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On Tuesday night, President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address.Cato scholars took to Twitter to live-tweet not only the Presidents address, but also the Republican and Tea Party responsesdelivered by Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Curt Clawson respectivelyfocusing, as always, on what the policies being discussed would mean for the future of liberty.

Many on Twitter joined the discussion, which was billed as achance to ask experts what to expect from the policy world in 2015; the hashtag#CatoSOTUhas been used over 4,400 times since Tuesday, a number which will likely continue to grow as Cato scholars and members of the public continue the online conversation.

Over the years, the State of the Union has become an annual spectacle much larger than the founding fathers would ever have expected, and Cato scholars were quick to put it in context:

Topics spanned the gamutfrom cybersecurity and Guantanamo Bay to the Presidents community college proposal and what he has termed middle class economicsbut Cato responses remained strong throughout.

Catos policy analysts were quick to call out factual inaccuracies:

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#CatoSOTU: A Libertarian Take on the State of the Union Address

The government is to give MPs a vote before May on regulations forcing tobacco firms to introduce plain packaging Photograph: Department of Health

Pro-smoking groups, Ukip and libertarian MPs have all condemned the governments surprise decision to bring forward a law on plain cigarette packaging before the general election.

Health minister Jane Ellison said on Wednesday night that the government would give MPs a vote before May on regulations forcing tobacco firms to introduce plain packaging and before the end of a consultation exercise about the idea.

Farage, the Rothmans-smoking leader of the UK Independence party, said the proposal represented meddling in the free market that would damage the economy. Condemning the move in a tweet, he said: Plain packaging is an appalling intrusion into consumer choice and the operation of the free market. Jobs and tax revenue would suffer.

Writing in the Independent, Farage said: I call it a deliberate and nonsensical imposition on a market worth around 12bn to the Treasury, and which keeps around 66,000 people in jobs.

But forget the financials, or the employment figures, as Labour are so willing to do. Instead, lets focus on the evidence. Does plain packaging really stop people smoking? The best example we have is in Australia, where since plain packaging was introduced in 2012, household expenditure on tobacco has actually increased. And so has the black market in cigarettes.

These are the effects of banning things that should be readily available to responsible adults in a free society. Not, as the meddlesome politicians will try to tell you, a response that they would like to see. But rather quite the opposite.

Ukip MP Mark Reckless, who defected to the party last year, tweeted: Plain packs for cigarettes as enshrining overseas aid at 7% GDP unites Cons with left wing quangocrats against public. Only @UKIP will fight.

The vote is likely to see some libertarian Tories voting against the measure. Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, echoed Ukips concerns.

He told the Daily Mail that the governments announcement was a triumph for the nanny state. Davies added: This flies in the face of every Conservative principle.

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Plain cigarette packaging: pro-smoking groups and Ukip condemn move

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Welcome, I #39;m Robert Burke, the 2014 Libertarian Candidate for governor with the 2015 Libertarian Party Response to the Wisconsin state of the state. Go Pack ...

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RINO Michael Grimm Says Ted Cruz Is A Libertarian Tries Too Demonize Him
RINO Michael Grimm Tries To Demonize Ted Cruz Libertarians.

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