Libertarians holding debate and primary in NC

N.C. Libertarian Party to hold presidential debate - Winston-Salem Journal: Local News - Melissa Hall:

"The Libertarian Party of North Carolina will host a presidential debate at 9 p.m. Monday in Raleigh. It will be webcast on Google Hangouts On Air.

"The debate will feature five of the 11 Libertarian candidates who will appear on the March 15 North Carolina primary ballot. The participants will be chosen in an online poll. To vote in the poll visit, http://strawpoll.me/6514672.

"The moderator of the debate will be Barry Smith, the associate editor of the Carolina Journal. The candidates will take part from locations across the country.

"To watch the debate, visit http://bit.ly/libertarian_debate.

"The candidates listed on the primary ballot are: Marc Feldman of Ohio; John Hale of Kentucky; Cecil Ince of Missouri, Gary Johnson of New Mexico; Steven Kerbel of Colorado; Darryl W. Perry of New Hampshire; Austin Petersen of Missouri, Derrick Reid of California; Jack Robinson of South Carolina; Rhett Smith of Texas, and; Joy Waymire of California.

"Presidential and vice presidential candidates will be chosen by delegates to the party's national convention scheduled for May 27 to 30 in Orlando, Fla."

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/n-c-libertarian-party-to-hold-presidential-debate/article_6f1d420b-c1f7-5c62-8089-39a76bacb9e4.html
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Jane's Addiction guitarist Navarro a libertarian

Dave Navarro: "I Consider Myself Libertarian" - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Anthony L. Fisher:

March 3, 2016 - "Tattoo afficiandos and 90s alternative rock enthusiasts rejoice, Jane's Addiction's enigmatic guitarist Dave Navarro has gone on the record, self-identifying as a Libertarian (he used the capital L) in a tweet earlier today.

"Navarro, who is also the host of the Spike TV show Ink Master, has rarely engaged directly in politics, and when he has it has been...confusing. For instance, he performed at the 2012 Republican National Convention.... Yet, less than three months later, Navarro tweeted on Election Day that he voted for President Obama.

"Navarro once told HuffPost Live that his favorite TV newser is Bill O'Reilly, whom he credited with helping him get a 'broader, more well-rounded viewpoint' but added that much of the appeal was that 'it’s just a lot of fun to watch him get mad.'

"Reason Senior Editor and die-hard Jane's Addiction fan Brian Doherty wrote back in 2011 of ... the band's 'interestingly sophisticated libertarian rock tune' titled '1%.' Watch video of the band perfoming 1%" below:"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/03/03/dave-navarro-consider-myself-libertarian

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Randy Barnett calls for new U.S. 'third party'

As Trump rises, consider a 3rd party: Column - Randy Barnett, USA Today: 

March 1, 2016 - "Is it time for a new third party? Not yet. But if Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination, then a new third party will be an imperative — and the time for organizing it is now.

"I have long vocally opposed third parties as irrational in our two-party system. They inevitably drain votes away from the major party closest to them, thereby benefiting the major party that is even worse. But strategies must adjust to circumstances. If Trump wins the GOP nominations, one of two things will happen, either of which would be disastrous for the Constitution and for the country.

"If Trump wins, he’s made clear he cares nothing for the constitutional constraints on the president, or on government generally.... For this reason, millions of patriotic Americans who would ordinarily vote GOP — including most conservatives and all constitutionalists — will never vote for him. Yet were he somehow to win without them — say by moving to the left of Hillary Clinton to capture the Sanders vote — a Trump presidency would doom America as an exceptional nation.

"Far more likely, however, once the Republican nomination is in his grasp, the media who have been irresponsibly reaping the ratings whirlwind will lay waste to Donald Trump in conjunction with the Democrats. His presidential campaign will be reduced to a few million die-hard Trumpies and little more. Down-ticket Republican candidates will flee him like poison....

"Here is where a new third party comes in: as a lifeboat for anyone aboard the sinking GOP ship — first and foremost patriotic voters, but also GOP candidates and office holders throughout the nation. They will desperately need another vessel they can support in good conscience....

"What the nation needs is a new party that is expressly dedicated to upholding the Constitution of the United States, however it may cut politically — a party that can attract principled conservatives, but also any American who is tired of crony capitalism, runaway government and rule by an out-of-touch political class.

"Should such a party split the GOP vote and throw the election to Hillary, this beats a Trump presidency, which would inevitably remake the Republican Party in the Donald's own image. And, if Republicans hold onto Congress, divided government under Hillary beats one-man rule by a demagogue and his party."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/02/29/donald-trump-republican-party-elections-2016-third-party-column/81102918/

Libertarian surge, or hostile takeover attempt?

GOP Elites Mounting Third Party Takeover To Stop Trump - Shane Cory, Liberty News Now:

March 3, 2016 - "If you’re going to mount an independent or third party run, the easiest way to do it is by stealing the ballot access of the Libertarian Party.... The LP is the third largest political party and is on track to have their presidential candidate on the ballots of 48 to 50 states in November.

"Last week, anti-Trump GOP donors commissioned a study on the requirements for an independent run. The Florida firm who conducted the study, Data Targeting, had a memo leak that concluded, 'it is possible to mount an independent candidacy but [it] will require immediate action on the part of this core of key funding and strategic players'.... An independent candidate would need over 450,000 signatures of voters just to be on the ballot in 11 states....

"With the permission of the LP, data experts dove into their anonymous Web site traffic to find that, within the last week, visitors have been searching for 'Libertarian Party,' hitting LP.org, and signing up as members.... The party has received more sustained traffic in the last week than it had seen since October of 2012.

"The party has also confirmed that they have had more new members join the party within the last seven days than at any time since 2008....  Unlike the Republican and Democrat parties, the LP requires a minimum donation of $25 to become a member of the party. New members must also sign a pledge tied to the principles of the party.... There are no active, new member acquisition campaigns under way by the LP, and the existing presidential candidates have driven few visitors to the site.....

"The Libertarians hold their presidential nominating convention on May 27th in Orlando, Florida.... While 1,047 delegates may attend the convention and choose their nominee, historically, only 600 or so Libertarians show up to vote . . . and few are registered to attend right now....

"To become a delegate, you have to raise your hand and be selected by a state party to attend . . . you don’t even have to be a member of the national party, but most don’t realize that..... Prospective delegates can even show up at the convention, request to be included in a delegation and be voted in by a state....

"In previous discussions of bylaws changes, party officials considered adding in a 'takeover' provision that would require delegates to be members for a period of time, but the change was shot down due to its lack of inclusiveness.

"The GOP Establishment, which has openly discussed a 'third party option', could reasonably take over the Libertarian Party . . . and destroy it in one fell swoop."

Read more: http://www.libertynewsnow.com/gop-elites-mounting-third-party-takeover-to-stop-trump/article3662

Canadian court voids medical marijuana grow ban

Ban on medical marijuana patients growing own pot struck down by Federal Court - British Columbia - CBC News - Mike Laanela:

February 24, 2016 - "A Federal Court judge has struck down federal regulations restricting the rights of medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis and given the Liberal government six months to come up with new rules.

"Judge Michael Phelan ruled Wednesday in Vancouver that the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations were an infringement on charter rights and declared they have no force and effect.

"But the judge also suspended his declaration for six months to give the federal government time to come up with new rules.

"The judge was careful to point out that the ruling does not change other laws that make it illegal for Canadians to use marijuana recreationally.

"The judge also ordered that an earlier injunction remains in effect, allowing thousands of Canadians with prior authorization to use medical marijuana to continue to grow it at home.

"Lawyer John Conroy, who co-represented the plaintiffs in the case, noted the ruling did not automatically include all medical marijuana users. He said the ruling applied only to about 28,000 Canadians who had the proper licences in place at the time of the injunction....

"'We will be heading back to court to fine-tune that injunction,' said Conroy on Wednesday afternoon in Vancouver.... He also cautioned users who have possession licences to make sure they are updated.

"'Hopefully within six months we'll have a reasonably regulated system in place that solves the problems for everyone,' he said."

Read more:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/medical-marijuana-federal-court-ruling-1.3461694
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2000 attend International S4L conference in DC

Libertarians will tough it out for 2016 election | Newsday - Cathy Young:

March 1, 2016 - "About 2,000 people, most of them young, gathered at a Washington, D.C., hotel over the weekend for a conference where Bernie Sanders fans rubbed elbows with Ted Cruz supporters — even though the main political choice from the current field of candidates was 'none of the above.'

"For International Students for Liberty, a libertarian group founded in 2008 and the host of the conference, the main issue was promoting freedom — a value that, despite much lip service, neither major party honors in practice. (Disclosure: I am affiliated with two conference sponsors, Reason magazine and the Cato Institute.)....

"Libertarianism in pure form — which rejects social welfare programs, government regulations, foreign involvements, and restrictions on personal behavior including hard drug use — is not a popular philosophy. Luckily, libertarian groups tend to have a big-tent approach that focuses on expanding personal, political, and economic freedoms, not on ideological purity....

"The panel on “Why the World Is Actually Getting More Libertarian,” featuring Reason editors Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie and syndicated columnist George F. Will, often sounded like a refutation of its title: Gillespie asked whether the 'libertarian moment' was over and whether we should be concerned about 'the authoritarian moment'..... Will agreed, observing that 'the current front-runner in the party that has a libertarian wing' — Donald Trump — wants to daily deport thousands of immigrants here illegally and to make it easier to sue journalists for libel.

"On the optimistic side, Welch pointed out that a record 27 percent of Americans in a recent poll could be classified as at least mild libertarians (defined by agreeing that government should do less to regulate the economy and should not promote traditional morality). Yet Will noted that Americans often 'talk the Jeffersonian talk' while voting for politicians who promise that the state will take care of them....

"As the Cato Institute’s Doug Bandow argued on another panel, 'Government has a tendency to grow and take over everything.' Even those who agree on the need for a social safety net and for some governmental restrictions in the economic and personal realms can agree that, in Bandow’s words, 'We should err on the side of liberty' against 'the expansive state'...

"The solution to anti-freedom trends, most agreed, is conversation and education. In an inspiring session titled 'Why We Fight,' Tom Palmer, who has spent decades advocating for freedom around the world as an activist with the libertarian Atlas Network, noted that this fight is “a long-term effort,” in everything from the fall of communism to the legalization of marijuana. "

"As for the depressing election? At the conference’s keynote dinner, Students for Liberty president Alexander McCorbin reminded the gathering that the good thing about this election cycle is that it’s a cycle. It will pass; the call for liberty will endure."

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/cathy-young/libertarians-will-tough-it-out-for-2016-election-1.11527842
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Libertarian political movement rising in Mexico

Libertarianism Is Rising in Mexico As A New Political Movement - PanAm Post - Elena Toledo (translated by Rebecca Morla):

February 3, 2016 - "Libertarian Project is an organization which works to spread the message of free enterprise and individual liberty in Mexico. Its president, Rafael Ruiz, spoke to the PanAm Post about how Mexican society has reacted to classical liberalism, and what Libertarian Project is doing....

What are the challenges for libertarianism in Mexico?
"A challenge we are facing in Mexico, as in the rest of Latin America, is that schools teach people that the state is necessary for our welfare. They also teach us to embrace patriotic values ​​that, at the end of the day, are generating a culture of dependence on the state. This is all very difficult to fight against.

"There are some initiatives aiming to change this, but we believe that these are misguided, since they offer to replace state intervention, which they deem to be simply 'wrong,' with anarchy and confrontation.... I think it is our responsibility to spread the libertarian message properly.... It is a lifestyle that seeks to magnify the qualities of of each human being in all their splendor, so that each individual can have a full, independent life, and develop personally.

Do you believe in getting involved in politics? 
"Yes, it is necessary for us as classical liberals or libertarians to engage in politics. As an organization, it is not our goal in the short or medium term, but we do believe that libertarian ideas must have an echo in politics. This is a gradual process, and we have to realize that, currently, political reality is far from what we really want. So entering politics is necessary.

"On the other hand, it is important to integrate young people from different political parties to the ideas of liberty, regardless of their ideology or even if they do not subscribe to a particular ideology. When they reach public office, they will understand the importance of economic, individual, and social freedom....

What projects does the Libertarian Project carry out in Mexico?
"In this initial stage, we are promoting clear, tolerant messages in social networks. We also have our website, www.bloglibertario.com, where we have young contributors from countries like Argentina, Spain, Venezuela and, of course, Mexico. The interesting thing is that they write about what is happening in their countries from a young and libertarian perspective, so we disseminate the ideas of liberty from an academic discussion.

"For the second phase, we plan to carry out field work in several states. We want to educate other young people about the meaning and importance of freedom. Everyone will not adopt the classical liberal or libertarian doctrine, but at least more people will have material to think about this new option in Mexican politics."

Read more: https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/02/03/libertarianism-is-rising-in-mexico-as-a-new-political-movement/
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