71 SC legislators sponsor civil forfeiture reform

SC legislators announce significant civil forfeiture reform efforts - Nathaniel Cary, Greenville News:

February 13, 2019 - "As a morning Statehouse crowd milled about, ... Rep. Alan Clemmons stepped to a podium ... to announce a bill to reform civil asset forfeiture in South Carolina — a practice which allows law enforcement to seize property from residents, sometimes without charging or convicting them of a crime, and then profit from the proceeds....

"[H]e said the group stands with law enforcement, crime shouldn’t pay, and law enforcement should have the ability to seize property they believe to be illegally obtained. 'We, however, also stand with the presumption of innocent until proven guilty,' said Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach. 'We also stand for the presumption of the sanctity of property rights.'

"He announced a bill, backed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council that Clemmons has previously chaired, to fundamentally change the way civil forfeiture cases are handled in the state. At its heart, he said, the bill would enable a person to not lose their property to police unless they were convicted of a crime.

"Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, ... D-Orangeburg, who is president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, ... called it fundamentally an issue of fairness, saying someone who has not been convicted of a crime should not lose their property. She said she knows some small towns count on revenue from forfeiture to furnish police units....

“'I am pleased to stand with this bipartisan group, Democrats as well as Republicans, African-Americans as well as whites, to say we have come together on this issue to say enough is enough in South Carolina. We are going to stand for the citizens of this state.'

"The bill, introduced to the House on Wednesday, will be assigned to the House Judiciary Committee....  71 House members have signed on as co-sponsors. That’s enough votes to pass the bill out of the House....

“'It’s about time,' said Rep. Gary Clary, R-Pickens, a retired judge with 45 years legal experience who has presided over forfeiture cases.... 'I believe in individual rights and individual liberties, and this is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we are going to consider in this session.'

"Clary and others credited The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail's TAKEN investigation with creating a climate to address the unfairness civil forfeiture presents to citizens."

Read more: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/13/civil-forfeiture-reform-efforts-south-carolina/2846700002/

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Howard Schultz Libertarian trial balloon floated

Why Howard Schult could go Libertarian - Steven Nelson, Washington Examiner:

February 13, 2019 - "Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz may be able to avoid a 50-state scramble for presidential ballot access by seeking the Libertarian Party’s support.

"Members of the large national third party, which took more than 3 percent of the vote in 2016, are intrigued by Schultz and might be willing to give him the party nomination in 2020, meaning he would not have to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures as an independent.

"Schultz has branded himself a 'centrist independent' as he teases a potential challenge to President Trump. But he has Libertarians swooning over his concern about the national debt and opposition to socialist policies such as single-payer healthcare, free college, and high taxes.

"''Mr. Schultz describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, so I kindly encourage Mr. Schultz to look at our platform, as that title goes hand in hand with what the Libertarian Party stands for,' said Florida Libertarian Party Chairman Marcos Miralles....

"California Libertarian Party Chairwoman Mimi Robson said ... 'He’s definitely a fiscal conservative and he appears to be generally for civil liberties and individual rights... There's kind of a wait and see attitude'.... Robson said she doesn’t have a stance on Schultz, but does have advice. 'If he’s thinking about doing a run and doing it independently, I think that's not the best way to win,' she said....

"Schultz, raised in a Brooklyn housing project, has made his rags-to-riches tale of free-market success central to his possible campaign, while emphasizing Starbucks’ voluntary commitment to worker welfare. If he seeks the Libertarian nomination, however, it would reopen a debate between party purists and those willing to accept a more mainstream candidate. Recently, the more mainstream wing has won out, nominating former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico for president in 2012 and 2016....

"Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the national Libertarian Party, said some of Schultz’s political positions are well in-line with the party, but others could be problematic.... 'his position on gun control would probably be very unpopular with libertarians.' Schultz said he believes 'guns of war' should be banned....

"Schultz's spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment."

Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/why-howard-schultz-could-go-libertarian
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Paul amendment allows sale of federal forest land

Sen. Rand Paul Proposes Changes To Natural Resources Management Act | LEX18.com - Alexia Waters:

February 12, 2019 - "Senator Rand Paul introduced two Kentucky-specific amendments to a bill that covers issues affecting federal lands.

"It’s the Natural Resources Management Act he’s proposing changes to and if passed, Kentuckians would see changes to two outdoor attractions. The senator says these changes would help increase tourism and support new economic growth in counties around Daniel Boone National Forest and the Lake Cumberland area.

"His amendments would give public access to waterways in the Daniel Boone National Forest in several counties. This would allow docks, boat slips, and marinas.

"The senator’s other proposed change would allow parts of the forest to be sold. He said it’s aiming at developing land in the national forest, which would allow the sale of land at some points along U.S. Highway 27.

"Opponents of the bill say there’s no limitations to how much land can be sold and there’s no public input.... Opponents also say there are endangered species in the area that may be harmed and they’re urging people to call legislators....

"Paul says the federal government should not stand in the way of Kentuckians accessing their own natural resources."

Read more: https://lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/2019/02/12/sen-rand-paul-proposes-changes-to-natural-resources-management-act/
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Australian state MP wants drugs decriminalized

'Libertarian' MP calls for drug possession to be decriminalised - Adam Carey, The Age:

February 5, 2019 - "A new Victorian MP has used his first speech to call for drug possession to be decriminalised, arguing billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money is being wasted on failed policies of prohibition.

"Liberal Democrats upper house MP David Limbrick also paid tribute to his federal counterpart Senator David Leyonhjelm, who is being sued for defamation by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for alleged 'slut-shaming' comments.

"A self-described libertarian, Mr Limbrick vowed he 'would never vote for a reduction in freedom or an increase in taxes'.

"One of two Liberal Democrats elected to the upper house in November, he received just 0.84 per cent of the vote in the south-east metro district but ... is one of 11 upper house crossbenchers the Andrews government will have to negotiate with to pass legislation.

"Limbrick said the 'war on drugs' had failed as badly as the US prohibition on alcohol in the 1920s. 'As a parent, I have had enough of hearing about young people dying from adulterated substances produced in backyard labs,' he said in Parliament....

"Limbrick said Victoria should follow the example of Portugal, where the possession of drugs was decriminalised in 2001. 'For a country that was once considered the heroin capital of Europe, drug-related HIV infections have fallen by 95 per cent and the drug mortality rate is now the lowest in Western Europe,' he said.

"The number of people charged for drug use and possession in Victoria has more than doubled in the past seven years..... 24,584 people were charged with drug possession last year, with cannabis possession the most common charge....

"Limbrick and northern Victorian MP Tim Quilty are the first Liberal Democrats to be voted into the Victorian Parliament."

Read more: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/libertarian-mp-calls-for-drug-possession-to-be-decriminalised-20190205-p50vtc.html
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Greenhouse gas from livestock cut by over half in pilot study

Seaweed could make cows burp less methane and cut their carbon hoofprint - MIT Technology Review - James Temple:

November 23, 2018 - "In a wooden barn on the edge of campus at the University of California, Davis, ... Holstein dairy cows participated in a study to test a promising path to reducing methane emissions from livestock, a huge source of the greenhouse gases driving climate change. By adding a small amount of seaweed to the animals’ feed, researchers found, they could cut the cows’ methane production by nearly 60%.

"Each year, livestock production pumps out greenhouse gases with the equivalent warming effect of more than 7 gigatons of carbon dioxide, roughly the same global impact as the transportation industry. Nearly 40% of that is produced during digestion: cattle, goats, and sheep belch and pass methane, a highly potent, albeit relatively short-lived, greenhouse gas.

"If the reductions achieved in the UC Davis study could be applied across the worldwide livestock industry, it would eliminate nearly 2 gigatons of those emissions annually — about a quarter of United States’ total climate pollution.... Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis who leads the work, is preparing to undertake a more ambitious study....

"In 2014, Australian researchers found that low doses of a red algae known as Asparagopsis taxiformis virtually eliminated methane production in lab experiments. Field trials with live sheep cut emissions as much as 80%, while the UC Davis experiment, the first on live cattle, showed a 58% reduction on average when a related seaweed made up 1% of their diet....

"Australis Aquaculture, a producer of ocean-farmed Asian sea bass based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, is attempting ... through a research project in Vietnam, dubbed Greener Grazing ... to grow seaweed off the coast of Vietnam. The plants would be placed within the type of plastic tube netting used to grow oysters, and suspended a few feet underwater — just deep enough to be protected from waves, but close enough to the sun for photosynthesis to drive growth.

"Meanwhile, DSM, the giant Dutch conglomerate, is working on a synthetic additive for the cows. A paper its researchers coauthored found that a methane inhibitor known as 3-nitrooxypropanol, or 3NOP, cut emissions by 30% in lactating Holsteins ... milk production wasn’t affected during the 12-week experiment, and as a bonus, the “spared methane energy” helped generate tissue, resulting in higher body weights. DSM Nutritional Products ... has already applied for US Food and Drug Administration approval to sell it in the United States."

Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612452/how-seaweed-could-shrink-livestocks-global-carbon-hoofprint/
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Unbridled military spending endangers liberty

The Military Industrial Complex’s Assault on Liberty | The American Conservative Michael Shindler:

June 22, 2018 - "[T]he House Appropriations Committee advanced a lavish $674.6 billion Pentagon spending bill for fiscal year 2019. That means Congress is preparing to spend even more on defense, which isn’t at all shocking. To even marginally decrease defense spending, according to its champions, would be disastrous....

"America’s military has over 800 bases worldwide, more than any other nation or empire in history. In order to staff, equip, and maintain this body, the U.S. spends more on defense than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Kingdom, India, and France combined.... According to the Credit Suisse Research Institute, the strength of the American military exceeds that of all other countries.... Yet legislators still claim that the military is experiencing a 'readiness crisis,' which necessitates further fattening of the defense budget.

"This 'crisis' is often exaggerated or confused by its proponents because 'readiness' is an ambiguous term that hints at urgency without ever specifying a threat. In that vein, arguments often focus on the health of particular programs while failing to contextualize them within clearly defined geopolitical aims.... Emotion, not genuine geopolitical insight, drives popular support for inflated defense spending, and, in the words of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, 'the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.'

"When World War II ended, defense spending fell significantly. President Truman was left wondering how to persuade Congress to fund various geopolitical projects.... Senator Arthur Vandenberg forthrightly advised him to 'scare the hell out of the American people,' and so he did with great success. Later presidents followed suit throughout the Cold War and, together, they funded an extravagant arms race that lasted until the Soviet Union fell....

"Shortly, however, new demons were conjured up from the Middle Eastern sands and the defense budget has been distended ever since. If this cycle of inflated spending and fearsome rhetoric were some sort of perverse exercise towards geopolitical predictability, perhaps it would be pardonable. But it isn’t. In addition to our scruples, it costs us our liberty.

"In his famous 'Cross of Iron' speech, President Eisenhower said, 'Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed .... In the words of American political philosopher Lysander Spooner, 'the only security men can have for their political liberty, consists in their keeping their money in their own pockets, until they have assurances … that it will be used as they wish it to be used''....

"In a capitalist economy such as ours, money is the fuel of freedom. To take so much of it away from taxpayers to fund military bloat, which is neither necessary nor beneficial, is to not only deprive them of some good or service, but to deprive them of their choice, which is the essence of liberty."

Read more: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-military-industrial-complexs-assault-on-liberty/
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State of Colorado plans to ban plastic straws

Libertarian Party Op Ed: Colorado Is Becoming California With Proposed Straw Ban | Westword - Michael Lopez:

February 6, 2019 -"Colorado Democrats and progressives [are] ... introducing a version of a bill banning plastic straws that garnered plenty of memes last year when it was brought forward in Santa Barbara, California.... While the proposed legislation in Colorado will not fine or jail servers, it is within the realm of possibility that what happened in Santa Barbara is ... going to be the law of the land for all of Colorado.

"The ordinance in California made instant criminals out of all the waitstaff in the city if they give a patron a straw — any straw, compostables included.... [They] could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The restaurant would not pay this fine. No, the server who dared hand you a straw without a request ... is personally fined.

"While the Libertarian party of Colorado supports environmental conservation through privatization and respect for property rights, it is always an occasion for concern when 'big brother' attempts to legislate morality, even if the legislation is not — for the moment — intended to be enforced. There will be calls for this legislation to be amended so that it can be enforced, and that enforcement will always come with some sort of threat. Therein lies the Libertarian opposition to this legislation. Maybe you were a server once upon a time. Maybe you agree that single-use plastic is wasteful and destructive, but do you honestly believe that workers should be jailed for providing straws? Do you trust government officials to stop there? Are you comfortable with the possibility of our government exercising the Machiavellian idea of rule through fear?

"We entrust our lives to those we elect to government. You vote for them because you believe that they will behave and act as you would, if you were in their shoes. You must then ask yourself: Would I be willing to separate my neighbor from their family, lock them in a cell and take their money, simply for using a straw after I politely asked them not to? This is the kind of self-reflection that we expect our representatives to also undertake. And it is the kind of self-reflection that we should all practice when we ask government to intervene in our lives."

Read more: https://www.westword.com/restaurants/libertarian-party-op-ed-colorado-is-becoming-california-with-proposed-straw-ban-11216706
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