Category Archives: Libertarian

Back in the dark ages when mandatory seat belt use was relatively new in Indiana, I had a colleague who liked to say that she never nagged people about buckling up when they were riding with her. In fact, she never mentioned it to her passengers.

Why? she was inevitably asked.

Natural selection was her answer.

I like to use that story as a good analogy for what I consider proper government. She gives people the information needed to make good choices, sometimes offers incentives for making good choices and can even provide the mechanisms to make good choices easier. But if people insist on making poor choices anyway, well, thats on them.

Of course, our government driver (to continue the analogy) seldom stops when she should. She employs various coercive tactics to get those passengers in line. (Yes, I am being deliberate in the choice of pronoun; were talking about the nanny state, after all.)

Such as, buckle up or this car isnt moving. Or, if you dont buckle up, I will harangue you mercilessly for the whole trip. Or, the penalty for not buckling up, payable at the end of the journey, will be a hefty fee that I will send collectors out to get from your childrens children into the 10th generation.

In my experience, people who advocate for government solutions, and even bigger and more expensive government when those solutions fail to materialize, seldom have to justify themselves. They are merely following the spirit of the age, no explanations required.

But those of us who advocate government restraint or, heaven forbid, limited government, are always put on the defensive. We are either insensitive to human misery to the point of heartlessness or hopelessly ignorant of the need for immediate action to avert imminent disaster.

In all the response I get to these columns (thank you very much), by far the most common form of criticism is from readers who misinterpret, either carelessly or deliberately, the libertarian thrust of my government critiques.

I always mean, in those pieces, the least government necessary, which, believe it or not, was a founding principle of this country. They always insist I really meant, no government at all, then proceed to deliver the Gotcha! they think I deserve.

What about the fire department when your house is burning down, they will ask, or the police department when youre robbed? What about that pothole you want filled in?

Arent those all socialism, you self-serving hypocrite?

Actually, no, theyre not. They are legitimate government functions.

My favorite Gotcha! showing up in my email with tiresome regularity is, So, I guess youve refused your Social Security payments, huh?

No, I have not. Had I the opportunity to opt out and use the money for my own retirement investments, I would have done so. But participation was mandatory. To whom am I trying to prove what if I dont take money out of the system I was forced to put money into?

The tenet of libertarianism people seem to have the most trouble grasping, though itreally should be the easiest, is that government legitimately tries to keep us from hurting each other but risks overstepping its bounds when it tries to keep us from hurtingourselves. Autonomy should be sacred.

So, I find myself having to explain that, no, I do not object to Gov. Eric Holcombs proposal to ban Hoosier motorists from using their cell phones while driving unlesstheyre hands-free.

There are rules for the road that are open to challenge on libertarian grounds. There is no reason to require me to use seat belts when driving or wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle except to keep me from behaving stupidly.

But there are also rules that protect me from others stupid behavior, such as the one against driving while drunk.

Mandating hands-free-only cell phone use falls into the latter category. I am the one you might run into while youre fiddling with that stupid phone.

See? Simple.

Of course, there are a couple of potholes in the road an earnest libertarian should be aware of whenever he gives in and acknowledges that, yes, OK, fine, government should do this.

One is the maxim that by the time government acts, government action is usually beside the point. Most cellphones today have Bluetooth, and most new cars have systems that sync to it, so its likely that the moment you get behind the wheel your phone automatically become hands-free.

The other is that when government is given the legitimate inch, it will go the illegitimate mile. Setting reasonable speed limits is a legitimate function, but it requires local knowledge of local conditions. But few were shocked to see a national 55 mph limit that, for a time, was the most ignored law in America.

If Holcomb gets his way with cellphones, all sorts of distracted driving will be on the endangered list, everything from playing the radio to scarfing down those fries you got from the drive-through. Then dont be surprised if there are hefty fines for talking to your in-car companions and there are calls for hands-free nose-picking.

Government will always always, always, always go too far.

I know you might not believe that. But the evidence is plentiful if you choose to ignore it, thats on you.

I respect your autonomy.

And, you know. Natural selection.

Leo Morris, columnist for The Indiana Policy Review, is winner of the Hoosier Press Associations award for Best Editorial Writer. Morris, as opinion editor of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, was named a finalist in editorial writing by the Pulitzer Prize committee. Contact him at leoedits@yahoo.com.

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Holcomb and cell phones: The inch that becomes a mile - Journal Review

Radio: A name that almost we all have heard in our childhood, recently and will listen to it in the future also. Some technologies never get older and Radio is for sure one of them. Being developed in the 20th century, Radio is one of the oldest modes of communication that brings up the feeling of freshness whenever we listen to it. While going through the different landscapes of innovations, this part of technology has changed a lot yet. Woking of radio is quite simple. It just works by transmitting and receiving signals where part of speech and music are being delivered in the coded format.

Ture taste lies in the variety and that this wonderful platform also offers to its listeners. Ranging from serving those old melody songs to todays top numbers from providing information about agricultural tips to introducing you with the latest technologies, there is a huge variety of options that you can easily find out here. Users can easily enjoy 24 hours of streaming here without paying any charges or data packages here. Just get a radio and stay connected with your favourite channel, thats the only rule you have to follow here.

Explore the various types of radios

Right from the launch of radio in the 20s to date, a variety of radio options from various brands are being introduced into the market. Do you know how many kinds of radios are there being available in the market? The options are huge. Ranging from Conventional FM to the latest NXDN there are so many options being present there and if we start on counting the number of brands offering radio services, the list even gets increases more. Searching out one of the best table radios for your home has become quite easier now. You not only ask your buddies or family members for the same but go through various online options and can check out the reviews of your preferred ones as well.

If you are willing to get the best table radio for your home, it would be quite beneficial for you to know about the different types of radio you have in the market. Here are the top listed for you.

Utilization of radios

AM and FM is one of the oldest forms of wireless broadcasting that works on the process of modulation and demodulation throughout. This kind of radio option is quite good to provide fair sound quality but it is vulnerable to electrical noise also.

Shortwave radio works just above the AM radio frequency bands. The frequencies of this kind of radio somewhere lie in between 1.7 to 30 MHz. If you are looking for collecting news, commercial broadcasting, informative channels and sports channels globally, it is surely a great option you can try on.

Satellite radio is based on one of the latest broadcasting techniques where radio signals are being transmitted and received using satellites. The radio option does not include any kind of digital encoding. Users are not allowed to directly get tuned into any channels here. They have to pay what they are willing to get a subscription to. One of the best things about satellite radio is that it offers you amazing sound quality and nationwide coverage to enjoy on.

Ham Radio is a kind of radio option that provides broadcasting into a restricted area and to the set frequencies only. It is a great platform for all those who are willing to improve their operator skills. Moreover, this kind of radio option serves as a great help in case of natural calamities or emergencies.

Walkie-Talkie is one of the most favoured portable and handheld radio options that sends and receives signals in about a distance of a mile. This kind of radio option is usually being used by two persons to communicate with each other. Walkie-Talkie serves as a great help where the phone call services or net services are quite poor.

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What types of radios are there? - The Libertarian Republic

Mark Stewart is running for president of the United States, but he knows he wont win.

That said, hes officially on the ballot the Vermont Secretary of States office released its official list of presidential primary candidates this week, and Stewarts name is there, along with names like Biden, Bloomberg, Warren, Sanders and Trump.

Im on the ballot to try to make a stink in four states, Stewart said.

Vermont approved his ballot application he submitted a petition with 1,200 names on the list and hell be running in the Democratic primary for sure in New Hampshire and California. Rhode Island is still a hurdle, but hes confident hell make it on that states ballot, too.

Im not doing Connecticut, he said. The ballot access to too hard.

Stewart knows that winning the presidency is unrealistic, but his goal is not actually a victory.

What he wants is for an outsider, for a free-market Libertarian, to voice issues within the primary process, to roll back socialism and try to extinguish the leftist lurch that leaders in the democrat party have.

I dont believe your average Democrat voter really buys into all the big government promises that these televised candidates want, he said.

Stewart is also vying to be the Libertarian Partys choice for vice president, and hopes that running for president will help him be seen as a fighter.

If I have a little cred as a warrior it might help, he said.

But Stewart said his primary goal is to inspire other potential candidates.

I know there will be other candidates for state house seats and maybe even congressional seats that have until now felt stymied, he said. We need more people running for offices. if more candidates are in the mix we get better public servants.

Stewart whose full name is Mark Stewart Greenstein is originally from West Hartford, where he still calls home. He founded and runs an SAT-prep firm, and said he intends to spend no more than $99,900 on his own campaign.

This is not the first time hes run a long-shot campaign for national office. Four years ago, he was on the ballot in Rhode Island, for the sole purpose of beating Hillary Clinton. He received 240 votes, which put him in third place.

The main mission four years ago was not to run for president, but to stop Hillary, he said.

He ran for Senate in New York also for the stated purpose of beating Clinton in 2006. This year, he tried for the 5th Connecticut State Senate District, and garnered 0.5 percent of the electorate, a total of 51 votes.

In 2018 he ran an unsuccessful bid for Connecticut governor, against Ned Lamont. He qualified for the November ballot, but said it did not go well. He received only 0.1 percent of the vote.

In that race, he ran under the Amigo Constitution Party, but Stewart is currently trying to form a new political party he calls EPIC, an acronym for Every Politically Independent Citizen.

The new party will run a convention in August. Stewarts last primary in this election cycle will be when Rhode Islanders go to the polls on April 28, 2020, called the Acela primary. That will give his EPIC party enough time to register any candidates for office who have become disillusioned with the major parties, he said.

As for why hes running as a Democrat, in the Democratic primary, Stewart said its because they need the most help.

They are so wayward in their leadership, he said. They give rise to leftism, which I will define as people who want to take America down.

But the EPIC party will not be choosy when it comes to political affiliation.

This is a beautiful way to offer conservatism as a candidate and not be painted as pro-Trump, he said.

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Yes, there's a candidate for president from Connecticut - CT Insider

Democrats have Andrew Yang. Republicans have Zoltan Istvan.

Both men are running for the presidency as political outsiders and pitching radical, future-focused ideas to voters. For Yang, its universal basic income and a slew of other technocratic policy proposals.

Istvan also supports a form of universal basic income, but his primary focus is even wilder he wants the country to prepare for the transhumanist future.

Istvan defines transhumanism as the movement to upgrade human bodies and lives with technology. He predicts a future in which our bodies will be significantly augmented, such as with robotic arms or computer displays in our eyes.

He expects human life spans will drastically increase and robots will take on more humanlike characteristics, including consciousness.

Outside of science fiction entertainment, these are not ideas most Americans think about as public policy issues.

When I was traveling in Iowa and told people about it, they thought I was on some other space ship, Istvan told me during a phone interview last week.

Istvan ran for president in 2016 under the Transhumanist Party, and ran in the California gubernatorial primary with the Libertarian Party last year. Hes not a traditional Republican, but hopes to find allies among GOP primary voters.

As an entrepreneur Ive always been fiscally conservative. Totally socially liberal. Libertarian to the core when it comes to social ideas, Istvan said.

There is a great deal of disagreement about whether and how soon the huge technological developments Istvan discusses might be achieved. It might be 10 or 20 years as he predicts, but also could be more than 100 years away, or never.

Nevertheless, some form of transhumanism and an increasing level of artificial-intelligence-aided automation already are upon us. Istvan warns that the United States will be ill-equipped to manage social and economic changes.

Im worried were going to wake up in four or eight years and China will be the dominant player in the world both culturally and with innovation and with money and the economy, Istvan said.

To prepare, Istvan suggests several steps that will make many Americans uncomfortable.

As a few examples, the transhumanist campaign proposes mandatory college attendance for most people, licensure testing for parents and merging the United States, Canada and the European Union into a joined partnership.

Istvan wants to partially fund the government through leasing federal lands, vast spaces of which sit mostly unused in the western United States with trillions of dollars of natural resources. He has no affinity for nature, which he sees as antagonistic and immoral.

And Istvan would radically expand the use of police surveillance technology, including facial recognition and tracking devices. He generally wants to rollback privacy norms that inhibit technology.

I think these are ideas whose time might never come, but Istvan predicts the rest of us will eventually come around.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

The transhumanist age will be upon us sometime. People will remember Zoltan has been out there talking about these ideas for a long time, he said.

(319) 339-3156; adam.sullivan@thegazette.com

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GOP candidate pitches robots and immortality to Iowa voters - The Gazette

NPPs will soon get a postcard that looks like this. Youll want to fill that sucker out and send it back.

###

From the Humboldt County Elections Office:

In the next few days, HumboldtCounty Office of Elections will be sending postcards to vote-by-mailvoters who registered with No Party Preference (NPP). These votersare being asked to choose which ballot they want to receive for thePresidential Primary Election in March 2020.

NPPvoters can choose one of these four ballots: No Party Preference(with no presidential candidates), American Independent Party,Democratic Party, or Libertarian Party. The postcard must be returnedto the Office of Elections by January 10. The voter will receive theballot of their choice in February.

Ifan NPP voter wants to vote a Republican, Green, or Peace and Freedomparty ballot, they will have to reregister to change their partyaffiliation.

Nowis a good time for all voters to check their registration status tomake sure they are ready for the primary. Go tovoterstatus.sos.ca.govto check your voter registration, including your party. If you needto update your registration, go to registertovote.ca.govto fill out a new registration.

Contactthe Humboldt County Office of Elections athumboldt_elections@co.humboldt.ca.us or at 707-445-7481.

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Registered 'No Party Preference'? You're Gonna Have to Tell the Elections Office Which Ballot You Want in the March Primaries - Lost Coast Outpost

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Rep. Dean Phillips said hes gathered a group of around 33 Democrats to sign on to the idea that Rep. Justin Amash help make the case for impeachment.

Should Rep. Justin Amash, the Republican-turned-Independent from Michigan, help make the case for impeaching the President? Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnetonka said that when the idea struck him on Friday evening, he reached out to his close confidants first, and then asked more of his colleagues.

As first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, Phillips said hes gathered a group of around 33 Democrats to sign on to the idea that Amash help make the case for impeachment. He would be a terrific member of the management team if indeed articles are forwarded to the Senate for a trial, Phillips told MinnPost.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will select members to represent Houses case for impeachment during the Senate trial, called impeachment managers, that will serve as a sort of team of prosecutors. Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Jared Nadler of New York, the two committee chairs running impeachment so far, are almost certain to be chosen. But the other three slots committee could be competitive, as several members are asking for a slot, including Rep. Stacey Plaskett, a delegate to Congress representing the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But Phillips believes someone like Amash, a Tea Party libertarian, is needed to demonstrate the case that impeachment isnt about partisanship.

Phillips, a moderate Democrat and a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said he has already spoken with Amash and that the Michigan congressman was humbled and I think surprised.

I didnt want to float the idea to our whole Democratic freshman class without at least that he would be interested and thats exactly what I did, he said. And weve been corresponding since.

When asked which members have signed onto the idea, Phillips said he has 33 strong affirmative yes statements on the idea from members, but hed rather not say who. Im not going to divulge names, Phillips said. I think thats up to individuals to do so.

At least one Democrat, Rep. Max Rose of New York, told MinnPost that he is supportive of the effort.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Phillips believes someone like Rep. Justin Amash, a Tea Party libertarian, is needed to demonstrate the case that impeachment isnt about partisanship.

As others have suggested, Rep. Amash should be one of the impeachment managers for the Senate trial, Kevin Kruse, a historian of American History, said on Twitter. Michelle Goldberg, a New York Times columnists that leans significantly to the left of most of her colleagues, said on Twitter: Democrats should choose Amash as one of their impeachment managers. And Charlie Sykes, editor of the conservative (but Never-Trump website) The Bulwark, called the suggestion a Good idea.

Amash told HuffPosts Matt Fuller that he has so far not been approached by Pelosi about the idea, but would have the conversation.

House Democrats plan to vote on impeachment on Wednesday. If they are approved, articles of impeachment will be forwarded to the Senate for a trial, which will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Phillips said he fully intends to vote for articles of impeachment, come tomorrow.

In fact, you know, [Ive been] using language similar to Rep. Amash, which is that our responsibility is not to try or convict or acquit, Phillips said.

Our responsibility is analogous to a grand jury to assess the evidence and determine if it warrants a trial.

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What's behind Rep. Dean Phillips' push to get Rep. Justin Amash on the impeachment team - MinnPost

Greens, Libertarians to sue over third party barriers

ALBANY Two minor political parties on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum will jointly sue a commission whose recommendations are set to make it more difficult for third parties to survive in New York.

The Green and Libertarian parties announced at an Albany news conference on Monday that they would sue the Public Campaign Financing Commission, which released recommendations on Nov. 30 making it more difficult for third parties to maintain full, qualified ballot status in New York. Unless the state Legislature reconvenes to amend the recommendations by Dec. 22, a prospect looking increasingly less likely, the commissions work will be legally binding.

Two larger minor parties with opposing ideologies the Working Families Party and the Conservative Party are already suing the commission in similar but separate lawsuits, and are set to have a summary judgment hearing on Thursday in state Supreme Court in Niagara County.

Its not clear if the Libertarians and Greens will sue in state or federal court, or if they will join the other minor parties already suing. But a lawsuit will happen once the legal situation becomes clearer this week, party officials said on Monday.

We are committed to going to court, said Mark Dunlea, a co-founder of the Green Party.

Dunlea said that the Greens and Libertarians had been in discussions with the Conservative and Working Families parties about joining their lawsuit, but were told to wait.

They started this litigation in July, it took them a long time to get to this summary judgment hearing, Dunlea said. They just said, Dont mess up the waters at this point. Lets talk on Friday. Lets figure it out, based on whats going on in the court on Thursday.

Dunlea said the timing was advantageous, because if the court rules against the WFP and Conservative parties, the Green and Libertarian lawsuit could address those legal concerns in their own case.

Dunlea said that the Green/Libertarian lawsuit would address issues that had arisen since the WFP/Conservative lawsuits were filed in July, which primarily focused on maintaining New Yorks unique fusion voting system that allows minor parties to cross-endorse major party candidates.

The public financing commission ended up keeping fusion voting, but instead sought to cull the number of third parties by substantially raising the thresholds that minor parties must meet to have full ballot status. Currently, parties must receive 50,000 votes in the race for governor every four years. Under the changes, they would have to attain 2 percent of total turnout or 130,000 votes, whichever is greater, every two years in both the gubernatorial and then the presidential elections.

The commission also tripled the number of signatures required to independently petition a statewide candidate onto the ballot, from 15,000 to 45,000. Dunlea said that issue would definitively be raised in the Green/Libertarian lawsuit.

The Green and Libertarian parties have different interests than the other minor parties: They generally run their own candidates for major offices such as governor, rather than cross-endorsing Democrats and Republicans, as the WFP and the Conservatives generally do. In 2018, the Greens ran Howie Hawkins for governor, while the Libertarians ran Larry Sharpe.

Running their own, lesser-known candidates could make it more difficult for the Green and Libertarian parties to survive as viable third parties than it will be for parties like the WFP. Sharpe got about 90,000 votes and Hawkins about 95,000.

They are trying to remove our choice, so that they can remove our voice, Sharpe said.

Dunlea primarily blamed Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the changes challenging third parties, but also said two other Democrats Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins were complicit in agreeing to eliminate third party competition in New York. Heastie and Stewart-Cousins could team up to pursue a special session before the recommendations are adopted next month and some members of their conferences have called for just that.

But in conversations with reporters over the past week, the majority leaders were hesitant to reject the commissions report or commit to reviewing the rules for minor parties.

Well see what happens, Heastie said, while Stewart-Cousins focused on the commissions work to establish a system to publicly fund elections an item that has long been on Democrats wish lists.

We weren't concerned about fusion voting and this type of thing, but it's part of our discussion, Stewart-Cousins said of the report, which has a severability clause that prevents lawmakers from striking only some of the recommendations. We're talking about all of the recommendations, and, again, I'm happy that we finally actually have public financing, or at least the possibility of public financing."

The Working Families Party alleges that the changes insisted upon by Cuomos appointees were carrying out his revenge against the WFP, which endorsed a Democratic primary challenger to the governor in 2018.

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Greens, Libertarians to sue over third party barriers - Times Union

For almost seven years, Bill Weld carried the flag for Massachusetts Republicans in the governor's office, starting a 16-year reign of GOP chief executives on Beacon Hill that lasted until 2007.

The Canton Republican still holds the state's gubernatorial record for largest margin of victory in his 1994 landslide re-election, losing just five towns. And he was the MassGOP's nominee for U.S. Senate in 1996 when he mounted a serious campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. John Kerry.

Now, Weld will appear on the March 3 presidential Republican primary ballot in his home state, despite the efforts of the political party he once led.

He has Secretary of State William Galvin, a Democrat, to thank, instead.

Galvin has given all four political parties in Massachusetts - including the Democratic, Republican, Green-Rainbow and Libertarian parties until Friday to submit a list of candidates they want to appear on their Super Tuesday primary ballots. The Massachusetts Democratic Party submitted 15 names, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warrern and former Gov. Deval Patrick, on Thursday.

The lists are one of three ways a candidate can qualify for the presidential ballot in Massachusetts, and the MassGOP on Thursdaysubmitted only the nameof incumbent President Donald Trump.

"Having a sitting President as the only name on the potential candidate list is not unprecedented, and is in fact, an established procedure," MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons wrote.

Galvin on Thursday said he will add Weld's name to the ballot.

"I said to Mr. Lyons I would probaby add [Weld] if Mr. Lyons chose not to. He did not, so I will," Galvin said.

Weld thanked Galvin for his stance.

"When I was Governor, Republicans and Democrats in the Commonwealth respected one another and actually worked together," he said. "It is gratifying that such respect remains and that Secretary of State Galvin is ready to defend the rights of all Massachusetts voters."

Weld, who briefly left the Republican Party in 2016 to run as the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian ticket, is mounting a long-shot primary challenge to President Trump, hoping to damage the incumbent in the process.

The former governor has predicted dire consequences for the Republican Party if Trump is not impeached and removed from office, a message that runs counter to Lyons's support for the president.

State law allows the secretary of state to unilaterally put a candidate on the primary ballot if they have determined the candidate to be "generally advocated or recognized in national news media throughout the United States."

The latest WBUR poll of New Hampshire Republicans had the former Massachusetts governor trailing the president with 9% of the vote. Trump led Weld 82% to 18% in an Emerson College poll of Massachusetts Republicans from April.

"I've already had a conversation with Mr. Lyons about this, and I told him that we had done our review and we thought Mr. Weld, as well as a former Congressman from Illinois, were national candidates," Galvin told the News Service on Thursday.

In addition to Weld, the secretary was referring to former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh. There's a fourth potential candidate Roque de la Fuente who Galvin said he does not consider to be a nationally recognized candidate who will likely have to turn in 2,500 signatures if he wants to qualify for the GOP primary. De la Fuentes ran as a Democrat in 2016 when he also took the signature route to the ballot.

Lyons said that during an incumbent presidency neither political party has submitted names other than that of the sitting president seeking re-election.

"We will follow set protocol and do the same, as has been done before in 2012 under Democratic President Barack Obama and in 2004 under Republican President George W. Bush," Lyons wrote.

Both Obama and Bush ran virtually unopposed in their re-election bids by any nationally known figures with the stature of someone like Weld.

But in 1992, MassGOP Chairman Leon Lombardi only put forward the name of President George H.W. Bush for the ballot, despite the incumbent being challenged by conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Buchanan did end up getting onto the Massachusetts primary ballot that year, and won almost 75,000 votes, or 28%.

The parties, by law, have until Jan. 3 to submit their lists, but Galvin said he's following the same timeline he used during the last cycle in order to prepare ballots ahead of the Jan. 18 deadline to make them available to military and overseas voters.

Galvin plans to hold a drawing to determine the order of name placement on the ballots on Dec. 20, and candidates have until Jan. 10 to withdraw and have their names removed.

Tom Mountain, a Trump campaign spokesman in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and a member of the MassGOP state committee, has previously said that Weld should give up on his campaign.

"If he has any dignity he should ride off into the sunset," Mountain told the News Service last month after Weld held an event to call for Trump's impeachment. "No one is taking Bill Weld seriously except Bill Weld."

Gov. Charlie Baker suggested recently that he thought the Republican primary in Massachusetts would be a low-turnout affair with or without Weld on the ballot.

When discussing whether to schedule a special election for a state Senate seat on the same day as the primaries, Baker said, "I think having a general election for a state Senate seat on the same day as a presidential primary when you have numerous candidates running on one side, and for all intents and purposes, one and maybe two depending upon how the secretary of state puts the ballot together, on the other doesn't really give voters an opportunity to tune in on the state Senate race, which is what I would like to see them do in that race."

Baker has described Weld as a political mentor, but so far has declined to endorse his former boss over Trump, who he didn't vote for in 2016 and has frequently disagreed with.

Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford asked Galvin to include Warren, Patrick, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bloomberg, Julian Castro, former Congressman John Delaney, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.

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Bill Weld Will Be On Mass. Primary Ballots Despite The State GOP's Effort To Block Him - WBUR

Russian university student Yegor Zhukov,who recently confronted Kremlin repression, was jailed, and then released on a suspended sentence, declared in a recent interview with independent Russian television that he wants to be president of the Russian Federation.

Zhukov is famous for using the infamous Dont Tread On Me flag from the American Revolution during his Youtube videos promoting individual responsibility and libertarianism.

I want to be the president of the country, he said in anappearanceon the independent Dozhd television channel.

Your honor, the darker my future, the wider I smile toward it, he declared to the judge in his recent widely publicized trial, reported The Moscow Times.

Beyond continuing with the blog, he said, he plans to finish his university degree by next summer. Hes also going to host a talk show on the liberal Ekho Moskvy radio station and write for Novaya Gazeta.

These are other ways I see to keep spreading my ideas, he said. Thats my goal right now: for the focus not to be on me, but on the ideas.

His ideas have raised eyebrows. Critics have pointed to his support of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian thinker who has beendescribedas a purveyor of fascist mysticism. They have also noted one video from January of this yeartitledFeminism Is Dangerous, in which Zhukov, seated behind a desk with a red Make America Great Again cap on it, tells his audience: Today the nutcases are lefties and particularly left-wing feminists.

It taught me that I need to carefully express my views, he said recently in response to criticism. At the end of the day, I want the same thing as Russian feminists. For transgender peoples rights to be respected, for same-sex marriage to be legal, for there to be a law against domestic violence. I just dont believe in classifying people according to collective identities, reported The Moscow Times.

Regarding his future, We are still figuring it all out, Zhukov said. The idea for now is to say: stay tuned.

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Released From Prison, Young Libertarian Russian Activist Sporting 'Don't Tread On Me' Flag Wants To Be Russia's President - Tsarizm

By Emma Balter

Trip Seibold had planned to run for U.S. Congress in 2020 to represent Texas 31st District, but he had to drop his bid because of significant burdens to get on the general election ballot. Why? Hes a Libertarian.

The Texas legislature passed a new law in June that puts significant restrictions on third-party candidates. Previously, third parties could get their candidates on the ballot if the party met certain requirements: It could hold a convention where the attendance equaled one percent of votes cast for governor in the last election, or it could gather the signatures of one percent of people who didnt vote in a primary in the last election.

In addition, at least one statewide candidate from the party must have also won five percent of a vote in the previous election cycle.

The bill was presented as a way to expand ballot access. It waived the convention and petition requirements and lowered the threshold of the third requirement. Now, a party only needs one of their candidates to receive two percent of a vote in the last five elections.

However, new requirements are shifted onto the individual candidates, who now have to submit a petition or, if they fall short of the minimum signatures required, pay filing fees of varying costs depending on the office.

Seibold did not get the number of signatures he needed, but refused to pay the large $3,125 filing fee. Instead, hes running for the Texas State Board of Education for District 10, which requires a lower fee of $300.

I have an unwavering belief that money doesnt belong in politics, Seibold said in a Facebook post on December 4. The Texas Legislature won and the American people lost.

A couple lawsuits followed the bills passing. In July, several third parties, including the Libertarians and Greens, sued the state over requirements which they say constitute too high a barrier for entry.

When you have these restrictions that make it effectively impossible for others to participate and entrench two old established parties, thats when the system starts to fail and thats when voters are denied meaningful choices at the polls, Oliver Hall, executive director of the Center for Competitive Democracy and an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Houston Chronicle.

An October lawsuit that homed in on the filing fees resulted in a Harris County judge blocking them from being enacted, a mere week before the filing deadline. They won on the basis that the fees fund primary elections that third-party candidates do not participate in.

This temporary injunction was a crucial step to ensuring voters have choice at the ballot box, Harris County Libertarian Party Chair Katherine Youngblood told the Houston Chronicle.

This latest development is a big win for third parties, yet its just a provisional reprieve for now. The July suit is still pending.

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Third-Party Candidates in Texas Want a Fair Shot - Reform Austin