LP of Canada wants Meyers expropriation reversed

Libe­­­­­­­rtarians Call for Reversal on Canadian Military’s Expropriation of Farmer’s Land :: Wire Service Media:

January 27, 2014 - "Libertarian Party of Canada Leader Katrina Chowne is calling on the federal government to respect Canadian citizens' rights and to reverse its recent decision to expropriate a working family's land in order to expand the footprint of the Department of National Defence.

"The recent expropriation of a working family's land by the Canadian military offers Prime Minister Harper and his Conservative government a chance to clearly demonstrate their unwavering support for private property rights in Canada.

"The Canadian government has expropriated the property of Frank and Marjorie Meyers of Trenton Ontario in order to expand our military's capacity to protect our properties from invaders and foreign conquerors. The Meyers farm was granted to them in 1798 - before confederation....

"Meyers said he was approached to sell the land for market value about seven years ago, but he refused the offer. Now he says he's lost about 235 acres of farmland to the Department of National Defence. The spokesperson for Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson said this expropriation was "critically important to the country and to the local community."

"While the Libertarian Party of Canada recognizes the need for a National Defence to protect our people and our rights, we call out the blatant irony that the federal government would seize upon one family's rights in the name of protecting others."

Read more: http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=11455
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Also see: Save Frank and Marjorie Myers's Farm 

Republican Liberty Caucus gains strength in Congress

Libertarian wing of GOP gains strength in Congress | WashingtonExaminer.com - Susan Ferrechio:

January 24, 2014 - "A few times each month, a couple dozen House Republican lawmakers gather in a meeting room in a building adjacent to Capitol to discuss ideas and legislative proposals that focus on limited government, reducing the debt and maintaining individual rights.

"The group considers itself conservative with a libertarian emphasis. They call themselves the Liberty Caucus and believe that in order for the GOP to win more elections in the future, the party must begin embracing their libertarian-minded philosophy because voters are beginning to demand it, particularly in the wake of government data collection revelations that some believe infringe on privacy rights.

"'I think you are seeing a movement in the Republican Party where it is becoming more liberty minded,' Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, a member of the Liberty Caucus, told the Washington Examiner.... Labrador said younger Republicans especially are beginning to embrace this libertarian-minded view point....

"The philosophy of the caucus dovetails with the GOP's conservative wing on some issues, such as debt reduction, reining in government spending and opposition to the new health care law. But it differs on others, in particular on national security. While many Liberty Caucus members are opposed to the government surveillance program that has permitted officials to gather huge amounts of private phone and internet data in an effort to thwart terrorism, most mainstream GOP lawmakers have shown far less opposition and have defended it as necessary for preserving national security."

Read more: http://washingtonexaminer.com/libertarian-wing-of-gop-gains-strength-in-congress/article/2542802#
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Private city under construction in Nigeria

New, privatized African city heralds climate apartheid | Environment | theguardian.com -Martin Lukacs, True North, The Guardian:

January 21, 2014 - "Just off Lagos, Nigeria's coast, an artificial island is emerging from the sea. A foundation, built of sand dredged from the ocean floor, stretches over ten kilometres. Promotional videos depict what is to come: a city of soaring buildings, housing for 250,000 people, and a central boulevard to match Paris' Champs-Élysées and New York's Fifth Avenue. Privately constructed, it will also be privately administered and supplied with electricity, water, mass transit, sewage and security. It is the 'future Hong Kong of Africa,' anticipates Nigeria's World Bank director

"Welcome to Eko Atlantic, a city whose 'whole purpose', its developers say, is to 'arrest the ocean's encroachment'.... To defend against the coastal erosion and flooding, the city is being surrounded by the 'Great Wall of Lagos', a sea defence barrier made of 100,000 five-ton concrete blocks. Eko Atlantic will be a 'sustainable city, clean and energy efficient with minimal carbon emissions,' offer jobs, prosperity and new land for Nigerians, and serve as a bulwark in the fight against the impacts of climate change."

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2014/jan/21/new-privatized-african-city-heralds-climate-apartheid
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Paul is now the 2016 GOP frontrunner - Atlantic

Rand Paul Is the 2016 Republican Frontrunner - Peter Beinart - The Atlantic:

January 22, 2014 - "If Chris Christie was ever the frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, he isn’t anymore. All along, the theory behind his candidacy was that he could overcome his lack of conservative bona fides with a combination of personality, competence, electability, and money. Bridgegate undermines all four.

"In the minds of many voters, Christie’s personality has morphed from brash to bully. It’s harder to look competent when your top aides egregiously abused power under your nose.... Marist and Quinnipiac, whose surveys showed Clinton and Christie virtually tied in December, now show him trailing her by 13 and 8 points, respectively.... And as Christie’s electability erodes, so will his vaunted support among GOP moneymen.

"So if Christie is no longer the candidate to beat in the 2016 Republican race, who is? Believe it or not, it’s Rand Paul.

"To understand the Kentucky senator’s hidden strength, it’s worth remembering this basic fact about the modern GOP: It almost never nominates first-time candidates. Since 1980, George W. Bush is the only first-timer to win a Republican nomination. And since Bush used the political network his father built, he enjoyed many of the benefits of someone who had run before. It’s the same with Paul. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, he begins with an unparalleled infrastructure left over from his father Ron Paul’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns."

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/rand-paul-is-the-2016-republican-frontrunner/283258/
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NH House votes to legalize marijuana

New Hampshire pot vote could nudge Vermont to loosen rules on marijuana | Fox News:

January 20, 2014 - "The New Hampshire House of Representatives made history last week when it became the first state Legislature to vote in favor of a bill to legalize the sale and possession of recreational marijuana.

"'Polls show 60 percent of voters in the state support (the bill), and we won't rest until that includes a majority of their state legislators,' Marijuana Policy Project legislative analyst Matt Simon said in a statement last week.

"If the bill survives committee and a final vote is signed off by the governor, New Hampshire would join the pot-friendly New England town of Portland, Maine, which voted to legalize it on Election Day 2013 in a special referendum, and a host of other states and municipalities looking to ax the prohibition on cannabis.

"'The legalization of marijuana is moving fast in parts of the United States, and it looks as though the domino effect could quickly move to other states such as Vermont,' said former Rhode Island U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, chairman of Project Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group 'dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy'."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/20/new-hampshire-pot-vote-could-nudge-vermont-to-loosen-rules-on-marijuana/
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Volokh Conspiracy blog moves to Washington Post

Volokh Conspiracy moves to Washington Post | United Liberty | Free Market - Individual Liberty - Limited Government - Matthew DesOrmeaux:

January 22, 2014 - "The libertarian moment indeed. It was just announced Tuesday that the hugely popular legal blog, Volokh Conspiracy, has been picked up by the Washington Post. The Bezos-owned paper will now host Eugene Volokh’s legendary blog on its website, which is sure to boost both its exposure and prestige, while the authors retain full control of their content. For those unfamiliar with the 12-year old blog, its authors are mostly law professors with a libertarian bent, who cover everything from Supreme Court decisions to NFL policies, all with a dry but fascinating flourish.

"This move immediately follows the departure of Ezra Klein and two others from his hugely popular, but primarily liberal, WonkBlog at the Washington Post. And less than two weeks before, Radley Balko, the civil libertarian firebrand was picked up by the Post as well. This has led to some jests about a 'vast libertarian conspiracy” brewing at the Post. Though certainly no conspiracy, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and new owner of the Washington Post, has been rumored to have libertarian sympathies"

Read more: http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/16306-volokh-conspiracy-moves-to-washington-post
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Yolo County, CA, Libertarians unveil scholarship program

Logue joins Libertarians to launch scholarships for county students - Woodland Record:

January 22, 2014 - "The Libertarian Party of Yolo County is pleased to announce that assemblyman Dan Logue will speak at their upcoming reception on Friday, January 24, at 7 pm at the Spring Garden Restaurant, 610 Cottonwood Plaza, Woodland, where they will kick off their Liberty Scholarship program. The scholarship program gives three $1,000 scholarships to Yolo County students for college....

"The Liberty Scholarship is a $1,000 dollar scholarship offered by the Libertarian Party of Yolo County to encourage Yolo County students in their pursuit of higher education. These funds may be used by students to help pay the costs of tuition, books or other school expenses in one of Yolo County's institutions of higher learning or a nearby Sacramento college. It is offered to one graduating high school student, one community
college student and one UC Davis student each year.

"The Libertarian Party of Yolo County is dedicated to promoting the peaceful change of our County and local government that fulfills the principles of individual freedom, free-market economics, and limited government. More information about the Libertarian Party of Yolo County can be found at YoloLP.com.

Read more: http://woodlandrecord.com/logue-joins-libertarians-to-launch-scholarships-for-county-students-p3402-1.htm
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