Remember George H.W. Bush and Keith Jackson

Not to Praise, But to Bury | Liberty Unbound - Andrew Ferguson:

December 4, 2018 - "As another elder statesman dies and the nation is caught in the grip of another bout of panegyrics, it’s worth ... considering also the plight of Keith Jackson.

"In 1989, Jackson was a high school senior in Anacostia, southeast DC, ... a low-level drug dealer.... Bush ... wanted a set piece to kick off his own extension of Reagan’s War on Drugs. So his staff came up with the idea of busting someone for selling crack cocaine — still the drug warrior’s enemy of choice — in the shadow of the White House....

"[Drug Enforcemant Agency] agents offered up Jackson as a patsy.... That purpose in hand, the undercover DEA agent on Jackson’s case asked him to meet at Lafayette Park, promising an extra premium to lure Jackson to Northwest DC, where black residents of the city almost never went....

"The purchase took place on September 1, and on September 5 Bush was holding up a plastic baggie of crack cocaine during a White House address, noting that it had been 'seized' (not bought) just across the street. He demanded more cops to arrest drug dealers, more prosecutors to seek harsher penalties for them, and more prisons to hold all the extra convicts. He got all of those things, often in connection with mandatory minimum laws that eliminated judicial discretion in sentencing....

"Keith Jackson was one of those who fell prey to a mandatory minimum. The DEA arrested him, not at the sale for whatever reason, but immediately after Bush’s speech. After his first two trials ended in hung juries, a third trial saw him convicted and sentenced to a legally-mandated decade in prison without parole. The judge in the case, uncomfortable with the mode of Jackson’s entrapment, urged him to ask the president for a commutation. But Bush had almost immediately washed his hands of the matter.... And so, for the crime of selling 2.4 grams of crack cocaine to another consenting adult in a place where there had been no recorded drug busts in the past, Keith Jackson served almost eight years in prison.

"What happened to him after that point is not known. One doubts that Bush ever dwelt on Jackson or any other of the thousands affected by yet another surge in the War on Drugs — young men and occasionally women losing their futures to ruthless sentencing guidelines and the economic incentives of incarceration, or often just their lives to police enforcement or to the criminal turf wars that invariably follow the artificial limiting of a highly in-demand substance. Add in the families and communities that depended on this suddenly absent and incarcerated generation, and it’s hundreds of thousands if not millions.

"But if Bush ever cared about those whose lives didn’t intersect with his, he certainly never showed it, as the Iraqi people had ample opportunity to learn....

"But when you see the footage of his funerals, when you take in the official outpouring of grief that is increasingly mandatory on such occasions, when above all you hear anyone talking about how George H.W. Bush advocated for a 'kinder, gentler conservatism,' spare a thought for Keith Jackson. It’s more than Bush ever did."

Read more: http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/1924

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Cannabis legalization passed by NJ committees

The 11th State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Is ... - Sean Williams, The Motley Fool:

December 2, 2018 - "On Monday, Nov. 26, two panels in New Jersey voted overwhelmingly to approve three new cannabis bills -- one of which aims to legalize adult-use marijuana.

"These panels, from the state's Senate and Assembly, voted 7 to 4, with two abstentions in the Senate, and 7 to 3, with one abstention in the Assembly, in favor of the bill that would legalize recreational marijuana within the state. The additional two bills that also passed cover an expansion of the state's existing medical cannabis program and the creation of a system that would speed up criminal expungements of low-level cannabis offenses. Now all three bills move on for an official vote from the full Senate and Assembly. Assuming passage, a recreational marijuana bill could find its way to Gov. Phil Murphy's (D-N.J.) desk within a few weeks....

"As with other legalized states, it would allow adults aged 21 and up to purchase up to 1 ounce of cannabis. There would be an attached tax rate of 12%, which would be considerably lower than the aggregate tax rates that some folks might pay in Washington state or California of up to 37% and 45%, respectively. For what it's worth, Gov. Murphy has suggested that a 12% tax rate is too low. Instead, Murphy has called for an excise tax of 25%....

"Beyond the basics, the broad-based legalization bill also includes a section on the expedited expungement of low-level marijuana offenses. Though a separate bill is being worked on that would tackle this faster and more efficiently, the mere existence of this clause is worth noting. It's also worth pointing out that North Dakota voters turned down a recreational legalization initiative in the recent midterms that had an expungement clause, suggesting that it's no given to attract support.

"Finally, the bill would allow for marijuana delivery services within the state, as well as give permission for dispensaries to create 'consumption areas.' Essentially, New Jersey would permit pot shops within dispensaries where consumers could enjoy their product outside of their homes....

"Though Gov. Murphy has taken exception to the proposed tax rate, he's been very clear in the past about his support for legalizing recreational marijuana as both a revenue driver within the state and a means to reduce cannabis enforcement costs. This, presumably, gives New Jersey a very good chance of becoming the 11th state to legalize recreational pot."

Read more: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/12/02/the-11th-state-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana.aspx
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Seattle suit against warrantless rental inspections

Mandatory Warrantless Rental Inspections Inspire Seattle Lawsuit - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Scott Shackford:

December 5, 2018 - "In an alleged effort to root out slumlords, some cities treat renters as though they don't have any rights, forcing residents to allow government officials in for mandatory warrantless 'inspections' to make sure homes are up to code. The lawyers at the Institute for Justice, a national public interest law firm, have ... filed a class-action complaint against the city of Seattle that attempts to put a stop to its inspection program.

"According to their lawsuit, Seattle launched an inspection program in 2015 that requires landlords to register rental properties with the city. The city then randomly chooses 10 percent of the rental properties to inspect each year. This includes inhabited apartments and houses.....

"In July, according to the lawsuit, a group of renters sharing a home wrote city officials telling them that they do not consent to a search of their property. The owner of the home also wrote to let the city know that she was respecting her tenants' wishes. The city responded that if the landlord refused to let the inspectors in, she faced penalties of $150 a day for the first 10 days, and then $500 a day afterward. Seattle did not even respond to the letter from the tenants.

"The Institute for Justice is now representing both tenants and landlords in these cases to try to stop unwarranted inspections under the city's law, arguing that it violates the privacy provisions of the Washington Constitution....

"The Institute for Justice wants the city to have to show probable cause that there are code violations within somebody's home before it can demand access. The group is asking for Seattle's inspection system to be declared unconstitutional and for an injunction to be put in place stopping warrantless searches without a tenant's consent.

"This suit has been filed under Washington's Constitution rather than under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because the state has additional privacy protections that are a little broader.... It was actually under Washington's Constitution in 2016 that another group of property-rights-protecting lawyers, the Pacific Legal Foundation, stopped Seattle from snooping through people's trash to make sure they were separating out their food waste."

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/12/05/mandatory-warrantless-rental-inspections
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Globe and Mail on Bernier's 'darker vision'

Maxime Bernier goes to a dark place - The Globe and Mail - Jeffrey Ibbitson:

November 12, 2018 - "In a speech on Saturday at a conference hosted by the right-wing Rebel Media in Calgary, the leader of the new People’s Party of Canada questioned the science of climate change, pilloried the United Nations and insisted immigrants to Canada must embrace 'Western civilization values'....'

"The party, which the Beauce, Que., MP founded in September after deciding Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives had become too centrist, is making good progress.... Mr. Bernier claims to already have signed up 33,000 supporters with PPC riding associations organizing across the country.

"In some ways, Mr. Bernier is simply a Conservative in a hurry, with his proposals to lower taxes, eliminate corporate subsidies, deregulate the telecom sector, cut funding to the CBC and privatize Canada Post. But in front of a friendly crowd, his vision grows darker.

"First, he pledged, 'I am the only politician in Ottawa who promises to take Canada out of the Paris accord' to fight global warming.... Climate-change deniers will feel very much at home in the People’s Party.

"Second, Mr. Bernier is committed to 'abolishing foreign aid and saving the $5-billion that we spend every year to help Canadians instead'.... Even Mr. Trump hasn’t proposed completely eliminating foreign aid, although he would doubtless warm to the idea if he thought he could get away with it.

"Third, and darkest, 'our immigration policy should not aim to forcibly change the cultural character and social fabric of our country,' he told the audience. Immigration levels should be reduced, and immigrants must 'adopt widely shared Canadian values, Western civilization values,' he maintained.

“'On issues such as immigration, multiculturalism, diversity, [the Conservatives] are simply not willing to push back against the dominant left-wing narrative,' Mr. Bernier declared, 'and they are afraid to create controversies. I’m not afraid.'

"And if there were any doubt about the buttons Mr. Bernier intends to push in the months ahead, on Sunday, he tweeted a video of crowds in Pakistan protesting the release of Asia Bibi, a Christian who had been convicted of blasphemy. 'Radical multiculturalism is the misguided belief that all values and cultures can coexist in one society,' he tweeted. 'They cannot. We must protect our society against this kind of barbarism.'”

"No credible voice in this country seeks to undermine the values and beliefs embedded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and in the fabric of Canadian society. Immigrants and refugees come here in search of a future protected by those values and beliefs. Mr. Bernier is simply stoking irrational fears of a threat that does not exist. It is pure Trumpism."

Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-goes-to-a-dark-place/
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40 Maine towns have declared food sovereignty

One year after becoming law, food sovereignty in Maine has taken hold — Homestead — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine - Julia Beilly:

November 27, 2018 - "Since becoming law a year ago, the number of Maine towns and small communities with a food sovereignty ordinance has grown to more than 40.... The legislation, ... signed into law last October, allows municipalities to regulate local food systems, including production, processing, consumption and direct producer-to-consumer exchanges. This type of commerce had been regulated at the state and federal level, which continues to regulate meat and poultry production and sales.

"No official data are being collected on the towns adopting the ordinance, but last week Augusta became the latest municipality in the state to pass an ordinance based on the sovereignty law, joining the dozens of municipalities including Auburn, Machias, Blue Hill, Rockland, Chapman and York.

"Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, ... along with Rep. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, co-sponsored the food sovereignty legislation signed into law....

"In Greenwood, population 800, the ordinance is acting as a sort of small business incubator, according to Suzanne Dunham of Dunham Farms and Velvet Hollow Sugar Works in Greenwood. She and her husband Brian also manage the Greenwood Farmers Market.... Before passage of the food sovereignty ordinance made the licensing moot, the Dunhams were fully licensed by the state [but] 'others in our community didn’t have the economic means to go through licensing,' she said.  Now, thanks to the ordinance the town passed last June, that obstacle has been removed.

"'Greenwood’s food sovereignty ordinance allows me to make pies and other baked goods in my home kitchen and sell them directly to customers without having to be licensed by the state,' Greenwood resident Amy Chapman, who runs Amy’s Bakehouse out of her home, said. 'Since I have several other part-time jobs and baking is only a small part of what I do, it would not be worth my time, money and energy to do it for a weekly farmers market if I had to go through the state’s process to become a licensed producer'....

"That is exactly what Jackson envisioned for the law. 'A lot of people can’t take the chance on doing something they wanted to do because they found it too onerous or costly to become licensed under state or federal regulations,' Jackson said. “I think people who have a product will now take more of a chance and actually do something to create a small business'....

"Neighbors selling to neighbors has been going on for generations in Maine, but for all that time growers and producers not licensed by the state were forced to conduct business out of the public eye and only with trusted, known customers."

Read more: http://www.bangordailynews.com/2018/11/26/homestead/one-year-after-becoming-law-food-sovereignty-in-maine-has-taken-hold/
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David Boaz remembers Andrea Millen Rich

RIP Andrea Rich | Cato @ Liberty - David Boaz:

August 1, 2018 - "I am saddened to report that my dear friend Andrea Millen Rich died this morning at her home in Philadelphia at the age of 79 after a 19-year battle with lung cancer....For more than 40 years Andrea was at the center of the libertarian movement, a mentor, counselor, friend, supporter, facilitator, networker, and gracious hostess....

"She was the first chair of the New York Libertarian Party in 1973-74. The vice chair was Howard S. Rich, whom she soon married. From 1974 to 1977 she was vice chair of the national Libertarian Party, and in 1980 she played a key role in developing television advertising for the campaign of Ed Clark, the Libertarian presidential nominee.

"From 1982 to 2005 she was the president of Laissez-Faire Books, which billed itself as 'the world’s largest collection of books on liberty.' It had a retail location on Mercer Street in Greenwich Village.... But in those pre-Amazon days, it was far better known for its monthly catalog that reached libertarians around the world. Through its Fox & Wilkes publishing imprint it brought many classic libertarian books back into print.....

"Andrea often negotiated with publishers to make books more affordable, and some books only found publishers because Laissez-Faire could guarantee an audience beyond the small academic market.

"Through her work with Laissez-Faire she became friendly with leading libertarian writers including Milton and Rose Friedman, Robert Nozick, Thomas Sowell, Nathaniel Branden, Thomas Szasz, Charles Murray, Richard Epstein, David Kelley, and Margit von Mises, widow of economist Ludwig von Mises.

"As president of the Center for Independent Thought [CIT], the parent organization of Laissez-Faire Books, she also launched and managed the Thomas S. Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties and the Roy A. Childs Fund for Independent Scholars.

"CIT’s biggest project was Stossel in the Classroom, which repackaged ABC News and Fox Business videos on economics and public policy by John Stossel for classroom use. The videos have been viewed by tens of millions of high school students – according to Stossel, reaching more people than ABC News and Fox News."

Read more: https://www.cato.org/blog/rip-andrea-rich
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French revolt against climate-change tax

France’s Tax Revolt: What Separates the Yellow Vests from America’s Tea Party - Foundation for Economic Education - Bill Wirtz:

November 28, 2018 - "France is seeing large-scale protests against massive hikes in petrol prices, sparked by tax increases.... In an effort to make its case on climate change, the government under French president Emmanuel Macron has significantly increased the TICPE, an acronym which stands for 'interior tax on the consumption of energy products." An increase of up to 12 percent is supposed to curb CO2 emissions and get the country on target to fulfill its objectives, set out in the Paris Climate Accord....

"Petrol prices in the République, ... already much higher than in its neighboring countries, skyrocketed.... in the Paris region, a liter of petrol can cost up to €1.90 ($2.15). For my American friends who may be less familiar with the metric system, that’s $8.13 per gallon.

"As a result, the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) arose out of civil society. They aren't associated with any political party, but they are surely angry, contesting sky-high taxation in France, and the political class is unwilling to listen to them. Protest marches often occur on motorways, where the yellow vests block the streets to get attention for their cause. The high-visibility security vests they wear are symbolic for a cry for help and a desperate attempt to gain attention.... Some protests have turned violent in city centers, where particularly large crowds are clashing with police forces....

"The yellow vests aren't a political movement.... However, they risk being politicized ... political parties are mastering the art of undermining legitimate movements and claiming them for themselves. Both France's far-left and far-right believe that the yellow vests could be an essential electoral boost to them before the impending European elections in this coming May.

"But even if we assume that this movement manages to resist the attempts of being swallowed by either political side, what future can it have in such a tax-friendly country? The yellow vests are no Tea Party: they lack the structure and ideological backing....

"[T]he Tea Party understood that in order to cut taxes, you need to cut spending. In France however, expectations to win just as many people over on the promise of cutting spending are grim.... People arguing to cut taxes is a wonderful thing, but it also needs to be offset with the belief that the government isn't here to solve all of your problems. We're not hearing that from the yellow vests.....

"[C]utting taxes without cutting spending is just going to shift the problem to debt and inflationary policies. If the yellow vests want to become a movement that has an actual voice in the process of reforming France, then it needs to be ideologically sound."

Read more: https://fee.org/articles/france-s-tax-revolt-what-separates-the-yellow-vests-from-america-s-tea-party/
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