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Michael J. Mazzarone has stepped down as Director of Being Libertarians Multimedia Department.

Mazzarone commented:

This move will only accelerate the growth of Being Libertarian and our Mulitmedia Department. My tenure as Director of Multimedia was always meant to be temporary. I wanted to do what I could to grow MMD organically so we had a solid foundation in place, and then focus back on my strengths, public relations, all of which I feel has been accomplished. I also am proud to announce the appointment of current Being LiberTV interviewer, Michael Brokamp as the divisions senior publicist. Brokamp has secured heavy hitting interviews such as Ron Paul and James OKeefe and that has not gone without notice. While this appointment wont affect his interviewing capabilities, I wish him luck on this new endeavor. Associate publicists to this division will be named later.

Being Libertarian LLC is shaking up the Multimedia Division, andis also happy to announce the creation of a new Public Relations Section, of which Mazzarone will be the Manager.

Jared Howe will remain MMDs Content Manager, and Mazzarone has endorsed MMD Deputy Director Eric July asthe new Head of Multimedia. July received unanimous approval from the Board of Directors, and will be taking on this new role effective immediately.

July commented:

Weve been working hard to rebuild this department over the last few months, which gave us some time to figure out each others strengths and weaknesses. This is why we are putting individuals in roles that will give them the greatest opportunity to succeed, playing to their strengths. I look forward to spearheading this department, and having leadership as such will make it that much easier.

Mazzarone and July, while coordinating the transfer of leadership, named YouTube firebrands TJ Brown (ThatGuyT) and Seamus Coughlin (Freedomtoons) to leadership roles within MMD.

Brown said:

The brand of liberty has been in a dire state of mediocrity for quite some time absent of any vibrant representation of the philosophy. When I found Being Libertarian, I noticed a unique quality of cultural focus that didnt revolve around bumper sticker slogans or appeal to libertine moralism. It is my prediction that Being Libertarian will soon be one of the leading platforms in the freedom movement. Promotion of individualism, markets, responsibility and property rights is no longer isolated to legacy non-profits or political parties. As the tide of the information age drowns the sinking ship of legacy media, Im glad to be welcomed aboard this innovative juggernaut and look forward to making a cultural impact unlike anyone else in the game.

I am very excited to be joining the leadership team at Being Libertarian, Coughlin added. He continued, saying as Senior Digital Producer I will be ensuring the production of quality content for the organization and its followers. I look forward to providing you with entertaining and thought provoking content, Coughlin added.

Brown, Coughlin and July will lead the strategic business initiatives and day-to-day operations of the Multimedia Division and Being Libertarians developing free streaming content service, Being LiberTV.

Under Mazzarones leadership, the Multimedia Department made great strides with the launch of Being LiberTV in early 2017 and interviews with high profile figures such as Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Newt Gingrich, Trent Lott, John Stossel, and others. His appointment of Eric July as Deputy Director led to quick successes, as they secured partnerships with Liberty Link Media Group, ThatGuyT, FreedomToons, among others. The future of libertarian multimedia looks bright, with Eric July and BackWordz having secured an enduring name in the field of music in an age where political upheaval across the globe continues to increase the appeal of realistic libertarian solutions to real world problems. Were honored to march to the frontlines of liberty, and look forward to playing a role in its ever-needed defense.

Image: Dave Van Englehoven

* Martin van Staden is the Director of Literature & Publications and the Editor in Chief of Being Libertarian.

This post was written by Martin van Staden.

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

Martin van Staden is the Editor in Chief of Being Libertarian, the Legal Researcher at the Free Market Foundation, a co-founder of the RationalStandard.com, and the Southern African Academic Programs Director at Students For Liberty. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not represent any of the aforementioned organizations.

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Being Libertarian Makes Organizational Changes Within Multimedia Department - Being Libertarian

Despiterecent reports that White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon had been sidelined within the administration, it appears he may be winning back the Presidents favor.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump defendedBannon, describing him as a very decent guy who feels very strongly about the country and had received a bad rap from the media.

Trump also disputed the medias portrayalof Bannon as an alt-right figure, stating that he sees Bannon as alt-left, on the basis thatBannons more of a libertarian than anything else.

In response to reports of tensions between Bannon and Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Trump said,theyre getting along fine.

Trump went on todownplay reports that Bannon would be leavingthe White House, saying: Im very happy with our group. Were doing very well.

Bannon is said to have made an unlikely comeback within the White House, having reportedly beenbehind the Trump administrations recent criticisms of Canadas abuse of NAFTA, according toThe Hill.

Trumps characterization of Bannon as a libertarian is certainly unusual, given Bannons previousdismissalof the Cato Institute and Austrian economics.

However, it is not unheard of, with Bannon himself stating Im a big believer in a lot of libertarianism in a 2014 speechto the Human Dignity Institute. Bannon then went on to criticize the Ayn Rand or the Objectivist School of libertarian capitalism, which he considers a capitalism that really looks to make people commodities, and to objectify people, and to use them almost. This suggests that Bannon, if he is indeed a libertarian, perhaps has more of a paleolibertarian outlook, combining libertarianism with a deep-seated cultural conservatism.

Regardless of Bannons personal ideology, his anti-establishment outlook has made him an ally for libertarians who wish to see Trump adhere to his America First campaign platform, with Bannon reportedly pushingback against attempts by National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster to escalate U.S. involvement in Syria and by Kushner to keep the United States in the Paris climate agreement.

Read the rest here:
Trump: Bannon's More Of a Libertarian Than Anything Else - The Liberty Conservative

In a recent statement to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences entitled Towards a Participatory Society, Pope Francis spoke critically of libertarianism by name.I cannot fail to speak of the grave risks associated with the invasion of the positions of libertarian individualism, warnedthe Holy Father.

Throughout the memo, Pope Francis refers to libertarianism as a selfish ideology where only the individual matters, which minimizesand denies the validity of the common good. Heequates libertarianismwith anti-social terms whereonly the individual gives value to things and to interpersonal relations and therefore only the individual decides what is good and what is evil, concluding that the philosophy is radicalization of individualism.

In fact, the opposite is true: individualism is a radical minority under the larger umbrella of libertarianism.

As both a devout Catholic and a staunch libertarian, my Pontiffswords are indeed cringe-worthy, but also cause no distress to either my faith, nor to my political conclusions, for several reasons.

First, as Tom Woodsaprominentlibertarian and traditional Catholicrecently pointed out in an email, there is likely a great deal being lost in translation here. In his homeland of Argentina, it is highly improbable that Francis as Jorge Bergoglioever encountered libertarianism as we understandit in the United States. Consider that even words such as conservative, liberal, republican, and democrat all mean vastly different things in South American and European contexts, let alone the minority descriptor libertarian.

This consideration seems especially applicablewhen you read the rest of the Francis line I began quotingin the opening paragraph:I cannot fail to speak of the grave risks associated with the invasion of the positions of libertarian individualism at high strata of culture and in school and university education.That alone should cause any libertarian reading to give a moments pause, if not spray their drink. Does anyonelibertarian or otherwisefeel that libertarianismas we understand it is pervasively invading the culture and universities? If only that were the case! To me, this seems to be describing more of the selfish entitlement mentality which indeed has invaded our millennial culture and universities, andfits the rest of his expressed concerns.

Now, Im not pretending for a moment that Pope Francis would endorse ourunderstanding of libertarianism. I am plenty aware of his political leanings, but I do always keep his statements in context of his Argentinian background, as well as the proper functions of his office. As I find myselfexplaining with increasing frequency, the Catholic teaching onpapal infallibility applies only to matters of faith and doctrine whichare specifically spoken ex cathedra. In other words, while Catholicscertainly owe it to the Petrine Office to respectfully consider and humbly reflect on thecounsel of the Successor of Peter, it is completely fine to ultimately hold differing opinionswith the Pope on non-doctrinal matters.

With even a basicknowledgeof the 1,984 year history of the Catholic Church, one realizes that popes can be and have been wrongsometimes very wrongin their personal opinions and behavior. St. Catherine of Siena is famous for firmly, yetrespectfully, correctingPope Gregory XI during the Avignon Papacy, just as St. Paul corrected Christs first Vicar, St. Peternot for false doctrinal teaching, but for failing to practice as he preached. The Church has survived far FAR worse scandal and crisis than a few controversial opinions and remarks. Catholicseither trust Matthew 16:18, or you dont.

In the event that the Holy Father is indeed addressingour libertarianism, which has been the immediate reaction, I assert that he is clearlyonly familiar with Ayn-Rand-style Virtue of Selfishness individualism, as he consistently equates the two.

Just as it is said about the Church, libertarianism is also a house with many doors, meaning converts enter from any variety of origins following differentpaths in the face or adversity or in search of truth. Some arrive at libertarian conclusions through selfish individualistic philosophies such as Ayn Rand, while others arrive at libertarian conclusions through selfless anarcho-pacifist or anarcho-distributist philosophies, such as Servant of God Dorothy Day. The philosophies of Rand and Day are polar opposites, despite both ending up under the libertarian umbrella in terms of political applications. With this in mind, it is very common for those first introduced to one of the many libertarian philosophies to presume it is representative of the whole, which a mistake I once made as well.

For me, the epiphany came when I realized that anyphilosophy or model of governancecan be squared with libertarianism, so as long as its voluntary, witheveryone participating of their own free will. Consider that convents and monasteries are very successful models of socialism, with no private property, communal ownership, each receiving only according to his need, etc. In fact, many of these religious housesare far older and more successful than any modern government! This only works, however, because it is purely voluntary on the part of the participants, who all share the same motive and goals. However, once socialism is forced upon others via the state, historically, it always gets rather ugly and fails miserably. Convents and monasteries are examples of free-market socialism, so to speak, because participants could freely walk away at any time or violate their rule without threat against their lives, liberty, or property; they persist, however, because of their voluntary vows.

Libertarianism, therefore, is simply the doctrine of free will and speaks nothing of ones motive or intention.

Ido stand with Pope Francis in decrying radical individualism as a worrisome selfish philosophy. Even where I agree with many of the practical applications of individualistconclusions, I believe themotive is misguided. At the same time, Ipromote voluntaryism as a peaceful libertarian philosophywhich seeks tomaximizethe common good and encourageacommunitarian frameworkpromoting a selfless ideal. My hope and prayer is that through this mistranslation or misunderstanding, the Holy Father may have an opportunity to at leastrecognize thisdistinction, if not fully promote voluntary governancelike that of Vatican Cityas a model for all societies.

Mark Cavaliere is a devout Catholic husband and father, an activist for life, and an advocate for liberty. As a voluntaryist libertarian, Mark asserts each individual's right to bodily autonomy from the moment one's body biologically comes into existence at conception through natural death. He is the Founder & Director of the Southwest Coalition for Life, spearheading a campaign that led to the closure of the abortion facility in Las Cruces, in spite of the fact that New Mexico is one of the most abortion-friendly states in the nation. He is now working to end the violence of abortion in Santa Teresa and El Paso, not through laws or politics, but by rallying the church community to help neighbors in need.

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Pope Francis Mistakes Libertarianism as Radical Individualism - NM Politico (blog)

Being Libertarian

Libertarian Living vs. Libertarian Governing Being Libertarian As a libertarian, I'm often called a hypocrite for my personal views on the way I should live my life, because I don't live libertarianism. But to me this is a very basic misunderstanding of what libertarianism is. I was raised Mormon, and I consider ...

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Libertarian Living vs. Libertarian Governing - Being Libertarian

When we leave a tip at a restaurant after a meal, most of us probably assume that money goes directly into the pocket or our waiter or waitress. After all, tips are how so many in the service industryunable to be dependent on wages typically well below the minimum wagesurvive.But with few exceptions, tips are subject to regular taxation just like your salary or hourly wages, and those in the service industry often have to split their tips with their coworkers.

Enter the libertarian tip.

This new idea started with a post on social media, in which a Missouri diner left a generous gift of above 20 percent, but with a major caveat: The persontechnically put a big, fat zeroin the tip spot and the not at all subtleTaxation is theft message on the receipt.

Confused?

Under federal tax laws, small cash gifts are not taxable income. You know, like when your grandma sends you a $20 bill for your birthday.

In this case, the diner indicated that it wasnt a tip and leftbehind cash and a note that read:

This is not a tip. This is a personal gift and not subject to federal or state income taxes.

Thats great for the waiter or waitress, who presumably gets to pocket all that sweet, sweet cash.

But its a bum deal for those who believe in government, as that money is no longer taxable and going to support things like health care, safe roads, or education.

And its unclear if such a practice would actually hold up to a legal challenge should the libertarian tip truly pick up momentum and become a genuine phenomenon. After all, intent counts for a lot in the courtroom, and its pretty obvious this customer was, in fact, tippingeven thougha political point was made out of the whole affair.

The libertarian magazine Reason has a breakdown of how this all works(or doesnt), along with its own attempt to replicate the libertarian tip.

Go here to see the original:
The 'Libertarian Tip' Is Changing How People Pay For Meals | GOOD - GOOD Magazine