Category Archives: Libertarian

Elon Musk at the opening ceremony of a new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Photo: Patrick Pleul/Reuters

Elon Musk styles himself as a character out of science fiction, posing as an ingenious inventor who will send a crewed mission to Mars by 2029 or imagining himself as Isaac Asimovs Hari Seldon, a farseeing visionary planning ahead centuries to protect the human species from existential threats. Even his geeky humour seems inspired by his love for Douglas Adamss Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

But while he may take inspiration from science fiction, as Jill Lepore has observed, hes a bad reader of the genre. He idolises Kim Stanley Robinson and Iain M. Banks while ignoring their socialist politics, and he overlooks major speculative traditions such as feminist and Afrofuturist science fiction. Like many Silicon Valley CEOs, he primarily sees science fiction as a repository of cool inventions waiting to be created.

Musk engages with most science fiction in a superficial manner, but he is a careful reader of one author: Robert A. Heinlein. He named Heinleins The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress from 1966 as one of his favourite novels. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a libertarian classic second only to Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged in its propaganda value for neoliberal capitalism. It inspired the creation of the Heinlein Prize for Accomplishments in Commercial Space Activities, which Musk won in 2011. (Jeff Bezos is another recent winner.)

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress popularised the motto Theres no such thing as a free lunch, often used by defenders of capitalism and opponents of progressive taxation and social programmes. Its about a lunar colony that frees itself, via advanced and cleverly applied technology, from the resource-sucking parasitism of Earth and its welfare dependents. In this instance, it appears that Musk correctly caught the authors drift.

No such thing as a free lunch

Heinlein filled his fiction with loudmouthed men who claim to be accomplished polymaths. They boss everyone around, make decisions on a whim and ignore advice regardless of the consequences. In other words, they act just like the CEO of Tesla, Inc. Likewise, Musk often attracts investors through publicity stunts rather than proven science and engineering, a self-marketing strategy that puts him, as Colby Cosh has pointed out, in the same dubious company as Heinleins space entrepreneur D.D. Harriman in his story The Man Who Sold The Moon.

But Heinlein wasnt in the business of criticising free-market capitalism far from it. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress depicts a Moon colony forced by the centralised Lunar Authority to ship food to Earth where it goes to feed starving people in places like India. The lunar citizens, or Loonies, revolt against the state monopoly and establish a society characterised by free markets and minimal government. The Loonies welcome the Malthusian catastrophe that will follow their withdrawal of nutritional assistance from Earth because they believe population collapse will ultimately make the welfare dependents down there more efficient people and better fed in the long run.

In addition to basic libertarianism, the novel promotes what Evgeny Morozov would call technological solutionism, the belief that every social or political problem can be solved with the right technical fix. This ideologys roots go back to the 1930s technocracy movement, which, as Lepore points out, numbered Musks grandfather among its adherents. Musk has taken up this legacy, promoting the electric car as the solution to climate change. In Musks view, private innovation rather than state intervention or activist politics will save the world.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress follows the same mindset. Although the Loonies advocate libertarian principles we learn that the most basic human right is the right to bargain in a free marketplace these prove secondary to the practical problem that Earth is draining Lunas water and other resources at a rate they predict will result in mass starvation on the Moon.

Their solution to this problem touts itself as equally scientific. In the book we learn that an insurrectionary group is no different from an electric motor: it must be designed by experts with function in mind. The Loonies revolutionary conspiracy decides that revolutions are not won by enlisting the masses. Revolution is a science only a few are competent to practice. It depends on correct organisation and, above all, on communications.

Acting on this principle, one of the co-conspirators, Mannie the computer technician, designs their clandestine cell system like a computer diagram or neural network, mapping out how information will flow between revolutionists. They determine the best way of organising a cadre not through democratic deliberation or practical experience but through cybernetic principles.

Mannies disinterest in the messy business of political persuasion is a strength, not a weakness, because it allows him to see people as mere nodes in the network. Indeed, Mannys narration throughout the novel uses engineering terms to describe human beings and social interactions. He describes one woman as [s]elf-correcting, like a machine with proper negative feedback. Mannie, who boasts a cyborg arm, treats others as mechanisms in need of tinkering. Musks brain-machine interface company, Neuralink, attempts to operationalise this idea.

Also read: Elon Musk Thinks Neuralink Could Merge Humans With AI Neuroscience Says Wait

For Mannie and his co-conspirators, democratic input from the revolutions mass base is noise that can only interfere with the signals transmitted from the elite leadership outward to their interconnected web of subordinates. Even when it comes time to establish a constitution for the Luna Free State, the conspirators use clever procedural tricks to do an end run around everyone in the congress who is not a member of their clique. Smart individuals always win out over mass democracy in Heinleins fiction and thats a good thing.

The novel takes solutionism to the extreme when Mannie enlists the help of a sentient supercomputer named Mike to lead the overthrow of Earths colonial government on Luna. Anticipating the exuberance of the dot-com era, Heinlein suggests that a computer can foment change better than any movement or organisation. Mikes revolutionary tactics reflect the novels obsession with communications: much of the book is devoted to the conspiracys attempts to shift public opinion against the Lunar Authority and sow confusion among the governments ranks through hacking and media campaigns.

Like the keyboard warriors of our present moment the hyperonline Musk among them Heinleins revolutionary elite hope to change society by manipulating information.

When revolutionary war breaks out, Mikes technical superiority emerges as the deciding factor. Using electromagnetic catapults, the supercomputer hurls rocks at Earth that impact with the force of atomic explosions. The Federated Nations of Earth are forced to grant their lunar colonies independence after this calculated show of force. In the end, the Loonies achieve political emancipation thanks to a gadget.

Markets and machines

These ideas would later feed into what Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron call the Californian ideology, a combination of techno-utopianism and economic libertarianism espoused by digital artisans such as software engineers working in Silicon Valley. As Barbrook and Cameron note, the Californian ideologys evangelists in the 1990s tended to be science-fiction fans who loved Heinlein and fancied themselves countercultural rebels bringing about a golden age of freedom by building the electronic marketplace. They believed that once unleashed from physical as well as governmental constraints, the free market would produce new technologies to address every possible problem or need.

Even more fundamentally, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress reflects a prevailing dogma that promotes cybernetics as the key to understanding the universe. Under this belief system, everything from markets to ecosystems appear as information processors operating based on feedback mechanisms. Like a thermostat, they respond to changing circumstances without conscious human control. Because the economy is a self-regulating system too complex for anyone to understand let alone steer, the Californian ideologists suggest, it should be insulated from democratic interference by a global legal order developed by neoliberal experts.

Musk has immersed himself in this ideology since his involvement with PayPal in the 1990s, and so it makes sense that he would be drawn to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Hes so mired in this way of thinking that he entertains the idea that all of reality is a computer simulation. In many ways, Musk models himself on Mannie the computer technician, the wisecracking rebel who only wants the government to get out of his way so he can make things work.

When Musk encounters traffic congestion, he doesnt see it as a failure of urban planning or a problem following from underinvestment in mass transit. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to build a hyperloop. His solution to everything is an invention developed and marketed by rogue geniuses in the private sector. His faith in technofixes is so great that he imagines machines as potential overlords waiting to take over. There is more than a hint of Mike in his fear of an impending robot apocalypse.

Even his efforts to acquire Twitter and strip it of content restrictions seem to be motivated by the same ideology. Fred Turner argues that Musks opposition to content moderation stems from a belief that information wants to be free. When speech counts as data rather than dialogue, it becomes impossible to see why hate speech might be harmful.

Musks belief system rules out the idea that society is riven by antagonisms, least of all class struggle. He will always see problems like climate disaster as purely technical rather than derived from the profit-seeking behavior of the corporations ruining the planet. If science fiction reveals the contradictions of capitalism and encourages us to imagine alternatives, then Musks sci-fi persona is a cheap imitation. As a libertarian and a technocrat, the best he can do is fantasise about handing the revolution over to the machines.

Jordan S. Carroll is a visiting assistant professor of English at the University of Puget Sound. He is the author of Reading the Obscene: Transgressive Editors and the Class Politics of US Literature (Stanford 2021), and he is currently working on a book on race, science fiction and the alt-right.

This article was first published by Jacobin and has been republished here with permission.

Read more here:

Why Understanding This '60s Sci-Fi Novel Is Key To Understanding Elon Musk The Wire Science - The Wire Science

4 p.m.

The unofficial primary election results have been released in Hill County, and in local races Hill County Deputy Clerk and Recorder Lexis Dixon has won the Democratic primary in the race for Hill County Clerk and Recorder, and although Republican Steve Chvilicek of Havre won the county in his race to unseat incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, in the race for Senate District 14, with results in the rest of the district it appears Tempel won the primary.

Watch for full results in Blaine, Chouteau, Liberty and Hill counties in Thursdays edition of Havre Daily News.

The printer on the ballot counting machine broke after 12 precincts were counted in Hill County, and the staff at the Clerk and Recorders Office stayed for some two-and-a-half more hours trying to get it working, but went home about 1:30 a.m. hoping the count could resume today.

This afternoon, the final results, unofficial until the count is canvassed, were released.

In the race for Hill County Clerk and Recorder, Dixon won with 675 votes and Tina Salazar, who resigned from her position as a deputy clerk and recorder not long after filing as a candidate, received 387. Dixon is unopposed in the general election.

In the Senate race, Chvilicek received 859 votes in Hill County and Tempel received 635. The Secretary of States website said that with 18 of 26 precincts in the district fully reported and another 8 partially reported, Tempel was ahead with 2,049 votes and Chvilicek 1,758.

Dave Brewer of Havre is the Democratic candidate in that race. The Secretary of States website reported this afternoon he had 982 votes in his unopposed primary race.

In the Republican primary race for PSC District 1, incumbent Randy Pinocci received 1,053 votes in Hill County and challenger K. Webb Galbreath had 503. The Secretary of State's website reported that with 160 of 172 precincts fully reported and another 12 partially reported, Pinocci had 20,545 and Galbreath had 10,444.

In the nonpartisan race for state Supreme Court Justice 2, incumbent Ingrid Gustafson had 1,151 votes in Hill County with James Brown taking 983 and Michael McMahon taking 523. The Secretary of State's website said that with 637 of 663 precincts fully reported and another 12 partially reported, Gustafston had 123,794 votes, Brown had 92,799 and McMahon had 39,653. Gustafson and Brown will advance to the general election as the top-two vote-getters.

In the race for Supreme Court Justice 1, both incumbent Jim Rice and his opponent, Bill D'Alton, will advance to the general election. In the nonpartisan primary, Rice received 184,509 votes and D'Alton received 57,476.

In the race for U.S. House District 2 it is the first election since the 1990s that Montana has two House districts incumbent Rep. Matt Rosendale won the Republican primary hands down, both in Hill County and in the district.

Rosendale received 1,258 votes in Hill County and challenger Kyle Austin of Billings, a Hill County native, received 318, while James Boyette received 80 and Charles Walkingbird received 94.

The Secretary of State's Website said that, with 345 of 357 precincts fully reported and another 12 partially reported, Rosendale had 73,130, Austin 11,884, Walkingchild 5,883 and Boyette 5,671.

In the Democratic primary for that race, Penny Ronning received 408 votes and Skylar Williams received 271. Mark Sweeney, who died May 6 after the ballots already had been printed with his name on them, received 271.

Secretary of States website said that with 345 of 357 precincts fully reported and the remaining 12 partially reported, Ronning received 21,887, Williams 6,992 and Sweeney received 8,550 posthumously.

In the Libertarian primary for the District 2 House seat, Sam Rankin received 10 votes in Hill County, Roger Roots received 4 and Samuel Thomas received 2

9:25 a.m.

After the primary election ballots from 12 Hill County precincts were counted Tuesday, the count stopped in Hill County due to a problem with the printer for the ballot counter. Hill County Clerk and Recorder's office said a technician is coming to Havre today from out of town to look at the printer, and hopefully the final counts, unofficial until the election is canvassed, will be available later today.

In Hill County results as of about 11 p.m. Tuesday, the results of county votes counted so far had Deputy Hill County Clerk and Recorder Lexis Dixon her lead over former Deputy Hill County Clerk and Recorder Tina Salazar in the Democratic primary for county clerk and recorder, with Dixon taking 555 votes to Salazar's 306.

In the Republican primary for Senate District 14, Steve Chvilicek of Havre was pulling an upset in Hill County, 772 votes to incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester's 532.

The Secretary of State's website reported this morning that, with 13 of 26 precincts fully reported and 11 precincts partially reported, apparently including the Hill County counts completed, had Tempel with 1,946 votes and Chvilicek with 1,632 votes.

In the Republican primary race for PSC District 1, incumbent Randy Pinocci was taking a strong lead in Hill County, 807 votes to K. Webb Galbreath's 394.

The Secretary of State's website this morning reported that with 142 of 172 precincts fully reported, Pinocci had 18,852 votes to Galbreath's 9,919.

In the nonpartisan race for state Supreme Court Justice 2, incumbent Ingrid Gustafson had 936 votes in Hill County with James Brown taking 749 and Michael McMahon taking 412.

The Secretary of State's website his morning reported with 442 of 663 precincts fully reported and 188 partially reported, Gustafson had 117,779, Brown had 88,861 and McMahon had 37,310.

In the nonpartisan race for Supreme Court Justice 1, where both candidates will advance to the general election, incumbent Jim Rice had 175,929 votes and Bill D'Alton had 54,625.

In the race for U.S. House District 2, incumbent Matt Rosendale dominated in the Republican primary in Hill County. he had 992 votes to Kyle Austin's 247, Charles Walkingchild's 65 and James Boyette's 55.

The Secretary of State's website said this morning that with 250 of 357 precincts fully reported and 89 more partially reported, Rosendale had 68,459 votes, Austin had 11,183, Walkingchild had 5,528 and Boyette had 5,360.

In the Democratic primary for House District 2, Penny Ronning had 345 Hill County votes to Skylar Williams' 212. The deceased Mark Sweeney took 277 votes in the county.

The Secretary of State's website reported this morning that with the precincts reported, Ronning had 20,117 votes and Williams had 6,378. Sweeney posthumously received 7,741.

In the Libertarian primary in the House District 2 race, in Hill County Sam Rankin had taken 9 votes, Roger Roots 1 and Samuel Thomas 2.

The Secretary of State's website reported this morning that Rankin had 868 votes, Thomas had 513 and Roots had 477.

1 a.m.

Hill County Clerk and Recorder's Office reported that a problem has arisen with the printer on the ballot-counting machine and no more results can be released until the machine is repaired. The office is waiting for communication with a technical support unit from out-of-state, but results will not be ready until likely Wednesday.

11:15 p.m.

After 12 precincts were fully counted in the primary election, Deputy Hill County Clerk and Recorder Lexis Dixon was maintaining her lead over former Deputy Hill County Clerk and Recorder Tina Salazar in the Democratic primary for county clerk and recorder, with Dixon taking 555 votes to Salazar's 306.

In the Republican primary for Senate District 14, Steve Chvilicek of Havre was pulling an upset in Hill County 772 votes to incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester's 532.

The Secretary of State website reported the race for the district, which also includes Liberty County and parts of Chouteau and Cascade counties, was at 770 votes for Tempel and 1,515 for Chvilicek with 12 of the 26 precincts fully reported and 11 more partially reported.

In the Republican primary race for PSC District 1, incumbent Randy Pinocci was taking a strong lead in Hill County, 807 votes to K. Webb Galbreath's 394.

The Secretary of State's website reported Pinocci with 8,194 votes to Galbreath's 4,500 with 54 of 172 precincts fully reported and another 29 partially reported.

In the nonpartisan race for state Supreme Court Justice 2, incumbent Ingrid Gustafson had 936 votes in Hill County with James Brown taking 749 and Michael McMahon taking 412.

The Secretary of State's website reported Gustafson with 86,793, Brown with 58,343 and McMahon with 25.319 with 124 of 663 precincts fully reported and 372 partially reported. The top two vote-getters will advance in that race.

In the race for U.S. House District 2, incumbent Matt Rosendale dominated in the Republican primary in Hill County. he had 992 votes to Kyle Austin's 247, Charles Walkingchild's 65 and James Boyette's 55. With 99 of 357 precincts fully reported and another 148 partially reported, the Secretary of State's website said Rosendale had 47,154 votes to Austin's 8,158, Walkingchild's 3.566 and Boyette's 3,905.

In the Democratic primary for House District 2, Penny Ronning had 345 Hill County votes to Skylar Williams' 212. The deceased Mark Sweeney took 277 votes in the county.

The Secretary of State's website at that time reported Ronning with 15,199, WIlliams with 4,399 and Sweeney with 5,024.

In the Libertarian primary in the House District 2 race, in Hill County Sam Rankin had taken 9 votes, Roger Roots 1 and Samuel Thomas 2. The Secretary of State's website reported Rankin with 692, Roots with 374 and Thomas 423.

10:30 p.m.

With nine Hill County precincts counted, Lexis Dixon has taken the lead in the Democratic primary race for Hill County Clerk and Recorder. Dixon had 462 votes to Tina Salazar's 237.

In the Republican primary for state Senate District 14, challenger Steve Chvilicek of Havre was leading incumbent Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester, 573-362.

In the nonpartisan primary for Supreme Court Justice 2, incumbent Ingrid Gustafson led with 756 votes to James Brown's 565 and Michael McMahon's 300.

In the race for U.S. House District 2, incumbent Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale was far ahead of his challengers with 724 votes. Kyle Austin had 192 while James Boyette had 38 and Charles Walkingchild had 46.

In the Democratic U.S. House primary for District 2, Penny Ronning had 286 votes and Skylar Williams had 173. Mark Sweeney, who died May 6, had 230 votes.

In the Libertarian House District 2 primary, Sam Rankin had 9 votes, Samuel Thomas had 2 and Roger Roots had 1.

9:15 p.m.

The results for the first precinct counted in Hill County in the primary election are in, with what appears to be a low turnout. A total of 118 ballots were cast in the precinct.

In the Democratic primary for Hill County Clerk and Recorder, Lexis Dixon had 28 votes to Tina Salazar's 19.

In the Republican primary for Senate District 14, Steven Chvilicek of Havre had the lead with 39 votes to Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester's 24.

In the Republican primary in the PSC for District 1, incumbent Randy Pinocci had 39 votes to Webb Galbreath's 20.

In the Supreme Court race for Justice 2, incumbent Ingrid Gustafson had the lead with 47 votes to James Brown's 36 and Michael McMahon's 27.

In the race for U.S. House in the eastern district, incumbent Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale had 41 to Kyle Austin's 16 and James Boyette's four and Charles Walkingchild's three.

In the Democratic primary in the House race, Penney Ronning had 21 votes and Skylar Williams had 13. Mark Sweeney, who died May 6 but still was on the ballot, also received 13.

In the Libertarian House primary, Sam Rankin took one vote and neither Roger Roots nor Samuel Thomas received any votes.

8 p.m.

Polls have been declared closed in Hill County in the primary election.

The only contested local elections in Hill County are for Hill County Clerk and Recorder, with Deputy Clerk and Recorder Lexis Dixon facing former Deputy Clerk and Recorder Tina Salazar, who resigned her position not long after filing as a candidate, in the Democratic Primary and Republicans Sen. Russ Tempel of Chester facing Steve Chvilicek of Havre in the primary race for the state Senate in Senate District 14.

In the race for Public Service Commission in District 1, incumbent Randy Pinocci faces Webb Galbreath in the Republican primary.

In statewide races, incumbent Supreme Court Justice Ingrid Gustafson faces James Brown and Michael McMahon in the nonpartisan primary for Supreme Court Justice 2. The top two vote-getters in that race will advance to the general election.

In the nonpartisan primary for Supreme Court Justice 2, incumbent Jim Rice faces Bill D'Alton. Both will advance to the general election.

In the race for the eastern district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, incumbent Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale faces Kyle Austin, James Boyette and Charles Walkingchild in the primary.

In the Democratic primary in that race, Penny Ronning and Skylar Williams are on the ballot. Candidate state Sen. Mark Sweeney died before the primary, but due to how close to the election he died, May 6, his name already was on the ballots.

In the Libertarian primary for the eastern district House seat, Sam Rankin, Roger Roots and Samuel Thomas are facing off.

Watch for updates through the night at this website.

Here is the original post:

Polls close in Hill County - The Havre Daily News

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) has been working on an action plan for months. Lummis, a long-time proponent of cryptocurrencies, has been working on a proposal that would fully integrate digital assets into the US financial system.

Weve been teasing it for months, but the time is almost here a proposal to fully integrate digital assets into our financial system. Excited to finally unveil this effort next week. Stay tuned

The legislation will be introduced on Tuesday, June 7th, and it is significant because it includes definitions of which coins are commodities, which coins are securities, stable coins, the CBDC framework, and the NFT direction. This legislation will most likely be ideal for bitcoin, but it could also be beneficial to crypto in general.

The much-heated topic is analyzed by Altcoin daily on their channel as to why you should care about this. First and foremost, Cynthia Lummis is the one who is initiating and spearheading this bill.

On June 7th, Cynthia Lummis will introduce legislation to integrate cryptocurrency into the financial system. She has been a strong supporter of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

If passed, it would impose a two-year freeze on new and renewed air permits for fossil-fuel power plants that are used for energy-intensive proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining the computing process that records and secures bitcoin and other forms of digital money. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use a blockchain-based mechanism called proof-of-work.

The first member on the panel who is everyones favorite is Michael Saylor. Michaels stance on crypto is unmistakable: securities and bitcoin are the most ethical and most transparent, as he stated during the panel discussion.

The second set of eyes is on Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas. Cruz has been very positive about bitcoin and crypto, despite the fact that he himself doesnt understand it and is trying to get other politicians to understand it. All in all, he doesnt want to over-regulate it, which is good but is he more biased toward bitcoin? Time will tell.

According to other reports, Cruz now has large crypto donors who run a proof of work network in his state, keeping bitcoin strong and altcoins weak directly benefits Texas, and some of his largest new donors also take benefit. Cruz claims to own bitcoin and everything else is outside his risk profile.

Caitlyn Long blockchain consultant from Wyoming. She is hoping to work with Fed to create a custodial and Slowing Defi momentum that is in her best interest according to the reports.

Now again much like Caitlyn Long, Cynthia Lummis in their opinion has a little libertarian agenda and doesnt want to over-regulate the crypto space so is it in her best interest to slow defi that remains to be seen.

There arent many pro-defi, pro-Ethereum, pro-crypto folks working on this bill, and of course, Cynthia Lummis is spearheading it and has her own interests to pump bitcoin over any other L1s or altcoins. She stated that altcoins will rise from the ashes, reinforcing her belief in bitcoin.

she states burn it all down bitcoin will be the phoenix that rises quick

Bitcoin holders are in great difficulty this week, and the first thing they point out is that commodities vs securities are being resolved by legislation, and Ethereum L1 will fall within the securities umbrella.

So the lesson from all of this is that the folks who worked on this legislation are all very bitcoin oriented and bitcoin-centric, with a small number of Ethereum maximalists, and no defi or NFT types. Bitcoin users, on the whole, have a more libertarian attitude about crypto. Even though this isnt a final bill, it wouldnt be good if ETH, NFT, and crypto were classed as the riskiest securities.

Was this writing helpful?

The rest is here:

Crypto Bill Will Be Introduced on June 7TH, Could Be Horrendous for Altcoins - Coinpedia Fintech News

Since his election as leader of the Parti conservateur du Qubec (PCQQuebec Conservative Party) in April 2021, right-wing libertarian ric Duhaime has received a great deal of coverage in the mainstream media and increasing attention from big business.

With four months to go before the Quebec provincial election, some polls place the PCQ ahead of the two parties that until 2018 had alternated as Quebecs government for almost a half-century, the Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Qubcois (PQ).

PCQ leader Duhaime has been hosted, along with other party leaders, by business associations, including Quebecs largest employer group, the Conseil du patronat du Qubec. The television networks have already announced that he will be invited to join the official leaders' debate in the run-up to the October 3 Quebec election.

Yet the PCQwhich was founded in 2009 and is separate and distinct from the federal Conservative party, the official opposition in Canadas parliamenthas never won a single National Assembly seat, nor won more than 1.5 percent of the vote in a provincial election. Currently, the PCQ has a lone Member of the National Assembly (MNA), a defector from the ruling Coalition Avenir Qubec (CAQ) who has said she will not be running in the coming election.

The media craze for Duhaime can best be understood by examining the very right-wing agenda he advocated for years as a trash- or shock-radio host in Quebec City and is now projecting with equal virulence as leader of the PCQ. This is not the first time the ruling elite has used an ultra-reactionary figure to push the entire axis of politics firmly to the right.

Duhaime has vehemently opposed all mandatory public health measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc and mass death in Quebec, the rest of Canada and around the world. Having denounced all efforts to curb the pandemic from the start, he enthusiastically welcomed the Freedom Convoy, a group of far-right trucker-owners, supported by the Conservative Party of Canada and much of the corporate media, who terrorized Ottawa residents for weeks to press their demand for the scrapping of all anti-COVID measures. Duhaime said at the time, My goal is to bring these ideas into the National Assembly.

Duhaime is a long-time friend and close associate of Pierre Poilievre. The front-runner in the current federal Conservative Party leadership race, Poilievre began his campaign by reaffirming his support for the far-right Convoy, the abandonment of all anti-COVID measures, and a massive assault on public services in the name of eliminating the federal budget deficit. Adopting the language of Margaret Thatcher to advocate for capitalism at its most predatory, Poilievre vowed to make Canada the freest country in the world.

The PCQ, now under Duhaime's control, also advocates massive cuts in social spending; accelerated deregulation; increased privatization, especially in health and education; and steep tax cuts for the wealthy, including the introduction of a single tax rate or flat tax.

Duhaime has long been active in right-wing circles. A political advisor to the leader of the Bloc Qubcois from 1993 to 1999, he began his career with the Quebec indpendantistes when they were massively cutting social spending.

From 2000 to 2002, he was an advisor to Official Opposition Leader Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance, a party that was used to push Canadian politics further to the right and was the dominant element in the merger with the rump of the federal Progressive Conservatives that created the Stephen Harper-led, hard-right new Conservative Party.

In 2003, Duhaime was a candidate for the Action dmocratique du Qubec (ADQ), with a young Poilievre actively campaigning for him, before becoming a political advisor for the ADQ from 2003 to 2008. The ADQ, which ultimately became part of the right-wing populist CAQ, played a leading role in stirring up anti-immigrant chauvinism in Quebec, particularly around the phony issue of unreasonable accommodation.

Duhaime worked for the National Democratic Institute (NDI)a US imperialist-sponsored agency associated with the Democratic Party that works closely with the US State Department and CIAin Morocco from 2005 to 2007 and Iraq from 2008 to 2009. The NDI's board of directors has included such leading figures of US militarism as Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Paul Wolfowitz, Madeleine Albright and Elliott Abrams.

Like the rest of the Quebec political establishment and elite, Duhaime has supported Canadas participation in US-led wars of aggression, from the 1999 NATO war on Yugoslavia, to the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and the 2011 regime-change war in Libya. In a tweet at the outset of the US-NATO instigated war with Russia over Ukraine, he rushed to label Moscow the aggressor and salivated over the opportunity the war presents to develop Quebecs hydrocarbon resources.

In 2010, Duhaime founded the Rseau-libert-Qubec to bring together people anxious to be rid of what remains of the social concessions made to the working class as a result of the mass struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. Dr. Roy Eappen, one of the members of the network and now a PCQ candidate, is a prominent anti-abortion activist and climate-change denier. Encouraged by Quebec Premier Franois Legault's reckless profits-before-lives response to the pandemic, which has included the promotion of the reactionary pseudo-scientific herd immunity policy, the PCQ promotes all sorts of anti-scientific nonsenseon vaccinations, abortion, and climate change.

For a decade starting in 2010, Duhaime was a commentator in the press and in particular on the radio, where he was given ample opportunity and latitude to spew his reactionary, libertarian and xenophobic ideas. In a generally sympathetic article about him published in April, Duhaime boasted that he had the microphone for four hours a day for 10 years.

This included downplaying the hateful, Islamophobic acts that preceded the Jan. 29, 2017 terrorist attack on the Grand Mosque in Quebec City, which left six Muslims dead and some 20 injured. Duhaime dismissed the leaving of a bloody pig's head on the mosque steps as a silly joke, comparing it to someone delivering a pizza to a neighbor's house.

In a 2017 radio debate, Duhaime defended the aristocratic principle that voting rights should be modulated according to taxes paid, with the rich given weighted votes that would count more than those of the poor.

Duhaime unabashedly champions far-right positions, but it need be added that so far to the right has the entire political establishment moved over the course of the past decade-and-a-half, his policies on many issues are not so different from those advanced by the other ruling class parties.

Duhaime says that immigrants should be selected on the basis of their civilizational compatibility. But how is this chauvinism different from the CAQ's Bill 9, which selects immigrants according to their values? Or its Bill 21, which denies health care and other vital public services to devout Muslim women wearing the niqab or burqa. The latter law was itself inspired by the previous Liberal government's Bill 62. And what about the PQ's Charter of Values, which aimed to ban more than half a million public sector workers from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, while making an exception for discreet crucifixes?

Duhaime has become a darling of the bourgeois media and is being promoted by it as a means of pressing the CAQ to intensify its assault on the working class. Editorialists regularly speak of the difficult decisions that the government will have to make after the elections, i.e., renewed attacks on wages, working conditions, living standards and public services.

The Eric Duhaime phenomenon is taking place in the context of an immense crisis of global capitalism, characterized by galloping inflation, rising social inequality, catastrophic management of the pandemic, and NATO's war against Russia in Ukraine, which threatens to turn into a nuclear conflict.

The main responsibility for the threat from the far right facing the working class lies with the trade union bureaucracy, which has suppressed the class struggle for decades.

As support for the traditional ruling class parties has steadily eroded, the unions have isolated and run workers struggles and strikes into the ground. When governments have imposed anti-democratic back-to-work laws to break militant strikes, the unions, led by highly paid bureaucrats who fully accept the capitalists' right to make profit, have policed them.

As for Qubec Solidaire, the pseudo-left party representing affluent sections of the middle class, it never criticizes the treacherous role of the union bureaucracy and spares no effort to integrate itself even more deeply into the ruling establishment.

It is in this political climate of bourgeois reaction, which is growing in intensity as the social opposition of the working class mounts, that extreme right-wing figures like Duhaime are being promoted by big business in an attempt to divert workers' anger into the most reactionary channels.

Sign up for the WSWS email newsletter

See more here:

ric Duhaime, the Quebec Conservative Party and the ruling class' turn to social reaction - WSWS

Share this post or save for later

The first of two filing deadlines to run for elected office this year was noon Wednesday.

Several filing deadlines were changed this year because of delays caused by redistricting. The deadline to file to run for precinct committeeperson seats and the U.S. House of Representatives, Kansas House of Representatives, and Kansas State Board of Education was extended to noon on Friday, June 10.

The deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 2 election is Tuesday, July 12. Register online or double check to make sure youre registered at this link.

Here are the candidates who have filed for offices whose deadlines have passed, and their parties, where applicable. This information is pulled from the unofficial list from the Douglas County clerks office and the Kansas Secretary of States office. There could still be changes between this list and the ballot. Third-party candidates do not have to run in primary elections.

Steve Jacob, Libertarian, said he has also filed for the commission seat.

Are you ready to vote?

The next election is Tuesday, Aug. 2. You must be registered to vote by Tuesday, July 12. You can quickly make sure youre registered by visiting KSVotes.org.* We are not election workers *

Unless there are changes from Wednesdays unofficial list, the two Democratic candidates will face off in the Aug. 2 election, and the winner will advance to the November general.

Will this race be on my ballot? District 1 is geographically the smallest of the three Douglas County Commission districts, but they all contain roughly the same total populations.

District 1 includes a large portion of central Lawrence. The district is not square, but its southernmost boundary is West 19th Street; its easternmost boundary is Massachusetts Street; one segment of the district reaches as far west as Wakarusa Drive; and an intricate boundary divides the northern side of town between the first, second and third districts.

See a detailed map at this link. Registered voters can also see their Douglas County Commission district by entering their information at this link.

The current three Douglas County commissioners voted in February to place on the Nov. 8 ballot a question asking county voters whether to add two additional commissioner seats and districts. Read more about that at this link.

In the Nov. 8 general election, Douglas County District Court Judges Amy Hanley and Sally Pokorny face retention votes.

All Kansas voters, regardless of party, will be asked to vote on a state constitutional amendment that would clear the way for the Kansas Legislature to ban all abortions, regardless of whether someones life is endangered by a pregnancy or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

That vote, as well as Democratic and Republican primary votes, will be on Aug. 2. Learn more about it at this link.

In the November general, Court of Appeals Judges Stephen D. Hill, Amy Fellows Cline, Kim R. Schroeder, Henry W. Green Jr., and Tom Malone face retention votes.

Clinton Township Clerk:

Eudora Township Clerk:

Kanwaka Township Clerk:

Lecompton City Council:

Marion Township Clerk:

Palmyra Township Clerk:

Wakarusa Township Clerk:

Willow Springs Township Clerk:

No candidates filed to run for Grant or Lecompton Township clerk, according to the county elections office.

The next election is Tuesday, Aug. 2. Advance voting in person or by mail begins on Wednesday, July 13.

As noted above, the deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 2 election is Tuesday, July 12. Register online or double check to make sure youre registered at this link.

Because of redistricting, some voters precincts and districts are changing.

There are a large number of new precinct splits, added precincts and districts in Douglas County, according to an update recently posted on the countys website.

It will take a few days to finish building these changes into its systems. The Clerks Office also wants to take the time to make sure all changes are correct before published. When completed, every voter will receive a new voter card in the mail with their new district assignments. The Clerks Office will announce when all changes have been made and new maps become available.

Theres still time to file to run for some offices the deadline for these offices is noon Friday, June 10:

Many candidates have already filed for those offices. Well publish an update after the second filing deadline on June 10. See lists of who has filed so far via the Douglas County clerks office and Kansas Secretary of States office.

Are we missing someone or something? Have other questions that arent answered here? Let us know.

If our journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.

Support The Lawrence Times

Share this post or save for later

Several local organizations and groups are partnering for an upcoming rally and march to call for people to vote no to the Aug. 2 ballot question that would remove legal protection of abortions in Kansas and pave the way for a total ban.

Share this post or save for later

After a leaked U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark case that promised women the right to abortion, an August vote to amend the Kansas Constitution over abortion has taken on heightened importance.

Share this post or save for later

Some, but not all, election filing deadlines are different this year because of the delay caused by redistricting.

MORE

Read this article:

Douglas County voters: Here's who's running for office after the first of two filing deadlines - The Lawrence Times

Bruce Schreiner| Associated Press

Louisville, Ky. Kentucky Democrat Charles Booker appears on camera with a noose around his neck to condemn Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul for blocking anti-lynching legislation two years ago a personally searing ad for a trailblazing Black candidate who says some of his own ancestors were lynched.

The new online ad which comes with a warning about its content shows a grisly photo of a lynching victim dangling from a tree. But it fails to mention that Paul co-sponsored a new version of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act that cleared Congress this year and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The measure, named for the Black teenager whose 1955 killing in Mississippi became a galvanizing moment in the civil rights era, made lynching a federal hate crime.

The ad exemplifies Bookers no-holds-barred approach to confronting racial and economic justice issues in a mostly rural, conservative-leaning state where only about 8% of the population is Black. And it ignores Pauls long-running outreach into mostly Black neighborhoods to discuss criminal justice issues and ways to turn around economically distressed communities, improve schools and combat gun violence.

The libertarian-leaning Paul will face Booker in a November matchup in a state that hasnt elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992. The ad shows that Booker, the first Black major party nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, wont shy from raising issues that might make some Kentuckians uncomfortable.

Bookers ad zeroes in on Pauls efforts to stall the anti-lynching legislation in 2020. At the time, Paul said the legislation was drafted too broadly and could define minor assaults as lynching. Booker says its an example of Paul embracing divisive politics.

But the ad contains a broader message aimed at the continued assaults on humanity, Booker said Wednesday in an interview, pointing to mass shootings haunting the nation.

The choice couldnt be clearer, Booker says in the ad, which debuted Wednesday. Do we move forward together? Or do we let politicians like Rand Paul forever hold us back and drive us apart?

Pauls campaign said the senator worked to strengthen the anti-lynching legislation and overlooking that role amounts to a desperate misrepresentation of the facts. In his own response, the senator said Thursday that hes made reaching out to Black communities a priority.

Ive introduced over two dozen bipartisan criminal justice reform bills, Paul said in a statement to The Associated Press. I fought to pass a strong anti-lynching bill. To this day, I continue to work hand in hand with community leaders on issues like violence and its effect on Louisvilles youth and their education and look forward to keeping up those efforts when Im re-elected this November.

Bookers ad has evoked strong responses.

Ricky L. Jones, a professor and chair of the Pan-African Studies Department at the University of Louisville, tweeted: Some people are calling this controversial even disgusting. I think its one of the most powerful political ads Ive ever seen!

Lavel White, a community activist, documentary filmmaker and photographer from Louisville said: The African American community is going to buy into it. Theyre going to understand it. Theyre going to be like, Charles is speaking the truth.

We're offering a great rate on digital subscriptions. Click here.

But Booker needs to avoid alienating some white voters who might wonder why hes using a lynching-themed ad to attack Paul, White said. Booker has embraced a hood to the holler theme to promote his progressive agenda and show the shared interests of inner city and rural voters.

Booker first gained statewide prominence in 2020 when he marched with protesters as a Senate candidate to demand justice for Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed in encounters with police. His campaign surged, but he narrowly lost the Democratic primary that year to an establishment-backed opponent.

Booker routinely invokes his past to promote policy, talking about rationing his insulin as he touts his plan to expand health care access. In the new ad, he talks about how lynchings were used to kill my ancestors while standing next to a tree, a noose looped around his neck.

He had great-great-uncles on his mothers side of the family who were lynched, he told the AP.

It was crushing to put that rope around my neck, Booker said Wednesday. I felt the weight of history when I did it. I imagined my uncles, you know. But I feel that being in this unique position gives me a responsibility, and it requires me to be vulnerable so that we can face hard truths.

Booker said he realized the ad could cause discomfort for some Kentuckians but hoped they can see my sincerity.

The ad includes the eerie creaking sound of rope hanging from a tree branch. Bookers hands grip the rope around his neck as he talks, then he removes the noose and walks away. Its a moment steeped in symbolism aimed at people feeling frustrated and hopeless, he said.

I want to tell the story that we can change things, Booker said. That we can get the healing and the brighter future that we deserve, but its going to require us to stand together.

Go here to read the rest:

Kentucky Democrat wears noose in new ad attacking Rand Paul - Detroit News

Noon Wednesday is the filing deadline at the local level if you are planning to run for the 1st District seat on the Geary County Commission, an unexpired term for Geary County Treasurer, or township clerk or precinct officer committee men and women.

Geary County Clerk Rebecca Nordyke provided the information. As of now there have not been any filings in the commission race from the Republican, Democrat or Libertarian parties. In the race for the unexpired treasurer's term, Sherri Childs has filed for election. She is currently serving in the post after being appointed following the retirement of Kathy Tremont.

Current 1st District county commissioner, Trish Giordano, Independent, has said that she intends to file for election. Nordyke provided an explanation. "That filing deadline when you run as an Independent you can only file by petition, and that deadline would be on Aug. 1 at noon.

There is a June 10 at noon filing deadline at the Secretary of State's Office and that is for state representative and state board of education. June 10 is also the deadline for people in the Democrat, Republican or Libertarian parties to make a change to their party affiliation or to become unaffiliated.

Read the original here:

There is an election filing deadline on Wednesday - JC Post

U.S. Rep. French Hill won the Republican nomination for Arkansas 2nd Congressional District, withstanding a challenge by a combat veteran who works as a government consultant on intelligence matters.

Hill, who was first elected in 2014, defeated Conrad Reynolds of Conway.

At 8:47 p.m., the Associated Press called the race for Hill.

U.S. Rep. French Hill won the Republican nomination for Arkansas 2nd Congressional District, withstanding a challenge by a combat veteran who works as a government consultant on intelligence matters.

Hill, who was first elected in 2014, defeated Conrad Reynolds of Conway.

With an estimated 54.7% of votes counted, unofficial returns were:

Hill 31,987

Reynolds 22,560

Hill of Little Rock is a former banker and four-term congressional incumbent who serves on the House Financial Services Committee.

Its not the first time Reynolds and Hill have competed against each other. The two were opponents in the 2014 Republican primary. Hill routed Reynolds by more than 30 points in the three-way primary.

Reynolds also previously ran for U.S. Senate in the 2010 Republican primary, capturing 5% of the vote in an eight-man race and losing to Republican John Boozman.

Hill will face Democrat Quintessa Hathaway of Sherwood and Libertarian Michael White of Little Rock in the Nov. 8 general election.

Read this article:

US Rep. French Hill wins Republican nomination for Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District - Arkansas Online

To the editor:

A libertarian wave is sweeping across Canada.First, it was the Peoples Party of Canada, then the Freedom Convoy, and most recently the Rolling Thunder protest.Whats not to like about freedom?Pierre Poilievre is trying to ride this libertarian wave to become the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and, ultimately, Prime Minister of Canada.

The word freedom is complicated and has many interpretations.

The libertarian concept of freedom promoted by Mr. Poilievre is based on the concept of the self-made man or woman, and the idea that each of us is responsible for our own success in life. They think that if the government would just get off our backs and out of our pockets, we would all be better off. It is a naive understanding of freedom.

Libertarians do not understand that there are no self-made men or women. Hundreds and thousands of people contribute to the success of each individual. A single individual cannot survive, let alone thrive, entirely on their own. We only achieve success within a community that supports us. Even the hardiest of survivalists depend on guns, ammo, canned food, and other supplies made by other people. There are no self-made survivalists.

Consider your own success. Where would you be without the maternity nurse who assisted at your birth, your second-grade school teacher, your volunteer sports coach, the bus driver who drove you to school, the police officers and firefighters who kept you safe, the education you received, the medical care you received, the small business that hired you one summer, and the roads and highways you travel on every day?

Our personal success is built upon the contributions of many people and government programs. Libertarians give themselves all the credit.

Another thing that libertarians do not seem to understand is that all of our laws restrict our personal freedoms. Every law either restricts our right to do something we might want to do, such as drive at high rates of speed or requires us to do something that we would rather not do such as pay taxes. If a law does not interfere with our freedom, there would be no need for the law.

Libertarians often point to some particular law that irritates them such as gun registration laws, motorcycle helmet laws, and most recently vaccine mandate laws. But why stop there? Why not repeal the entireHighway Traffic Act? Personally, I object to having to drive on the right side of the road. It clearly limits my freedom of movement. Why not repeal all of our tax laws, food and drug safety laws, building codes, environmental protection laws, family laws, and consumer protection laws? They all violate our personal freedoms.

We are fortunate to live in a free and democratic society. We need to understand, however, that free and democratic are opposing concepts that must continuously be balanced against each other. Freedom without democracy is anarchy. Democracy without freedom leads to autocracy. In World War I and World War II, Canadian soldiers fought for both freedom and democracy.

In democratic countries, we create laws that limit our freedoms by design. At election time we are able to elect a new government that may decide to change some of those laws. Until such laws are democratically repealed or amended, we have a duty to respect and uphold them.

I suspect that some of the people driving around with Canadian flags festooning their trucks do not fully appreciate the implication of making Canada the freest country in the world. Libertarians would replace public education with private schools, public health care with pay as you go private health care, and would replace social programs with an every man and woman for his or herself approach. Mr. Poilievre talks about his preference for private charity over public welfare.

Many in the freedom movement have benefited either directly or indirectly from government programs like unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, public health care, and public education. Ultimately, libertarianism is about richer Canadians not wanting to pay taxes to help support lower-income Canadians.

Do we really want to live in a survival of the fittest world?

Trevor SchindelerNorth Bay, Ontario

Read more:

Letter to the editor: Freedom and Democracy - North Bay News - BayToday.ca

Fewer than 10,000 of Idahos roughly 1 million registered voters switched their affiliation to Republican ahead of next weeks primary election.

BOISE, Idaho Note: The video above is from an April 8 story on Idaho's party affiliation system.

The Idaho Secretary of State's office says fewer than 10,000 of Idahos roughly 1 million registered voters switched their affiliation to Republican ahead of next weeks primary election.

Idaho is a Republican stronghold and the GOP primary is closed. That means only registered Republicans are allowed to vote for GOP candidates.

Nampa television station KIVI reports that between February 25 and March 18, there were nearly 9,600 registered voters who switched to the Republican Party.

Most of them were previously unaffiliated with a political party. About 3,200 were previously registered as Democrats.

Both of Idaho's representatives to the U.S. House, one U.S. Senator, the entire Idaho Legislature and all seven elected statewide offices are up for election this year.

The 2022 Idaho Primary Election, set for May 17, will determine which candidates will represent the Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian and Republican parties in the general election in November. In some districts, only one party is represented, so the primary also will effectively determine who wins that office.

Idaho has a closed-primary system, meaning political parties may limit who's allowed to vote in a particular party's primary.

Idaho residents registering to vote are asked to affiliate with one of the state's four recognized political parties: Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian or Republican.

Voters may choose to remain unaffiliated.

For more information about what will be on the ballot, and how to find your polling place,visit KTVB's voter guide here.

See all of our latest political coverage in ourYouTube playlist:

More:

Idaho sees small shift in party affiliation ahead of primary - KTVB.com