Archive for the ‘Libertarian’ Category

Joe Biden’s bias comes through in trying to outwoke competition: Devine – New York Post

Joe Biden doesnt sound very moderate when he says there is no room for compromise on transgender equality.

It is the civil rights issue of our time, he tweeted last week, elevating it above womens equality, racial equality, and even climate justice, an issue he once told us was an existential threat.

The tweet was rather baffling, other than as an exercise in identity pandering.

Maybe Biden thought he could win over a segment of the 0.3 percent transgender voters who are irate that Bernie Sanders accepted an endorsement from libertarian podcaster and pronoun purist Joe Rogan.

But, by trying to outwoke Sanders on gender fluidity, Biden is empowering a tyrannical micro-minority determined to overturn biological reality and crush dissent.

Exhibit A is Denver Post columnist Jon Caldara, fired for writing that there are only two sexes, identified by an XX or XY chromosome.

They is singular and up is down, wrote Caldara in a Jan. 7 column criticizing The Associated Press Stylebook, the language-usage bible for reporters, which has decreed that gender is no longer binary and that they can be used as a singular pronoun.

Two weeks later, he slammed a Colorado law which requires controversial sex-education content in schools.

Democrats dont want education transparency when it comes to their mandate to convince your kid that there are more than two sexes, even if its against your wishes, he wrote.

This was the last straw for his editors. After writing a weekly column for four years, he was shown the door.

Caldara is no social conservative. He supports-same sex marriage and doesnt like Donald Trump. But, like Rogan, he is a libertarian who objects to compelled speech and inaccurate pronouns.

So, it doesnt matter how the Denver Post tries to spin it, his firing is an attack on free speech by the very institution entrusted to defend it.

The paper has been opaque about its reasons, alluding only to disrespectful language in an editors note last week. But any fair reader of the statements of biological reality which Caldara reposted on social media would be hard pressed to find disrespect. Clearly, his editors thought his words were fine when they published them.

But the Denver Post is a shadow of its former self. Under the oppressive ownership of a hedge fund, it lacks the institutional courage required to stand against the transgender bullying which attacks any expression deviating from gender fluid orthodoxy.

The papers disintegrating backbone follows the decline of a free press all over the country, as Google and Facebook siphon away news revenue, and fake news muscles in.

Alden Global Capital took control of the Denver Post in 2010 and runs it through its subsidiary, Digital First Media, which has bought up some of the biggest newspaper chains in the country, including the McClatchy and Gannett organizations. It controls dozens of newspapers, from California to Massachusetts, and has stripped them to the bone.

Its no scoop to understand that hedge funds with an appetite for extracting remnant value from failing newspapers have no interest in freedom of speech or the constitutional value of the Fourth Estate, let alone the importance of objective truth.

And the last thing woke capital wants is to be targeted by transgender activists. No special interest group is more relentless in crushing dissent around the world, using character assassination as a weapon.

When you have no commitment to free speech, surrender to bullies is the logical path of least resistance.

This may also explain Joe Bidens trans-virtue signaling last week, to counter suspicions about his Catholic background and past cordiality toward Mike Pence.

But, if the leading moderate of the Democratic presidential field is promising to make transgender ideology his human-rights priority, we should understand what that means, for womens sports, for schools, for prisons, for the military, for language.

If there is to be no compromise on transgender rights, then the rights of women and girls will have to be sacrificed.

Does Biden not care, for instance, about the right of biological females to compete in team sports on a level playing field, rather than against transgender athletes with all the natural physiological advantages that come from being born male?

How about the right of girls to preserve their modesty in single-sex locker rooms? Or the right of students not to be confused in sex-ed classes by radical gender theory which disputes the biological reality of two sexes.

Like every other minority, transgender people should be protected from discrimination, as our laws demand. But if you take him at his word, what Biden is advocating is the forceful restructuring of society according to the irrational demands of a subsection of a tiny minority. Its no way to win an election.

Boys death avoidable

The twitter feed of Thomas Valvas mother makes for sinister reading now that we know her accusations of abuse ended with the 8-year-olds death allegedly at the hands of his cop father.

New York City police Officer Michael Valva and his fiance, Angela Pollina, have been charged with second-degree murder over the autistic boys death, after he was forced to sleep outside in in a freezing garage.

But if anyone had listened to the boys Polish-born mother, he might still be alive.

For two years, Justyna Zubko-Valva has been posting heartrending videos and credible evidence of harm to her three sons on twitter.

She even posted letters from teachers saying the boys were starving and filthy.

Why were her complaints to authorities unanswered? Something is very wrong with a child-welfare system which ignores a mothers fears.

Your excuses dont fool anyone, Eric

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams doesnt fool anyone when he says his Martin Luther King Day rant about gentrification wasnt a racial slur against white people.

The crowd only started cheering when he said: Go back to Iowa! You go back to Ohio! New York City belongs to the people that was here and made New York City what it is.

It was a dog whistle about majority white states, and he disgraced his office when he chose to stoke division rather than promote healing at a time when New York is suffering from a plague of anti-Semitic attacks. Some perpetrators have tried to justify their hate crimes using the same excuse, that they are being alienated from old neighborhoods.

I tried to give Adams a chance last week to explain, but he dodged requests for an interview.

I never once mentioned race, he finally said in an e-mail through a spokesman yesterday.

Cleveland, Ohio, for example, is majority-black. I have always felt gentrification is not about race, but attitude.

Unconvincing from a wannabe mayor of this melting pot.

See more here:
Joe Biden's bias comes through in trying to outwoke competition: Devine - New York Post

Six things to know about the primary election – Shelby Star

In just over a month voters will decide who they want to see on the ballot in the 2020 general election. Early voting for the March 3 primary will begin in the middle of February and run up until Saturday, Feb. 29.

Heres everything you need to know about when, where and how to vote:

Where:

Two polling locations will be open for early voting, the Market Place Shopping Center, 1740 E. Dixon Blvd near Hobby Lobby and Bargain Hunt and the Kings Mountain Fire Museum, 269 Cleveland Ave.

How long do I have to vote?

Polls will open Thursday, Feb. 13, and will remain open every weekday through the 28th. Saturday, Feb. 29 will be the final day of early voting. Polls will open from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. every day except for Feb. 29, when they will close at 3 p.m.

Do I need to register?

The deadline to register to vote or to make any changes to current voter registration is Feb. 7. Voters will be allowed to same-day register and vote during the early voting period.

Do I need an ID?

A federal district court has temporarily blocked North Carolinas voter photo ID requirement from taking effect. Unless the courts direct otherwise, this means that voters will not be required to provide photo ID when they vote in the primary election on March 3.

Registration information:

All Cleveland County registered voters are eligible to participate in the upcoming Presidential Preference and Primary Election. Three parties - Republican, Democrat, Libertarian conduct semi-closed primaries. Two parties - Green, Constitution conduct closed primaries.

This means that if you want to vote for a particular candidate, you must pick which primary you wish to participate in. Registered Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party and Constitution Party voters must all vote for their parties only.

Unaffiliated voters will choose one party to vote for in the primary election.

Who is on the ballot?

Depending on which primary you choose, your ballot could have as many as 13 races to vote in or as few as one. Green, Libertarian and Constitution party primaries only decide who they want to see on the presidential ballot later this year. Republican and Democrat voters will decide which candidates get to appear in presidential, school board, county commission, governor and other state and federal ballots in November.

Sample ballots are available at the Cleveland County Board of Elections.

Read more from the original source:
Six things to know about the primary election - Shelby Star

Harvard law professor: AG Barrs drug policies echo failed policies of the past and will not end well – AlterNet

Many Americans have been highly critical of the War on Drugs and the mass incarceration that it has brought and they include not only liberals and progressives, but some right-wing libertarians as well (from former Texas Rep. Ron Paul to 2012/2016 Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson to the staff at Reason Magazine). However, U.S. Attorney General William Barr has been moving in the opposite direction, calling for expanded mandatory minimum sentences at the federal level for crimes involving fentanyl. And Nancy Gertner, a professor at Harvard Law School and former U.S. district judge, asserts in a Washington Post op-ed that Barrs ideas on drug policy are horribly misguided and that the War on Drugs has failed miserably.

According to the 73-year-old Gertner, Barrs ideas come as no surprise in light of his long record of hawking incarceration as a solution to our drug crisis. Indeed, Barr was very much the drug warrior when, in the early 1990s, he served as U.S. attorney general under a previous Republican president: George H.W. Bush.

We have seen this movie before, Gertner laments. It does not end well.

Gertner explains how fentanyl differs from other drugs and how it is governed under federal law in the U.S.

Illicit analogues are synthetic compounds that are substantially similar to Schedule I or II substances in chemical structure, Gertner notes. Some analogues are dangerous substances with a substantial potential for misuse. Others are benign or helpful. For example, naloxone, a life-saving antidote to opioid overdoses, is an analogue of morphine, a powerful opioid. Scientists believe that an antidote for fentanyl overdoses could well be within the substances scheduled under a proposal pending in Congress.

Gertner adds, The only way to tell how a drug will act in the body is through pharmacological research to measure its effect. Barrs proposal omits that crucial step, enabling federal prosecutions in cases involving substances with no scientific research confirming the drugs physiological effect.

The Harvard law professor goes on to assert that while the opioid epidemic must be dealt with, mass incarceration isnt the way to go about it.

We must do everything we can to stop the opioid epidemic, but not with the failed policies of the past, Gertner stresses. The opioid epidemic persists despite decades of the punitive approach Barr touts. Since 2014, federal prosecutions for fentanyl have increased more than 4700%. In recent decades, such an approach has resulted only in mass incarceration a nearly 790% increase in the federal prison population from 1980 to its peak in 2013, disproportionately impacting people of color.

Gertner praises two Republican senators, Ohios Rob Portman and West Virginias Shelley Moore Caputo, for introducing language intended to exclude the application of mandatory minimums for fentanyl analogues. The House should follow their lead.

The law professor wraps up her op-ed by emphasizing that the War on Drugs will not make fentanyl-related problems any better only increase the number of inmates in federal prisons.

Gertner asserts, Barr is waging the same failed war. He seeks to extend mandatory minimums without regard to their impact on people of color, let alone whether they will make our communities safer. They will not.

then let us make a small request. AlterNets journalists work tirelessly to counter the traditional corporate media narrative. Were here seven days a week, 365 days a year. And were proud to say that weve been bringing you the real, unfiltered news for 20 yearslonger than any other progressive news site on the Internet.

Its through the generosity of our supporters that were able to share with you all the underreported news you need to know. Independent journalism is increasingly imperiled; ads alone cant pay our bills. AlterNet counts on readers like you to support our coverage. Did you enjoy content from David Cay Johnston, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Robert Reich? Opinion from Salon and Jim Hightower? Analysis by The Conversation? Then join the hundreds of readers who have supported AlterNet this year.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure AlterNet remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to AlterNet, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

View original post here:
Harvard law professor: AG Barrs drug policies echo failed policies of the past and will not end well - AlterNet

Republican Party chairs chose Jacobs as 27th District Congressional candidate – The Daily News Online

Republican Party Chairs in the 27th Congressional District today chose state Sen. Chris Jacobs, R-Buffalo, as its candidate in an upcoming special election to fill the Congressional seat previously held Chris Collins until he resigned before pleading guilty to inside trading charges.

Said Jacobs in a statement: Governor Cuomo is doing all he can to hand this seat to the Democrats, but Im prepared for the fight. ... Well win this race by focusing on strengthening the future of Western New York by creating an environment for job growth, defending our borders and preserving our shared values and ideals.

Party chairs met today at Byrncliffe Resort in Varysburg, Wyoming County.

Jacobs will face Democrat Nate McMurray and Libertarian Party candidate Duane Whitmer in an election expected to be on April 28, though the date has not officially been announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Jacobs was among multiple candidates who had previously sought to replace Collins in the 2018 general election after Collins indictment and the former congressman candidacy was uncertain. Collins ultimately remained in the race and narrowly defeated McMurray in the 2018 general election.

Collins was sentenced Jan. 17 to 26 months in federal prison.

The winner of the special election will hold the office for only a short time. The seats full two-year term will be up again during Novembers general election. If multiple Republican candidates were to seek the office in the general election, that would result in a party primary in June in which registered Republicans would choose the candidate.

The fork ratings are based primarily on food quality and preparation, with service and atmosphere factored into the final decision. Reviews are based on one unsolicited, unannounced visit to the restaurant.

Read the rest here:
Republican Party chairs chose Jacobs as 27th District Congressional candidate - The Daily News Online

State Election Board Releases Official 2020 Voter Registration Statistics – The Marlow Review

Official Oklahoma voter registration statistics released yesterday show 2,090,107 Oklahomans are registered to vote heading into the 2020 election cycle. Oklahomas official voter registration statistics are counted every year on January 15.

"These statistics continue a decades-long trend of growth for Independents and Republicans as a share of the Oklahoma electorate," said State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax. "And although they are relatively small in overall numbers, Libertarians now have more than 11,000 voters for the first time in state history."

The largest number of Oklahoma's voters are Republicans, who make up more than 48.3% of registered voters. Two years ago, Republicans accounted for 46.8% of registered voters.

Democrats are the second-largest party at 35.3% of registered voters, down from 38.2% in January 2018. Democrats had long been the largest political party in Oklahoma, but were passed by Republicans in January 2015.

Independents, or "no party" voters, are now 15.9% of Oklahoma voters, up from 14.8% two years ago.

The Libertarian Party, which gained recognition in 2016, now has 11,171 registered voters, more than double the number in January 2018.

Oklahomas registered voters:

JAN. 15, 2020 JAN. 15, 2018

DEMOCRATS 738,256.35.3% 769,772.38.2%

REPUBLICANS 1,008,569.48.3% 942,621.46.8%

LIBERTARIANS 1,171.less than 1% 4,897.less than 1%

INDEPENDENTS 332,111.15.9% 298,867.14.8%

TOTAL 2,090,107 2,016,157

HISTORICAL VOTER REGISTRATION IN OKLAHOMA

The State Election Board began recording statewide voter registration statistics by party in 1960.

YEAR DEM REP IND OTHER 1960 82.0% 17.6% 0.4% N/A

1980 75.8% 22.8% 1.4% N/A

2000* 56.7% 35.0% 8.3% *

2020* 35.3% 48.3% 15.9% *

*Minor parties account for less than 1 percent of voters in Oklahoma.

Read the original post:
State Election Board Releases Official 2020 Voter Registration Statistics - The Marlow Review