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To the Editor:

Nine New Hampshire legislators have submitted a resolution (CACR 2022-2243) for our state "to peaceably declare independence from the United States and proceed as a sovereign nation" -- i.e., secede from the union. (They don't seem to have given much thought to what the consequences of such action would be, were it ever to happen.)

This secession proposal comes from members of the Free State Project, a group of anti-government zealots from around the nation who have been moving to New Hampshire for the past two decades with the stated goal of taking over state government and creating a libertarian "utopia. They selected New Hampshire as their target because of our small population and our narrow political balance, making it possible for them to have a significant effect on legislative actions. According to the Free State Project Watch (freestateprojectwatch.org), there are more than 40 Free Staters in the New Hampshire legislature today, elected as Republicans. Some suggest the number, including sympathizers, may be as high as 100.

The primary goal of Free Staters is to reduce the role of the federal government, as espoused by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC says the framers intended for states to cede only a "miniscule" amount of power to a national government, and that over time the amassing of federal power "has led to overregulation and redundant bureaucracy." Even international relations should be in the hands of state legislators, ALEC says, as they are "stakeholders in many of the most important national and international issues of the day."

While it is true that in crafting our federal system, the founders stressed that power derives from the people and governmental functions should be carried out at the lowest level practicable, over time developments in commerce and technology have made it increasingly necessary to regulate matters at national or even international level. To reflect nostalgically on simpler days of the eighteenth century, before automobiles, airplanes and computers, is not a sound basis for running our country today.

Secessionists are by definition not patriots, and with their growing representation in our state and local government, Free Staters pose a palpable risk. They have been introducing proposals to slash local and state budgets, undermine public education, neglect roads, bridges and other infrastructure, and overturn community priorities. For more, see the websitegranitestateprogress.org.

What we can do about this, since Free Staters run as Republicans (and since other Republicans support many of their priorities), is to show up at the polls and elect Democrats. Regardless of impediments Republicans place in the way of voting, we need to fight our way through, and vote.

Don Nolte

Exeter

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Opinion/Letter: Proposal for NH to secede from the USA - Seacoastonline.com

Monday, 18 October 2021, 4:06 pmOpinion: Lynley Tulloch

These are trying times. Like many other New Zealanders, I am impacted by lockdown. Yet I am aware that the effects of Covid-19 infection and lockdowns are spread unevenly across the population.

The human rights of all people during a Covid-19 outbreak and lockdowns need to be considered.This is where things get complicated. This rights - based focus is often at odds with the libertarian view of freedom from government intervention.

Those people who are anti-lockdown often feel that their rights to freedom are being breached. What many people seem to be forgetting is that with rights comes responsibilities. Many people are breaking the rules by gathering in groups indoors and spreading the virus even further.

While we have individual rights, we also need to remember that there is a responsibility to society to protect other people's rights.

Those people who are unable to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are at risk from other people. These include children and people with compromised immune systems.

The issues are complex and entangled. And yet too many people are looking at them from a one-dimensional perspective.

Anti-lockdown protestors are a case in point. They claim that lockdowns are a breach of our individual freedom and a form of tyranny. They refuse to look at the other important dimensions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it has on people who are especially vulnerable.

In my opinion the anti-lockdown protestors hold a nave and limited view of freedom, one that puts people at further risk of Covid-19 which is highly infectious and variable. While some people are not affected much by Covid-19, others may be harmed for a long time (long Covid).

Lockdowns can protect people who are vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus such as older adults, unvaccinated children, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Covid-19 affects people throughout the community unevenly even outside of the aforementioned vulnerabilities. For example, poor living arrangements and financial instability, disability, and homelessness can also worsen the risk of Covid-19 infection for people. Refugees and immigrants are another group of people who are at greater risk of social disadvantage from Covid-19.

These same people are also disproportionately affected by Covid-19 lockdowns. These lockdowns can increase financial instability and people may lose their jobs as businesses shut down. Access to social goods such as health services and education might also be impacted.

This then has further consequences for mental health.

So it seems that we may be stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

However, rather than resist lockdowns I think we should be focusing on lobbying the government for greater rights for these groups during the pandemic.

It is not surprising that in times such as these with heightened tensions there may be a lack of social cohesion.

In the United States, England, Australia, and New Zealand anti-lockdown protests have threatened social stability. Some of these protests have been violent.

In Melbourne for example, thousands of angry protestors marched through the CBD shouting freedom and f*** the jab. Protestors threw glass bottles and flares at police. The riot police fought back with rubber bullets and tear gas.

The protest was organised by Harrison McLean, a Melbourne Monash University graduate who is a self-identified libertarian activist and proponent of individual and economic freedom. He is also a Covid-19 denier.

The knee-jerk reaction of protestors who want to protect their elite lifestyles in the West is problematic.

There appears to be some degree of naivety over the concept of freedom by the protestors. The idea of freedom that these protestors are raising is based on a libertarian notion of freedom as the enjoyment of ones own life and goods.

The libertarian definition of freedom is dominant in Europe and American countries. Scholars Zhou Zhifa and Tan Xiaohan from Zhejiang Normal University recently published a research paper claiming that this understanding of freedom has led to problems in Covid-19 governance in Western countries.

Zhia and Xiaohan said that protestors end up endangering public security and health through traveling, gathering, and demonstrating without masks during a pandemic.

A recent anti-lockdown protest in New Zealand during lockdown is a case in point. It had the potential to become a super spreader event and potentially plunge New Zealand into an even longer lockdown.

The anti-lockdown protest in New Zealand was a peaceful protest. However, I dont believe that anti - lockdown protests are in the same realm of a peaceful protest. Peaceful protests are a cornerstone of democracy. Peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are perfectly legitimate and healthy ways to try and achieve social change.

Just not in the middle of a pandemic. This is when their legitimacy needs to be questioned.

Mahatma Gandhi is considered the father of peaceful protest. He fought for civil rights in India and he resisted British colonization. For his troubles he was arrested thirteen times during his lifetime.

Gandhi showed the world that social change can be achieved without violence. He was an inspirational leader in human rights. He triggered other civil rights movements led by activists such as Martin Luther King jr, Cesar Chavez, Malala Yousafzai, and Nelson Mandela.

But anti- lockdown protests are not in the same ballpark. Instead of protecting people and fighting for the human rights of people from oppressed groups, they put these same people at risk.

The fallout of a Covid-19 outbreak on hospitals in New Zealand and elsewhere is extreme.

The concept of freedom held by civil rights revolutionaries such as Gandhi and Mandela and that held by anti-lockdown protestors are irreconcilable in the context of a Covid-19 pandemic.

Civil rights freedoms protect people from discrimination by gender, race of disability. A libertarian view of freedom on the other hand champions the freedom to make choices about your own life, your body, and your property. This is why many anti-lockdowners are also against the jab.

Some clarity around the concept of freedom will be helpful during these troubled times.

Lockdowns are not based on the repression of freedoms in service to a tyrannical need for power and control. Rather they are an attempt to protect our way of life in New Zealand, which actually has considerable freedoms compared to many parts of the world.

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Lockdowns And Freedom: At Odds Or Different Sides Of The Same Coin? - Scoop.co.nz

LONG BRANCH-EATONTOWN, NJ This year's general election will take place on Nov. 2, and voters in Long Branch and Eatontown have the option of casting their ballot either by mail using a secure dropbox, hand-delivering it to your local board of elections, or voting at your local polling location.

This year, voters can also vote early at in-person voting at select locations starting Saturday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Must-Know Election Info

Election date: Nov. 2

Check if you are registered to vote.

Where can I vote in person?

Mail-in ballot postmarked by deadline: Nov. 2

Mail-in ballot received by deadline: Nov. 8

What Will You See On Your Ballot?On the state side of things, there is a gubernatorial race this year, with current governor Phil Murphy being challenged by Republican Jack Ciattarelli, Libertarian Gregg Mele, Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Workers Party, and Madelyn Hoffman, who is representing the Green Party.

For Lt. Governor, incumbent Shelia Oliver is facing opposition from Diane Allen of the Republican Party, Eveline Brownstein of the Libertarian Party, Vivian Sahner of the Socialist Workers Party, and Heather Warburton of the Green Party.

There will also be both a State Senate and State Assembly race on this year's ballot. In Asbury Park, which is in legislative district 11, incumbent Democrat state senator Vin Gopal and assemblymen, Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey are running against Republican senate nominee Lori Annetta and Marilyn Piperno, and Kimberley Eulner for the assembly. Asbury Park resident Dominque Faison is running for a set on the assembly as a Green Party candidate.

Long Branch does not have any municipal elections this November but does have a school board election where two current board members are running, Caroline Bennett and Violeta Peters are running on a ticket with former superintendent Joseph Ferraina against Maria Teresa Benosky for three seats of the Board of Education.

As for Eatontown, six candidates are running for two seats on the borough council: Republicans David Gindi and Everett D. Lucas, Mariel Hufnagel, and Coleen Burnett, who are the Democratic nominees, while current Councilwoman Jasmine Story and Dee Slattery, are running on an independent ticket.

For the Eatontown Board of Education, there are three openings with four candidates running. The only incumbent running is Maysee Y. Jacobs, with the other candidates being Jacquline Maguire, Deidre Seaman, and Jennifer Kopach.

There are also two statewide ballot questions: one is for the permitting of betting on all college teams at casinos and sportsbooks in the state. Currently, you are not allowed to bet on a New Jersey college sports team.

The other question is for the permitting of all groups to used the net proceeds from bingos or raffles to benefit their group. At the moment, only veterans and senior citizen groups can profit off of bingos and raffles.

Election Day is Nov. 2 and keep reading Patch for all of your Election 2021 updates.

Continued here:
Election 21: When, Where & How To Vote In Long Branch-Eatontown - Patch.com

Ten years after the Mariel Boatlift brought more than 125,000 Cuban immigrants to Florida, an economist named David Card wrote about the immigrant influx and its impact on Miamis labor market.

Card determined there was virtually no effect on wages and jobless rates of the citys less skilled workers. Three years after those conclusions, Cards work on immigration as well as other research on hot-button topics like minimum wage have landed him the honor of a 2021 Nobel Prize in economics.

His studies from the early 1990s challenged conventional wisdom, leading to new analyses and additional insights, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. The other award recipients were Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Guido Imbens from Stanford University.

Its often difficult to see the immediate implications of research, Card said in a press conference held hours after learning he was one of three people receiving the prominent prize.

But for some who focus on big-picture questions of immigration and economic competitiveness, the impact of Cards research at the University of California, Berkeley, and previously at the University of Chicago and Princeton University is clear to see, even as the debate over immigration reform continues.

He was the rock from which we all started, according to Jeremy Robbins, executive director of New American Economy. The organization founded 11 years ago by Michael Bloomberg, the data-driven former New York City mayor focuses on the ways to grow local economies that meld immigration reform and access for people coming to America.

Immigrants or their children founded 40% of Fortune 500 companies, according to New American Economys first report.

When New American Economy works with local leaders in places where new immigrants are arriving, Robbins said they start with scrutiny of the facts on the ground. The first thing we always do, we show who is there, where they work. In the same insight of David Card, you have to show with data what impact immigrants are having in the communities where they are living.

In the same insight of David Card, you have to show with data what impact immigrants are having in the communities where they are living.

Cards impact has been enormous, according to Alex Nowrasteh, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. He really does show the cost of immigration has been systemically exaggerated over the years and decades.

But still immigration debates continue and thats because, Nowrasteh said, people dont know or care about what the actual research says and they rely on stereotypes or anecdotes. There are other other academic methods to show larger immigrant impacts on wages, but Cards formulas and approaches, Nowrasteh said, set the real standard.

People seem to want to choose the messages that confirm their opinion, he said.

Cards academic recognition on immigration topics stems back to the Mariel Boatlift, which unfolded between April and October of 1980. Fidel Castro allowed Cubans who wanted to flee his repressive regime to exit via the port of Mariel. Approximately 125,000 people fled.

The events were just the type of natural experiments Card searched for. In a 1990 paper for Industrial and Labor Review, he said Miamis labor force jumped 7%, but that growth showed virtually no effect on the wage rates of less skilled non-Cuban workers.

Card observed Miamis job market had been absorbing immigrants into its unskilled labor force from Cuba, Nicaragua and elsewhere long before the boatlift, and the local economy was well suited for the situation with its textile and apparel industries.

The [immigration] debate isnt about facts anymore. Its about a bunch of feelings. That is something statistics cant explain.

Other data-driven studies followed, hitting on the money angle of immigration and challenging the idea that immigrants cut into the job prospects of people already situated in a labor market.

Hes focused on other labor-market topics, including the effect on gender preferences in job listings.

At Mondays press conference, Card said his research and the research of fellow economists are inputs to an understanding of a complex matter. The kinds of knowledge we can bring are not necessarily the whole story, he said.

However, Card said, it would be helpful if lawmakers could evaluate evidence on topics like minimum-wage levels and immigration policies from a scientific view and not from an ideological view but hes not particularly optimistic.

Last month, the Senates parliamentarian, whose role is nonpartisan, said Democrats could not include a pathway to citizenship in a reconciliation bill geared toward improving the social safety net. At the time, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said leaders would be holding future meetings with the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. (Bills passed via the budget reconciliation process require only a Senate majority, rather than a filibuster-proof 60 votes, but have to meet standards as interpreted by the parliamentarian.)

Like Card, Nowrasteh doesnt express optimism that change to immigration laws will come swiftly in Washington, D.C. The debate isnt about facts anymore, said Nowrasteh. Its about a bunch of feelings. That is something statistics cant explain.

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'He was the rock from which we all started': How Nobel Prize winner David Card influenced thinking on immigration and jobs - MarketWatch

LONG LIVE liberty, goddammit! proclaimed Javier Milei, a 50-year-old economist, at a meeting of comic-book aficionados in Buenos Aires in 2019. He went dressed as General Ancap, a character he invented who is the fictional leader of Liberland, a plot of land covering seven square kilometres that is disputed between Croatia and Serbia and which a Czech libertarian politician declared sovereign in 2015. Ancap is a portmanteau for anarcho-capitalist, a strand of libertarianism that seeks to abolish the state in favour of unfettered free markets. Mr Mileis superhero mission is to kick Keynesians and collectivists in the ass.

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Today Mr Milei is poised to become a national deputy for the real country of Argentina. In the first round of voting on September 12th (technically a form of primary) the alliance he leads got the third-highest number of votes in the city of Buenos Aires, the only place where it was on the ballot. It had been registered less than two months before the election. If the results are repeated in November, which is likely, it could win two seats in Congress. This would make Mr Milei the first self-described libertarian in Argentinas legislature, says Martin DAlessandro, a political scientist at the University of Buenos Aires.

Mr Milei won recognition as an eccentric guest on talk-shows, eventually becoming the countrys most interviewed economist on television and radio. A self-styled professor of tantric sex and one-time frontman of an obscure rock band, he claims not to have brushed his hair since he was 13, preferring to let the invisible hand do the work. His five mastiffs are named after economists, including Murray Rothbard, an anarcho-capitalist, and Milton Friedman, a more conventional one. To make Argentina a great power again, he wants to reduce regulations, lower taxes and eliminate the central bank. He dislikes abortion, believing liberty to be unattainable if one cannot first be born. But same-sex marriage should be legal, as should most narcotics.

Libertarianism is finding fertile ground among youngsters. One candidate on Mr Mileis list for city legislators is 18 years old and still in secondary school. My generation has grown up in recessionobviously that makes me think that what we have tried so far isnt working, says Iaki Gutirrez, a 20-year-old who voted for Mr Milei. Lilia Lemoine, a cosplayer who has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and is Mr Mileis make-up artist, promotes his ideas by occasionally posting raunchy selfies wearing T-shirts with such slogans as Free Market & Private Property.

Some analysts see Mr Milei as part of a resurgence of liberal ideas of all sorts. Ricardo Lpez Murphy, a liberal economist and former presidential candidate, competed after a ten-year hiatus from politics and got 11% of the votes in the capital (he ran within the main opposition coalition). Jos Luis Espert, a liberal candidate in the wider province of Buenos Aires, where a third of the countrys voters live, got 5% of votes there. In Argentinas crowded primaries those are big numbers. This is a response against the Peronist logic of solving all problems through the state, says Lucas Romero, a political analyst, referring to the movement that has governed Argentina for most of the past 70 years.

The interest in libertarianism also reflects a backlash against conventional politics. The particular brand of Peronism promoted by the current vice-president, Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, who was president from 2007 to 2015, left Argentina with a currency nobody trusts, sky-high inflation and economic stagnation. The opposition, in power between 2015 and 2019, piled up debt but failed to improve things. If Kirchnerism has become the establishment, libertarianism has become the reaction to the status quo, says Juan Germano, head of Isonoma Consultants, a pollster. Almost half of voters do not identify with any of the big parties, up from 39% in 2019. Turnout was the lowest it has been since such elections were introduced in 2011. Mr Milei, who attacks government and opposition members together as a political caste, is a big winner, but other parties, such as Marxists, got record results too.

Indeed, many of the people Mr Milei draws in are more conventionally right-wing, opposed to government policies such as legalising abortion and creating a quota for trans people in government jobs. I will ally with all those who believe that the left is the enemy, Mr Milei told The Economist. He recently signed a letter sponsored by Vox, an ultranationalist party in Spain, that rails against the advance of communism in the Spanish-speaking world. Even climate change, he claims, is a socialist lie. Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazils president, and Jos Antonio Kast, a far-right presidential candidate in Chile currently polling in second place, have endorsed Mr Milei.

Will this growing popularity last? If the next government manages to stabilise the economy, Mileis discourse will lose its appeal, says Sergio Berensztein, a political consultant. Third parties have done well before in the capital, especially in times of crisis, only to implode soon after.

Nonetheless, Mr Milei is having an impact. The head of the main opposition party has adopted his term political caste. Even President Alberto Fernndez seems nervous. He told a young audience shortly before the primaries that being rebellious should mean embracing hippy and rock culture and May 1968, not liberal ideas that, he said, caused catastrophe and penury for millions. Liberland may be no match for Argentinas 2.7m square kilometres, but General Ancap is conquering ground in the battle of ideas.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "No me pises"

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Javier Milei, a libertarian, may be elected to Argentina's congress - The Economist