Police seal off polls to stop Catalan referendum

Spanish police block polls to try to prevent Catalan independence referendum - World - CBC News - Thomson Reuters:

September 30, 2017 - "Spanish police sealed off schools earmarked as polling stations and occupied the Catalan government's communications hub on Saturday in an effort to prevent a banned independence referendum.

"Supporters of the poll spent the night in schools with their children and say they plan to remain there until Sunday to keep them open for voters, although a Spanish government source said more than half had been closed off....

"Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to attempt to vote in a ballot that will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain's Constitutional Court and Madrid for being at odds with the 1978 constitution.

"Catalonia is a wealthy region within Spain that includes Barcelona, with its own language, which is taught in schools and universally spoken. Should the vote take place, a 'yes' result is likely, given that most of the 40 per cent of Catalans who polls show support independence are expected to cast ballots while most of those against it are not.

"Parents in some of the occupied schools said police officers had told them they could stay as long as they were not doing anything connected with the referendum.... 'The police have been four times,' said Laia, a 41-year-old sociologist at a school in central Barcelona.... ''They read us out the part of the court order that says no activities related to the preparation of the banned referendum are allowed.'

"A Spanish government source said police, who have been mobilized in their thousands to the region in the northeast of Spain to enforce a court order banning the referendum, would remove people from polling stations on Sunday.

"The Catalan government said police had occupied its communications hub and would remain there for two days after Catalonia's High Court ordered police to prevent electronic voting and instructed Google to delete an application it said was being used to spread information on the vote.

"Despite central government and court efforts to prevent the referendum, Catalan Leader Carles Puigdemont told Reuters on Friday it would go ahead, with no last minute compromise."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/catalan-referendum-polls-blocked-1.4315044
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Don Willett nominated to U.S. Appellate Court

Trump Nominates Libertarian-Minded Texas Justice Don Willett to U.S. Appellate Court - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Damon Root:

September 28, 2017 - "President Donald Trump will nominate [Texas Supreme Court Justice Don] Willett to fill one of two vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the federal appellate court whose jurisdiction covers federal districts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

"Willett, who appeared on Trump's 2016 list of potential U.S. Supreme Court candidates, is a rising star in conservative and libertarian legal circles and a popular presence on Twitter. If he is successfully confirmed to the 5th Circuit, Willett would immediately rank as one of the most libertarian federal judges in the country.

"Willett is best-known for his aggressive judicial stance in favor of individual rights and economic liberty. In the 2015 case of Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, for example, Willett lambasted state officials for requiring eyebrow threaders to obtain a costly government license before engaging in the harmless act of threading cotton string through customers' eyebrows in order to remove old hair and skin.

"This case is fundamentally about the American Dream and the unalienable human right to pursue happiness without curtsying to government on bended knee,' he wrote. 'It is about whether government can connive with rent-seeking factions to ration liberty unrestrained, and whether judges must submissively uphold even the most risible encroachments.'

"In Willett's view, both the U.S. Constitution and its Texas counterpart contain judicially enforceable protections for 'the right to earn a living free from unreasonable government intrusion.' In the interests of full disclosure, I should also note that Willett's Patel opinion favorably cites my 2014 book Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Willett has been equally outspoken when it comes to government malfeasance in the criminal justice realm. When the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the 2014 asset forfeiture case Zaher El-Ali v. Texas, for instance, Willett filed a sharp and memorable dissent. 'Does our Constitution have anything to say about a "presumed guilty" proceeding in which citizens are not arrested or tried, much less convicted, but are nonetheless punished, losing everything they've worked for?' he complained."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2017/09/28/trump-nominates-libertarian-minded-texas
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Can Petersen "make libertarianism cool again"?

How Austin Petersen Can Make Libertarianism Cool Again | Harvard Political Review - Laura Nicolae:

September 26, 2017 - "Americans are tired of choosing between the 'lesser of two evils.' The country needs a moderate, likable candidate who can bridge the ideological gap with a balanced middle ground. Austin Petersen, a 36-year-old libertarian from Missouri, can do just that.

"Petersen ... is a passionate, articulate activist with a large youth following. Last year, he placed second in the Libertarian party presidential primary. In 2018, he will enter Missouri’s 2018 senate race as a Republican, hoping to unseat incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill....

"While he supports economic policies such as free trade and respect for private property, he also fights for personal freedoms like recreational drug use and internet privacy. The enthusiastic Midwesterner could become a source of inspiration for disaffected citizens who seek a centrist alternative to two increasingly polarized parties. If successful, his campaign would provide a model of how to forge a viable middle ground in the modern political arena....

"He demands criminal justice reforms to mend the damage caused by previous policy initiatives such as the war on drugs and mandatory minimum sentences. While these positions mirror those of mainstream Democrats, Petersen emphasizes the importance of making the government more efficient, not necessarily larger. Petersen’s social liberalism could set him apart from the other candidates and attract the votes of millennials, who often lean left on social issues....

"While he’s conventionally liberal on social issues, Petersen also advocates slashing the corporate income tax and cutting business regulations, which he blames for sending jobs overseas. He’d like to abolish the income tax entirely, and supports a flat 15 percent income tax as a first step....

"Petersen doesn’t see his social liberalism and fiscal conservatism as incompatible. To him, philosophical consistency requires supporting individual freedom of all kinds. For example, he believes those who support others’ right to control their body should also support their right to do what they want with their money.

"Many people lean libertarian on at least one issue. The challenge, Petersen argues, is to get them to see the logical consistency of supporting freedom across the board."

Read more: http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/how-austin-petersen-can-make-libertarianism-cool-again/
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Legal cannabis sales boosted Denver property values, study finds

Weed is good for home values, real estate economists find - Jeff Ostrowski, Palm Beach Post:

September 25, 2017 - "With Palm Beach County’s first medical marijuana dispensaries poised to open soon ... here’s a bit of heartening news for nearby homeowners: Pot shops are good for home values.

"According to a study published in the academic journal Real Estate Economics, single-family homes within 0.1 mile of Denver’s 103 pot shops saw an increase in value of 8.4 percent compared to those located a bit farther — between 0.1 miles and 0.25 miles — from dispensaries. That increase in property value was estimated to be $27,000 for a typical house.

"The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Georgia and California State University, looked at appreciation since Jan. 1, 2014, when Colorado’s recreational cannabis law took effect.

“'The presence of retail marijuana establishments clearly had a short-term positive impact on nearby properties in Denver,' says Moussa Diop, an assistant professor of real estate at Wisconsin. 'This suggests that in addition to the sales and business taxes generated from the retail marijuana industry, municipalities may experience an increase in property taxes. It’s an important piece of the puzzle as more and more voters and policy-makers look for evidence about the effects of legalizing recreational marijuana, as the issue is taken up by state legislatures across the country.'

"Explaining why properties nears pot shops appreciated so strongly 'remains a puzzle that we leave to future research,' the authors write."

Read more: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/weed-good-for-home-values-real-estate-economists-find/cKrqWUVniJJPe2umllny8M/
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How libertarian are Germany′s Free Democrats?

FDP: Are Germany′s ′liberals′ in reality ′libertarians′? | Germany | Deutche Welle:

September 25, 2017 - "The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is the comeback story of the German election.... On September 24 the FDP returned to the Bundestag with a two-digit result. Just four years ago, many commentators had pronounced the FDP dead when it was unable to collect the 5 percent of the vote necessary to enter Germany's parliament.

"But when Germans have to explain to foreigners what the party stands for, they often face a conundrum: How to translate the German 'liberal' into English.

"In German, the term 'liberal' is unambiguously tied to the FDP's pro-business, pro-civil liberties tenets. 'Liberals in Germany want the state be confined to providing safety for the people and a stable environment, but not meddle around with people with overabundant regulation,' explained German political scientist Michael Dreyer. The FDP, led by 38-year old former business consultant Christian Lindner, espouses progressive stances on social issues such as gay marriage, but these issues often take a backseat to the party's 'pro-business' economic platform, which is why the party and German liberals in general are often perceived as right of center.

"Part of the problem is that "liberal" does not fit nicely on one side of the political spectrum. While, for example, the British and Canadian liberal parties are both moderate leftist parties, the Australian liberal party is staunchly conservative.... In the US, progressive politicians ... are referred to as 'liberals.' Germany, meanwhile, has a long tradition of a strong Social Democratic Party....  Germany's Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Greens have pushed liberals to see themselves primarily as the protectors of citizens and companies from an overreaching welfare state.

"Presumably to avoid the ambiguity of 'liberal,' some English-language media use 'libertarian' to describe the FDP. Employed primarily in the US, the term refers to an ideology that favors a laissez-faire approach to the economy and endorses 'whatever floats your boat' social policies .

"While both German liberals and US libertarians want a smaller state, most FDP members reject the notion they are libertarians because the term is often associated with radically anti-government views.... Germans generally favor a much stronger welfare state than most Americans, which is why even the platforms of Germany's moderately right-wing parties ... overlap more with those of the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party, which has a strong libertarian wing, or the Libertarian Party itself.

"FDP members point to the example of health care to illustrate the difference between German liberals and US libertarians: While the FDP is in favor of state-sponsored health care, US libertarians want to see 'Obamacare' abolished."

Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/fdp-are-germanys-liberals-in-reality-libertarians/a-40001366
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Libertarian rules committee wants slate elections

Libertarian Party Committee Adopts Change To How Vice Presidential Candidates Are Nominated - Jack News:

September 20, 2017 - "The committee that develops bylaws and rules for the Libertarian Party’s national convention over the weekend adopted changes to the process for nominating candidates for Vice President of the United States.

"Under the current and rather unique system used by the Libertarian Party, the nation’s third largest party, the convention first nominates a presidential candidate and then moves on to separately nominate a vice presidential candidate....

"The adopted change would have the party move to nominate the two offices together as a slate. Each candidate for the presidential nomination will be paired up with their desired running mate for presentation to the convention. A single vote would be held to determine which slate of candidates is nominated.

"The 6-1 decision by the Bylaws and Rules Committee, with two abstentions, now rests in the hands of the 2018 Libertarian National Convention, to be held over July 4 weekend in New Orleans. The proposal needs to clear a two-thirds vote to be adopted.

"Many found persuasive the observation that the moment after the conclusion of the presidential nomination is a time of peak attention and media coverage. It is a moment usually broadcast live on national TV, and the normal expectation would be for the candidate to accept the nomination and take their victory lap with a speech to rally the troops and encourage party unity.

"Instead, under the current process, [Gary Johnson was] forced to spend that moment in the spotlight beseeching convention delegates to approve [William Weld, his] desired vice-presidential nominee....

"At the same time, in order to accommodate the unexpected, it is also possible for the convention to split the question by a simple majority, reverting back to the old system of nominating for vice president separately.

"This could conceivably occur if, for example, two presidential candidates both failed to clear the 50 percent threshold on the first ballot, and both agreed on the convention floor to drop their own running mates and form a unity ticket."

Read more: https://thejacknews.com/politics/political-highlights/libertarian-party-bylaws-committee-change-way-vice-president-candidates-nominated/
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Rethinking the Lockean Proviso

Libertarian property rights and the Lockean sufficiency proviso - The Washington Post - Fabian Wendt, Volokh Conspiracy:

September 22, 2017 - "John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government (1689) contains a defense of private property that makes use of the idea of labor-mixing. In §27, Locke writes: ‘[…] for this labour being the unquestionable property of the labourer, no man but he can have a right to what that is once joined to, at least where there is enough, and as good, left in common for others.’ The ‘at least’ clause has become known as the ‘Lockean proviso’. It is usually understood as specifying a limit to labor-based acquisition of private property.

"Since libertarians care a lot about private property and its justification, the Lockean proviso has been an important tenet in libertarian theories of justice....  Right-libertarians either reject the Lockean proviso or endorse very weak interpretations of it, while left-libertarians endorse some egalitarian interpretation of the Lockean proviso (which allows appropriation until one has one’s equal share of natural resources or as long as the appropriation is compatible with equality of opportunity for welfare).

"In between right- and left-libertarianism, there is room for moderate interpretations of the proviso, and in particular for a sufficientarian interpretation, a sufficiency proviso. It is remarkable that this option has rarely been defended. The resulting theory of justice can be called ‘moderate libertarianism’.... [M]oderate libertarianism has advantages over both left- and right-libertarianism because it better coheres with the most plausible rationale for endorsing a libertarian theory of justice in the first place.

"What is this rationale for endorsing a libertarian theory of justice? It starts with the rather trivial fact that persons are purposive beings. They have the capacity to pursue all kinds of projects. Almost all projects require external resources, and they require being able to count on one’s resources. For that reason, persons as project-pursuers need the opportunity to acquire private property in external resources in one way or another. Following Eric Mack, one can take this to establish a ‘natural right to the practice of private property’. Together with the idea of self-ownership, this natural right can be regarded as the core of a libertarian theory of justice. Note that the project pursuit rationale for libertarianism does not rely on the moral force of Lockean labor-mixing. Rather, private property as a practice is justified as being responsive to persons as project pursuers....

"[I]f one embraces a libertarian theory of justice due to the project pursuit rationale, then one should also embrace a sufficientarian proviso. The basic idea is simple: Without sufficient resources, people are unable to live their lives as project pursuers. Because this is so, a libertarian who advances a libertarian theory of justice because s/he cares about people as project pursuers must also care about everyone actually having sufficient resources for living a life as a project-pursuer. This is why some sort of sufficientarian proviso should be incorporated into a libertarian theory of justice....

"First of all, my sufficiency proviso does not apply to specific acts of appropriation, but to the practice of private property as a whole. The practice of private property is justified because private property is necessary for living as a project pursuer, but it can only be justified under condition that it actually enables everyone to live as a project pursuer.

"Second, the sufficiency proviso does not unconditionally require us to bring everyone above the sufficiency threshold. The proviso only prescribes that the practice of private property should be designed in a way that makes sure that everyone has sufficient resources to live as a project pursuer, if this is possible without undermining the point of having a practice of private property in the first place."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/09/22/libertarian-property-rights-and-lockes-sufficiency-proviso/?utm_term=.47439424a2b7
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