LP candidate for governor arrested in Minnesota

Minneapolis Park Police apologize for detaining Libertarian candidate - TwinCities.com - Associated Press:

May 30, 2014 - "Minneapolis Park Police have apologized for detaining and citing a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate who had gone to Lake Calhoun to gather petition signatures to get on the ballot.

"An officer accused Chris Holbrook of violating an ordinance against using park land for commercial purposes. A video posted on his campaign website shows him being handcuffed and placed in the back of a Park Police squad car Thursday afternoon.

"Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto apologized to Holbrook on Thursday night, saying the arresting officer erred and misapplied the ordinance.... The citation has been dismissed....

"The Libertarians have until June 3 to gather 2,000 signatures to get their candidates on the ballot for this fall's elections. The party said in a statement that the police action shut down the actions of four volunteers, costing it about 600 signatures."

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_25867717/minneapolis-park-police-apologize-detaining-libertarian-candidate
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BC teens sue for right to buy medical treatment

Marni Soupcoff: The lawsuit that could revolutionize Canadian health care as we know it | National Post: 

May 29, 2014 - "Four British Columbians who suffered real physical harm while waiting for access to health care will be in court in September, along with Vancouver’s Cambie Surgical Centre, arguing for all Canadians’ right to make their own healthcare choices. That includes paying out of pocket or through private insurance for an MRI or other crucial test or surgery if the government can’t make it available when it’s needed.

"Three of the plaintiffs in the case are teenagers whose young lives already have been negatively shaped by the ban on accessing private care. They include Walid Waitkus, a 16-year-old with progressive spine deformity, who was paralyzed after a 27-month wait for care; and 18-year-old Chris Chiavatti, who suffered permanent damage while waiting for treatment of his knee injury. Another plaintiff, 37-year-old Mandy Martens, saw her colon cancer spread while she languished on a waitlist. Two other British Columbians were originally part of the action, but they died waiting for the case to go to trial....

"These aren’t people asking for 'U.S.-style' care. They are patients asking for the healthcare choice that is available to residents of every other democracy in the world except Canada: the option to pay for needed treatment to end or reduce their own suffering if the government can’t end or reduce it for them....

"[T]he Canadian Constitution Foundation ... is supporting the constitutional challenge."

Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/05/29/marni-soupcoff-the-lawsuit-that-could-revolutionize-canadian-health-care-as-we-know-it/
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Rhode Island shouldn't pay bankrupt firm's loan, says state LP

Don't repay 38 Studios loan, says Rhode Island Libertarian Party | Polygon - Samit Sarkar:

May 27, 2014 - "The Libertarian Party of Rhode Island doesn't believe the state is obligated to repay the loan that it gave to bankrupt game developer 38 Studios; instead, Rhode Island should refuse to pay, the organization said yesterday.

"'So-called 'moral obligation' bonds are neither moral, nor a legitimate financial obligation,' said Mike Rollins, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Rhode Island, in a statement yesterday. 'All such bonds deliberately bypass the official procedures for voter approval of government expenditures'....

"38 Studios received a $75 million loan from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. in 2010. When the studio declared bankruptcy in mid-2012, it left Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook for the state-backed loan, to the tune of about $89 million. The state sued 38 Studios, along with a number of associated individuals and entities, in November 2012 for fraud, negligence and civil conspiracy....

"'What they are is a major fraud upon the voters,' said state Libertarian Party chair Rollins, speaking of moral obligation bonds. 'Rhode Island can strike a major national blow against such deliberate fraud by totally refusing to ever pay for it!'"

Read more: http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/27/5754700/dont-repay-38-studios-loan-says-rhode-island-libertarian-party
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Chatham, Ontario Libertarian wants choice in education

Libertarians aim for full slate; McLarty candidate | Chatham This Week - Don Robinet, QMI Agency:

May 26, 2014 - "Doug McLarty, the candidate for the Libertarian Party of Ontario in the June 12 election, knows his party has already made a breakthrough even if it never wins a seat.....

"'We're trying to get our name out there,” said McLarty of the Libertarian Party. The message the party wants to put out there can be summed up in two words – less government.

"McLarty said it's important for government to fund services such as education and healthcare, but he said he would like to see more effective spending with the frills cut out and lower taxes that would let people choose to do what they want to do with their own money.

"While he doesn't refer to it as a voucher program, McLarty said the Libertarian Party would like to see an education system in which the tax dollars follow the student. He said if the parents want to send their kids to a public school, then the money would go there, but if they want to send their child to a private faith-based school, such as Chatham Christian, or private secular school, such as a Montessori, then the tax dollars would follow them, giving parents more of a say in where and how their children are educated....

"McLarty said the Libertarian Party believes the most vulnerable members of society need to be protected, but those who are able to work should work. He said the party believes in funding universal healthcare, but there should be allowances for private healthcare provider if they have the means."

Read more: http://www.chathamthisweek.com/2014/05/26/libertarians-aim-for-full-slate-mclarty-is-local-candidate
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Barr finishes 2nd; in July runoff for nomination

Barr, Loudermilk pull away in crowded field - Marietta Daily Journal, Haisten Willis:

May 21, 2014 - "Bob Barr and Barry Loudermilk outlasted four other candidates and head to a July 22 runoff for the 11th Congressional District.

"Barr, a former U.S. Rep., and Loudermilk, a former Georgia state senator (R-Cassville), edged out four others to make the second round.

"The winner of the runoff is expected to take the seat given there are no Democratic candidates.

"Barr took 26 percent of the statewide vote, while Loudermilk took 37 percent.

"Barr said his record and name recognition got him this far.

"'We were able to keep the attention focused on the important issues, the substance of what’s going on in Washington and what needs to be done to correct those problems,' said Barr.... “I was up there and have experience to solve these things. I’ve been there and done it. That’s a message that really resonates with the people of the 11th District.'

"Earlier in the day, former Georgia Republican Party Chairman Chuck Clay predicted a runoff.... Clay said there’s a deep Libertarian streak in Republican primaries that could boost Barr, but also gave credit to Loudermilk."

Read more: http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/25140071/article-Barr--Loudermilk-pull-away-in-crowded-field

Ontario Libertarians run record 74 candidates

First opportunity to form a government: Ontario Libertarian Party :: Wire Service Media:

May 25, 2014 - "For the first time ever the Ontario Libertarian Party is in a position to form a majority government. On June 13, 2014 only 5 people in Ontario could lead a majority government, including Libertarian Party Leader, Allen Small....

"In an email message to members of the party across Ontario, Allen Small said:....

"'In 2007, the party ran 25 candidates, in 2011, it was 51 - and now in 2014 we are running 74. This represents a 45% increase in candidates compared to 2011. More importantly, we have people in every region of the province, from Thunder Bay to North Bay, to Cornwall, to Windsor down to Niagara Falls. We have covered the map! Our new members and the influx of donations is very heart-warming for me and the entire team.'

"The Libertarian Party is unique and different from the other political parties.

"One key difference is Libertarians believe the problems created by governments cannot be solved with yet more government. Libertarians would limit the size and scope of government, resulting in lower taxes, and more social and economic freedom....

"Libertarians believe that the provincial government monopolies of medical care, education, electrical generation and transmission and alcohol sales need to be reviewed and revised. Libertarians would open each of these to competition."
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Read more: http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=11924
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More problems with Thomas Piketty's thesis

The FT Claims Thomas Piketty's Numbers Don't Add Up, Piketty Calls The FT Ridiculous - Forbes - Tim Worstall:

May 25, 2014 - "This has rather put the cat amongst the pigeons: the Financial Times went through the data that Thomas Piketty used to prove that wealth is becoming ever more concentrated and found, at least so they claim, that the evidence isn’t actually there. There are some minor transcription errors, there’s also some questionable interpolations in the data sets. But the real killer is that the claimed concentration of wealth, the thing that Piketty insists is going to get ever worse, doesn’t actually seem to exist....

"Here’s the nub of the FT’s claim: '... once the FT cleaned up and simplified the data, the European numbers do not show any tendency towards rising wealth inequality after 1970. An independent specialist in measuring inequality shared the FT’s concerns'....

"This isn’t the only problem with the case that Piketty is making either. As I noted ... he is correct in stating that the wealth to GDP ratio is rising.... However, as the FT says we don’t seem to see any increase in the concentration of wealth over recent decades. But if wealth to GDP is rising, and wealth isn’t becoming ever more concentrated, well, where is that increased wealth?

"The answer, amusingly, coming from Emmanuel Saez, a regular Piketty collaborator ... the increased wealth is our pensions savings. And this is another terrible hole in Piketty’s argument. For it’s something that we would have expected to see from the first. The lifetime savings hypothesis almost insists that alongside rising lifespans (one of the two great demographic changes of the past 70 or so years, along with the declining fertility rate) that we would see an increase in pensions savings. And that’s exactly what Saez does find: pensions savings move from some trivial percentage of GDP to 150% of it....

"Piketty seems to have assumed that the rise in wealth was all going to the rich: whereas it really seems to have been going to pay for our own old ages."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/05/25/the-ft-claims-thomas-pikettys-numbers-dont-add-up-piketty-calls-the-ft-ridiculous/
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