Libertarians optimistic for next round of NC elections

The Daily Tar Heel : Libertarians remain optimistic for next round of NC elections - Jeff Kagan:

November 18, 2012 - "The state’s Libertarian Party came away from the 2012 election without any huge gains on paper — but politicians from the two dominant parties say libertarians nonetheless won an opportunity to influence policy....

"Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Barbara Howe received slightly more than 2 percent of the vote, barely crossing the threshold of necessary votes to allow the party to remain on the ballot for the next four years....

"Two Libertarians in N.C. state legislative races received about 20 percent of the vote, which is promising, Howe said."

Read more: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/11/libertarians-remain-optimistic
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Libertarian 'Spoiler' Alert!

Libertarian 'Spoiler' Alert! Seven Democratic Victories in Which the LP Candidate Received More Than the Margin of Defeat - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

November 12 - "On Friday, Garrett Quinn pointed out two congressional races in which a Libertarian Party candidate received considerably more votes than the margin separating a winning Democrat from a losing Republican: Massachusetts' 6th District (48.3%-47.3%-4.5%** for Rep. John Tierney over Richard Tisei and Daniel Fishman), and Utah's 4th District (49.3%-48.1%-2.6%** for Rep. Jim Matheson over Mia Love and Jim Vein).

"Last Wednesday, Brian Doherty also flagged Montana's race for U.S. Senate, where incumbent Sen. John Tester defeated the Ron Paul-endorsed Denny Rehberg 48.7% to 44.8%, while LP nominee Dan Cox received 6.5% of the vote. All three losing Republicans had significantly more libertarian credibility than maybe 90% of elected GOPers on the national level.

"So are there any other 'spoiler' accusations out there? At least four, probably more"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/12/libertarian-spoiler-alert-seven-democrat
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Sen. Paul filibusters defense bill - The Hill's Floor Action

Sen. Paul filibusters defense bill - The Hill's Floor Action - Ramsey Cox:

November 15, 2012 - "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is holding up a vote on the Defense Authorization Act until he gets a vote on his amendment affirming the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution.... Paul is seeking an agreement in principle to get a vote on his amendment when the Senate takes up the defense authorization bill that funds and sets the agenda for the U.S. military.

Paul’s amendment would give American citizens being held by the military rights to a fair trial with a jury of peers and the right to confront the witnesses against him or her.

Read moee: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/268369-sen-paul-filibusters-defense-bill-until-his-amendment-is-included-in-votes
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Welcome to the Rand Paul evolution - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com

Welcome to the Rand Paul evolution - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com:

November 13, 2012 - "Call it the Rand Paul Evolution.... the Kentucky Republican plans to mix his hard-line tea party conservatism with more moderate policies that could woo younger voters and minorities largely absent from the GOP coalition....

"He wants to work with liberal Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and Republicans to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession. He wants to carve a compromise immigration plan with an “eventual path” to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a proposal he believes could be palatable to conservatives. And he believes his ideas — along with pushing for less U.S. military intervention in conflicts overseas — could help the GOP broaden its tent and appeal to crucial voting blocs that handed Democrats big wins in the West Coast, the Northeast and along the Great Lakes."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83737.html#ixzz2CDvUuiyx
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Jillette on Obama, Johnson, Hitchens, & peace

Penn Jillette on Obama, Gary Johnson, Hitchens, and peace | Washington Times Communities - Kevin Kelly:

November 13, 2012 - "Given the recent election and Jillette’s self-proclaimed libertarianism, I asked what he would like to see come from a second-term Obama administration. 'Being a libertarian, I am very happy there will be a sense of social freedom,' said Jillette. 'I wish that Obama would embrace that more, and be more respectful to people who want to smoke marijuana. I wish he would be more respectful to the state, and state’s rights like Colorado, and the other states that voted for that and not go after marijuana, but Obama giggles about dope smoking and doing cocaine, but still seems thrilled to send people to prison for that.

"'I hasten to add that I have never had a sip of alcohol in my life,' he added, 'and never a puff of marijuana, but I do believe that freedom matters and that should be everyone’s right. I wish he were more open and more accepting of people who are different like gays and so on. I wish he was not using the Patriot Act and having kill lists and detaining people without trials'....

"One libertarian victory was the accumulation of more than one million votes by party presidential candidate Gary Johnson during the recent election cycle. When I pointed out Johnson’s returns to Jillette he offered, 'One of those one million was mine, by the way.' "Given Jillette’s intense political interest, I wondered aloud whether Americans might see Jillette 2016 bumper stickers in the next election cycle. 'I don’t think so', he chuckled, 'I have a job. I love my job, and I have no desire to do anything else. I also wouldn’t have a chance. I don’t think I’m made of the right stuff to be a politician. I think I’m made to be a loose cannon.'" Read more: https://web.archive.org/web/20130122094855/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/remnant/2012/nov/12/penn-jillette-obama-gary-johnson-hitchens-and-peac/
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White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states

White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states - David Martosko, Daily Caller:

November 11, 2012 - "On Nov. 7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the White House’s website received a petition asking the administration to allow Louisiana to secede.

"If 25,000 people sign the petition by Dec. 7, it will 'require a response' from the Obama administration, according to published rules of the White House’s online 'We the People' program.'

"The Louisiana petition has collected more than 12,300 signatures in four days. A separate effort from Texas has 15,400 supporters.

"Similar petitions from 18 other states began arriving Nov. 9, bringing the total - for the moment - to 20.... "Other than Louisiana and Texas, states with secession-related petitions pending on the White House website now include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/11/white-house-website-deluged-with-secession-petitions-from-19-states/#ixzz2C2Xhp2QJ

Islam and libertarianism are a good fit

Islam and Libertarianism are a Good Fit - MuslimMatters.org - Dean Ahmad:

November 5, 2012 - "The most fundamental ethical principle with political implications in the Qurʾān is the mandate, 'Let there be no coercion in religion' (2:225). This oft-quoted dictum is sometimes oversimplified as meaning only that no one should be forced to convert to Islam. That is certainly one corollary of the basic principle. However, when one realizes that the word here translated as religion (dîn) actually refers to the Islamic way of life, one understands that it has much broader implications, forbidding aggression in any aspect of Muslim life.

"In this respect, the Qurʾānic verse is an endorsement of the fundamental principle of libertarianism, the Nonaggression Principle..... 'No person or group has the right to initiate force or fraud against any other person or group to seek to attain their values.' This common sense principle is accepted by everyone in their daily lives, except for murderers, thieves, and con artists. The problem is that too many people are willing to make an exception to this rule when it comes to the state. The divine law, or (for some) natural law, applies to the state, not just individuals.... In other words a war of aggression is murder (on a massive scale, no less) even though it is conducted by a state; unjust taxes are theft even though collected by the state; and the Federal Reserve Board is engaged in fraud when it prints currency backed by no commodity of value, even though it was chartered by the state to perpetrate the counterfeiting."

Read more: http://muslimmatters.org/2012/11/05/islam-and-libertarianism-are-a-good-fit/
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