Mediaboss Marketing

The Libertarian Party is in full damage control mode after sparking backlash by praising North Korea as an example of more freedom than the United States for its marijuana laws.

In a now-deleted Aug. 7 tweet, the party wrote: Its sad that we can look to #NorthKorea for an example of more freedom than the United States. The tweet linked to a Business Insider article that actually undercuts the argument that North Korea has laxer marijuana laws than the United States.

Screenshot/Twitter

After a wave of criticism online, the party deleted the tweet Sunday night after leaving it up for almost an entire week and issued an apology (although the apology tweet now appears to have been deleted as well.)

The Libertarian Partys official New Hampshire arm sent the exact same tweet praising North Korea on August 7. That tweet has not been deleted and remains on Twitter.

Contrary to widespread rumors online, the Business Insider article stated that marijuana appears to be illegal in North Korea.

The Libertarian Party has struggled to establish itself as a credible third party.

The party convention last summer turned into a spectacle after a candidate for party chairman stripped down to a thong during his two-minute speech.

WATCH:

Read the original here:
Libertarian Party In Damage Control Mode After Praising North Korea As Example Of Freedom - The Daily Caller

Augustus Invictus, a former Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Orlando most famous for saying he sacrificed a goat and drank its blood, had an important role in the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville on Saturday.

Invictus, 34, was listed as a featured marcher for the Saturday event, which was roundly condemned after marchers carried Nazi flags, performed Hitler salutes and chanted white supremacist and anti-Semitic sayings while carrying torches. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Invictus lost the 2016 Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate in Florida to Paul Stanton, but not before state Chairman Adrian Wyllie resigned in protest. The Libertarian Party of Seminole County also disbanded and its chair, Don Menzel, resigned in protest of his candidacy. Wyllie alleged at the time Invictus wanted to lead a civil war in the country, recruit neo-Nazis to the party and supported a eugenics program.

Invictus denied he had white supremacist sympathies at the time, but the Tampa Bay Times reported Monday white nationalist leader Richard Spencer credited Invictus with writing a first draft of the Charlottesville Statement.

The statement, according to the Times, has tenets including, Jews are an ethno-religious people distinct from Europeans ... whites alone defined America as a European society and political order .. [and] the so-called 'refugee crisis' is an invasion, a war without bullets, taking place on the fields of race, religion, sex and morality.

Spencer is hoping to speak at the University of Florida on Sept. 12, according to student newspaper The Daily Alligator. UF President Kent Fuchs wrote in an email the university has a First Amendment obligation to let him do so.

Invictus, a former attorney who voluntarily gave up his eligibility to practice law in March, has been active on the political scene in Central Florida this year. In May, he spoke before the Orlando City Council meeting in May against removing the Confederate Johnny Reb monument. The statue was ultimately moved to a cemetery.

In a YouTube video posted in July, Invictus revealed he was leaving the Libertarian party and registering as a Republican.

Countless millions of Americans are beginning to lament the leftward shift in their homeland, and the great awakening is upon us, he said in his video. Let us aim our rifles in the right direction, let us fight beside each other rather than against each other. Let us unite the right wing of American politics at long last, in order to secure our country and its civilization.

In Charlottesville, a counterprotester, Heather Heyer, was killed and others injured Saturday after a car ran into them following the rally. An Ohio man has been charged with second-degree murder and other charges.

President Donald Trump was criticized, including by members of the Republican Party, for not specifically condemning white supremacists and neo-Nazis by name. But on Monday, Trump specifically denounced those groups, saying, We condemn in the strongest possible terms, this display of hatred, bigotry, and violence."

In 2015, Invictus said he had walked from Central Florida to the Mojave Desert two years earlier and spent a week fasting and praying. In a pagan ritual to give thanks when he returned home, he said he killed a goat and drank its blood.

I did sacrifice a goat. I know that's probably a quibble in the mind of most Americans, he said at the time. I sacrificed an animal to the god of the wilderness ... Yes, I drank the goat's blood.

He also contended he had been investigated by the FBI and other law enforcement because of his political views. He renounced his citizenship in one of his posted writings, and in another he prophesied a great war, saying he would wander into the wilderness and return bearing revolution.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. slemongello@orlandosentinel.com, 407-418-5920 or @stevelemongello

White nationalist Richard Spencer scheduled to speak at UF next month

See original here:
Goat-blood drinking Orlando man had key billing for Charlottesville rally - Orlando Sentinel

The Libertarian Party has issued an apology for portraying North Korea as a shining beacon of freedom compared to the allegedly oppressive United States.

In a now-deleted tweet, the Libertarian Party shared a Business Insider article about how North Korea has been dubbed a weed smokers paradise. In their assessment of the article, the Libertarian Party said the totalitarian dictatorship can be looked to for an example of more freedom than the United States:

While the Libertarian Party accurately read the headline of the article, the article itself notes that North Korea may not be as pot-friendly as the Libertarian Party may like:

In January, the AP's Eric Talmadge provides some of the most conclusive evidence yet that marijuana is illegal in North Korea.

Torkel Stiernlof, a Swedish diplomat living in North Korea, told the AP that marijuana is a controlled substance in the same category as cocaine and heroin. He rejected the idea that government looks the other way when it comes to drug use, as some online stories suggest.

"There should be no doubt that drugs, including marijuana, are illegal here," Stiernlof said. "One can't buy it legally and it would be a criminal offense to smoke it."

In fact, the lack of knowledge surrounding the legal enforcement of marijuana laws in North Korea is an example of why North Korea is an oppressive, repressive regime that should not be heralded as an example of freedom. Since Business Insider relies partially on anonymous internet reports to discuss whether North Korea is actually a safe-haven for pot smokers, it shows that the government cracks down on the free exchange of information beyond the borders and the bureaucrats.

It should also be noted that North Korea is famous for the hero-worship cult of personality surrounding its Dear Leaderand that the country routinely punishes any dissent of any kindwith work camps. These are, obviously, not libertarian principles.

After outrage over the tweet, the Libertarian Party reportedly issued an apology nearly a week later. The apology, like the original tweet, appears to have been deleted:

This is far from the Libertarian Partys first time making a social media faux pas. In April, the official Facebook account for the Libertarian Party praised Satanism as an example of libertarian principles.

The Libertarian Party is also famous for allowing a man to strip on stage during a live broadcast of its 2016 National Convention and for musing about whether it should be legal to sell heroin to children during its 2016 presidential candidate debate.

Thank you for supporting MRCTV! As a tax-deductible, charitable organization, we rely on the support of our readers to keep us running! Keep MRCTV going with your gift here!

Follow this link:
Libertarian Party Praises North Korea As Less Oppressive Than the US - MRCTV (blog)

The list of candidates for Congress on Maines 2018 ballot continues to grow, including some from a new political party in Maine: The Libertarian Party.

Chris Lyons of Brunswick has announced he has launched a campaign to oust fellow Brunswickian Angus King, an independent, from the U.S. Senate. Farther north, Brian Kresge of Winterport has launched his own bid as a Libertarian against 2nd Congressional District Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican.

Both are leaving the starting gates with similar messages: that Republicans and Democrats in Washington and at the state level have failed to lead and govern. And both are starting a considerably steep uphill slog as fourth-party candidates taking on established incumbents.

Call the prospect of a Libertarian candidate being elected a long shot, but thats also what was said about the party gaining official status in Maine in 2015 and 2016 as supporters sought to register the 5,000 voters they needed take the first step.

The Secretary of States office rejected some of the signatures in January 2016, spurring the Libertarian Party of Maine Inc. to sue. That lawsuit went on for months, resulting in a federal judge first ruling against the partys bid to be a party and then reversing his decision on appeal a month later. That allowed the libertarians to collect the additional registrants they needed and propelled their contention that Maines process for creating a new political party is unconstitutionally rigid.

Being an official political party in Maine affords candidates from that party a much easier path to the ballot, setting up a simple registration system in place of a more formidable petition-based system. The partys efforts are not over. It has to sent at least 10,000 registered Libertarians to the polls in November 2018, according to new legislation enacted this year.

Lyons, who is a contractor by trade, ran a write-in campaign against U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in 2014. He has yet to file for his 2018 candidacy against King with the Federal Election Commission but has already launched a series of campaign events. He said he is in the race to win it and that converting independents or voters enrolled in major parties is easy.

One thing Ive learned in the past couple of years is that it isnt so much that people become a Libertarian, he said during an interview on Wednesday. They simply realize they are one. Ive heard this time and time again.

Kresge, a senior software developer for RKL eSolutions LLD of Pennsylvania and Army veteran, said his priority as a candidate and congressman is to advocate for smaller, more effective government, which is at the core of the Libertarian ideology. Kresge also has not filed yet with the Federal Election Commission.

The Libertarian Party is here and is serious about representing your interests, Kresge said in a written statement on Wednesday.

The candidate lineups against King and Poliquin are still developing. So far, only Republican state Sen. Eric Brakey has jumped into the race against King.

This item was originally published in Daily Brief, a free political newsletter distributed Monday through Friday by the Bangor Daily News to inform dialogue about Maine politics and government. To read more of todays Daily Brief, click here. To have the Daily Brief delivered daily to your inbox, click here.

Originally posted here:
Libertarian candidates jump into races to unseat King, Poliquin - Bangor Daily News

George Santayana once said, Those who cannot remember the past are bound to repeat it, which cuts particularly deep this week for those who have been keeping up with the news. In America, communism is in on college campuses, the media is actively attempting to push us into a cold possibly hot war with Russia, and now we are contemplating whether or not a repeat of the Korean War is worth it. Its official, weve been thrown back to 1950 at least politically.

Its amazing how many people, given the overwhelming abundance of historical evidence against their case, will try to operate as if we havent dealt with our current predicaments before.

Libertarians have become rather well-versed with this line of reasoning, from the responses you get anytime you ask a collectivist where their theories have worked. That wasnt real [insert failed ideology]! theyll say, as they attempt to convince you to try some old-fashioned theory dressed up in a revamped, modern-day term. In 2016, for example, we had a self-described democratic socialist almost win the Democratic Partys nomination, if it wasnt for the party eating its own. Seeing students in America embrace a broken system with messianic zeal reveals just how blatant our regard for historical evidence has become.

And its the same story when you ask Republicans as well; just mention foreign policy. No matter which failed attempt at regime change you bring up, the neo-cons always seem to be convinced that this time will be different. Never mind the fact that when pressured into explaining why, the best response youll get will be Make America great again.

Whos to blame for this lack of basic historical knowledge though?

Is it our public education system, with their appalling literacy rates and test scores? Or perhaps its our media outlets, who openly claim its their job to scare people to death in order to push the narrative they want imposed. They successfully polarized both sides so extensively in the last election that our political sphere looks more like the 1850s than the 1950s in that respect.

In actuality, its all our faults, though. Anyone with an internet connection has the ability to learn history, yet the overwhelming majority do not.

Now, if you observe American politics through any sort of objective lens, it would appear as though George Orwells predictions have come true. War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength was the mantra of the Party in the dystopian novel, 1984. Nowadays, Republicans are claiming to achieve peace from war; Democrats are espousing policies that say freedom will bring slavery; and everywhere, you see ignorance on both sides being rewarded as strength. Weve all heard the #FakeNews accusations being used on both sides. You mustnt let those other people tell you lies they like to say as the majority of Americans eat up the propaganda, leaving those of us who study history left to look on in horror.

Unless were willing to admit that some of the decisions made in the past were, in fact, mistakes, well sentence ourselves to suffer more loss of life in vain. Regardless of affiliation, lets allow ourselves to examine and consider the events of the past as they relate to our current situations. Because remembering history is crucial in making the correct political choices today. We may not be able to undo our mistakes, but we can certainly learn from them.

Lets embrace our history and stop pretending that any hot war, whether it be North Korea, Russia, or any of the superfluity of countries weve been involved in militarily the past 15 years will ever result in an improvement by any measurable account. Lets stop acting like more freedom for the individual in society will result in slavery for the rest of us. And for the love of God, lets recognize that collectivist attempts at egalitarianism never bear the results that they were supposed to on paper. This way we can spare our children from having to find themselves being thrown back into the political nightmare that 2017 has been fifty years from now. Lets get our act together, America.

Featured image: Encyclopdia Britannica

This post was written by Thomas J. Eckert.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Thomas J. Eckert is college grad with an interest in politics. He studies economics and history and writes in his spare time on political and economic current events.

Like Loading...

See the original post:
Welcome Back to 1950, America The Lowdown on Liberty - Being Libertarian