezuelan opposition figure Mara Corina Machado thanking the Atlas Network.

MARA CORINA MACHADO: Thank you to the Atlas Network, to all freedom fighters and democrats around the world for your support and inspiration. The well-funded silence of international complicity is overpowered by your voices of encouragement. Although the regime will not let me be there in person, through this means, I want to assure you that we Venezuelans remain firm in our quest to tear down the walls of oppression.

AMY GOODMAN: That was the Venezuelan opposition figure Mara Corina Machado thanking the Atlas Network. Lee Fang?

LEE FANG: Right. Well, you know, Venezuela is another country where this model has been applied, for a very long time. The Atlas Network works with a number of different think tanks in Venezuela to criticize, first, you know, the Hugo Chvez government, now the Maduro government. And again, you know, theres an unrelated crisis. You know, the Maduro government has suffered from a dependence on oil, and oil prices are low. There are a number of other corruption scandals and other kind of problems with managing the country. Well, the Atlas Network has seized upon this opportunity to push antigovernment protest. The leader we just heard from is affiliated with one of these Atlas think tanks, CEDICE, which is in Caracas. Its been there for a very long time. Its been funded by the Atlas Network.

And one of the other revelations in our piece today is basically that, you know, the Atlas Network talks about how any government funding is illegitimate, that foreign aid is basically a bribe, and theyre against foreign aid. At the same time, Atlas Network think tanks all over the world, including in Brazil, including in Venezuela, and in other countries, have relied on U.S. government money. The State Department, the National Endowment for Democracy, which is a government-funded think tank thats funded by taxpayer dollars, has quietly financed think tanks and Atlas affiliates in Venezuela and many of these other countries. And I think the simple reason is they hope that the Atlas Network helps to push American-friendly governments, that they help transform the politics of the developing world to be more friendly to American foreign policy aims. But it is kind of an interesting irony or hypocrisy that this libertarian think tank network has relied for a very long time on U.S. government money.

AMY GOODMAN: So, I wanted to take Venezuela to the current day. This is CIA Director Mike Pompeo talking about Venezuela just last month at the Aspen Institute.

MIKE POMPEO: Any time you have a country ofas large and with the economic capacity of a country like Venezuela, America has a deep interest in making sure that it is stable and as democratic as possible. And so, were working hard to do that. Im always careful when we talk about South and Central America and the CIA. Theres a lot of stories. So, I want to be careful with what I say. But, suffice to say, wewe are very hopeful that there can be a transition in Venezuela. And wethe CIA is doing its best to understand the dynamic there, so that we can communicate to our State Department and to others, the Colombians. I was just down in Mexico City and in Bogot, week before last, talking about this very issue, trying to help them understand the things they might do so that they can get a better outcome for their part of the world and our part of the world.

AMY GOODMAN: So, this is very ominous, Lee Fang. This the current CIA director, Mike Pompeo, talking about Venezuela at the Aspen Institute, working very hard, he said, on Venezuela. What exactly that means? And that leads to my question about how does the Atlas Networks machinations in Latin America compare with those of the CIA, or dovetail with themCIA, multinational corporations, etc., now and in the past.

LEE FANG: Yeah, thats a very interesting dynamic, you know, and we know some of the answers to that question thanks to the work of a number of journalists who have filed Freedom of Information Act requests in the past, also the diplomatic cables that were released by the whistleblower Chelsea Manning. If you take a look at those files, you see, at least historicallyyou know, we dont know whats going on today in 2017, but we do know historically that U.S. diplomats have leaned on the Atlas think tank network to set up meetings with opposition groups, to coordinate with protests against governments that we have an adversarial relationship with.

Venezuela is another great example of this. From FOIA documents, we see that, going back to, you know, the late '90s, just after Hugo Chvez'sHugo Chvez came to power, the State Department, the National Endowment for Democracy started providing large amounts of money to the Atlas think tank network in Venezuela to orchestrate protest movements, to criticize his government, to try to delegitimize his government. In fact, when there was the kind of brief 2002 coup, that brought Hugo Chvez from power for, you know, not a very long period, but there was an attempt, and we see from these documents that the Atlas think tanks sprung into actions to try to legitimize the new coup government. There was the Carmona Decree, this kind of document that saidyou know, from business leaders in Venezuela, saying, "Hugo Chvez has gone, and wed like to move on and have a new government." We see from this cache of documents that they are working hand in glove with the U.S. government, that these libertarian leaders, that had been trained in the United States and funded by the Atlas Network and from the U.S. government, were part of a larger strategy to bring down the Chvez government.

Now, we dont know exactly whats going on now, but we know from the diplomatic cables from Chelsea Manning that after that period, there were repeated attempts to orchestrate large antigovernment protests, to channel anger at the Chvez government and to hope for a similar situation where the opposition would be strong enough to bring the government down. So, I think its very likely that a similar strategy is playing out right now with the crisis in Venezuela. And indeed, we see the CEDICE and other Atlas-backed think tanks in Venezuela promoting the opposition.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk more about who is behind the Atlas Network and the money behind it.

LEE FANG: Well, you know, the history of the Atlas Network is very interesting. You know, this kind of goes back to the postwar period in both the U.K. and the U.S. There was a big kind of debate within the big business community: How to push back against the postwar welfare state? You know, in the U.K., they were nationalizing the healthcare system, creating the NHS. The U.S., the New Deal was still going on, you know, big spending on infrastructure and social welfare and the GI Bill. And there was the discussion: How do you push back against these ideas? And they struggled with the problem of credibility. Any time you try to call for economic libertarian ideas of cutting taxes for the rich or, you know, cutting welfare, it was looked at as an idea that simply benefited the upper crust.

So, you know, working with economists like F.A. Hayek and others, a British businessman created what we now call, you know, the conservative think tank. The Institute of Economic Affairs was the model, developed in London, that could do a rapid response kind of media pushback that provided an academic veneer to these, at the time, very fringe ideas. That was, you know, very successful in pushing and promoting the Margaret Thatcher revolution in the late 70s. Similar strategies were applied in the U.S. and created the Heritage Foundation model. The founder of the first of these types of think tanks, Antony Fisher, this British businessman, saw the incredible success in taking these once-fringe ideas, these hard-right economic libertarian ideas, and the think tank model, and he came to the conclusion that, you know, it should be duplicated in every country all around the world, that there should be a global revolution using these type of methods that have been honed in the U.S. and the U.K.

And big business chipped in very quickly. You know, companies like Pfizer, Shell, General Electric, they started providing a lot of money secretly to these think tanks. And they were hoping that, you know, they would receive tax cuts and deregulation, not just in the U.S. and U.K., but in other countries where they do business. So, it was always kind of a close partnership between these libertarian ideologues and these big business interests that hope to benefit from these policies.

So, Antony Fisher eventually passed away in the '80s, and he gave the reins to Alex Chafuen, the Argentine American who's still the president of the group today and has really been successful in exporting this model. You know, as you mentioned earlier and that clip mentioned, Atlas is active in now almost a hundred different countries. Theyre very prominent in Latin America, but they also play an influential role in Europe and in Asia and other parts of the developing world.

AMY GOODMAN: Lee Fang, talk about your conversation with Fernando Schler. Describe who he is and his role in undermining organized labor.

LEE FANG: Yeah, you know, this is thethat was a very interesting conversation. I went to Buenos Aires to attend an Atlas conference kind of focused on their Latin American efforts. And Schler basically made the argument that, you know, they got lucky with the Dilma impeachment. You know, this was kind ofthe stars aligned in terms of the economic situation and the political climate. But there is a long way to go to implement his kind of radical libertarian agendayou know, a lot of the ideas, like privatizing prisons or the education system, arent popular in Braziland that they would need to kind of change the fundamental institutions in Brazil for long-term policy change. And, you know, he pointed to the U.S. You know, in the U.S., there are large foundations that provide money for these strategies.

But also we talked a little bit about the role of labor unions. And, you know, the Atlas Network has studied the strategy used in the Midwest in the U.S., in places like Michigan and Wisconsin, where Scott Walker pushed through really radical attacks on labor unions, you know, pushing right-to-work laws, taking away or weakening collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, hoping to basically change the balance of power in that state, saying that, you know, their main ideological and political opponents are labor unions, so our first attack should be against labor unions. Schler, in Brazil, made a similar argument, saying that, you know, for long-term political change, he hopes to weaken Brazils labor unions, because labor unions are the greatest obstacle to their reform.

And whats interesting here is that Atlas Network has facilitated an exchange of ideas. The same kind of small think tanks in Wisconsin and Michigan and other states that pushed these labor reforms or labor changes have been brought in to teach the Atlas Network how to duplicate that model, how to outmaneuver the left, how to produce these slick videos and policy papers that delegitimize labor unions. And, you know, with this exchange of ideas, Brazilian think tank leaders and student protest leaders are being flown to D.C. and taught these very techniques.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president. Now, last weekend, the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, was bombed, and the Minnesota governor condemned it as terrorism. President Trump has yet to condemn this attack. Interestingly, the deputy assistant to the president, Sebastian Gorka, went on television and suggested that the Minnesota mosque bombing was a "false flag" attack. Gorka was speaking on MSNBC.

SEBASTIAN GORKA: Theres a great rule: All initial reports are false. You have to check them. You have to find out who the perpetrators are. Weve had a series of crimes committed, alleged hate crimes, by right-wing individuals in the last six months, that turned out to actually have been propagated by the left. So lets wait and see. Lets allow the local authorities to provide their assessment, and then the White House will make its comments.

AMY GOODMAN: The Jewish newspaper The Forward reports Gorka has links to a Hungarian far-right, Nazi-allied group and supported an anti-Semitic and racist paramilitary militia in Hungary while he served as a Hungarian politician. Talk about Sebastian Gorka and the Atlas Network, Lee Fang.

LEE FANG: Yeah, the Atlas Network has incredible connections to the Trump administration. Sebastian Gorka, this very anti-Muslim pundit, hes, you know, been active with a number of conservative websites and kind of just suddenly sprung to power by being appointed to this very senior White House role. He once managed a small Atlas think tank in Hungary.

But thats just one of many different examples. Mike Pence has attended Atlas Network events and spoken highly of the group. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has served on several boards along with Atlas Network President Alex Chafuen. And, you know, the Acton Institute, this think tank thats heavily backed by DeVos, now has affiliates all over the world as part of the Atlas Network, including in Brazil.

And, you know, I think one of the most salient and interesting examples of the Trump administration connections to this Atlas Network is that the National Endowment for Democracy, this government-chartered foundation thats kind of an arm of American soft power abroad, that provides extensive financing to the Atlas Network think tanks all over the world, including in Venezuela and other places, after Trump was elected president, an Atlas Network economist and fellow, Judy Shelton, was elevated to be the chairperson of the National Endowment for Democracy. So now you have many Atlas Network think tank leaders or fellow travelers in senior positions in the administration, but also an Atlas Network employee helping to manage the U.S. foreign policy arm thats financing the Atlas Network all across the world.

AMY GOODMAN: And as were talking about Sebastian Gorka, in addition to the other roles hes played, he was an editor for thefor national security affairs for Breitbart News, which, of course, another key White House figure, Steve Bannon, was the head of.

LEE FANG: Thats right. Sebastian Gorka has, you know, really operated on the fringes. You know, hes been a figure on talk radio, on some of these very conspiracy-laden, anti-Muslim websites. But, yes, hes been on Breitbart for a very long time, editing pieces, advancing very ugly anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. So its incredible to see a figure like him, whos really operated on the fringes of American society, elevated to such a prominent role in the White House.

In terms of influencing the debate, you know, these arent just policy arguments that theyre making. The so-called Breitbart of Braziltheres a pundit named Rodrigo Constantino. He kind of uses very acidic, conspiracy-laden arguments to try to delegitimize the left, basically saying that, you know, even the World Cup logo, the use of the color red, is a conspiracy to advance communism. You know, he makes all kinds of arguments, you know, some of them similar to the Cadillac welfare queen argument that were familiar with in the U.S. Hes popularized these attacks on social welfare programs in Brazil. Hes actually backed by an Atlas think tank, the Instituto Liberal, in Brazil, and affiliated with a second one, as well. So, you know, the Atlas Network is not only managing the protests on the street and the policy proposals, but theyre also introducing the Breitbart-style commentary and media figures in countries like Brazil.

AMY GOODMAN: Tell us who James OKeefe is, the conservative political activist, and how he fits into this picture.

LEE FANG: Well, as part of the Atlas Network exchange of ideas and management training seminars, you know, they frequently fly conservative leaders to Washington, D.C., and to teach them in the latest in communications technology and management techniques for running a successful political operation and think tank. They also bring in conservative kind of tacticians and leaders to teach about their tactics and methods. So, you know, they brought in Grover Norquist, the antitax activist whos played a very prominent role in tax debates in the United States. Theyve brought in the folks who were involved in pushing the Scott Walker reforms in Wisconsin.

And theyve also brought in people like James OKeefe. James OKeefe is a kind of internet and online provocateur. He teaches young conservatives to go undercover and to go to different left-leaning organizations, you know, places that help register poor people to vote, to Planned Parenthood, to other organizations that are affiliated with the Democratic Party or with the center-left. And he has these individuals engage in undercover videos, and, in some cases, has edited these videos to disparage the victims of these videos or to makein other cases, to make thesethe targets of his films look foolish or perhaps like theyre breaking the law. And, you know, hes played a very prominent role in recent political debates. He helped kind of destroy the organization ACORN, which is a local community organizing group. Well, you know, hes given seminars, as well, to the Atlas Network, to teach them his methods. So, you know, we might be seeing those type of strategies in Brazil or Venezuela or elsewhere.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Lee Fang, what were you most surprised in your research into the Atlas Network? And have they responded to your piece?

LEE FANG: I do not know if they have responded publicly. You know, I interviewed quite a few number of Atlas Network people for the piece.

The most surprising part of this was finding aboutfinding out about the extensive U.S. government financing for this network, especially given their antigovernment rhetoric. You know, I went to Buenos Aires, I went to New York, Las Vegas and Honduras, to speak to different Atlas Network leaders. But I also went to the Hoover Institute archives at Stanford University and went into the personal papers of Antony Fisher, the original founder of the first of these style think tanks, the Institute of Economic Affairs, and the original founder of the Atlas Network. And, you know, the government financing comes from the very beginnings of this group. You know, Atlas Network was originally technically founded in 1981. As early as 1982, I found letters from Antony Fisher writing to Reagan administration officials, asking for government money. So, I thought that was probably the most interesting revelation in all of this.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Lee Fang, I want to thank you very much for being with us, author of the piece for The Intercept, "Sphere of Influence: How American Libertarians Are Remaking Latin American Politics." This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. To see other interviews with Lee Fang, go to democracynow.org. Im Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.

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Lee Fang on How a Little-Known US Libertarian Think Tank Is Remaking Latin American Politics - Democracy Now!

The Libertarian Party of Indiana (LPIN) has announced the installment of new leaders in several counties across the state. This continues the pattern of growth for the LPIN, even in an off-cycle year for elections.

The first half of 2017 saw the expansion of Libertarian leadership in Carroll, Morgan, Montgomery and Jasper counties.

We're continuing to experience a surge in activity all around the state, LPIN State Chair Tim Maguire said. After the 2016 election, we never saw new interest in the Libertarian Party dwindle. Through that desire for liberty from our citizens, we have been able to identify the excitement found in these new leaders. They are just a small portion of the former Republicans and Democrats that have realized that the old parties don't represent us anymore.

Maguire added that the party has now installed new county chairs in Knox, Jackson and Hendricks counties. Those roles have been filled by Micah Haynes, Erin Meadors and Eric Knipe, respectively.

Im actually the temporary chair because were looking to re-affiliate Hendricks County with the Libertarian Party, Knipe said.

Knipe, a freelance real estate consultant, said the party has been affiliated with Hendricks County in the past, but that affiliation was lost. At an organizational meeting on Sept. 1, a vote will be held to pass bylaws re-affiliating the county with the Libertarian Party.

A vote will also be held on my permanent installation as county chair at that meeting as well, Knipe said.

Knipe said he is looking to get the Libertarian Party ramped up again in Hendricks County.

We really have a lot of activity, he said. Its exciting. Theres going to be some pushback and a lot of hard questions to answer, but I think we can do it.

Like Republicans, Libertarians too believe that government should be smaller and less invasive in the lives of Americans. Yet, unlike Republicans, Knipe said Libertarians have more follow through and want to make that belief a reality.

I live in Brownsburg and we have experienced some efforts of forced annexation, which is something Libertarians generally oppose, he said.

He said abuse of eminent domain has occurred on Green Street as a result of redevelopment efforts.

Its not neighborly to force citizens to sell their land, he said.

Knipe said he believes President Donald Trump has been great for the Libertarian Party.

People have been even more disenfranchised and just cant relate to him, he said. I think it just goes to show that its important to have principled leadership in place.

While good leadership at the top is crucial, Knipe believes that government is most effective at the local level.

[We need to] get quality candidates, he said.

The Libertarian Party of Indiana is always looking for people interested in helping spread liberty by taking leadership roles in their community, Maguire said. I encourage anyone looking for a way to participate to reach out to me. We are excited about the possibility of working together with you.

Knipe may be reached via email at eric@ericknipe.com or by phone at 317-456-2297. For more information on the Hendricks County Libertarian Party, find them on Facebook.

Stephanie Dolan writes for the Hendricks County Flyer and may be reached at stephanie.dolan@flyergroup.com. Follow Stephanie on Twitter @StephanieDolan.

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Libertarian Party expands leadership - The Hendricks County Flyer

Brian Kresge of Winterport, senior application developer with RKL eSolutions LLC of Lancaster, Pa., and former director for Jewish outreach for the Johnson/Weld 2016 Presidential campaign, has declared his candidacy for Maines 2nd Congressional District as a Libertarian.

I am excited to announce my candidacy for the House. My wife, Leah, and I, have found our place in the world in our move to Maine," Kresge said. "Our friends and neighbors believe in smaller, more effective government, and I want to represent that vision in this race.

My candidacy could focus on the failure of Republicans and Democrats to adequately represent Maine in Washington, but I would prefer to focus on what I, as a Libertarian, would do to be successful in the role.

Kresge served in the United States Army as a paratrooper, Pennsylvania Army National Guard as a paratrooper and Stryker infantryman, and the Maine Army National Guard in varying capacities, with three years total overseas service. He's been a mentor with veteran's court programs and served on executive boards and other leadership roles in synagogues and various Jewish organizations, he said. Kresge also has served on a zoning hearing board and as a judge of elections as well as running for municipal and state office.

Equally relevant are my experiences as a business software developer," he said in a press release. "Ive written tax and accounting software, invoicing systems for private and public state health care exchanges, discrete manufacturing integrations, and a wide variety of business mobile applications. Understanding regulatory compliance is a key component in my job.

We face serious challenges in healthcare and economic growth that are organic to our states evolution as well as byproducts of hyper-partisanship. Now, more than ever, we are ready for a third way in politics, one that respects civil liberties and your wallet. The House must reassert its role as a coequal branch of government that represents the people and stands firmly against abuses of executive power.

I look forward to a positive, issues-based campaign, meeting citizens, and building on Governor Johnsons success in Maines 2nd Congressional District. The Libertarian Party is here and is serious about representing your interests.

For more information on Kresge, visit kresgeforcongress.com.

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Winterport Libertarian declares candidacy for 2nd District - Republican Journal

Here we are once again, another gubernatorial election, and another Libertarian candidate being ignored by debate hosts. Much like the Commission on Presidential Debates, Virginia debate hosts have a history of ignoring the Libertarian candidates. This year it is Cliff Hyra.

On July 22, the Virginia Bar Association hosted its gubernatorial debate between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam. Despite overwhelming calls from Hyra supporters specifically and supporters of fair and open debates in general to include Hyra, the VBA not only refused to invite him, but threatened future sanctions on Libertarian candidates if the calls, emails and social media posts did not cease.

Additionally, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times, and Martinsville Bulletin have all published editorials calling for Hyras inclusion in the debates. As one of Virginias premier daily newspapers, the addition of The Winchester Star to this list would make Hyras campaign hard to ignore for debate hosts.

Next up, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce is hosting the second debate at George Mason University on Sept. 19 and so far Cliff Hyra has not been invited.

It boils down to one simple explanation. The debate hosts fear one or both of the major-party candidates will pull out of the debates if Hyra is invited. This is a sincere fear since Republican and Democratic candidates have a history of doing so in Virginia. In 2014, when Robert Sarvis was the Libertarian running for Senate against Ed Gillespie and Mark Warner, both threatened debate hosts at JMU that they would likely not participate in the debate if Sarvis were invited. They backed that threat up by refusing to participate in the only debate that would have included Sarvis, at the University of Mary Washington.

Ralph Northam is already on record with his support of including Hyra; however, Gillespie has refused to respond to my own inquiries. There is no reason to not invite Hyra to the debates. Gillespie took Northam to task for not accepting his challenge of 10 debates, calling a counteroffer of three insulting to Virginians.

Cliff Hyra is the only candidate to oppose the proposed gas pipelines due to eminent domain abuses; he also wants to reform the criminal justice system by legalizing cannabis, pardoning nonviolent prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses after completing anti-recidivism/treatment programs, and ending civil asset forfeiture abuses. Hyra also wants a model similar to the Wilder Commission to target wasteful government spending, expand competition and choice to public education by expanding charter school programs, and exempt the first $60,000 of household income from state income taxes (or $30,000 for individuals) and tax anything above that at a flat 5.75 percent.

Mark Anderson is chairman of the Frederick County Libertarians.

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Commentary Open Forum: Why NOT Hyra? No reason why the Libertarian candidate for governor should not be ... - The Winchester Star