Self-described libertarian UKIP's 1st elected MP

Westminster rocked as Ukip wins first MP in Clacton and comes within grasping distance of Labour stronghold - Matthew Holehouse, The Telegraph:

October 10, 2014 - "Douglas Carswell made history in the early hours of Friday after he triumphed in the Clacton by-election to become Ukip's first elected MP, while the party came within grasping distance of winning a Labour stronghold in a second contest.

"Mr Carswell recorded a resounding victory over his Tory challenger with 59.6 per cent of the vote and an increased majority of 12,404 - six weeks after rocking Westminster by defecting from the Tories."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11152995/Westminster-rocked-as-Ukip-wins-first-MP-in-Clacton-and-comes-within-grasping-distance-of-Labour-stronghold.html

Can Douglas Carswell ride the Ukip tiger? - Matthew Holehouse, The Telegraph:

October 10, 2014 - "Mr Carswell is self-described libertarian, and one of Parliament's most radical thinkers about who has power in Britain, what a Parliament is for, and how the country must change if is to be rich again.

"He says new political parties should be like Uber and Spotify, tearing through markets and disrupting vested interests. He quit the Tories ... because [the party] refused to modernise enough and junked its 2010 manifesto on power of recall. He likes 'iDemocracy' so much he wrote a book on it.

"He loves free markets. He hates corporate cartels. He hates the Old Boys in Westminster who killed off open primaries. He welcomes the free movement of people, but worries about how to create a common British identity with which people can feel British in an age of transient labour and Skype relationships.

"He hails feminism, and says political correctness is just 'good manners'."

Read more: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/matthewholehouse/100289261/can-douglas-carswell-ride-the-ukip-tiger/

Iowa LP Senate candidate killed in plane crash

Libertarian Senate candidate in Iowa dies in plane crash - The Washington Post - Sean Sullivan, Post Politics:

October 14, 2014 - "Doug Butzier, the Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. Senate in Iowa, was killed in a plane crash, authorities said Tuesday. He was 59.

"Key West Fire Chief Brian Arnold confirmed the crash and Butzier's death in a brief interview. He said Butzier was piloting an airplane late Monday night when it crashed roughly a mile from the Dubuque airport, which Butzier was approaching. No one else was in the plane.

"The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating a crash in the Dubuque area that caused no ground injuries.

"'The flight originated from Ankeny Regional Airport, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

"A single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed at about 11 p.m. Central Time on Monday while on approach to Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa," said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford in a statement. "The aircraft went down about a mile north of the runway."

"Butzier, an emergency room doctor, was a long-shot against state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and Rep. Bruce Braley (D)."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/10/14/libertarian-senate-candidate-in-iowa-dies-in-plane-crash/
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Kentucky Libertarian kept out of Senate debate

Oligarchy Wins, Kentucky Loses, Libertarian Candidate Says of Being Excluded from Senate Debate | The River City News:

October 13, 2014 - "Mitch McConnell and Alison Lundergan Grimes will face each other in a televised debate on Monday evening.... Absent will be the third candidate seeking the office: Libertarian David Patterson.

"A judge ruled against Patterson's emergency injunction filed by the Libertarian Party of Kentucky and the campaign. Patterson's campaign said that an open records request revealed that KET 'continually shifted criteria for inclusion' in the debate, to ensure that the Libertarian would not be part of it.

"'I'm running the best campaign that I can. I don't have $50M worth of out-of-state special interest money. My campaign has always been about regular Kentuckians, and that's who has lost today,' Patterson said in a statement on Sunday. 'KET has testified under oath that their mission and values statements don't apply to the decisions they make. They intend to apply a financial threshold to all future criteria. That means you must be rich or have rich friends to even stand a chance. Kentuckians now have their hard-earned tax dollars being used to deprive them of knowing their options when they walk into the ballot box.'

"'It is extremely disappointing that the court has said state entities can re-write the rules in the middle of the game,' said Libertarian Party of Kentucky Chairman Ken Moellman. 'KET testified under oath that Grimes and McConnell were invited without any criteria, while David Patterson was scrutinized under an ever-increasing set of criteria. This isn't even about Libertarians, it's everyone who's not part of the Old Parties. The First Amendment now only applies to the "chosen ones". Welcome to the illusion of choice. Welcome to the oligarchy.'"

Read more: http://rcnky.com/articles/2014/10/13/oligarchy-wins-kentucky-loses-libertarian-candidate-says-being-excluded-senate
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Libertarians and Ebola

How Libertarians Would Handle an Ebola Outbreak in Texas - Victoria Bekiempis, Newsweek:

October 2, 2014 - "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. on Tuesday, in Dallas, Texas.... Libertarianism generally advocates against government involvement in healthcare — so if the 135 Libertarians running for office in the Lone Star State this November were elected, would they want the government to fight the disease?

"The answer is more nuanced than one might expect: Most Libertarians interviewed by Newsweek agreed government should intervene to protect public health in exceptional circumstances, but said intervention would have to be very careful and limited—and, perhaps, that it is better executed by the private sector.

"Shikha Dalmia, a senior analyst at Reason Foundation, the Libertarian think tank that publishes Reason magazine, explains to Newsweek the starting point of most Libertarian belief is a limited government that provides 'essential' functions, such as national defense. But in certain circumstances —if a person had a deadly communicable disease and refused to isolate himself, for example —governmental intervention could be considered essential....

"Kathie Glass, a Libertarian candidate for Texas governor, says that forced isolation is OK if it’s absolutely necessary. 'If you are a threat to other innocent people, that’s an act of aggression,' she says. 'When someone has fatal disease, a deadly communicable disease, that’s an act of aggression to go around and expose other people to it.' But, she adds, we should be careful that we are not just wantonly violating someone’s liberty.

"With regard to a governmental public health infrastructure, there doesn’t seem to be active Libertarian opposition to entities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — 'I don’t think any Libertarian loves the CDC, but there are just bigger fish to fry,' explains Dalmia — but they generally favor the private sector’s handling of healthcare.

Carla Howell, National Libertarian Party Political Director, says 'governmental bureaucracies' involved with epidemic control are ineffective compared to private and voluntary efforts, in addition to costing too much money and violating individual rights. 'The sole purpose of government is to protect our life, liberty and property from harm caused by others in those few instances where the private sector cannot do a better job,' Howell writes in an e-mail to Newsweek. 'Containing Ebola in Africa is best left to private charities such as Doctors Without Borders rather than the NIH [National Institutes of Health] or the CDC.'"

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/libertarians-ebola-texas-274822
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What’s a Libertarian? Defining our terms

APOV: What’s a Libertarian? Defining our terms - The Daily News Online: Commentary And Letters - David A. Olsen, chairman, Genessee County Libertarian Party:

October 11, 2014 - "Over the past two years, I’ve been asked 'What’s a Libertarian and why should I vote for one?' If you asked 10 Libertarians, you will get different answers. Our core value is individualism — free thinking. We are guaranteed specific individual rights through the Constitution of the United States; Libertarians advocate the protection of all those rights.

"I’m also asked what our position on different issues that come along is. To answer that question, first consider a few basic questions. Ask yourself how, in general, you view other people. Consider those people you encounter every day. Are they generally good, decent, honest folks, who would share what they have with someone in need and help another who was in danger? Or, are they bad, scheming, selfish, and look the other way and not want to be involved in helping others in need? Next, ask yourself who should make decisions about people’s welfare? Are the people you know capable of making good decisions, or should they be prevented from doing so to protect themselves?...

"There will always be grey areas. Free thinkers will disagree on finer points, naturally. However, the Libertarian’s position on any topic can typically be found by determining what solution would put the most faith in people and require the least government involvement.

"With individual freedom, of course comes responsibility. Unfortunately, Americans have become dependent on the state. The expectation is that government will solve issues. It’s easy to understand why. Government takes a chunk of everyone’s earnings right off the top through income tax. Add property tax, sales tax, license fees, tolls, etc. and it averages out to almost 50 percent of everyone’s income. I use as a reference taxfoundation.org. You will work for over five months before your pay is yours. Why are people still hungry, homeless, uneducated, with inadequate health care?"

Read more: http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/blogs/commentary_and_letters/article_c80fc164-5107-11e4-a806-338356f0c103.html

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Mental health org. calls for legal marijuana

CAMH calls for legalization of marijuana - CBC News:

October 9, 2014 - "Marijuana should be legalized with strict controls to curb its use and social harms, the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says. 

"Canada’s current system of cannabis control fails to prevent or reduce harms associated with its use, Dr. Jurgen Rehm, director of social and epidemiological research at CAMH, said Thursday as the hospital released a new policy document on the drug.

"'Cannabis sales should be regulated,' Rehm said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. 'There should be a government monopoly on sales. There should be a minimum age for purchase and consumption. There should be controls on availability. There should be … a ban on marketing, advertising and promotion and plain packaging.'

"Rehm estimated that about 40 per cent of Canadians have used pot at least once in their lifetimes, and 10 per cent have done so in the past year. But its use is associated with harms to health.... Given the risk of harm, CAMH believes any reforms on marijuana control need to include a strong focus on prevention and harm reduction interventions.

"Anyone who buys pot in criminal markets doesn't know about its potency or quality. Meanwhile, enforcement of cannabis laws costs Canadians $1.2 billion a year, the centre said.

"While decriminalization has some advantages over prohibition, it doesn’t address health harms of cannabis use as strict regulations would, Rehm said, adding the strict regulations proposed set the model apart from other legalization approaches, such as in the U.S."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/camh-calls-for-legalization-of-marijuana-1.2793460

HI Libertarians run record number of candidates

Libertarian candidates 'on the rise' - Brenton Awa, KITV 4:

October 7, 2014 - "Come November, you might notice a lot of L's on the ballot. This year's general election fields 17 Libertarian candidates. That's the most ever offered by the party in Hawaii and it's also 16 more than the one who made the ballot in the last election.

"'Rather than waiting for the current system to change, we want to be the ones making the change,' said Anthony Higa, the Libertarian state House candidate....

"Higa's looking to represent State House District 19. He's going up against the incumbent Bert Kobayashi and Republican Victoria Mathieu. Higa's one of the Libertarians top candidates and he's giving this run all he's got. Higa already went as far as quitting his day job to focus on finding the needs of his community. But when no Libertarian has ever won any race in the state, getting supporters can be next to impossible.

"'The chances are always long shots unless you're a democrat in the State of Hawaii because this is a blue state,' said Tracy Ryan, Libertarian Party chairperson.

"The hope for this party lies in its beliefs. Libertarians want minimal government involvement while maximizing the public's freedom. They stand for ending the income tax, keeping guns accessible and marriage equality. 

"'We feel that liberty is the default position in a free country and we feel the burden of proof are the people that want to make anything illegal should fall on them, not on the people who say that it shouldn't be criminal or illegal,' said Ryan.

Read more: http://www.kitv.com/news/libertarian-candidates-on-the-rise/29004194