Category Archives: Libertarian

Claiming that Libertarians everywhere want to resist the temptation of government and grow closer to God, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party Wes Benedict announced that the Libertarian Party is giving up paying taxes for Lent.

We as Libertarians want to refocus this time of year on our most Heavenly duty: to not do a goddamn thing for anyone else, Benedict said, noting that while Libertarians would be participating in the Catholic tradition of Lent, its not like theyre religious or anything. Our country was founded by people who wanted to be free from religious persecution and we hope the statists respect our religious rights to not give a fucking dime to benefit anyone other than ourselves.

When questioned by critics, Benedict defended the move as living as God intended, probably, free from the shackles of shared social responsibility and having to actually cooperate with other human beings.

I dont know the Bible, like, super well, Benedict said, but the devil is totally a statist. I mean, forcing people to give up their souls and suffer for eternity? Hes like the IRS!

When asked by reporters why the party didnt simply give up government for Lent, Benedict said that the idea hadnt been discussed.

Damn, thats a good idea! Why didnt we think of that?

At press time, Benedict could be overheard loudly debating the merits of the Sixteenth Amendment with tax collectors, arguing that the constitutional right of the government to collect taxes was freaking bogus.

Disclaimer: Seriously is a satire blog, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All articles from Seriously are creations of fiction, and presumably fake publications. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental, except for all references to politicians and/or celebrities, in which case they are fictitious events based on real people. Photos used do not have any connection to the story and are used within the rights of free reuse, as well as cited to the best of our ability. Seriously is intended for a mature, sophisticated, and discerning audience.

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Seriously: Libertarian Party to give up paying taxes for Lent - Rocky Mountain Collegian

Writing in the March/April issue of Politico Magazine, Tim Albertas headline posesa question that has been all too popular nowadays. Namely, does the age of Trump signal the end of the libertarian dream?

From the piece:

After generations of being relegated to the periphery of American politics, they are seeing some of their most precious ideals accepted and advocated for at the highest levels of government. But in many policy areas, there has never been a president who poses a greater threat to what they hold dearone who is poised, potentially, to reorient the GOP electorate toward a strong, active, centralized and protectionist federal government.

RELATED:Rand Paul can save health care reform

Indeed, so far the Trump administration has beenpretty schizophrenic when it comes to liberty. On one hand, the confirmation of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is thegreatest political victory school choicecommunity has experiencedon the federal level. Similarly, President Trumps two-for-one deregulatory special, while questionable on its implementation, signals a serious effort to dismantle the regulatory state.

On the other hand, Trump is so far removed from libertarian ideals on other issues, itboggles the mind. He wants to spend $1 trillion on big government infrastructure projects. He wants to build up the military and once threatened to bomb the shit out of ISIS. His protectionist agenda threatens less immigration, travel, and trade across Americas borders.

This split in policy has similarly split libertarians politically and professionally.As a young professional in Washington, Ive seen many close friends and acquaintances in the libertarian network get tapped by the administration for a potential job. Some say yes, reasoning that its better to have a seat at the table than be on the menu. Others say no,reckoning that theres no need to abandon their ideals if theyre already satisfied at a job where they can keep them.

Of course, theres no right or wrong answer. A well-functioning administration should ideally have both practical libertarians on the insidedoing the hardwork implementingpro-libertychange as well as idealist libertarians on the outsideholding them to their most cherished values. This dual dynamicseems to only avail itself during Republican administrations, presenting libertarians with a rare opportunity in the age of Trump to actually achieve some policy victories.

In short, anyone bemoaning the end of the libertarian moment in the age of Trump isnt looking close enough. Certainly, libertariansmay have seemed stronger when we were a united opposition front to the Obama administration. After all, its much sexier to be a critic than thanan actual agent of change. Nevertheless, Trumps ascent to the presidencyis itself a vindication of libertarian policy on certain issues (education, regulation) and an invitation on othersto join the team and fight for liberty (taxes, spending).

RELATED:Who are we? | The liberty movement in the Trump era

The movement is sure seem silent or even fractured in the next few years, but looks may be deceiving. Behind the stillness are hundreds of libertarians infiltrating the administrative state, influencing federal bureaucracies that havent been subject to internal restraint for years. Behind the split are libertarian think tanks and advocacy groups who have the ear of the ruling Republican party and can successfully pressure them to make pro-liberty policy victories.

In short, Mr. Libertarian has gone to Washington, and the opportunities are endless.

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Mr. Libertarian goes to Washington - Rare.us

Sparks have been flying ever since President Trump, in an interview with FOX News anchor Bill OReilly, came to the defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin after OReilly called Putin a killer. The media was sent into a feeding frenzy when Trump replied, There are a lot of killers. Weve got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our countrys so innocent?

Some decried the president for defending a dictator who kills critics. Others stood by Trump for being open to de-escalating tensions with the only other power in the world. Still others took offense to Trumps insinuation that Russia is morally superior to our country. But in all of the hubbub over the interview- and Trumps response- a crucial question was left mostly unasked: What should our relationship with Russia look like? Are they our number one geopolitical foe as Mitt Romney claimed? Or is President Trump right that cooperation and partnership with them will yield benefits? The answer lies somewhere in between.

An important thing to note when talking about Russia is that its military capability, and the impressions that Vladimir Putin project, are two different things. Russia is not the global superpower they once were as the Soviet Union. To the contrary, they have diminished to a more regional power than a global one. As the world stands today, the only country able to project military power across multiple theatres in the world is the United States. The Russian Federation only has nine military bases outside its own borders, and most of them are in Eastern Europe, with some in the Middle East used for deployment against ISIS. Their nuclear capability has also been diminished, as evidenced by the slowed production of the Sarmat missile, a MIRV-equipped thermonuclear ICBM that was slated to replace the antiquated Soviet-era SS-18 Satan missiles. That being said, they still have considerable influence over some nations that used to be Soviet-states, such as when they derailed the chances of Ukraine joining NATO in 2010. Russia is a regional power, but a major one, and they deserve to be respected as such.

Ideally, the relationship between us should be recognized as more of a friendly rivalry, rather than a heated adversary or best-friend type of relationship. Russia, despite its regimes dubious past, remains the second most pre-eminent military power in the world. War with them could prove to be potentially catastrophic for both parties, and we have more to gain by working together than alone. This doesnt mean that we should let them run roughshod across Eastern Europe and the Middle East; it simply means that we have to be willing to push back when its in our interests, and also be willing to help out, again, when its in our interests.

Russias steadfast opposition to ISIS is an area where there is a chance to build bridges between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. Russia has a definite interest in keeping embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power, who is currently opposing the Islamic State in his own nations civil war; Assad is one of the few Arab leaders still friendly to the Kremlin. Trump has already said he would take action against ISIS, promising to bomb the hell out of [them], and has reportedly contacted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan about potential avenues of cooperation. Our own feelings on Assads regime aside, another instance of regime change in the Middle East, like similar instances before it, would prove disastrous for the region, and potentially drag us into another military excursion into the Middle East.

Another avenue of cooperation is in the energy sector, where we have already signed agreements to explore advancements in nuclear energy, including technology, fundamental and applied science, energy, the environment, and most importantly, nonproliferation. Russia has since waved off this due to sanctions placed on them for annexing Crimea, but I personally believe it could be a boon if we dumped some of the more excessive sanctions in exchange for the continuation of those agreements. These agreements, if followed through, could lead to massive advancements in the energy sector, and could also lead to potential growth for the alternative energy market.

This doesnt mean that we should bow to their every whim. The Russian annexation of the Ukrainian province of Crimea is still in violation of international law. The referendum that was given only as a result of the Russian takeover of the Crimean Supreme Council Building was not recognized by the Ukrainian government, and the United States also did not accept its legitimacy. Because of the annexation, sanctions were rightfully levied against the Russian Federation, including a UN Security Council resolution that was shot down after a Chinese abstention and a Russian veto. Some of these sanctions, like a U.S. ban on business transactions being extended from key government officials to two major Russian energy companies, Rosneft and Novatek, as well as two banks were a bit excessive, but the un-amended executive order was serviceable enough. Putin also ramped up military build-up on the Turkish border in an attempt to bully them into joining their sphere of influence, and some precautions should be taken to encourage Russia to de-escalate tensions.

Like it or not, Vladimir Putins regime has brought Russia back to relevancy. The countrys increased presence on the world stage has stoked the ire of many foreign policy observers. But opportunities remain to work with them and build alliances. It just revolves around putting Americas interests first.

* Steven Barhorst is a high school student from the southwest suburbs of Chicago. He is a news anchor at his high schools TV station, and hosts a political talk show.

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What a US Relationship with Russia Should Look Like - Being Libertarian

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Middlebury College Investigating Violent Protests at Libertarian's Speech Wall Street Journal (subscription) Officials at Middlebury College, a liberal-arts school in Vermont, said Saturday that they were investigating a violent protest that erupted after a libertarian scholar's speech about Donald Trump's election and the white-working class. The lecture by ... Libertarian author Charles Murray shouted down by Middlebury College studentsWashington Times Guest lecturer calls protesting students 'seriously scary'News On 6 Another campus, another speaker, another riotWND.com Reading Eagle -YouTube -Southern Poverty Law Center -Middlebury Campus all 113 news articles »

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Middlebury College Investigating Violent Protests at Libertarian's Speech - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Being Libertarian, Liberty Link Media Group Announce Strategic Media Partnership Being Libertarian Being Libertarian LLC is proud to announce that it will, through its media division, Being LibertTV, be entering into a comprehensive, strategic, long-term relationship with Liberty Link Media Group, the popular venture started by Nicholas Veser and ...

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Being Libertarian, Liberty Link Media Group Announce Strategic Media Partnership - Being Libertarian

Being Libertarian

Perspectives: Mission: Unpossible Being Libertarian Being Libertarian Perspectives serves as a weekly, multi-perspective opinion and analysis piece by members of Being Libertarian's writing team. Every week the panel, comprised of randomly selected writers, will answer a question based on current events ...

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Perspectives: Mission: Unpossible - Being Libertarian

Mar 4, 2017 at 2:36 pm | Print View

Libertarians in Iowa now will be able to check the box on their voter registration form officially indicating their political affiliation.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced last week that the Libertarian Party of Iowa has attained official political party status.

Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson received 3.8 percent of the vote in the November elections, surpassing the 2 percent threshold required by state law for the party to be recognized.

I would like to congratulate the Libertarian Party of Iowa on being recognized as an official political party by the state, Pate said in a statement Thursday. I encourage all Iowans to become and remain active in the political process.

Johnson received about 3 percent of the vote nationwide in November. He received no electoral college votes.

Now that Libertarians have official party status in Iowa, candidates can participate in 2018 primary elections, and the Libertarian Party will be included as an option for Iowans on voter registration forms.

The Secretary of States office said the last time a political organization was granted full party status in Iowa was the Iowa Green Party in 2000.

The partys nominee at that time, consumer activists Ralph Nader, received 2.2 percent of the presidential votes that year.

There are 9,100 registered Libertarians in Iowa.

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Libertarians gain official party status in Iowa - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines

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By Kody Fairfield

After realizing his chances to be President were over, Zoltan Istvan ofthe Transhumanist Party, has decided to take his platform and run for another elected office, and under a different political party.

Istvan didnt have much of a chance at being president, but that didnt stop him from campaigning as the Transhumanist Partys candidateto promote his pro-technology and science positions. Now, hes setting his sights a bit lower, and with a different party. Istvan announced this morning that he plans to run for governor of California in 2018 under the Libertarian Party, explainsEngadet.com.

In aNewsweekarticle Istvan wrote, We need leadership that is willing to use radical science, technology, and innovationwhat California is famous forto benefit us all. We need someone with the nerve to risk the tremendous possibilities to save the environment through bioengineering, to end cancer by seeking a vaccine or a gene-editing solution for it, to embrace startups that will take California from the worlds 7th largest economy to maybe even the largest economybigger than the rest of America altogether.

Engadet mentions that Istvan told the publication that he notonly identifies as libertarian, but that he also saw the benefit of working with a more established political party, instead of starting one from the ground up. The Transhumanist even mentioned to the website that should he run for President again, he would do as a Libertarian.

The most important thing I learned from my presidential campaign is that this is a team sport, Istvan said in an email to Engadet. Without the proper managers, volunteers, spokespeople, and supporters, its really impossible to make a dent in an election. Thats part of the reason I joined the Libertarian Party for my governor run. They have tens of thousands of active supporters in California alone, so my election begins with real resources and infrastructure to draw upon. Thats a large difference from my Presidential campaign, where we essentially were shoe-stringing it the whole time.

According to the article fromEngadet, Istvan has considered running for a lesser office, but has describe the competition for those lower seats a being much more fierce. Explaining that he sees an opening with disgruntled members of the two major parties, especially againstGavin Newsome, the rumored front-runner for the Democrats.

Istvan also toldEngadet that he seems a dire need for a pro-science candidate like himself, citing what he called PresidentTrumpsdisdain forfor science.

This idea that we should drop environmental science, or be cautious on genetic engineering, or focus on the revitalization of nuclear weaponry is something I disagree with, he said. I believe we should bet the farm on various radical technologies: artificial intelligence, gene therapies, 3D printed organs, driverless cars, drones, robots, stem cell tech, exoskeleton tech, virtual reality, brain wave neural prosthetics, to name a few. This is the way to grow an economywith much creative innovation, what California is famous for.

It should be noted that Istvans jump to the Libertarian Party does not guarantee him the Partys nomination for governor. He would have to face off versus any other primary challengers prior to taking that role. At this point, his comments are a mere statement of intent to seek the nomination, rather than his title.

Democratsgavin newsomeGovernor of Californialibertarian partyRepublicansscienceTranshumanist PartyZoltan Istvn

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Transhumanist Wants to Run for California Governor Under Libertarian Banner - The Libertarian Republic

Horse-racing monitors at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, where bettors can wager on races. The gambling industry hopes the Trump administration will be open to expanding wagering to sports betting.(Photo: Kevin Wexler/The Record)

The Competitive Enterprises Institute, known asalibertarian think, has published an eight-page paper on what it considers a foolish federal policy on sports betting in the U.S.

The group describes itself as "a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing theprinciples of limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty."

Here is my summary of some of the key passages:

For those not fully up to speed on how we got here, it's explained thusly:

The Origin of the Sports Gambling Ban.By the late 1980s, at least 13 states had considered proposals to legalize sports gambling, most in the hope that legalizing and taxing the activity would fill increasingly large budget deficits. That so worried gambling opponentssuch as lawmakers and sports league officials who feared gambling would compromise the integrity of sporting eventsthat Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). Once enacted, PASPA prohibited states that did not already allow sports betting from licensing, promoting, or authorizing the activity. In effect, PASPA blocked all states, save for Nevada, from legalizing and regulating bets on the outcome of individual sports contests.

"The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), was championed by the commissioners of the four major sports leagues, who testified that such a law was necessary to prevent a cloud of suspicion over athletes and games and to avoid sending a regrettable message to our young people. Congress justified intervening in what had traditionally been viewed as a matter for state regulation by declaring sports gambling a national problem. The harms it inflicts are felt beyond the borders of those states that sanction it. The moral erosion it produces cannot be limited geographically. Without federal legislation, sports gambling is likely to spread on a piecemeal basis and ultimately develop an irreversible momentum.

This is a segment on "game integrity with a reference to a very famous case:

"In many ways, sports betting lines operate like financial markets. For example, when international open market trading is done in commodities, attempts at manipulation become much easier to detect because anomalies will be noticed and analyzed quickly. The same holds for sports betting. Betting lines do not shift much. An extreme fluctuation, which might occur if large amounts of money was suddenly being bet on a longshot underdog, would set off alarm bells......

"This is exactly what happened during the Black Sox scandal, when several members of the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. It was the strange, sudden shift in betting odds that first alerted sportswriters and others that something fishy was going on. Bookmakers originally had the Sox as 7-5 favorites, with rumors that the odds might go as high as 2-1 by the time of the game, but a sudden swing in betting in New Yorkan unusually large amount of money being bet on the underdog Cincinnati Redsput the odds at even money by Game 1. The odds shift occurred, it turned out, because gangsters had bribed several members of the heavily favored White Sox to throw the Series. Rumors about a fix were rampant well before the Series first pitch.

The Black Sox went on to become the most infamous sports betting scandal in history. As a result, nearly 100 years later, gambling remains virtually the only unpardonable sin for an active player, coach, or manager in any sport. Players who have used performance-enhancing drugs or have been found guilty of criminal acts ranging from assault to illegal dog fighting have returned to the field. Gambling on games, on the other hand, almost always results in lifetime bans for athletes and officials. This is a formidable disincentive for players to be involved with gamblers or game fixing. Yet, few remember today that it was the bookmakers those taking bets on the gam e who first caught the scent of something fishy going on with the World Series."

The volume of new tax revenue also is addressed:

"If this economic activity were brought into the daylight, it would mean millions of dollars for cash-strapped states. In New Jersey, for example, illegal sportsbook makers prosecuted in the late 1990s had an annual volume of around$200 million. Global gaming research firm GamblingCompliance projects that a fully developed legal American marketwhere bets are placed at casinos, online, and at retail bookmaking shopswould produce $12.4 billion in annual revenue, five times bigger than the U.K.s sports betting market and 11 times bigger than Italys. All of which would be subject to tax. Tapping into this new source of revenue would not even require new laws for most states, as the federal government already requires people to report earnings from gambling and even allows them to write off gambling losses up to the amount that allows them to offset their winnings."

The paper concludes by saying that "the law must treat consumers like adults."

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Libertarian think tank makes case for legal sports betting - NorthJersey.com

Hundreds of students shouted down Libertarian author and political scientist Charles Murray during a lecture Thursday at Vermonts Middlebury College, forcing him to move to a private room and stream the lecture online.

Mr. Murray, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was interrupted immediately after taking the podium at the McCullough Student Centers Wilson Hall, according to video posted by The Middlebury Campus student weekly.

Once he started to speak, dozens of students stood up and turned their backs to him, holding signs and asking others to join. They then read a script in unison condemning Mr. Murrays supposed hate speech and started chanting Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Charles Murray go away.

Mr. Murray stood silently at the podium for 18 minutes until organizers approached him.

The college ultimately decided to cancel the lecture and moved Mr. Murray to a private room where he could stream the talk live, The Middlebury Campus reported.

Mr. Murray is most famously known for writing the 1994 book The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, and is deemed a white nationalist by the liberal nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center.

He was set Thursday to discuss his 2012 book Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010, which students argued normalizes white supremacy and white nationalism.

More than 450 Middlebury alumni signed a letter published Wednesday condemning the schools decision to allow Mr. Murray on campus.

The student group that invited the author, the American Enterprise Institution Club, said the invite was not necessarily an endorsement of his beliefs.

I really think his work Coming Apart is incredibly important in understanding the forces at play that brought the movement together, and as a Republican, I dont understand this movement enough, club president Phil Hoxie told a local NBC News affiliate.

Bill Burger, the vice president of communication at the school, said he was disappointed by the protesting students behavior Thursday.

We respect the right for students to express themselves and to protest, and we acknowledge that at the opening remarks for the event, but its clear that a group of students were committed to disrupting the event, and to an extreme degree theyve done that, he told NBC. Fortunately, weve been able to preserve what he says again, the important thing in our community is that there is an opportunity for people to speak and to be heard and listen and to challenge.

Middlebury officials told Inside Higher Ed that as Mr. Murray was trying to leave campus, protesters swarmed the vehicle and jumped on it, trying to prevent him from leaving.

Mr. Murraysaid on Twitter Friday that he was physically assaulted by the out-of-control mob.

Report from the front: The Middlebury administration was exemplary. The students were seriously scary, he tweeted.

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Libertarian author Charles Murray shouted down by Middlebury College students - Washington Times