Higher gas prices in 2020 thanks to UN regulation

Gas Prices Expected to Rise in 2020—Thanks to an Obscure UN Regulator - Foundation for Economic Education- Ross Marchand:

October 20, 2019 - "With gasoline prices in California eclipsing $4/gallon, Americans have taken to nervously glancing at their gas gauges. Oil prices appear to only be going in one direction (up), with dramatic disruptions such as a drone attack on Saudi refineries disrupting fuel supplies. But things may soon get far worse if the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a sub-agency of the United Nations, implements onerous worldwide restrictions on fuel content.

"Starting in 2020, the IMO will require the phasing out of sulfur from ship fuels despite documented difficulties in refiners’ ability to meet strict new standards. Unless the IMO changes course, consumers across America, and all around the world, will foot the bill for higher gasoline prices as the result of global fuel shortages. If America and her allies fail to act soon to stymie the efforts of this global bureaucracy, affordable gas will soon be a thing of the past.....

"Like many unaccountable international governmental organizations (IGOs), the IMO is hardly noticed by the media. But the agency’s 2016 decision to ratchet down sulfur content in shipping fuels from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent has received plenty of press and attention from analysts around the world. Environmentalists have lauded the IMO’s decision and called for eliminating scrubbers used to wash out sulfur and comply with the new standards. But the IMO and cheerleader groups fail to properly acknowledge or address the fuel shortages that will likely result....

"In moving away from sulfur, shippers will likely switch en masse to alternatives such as gasoil or diesel. That’s not good news for refineries, which will face significant pressures to ramp up production of these stand-ins. Currently, there simply isn’t enough low-sulfur fuel to go around, and refineries will need to sharply increase capacity and operations in order to keep up....

"Worldwide regulations holding the industry back make it even more difficult for refineries to keep up.... In the US, federal fuel regulations have significantly contributed to the closure of 70 refineries since 1990. And since then, refineries have spent more than $100 billion complying with ultra-specific federal standards about which blends of fuel they are required to produce.... In Europe, refinery regulation is often even stricter than in the US....

"[A]sking everyone in the world to pay drastically higher fuel and shipping costs overnight hardly seems like a practical solution to environmental issues.... By working with shippers to achieve gradual, more attainable goals, the IMO could signal that it is serious about cleaning up the environment while keeping costs low. Consumers around the world deserve clean skies without having to gasp at their gas gauges, and taxpayers deserve an IGO that makes sound decisions."

Read more: https://fee.org/articles/gas-prices-expected-to-rise-in-2020-thanks-to-an-obscure-un-regulator/

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Legal cannabis sales begin in Illinois

Illinois Sells $3.2 Million Worth Of Marijuana On First Day Of Legalization- Lisette Voytko:

January 2, 2020 - "Illinois said $3.2 million worth of legal marijuana was sold on Tuesday, the first day the drug could legally be purchased for recreational use in the state., as a new law went into effect that could also clear the records of hundreds of thousands of people with arrest records. Illinois’ Department of Financial and Professional Regulation reported that the cash was generated from over 77,000 transactions.

"Cannabis can be purchased without a prescription from a state-approved dispensary by anyone 21 years or older⁠ — and nonresidents are allowed to buy the drug, but in smaller quantities than residents, according to the legislation....

"Illinois is the eleventh state (plus D.C.) to legalize cannabis in the U.S., and Bloomberg reported that the state expects to eventually fetch between $2 billion and $4 billion in annual sales.

"Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker has also pardoned over 11,000 people with prior marijuana convictions as part of the new law, and over 700,000 people who have been arrested because of the drug could have those records forgiven as well....

"Illinois is the country’s sixth most populated state, according to Bloomberg, and bordered by states where marijuana is still illegal. Illinois’ legalization effort could push those states to follow suit with their own laws. According to analysts, illicit sales of marijuana in Illinois are expected to outpace legal sales through 2024. However, 30% of legal sales will go toward tax revenue for the state, while municipalities get 3%, according to Crain’s."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/01/02/illinois-sells-32-million-of-marijuana-on-1st-day-of-legalization/#394c70b7e2e7
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Harry Browne’s New Year’s resolutions

Harry Browne’s New Year’s Resolutions for Selling Liberty Effectively | Libertarian Party:

December 30, 2019 - "Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, was among the greatest salesmen for liberty who ever lived. He wrote the below Libertarian New Year’s Resolutions in 1998.....

• I resolve to sell liberty by appealing to the self-interest of each prospect, rather than preaching to people and expecting them to suddenly adopt my ideas of right and wrong.
• I resolve to keep from being drawn into arguments or debates. My purpose is to inspire people to want liberty ­not to prove that they’re wrong.
• I resolve to listen when people tell me of their wants and needs, so I can help them see how a free society [can] satisfy those needs.
• I resolve to identify myself, when appropriate, with the social goals someone may seek ­... and try to show him that those goals can never be achieved [well] by government, but [can] be well served in a free society.
• I resolve to be compassionate and respectful of the beliefs and needs that lead people to seek government help....
• No matter what the issue, I resolve to keep returning to the central point: how much better off the individual will be in a free society.
• I resolve to acknowledge my good fortune.... Any plan for improvement must begin with a recognition of the good things we have.
• I resolve to focus on the ways [we] could be so much better with a very small government ­ not to dwell on all the wrongs that exist today.
• I resolve to cleanse myself of hate, resentment, and bitterness....
• I resolve to speak, dress, and act in a respectable manner.... No one will hear the message if the messenger is unattractive.
• I resolve to remind myself that someone’s 'stupid' opinion may be an opinion I once held....
• I resolve not to raise my voice in any discussion. In a shouting match, no one wins ... and no one will be inspired to join our quest for a free society.
• I resolve not to adopt the tactics of Republicans and Democrats. They use character assassination, evasions, and intimidation because they have no real benefits to offer....
• I resolve to be civil to my opponents, and treat them with respect. However anyone chooses to treat me, it’s important that I be a better person than my enemies."

Read more: https://www.lp.org/blogs-staff-harry-brownes-new-years-resolutions-for-selling-liberty-effectively-0/
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Policing parents and children in 2019

Policing Parents and Kids: The Year’s 8 Most Paranoid Moments – Reason.com - Lenore Skenazy:

December 31, 2019 - "[2019] wasn't all bad —but a lot of it was, so ... here are eight times that authority figures went to crazy lengths to deprive kids of autonomy in the name of nebulous safety concerns....

• Hard-boiled lawyers made sure no kids could participate in the University of California–Berkeley's campus Easter egg hunt without parents first signing a waiver acknowledging the potential risk of 'catastrophic injuries including paralysis and death'....
• Teachers at Meadowlawn Elementary in Monticello, Indiana, were taken into a room, told to crouch down, and shot execution style. Then the next group was sent in. Then the next. But hey — it was just a drill ... something the terrified teachers didn't know....
• Don't even park near a white van, the mayor of Baltimore warned his constituents. 'We're getting reports of somebody in a white van trying to snatch up young girls for human trafficking and for selling body parts'....The stories were on Facebook. The police ... said there had been no such crimes....
• "Holly Curry, a Kentucky mom who let her six children wait in the car for 10 minutes while she ran into a café to get them muffins, found herself reported to child protective services. The authorities came to her home and proceeded to make each child strip naked so they could look for signs of abuse.... Now the mom is pursuing a lawsuit....
• Santana Adams of Milton, West Virginia, accused a man of grabbing her 5-year-old daughter and dragging her by the hair at an Old Navy.... The man was quickly found and hauled off to jail, until mall footage showed the two shoppers calmly leaving the store, going in opposite directions. The mom has been charged with making a false accusation....
• Dozens of parents, including several celebrities, paid a fixer to help their kids cheat their way into their dream colleges. The fixer hired test takers, bribed coaches, and photoshopped the kids into water polo and crew team pictures....
• Christina Behar posted a 'mother's helper available' note on behalf of her spunky almost-10-year-old Sarah, who was looking for a part-time gig helping local moms with dishes, laundry, and such. Six hours later, the sheriff showed up at Behar's door. 'Apparently the ad generated multiple phone calls from paranoid neighbors thinking I was using my child as a slave,' said Christina....
• A kindergartener who hurt her arm on the slide during recess ... was awarded $170,000. Her lawyer said the girl was hurtling downward at an 'excessive speed' because the slide was at a 35 degree angle, while federal standards say kindergarten slides should be no steeper than 30 degrees."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/12/31/paranoid-parenting-helicopter-top-2019-list/
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Hill.TV host called out on antilibertarian screed

Saagar Enjeti defends calls for conservatives to ditch libertarianism | TheHill:

December 30, 2019 - "Hill.TV host Saagar Enjeti hit back at billionaire Clifford Asness on Monday after the hedge fund manager criticized his calls for conservatives to ditch libertarianism. 'Clifford Asness’s corrupt and indignant hypocrisy is exactly the corporatism that I was calling out in that monologue, which triggered him,' Enjeti said....

"Over the weekend, Asness, who has since deleted his Twitter account, pushed back against Enjeti's critique of libertarianism, saying 'there is nothing libertarian about crony capitalism,' before adding that 'libertarians have called it out first and loudest'.... '[B]raying populists of the right now think they’re edgy and smart by decrying them,' Asness, who identifies as a libertarian, tweeted in a thread in response to Enjeti.

"These remarks were in response to an October monologue in which Enjeti said that conservatives have to 'ditch the libertarian streak and challenge concentrated power in the corporate form that we find it today.'

"Enjeti also doubled down on his criticism of libertarianism on Monday. 'Libertarianism in practice is a selective, corporate welfare ideology pushed by the financial industry and big business in Washington,' he said.

"Asness is one of the most prominent fund managers in the world. He has a personal net worth of $2.6 billion, according to Forbes, and the firm that he co-founded, AQR Capital Management, oversees an estimated $200 billion in assets."

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/476293-saagar-enjeti-doubles-down-on-calls-for-conservatives-to-ditch-libertarianism
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NYC cops seize CBD merchant's hemp supply

Oren Levy Finally Has His Hemp Back, but the NYPD Nearly Killed His CBD Business – Reason.com - Zuri Davis::

December 30, 2019 - "Oren Levy has spent the last six years selling and promoting the benefits of herbal remedies, including cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound found in both marijuana and hemp. But it wasn't until after Congress decriminalized hemp, the source of Levy's CBD, that Levy had his first shipment confiscated....

"Levy's New York-based Green Angel CBD used FedEx Freight in November 2019 to send a 106-pound shipment of hemp flower from Fox Holler Farms in Vermont to New York. The shipment has an estimated value of $50,000 to $60,000.... FedEx Freight alerted the Williston Police Department (WPD) in Vermont that a customer was possibly attempting to ship marijuana..... WPD ... examined two of the FedEx boxes and ... each box contained documentation showing the plant matter inside had only 0.06 percent THC.... WPD concluded in its report that the product appeared to be legal hemp and declined to seize the shipment....

"After entering New York City, a FedEx driver took Levy's hemp shipment straight to the New York Police Department's 75th Precinct. Officers there ignored the documentation, seized Levy's shipment of hemp as if it were marijuana, and then bragged about their major 'bust' in now-deleted social media posts. The NYPD also contacted Levy, asking him to come to the precinct to pick up his shipment. The call was a ruse. Levy ... sent his brother Ronan Levy in his place. Upon his arrival, Ronan was arrested, charged with six counts of marijuana possession, and jailed....

"With the NYPD in possession of his shipment and his brother in need of legal help, Levy's business began to suffer.... He had to turn to family and friends for money, and then watch helplessly as the NYPD mischaracterized his business. 'My suppliers are scared to deal with me,' he said. 'My clients who have kids are scared to deal with me.'

"The charges against Ronan Levy were officially dropped December 10, but ... the NYPD still had the shipment in its possession and the D.A. wasn't sure how to interpret New York's hemp laws....  New York law defines marijuana as 'all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis,' which includes hemp. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this month that will bring New York hemp laws up to date with the federal farm bill, the specifics won't be ironed out until January at the earliest....

"Just days before Christmas, Levy tweeted that the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office approved the release of his shipment, and he received it on Monday, December 23.... Upon receiving his shipment, Levy was treated to another gift. The paperwork that the NYPD claimed the shipment didn't contain was still attached to the boxes."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/12/30/oren-levy-finally-has-his-hemp-back-but-the-nypd-nearly-killed-his-cbd-business/
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Eastwood's 'most self-consciously libertarian film'

Clint Eastwood's 'Richard Jewell' Movie Is Remarkably Libertarian- Katya Sedgwick:

December 20, 2019 - "I generally resent recommending art for political reasons..... In the case of Richard Jewell, however, the unusual point of view moves the film in a novel direction and makes it a compelling standout feature. Director Clint Eastwood is an avowed libertarian, and Richard Jewell is probably the single most self-consciously libertarian film he’s ever made.

"Of course, I don’t understand everything about Eastwood’s brand of libertarianism. His support of gun control, for instance.... Moreover, the actor/director has endorsed an array of big-government politicians in California. I am going to give Eastwood a pass on all of that, however, because his job isn’t to be consistent. His job is to create compelling cinema, and he delivers that, film after film.

"Richard Jewell is probably not his strongest work. It leaves little room for suspense and is a bit predictable, in part because we all know the story: Security guard Richard Jewell find[s] a suspicious backpack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which turns out to be a bomb that kills two people and injures more than 100. At first heralded as a hero, Jewell soon becomes the FBI’s primary suspect and the target of a media rampage.

"It is exquisitely acted, however, with Eastwood’s minimalist directing style shining through. The characters Eastwood introduces are as familiar to the American psyche as they are unusual to meet onscreen: a hard-working and loving, if TV-addicted, single mom; a geeky, libertarian lawyer; an overweight, overzealous copper....

"I can think of two reasons Eastwood continues to create novel but easily recognizable characters. First, he makes films from the point of view of ordinary Americans. Second, he makes libertarian films. Since libertarianism is a very American worldview, one reason blends into the other....

"Most of the films produced in this country today are ideological and amount to some sort of soft Marxism. It’s hard to imagine that in different hands, Jewell’s persona would morph into anything other than a villain or an unfortunate victim of circumstances, but in Eastwood’s reading, he is an individual in his own right....

"Libertarianism is right next door to anarchy, but somehow not many artists are interested in making films representing that outlook. The pent-up demand for this type of entertainment has surfaced since the emergence of the Tea Party in the beginning of President Barack Obama’s first term. Ten years later, there’s finally a movie about healthy, vocal mistrust of the state and the media, and the tension between respect for authority and individual autonomy.

"Nobody in the world can possibly make a film like that except for American artists, and out of all big-name directors in America, Eastwood is the only one who picks up this opportunity.... American filmmakers should try to work with libertarian themes because these creators are in an ideal position to explore them, and taking that kind of risk would lead their craft in a new, interesting direction. We’ve all seen filmmakers’ cookie-cutter wokeness. Show us something new."

Read more: https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/20/clint-eastwoods-richard-jewell-reveals-an-appetite-for-libertarian-entertainment/
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