A look at John Monds

Million-Vote Man | Florida Courier:

February 21, 2020 - "A stay-at-home dad living in a rural Georgia [c]ounty made a recent presidential campaign announcement ... in Talbot County, ... Georgia. The 2010 Census population there: 6,865. You probably missed it. But other people are paying attention.

"John Monds ... made history in the 2008 Georgia Public Service Commissioner race when he became the first Libertarian Party candidate to receive more than 1 million votes [and] again in 2010 when he became the first African-American candidate to appear on the ballot for governor in the state of Georgia. In his various campaigns, Monds has earned more than 1.8 million votes as a Libertarian candidate in Georgia.

"Monds lives in Cairo, Ga., about 140 miles south of Talbot County. He earned a degree in business administration from Morehouse College with a concentration in banking and finance before getting what he calls 'his dream job' – homeschooling his children.... He has been married to Dr. Kathaleena Monds for 21 years. They have four children.... Two ... have already earned their college degrees. Monds has been active in his community through various organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the NAACP....

"He has been an active member of the Libertarian Party for 15 years, and has run for four races as a Libertarian candidate. He joined the party after reading the platforms of all the political parties in Georgia ... because in his opinion, the Libertarian Party is 'serious about freedom.' ... Monds says. “I espouse a Freedom Agenda; getting government out of peoples’ lives'....

“'One thing that I espouse to Black audiences is that the government is not your friend,' he intoned. 'Go back 400 years in this country alone. Almost every problem the African American community has suffered has been at the hands of government. I don’t believe you should go to the perpetrator of your problem for the solution. Whether you were looking at slavery, Jim Crow, poor schooling, segregated housing, discrimination on all levels, those problems, and the problems that Black farmers had with the theft of Black land and Black wealth, all those things are tied to the government.'

"Monds maintains that his message is about 'empowering individuals to be able to guide and control their own lives. And I don’t think I have a right to decide what should be done for you, or to you, even if I win an election. In fact, I think government makes things worse just as often as they make things better'....

'Would a vote for John Monds be wasted? 'It depends on what you believe,' he explained. 'If you believe in freedom, you’re not going to get that from the Democratic Party; you’re not going to get that from the Republican Party. If you believe in freedom, voting for either of those parties would be a wasted vote'....

"Monds will be in Orlando this weekend for the Libertarian Party of Florida state convention.... The party’s national convention will be held in May in Austin, Texas. Until then, Monds will be traveling from one state convention to another vying for support. How is he financing his campaign? 'Bootstraps,' he laughed."

Read more: http://flcourier.com/million-vote-man/

NH House passes cannabis legalization (again)

New Hampshire House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill | Marijuana Moment - Ben Adlin:

February 20, 2020 - "A bill to legalize the personal use, cultivation and gifting of marijuana in New Hampshire is one step closer to becoming law. The state House of Representatives on Thursday approved the legislation on a 236-112 vote, advancing the measure to the Senate.

"The proposal would not legalize commercial production or sales of cannabis. Instead, adults 21 and older would be allowed to grow a limited number of plants at home and legally give up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana to other adults. The measure resembles neighboring Vermont’s 2018 cannabis law, which legalized low-level possession and home cultivation but does not allow for sales.

"Legalization is tremendously popular in the famously independent state, as one lawmaker acknowledged before a House committee voted last month to advance the bill to the floor. 'I think that the legalization of cannabis is more popular than the legislature itself or the governor or any other political entity in the state of New Hampshire,' House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Renny Cushing (D) said. 'This is something that the people of the state of New Hampshire want. They don’t want to be treated like they’re criminals if they have a plant.'

"A full tax-and-regulate marijuana legalization bill was passed by the House last year. But after receiving a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it ultimately stalled and died in the chamber. [The NH House passed its first legalization bill in 2014 - ed.] Advocates believe the new scaled-down approach has a better shot of being enacted.

"The current bill has sponsors from both sides of the aisle, but even if it’s passed by the legislature, it could still be vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who has said he opposes commercial legalization and has killed other cannabis bills in the past. He signed a limited decriminalization measure into law in 2017, but last year vetoed a bill to allow medical marijuana patients to grow the plant at home.... Cushing told Marijuana Moment in an interview last month that legislators 'don’t know how the governor will respond' to the adult-use legalization measure if the bill makes it to his desk.....

"If New Hampshire’s marijuana legalization proposal does become law, it could open the door to later commercial sales. That process is unfolding next door in Vermont, where lawmakers are considering expanding the current policy allowing possession and home cultivation by passing a bill to establish a commercial marijuana industry subject to taxes and state oversight. A recent MPP survey found 76 percent of Vermont residents are in favor of allowing adults to purchase marijuana 'from regulated, taxpaying small businesses.'"

Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-hampshire-house-approves-marijuana-legalization-bill/
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LP county chair charged with perjury in PA

Valley Libertarian chair turned down ‘really sweet deal,’ maintains he didn’t commit perjury - lehighvalleylive.com: - Rudy Miller

January 17, 2020 - "Northampton County’s libertarian party chairman was offered a 'really sweet deal' to take a plea bargain in his perjury case, according to his attorney. But Jake Towne turned down the deal because he did nothing wrong, according to attorney Gary Asteak.

"Towne on Thursday was ordered to stand trial on five criminal counts for signing a nomination petition for a Libertarian congressional candidate even though Towne wasn’t the person who collected the signatures. That person was Amber Correll ...  charged with forging 25 of the signatures.... Towne paid Correll $2 per name to collect the signatures for ... Tim Silfies ... [who] ran for U.S. Congress as a libertarian in 2018....

"The government hasn’t accused Towne of forging signatures, but says he broke the law by signing as the circulator of the nominating petition even though Correll was the circulator. After a preliminary hearing Thursday, District Judge John Capobianco ordered Towne to stand trial for perjury, making false statements, tampering with records, making an unsworn falsification and tampering with public records.

"Asteak said it’s common practice for party officials to sign off as 'circulators' of nominating petitions even though they didn’t physically circulate the petitions. He said Towne looked over the sheet, matched the names to the addresses and was satisfied they were authentic. Asteak said he’s never heard of anyone charged criminally under these circumstances. If authorities believe the signatures are forged, they could be invalidated, he said. But it’s a stretch to charge Towne, he said. He also questioned five criminal charges for just one signature from Towne. The allegation might merit a charge of unsworn falsification, but not perjury, he said....

"Towne, 40, of Easton, ran for Congress in 2010 and ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018....

"Asteak said Republican officials brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. The case went before an investigative grand jury which recommended charges against Towne and Correll. Asteak called the case a 'Republican hit job' to try to get Libertarian candidates off the ballot. He said an official with the state Republican Party sent a letter to local Libertarian leaders warning them 'to pull your names off the ballot or we’re going to the authorities.'

"'This prosecution should never have happened,' Asteak said. Messages left with the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and Northampton County Republican Committee weren’t returned Friday."

Read more: https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2020/01/libertarian-chairman-turned-down-really-sweet-deal-maintains-he-didnt-commit-perjury.html
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Santa Cruz decriminalizes natural psychedelics

Santa Cruz decriminalizes natural psychedelics – Santa Cruz Sentinel - Jessica A. Yorke:

January 29, 2020 - "Following in the footsteps of Oakland and Denver, Colorado, city leaders unanimously agreed Tuesday night to decriminalize adult use, possession and cultivation of entheogenic psychoactive plants and fungi. Known in one of its more popular forms as “magic mushrooms,” the substances remain illegal on a federal level, but city law enforcement has been directed to not spend resources on its criminal enforcement locally.

"The Santa Cruz City Council decision, first championed last year by Mayor Justin Cummings and Councilmembers Sandy Brown and Drew Glover, came after a vulnerable outpouring of community testimony, many sharing personal mental health struggles and efforts to successfully treat their symptoms....

"Denver voters passed a ballot measure in May [that] decriminalized psilocybin, and in June, the Oakland City Council passed a resolution decriminalizing entheogenic plants in general. Santa Cruz’s resolution this week, making it the third city in the U.S. to take such a step, declares city resources will not be expended on the investigation and arrest of persons 21 years of age and older 'solely for the personal use and personal possession of entheogenic plants and fungi listed on the Federal Schedule 1 list and that such activities should be considered among the lowest law enforcement priorities for the City of Santa Cruz.' Sale to, use and cultivation by those younger than 21, however, are not protected....

"Decriminalize Santa Cruz co-founder Sean Cutler, who, along with Julian Hodge, successfully lobbied for the change in city criminalization of psychedelics over an eight-month period, ... ... said after the meeting that the council vote represented forward movement.

“'The drug war needs to be ended in small deliberate steps,' Cutler said. 'We acknowledge that the U.S. government has spent 50 years indoctrinating Americans to believe that alcohol is good and everything else is bad, evil, for poor people. They have stigmatizing everything but alcohol and cigarettes'....

"Santa Cruz’s resolution cites the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s October 2018 decision to grant 'breakthrough therapy' designation for studies on psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression, and refers also to the use of the plants in traditional natured-based healing therapies."

Read more: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/01/29/santa-cruz-decriminalizes-natural-psychedelics/
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Sanders campaign expropriates YAL brand name

Libertarian group accuses Bernie Sanders campaign of stealing door-knocking brand - Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner:

February 14, 2020 - "A libertarian organization is threatening to sue Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, claiming his campaign stole its intellectual property. Young Americans for Liberty, a nonprofit student activist organization, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign, accusing it of stealing the organization's brand 'Operation Win at the Door' by calling its door-knocking operation the same thing.

"'YAL launched Operation Win at the Door in 2018. Operation Win at the Door has knocked on over 1.5 million doors and secured 56 election victories,' writes Dan Backer, counsel for the libertarian group. 'YAL has expended substantial resources in developing the name and goodwill associated with Operation Win at the Door. Your bastardization of our clients’ intellectual property and flagrant attempt to redistribute their hard-won goodwill — a product of tremendous labor on the part of our client — is unauthorized and un-American.'

'The Washington Times obtained text messages from someone claiming to represent the Sanders campaign that encouraged people to join 'the largest grassroots campaign in the country — Operation Win at the Door.'

"YAL claims that the Sanders campaign is able to mislead the public into believing it has endorsed the socialist's campaign, something it says is antithetical to the organization's belief system.... 'This bald-faced deceit violates laws that prohibit such deceptive solicitations and protect donations for their intended use as well as infringes on the intellectual property rights of YAL,' the letter said.

"The group plans to pursue legal action unless the Sanders campaign discontinues its use of the brand.

"The Washington Examiner reached out to the Sanders campaign but did not receive a response for publication."

Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/libertarian-group-accuses-bernie-sanders-campaign-of-stealing-door-knocking-brand
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VT governor endorses Weld for GOP nomination

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott endorses Bill Weld for Republican presidential nomination - POLITICO - Evan Simones:

February 15, 2020 - "Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Saturday said he'll back Bill Weld for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination, an endorsement the Weld campaign touted as the first sitting Republican governor to publicly oppose President Donald Trump's reelection. In a press conference, first reported by Vermont's WPTZ, Scott announced his decision to back the fellow Republican and former Massachusetts governor.

“'I've met with him before, I think a lot of him and his platform so I would be supporting him,' Scott said.

"Weld, who was the vice presidential nominee on the 2016 Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, took to Twitter soon after the announcement to thank Scott for his support.

“'I’m a great admirer of @GovPhilScott of Vermont, and am delighted to have his endorsement in the Republican presidential primary on Super Tuesday,' Weld said. 'VT has been well served in the past by Republican governors, and Gov. Scott admirably extends that tradition.'

"Scott, a frequent critic of Trump, said in January that Trump 'abused his powers' and shouldn’t be in office after the Senate voted to acquit the president on the two articles of impeachment brought against him by the House....

"The former Massachusetts governor — now the only remaining Republican vying to unseat Trump after former Reps. Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford ended their campaigns — has received several endorsements from within his party, including ... former New Jersey Gov. Christine Christine Todd Whitman."

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/15/phil-scott-endorses-bill-weld-gop-115375
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The dawn of English 'classical liberalism'

from A History of Libertarianism | Libertarianism.org - David Boaz:

"English opposition to royal absolutism created a great deal of intellectual ferment, and the first stirrings of clearly proto-liberal ideas can be seen in 17th-century England. Again, liberal ideas developed out of the defense of religious toleration. The great poet John Milton published Areopagitica in 1644, a powerful argument for freedom of religion and against official licensing of the press. Dealing with the relationship between freedom and virtue, an issue that vexes American politics to this day, Milton wrote, 'Liberty is the best school of virtue.' Virtue, he said, is only virtuous if chosen freely. On freedom of speech, he wrote, 'Who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?'

"During the Interregnum, ... when England was between kings and under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, ... the Levellers began enunciating the full set of ideas that would come to be known as liberalism. They placed the defense of religious liberty and the ancient rights of Englishmen in a context of self-ownership and natural rights.... Leveller leader Richard Overton argued that every individual has a 'self-propriety'; that is, everyone owns himself and thus has rights to life, liberty, and property. 'No man hath power over my rights and liberties, and I over no man’s.'

"Despite the efforts of the Levellers and other radicals, the Stuart dynasty returned to the throne in 1660, in the person of Charles II. Charles ... and his brother James II again tried to extend royal power. In the Glorious Revolution of 1688 Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary of Holland (both grandchildren of Charles I) ... [who] agreed to respect the 'true, ancient, and indubitable rights' of Englishmen, as put down in the Bill of Rights in 1689. We can date the birth of liberalism to the Glorious Revolution.

'John Locke is rightly seen as the first real liberal and as the father of modern political philosophy. If you don’t know the ideas of Locke, you really can’t understand the world we live in. Locke’s great work The Second Treatise of Government was published in 1690.... Locke asked, what is the point of government? Why do we have it? He answered, people have rights prior to the existence of government — thus we call them natural rights, because they exist in nature. People form a government to protect their rights. They could do that without government, but a government is an efficient system for protecting rights. And if government exceeds that role, people are justified in revolting. Representative government is the best way to ensure that government sticks to its proper purpose....

"Locke also articulated clearly the idea of property rights.... People have an inalienable right to life and liberty, and they acquire a right to previously unowned property that they 'mix their labor with,' such as by farming. It is the role of government to protect the 'Lives, Liberties, and Estates' of the people.

"These ideas were enthusiastically received. Europe was still in the grip of royal absolutism, but thanks to their experience with the Stuarts the English were suspicious of all forms of government. They warmly embraced this powerful philosophical defense of natural rights, the rule of law, and the right of revolution. They also, of course, began carrying the ideas of Locke and the Levellers on ships bound for the New World."

Read more: https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/history-libertarianism
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