US LP staffs new Youth Engagement Committee

Libertarian Party Establishes Youth Engagement Committee · 71 Republic - Spencer Kellogg:

October 9, 2018 - "In September, the Libertarian Party’s National Committee ... established the Libertarian Party’s first ever Youth Engagement Committee. Members of the LNC voted on a list of nearly 50 candidates for four positions and among the selected is 71 Republic’s CEO, Matt Geiger.... [T]he other new members are Aeris Stewart, Matt Long and Dustin Nanna. The committee will be headed by LNC region 2 alternate Victoria Paige Lee....

"71 Republic’s Spencer Kellogg reached out to the new members for information....

"Aeris Stewart ... 'I’ve been involved in YAL chapter leadership for 2 years and just started as a CC with SFL. Before that, I was an at-large for the LYC, am currently the whip for the LPCaucus, and have volunteered/interned at a couple of campaigns'....

"Matt Long ... 'I only started thinking I might be a Libertarian after hearing Bill Weld speak at the CNN Town Hall. That was a life-changing moment for me politically because I ended up volunteering for the campaign. Highlighting the issue of Intersex Human Rights (and other LGBT+ issues) is definitely something I want to promote as a Libertarian.'

"Matt Geiger - 'I am the chairman of the Carroll County Libertarian Party. I was the national vice chair of the Libertarian Youth Caucus and I am the CEO of 71 Republic. I’ve engaged hundreds of young libertarians and helped them build their writing abilities and prepare them to be real libertarian activists'....

"Dustin Nanna - 'I’m 24 years old and I live in Delaware, Ohio... I am the Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Ohio and am ... a Central Committee member in Ohio in the 12th Congressional District. I have been active with the Libertarian Party since I was 21 and I consider myself a Jeffersonian Minarchist. I ran for City Council in Delaware in 17 and got 14% of the vote in a 5-way race. Now I’m running for Secretary of State in Ohio'....

"Congratulations to the selected members of the new committee!"

Read more: https://71republic.com/2018/10/09/libertarian-party-youth-engagement-committee/
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Free Thought Project hit in FB's 500-page purge

Libertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Scott Shackford:

October 12, 2018 - "'Facebook announced Thursday that it was deleting 559 pages and 251 accounts that it claims were breaking Facebook's rules against spam and 'inauthentic' behavior. The Free Thought Project was one of the demolished pages, along with another of [Jason] Bassler's efforts, Police the Police. Both pages ... produced content — stories, memes, and videos — that focused on government behavior and were shared widely among fans, particularly libertarians.

"Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, and Oscar Rodriguez, a Facebook product manager, have explained the purge by writing that they don't think these sites were really trying to engage in political debate but were in fact spam factories.... "Many were using fake accounts or multiple accounts with the same names and posted massive amounts of content across a network of Groups and Pages to drive traffic to their websites [or] to make their content appear more popular on Facebook than it really was'....

"Bassler has editing privileges on a bunch of pages that were affected by the ban ... the result of networking between pages of similar interest.... Many of them, like Bassler, used networking to build a community to reach a larger audience — a normal sort of organizing that Facebook now deems 'inauthentic.'

"The Free Thought Project had 3 million followers and Police the Police nearly 2 million.... Bassler describes himself as a libertarian anarchist, but he says he's tried hard not to push an ideological agenda onto his pages, focusing instead on government accountability....

"The Free Thought Project also ran afoul of fact-checkers, particularly Snopes, which has accused them of misrepresenting stories on several occasions and which frequently describes them as a conspiracy site.... Bassler says he's had four stories pulled from Facebook after fact-checkers deemed them inaccurate. He has had two of those decisions reversed.....

"[B]ut even though Facebook is turning to Snopes to assist with fact-checking what gets shared on the platform, Facebook's latest round of page deletions makes no mention of fact-checking problems as a justification. Reason has reached out to both Facebook and Snopes to see if this fact-checking fight played any role [in] the decision to shut down The Free Thought Project's page or any others affected by the purge. We have not yet gotten a response....

"Bassler says he's going to 'fight tooth and nail' to try to get his Facebook pages restored. The Free Thought Project has officially responded to having its Facebook page deleted here."

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/10/12/libertarian-and-police-accountability-pa
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Canada's cannabis packaging rules disturbing, says Consumer Choice Center

CNW | Federal Government Plain Packaging Regulations Completely Disregard Consumers and Limit Product Choice (press release) - /CNW Telbec/:

October 12, 2018 - "The Federal Government of Canada is enacting strict branding and packaging restrictions on the legal cannabis market. More specifically, Health Canada has taken the framework of plain packaging tobacco products including cigarettes and cigars, and applied many aspects of that legislation to how legal cannabis products must appear. This mandate from Health Canada limits consumer choice, according to the Consumer Choice Center, and more importantly, prevents consumers from selecting products based on their personal choice.

"Speaking at [a] news conference yesterday held in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, David Clement, North American Affairs Manager for the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) said the Federal Government seems committed to treating adult consumers like children. The branding restrictions placed on tobacco products, and now cannabis products, shows a disturbing trend of paternalism creeping further into the lives of adult consumers. It's a dangerous precedent and raises the question of what products will be targeted next.

"'What we've seen is that Health Canada and our federal government are regulating products with complete disregard for consumers, and complete disregard for a continuum of risk. Our worry now is what started with tobacco has moved to cannabis, and now will move to other products, such as soft drinks, alcohol and various other food items,' said ... Clement....

"CCC has launched the Smokers Vote initiative where consumers of cannabis, tobacco products and cigars can raise their concerns about plain packaging regulations directly with their elected representatives and engage in direct democracy....

"The Consumer Choice Center is a global advocacy group focused on consumer choice and market access. The CCC monitors regulatory trends around the world, works with consumers in over 100 countries, and engages with policy makers to highlight how certain regulations impact consumer choice."

Read more: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/federal-government-plain-packaging-regulations-completely-disregard-consumers-and-limit-product-choice-697219141.html
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Ex-UKIP MEP joins UK Libertarian Party

Bill Etheridge joins Libertarian Party days after UKIP exit | Express & Star - Annabel Bagdi:

October 8, 2018 - "West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has joined the Libertarian Party just days after quitting UKIP. He has joined as deputy chairman after claiming he could no longer serve under the leadership of UKIP's Gerard Batten.

"His move comes amid his desire to support a system with less government interference, lower taxes and individual empowerment, the party said.

"Mr Etheridge said: 'I have always campaigned on libertarian values. UKIP has turned its back on those values, but I never will. I am excited to get to work with a truly libertarian party and hopefully introduce libertarian ideas to the great debates of our time especially Brexit.'

"The politician brought an end to his seven years with UKIP last week, citing his 'despair' at the extremist direction of the leadership. In his resignation letter to Mr Batten, he claimed the leader had 'changed the party beyond all recognition'....

"[UK Libertarian] Party leader Adam Brown said: 'We are delighted to have Bill join us. We often speak to members of other parties who consider themselves Libertarian and have become increasingly dissatisfied with politics within these parties.... It is great to be able to give this Libertarian a voice in our party and we welcome those from other parties, who consider themselves Libertarians, to do the same'....

"Party chairman Andrew Withers said: 'I see this move as a sea change in our profile and welcome Bill’s campaigning expertise and also thank him for his hospitality in Brussels last month.

"'The Libertarian Party advocate a written constitution similar to that of Switzerland, where state control ends and the rights and responsibilities of citizens begin.'"

Read more: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2018/10/08/bill-etheridge-joins-libertarian-party-days-after-ukip-exit/
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Debate exclusion hits NH Libertarians too

NH Libertarian Party Candidates Excluded from WMUR’s Debates via Insurmountable Rules? | Free Keene - Ian Freeman [NH Senate district 10 Libertarian candidate]:

October 7, 2018 "Despite attaining major party ballot access in New Hampshire for the first time in twenty years, the Libertarian Party of NH has been unfairly excluded from the biggest debates – those hosted by WMUR-TV. How? According to the rules the ABC affiliate announced last month, in order to be invited to their debates, the candidate must be polling at over 12%.... There have been no polls that have included the libertarian candidates.... Oh yeah, and they want the candidate to have $25,000 in the bank....

"Thankfully, many of NH’s local media like newspapers and radio have been fair to the libertarian candidates, like the Keene Sentinel, whose editorial board recently interviewed [Libertarian candidate for governor] Jilletta Jarvis.

"According to Jarvis, if she’s invited to a debate, the other candidates will protest. She told me that North Country Community Radio recently invited all three gubernatorial candidates to debate. Incumbent republican Chris Sununu responded and declined the station’s invitation and democrat Molly Kelly ignored their invite entirely. Instead of the planned debate, the station gave a two hour interview to Jarvis and reminded their audience of the major candidates’ conspicuous absence.

"Though Jarvis was told personally by WMUR’s Political Director Adam Sexton that the Libertarian candidate for governor WOULD be invited to debate, News Director Alisha McDevitt later told Jarvis that Sexton was not authorized to make that promise on behalf of WMUR. Sexton by the way, HAS been fair to the Libertarians in his various coverage – kudos to him for that.

"If you’re upset by these blatantly biased rules, please reach out to the debate organizers at WMUR and the Union Leader and let them know how you feel.... Jarvis ... has set up a page from which you can send an email to ... Alisha McDevitt.....

"Jarvis’ campaign has raised more than any other LP candidate for governor since 1994, but she’s still $16,000 short of WMUR’s $25,000 campaign finance goal. [Americans] can donate to her campaign here."

Read more: https://freekeene.com/2018/10/07/nh-libertarian-party-candidates-excluded-from-wmurs-debates-via-insurmountable-rules/
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LPC deputy leader, executive director join Bernier

Why I left the Libertarian Party and am now calling on others to follow suit - The Post Millennial - Trevor Schmidt:

October 5, 2018 - "This week I resigned from my position as Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Canada (LPoC) in order to join the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). Now I am calling on all federal political party members who know a desperate change is needed in Ottawa to do the same.

"When I left the CPC to join the Libertarians in 2014 I did so because I saw in that small party the reflection of what I felt, and what I believed others felt, was a burning desire for a return to principled politics. Canadians desire this not for the sake of romance and not just for the sake of transparency, but because they’ve become acutely aware that it takes principled politicians to stand firm against all the lobbyists and special interests in Ottawa that will lead them astray from those that elected them.

"The strong showing by Maxime Bernier in the CPC leadership contest and the rise of the PPC have shown me that my belief likely had some merit.

"The difference between the PPC and the Libertarians is that Max enjoys popular support and the desire to build a broad coalition of voters that could actually see the party become a force for change on Parliament Hill. There are good ideas shared by good people across the political spectrum that have so much in common if only united by the understanding that the job of the public servant is not to get re-elected, but to, well, serve the public....

"Those paying attention know that Bernier has an avenue to success. Already, in only a few short weeks, PPC Electoral District Associations – the main bodies responsible for the recruitment, nomination process and fielding of local riding candidates – are being organized all across the country....

"[N]o movement against an entrenched established interest can be successful without people behind it. This is why I have, along with Deputy Leader Darcy Gerow* and other regional Libertarian leadership members, resigned from the Libertarian Party in order to unite with others who understand the urgency of returning principled leadership to Ottawa.

"This is also why I’m calling on Conservatives, Libertarians, and all Canadian party members who believe in principled politics to shed their previous party affiliations and help build the People’s Party of Canada into an effective federal option that leads with its ideas and seeks to govern for all Canadians, not just special interests."

Read more: https://www.thepostmillennial.com/schmidt-why-i-left-the-libertarian-party-and-am-now-calling-on-others-to-follow-suit/
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Exclusive debates are campaign contributions, Ohio Libertarians ask Election Commission to rule

Libertarians file complaint over three Ohio gubernatorial debates :: WRAL.com - Cox newspapers:

September 25, 2018 - "The Libertarian Party of Ohio has filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission over being excluded from three gubernatorial debates, including the first one held last week at the University of Dayton [UD] between Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine.

"The 23-page complaint alleges that the university and the DeWine and Cordray campaigns excluded other qualified gubernatorial candidates from planning and participating in the debate.

"'No pre-existing objective criteria -- other than the participants being Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine -- were published, documented or in any way made available to the public, the press, the two minor political parties, or the two minor political parties' qualified gubernatorial candidates,' the complaint says.

"Libertarian Party of Ohio nominee Travis Irvine and Ohio Green Party nominee Constance Gadell Newton will also appear on the statewide ballot as candidates for governor.

"Two other debates between Cordray and DeWine [were held] Oct. 1 at Marietta College and Oct. 7 at Cleveland State University.

"The Libertarian Party's complaint alleges that hosting the Sept. 19 debate amounted to an illegal campaign contribution to DeWine and Cordray from UD.

"A university spokesperson said the week before the debate that it had set a 10-percent polling requirement for candidates to participate in the debate. The Libertarian complaint said there is no evidence they have seen that the criteria was set before the debate was announced....

"The Ohio Elections Commission is expected to give the complaint a preliminary review at its Nov. 1 meeting."

Read more: https://www.wral.com/libertarians-file-complaint-over-three-ohio-gubernatorial-debates/17872675/
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