Ontario LP pub nights expand to Simcoe

Libertarian candidate aims to get message out | Simcoe Reformer:

February 17, 2014 - "A rookie politician is hoping to pique interest in the Libertarian Party with local pub nights.

"Mark Burnison, the declared candidate for the Ontario Libertarian Party for Haldimand-Norfolk, is hoping to connect with local voters during meet and greet pub nights on the last Thursday of every month. The inaugural event was held in late January. The next event will be held at The Blue Elephant on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m..

"'It’s totally open,' said Burnison.

"He will go over the Libertarian Party’s platform which includes defending personal freedoms, creating more choices and limiting government.

"'We are one of the fastest growing movements in Canada, particularly among youth,' said Burnison, who noted the party offers an alternative to the 'big three', meaning Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats.

"As well, he will discuss some of the more specific issues of which he is concerned, such as amending the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act to prevent archaeologists from exhuming indigenous people’s remains."

Read more: http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2014/02/17/libertarian-candidate-aims-to-get-message-out
'via Blog this'

Wisconsin LP aims for a candidate in every District in 2014

Libertarian Party Launches Outreach For Candidates | WXPR - Ken Krall:

February 17, 2014 - "Paul Ehlers ran in 2012 for the state 12 District Senate seat. In the role as state Libertarian Party chair he says they're reaching out to many groups who have felt ... what he describes ... as the heavy hand of government ... called the 'Liberty Coalition'...

"'what we're trying to do is find people whose pursuit of happiness is being regulated, prohibited or restricted and get them to realize we have one thing in common'

"He mentions groups such as the raw milk producers, people active in the organization NORML, gun owners, people interested in renewable energy....

Ehlers says students are heavily in debt due to government changes in education financing ... 'students that maybe have massive student debt that are in default. They are not part of the problem. They are victims of the problem....'

"He says the Liberty Coalition goal is to have candidates in every major race in Wisconsin this year. "

Read more: http://wxpr.org/post/libertarian-party-launches-outreach-candidates
'via Blog this'

5 libertarian valentines

5 Valentines For The Liberty-Lover - Cato Institute @ Buzzfeed:

February 11, 2014 - "Does your crush care more about free markets than flowers? These valentines are sure to sweep them off their feet."

See the others: http://www.buzzfeed.com/catoinstitute/5-valentines-for-the-liberty-lover-k6ve

Paranoid libertarians vs. angry liberals

The paranoid libertarian and his enemy, the angry liberal - Eric Posner, University of Chigago Law School:

"In a recent essay, Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein identified an impulse he called 'paranoid libertarianism.' A paranoid libertarian is someone who distrusts the government to an unreasonable extent. Sunstein believes that many people who oppose gun control, health care reform, and progressive taxation fit the description. For example, a paranoid libertarian might not object to modest gun licensing requirements or background checks in principle but opposes these policies because he believes that the government will deny licenses to people who deserve them, or that a licensing rule will accustom people to gun control, paving the way to confiscation of all handguns.... Sunstein argues that these beliefs are unreasonable...."

"In fact, the fear of government is far more serious than the fear of flying or the fear of nuclear power. If people trust the government, they may accept its assurances that flying or nuclear power is safe. They may absorb the messages of its educational programs. If they don’t trust the government, then no go. 'Don’t worry, you can trust us' is, after all, exactly what an evil government would say....

"The angry liberal has distinctive characteristics just like the paranoid libertarian. He is distressed by significant social ills and seeks someone to blame for them. The social ills — inequality, inadequate health care, bad schools — are large ones. But it makes little sense to get angry at rich people for causing them.... The huge level of inequality that currently exists is mostly the result of social trends, not the bad acts of identifiable rich people.... As a political emotion, anger is just as irrational as fear is....

"In our current political climate, paranoid libertarians oppose government action that they often wrongly believe will harm them, angering the liberals who believe that government action is needed to solve society’s problems. The liberals’ anger further fuels the libertarians’ paranoia, which hardens their obstructionism, which in turn sends liberals into flights of rage."

Read more: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2014/02/the_paranoid_libertarian_and_his_enemy_the_angry_liberal.html
'via Blog this'

Canadian taxmen auditing 7 green charities

7 environmental charities face Canada Revenue Agency audits - Politics - CBC News - Evan Solomon & Kristen Everson:

February 6, 2014 - "The Canada Revenue Agency is currently conducting extensive audits on some of Canada's most prominent environmental groups to determine if they comply with guidelines that restrict political advocacy, CBC News has learned.

"If the CRA rules that the groups exceeded those limits, their charitable status could be revoked, which would effectively shut them down.

"Many of the groups are among the Conservative government's fiercest critics. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty signalled clearly in his budget of 2012 that political activity of these groups would be closely monitored and he allocated $8 million to the effort. The environmental organizations believe they have been targeted with the goal of silencing their criticism....

"CBC has confirmed that at least one group, Environmental Defence, has received its report back from the CRA and they are appealing it. Sources said their report threatened to revoke their charitable status....

"Most groups on this list would not talk on the record, but sources say executive directors of these groups are meeting regularly by phone to discuss a united response to the government."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/7-environmental-charities-face-canada-revenue-agency-audits-1.2526330
'via Blog this'

Rand Paul, FreedomWorks sue NSA for 4th Amendment violations

Libertarian Paul sues Obama and his security chiefs for Fourth Amendment violations - Euronews:

February 12, 2014 - "Maverick US Republican senator Rand Paul is suing President Obama and the directors of National Intelligence, the NSA and the FBI for violating the Fourth Amendment.

"In the latest fallout from the Snowden leaks, which exposed illegal government snooping, Paul is joining with the Tea Party-aligned FreedomWorks group.

"'Good morning, on behalf of myself, FreedomWorks and everyone in America that has a phone, we are filing suit against the President of the United States, in defence of the Fourth Amendment. We will ask the question in court whether a single warrant can apply to the records of every American phone user all of the time, without limits, without individualisation,' he said.

"Paul, a libertarian, is confident the case will go all the way to the Supreme Court. The Fourth Amendment is designed to protect Americans from unreasonable searches, something Paul says Obama has publically refused to stop."

Read more: http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/12/libertarian-paul-sues-obama-and-his-security-chiefs-for-fourth-amendment-/

100,000 sign anti-surveillance petition; 50,000 e-mail Congress

Protesters rally for 'the day we fight back' against mass surveillance | World news | theguardian.com - Adam Gabbat, The Guardian:

February 11, 2014 - "Tens of thousands of people and organisations were participating in a protest against the NSA’s mass surveillance on Tuesday, bombarding members of Congress with phone calls and emails and holding demonstrations across the globe.

"Dubbed 'The day we fight back', the action saw scores of websites, including Reddit, BoingBoing and Mozilla host a widget inviting users to pressure elected officials.

"The online demonstration saw more than 18,000 calls placed and 50,000 emails sent to US congressmen and women by midday Tuesday. Physical protests were planned in 15 countries.

"'The goal of the day we fight back is to stop mass surveillance by intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency,' said Rainey Reitman, activism director at the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation, which helped organise the events....

Reitman told the Guardian that over 100,000 people had signed an international petition opposing mass surveillance within a few hours of its launch.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/11/day-fight-back-protest-nsa-mass-surveillance

'via Blog this'