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Adam Fondren, Deseret News

I voted stickers and voting cards at the Sandy City Office polling location on August 15, 2017.

On Aug. 16, Republicans in the 3rd District finally chose a candidate to fill the empty seat formerly held by Jason Chaffetz. Because this was a three-way race with no run-off, the fiscally responsible voters of the 3rd District were divided, and as a result, the GOP candidate for this fall will be the least fiscally responsible, least free market oriented of the three. And this is in Utahs most fiscally responsible congressional district.

On the Democratic side, we have a candidate advocating an even more aggressive federal government micromanaging of health care from D.C., raising the tax and debt burden on every American.

Meanwhile, our local media have zeroed in on only one alternative to this lack of real choice, the son of the late Sen. Bob Bennett, who was ousted by Utahs fiscal conscience Sen. Mike Lee. The fiscally sound folks from Utahs 3rd Congressional District currently have six candidates on the November ballot to choose from, but only three are being mentioned as viable choices to represent their interests in Washington.

This letter is not a reflection on the character of the candidates in this race, in fact, having met both Jim Bennett and John Curtis, I can genuinely say that these candidates are seemingly very good people with good intentions.

However, the records and statements of the Democrat and the Republican in this race present two candidates with only slight differences in their tax and spending policies. With Congress discussing the critical issue of tax reform in the coming year, it is critical that the fiscally responsible people of Utah are represented by a true voice for substantive tax reform.

When Jason Chaffetz resigned, one of the most often referenced concerns of voters was the absence of a voice in Congress during this critical time. Ask yourself, do you want a congressman who has a bad record on taxes, or do you want a sane voice for fiscal discipline? Do you want a candidate who, once elected, must immediately turn around and begin campaigning for re-election?

Despite what you are hearing from the media and the political elite, there is another option, a reasonable option that will give the 3rd District a determined and knowledgeable voice on tax reform for one year, a powerful option that will look straight in the eye of the political elite and let them know that the 3rd District is not for sale. If you vote for the Libertarian candidate in this election, you will be voting for principled tax reform you can trust that no matter what happens, your representative will represent your interests and not be beholden to the Democrats and Republicans who keep their freshman members on a tight leash.

If you vote for the Libertarian, you will have a representative for one year who will not be forced to focus on re-election, and who will instead work every day to provide real reform in Washington. If you vote for the Libertarian, you can tell the lobbyists with Count My Vote that this system placed two tofu candidates on the ballot and you wont be a part of it.

Here is the bottom line, this candidate will only hold office for one year before a new election is held. By sending the Libertarian to Washington, you will have the time to focus on finding a candidate for the 3rd District that truly represents Utah values. You have an opportunity to vote for the only candidate who was nominated at a convention rather than in a well-funded primary. A candidate with an MBA in finance, a career in education and a principled stand. A candidate who will enjoy the support of the leaders of the national Liberty Movement. There are so many reasons to vote for the Libertarian this November, take a risk and vote for Dr. Joe Buchman.

Joseph Buchman is chairman of the Libertarian Party of Utah and a candidate for Utah's 3rd Congressional District. Buchman has a Ph.D. in media from Indiana University and has spent his career teaching marketing, finance and communications.

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Op-ed: Why you should consider the Libertarian candidate for the 3rd District - Deseret News

LISTEN: How John Curley changed his mind about Seattle bike shares

Hey, check out my bike! (John Curley, KIRO Radio)

John Curley has been critical of any bike share in Seattle. So how is it possible that he could change his mind about something he has called socialist in the past?

Then I realized that Im supporting private enterprise, Curley said. The other one (Pronto!) I was forced to participate in it by having my tax dollars support it. I wasnt given a choice whether or not I wanted to get on the bike. The government just said, Hey, we think this is a good idea. We are going to pour money into this failure.

RELATED: 3 days commuting via a Seattle bike share

Seattles previous failed bike share, Pronto!, was largely publicly funded. The city even bought it out for $1.4 million before shutting it down. But the bike share companies currently setting up shop in Seattle are quite different than the Pronto system. First of all, as Curley points out, they are private companies competing to become Seattles main bike share (SDOT will make some money off of them, however). They also dont use stations. You drop them off wherever you are.

In Curleys case, he picked up a Limebike from Eastlake near the KIRO Radio studios and rode it down to Safeco Field to watch a Mariners game avoiding traffic and parking.

I got there in plenty of time; soon enough to see the first batter, get the second pitch and hit a home run against the Ms, Curley said.

Overall, it was terrific, he said. One dollar was all I got charged. It was fast, easy, and efficient. I didnt wear a helmet; made you feel a little bit like an outlaw, especially as I rode past a bunch of cops without a helmet.

RELATED: Seattle enforcing bike helmet law less and less

While he found it convenient and cheap to use, there are some drawbacks.

I will do it again in the future, but you will never win the Tour de France on one of these things, Curley said. They are clunky and slow. At first, I felt really embarrassed to be on it. Because you got the big basket and you look like the Wicked Witch of the West. Its just not something you want to see yourself on. I passed by a plate glass window and watched myself on it not the best look.

Read the rest here:
A Libertarian changed his mind about using a Seattle bike share - MyNorthwest.com

The Libertarian Party wants to be clear: they reject white supremacy, bigotry, and racism.

In a press release on August 15, 2017, in the wake of the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, the LPs executive director Wes Benedictreiterated the partysstance on bigotry:

We condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. Government should neither deny or abridge an individual human right based on sex, wealth, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, personal habits, political preference, or sexual orientation.

The press release went further, and asked any members who identified as white nationalists to leave the party:

There is no room for racists and bigots in the Libertarian Party. If there are white nationalists who inappropriately are members of the Libertarian Party, I ask them to submit their resignations today. We dont want them to associate with the Libertarian Party, and we dont want their money. Im not expecting many resignations, because our membership already knows this well.

The press release might not have been a response just to the event in Charlottesville.

A controversy has been raging over a blog post, written by Jeff Diest a prominent Libertarian thinker, Mises Institute president, and former chief of staff to Dr. Ron Paul.

The post was titled, A New Libertarian. It calls for rekindling the spirit of Blood and Soil, God and Nation, and suggests these should be virtues Libertarians should fight and die for.

Libertarian Party Vice Chair Arvin Vohrareacted on Facebook, calling the phrases central to Nazi, and nationalist ideas, and to the belief that the US should be turned back into some pure, white, Protestant, Christian, vaguely theocratic, racially segregated, cultural backwater.

On a pragmatic note, Vohras post reads, this means that at the current time, Mises Institute has been turned into a sales funnel for the white nationalist branch of the Alt-right

Mises will continue to put out useful information, he said, But that will be just the bait to lead unsuspecting people down this path of collectivist, racist lunacy.

To some, the Mises Institute, a Libertarian think tank, is a bedrock of Libertarian ideas. However, the institute has been harshly criticized as racist in highly regarded publications, like the Washington Postand Business Insider.

Diests blood and soil phrasing was also criticized by fellow Libertarian thinker Steve Horowitz.

Diest defended himself against Horowitz in a Facebook post of his own:

Nicholas Sarwark, LNC party chair, saidhe has been verbally attacked, and asked to step down as chair, by some, for asking people to condemn racists and nationalists.

Comments to the chair on Facebook rejected the phrases as reflections of Nazism and white nationalism:

In response, Sarwark offered commentators a simple, three step plan for removing him join the party, register for the national convention, and elect someone else.

Read more here:
Libertarians Tell White Nationalists, Racists to Leave Party - IVN News

August 16 - To the Editor:

The recent events in Charlottesville have left me disgusted and ashamed. Our country is better than what was on display last week.

What was even more frightening to me was the echoed silence coming from many members of the Republican Party. For too long they have turned the other cheek to their racist and bigoted members within their party base, fearing to lose their vote come election season.

For too long their silence has enabled the factually incorrect and morally repugnant wing of their party to grow in numbers and in power, to spread their hate-filled ideology, to the point of placing a white-nationalist enabler in the White House with known white-nationalist advisors.

To those in the Republican Party who are as appalled and sickened as I am seeing the racist views and openly practiced neo-Nazism on their airwaves, I beg of you to make a stand. Denounce the evil within your party and root out those within your party who treat others as second class citizens.

Or simply abandon the sinking ship of the GOP, because there is another political party which believes in fiscal conservatism and human rights. There is another party out there that believes that all people are created equal and inhibit certain inalienable rights. There is another party out there that believes all human rights apply to all humans, regardless of demographic. There is a party that believes this so strongly, they put it in their platform for all to see.

Join the Libertarian Party, and leave the racists and bigots to their festering party of white-nationalism enablers, and join a party of principle. Join the party that pledges never to use force to achieve political or social goals. Join a party that accepts everyone of faith, everyone of color, and every one of every gender not because it is popular, but because it is the right and moral thing to do.

I am Brian Shields, and I am running for State Representative in Dovers first ward, and I am doing so as a proud Libertarian because Dover needs a new voice in Concord. A voice that will not stand for bigotry, misogyny, and hatred, and will not turn the other cheek. This, I can promise you. You need someone who will protect your rights, all your rights. You need someone who will not have their vote bullied by party power leadership to further an agenda that doesnt benefit Dover. I am the independent voice Dover needs in Concord.

The Libertarian Party is the independent voice New Hampshire needs in the State House. If you are politically homeless, check us out. We welcome everyone with open arms.

Brian Shields

Libertarian Candidate for State Representative, Strafford 13

Read the original post:
Libertarian Party is the independent voice for NH - Foster's Daily Democrat

Africa recently celebrated 20 years since the demise of Afrobeats music creator, Fela Kuti. At the height of military dictatorship in Africa around the 1970s, Fela developed the eclectic genre that has since changed the face of African music a funky combination of highlife, jazz and African vernacular.

Fela was a radical sensation who voiced against corruption and despotism through his music. His unapologetic nature quickly separated him from other entertainers of the time. This eventually subjected Fela to persecution throughout his career and gave Afrobeats little room to grow.

But two decades after Fela, the industry has matured into one of Africas biggest exports, and in Nigeria alone, it is worth around $50 million. This remarkable transformation from a repressed music genre to a prolific industry within a short period reiterates the often disapproved fact that individuals can create an iconic system if they are free.

Following the end of apartheid in South Africa and the demilitarization across West Africa in the late 1990s, Afrobeats music and other monitored industries like the media and movie became free. The free market opened the genre to new interests, which prompted the increase in music production. This includes lucrative corporate sponsorships and outlays by private record labels.

The increasing interest has created an industry attracting more present record labels and hundreds of recording artists in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of course, this is just scratching the surface considering the thousands of back street recording groups and artists in creeks and ghettos.

The more remarkable thing is that the industry exclusively depends on clear property rights and a legal system that enforces contracts and resolves disputes. Not a central plan or state design. Individuals simply create value and trade it off for what they want. Besides, the rules that guide relations among actors in the industry are part of the normal life.

Still, the absence of a design allowed everyone involved to pursue what is best for them without sacrificing their interests for others. Hence, the continued success of Afrobeats music affirms when people have freedom to make business decisions, the market always benefit.

Without prerequisites of formal qualifications of financial security, anyone interested in the genre could try out his or her mantle. This openness makes the industry so competitive that everyone always improves to maintain relevance, which is responsible for the overall maturity of the industry. The impact of this free industry rubs off on other areas of the economy, like the broadcasting and informal sectors.

Nowadays, local radio and television stations rarely spend heavily on securing rights to air foreign music, when they can easily get the more appealing Afrobeats at a lower cost. Likewise, the need for a more corporate approach to business means more job opportunities for street record merchants, public relations experts, talent managers and even business attorneys. This is not magical, fostering employment is akin to the free market. And insofar there remains a drive in the free market, it would always employ.

More so, the permission for mistakes has made the industry more durable, contrary to the end of central planning, which is to avoid mistakes. Since everyone experiments with their efforts, trial and error elimination creates a learning process that helps adaption to new challenges.

An amazing element of the industry is that no one waits for the other for elevation. For instance, upcoming artists do not request protection from the state to match their established colleagues, and neither do recording groups fancy government subsidies. They simply do their thing according to individual capacity and the result is success.

The sustainability of the industry without a central planner proves the market works best if left alone and anything otherwise would likely fail. This is because the information that influences individual choices cannot be available to planners, not even the government. Markets do not succeed by planning, but only flourish when independent elements work together discretely. No one needs to meddle in the extraordinary spontaneous order of the Afrobeats industry. Instead, other sectors in Africa would gain by learning from it.

* Ibrahim Anoba is the Acting Executive Director at African Liberty Organization for Development and an African political economy pundit with Young Voices. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria. You can follow him on twitter @Ibrahim_Anoba.

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Afrobeat's Revolution is a Striking Case of Spontaneous Order - Being Libertarian