'Keenevention' draws liberty activists

'Keenevention' draws libertarian activists | New Hampshire - Meghan Pierce, Manchester Union-Leader:

November 1, 2015 - "Liberty activists flocked to the third annual "Keenevention" over the weekend.

"Bringing a female perspective to the event was the Ladies Panel hosted by Renee Kate, host of radio show Seditious Sirens. Katie McCall of Stone Manor, Ellen Ball of Puke and the Gang podcast and Ann Leverette of Seditious Sirens sat on the panel.

"The panelists talked about their experiences moving from other parts of the country to New Hampshire to be part of the Free State Project.

"The Free State project is a movement to get 20,000 libertarians to agree to move to New Hampshire.

"According to its website, the Free State Project is at 88 percent of its goal. When it reaches 20,000, any participants who haven’t already moved to New Hampshire are expected to make the move....

“I think we’re at 88 percent on the way to 20,000,” Leverette said. “So in five years I think that we’ll be at our goal. I think we’ll be triggering the move.”

"The next five years will be an exciting time for liberty activists, she said....

"As the mother of teenagers, McCall said she is excited to see the next generation of libertarians in New Hampshire.

“I think the biggest change is going to come with the second generation because I am blown away at the idea of all of these kids being raised with these philosophies and being around libertarians the whole time. That generation is going to be awesome, so I’m super excited to see my kids hanging out with other libertarians’ kids and the teenagers and the questions they are asking and the way they are approaching life and the way they are approaching each other in their interactions,' McCall said.

"Keenevention and Free Keene blog founder Ian Freeman organized the event again this year.

"The three-day convention included a panel of state legislators and panels on Bitcoin, New Hampshire secession, jury nullification and moving to New Hampshire.

"Keynote speakers included Libertarian presidential candidate Darryl W. Perry."

Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/Keenevention-draws-libertarian-activists
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Myths behind government funding of science

The Myth of Basic Science - Matt Ridley, Wall Street Journal:

October 23, 2015 - "Politicians believe that innovation can be turned on and off like a tap: You start with pure scientific insights, which then get translated into applied science, which in turn become useful technology. So what you must do, as a patriotic legislator, is to ensure that there is a ready supply of money to scientists on the top floor of their ivory towers, and lo and behold, technology will come clanking out of the pipe at the bottom of the tower.... Yet recent scholarship has exposed this tale as a myth....

"For more than a half century, it has been an article of faith that science would not get funded if government did not do it, and economic growth would not happen if science did not get funded by the taxpayer.... [Yet] there is still no empirical demonstration of the need for public funding of research and ... the historical record suggests the opposite.

"[I]n the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. and Britain made huge contributions to science with negligible public funding, while Germany and France, with hefty public funding, achieved no greater results either in science or in economics. After World War II, the U.S. and Britain began to fund science heavily from the public purse. With the success of war science and of Soviet state funding that led to Sputnik, it seemed obvious that state funding must make a difference.... Yet there was no growth dividend for Britain and America from this science-funding rush. Their economies grew no faster than they had before.

"In 2003, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a paper on the 'sources of economic growth in OECD countries' between 1971 and 1998 and found, to its surprise, that whereas privately funded research and development stimulated economic growth, publicly funded research had no economic impact whatsoever. None. This earthshaking result has never been challenged or debunked. It is so inconvenient to the argument that science needs public funding that it is ignored.

"In 2007, the economist Leo Sveikauskas of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics concluded that returns from many forms of publicly financed R&D are near zero and that 'many elements of university and government research have very low returns, overwhelmingly contribute to economic growth only indirectly, if at all.'

"As the economist Walter Park of American University in Washington, D.C., concluded, the explanation for this discrepancy is that public funding of research almost certainly crowds out private funding. That is to say, if the government spends money on the wrong kind of science, it tends to stop researchers from working on the right kind of science.

"To most people, the argument for public funding of science rests on a list of the discoveries made with public funds, from the Internet (defense science in the U.S.) to the Higgs boson (particle physics at CERN in Switzerland). But that is highly misleading. Given that government has funded science munificently from its huge tax take, it would be odd if it had not found out something. This tells us nothing about what would have been discovered by alternative funding arrangements. And we can never know what discoveries were not made because government funding crowded out philanthropic and commercial funding."

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-myth-of-basic-science-1445613954

How the Fed Is increasing economic inequality

Rand Paul Is Right: The Fed Is Increasing Inequality With Its Low Rates - Forbes - Jeffrey Dorfman: 

October 29, 2015 - "Last night’s Republican debate was supposed to be about economic policy, but instead it was, once again, more about moderators asking gotcha questions.... There was, however, a great moment of economic clarity, thanks to Rand Paul, on the surprisingly overlooked role the Fed has played in increasing economic inequality.

"Virtually all economists agree that the Fed’s low interest rates have been responsible for inflating stock market values. By reducing the returns to savings accounts, certificates of deposit and bonds, the Fed has intentionally driven ordinary investors to increase their investment allocation to the stock market, thereby boosting stock returns. Because people with more wealth tend to own more stock, those higher stock prices have led the rich to gain much more than the poor and middle class.

"Low interest rates have meant low borrowing costs for large corporations with direct access to capital markets. This low-cost borrowing has boosted corporate profits which also flow mostly to the wealthy.

"Poorer individuals, with smaller savings and few other assets, tend to be heavier users of credit cards for borrowing.... Unfortunately, while the Fed has pushed down interest rates for big corporations, average credit card interest rates have only dropped about 1.5 percentage points (from about 14.5 to 13%).... Wealthier individuals, with more savings and other assets, rarely need to carry a credit card balance, but they do borrow (tax-deductible) funds in the form of mortgage debt, often in large amounts. Thanks partly to the Fed’s many moves to lower interest rates, mortgage rates have fallen about 2.5 percentage points (roughly from 6.5 to 4% for 30 year fixed rate mortgages).... For example, somebody with a $400,000 mortgage could save ... $600 to $800 per month, way more than the $20 per month the poor are saving on credit card debt.

"Finally, the low interest rates set by the Fed combined with the additional labor costs thanks to the Obama Administration (Obamacare and its associated taxes) are changing the relative prices of labor and capital.... This also increases economic inequality because the poor and middle class earn most (or all) of their money from labor income, while the rich collect a significant share of their income in various forms of returns to capital.... Purposely tilting the economy in favor of capital and against labor is pretty close to taking from the poor and giving to the rich, the exact reverse of normal government attempts to redistribute income.

"[While] the left is consumed with economic inequality, nary a voice on the left is complaining about the Fed’s role in making it worse. Rand Paul is correct that the Fed is causing a widening of economic inequality....If you want less economic inequality, we should begin by stopping policies that make it worse."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2015/10/29/rand-paul-is-right-the-fed-is-increasing-inequality/
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Rand Paul & Ted Cruz slam Federal Reserve

In GOP Debate, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul Tear at Fundamentals of the Fed - Michael S. Derby, Wall Street Journal:

October 29, 2015 - "Two Republican presidential candidates blasted the Federal Reserve on a fundamental level in a debate Wednesday night, airing their criticisms of the central bank before a prime-time television audience.

"Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky criticized the Fed’s impact on the economy and called for new operating regimes that would limit the central bank’s influence....

"Mr. Cruz lambasted what he saw as a 'star chamber' of central bankers implementing radical policies with little democratic accountability. He was particularly concerned with the now-ended campaigns of long-term bond purchases the Fed employed to provide stimulus.

"Mr. Cruz also said the Fed has an inflation problem on its hands. 'If you look at a single mom buying groceries, she sees hamburger prices have gone up nearly 40%. She sees her cost of electricity going up. She sees her health insurance going up. And loose money is one of the major problems,' he said. 'I think the Fed should get out of the business of trying to juice our economy and simply be focused on sound money and monetary stability, ideally tied to gold,' Mr. Cruz said.

"Mr. Cruz is correct that, since 2008, the Fed has had an aggressive monetary-policy stance, with short-term rates at near-zero levels, amid several rounds of large-scale bond purchases, as well as other tools to provide stimulus....

"Mr. Paul said in the debate that 'the Fed has been a great problem in our society' and that its policies have helped fuel economic inequality. He also made a plug for legislation that would audit the monetary-policy-making functions of the Fed, something central bankers and many economists believe would politicize rate policy and make it less effective.

"Mr. Paul also wants to fundamentally end how the central bank influences the economy. 'What you need to do is free up interest rates. Interest rates are the price of money, and we shouldn’t have price controls on the price of money,' the legislator said in the debate."

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-gop-debate-ted-cruz-and-rand-paul-tear-at-fundamentals-of-the-fed-1446144549
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World Internet freedom down for 5th straight year

Freedom House: World Internet Freedom Keeps Eroding - Alberto Pimienta, Voice of America:

October 28, 2015 - "Internet censorship around the globe continues to intensify. According to a report by the independent monitoring group Freedom House, for the fifth consecutive year, more nations are censoring information online and demanding that companies and individuals remove content or face retribution.

"The annually released Freedom of the Net Report assessed 65 countries and identified China as the worst offender.... Gady Epstein, former Beijing bureau chief for The Economist magazine, said China has become more aggressive with censorship in the last couple of years under President Xi Jinping. 'They’ve blocked Google; they’ve blocked Gmail and other Google services. They arrested more online activists, people who comment independently on a range of issues, including corruption,' said Epstein....

"In Russia and Iran, people who post content deemed offensive by the government can quickly and easily land in prison. 'Those countries tend to block materials of political and social relevance. They tend to arrest users for writing about human rights and opposition,' said Sanja Kelly, director of the report.

"Syria is the second-worst performer in the study. Bloggers, journalists and activists face execution by armed groups in the country, according to Freedom House.

In Iran, rated the third-worst nation, Tehran’s conservative powerbrokers, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, keep extremely tight control over the Internet, despite better bandwidth and the increase of 3G cellular connections.

"Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, increasingly play a big role in the way people get access to information in countries with restricted Web freedom.... The combination of social media services and content that authorities dislike, though, can be life-shattering. That is the case for Atena Farghadani, 28, an Iranian cartoonist. She was sentenced to 12 years in jail for posting one of her caricatures on Facebook, which portrayed Iranian lawmakers as animals.

"Freedom House said that during the research for the report, which focuses on events from June 2014 through May 2015, it stumbled upon a new development: Governments increasingly attack the source now....  'The governments are actually going to the company and saying, "This type of information exists on your servers. Take it down. If you don’t take it down, we’re going to either block your services or we’re going to take away your license so you will not be able to operate in our country any longer",' said Kelly."

Read more: http://www.voanews.com/content/freedom-house-world-internet-freedom-keeps-eroding/3027570.html
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Ohio Rights Group now backs Issue 3

Pro-medical marijuana Ohio Rights Group endorses Issue 3 | cleveland.com - Jackie Borchard, Northeast Ohio Media Group:

October 13, 2015 - "The state's largest pro-medical marijuana group has endorsed Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical and recreational marijuana sales and use in Ohio.... Issue 3, on the ballot this fall, would legalize recreational and medical marijuana, but commercial marijuana could only be grown on 10 sites belonging to investors bankrolling the initiative.

"The organization was an outspoken opponent of Issue 3 and ResponsibleOhio, the political action committee bankrolling the initiative. Ohio Rights Group even filed an elections commission complaint claiming ResponsibleOhio leaders 'infiltrated' their campaign and undermined Ohio Rights Group's petitioning efforts....

"ORG Vice President John Pardee said the group would likely never receive the funding to pay for signature collectors and qualify for the ballot. Pardee said other legalization proposals planned for 2016, including one by Ohioans to End Prohibition, also lack the support needed to qualify for the ballot.

"Pardee said ORG would be doing patients a disservice to campaign against Issue 3 without a viable alternative and called Ohioans to End Prohibition's campaign ...an absolute farce'....

"Sri Kavuru, president of Ohioans to End Prohibition, said ... 'He knows nothing of what is going on in our organization and we have plenty of time to make it to the ballot'....

"Pardee said no money or financial benefits were promised in exchange for ORG's support, but the group did seek concessions from ResponsibleOhio.

"Pardee said ORG has agreements with four of the 10 growing sites to lease space for 'artisanal' marijuana growers and a plan to appoint an ombudsman to lobby on behalf of patients while the industry is established.... Neither aspect is in the proposed amendment, but Pardee was confident in agreements made with ResponsibleOhio....

"Ohio Rights Group joins national NORML and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio as the major proponents of Issue 3."

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/10/pro-medical_marijuana_ohio_rig.html
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Iraq war contributed to rise of ISIS, Blair admits

Blair: Iraq war contributed to rise of ISIS but was justified | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR - Associated Press:

October 26, 2015 - "Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has acknowledged that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 was partly responsible for the emergence of ISIS militant group in the Middle East. But he insists that toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been the right thing to do.

"Blair told CNN 'there are elements of truth' in the assertion that the war in Iraq caused the rise of ISIS, which now controls a large swath of Iraq and Syria.

"'Of course, you can’t say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015,' he said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

"Blair added that the Arab Spring revolutions, which began in 2011, had also played a part by allowing the Islamist fundamentalist militant group to flourish in civil war-torn Syria and then Iraq. And he said the 'sectarian policy' of Iraq’s Shiite-led government was also a factor in destabilizing the country.

"Blair’s decision to take Britain into the Iraq war – based on what turned out to be false claims about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction – remains hugely divisive at home and contributed to his Labour Party’s loss of power in 2010....

"'I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we received was wrong,' he said. 'I also apologize for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you removed the regime.'

"Some 179 British personnel died in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. A public inquiry into decisions and mistakes in Britain’s planning and execution of the war began in 2009 but has yet to issue its findings."

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Oct-26/320228-blair-iraq-war-contributed-to-rise-of-isis-but-was-justified.ashx
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