Daily Archives: April 27, 2022

Colorado's Jared Polis might be the most libertarian governor in America, at a time when his big-state Democratic colleagues are getting exposed as hypocrites while presiding over historic population declines or getting kicked out of office for sexual harassment and sending COVID infected patients back to nursing homes and then lying about it. I'm not sure that Polis' 2014 claim in the pages of Reason that "libertarians should vote for Democratic candidates" because they're "more supportive of individual liberty and freedom" has held up, but he's certainly leading by example.

The 46-year-old governor is presiding over one of the fastest-growing states in the country and a place that has one of the lowest death rates during the pandemic. He pushed back against members of his own party to remove mask mandates, and he consistently argued that public health decisions should be made at as local a level as possible. Last fall, at a conference held by the conservative Steamboat Institute, he declared that the state income tax rate "should be zero" and has supported ballot initiatives that reduced the rate. Polis has embraced occupational licensing reform and was an outspoken defender of bitcoin back in 2014 when Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) called on then-head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen to ban it.

The openly gay, married father of two recently signed a free-range parenting bill that effectively relegalizes the sort of Colorado childhood he recalls as the son of two ex-hippie parents: "Just because a kid is playing alone outside, it doesn't mean they're in danger," Polis said at the signing ceremony. "It will help decrease false reports sowe can focus on the serious and the real instances of child abuse."

As conservative states pass laws strictly limiting abortions, he signed legislation guaranteeing a woman's right to choose. The founder of two charter schools, he is an outspoken advocate for school choice, saying earlier this year that "public school choice is an asset to improve all public schools." A former tech entrepreneur and five-term congressman, Polis is steadfast against limiting speech rights or treating social media platforms as utilities that can't moderate content or bounce users for transgressing terms of service.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Reason, Polis talks about trying to govern from the middle, takes shots at President Joe Biden's moves on free trade and immigration, and repeats his argument that libertarians should vote for Democrats. Up for re-election in the fall and a heavy favorite to win a second term, Polis also discusses his political ambitions as a rising star in a party that is expected to get blown out in the midterm elections.

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Jared Polis: The Most Libertarian Governor in America? - Reason

Jake Hoffman| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Imagine a corporation granted power over the government to decide its own environmental policy, develop roads and buildings at itsdiscretion, build itsown public services, hire itsown police force, harness itsown energy sources andpay less taxes to do all of this.

This is the libertarian fever dream that Walt Disney World has enjoyed in Florida since 1967. Its the kind of extreme private ownership that would make Ayn Rand tell you to dial it back a bit. Yet today we find Florida Democrats and Democratsacross the country lambasting Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans for dissolvingthe Reedy Creek District, which provides Disney with its own city and basically gives it aself-regulating government.

More: OPINION: The media missed the real story of CPAC 2022

While I generally view myself as a libertarian whoadvocates for deregulation and less government interference in private business, I can only sit back and chuckle over the fact that, first and foremost, the Disney anarcho-capitalist experiment clearly worked.

Florida gave a giant corporation free rein and Disney turned it into the happiest place on Earth; itcreated the most jobs in Florida for decades and was responsible fortens of billions of dollars in economic impact to the state each year. On top of all that, Disney's public transit system is probably the best in the country.

That said, however, Florida has not afforded every corporation the same special treatment that it has given Disney. So what we really have here is crony capitalism at its finest, and it is high time to take back the reins and stop picking winners and losers you know, the very thing that small-government Republicans should have been doing all along.

Of course, I would love to create a special district around my house so that I couldappoint myself president and self-govern my businesses.But thats not the world we live in, so until everyone gets the same autonomy that Disney enjoyed for 50-plus years, dissolving Reedy Creek is a justified move on principle alone.

Yet that reality still hasn't prevented progressives frombending over backwardto become huge advocates for Disney, a cult-like beneficiary of slave labor that has ignored Uyghur genocide in China and is no stranger to beingculturally insensitive.

In fact, there are Democrats across the country pleading for Disney to come to their state! For example, Colorado'sDemocratic Gov, Jared Polis is openly recruitingDisney to relocate to Colorado, and declaring that his state doesn't "meddle in the affairs (of private business)."

First off, that notion is a total lie, unless you adopt the anarcho-capitalist view that Disney should be its own government.But more importantly, is this going to be the hot take from Democrats? That they want to let corporations self-govern? That they want corporations to get special taxing districts and to get to decide their own environmental policies?

The reality is the left is just engaging in its usual virtue-signaling, but this time its not even making an attempt to beideologically consistent. Or maybe its just that in theliberal hierarchy of needs, teaching kindergartners about sexuality, gender identityand personal pronouns is now at the top of the pyramid instead of loudly demandingmore corporate taxation and more central government control.

Ihave so many questions that I'dlove for liberalsto answer, and here are some of them:

What would Disney need to do to lose itsspecial privileges?

What happens if Disney starts to teach Christianity in its childrens programming?

Do you have any idea how many bills Disney has lobbied for or against over the years and how much power it holdsin Tallahassee?

If youre a politician whowants to enable Disney by incentivizing it to come to your state, are you ready to cede power to Disney's CEO and the woke mob that now runs thecompany's public policy decisions?

If youre able todo all of themental gymnastics it takes to genuinely support Disney for getting involved in a culturewar piece of legislation while simultaneously condemning Republicans for removing Disney's special district, then youreally need to get your political philosophy straightened out.

Ifor one think that the more you remove corporate influences on our lawmakers, the better outcomes we will get overall. I believe that we should deregulate businesses as much as possible. Ibelieve thatthe state has a responsibility toprotect people and property. And I believe that our public schools should not be reassigning the genders of first-graders behind the backs of their parents.

All of these beliefs are beliefs I held before this Disney fiasco, and they are beliefs I will continue to hold when this controversy finally fades away.So atleast I know where I stand on the political spectrum, unlike the overly emotional progressives who are now rushing to defend Disney while abandoning any sense of intellectual integrity.

Then again, I suspect that many on the outraged left are actuallyjust coming downwith a new variant of Trump Derangement Syndrome the virulent strain that's also known as DeSantis Derangement Syndrome.

Dont worry: I have no desire to force those who are stricken with DeSantis Derangement Syndrometo take a vaccine shot to treat it. But at the very least, the liberals now feelingtheeffects of this condition should be actively exploring alternative sources of information to counter all of the sickeningmisinformation they'regetting on the Reedy Creek issue.

Jake Hoffmanis executive director of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans. He is a Republican Party candidate in Hillsborough County for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives.

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OPINION: Progressives are hypocritical in defending Disney - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Steve Brawner| Special to the Times Record

Give credit to Attorney General Leslie Rutledge where credit is due: She showed up.

Rutledge participated in one of a series of debates held April 21 by the Arkansas Press Association for four of the states contested constitutional offices. Hers, for lieutenant governor, was the most meaningful of the debates because she, the frontrunner, was there.

Rutledge is the frontrunner because of her statewide office and name recognition, her Rutledge Report and other public service announcements, and her overwhelming fundraising advantage stemming from her aborted run for governor.

A candidate in her position might find a reason to skip the lieutenant governor debate, which was not broadcast.

Two of the other clear frontrunners skipped their debates: Sarah Huckabee Sanders in the governors race and Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin in the attorney generals race. Sanders, the overwhelming favorite, is not making herself available to reporters much, so its not surprising she wouldnt appear in a room full of them. Shes raised more than $14 million, so she doesnt need any media coverage. Sen. John Boozman also recently said he would not debate his three Republican primary opponents.

In the 2020 elections, Sen. Tom Cotton skipped the debates sponsored by Arkansas PBS. These are tame, controlled affairs where the candidates dont question each other, but Cotton didnt think it was worth his time and/or the risk. His libertarian opponent, Ricky Harrington, had the stage to himself. Harrington is running for governor this year.

But there was Rutledge sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with her seven opponents. The Republicans are Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe; former Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb; state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway; Washington County Judge Joseph Wood; and Attorney Chris Bequette. The non-Republicans are Democrat Kelly Krout and Libertarian Frank Gilbert.

The eight are vying for an office that does little. The lieutenant governor presides over the Senate when its in session and becomes governor when the elected governor dies, leaves office or cant serve. Thats pretty much it.

These days, campaigns are based largely on party labels, ads, and endorsements by ideological interest groups and politicians. Theyre highly scripted affairs where candidates relentlessly try to stay on message.

In a debate, its just them on a stage, where they might go off message. They might say something embarrassing. They might say what they really think and get in trouble with their base or with what few undecided voters are left.

Debates are political theater, and they probably dont tell us much about how a candidate would actually govern. But they do give candidates a chance to state their case why they should be elected in a less scripted environment. They also let them say why an opponent shouldnt be elected, and to do it like a real man or real woman: Face-to-face instead of hiding behind an anonymous narrator in a 30-second attack ad funded by other people.

Its unclear what debates will look like in the future. Recently, the Republican National Committee voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, the bipartisan entity that organizes the ones featuring Republicans and Democrats (and Ross Perot in 1992). The RNC says the CPD is biased.

Were a long way from the fall of 2024, so who knows what will happen between now and then. Regardless, its an unfortunate decision because it further chips away trust in our elections.

And that trust has been eroded a lot lately. Between denying election results, claiming the whole system is rigged, and impeaching presidents regularly, were less and less willing to accept the will of the voters and less inclined to believe in the democratic process if our side doesnt win.

And thats kind of scary. If you say the whole process is illegitimate, it makes it easier to justify trying to overturn an election. It could happen. There was an attempt to do it a year-and-a-half ago. Soon someone might actually succeed. Eventually wed stop having real elections at all, like a lot of countries.

I guess Ive strayed a bit from the lieutenant governors debate, so lets return to it. Kudos to Rutledge, and also to Bledsoe, Webb, Rapert, Wood, Bequette, Krout and Gilbert, along with the participants in the other debates.

They showed up.

Steve Brawner is a freelance journalist and syndicated columnist. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com or follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.

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At least Rutledge and her opponents showed up | Steve Brawner - SWTImes

Thursday marks the beginning of early voting during North Carolinas 2022 primary election cycle. The delayed timeline from redistricting lawsuits created a unique timeline and some voters may be returning to cast their ballots in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heres what you need to know about early voting before casting your ballot in Orange County.

This early voting period, there are five polling places in Orange County: Orange Works at Hillsborough Commons, Carrboro Town Hall Complex, Chapel of the Cross, Efland Ruritan Club and Seymour Senior Center. The Orange County Board of Elections office will not be an early voting site.

(Via Orange County Board of Elections)

Early voting runs from April 28 through May 14. Weekday early voting is open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, May 1 the precincts will be open from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, May 7 and Saturday, May 14 voting will be open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no early voting Saturday, April 30 or Sunday, May 8.

Some Chapel Hill voters may vote in Chatham or Durham counties. To learn more about early voting in Chatham County, click here. To learn more about early voting in Durham County, click here.

On Election Day, Tuesday May 17, polling places are open 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. During Election Day voters must vote at their assigned precinct.

Voters can register to vote at an early voting location. Voters must be a resident of North Carolina and their respective county for at least 30 days prior to the election. Additionally, voters who turn 18 years old by the general election can vote during the primary.

North Carolina has semi-closed primaries. This means unaffiliated voters may choose a Democrat, Republican or Libertarian ballot. Voters registered as Democrat, Republican or Libertarian will receive the ballot matching their voter registration.

Voters will see non-partisan races, like the Carrboro Town Council special election and Orange County Schools Board of Education, on their ballot regardless of political affiliation.

Voters can check their registration, see their assigned polling place, and view a sample ballothere.

All voters must have registered to vote at their current address in the county by Friday, April 22 in order to cast their ballots on Election Day.

A photo ID is not required for voting in North Carolina this election cycle.

Here are some select races Orange and Chatham county voters will see in their ballots. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by first name and parties in alphabetical order. Incumbents in local races have their names bolded.

To see a sample ballot for the 2022 primary elections, visit this North Carolina Board of Elections web page.

North Carolinas primary election day is set for Tuesday, May 17, with early voting starting on Thursday, April 28.

For more election coverage and candidate introductions, visit ChapelborosLocal Election Coverage page.

Chapelboro.comdoes not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community.Contribute today every single dollar matters.

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Early Voting Starts Thursday: Here's Where to Go in Orange County - Chapelboro.com

What, pray tell, had roused freedom from its slumber?

The Supreme Courts Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which ruled that corporations have First Amendment rights. I thought then, like most conservatives, that the court was correct. Unlike many these days, I still do. The New York Times Co. has every right to argue for its preferred policies, and so does Koch Industries.

Its difficult to exaggerate how committed the right once was to this principle and how much it appalled the left. Masterpiece Cakeshop, we conservatives contended, had every right not to be compelled to make gay wedding cakes because of the owners religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby had a First Amendment right to defy provisions of the Affordable Care Act that violated its religious freedom. We won both arguments at the Supreme Court.

That era is now officially over.

Florida recently passed the Parental Rights in Education bill (tendentiously called the Dont Say Gay law by detractors). The Walt Disney Company, under CEO Bob Chapek, tried to stay out of the controversy. But a pincer movement of internal and external political pressure forced the company to publicly oppose the bill.

Worse, a video of a Disney meeting at which executives boasted of their not at all secret agenda to incorporate gay and transgender themes into Disney content was leaked at the worst possible moment. The very online right was already in a full-blown moral panic about pedophilia, basically holding that anyone who opposed the bill was either a groomer or groomer friendly. (Once a term for adults who manipulate underage children for sexual abuse, groomer suddenly meant dissenters from a moral crusade.)

Against the broader backdrop of the populist fatalism of the Trump era, which holds that conservatives never win when they play by the rules, it was something of a perfect storm.

Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted to strip Walt Disney World of its special status under something called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Crafted by Republicans in 1967, the improvement district deal exempted Disney World from zoning and tax laws in exchange for Disney transforming a massive amount of swampy land into the Magic Kingdom and running it without taxpayer money. Economically and politically, it was win-win for both Disney and Floridauntil last week, when a remarkable number of politicians suddenly embraced a purist libertarian opposition to such public-private partnerships of which there are more than 1,000 in Florida.

Of course, Orlando International Airport and Daytona International Speedway, with similar exemptions, will be fine, because the libertarian arguments are entirely pretextual. This was about punishing Disney. Floridas lieutenant governor even admits that if Disney simply changed its politics, everything could go back to normal. Oh, is that all?

The view on the right is that DeSantis is a courageous brawler, beating back a behemoth of woke capitalism. Its certainly true that DeSantis comes out a winner on the national stage as he contemplates a presidential run in 2024.

I will also concede that DeSantis supporters have a point. If corporations will let themselves be bullied out of their lanes by the left, they shouldnt be surprised if they invite retaliation from the right. As problematic as I find this whole spectacle, it would be a good thing if corporations thought twice about picking sides in the culture war. As Michael Jordan once said, Republicans buy sneakers too.

But whether the costs outweigh the benefits is unknowable, particularly in a climate in which what constitutes winning is redefined on the fly by Twitter mobs. After all, as National Reviews Charlie Cooke notes, DeSantis had already won: Disney took its shot at the Florida parental rights bill, and even though all of its sponsors were recipients of Disneys political contributions, Disney lost. But the rights equivalent of Twitter-addicted woke activists wanted a pound of Mouse flesh.

Privately, some defenders say the Reedy Creek Improvement District rescission, which doesnt go into effect until next year, will never happen. Saner heads will prevail, opting not to shift massive burdens onto county governments and taxpayers (this would explain why Disney has largely stayed mum). But that theory assumes DeSantis is the mobs master, not its servant.

And even ifa big ifcorporate America takes the right lessons here, theres no chance activists on the left or right will, at least for the foreseeable future. When you reward mobs, you get more mobs.

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DeSantis Beat DisneyThen the Mob Wanted More - The Dispatch

In many ways, primary election season for local offices in Gaston County will be more excitingthan the general election in November.

Many of the races will be decided in the primary, leaving uncontested races on the ballot in November.

And with early voting starting Thursday, here are five things to know:

Must you belong to a political party in order to vote? No.

The 2.53 million voters in North Carolina who arent registered with the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian parties can vote in the primary election along with the 2.5 million Democrats and 2.2 million Republicans.

North Carolinas 49,036Libertarians have no partisan primaries this year, so their members may vote only in the non-partisan elections underway this spring.

Independent voters will have two options:

Select a non-partisan ballot and vote only in the non-partisan races, such as City Council races.

Select one of the partisan ballots and vote in those elections plus the nonpartisan elections.

Note that unaffiliated voters are not allowed to vote in more than one political partys primary. If you are independent and you happen to like a particular Republican candidate for sheriff and a particular Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, youll have to decide which candidate will get your vote. The other candidate that you liked will have to do without your support and possibly lose the election because you were blocked by law from voting for them.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.

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Early voting starts Thursday. 5 things to know in Gaston County - Gaston Gazette

Monday, April 25th 2022 - 20:55 UTC Argentina's peso is not even good as fertilizer, Milei explained

Argentine Libertarian Deputy Javier Milei Sunday insisted on dollarizing the country's economy during a rally in Mendoza where he also vowed that such would be his first step if elected President in 2023.

Milei also said the Argentine peso was the currency of the caste, because it loses its purchasing power every minute due to inflation, causing additional trouble to the working class.

The economist Milei's views are not matched by those of many of his colleagues who have rejected dollarizing and warned of the negative consequences such a move would have.

We have to get rid of the peso garbage, which is not even good for fertilizer, Milei said at Mendoza's O'Higgins Park while giving a masterclass attended by over 12,000 people.

That bunch of thieves said that the peso is to have sovereignty. You talk about sovereignty when you want the people to be slaves, Milei warned after reviewing the history of inflation and income redistribution policies.

Milei also explained he would start by moving from fractional banking to an anti-corruption system with Simons banking to then develop a dollarization strategy.

The only ones who will lose with these measures are the corrupt politicians of the caste, Milei promised.

We do not need a lender of last resort with Simons banking. Politicians, stop lying to the people, stop putting fear in them, he said.

Milei also said he believed the country was rich in lack of opportunities, due to the filthy political caste we have, which expels our children, which led to increasing migration. To reverse that trend, Milei insisted the only solution is to go back to the ideas of freedom and get the State out of the way.

The Libertarian Deputy also referred to his colleagues as econochantas (bogus experts) who are functional to the caste and who exist on both sides of the 'crack'.

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Milei gets 12000 people to attend class on inflation in Mendoza - MercoPress

Former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, a libertarian who left the Republican Party and has become one of its most prominent critics, slammed Kevin McCarthy after new audio revealed the top House Republican excoriated Donald Trump during private calls after January 6.

McCarthy had privately placed blame for the Capitol attack squarely on Trump and told his Republican colleagues "I've had it with this guy," while at the same time publicly defending him from a second impeachment and blame for the riot.

"I met a lot of duplicitous people in Congress but none more conniving and fundamentally dishonest than Kevin McCarthy," Amash tweeted after the tapes were released. "He will say or do whatever he thinks is necessary at a particular moment to obtain or maintain power."

Later that year, Amash announced he was leaving his party in a Washington Post op-ed in which he condemned America's two-party system and urged others to join him in "rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us." He left office in 2021.

Amash is once again speaking up after New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin published tapes of McCarthy's phone calls with Republican lawmakers that show a clear inconsistency between the minority leader's public and private stances on Trump.

On a January 10, 2021 call, McCarthy told House Republicans "I've had it with this guy."

"What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it," McCarthy said.

The next day, in a separate call, he assured Republicans that he had been "very clear" with Trump that the president "bears responsibility for his actions, no ifs, ands, or buts."

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Ex-GOP Rep. Justin Amash calls Kevin McCarthy 'conniving and fundamentally dishonest' after tapes reveal the House GOP leader planned to tell Trump to...

While the talk is about free markets and private propertyand it is more respectable than it was a few decades ago to defend near-complete laissez-fairethe bulk of the intellectual community almost automatically favors any expansion of government power so long as it is advertised as a way to protect individuals from big bad corporations, relieve poverty, protect the environment, or promote equality.

Milton Friedman, introduction to The Road to Serfdom 50th-anniversary edition, 1994

Originally published at Josiah Barlett Center for Public Policy

The right-of-center movement in the United States is shifting toward statism in a way even many of its self-proclaimed liberty activists dont realize.

Responding to relentless left-wing provocation, people on the right think theyre defending liberty by using the state to block or punish private-sector actions they dislike. Instead, theyre expanding state control over private behavior.

The Live free or die state is not immune to this shift. Here, lawmakers who believe themselves to be righteous champions of liberty are trying to extend state control over private contracts and decisions.

To pick one example, considerHouse Bill 1210, relative to exemptions from vaccine mandates. The bill requires any employer that receives any public funds, including grants or contracts, to allow a right of conscience exemption from vaccination.

Framed as a defense of individual liberty, the bill actually would reduce liberty.

If enacted, it would weaken the right of free individuals to associate only with others who accept their dedication to fighting infectious diseases through vaccination.

Vaccination status is not an immutable characteristic like race or sex. It is a choice, and not a purely individualistic one. It can have profound, even life or death, consequences for others.

Were the bill to pass, health care facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals would be required by law to hire employees who refuse to vaccinate themselves against any and all infectious diseases. The bill covers all vaccines, not just those for COVID-19.

The bill restricts freedom of association in the name of bodily integrity. But someone who refuses to vaccinate is making a choice to give up bodily integrity.

A virus is a foreign living organism that invades a body and uses it as a host. Viruses cannot replicate by themselves. They infect host cells and use them for reproduction, usually killing them in the process. Vaccines are designed to protect cells against invasion and destruction by alien organisms. Their purpose is to preserve bodily integrity.

Viruses arent libertarian. Theyll infect anyone they can. People have a right to choose to associate with others who agree to vaccinate. This bill would violate that right in pursuit of a non-existent right to join a group without agreeing to its terms.

Conservatives can easily see that it would be a violation of individual rights for the state to require religious employers or ideological organizations to hire anyone regardless of their beliefs. This bill violates the freedom of association in a similar way.

Should HB 1210 become law, a cancer patient would be unable to seek medical care in New Hampshire in a facility with a fully vaccinated staff. Thats not protecting peoples rights. Its forcing people to associate with others who might be a danger to themselves.

The libertarian saying that your rights end where my nose begins applies here. Going unvaccinated (or not) is not a lifestyle choice like getting tattooed or piercing ones nose. It can have a direct, potentially catastrophic effect on others. And others have a right to protect themselves against that through their associations.

LikeHouse Bill 1469, which seeks to restrict the free association rights of all New Hampshire businesses under the guise of regulating banks, HB 1210 would expand the power of the state to regulate economic transactions in new ways.

Supporters of such market interventions honestly think they are taking steps to protect individuals. But theyre mistaken. Unwittingly, they are moving to empower collectivism and weaken the liberty of the individual.

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From Vaccines to Banks, NH Sees Misguided Efforts To Restrict Freedom in the Name of Liberty - NH Journal