Liberty Now conference in Toronto October 26

Liberty Now:

"Join in a conversation on the current and future state of the liberty movement in Canada.
Saturday  October 26, 2013
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
University of Toronto, Victoria College - 91 Charles St. W. Toronto
Tickets include lunch: TBA Regular  TBA Students  TBA at-the-door "

Liberty Now is a festival promoting freedom, liberty and individual rights.... Liberty Now is taking place inside Victoria College. A variety of speakers will be featured throughout the day.

Read more: http://www.libertynow.ca/
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The libertarian paradox

The Libertarian Paradox - Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. - Mises Daily:

July 25, 2013 - "As libertarians attempt to persuade others of their position, they encounter an interesting paradox. On the one hand, the libertarian message is simple. It involves moral premises and intuitions that in principle are shared by virtually everyone, including children. Do not hurt anyone. Do not steal from anyone. Mind your own business.

"A child will say, 'I had it first.' There is an intuitive sense according to which the first user of a previously unowned good holds moral priority over latecomers.... By extension, everyone justly holds as his own property those goods with which he has mixed his labor. Cultivating land, picking an apple — whatever the case may be, we say that the first person to homestead property that had previously sat in the state of nature without an individual owner could call himself its owner.

"In addition to being just, this rule also minimizes conflict. It is a rule everyone can understand, based on a principle that applies to all people equally. It does not say that only members of a particular race or level of intelligence may own property. And it is a rule that definitively stakes out ownership claims in ways that anyone can grasp, and which will keep disputes to a minimum....

"These principles are easy to grasp, and as I’ve said, they involve moral insights which practically everyone claims to share.

"And here is the libertarian paradox. Libertarians begin with these basic, commonly shared principles, and seek only to apply them consistently and equally to all people. But even though people claim to support these principles, and even though most people claim to believe in equality — which is what the libertarian is upholding by applying moral principles to everyone without exception — the libertarian message suddenly becomes extreme, unreasonable, and unacceptable.

"Why is it so difficult to persuade people of what they implicitly believe already?"

Read more: http://mises.org/daily/6488/The-Libertarian-Paradox
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Chris Christie rails against 'libertarianism' in Republican Party

Christie goes after libertarians — hard - Aaron Blake, Post Politics, Washington Post:

"ASPEN, Colo. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Thursday offered a clear broadside against Republicans drifting toward a more libertarian view of foreign policy, lumping Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in with them and suggesting they explain their position to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"The House earlier this week narrowly voted against a reduction in funding for the National Security Agency’s program collecting Americans’ phone records, as libertarian-leaning members from both sides joined together to vote for the amendment.

"'As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,' Christie said....

"In response, Paul’s team said Christie doesn’t understand what “esoteric” means and noted the growing ranks of those concerned about government overreach.

"Defending America and fighting terrorism is the concern of all Americans, especially Sen. Paul,' Paul’s former chief of staff, Doug Stafford, said. 'But it can and must be done in keeping with our constitution and while protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional.'"

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/25/christie-goes-after-libertarians-hard/
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Libertarian Party grows as voters seek alternatives

Libertarian party grows as voters seek alternatives | Metronews Ottawa - Graham Lanktree:

July 24, 2013 - "Libertarian Ottawa South candidate Jean-Serge Brisson doesn’t count on winning your vote – he just wants you to know there’s an alternative....

"'The reason why we’re running is to let the people know that there is a different ideology rather than letting the government do everything,' he said, adding that the party hopes to have 107 candidates in Ontario’s next provincial election, up from 50 in 2011....

"Simply put, he said, Libertarianism is based on the idea that 'the freer you are, the more prosperous you can be.' The party’s focus is on police, justice and protecting private property. 'Eliminate a lot of the programs and services and push it back on the private sector,' Brisson explains.

"So what would he cut first?

"The Green Energy Act. Brisson said he believes government subsidies to get green energy businesses on track are a waste of money. 'Because it’s relying on government subsidy, it can’t prevail or have the private sector get into it,' Brisson said."

Read more: http://metronews.ca/news/ottawa/747796/libertarian-party-grows-as-voters-seek-alternatives/
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Jack Hunter leaves Rand Paul's staff

'Southern Avenger' leaves Paul's staff | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com - Joseph Gerth, Courier-Journal:

July 23, 2013 - "Saying his views had become 'a distraction,' presidential contender U.S. Sen. Rand Paul has cut ties with his new media director, a former radio shock jock who calls himself the 'Southern Avenger' and supported secession by Southern states.

"Paul said Monday that Jack Hunter is no longer on his staff, more than a week after news reports widely publicized his inflammatory statements, including that he drank a toast each year to Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.

"During an impromptu news conference after his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Louisville, Paul said Hunter’s departure 'was a mutual decision'....

"Hunter, who co-authored one of Paul’s books [The Tea Party Goes to Washington - gd] and used his mask-wearing Southern Avenger persona on radio, told the Daily Caller, a Washington-based website for which he once contributed, that he quit to clear his name.

"'I’ve long been a conservative, and years ago, a much more politically incorrect (and campy) one,' Hunter told the Daily Caller in an email. 'But there’s a significant difference between being politically incorrect and racist.'"

Read more: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130722/NEWS0103/307220072/Rand-Paul-parts-ways-Southern-Avenger-Jack-Hunter?nclick_check=1
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Conservative/libertarian "proxy war" foreseen in Wyoming GOP primary

» Conservative, libertarian, establishment lines blur in Wyoming GOP primary » Fresh Ink -- GOPUSA - by Washington Times (DC):

July 23, 2013 - "The Republican primary for the U.S. Senate race in Wyoming could erupt into a proxy war in the battle between the libertarian and conservative wings of the party over national security, with Sen. Rand Paul supporting Sen. Michael B. Enzi in his re-election bid against the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

"Liz Cheney is a political novice but served in the State Department under President George W. Bush. She is a steadfast supporter of her father, who has been a lightning rod for debates over military adventurism and civil liberties since the onset of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Republicans skeptical of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars say the costs and resulting federal budget deficits helped fuel the tea party movement that powered Mr. Paul to victory in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. Indeed, Mr. Paul had to overcome opposition from Mr. Cheney, who called primary opponent Trey Grayson the "real conservative" in the race.

"'If that is the case that Rand Paul is supporting Enzi, it seems to me to be a proxy war between the neocons and the realist-slash- libertarians when it comes to foreign policy," said Niger Innis, head of TheTeaParty.net."

Read more: http://www.gopusa.com/freshink/2013/07/23/conservative-libertarian-establishment-lines-blur-in-wyoming-gop-primary/
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Krugman’s nasty and inane attack on ‘Libertarian Populism’

Paul Krugman’s Nasty and Inane Attack on ‘Libertarian Populism’ - The Daily Beast - Nick Gillespie:

July 19, 2013 - "It’s got to be a pretty good gig to be Paul Krugman.... He’s got tenure at the second-best college in New Jersey, an equally secure gig at the second-best newspaper in New York, and he’s even copped a Nobel Prize.... Best of all, Krugman has attained that rare level of eminence where he doesn’t even have to engage the very opponents he dismisses as beneath contempt....

"Krugman’s latest target is 'libertarian populism,' which he summarizes thus: 'The idea here is that there exists a pool of disaffected working-class white voters who ... can be mobilized again with the right kind of conservative economic program — and ... can restore the Republican Party’s electoral fortunes.' This ain’t gonna happen, chuffs Krugman, because ... Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)! Despite the fact that the former Republican vice-presidential nominee and marathon-time amnesiac is nobody’s idea of a libertarian or a populist....

"Had Colonel Krugman ventured outside his ideological compound, he might have happened upon the writings of Tim Carney of The Washington Examiner. To the extent that libertarian populism has a policy agenda, it’s mostly thanks to Carney, who likes to write books attacking right- and left-wing crony capitalists. He’s libertarian in that he consistently believes that freer markets function more fairly and more efficiently, and he generally thinks people should be left alone when it comes to economic and personal freedom (he’s not an absolutist on most things). He’s populist in that he is basically obsessed with what he sees as concentrations of power and wealth among elites who rig markets, status, and more against the little guy."

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/19/paul-krugman-s-nasty-and-inane-attack-on-libertarian-populism.html
Also at: http://reason.com/archives/2013/07/22/paul-krugmans-nasty-and-inane-attack-on
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Also see: Krugman and "Eliminationist Rhetoric" by George J. Dance