Daily Archives: July 21, 2020

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Not long after the passing of John Lewis, tributes began pouring in from all points on the political compass, including some from ardent foes of the goals Lewis championed right up to his death on Friday. Vote suppressors praised the work of a public servant who had devoted his career to securing voting rights in America. Cop enablers praised a man who was nearly killed by a state troopers truncheon on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965.The hypocrisy was too much to bear.

Below are a few of the worst offenders.

The praise: McConnell on Saturday called Lewis a pioneering civil rights leader who put his life on the line to fight racism, promote equal rights, and bring our nation into greater alignment with its founding principles.

Why thats so rich: The GOP leader is blocking action on voting rights legislation that Lewis championed, including a bill to restore keyprotections for voters that the Supreme Court removed in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling. Shelby County is in Alabama, the state where state troopers fractured Lewis skull in 1963 as he marched against poll taxes and other methods used to stop Black Americans from voting. As it was during the civil rights movement, the Senate is no ally to the cause; its the thing to overcome.

The praise: On Friday night, Loeffler, a Republican appointed to a Senate seat in Lewis home state of Georgia, tweeted about Lewis: Few people have his grit, tenacity or courage. Georgia & our entire nation are better because of his leadership & courage.

Why thats so rich: One way Lewis showed grit was by appearing last month with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser at the newly named Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC. Battling cancer, Lewis, in some of his last public remarks, celebrated the Black Lives Matter movement and praised recent demonstrations.

Loeffler, meanwhile, has capitalized on her ownership of a WNBA team in Atlanta, Lewis hometown, to push the league to stop its players from putting Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name slogans on their uniforms. We need lessnot more politics in sports, Loeffler wrote in a letter to the leagues commissioner. In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote.

The praise: In a statement on Saturday, Kemp called Lewis a Civil Rights hero, freedom fighter, devoted public servant, and beloved Georgian who changed our world in a profound way.

The praise: Rubio on Saturday tweeted a picture of himself with a person he apparently thought was John Lewis. It was actually the late Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Rubio, undaunted, corrected the error, displaying a picture of himself with the correct deceased Black guy and the words: John Lewis was a genuine American hero.

Why thats so rich: Rubio in the past hasnt much cared about voters waiting in line for hours to vote, a problem that tends to occur in heavily Black and Democratic areas in Republican-run states. Asked in 2016 by a voter about six-hour lines to vote in Miami, Rubio responded: That is only on Election Day.

The praise: The libertarian Cato Institute on Saturday tweeted a January article by one its scholar headlined John Lewis, Libertarian Hero. The article says that the right to vote, which Lewis championed, is a libertarian cause, which, yeah, OK, sure.

Why thats so rich: In 2013, Cato supported Shelby Countys successful bid to gut the Voting Rights Act.

Continued here:
They praise John Lewis but hate Black voting rights and Black Lives Matter. - Mother Jones

After Emmanuel Macron announced that masks must soon be worn in all enclosed spaces in France, speculation is mounting that Britain will inevitably follow suit.

But will lifelong libertarian Mr Johnson forced by the global pandemic to become uncharacteristically authoritarian really insist on such a draconian measure?While it is tempting to presume that the answer to that question will depend on the science, in reality to coin the Clintonesque catchphrase it's about the economy, stupid.

Although there is some emerging scientific evidenceto suggest that face coverings not only help stop transmission but also protect the wearer, the decision is being driven by fiscal, rather than health concerns.

As Matt Hancock admitted in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the Government wants to "make shoppers feel even more confident about returning to the High Street".

Quoting Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, the Health Secretary said: "Small businesses know that mandatory face coverings have a role to play in the nation's recovery, both physically and financially."

Read more from the original source:
Why Boris Johnson is having to sacrifice his libertarian values in the battle against coronavirus - Telegraph.co.uk

The State of Maryland is on the hook for $27,000 in legal fees to a national conservative organization that sued the state three years ago over voter registration rolls.

Its part of a settlement the state reached with the group Judicial Watch after a federal court earlier this year ordered the state to make all voter registration data available to the conservative organization.

Judicial Watch sued Maryland to obtain voter list data in 2017 after alleging that there were more registered voters in Montgomery County than citizens over the age of 18 who were eligible to register. It was part of the conservative groups nationwide campaign to clean up voter rolls.

In August 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen L. Hollander ordered the State Board of Elections to produce the Montgomery County voter data, concluding that Maryland election law is an obstacle to the intent of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Following the court ruling, state elections officials initially provided Judicial Watch with a list of registered voters but one that did not include their dates of birth. On April 17, the court ordered the state to produce the registration list with every voters date of birth.

Maryland politicians fought us tooth and nail to keep Judicial Watch from uncovering the full truth about their dirty election rolls, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in April following the federal court ruling. This latest court victory will allow Judicial Watch to ensure Maryland and Montgomery County are removing voters who have moved or died long ago.

The Maryland Board of Public Works is set to vote Wednesday to confirm the $27,000 settlement payment to Judicial Watch.

At the same meeting, the BPW is scheduled to vote on a proposed $35,600 payment to reimburse attorneys for the Maryland Green Party and the Libertarian Party of Maryland for ballot access litigation against the state.

The third parties sued the state in May to reduce the signature requirement to appear on the November ballot. They argued that the states stay-at-home order and social distancing guidelines since the outbreak of COVID-19 made it impossible for them to exercise their First Amendment rights.

The Greens and Libertarians reached a settlement with the state a month ago cutting in half the petition signature requirement for gaining ballot access for the November general election.

As part of the settlement, the Green Party and its law firm are in line for a $25,000 payment from the state, while the Libertarians and the Center for Competitive Democracy, a national ballot access organizational, will split $10,600.

In a related development, Amber Ivey, an unaffiliated candidate for Congress in the 7th District, announced Monday that she had reached an agreement with state elections officials that would cut her signature requirement for ballot access in half. Initially, the State Board of Elections had said the state ballot access settlement with the Green and Libertarian parties would not apply to independent candidates, but Ivey sued.

I believe that every person has the right to ballot access, she said in a statement. COVID-19 restrictions have made it especially hard for candidates to collect signatures, which interferes with their constitutional right to seek to be on the ballot.

[emailprotected]

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Md. on the Hook for $27K in Legal Fees to Conservative Group - Josh Kurtz

BARNEGAT, NJ: New Jerseys 3rd Congressional District Independent Candidate Martin Weber is vowing to preserve the spirit and legality of the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment needs to be defended for the law-abiding citizens, says Weber. When you look at many gun owners here in the 3rd District, you see people who are hunters and those who use them for sport and recreation.

The candidate does recognize the calls by advocates to ensure there are reasonable regulations and background checks. I firmly believe that if you want to own a gun, you should be trained, certified, and registered, states Weber as he is calling for creating a program that has individuals complete a one-time certification course in which they learn how to properly handle and maintain their firearm. You have people out there who buy a gun and injure themselves (sometimes fatally) while trying to clean it, cites Weber. There is a role for groups like the NRA (National Rifle Association) and even retired military and law enforcement personnel to properly train gun ownersit is all about safety.

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Weber, 56, is the owner of YoBuck Landscaping Company in Barnegat and sits on the Zoning Board in town. He is a U.S. Army Veteran and former Captain of the Barnegat Volunteer First Aid Squad.

Weber will be speaking at a Second Amendment Rally that is being organized by 2nd District Libertarian Candidate Jesse Ehrnstrom. Others scheduled to speak include Second Amendment advocate Anthony Colandro, and 4th District Libertarian Candidate Michael Rufo. The Second Amendment Rally will take place on August 22nd, at 290 Route 72 in Barnegat from 11 AM to 4 PM.

Press inquiries can be directed to the campaign at press@martinweberforcongress.com For more information about the campaign, please visit our Website at martinweberforcongress.com or on Facebook at Martin Weber for Congress.

Read the original here:
Weber Reaffirms Commitment to Preserving 2nd Amendment Rights - TAPinto.net

* Illinois Public Radio

Rapper Kanye West was among those submitting petitions for the fall ballot Illinois on the final day for independent and third party candidates to file.

West said he is running for president. But he has missed the deadline to file in several states. While he was on time in Illinois, filing does not guarantee a spot on the ballot. Pettitions can be challenged for the number of signatures and their vailidity. West did not have a vice presidential candidate file with him. []

A judge eased signature requirements for third parties this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. That made it much easier for the Libertarian candidates running for the legislature to get on the ballot. Steve Suess, the partys state chairman, said that should send a message to the two major parties. []

More than 10 Libertarians are running either for a legislative or a congressional seat in Illinois, along with the offices of President and U-S Senate. The Green Party also has several running for state legislative posts.

You can see all the newly filed candidates by clicking here.

* Fox News

Four minutes before the Illinois State Board of Elections 5 p.m. CT deadline, two [West] representatives filed 412 petition sheets with election officials, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

Election officials will be counting those signatures of registered Illinois voters, of which he was supposed to have had at least 2,500 to get on the ballot. Petition sheets usually contain 10 names per sheet.

They contain 10 lines per sheet. Those lines arent always filled with valid names or any names, for that matter. We shall see.

Adding This was an obvious rush job and they may not survive a challenge

* Bernie

In a central Illinois race, Angel Sides, who got less than 5 percent of the vote in a five-way, 2018 Democratic primary for the U.S. House from the 13th Congressional District, filed as a Green Party candidate in the 87th House District, where state Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, has been unopposed.

In the 96th House District, John Keating II of Springfield filed as a Green Party candidate. Hes taking on Democratic state Rep. Sue Scherer and Republican Charlie McGorray, both of Decatur.

In the 100th District, where Democrat Brandon Adams of Jacksonville already was taking on Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, two candidates filed Monday: Thomas Kuna of Kane, in Greene County, on the Bullmoose party; and Ralph Sides under the banner of the Pro-Gun Pro-Life party.

More:
Your Illinois News Radar Longshot day at the ISBE - The Capitol Fax Blog

Commentary: A fundamental assumption underlying libertarianism is the persons sovereignty over their own physical bodies. This idea is the foundation of the right to private property, which is ownership over the product of ones physical body.

Personal sovereignty also provides the fundamental logic to the adage, Your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose, or to rephase in a way more relevant to the time of COVID, Your right to spiel virus ends at my nasal cavity. For libertarians and libertarian fellow travelers, like me, these are always the hardest questions, how to reconcile conflicting rights. Where does the right to swing end and the nose begin? It is a hard question, not easily answered.

For those who simplistically state that it is their American right not to wear a mask, they are wrong because the right they claim conflicts with others right to go into public without being coated in virus laden spital. Among the fundamental functions of government according to libertarians is the adjudication of conflicting rights. For government to decide that the balance falls on requiring masks in public is not in conflict with basic American liberties. For government to decide the opposite also is not conflict. Balancing competing rights is a basic element of politics.

One idea would be to abandon a pure libertarian approach to bring in utilitarian considerations. Utilitarianism is the school of thoughts that argues for the application of cost benefit analysis in determining the best policy to pursue.

In the case of masks, the utilitarian would compare the cost or harm imposed on the wearer to the benefit accruing to others. For example, one economic study found that mandatory mask laws reduced transmission rates by 10%, which would have reduced cumulative deaths in the United States by 40% through the end of May, about 40,000 lives.

The EPA uses $7.4 million as the value of a statistical life, meaning saving one life on average is expected to add $7.4 million in economic output. If wearing masks saves 40,000 lives, that translates into an expected savings of $296 billion. A disposable face mask costs about 40-cents, so giving every American one mask a day for 90 days costs about $12 billion. The net monetary benefit from wearing masks is about $284 billion, or $811 per person for the three months ending May 31.

Of course, the above calculation does not take account of human suffering. The suffering of the millions who have contracted COVID, as well as the suffering of their loved ones, must be weighed against the discomfort felt by reluctant mask wearers. I think it obvious were the balance falls.

That is not to say that reluctant mask wearers dont have a point. They are being asked to sacrifice their comfort and incur what they perceive to be an indignity for the benefit of others. This when the science, while becoming more certain, is still evolving.

Here Libertarian ideals can come to the rescue. The solution is to compensate mask wearers for giving up their property right, which is the joy of going maskless. Exactly how this would be done isnt completely clear, maybe with a tax write-off. A simpler and more effective payment might well be to say thank you to those around you wearing a mask, for their considerate behavior and kind concern for their follow Las Crucens health.

Christopher A. Erickson, Ph.D., is a professor of economics at NMSU. He considers himself to be a commonsense libertarian, meaning that he defaults to libertarian solutions, except when those solutions dont work. The opinions expressed may not be shared by the regents and administration of NMSU. Chris can be reached at chrerick@nmsu.edu.

Read the original here:
Those who claim wearing masks to be un-American haven't thought through the problem - KRWG