Archive for the ‘Libertarian’ Category

Cuban Libertarian Party Launched After Arrest of Libertarian Activists – Reason (blog)

The Cuban government probably did not expect to inspire the creation of a dissident political party when it arrested libertarian activists Ubaldo Herrera Hernndez and Manuel Velzquez Visea in February. But a Partido Libertario Cubano - Jose Marti, named after the famed 19th century hero of Cuban independence, did launch itself this month in response to the (Raul) Castro regime's actions.

Partido Libertario Cubano Jose Marti Facebook

According to a report from Zachary Foster, with the Nevada Libertarian Party in America who is in contact with the Cubans, the activists were arrested initially on charges of assault on a state agent, which they insist are falsified and refer merely to refusing to show I.D. when asked by that agent outside the Benjamin Franklin Library, a site opened by libertarian activists in December to distribute libertarian literature.

According to a press release from Foster, the actions that brought on their arrest were actually "exchanging books about free markets and limited governments, which is antithetical to the regime's revolutionary socialist doctrine."

This week, activists of that Party began peppering Havana with poster images of the arrested men and the slogan "Freedom for Ubaldo Herrera Hernndez and Manuel Velzquez Visea, libertarians unjustly imprisoned for defending the ideas of freedom."

In a column in the PanAm Post (English via Google Translate), Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand insists that both men have been abused in custody and reports:

"The Cuban Libertarian Party - Jos Mart , takes full responsibility and pride in the authorship of this peaceful demonstration of freedom, fully aware of the right that we are as human beings to express and express ourselves freely, at the same time as absolutely responsible to the Government of Cuba , For any retaliation that may be brought against any member of our organization, "said its president, Mrs. Caridad Ramrez Utria, moments before carrying out such a peaceful initiative.

Caridad Ramirez Utria, according to the Pan-Am Post report, was "part of the peaceful grouping Ladies in White who fights for the freedom of political prisoners" and was beaten by state police and sent to the hospital last year. from the street.

The Libertarian Party's National Committee in America has condemned the activists' arrest.

Marian Tupy wrote for Reason last year on the lies the Castro regime tells about its accomplishments.

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Cuban Libertarian Party Launched After Arrest of Libertarian Activists - Reason (blog)

Libertarian Fairy Dust: How to Spread Liberty Without Really Trying – Being Libertarian

Libertarian Fairy Dust: How to Spread Liberty Without Really Trying
Being Libertarian
Imagine if there was a magical libertarian fairy dust that could instantly turn your friends into liberty enthusiasts. You could sprinkle this magical fairy dust on them and just like that they'd begin questioning government efficiency and competence ...

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Libertarian Fairy Dust: How to Spread Liberty Without Really Trying - Being Libertarian

Joe Lieberman Is a Civil Libertarian’s Nightmare – The Nation.

The nations top law-enforcement officer shouldnt have flagrant disregard for constitutional protections.

Former senator Joseph Lieberman on Capitol Hill in June 2015. (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Any discussion of President Donald Trumps appointment of a new FBI director should start with an acknowledgement that he shouldnt be allowed to do this. Yes, Trump has the statutory authority, but he reportedly tried to secure a loyalty oath from then-Director James Comey and directly asked him to stop investigating former national-security adviser Michael Flynn. Then Trump fired Comey and admitted that when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.

In a rational political system, Trump would have forfeited his standing to choose a new director. Congress should have demanded that Trump, at most, be allowed to pick from a list of names generated by members of the House and Senate judiciary committees, or by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Instead, Trump will reportedly tap former senator Joe Lieberman for the position. Its an awful choice from any angle. Lieberman works at a law firm that has represented Trump since 2001, which should be an immediate disqualifier, since the FBI will continue to investigate Trumps campaign and potentially obstruction of justice by the president himself.

A politician has never served as FBI director, and breaking that precedent under these circumstances would be particularly egregious. Not only is Lieberman a politician, but hes openly loyal to Trump and the GOP: Lieberman endorsed John McCain in 2008 and introduced Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention. He showed up at Trump Tower after the 2016 election and has been touting some of Trumps cabinet picks, testifying on behalf of nowEducation Secretary Betsy DeVos at her Senate confirmation hearing.

But Liebermans record on civil liberties is the single most alarming thing about his selection. Throughout his career in the Senate, Lieberman consistently showed a disregard for basic Constitutional protections and ambitiously pursued expansions of the governments ability to surveil and detain Americans without judicial review. He has also advocated investigating news outlets for reporting on classified information, and once defended waterboarding by saying its not like putting burning coals on peoples bodies. Combined with his near-demagogic focus on Islam as a radicalizing force, Lieberman is a wildly bad pick for the nations top law enforcement officer.

In 2010, Lieberman and McCain introduced the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act. Conservatives were up in arms at the time that the Obama administration chose to prosecute Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts for planning a Christmas Day terror attack. The Lieberman/McCain bill would have granted the government power to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects without a trial or even a charge. If the government determined, in an unreviewable process, that someone was an unprivileged enemy belligerent, then the legislation required the suspect be placed in a military tribunal.

At the time, Glenn Greenwald dubbed it probably the single most extremist, tyrannical and dangerous bill introduced in the Senate in the last several decades. The ACLU said the legislation flies in the face of American values and violates this countrys commitment to the rule of law.

Lieberman brushed off any such concerns. In a press conference to introduce the bill, he acknowledged that suspects might be held for years and years without a charge, but said I know that will bethat may bea long time, but thats the nature of this war. Fortunately, the bill never became law.

One year later, Lieberman joined Representative Peter King to hold a grotesque joint hearing purporting to investigate how homegrown Islamic extremists were targeting and even infiltrating the US military. It was part of Kings series of 2011 hearings on domestic terrorism, which Muslim groups and civil libertarians blasted as prejudicial for an excessive and near-exclusive focus on Islam as a radicalizing force. Despite this ongoing criticism, Lieberman agreed to co-chair one such hearing, and in his opening statement declared that our government and especially the Defense Department must recognize who the enemy isnot a vague notion of violent extremism, but violent Islamist extremism specifically.

Earlier this year, Lieberman defended Trumps Muslim ban and said he was glad Trump kept his campaign promise.

Lieberman also worked assiduously to expand the governments surveillance powers. The Lieberman-Collins Cyber Security Act would have eliminated many barriers preventing companies from sharing data on web users with federal law enforcement. The bills vague language permitted companies to share user information with the government without judicial review, and any sort of information could be shared, even if it wasnt related to cybersecurity. The bills language said that as long as information appears to relate to a crime even in the future, companies could give it to the government.

They would allow law enforcement to look for evidence of future crimes, opening the door to a dystopian world where law enforcement evaluates your Internet activity for the potential that you might commit a crime, Senator Ron Wyden warned of substantially similar provisions in a House version of the bill. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said Lieberman-Collins compromises core American civil liberties in the name of detecting and thwarting network attacks. It never became law.

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In 2008, Lieberman voted in favor of Section 702 of the FISA Amendment Act, and for a five-year extension in 2012. This is the provision that the National Security Agency used to justify collection of mass phone calls and e-mails made by American citizens. When the full extent of NSA collection was exposed after Lieberman left the Senate, he defended the program and said, If you weigh the risks of compromising phone records against the enormous benefits, I think youll find it justified.

A Lieberman appointment should also alarm journalists. In 2010, when Wikileaks released a tranche of State Department cables, Lieberman suggested that news outlets that covered the leak should be prosecuted. I certainly believe that WikiLeaks has violated the Espionage Act, but then what about the news organizationsincluding the Timesthat accepted it and distributed it? he said. To me, The New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship, and whether they have committed a crime, I think that bears a very intensive inquiry by the Justice Department.

Trump reportedly quizzed James Comey about the possibility of arresting journalists for reporting on classified material, and based on these 2010 comments, it would appear Lieberman is at least open to the idea.

Throughout his career, Lieberman has demonstrated disrespect for constitutional safeguards and a wide, almost authoritarian deference to the federal governments law-enforcement and military powers. In 2005, Lieberman declared that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nations peril. What little credibility Trump has left would be badly damaged by selecting Lieberman to head the FBI, though its not terribly surprising Trump likes him so much.

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Joe Lieberman Is a Civil Libertarian's Nightmare - The Nation.

Announcing Coraxconf 2017 International Libertarian Conference Malta July 28-30 – Being Libertarian


Being Libertarian
Announcing Coraxconf 2017 International Libertarian Conference Malta July 28-30
Being Libertarian
Some famous libertarians have already been announced as speakers, including Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Adam Kokesh, and Julie Borowski. But what is Corax? How come they have such a cool conference? And what are they doing on a small island in the ...

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Announcing Coraxconf 2017 International Libertarian Conference Malta July 28-30 - Being Libertarian

Snohomish County Libertarian Party Begins Fielding Candidates In Everett – My Everett News

The Libertarian Party has announced the formation of a formal party organization in Snohomish County. People associated with the party have begun filing for seats on the Everett City Council. Here is a press release about the formation of the Snohomish County chapter

The Snohomish County Libertarian Party (SnoCo LP) is excited to begin organizing. Its members are energized after attending the State Partys April Summit. The county party held its first convention in late February. This formation will be the first time that Libertarians will have a formal presence in Snohomish County. The SnoCo LPs formation coincides with the recent creation of chapters in King and Pierce counties.

The partys membership includes members of diverse political experience. SnoCo LP Political Director Mike Luke and Communications Director Brian Luke were previously involved in the Snohomish County Republican Party for eight years. They changed party affiliation last year and Mike ran for the US Senate and Brian ran for the 2nd Congressional District.

Chair Anthony Welti stated of the SnoCo LPs goals: We aim to give voters a 3rd choice, one that is based on freedom and not control. By lowering the cost of living and increasing the personal freedoms an individual has we can create real reform and lasting change. We will exemplify this philosophy in any position we are elected to serve the people.

The SnoCo LPs election goals will be to support county Libertarian candidates in 2017 and have Libertarian candidates in every legislative and congressional district in 2018. In 2016, over 30 Libertarian candidates ran across Washington State, including two congressional and four legislative districts in Snohomish County.

Interest in the Libertarian Party has increased in the last few years. Election results from the Snohomish County Auditor indicate that Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson received 5.45% in Snohomish County in 2016, which is a huge increase compared to his 2012 showing of 1.44%.

With regards to the political climate, Political Director Mike Luke stated that, when reviewing election results over the past few election cycles when the Libertarian Party had a presence, there is reason to believe the two major parties are losing ground with the electorate, especially as it gets younger. I believe voters everywhere are looking for more than just two choices and the Libertarian Party is the strongest of any of the third parties.

The SnoCo LPs next monthly meeting will be on Thursday, June 8th, 7pm at Alfys Pizza 2317 Broadway, Everett, WA 98201.

For more information about the SnoCo LP, please see the following:

Website: https://snocolp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SnoCoLP/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/snocolp

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Snohomish County Libertarian Party Begins Fielding Candidates In Everett - My Everett News