U.S. Congress votes to legalize hemp

Congress Passed the 2018 Farm Bill, Legalizing Hemp. What’s Next for Cannabis Businesses? - Cannabis Business Times - Eric Sandy & Melissa Schiller:

December 13, 2018 - "Congress federally legalized hemp with the Dec. 12 passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.... The $867 billion agriculture law cleared the Senate Dec. 11 with a 87-13 vote before gaining approval in the House Dec. 12 with a 369-47 vote. The bill has been sent to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.

"The Farm Bill removes hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and allows farmers to pursue federal hemp cultivation permits, while individual states can regulate the industry within their borders as they see fit. Already, 40 states have established hemp cultivation 'pilot programs' for industrial and commercial purposes, although the plant has been strictly regulated....

"Hemp cultivation became illegal in the U.S. in 1937, under provisions in the Marihuana Tax Act, which was drafted by prohibitionist Harry Anslinger. In the intervening eight decades, American culture has steadily warmed to the idea of reviving the agricultural commodity and its many commercial uses....

"The legislation will supersede the recently expired 2014 Farm Bill, which had granted states the ability to create those hemp production pilot programs. The manufacture and sale of hemp-derived CBD, however, was strictly regulated and sometimes left out of states’ medical cannabis market frameworks.

"Now, with hemp set to be treated as an agricultural product, the U.S. FDA or state departments of agriculture will provide oversight of the plant’s cultivation....

“'While the Farm Bill presents exciting opportunities for U.S. agriculture and the hemp industry, it is still unclear what the final status of CBD will be,' said Jordan Friedman, CEO and co-founder of Zodaka, a cannabis payment platform.... Hemp is primarily a cheap source of CBD, which [has] become a hot commodity, and the passage of the Farm Bill ensures that people who farm and create products with CBD are protected from prosecution, Joseph said.... More retailers will likely start integrating CBD products into their stores, as well....

"Hemp legalization will also lend support to what is already becoming a multi-billion-dollar American agriculture industry, according to Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., a U.S.-based hemp cultivator....

"And cultivating hemp can also help eliminate contaminants in the soil.... Hemp will absorb [pollutants] voraciously, neutralize them and break them down into harmless components."

Read more: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/2018-farm-bill-hemp-cannabis-businesses/
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Beck joins Celebrity Santas paying layaway debts

Tyler Perry paid 1,500 Walmart layaway accounts, but layaway has risks - Vox - Nadra Nittle:

December 12, 2018 - "This week, filmmaker Tyler Perry and musician Kid Rock made headlines for taking part in what’s become a holiday tradition among some wealthy people: paying off the layaway accounts of strangers. Layaway allows shoppers who can’t pay for merchandise all at once to reserve the product and pay for it in installments. While stores offer layaway year-round, it is especially popular during the fall when consumers use it to purchase holiday gifts that typically cost at least $50.

"Perry cleared the Walmart layaway accounts of 1,500 Atlanta-area shoppers, a deed that totaled $434,000. Inspired by the Madea star, Kid Rock paid off $81,000 in layaway balances at a Nashville Walmart. And last week Gayle Benson, owner of New Orleans sports teams the Saints and the Pelicans, paid off about $100,000 in Walmart layaway balances."

Read more: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/12/18138124/tyler-perry-walmart-layaway-risky-low-income-shoppers

Glenn Beck's Christmas Charity is a Great Example of Libertarian Principles - The Libertarian Republic - Caleb Shumate:

December 13, 2018 - "This past Saturday, nationally syndicated political commentator Glenn Beck demonstrated to our country the beauty of private charity when he and his family walked into a Walmart in North Richland Hills, Texas and spent $27,000 paying off people’s layaways for the holidays. Glenn did this while streaming on Facebook Live and then issued a challenge to Mark Levin, Steven Crowder, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other conservative commentators to do the same.

"Beck cited that he and his family were inspired to do this by Tyler Perry, who paid off $434,000 for 1,500 people.... This ... is an excellent example of our ideas put into practice.

"We often complain about the evils of the welfare state, but if we want the government to do less, we have to do more. I believe ... that if we get the government out of the way, we not only can but will help those in need more efficiently. Instead [of] the government 'robbing collective Peter to pay collective Paul,' we can help those in need by giving them a hand up instead of a handout....

"I will gladly voluntarily give my wealth and time to help those who need it, but I cannot stand for the government taking the wealth of individuals and then giving it to other individuals creating a never-ending cycle of dependency and then having the gall to call that help!...

"I want to thank Tyler Perry, Glenn Beck, and Kid Rock, for their sincere charitable actions and for showing the country, as well as the world, that private charity is always the way to go – and of course, for reminding us of the reason for the Christmas season."

Read more: https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/glenn-becks-christmas-charity-is-a-great-example-of-libertarian-principles/
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Libertarians see progress in midterm elections

Is the Libertarian Party Glass Half Full or Half Empty? - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

December 12, 2018 - "Last Friday, after a lengthy ballot count, Libertarian Jeff Hewitt was declared the winner of one of five officially nonpartisan seats on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, giving him one of the largest constituent bases of any elected Libertarian in the party's 47-year history. On Saturday in this space, we posted a far less upbeat assessment of the L.P.'s current electoral situation....

"In a teleconference with party activists before the Hewitt announcement last week, Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark laid out the numerical case for optimism.

"'We ran 833 candidates for public office in 2018 in the November elections. We ended up with 52 [now 53] elected Libertarians….That's an increase from the last general election year 2016, where we only elected 34 people," said Sarwark, who finished in fourth and last place in November's Phoenix mayoral race, receiving 10.5 percent of the vote. "In 2016, the Libertarian Party ran 593 candidates around the country….2017's our last odd-numbered year; we ran 135 candidates for both state and local races, but of those, we ended up electing 48'....

"In a press release Friday, the party exulted over Hewitt's win, calling it 'arguably the largest, most momentous win in Libertarian Party history.' The release went on to list the other winners from November, including four municipal officials who won partisan races in Indiana.

"Mark Rutherford, a longtime activist in the comparatively successful Indiana L.P., and former vice chair of the national party (2010-12), says there has a been a sea change in approach to nuts-and-bolts campaigning. 'I've never seen canvassing taken so serious by Libertarians since I first started paying serious attention to the LP in 1994,' Rutherford wrote in an email to me this week.... 'Right now, change is happening in the LP as I see it becoming a party that finds libertarians and gets them elected or appointed to office. I hope it continues'....

"'As far as how we came out of the 2018 election, ballot access-wise,' Sarwark said, 'we are on in 34 states for 2020 for a presidential candidate. That is the best situation we have ever been in after a non-presidential general election, and it's actually the best situation that any third party has been in in history.' The party maintains its expectation to be on the ballot in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, 'which would be one of the first times, maybe the first time, that anyone's done that back to back as a non-Republican-or-Democratic party'....

"'The original Libertarian Party had only 70 members, but today exceeds 130,000,' the L.P. noted yesterday in a birthday press release. 'The membership of the Libertarian Party has increased by 92 percent during the past 10 years. The presidential ticket of Gov. Gary Johnson and Gov. William Weld in 2016 received a record number of votes for the Libertarian Party. Perhaps most importantly, the Libertarians are the only party on the political spectrum defending both economic responsibility and social acceptance.'"

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/12/12/is-the-libertarian-party-glass-half-full
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French government scraps fuel tax hike

France scraps 2019 fuel tax increase for good in face of continued protests | CBC News - Associated Press:

Dec. 5, 2018 - "In the face of ongoing protests and rioting, the French government now says a planned fuel tax increase that  President Emmanuel Macron argued was crucial to fight climate change won't happen at all in 2019.

"The government had announced a six-month suspension of the tax just yesterday.... But 24 hours later, amid continued anger on the streets and a parliamentary debate on the 2019 budget, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe suddenly told his fellow legislators that 'the tax is now abandoned' in the 2019 budget....

"The budget can be renegotiated through the year, but given the scale of the recent protests, Macron is unlikely to revive the added fuel tax idea anytime soon.

"French protesters are welcoming Macron's decision to scrap a fuel tax rise — but say it may not be enough to contain public anger.... Three weeks of protests have left four people dead, hundreds injured and central Paris littered with burned cars and shattered windows.

"The so-called 'yellow vest' movement was mostly peaceful to begin with. People angry about the planned tax increase donned the yellow emergency vests all French drivers must have in their cars in case of a breakdown and took to the streets in mid-November.

"The past two weekends, though, saw outpourings of violence and rioting in Paris, with extreme far-right and far-left factions joining the demonstrations. It was the worst anti-government rioting since 1968. At least four people died, and police feared more violence would come this Saturday in the French capital."

"On Wednesday, France's largest farmers' union said it will launch anti-government protests next week, after trucking unions called for a rolling strike.

"Trade unions have not so far played a role in the yellow vest protest movement but are now trying to capitalize on the growing public anger."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/macron-yellow-vests-protests-tax-1.4933806
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Libertarian Hewitt elected co. supervisor in CA

Libertarian Party celebrates their 'most momentous win' after California votes finally tallied - Washington Times - Jennifer Harper:

December 7, 2018 - "California officials have spent weeks counting provisional and absentee ballots following the Nov. 6 election, and have at last determined who will be the next supervisor for the 5th District of Riverside County.

"Libertarian Jeff Hewitt on Friday was declared the winner with 51.9 percent of the vote, besting his Republican opponent Russ Bogh, who garnered 48.1 percent.

"'This is arguably the largest, most momentous win in Libertarian Party history,' the Libertarian Party said in a celebratory statement. 'The population of Riverside County is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau at 2,423,266 for 2018.... Hewitt’s district alone has a population of more than 438,000.... Other Libertarians have been elected to state House positions over the years, including Andre Marrou in Alaska and several in New Hampshire. All of them, however, were elected in districts with populations of less than 50,000.'

"Riverside County has appropriated spending of $5.6 billion in 2018-19 on revenues of $5.4 billion....

"'Hewitt will have 20 percent of the board’s vote. His considerable persuasive abilities will aid him in doing something about that budget shortfall going forward,' the party noted, citing numerous cost-cutting measures Mr. Hewitt previously deployed as ... mayor of Calimesa, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

"They included trimming 'bankruptcy-inducing pension obligations' and paring down administrative costs.

"Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark emphasizes that his party is in it for the 'long game,' adding that out of the 833 Libertarians who ran for office this year, 53 won. 'What we’re trying to do is keep advancing down the field regardless of the other things that are happening in the world or in politics,' Mr. Sarwark said. “We have to show up to every election.'"

Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/7/libertarian-party-celebrates-their-most-momentous-/
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Canada's CRTC wants a 'not a tax' on internet

 CRTC Wants to Tax Internet Users to Subsidize Content Creators | Frontier Centre For Public Policy:

November 17, 2018 - "Ian Scott, chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), told a conference of international regulators last month that he wants to add a one per cent surcharge on stand-alone Internet subscriptions and have the money go to those who create Canadian programming. Claiming it’s 'not a tax,' he insists that Internet service providers benefit from the nation’s beloved Canadian content and therefore should contribute to the cost of its creation.

"Noting that the average monthly Internet bill in the country is a mere $46 a month (yes, who knew?), he told the Financial Post: 'Is 46 cents worth it per month in order to support the future of viable Canadian programming? The answer is yes.'

"Actually, the answer is no.... What does and doesn’t stream over the Internet is none of the CRTC’s business. Its job should be upholding and not violating the principle of net neutrality that insists upon regulators and providers remaining agnostic regarding its content. This, and not taxing it based on its content, is what should be enshrined in any new legislation.

"The Federal Court of Canada has already determined that the Internet doesn’t constitute broadcasting. The fact that carrying video is among its numerous utilities doesn’t make it television any more than carrying audio makes it radio or disseminating the printed word makes it a newspaper or posting images of art makes it a gallery. It’s the Internet – an actual thing that money-grubbers incapable of weaning themselves from the succour structures of the 1980s need to keep their lips off.

"Then of course there’s the fact that the entire world has changed due to the current technological revolution.... The Internet has disrupted everything. Entire businesses and companies (think Blockbuster) have disappeared. Others such as newspapers that were once robust and healthy are now emaciated waifs as their revenue streams have been swept away. So why not another 'not a tax' for them?

"Yes and one to help those bankrupt video store operators.... And another over here for my friends in the travel agency business. Oh, and one for that fella over there? Yeah – the musician who can’t make money selling music anymore and has to hit the road constantly. How about funds for everyone – each supported by just a teeny weeny 'not a tax' – who has had their business model disrupted by the Internet?

"Apart from music, the CRTC is unlikely to get involved in most of these areas – although others will certainly be tempted. That it’s going down this road at all, however, and at a time of robust investment in Canadian film and television, displays an unseemly willingness to kowtow to the creative lobby."

Read more: https://fcpp.org/2018/11/17/crtc-wants-to-tax-internet-users-to-subsidize-content-creators/
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Midterm results disappointing for Libertarians

The Libertarian Party Future, Perennially Out of Reach - Reason.com - Matt Welch:

January 2019: ""He's going to finish certainly no worse than second, and maybe first,' Libertarian Party (L.P.) 2016 vice presidential nominee Bill Weld enthused about Massachusetts state auditor candidate Dan Fishman in mid-October.... It looked like Weld might be onto something two weeks later when The Boston Globe took the highly unusual step of endorsing the L.P. candidate....

"Massachusetts voters declined the advice. When the smoke cleared on November 6, the would-be Libertarian auditor for the government of Taxachusetts finished not first, not second, but a distant third place, with a desultory 4.2 percent of the vote. The effort was enough to give the party automatic statewide ballot access for 2020 ... but not enough to stave off the national wave of nausea that afflicted many libertarians on election day.....

"About the only federal candidate prioritizing the budget calamity was Gary Johnson.... Running in the state he governed twice, and where he earned 9.3 percent of the presidential vote in 2016, ... Johnson was able to participate in debates and generate extensive media coverage. The first independent three-way poll in late August hinted at a shockingly competitive race: 39 percent for Heinrich, 21 percent for Johnson, and just 11 percent for Rich. And yet Election Day 2018 brought another Libertarian bummer:... Rich doubled up on Johnson, 31 percent to 15 percent....

"Political fear and loathing, it turns out, is no friend to independent and third-party candidates.... As we learned in 2016, when voters feel revulsion toward a candidate or party, they are likely to go for the alternative with the best chance to defeat the bad guy. In a high-turnout midterm like 2018, minor parties undershoot their polling projections by massive amounts.

"The most anticipated of the 22 Libertarian races for governor, for example, was rising party star Larry Sharpe in New York. An energetic, fast-talking campaigner with a preternatural talent for fundraising, Sharpe brought in an impressive $450,000.... He pulled just 1.6 percent, behind even Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins' 1.7. Yes, the L.P.  achieved state ballot access for the first time in history, but that low showing came as a demoralizing shock.

"'WTF is going on?' Wisconsin Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Phil Anderson messaged me on election night..... Anderson's pre-election polling average of 4.2 percent had collapsed to a barely visible 0.8 percent. Eight Libertarian candidates for governor were polling higher than the Democratic-Republican point spread on election eve; zero repeated the trick once the votes were counted....

"The three state legislators who had previously switched from Republican to Libertarian once in office — Nebraska state Sen. Laura Ebke and New Hampshire state Reps. Brandon Phinney and Caleb Dyer — all faced their first election wearing the L, and all lost badly.... Insurgent Wyoming state House candidate Bethany Baldes came so close to unseating incumbent Republican Majority Leader David Miller that she was erroneously reported as winner on election night, only to eventually lose by 53 votes....

"Libertarians are accustomed to being outnumbered and excel at playing long-game strategies, often far outside the cyclical sugar highs of electoral politics.... As disappointing as November 2018 felt for the L.P., the party did emerge in a stronger position for 2020, when it will be the only minor party with a spot on all 50 state ballots. American politics moves fast, so the next two years may yet feature more political libertarianism than we can currently fathom. As hard as that may be to believe after Election Day."

Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/12/08/the-libertarian-party-future-p

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Also read: Libertarians see progress in midterm elections