Politics 2016: Are we there yet?

Posted on 2016-03-15 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-11A by Nathan Barton

One more “big primary election day.” Eight months to go… what can go wrong? The new Massa will be chosen, “American democracy” will be vindicated and verified for another four years – or we will enter into a new phase of fascism and thousands – no, millions – will flee the country.

I just wish it was over.

And is it all over? Last week, Zero Hedge proclaimed that “at this point it is all over” for the 2016 race for new Massa: that Trump is scheduled to trash Rubio in the guy’s home state, defeating the last hope of the GOP faithful and bosses. Although Kasich is expected (well, maybe) to win in his home state in Ohio, that is probably his last hurrah. But it isn’t just the GOP nomination that Durban says is done: it is the November election AND the “United States,” that Trump is incapable of running the country and that either the “deep state” will nullify the election (and presumably set up some kind of a technocracy with or without military participation), or the rest of the world will turn on the FedGov and it will go down in some kind of gotterdammerung. Continue reading →

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Blind Voters

Posted on 2016-03-14 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Chris, over at Laissez Faire Books reposted (with his own comments) an article by Josh Guckert at The Libertarian Republic, entitled “Trump and Sanders may have more in common than most [people] think.” He proceeds to list and provide proof of seven items of commonality: all death from a libertarian point of view – even a minarchist’s. Josh (and Chris) make very good points.

But are they really important? Or even accurate? At best, taking information from public sources, Josh is telling us what the two SEEM to have in common based on what they have said (and, admittedly in Sanders’ case, how he has voted). But some of this stuff goes back almost a decade. And obviously, everything they have said is and was intended to be self-serving, and not necessarily an insight into their real positions – or how they would rule. In fact, let us go even further. Name one American president in the last CENTURY that kept even 10% of his campaign promises, or even remained faithful to what he said was his position on even major issues. Continue reading →

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Voting with your feet – redux

Posted on 2016-03-12 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-10F By Nathan Barton

Voting with your feet, Redux – Europe, America, and Islam

Events in Europe mean more and more people are voting with their feet as well. And the arrogance of their national and European Tranzi leaders grows more and more amazing and intolerable by the day. Even as they steal more and more liberty from their own citizens, they pretend to give it to Muslim “refugees” and others.

But even as things get bad, these events make it clear that the solution IS liberty: not just the liberty to cross borders (just not on the dime of someone forced to pay), but the liberty to defend yourself against the inevitable, the scum who seek to take advantage of good-hearted people. And the liberty to say, “not in MY living room or yard,” and “Not MY daughter, not MY son, not MY wife” is to be sacrificed. And certainly not taking away the liberty for each of us to worship God (or not) as long as we neither impose it on others nor use it as an excuse to rob, beat, rape, abuse, or kill others. Until we can apply that lesson to our daily lives and society, things will get worse and worse, and more and more people are voting with their feet.

Immigration from Europe to North America and Latin America and Oceania is up, and that migration is not just Muslim. Why? Continue reading →

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Voting with your feet?

Posted on 2016-03-11 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-10D By Nathan Barton

Voting with your feet and other political things:

The state senator who sponsored now defeated medical cannabis legislation in what one correspondent called the ‘Backward State of Hatu’ (Utah) has announced that he and his family are leaving the country, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune. Nope, not just to the wonderful Free State of New Hampshire, but to South America some place. “I’ve long since concluded that I desire more freedom in my individual life than I’m allowed to have in this state,” said Madsen, who indicated the move was something he and his family had wanted to do and was not simply the result of the defeat of his marijuana legislation. Look, when even the politicians IN OFFICE have so much frustration that they bail out, what hope is there?

Mama’s Note: I wish him well, but I very much doubt he’ll find any more freedom wherever he might go in South America. There is a long history of tyranny there, and unless he has a lot of money, friends and relationships there, he will soon be in a bad place. Continue reading →

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Are the Chickens of Social Progressivism Coming Home to Roost?

Posted on 2016-03-11 by MamaLiberty

By Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D.

The Michigan Democratic primary was a close race which Secretary Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost and Senator Bernie Sanders surprisingly won. The pundit analyses of this unanticipated reversal relied almost exclusively on economic explanations.  It looked to me, however, like something was missing.  The rest of the story, in my view, has to do with identity politics, gender politics, and political correctness.

In 2007 David Paul Kuhn published The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma. The Democratic establishment never got the message.  Worse still, under the identity politics and PC agendas of President Obama, the only group in America that could be denigrated, despised, and discriminated against were white men and most especially straight white men.

Looking at the primary results thus far, it appears that the denigrated, despised and discriminated against on the Republican side are revolting against all things establishment and on the Democratic side they are joining the revolution against the designated Obama II candidate, Hillary Clinton.

While following the money always is a good idea, following race and gender politics may be far more important in capturing the hearts of the electorate and the votes of disaffected white male voters.

Disaffected – to the voting booth!

Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Florida International University in Miami.

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Civil Society is Dead

Posted on 2016-03-10 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-10C By Nathan Barton

While it is necessary to “trust but verify” in dealing with people, today people are more and more fearful of others, and take the least excuse to scream wolf. Consider this story from World Net Daily. A business analyst was booted from a UK-Amersterdam EasyJet flight when his seatmate, reading on the man’s smartphone as he typed messages, apparently saw the word “prayer” and reported him to authorities as a possible security threat. The Christian Institute said the christian man, Laolu Opebiyi of London, who was born in Nigeria, was using the WhatsApp program to set up a prayer meeting with friends. “The prayer group was called ‘ISI men,’ a reference to the biblical proverb ‘iron sharpens iron’ (Proverbs 27:17).” (“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”)

The London Guardian reported that last Thursday, Opebiyi, 40, was forced to give up his telephone and his password to authorities, who ordered him off the flight. Multiple things wrong with this, including the seizure of his phone and violation of his privacy, when there was no reason for the airline to question his explanation. And of course, the violation of his privacy by the other passenger. Would the same thing have happened if his birthplace had been Londonderry? Or Cardiff? Or Frankfurt? Continue reading →

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Politics 2016: Early March Status Report: Government still won’t work

Posted on 2016-03-07 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-10B, by Nathan Barton

In breaking news on Friday, Freedom’s Phoenix (publisher Libertarian Ernest Haycock) announced that Romney has declared to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that he is running for president, despite his claim (during his attack on Donald Trump on Wednesday) that he is not doing so. “After stating he is “not running for president,” lo and behold, what do we find? That, in fact, he has filed papers to run for president with Paul Ryan as VP.” As proof, the Phoenix cited an FEC document [pdf]. But when I read that document, I see that it was filed with the FEC on 30 January 2016, more than a month ago. How is this breaking news? According to the committee number, this is the same committee that ran his election campaign in 2012, and before this, was updated most recently in October of 2015. And yes, I checked. Paul Ryan, now Speaker of the House, was the running mate in 2012. Gee, do you suppose this is NOT breaking news at all, and that maybe Romney was flat-out lying about not running in 2016? And do you suppose this helps the cause of liberty how? Continue reading →

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What if, or when? Is Trump toast?

Posted on 2016-03-06 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #18-10A,  By Nathan Barton

Is Trump at the Zenith? The first week of March 2016 has been an eventful one in that stupid game called “presidential politics” here in the Fifty States. On the Democratic side, that evil and maniacal woman and crypto-socialist/all-out Tranzi, Clinton, has apparently staved off Sanders’ quixotic quest to quash the Clinton crime gang (and bring in his own bunch of socialist, less-Tranzi gangsters). The potential for some (gag) “man on a white horse” (like crazy Uncle Joe) coming into play is much less.

But it is the GOP side of things where the real shake-up is evident. Yeah, Trump only took 7 of 11 contests, BUT that is definitely NOT what the GOP movers and shakers (especially the donors and the technocrats) expected. I dunno what happened; maybe someone hacked into their voting machine programs and kept them from doing the usual vote-rigging. Or maybe their arrogance just plain finally hit a trigger point on millions of deluded GOP voters. Cruz got three states (including his critical home state of Texas), and Rubio got one. But also important, Chistie, long viewed as an establishment Republican, not just dropped out but endorsed Trump. And very, very important, that washed-up piece of political trash named Mitt Romney, that perfect “RINO” and latest in a long tradition of worthless and failed GOP presidential candidates such as McCain, Bush I, and Dole, Tranzis all, dumped on Trump. Continue reading →

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Politics 2016: Baker’s Dozen ™ Federal Ballot Issues (what-if)

Posted on 2016-03-05 by TPOL Nathan

by Nathan Barton

As Jeffrey Tucker pointed out in a recent column, voters need to remember that when voting in federal elections, people are voting for (or against) PEOPLE and NOT on issues. That the people elected may make all the promises they claim about how they will vote, but are not bound to do as they promised. Jeffrey suggested it would be neat to be able to vote directly on the issues. So here is a proposal!

2016 GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT

Please select YES or NO for the following Issue Questions. The results of these questions will be binding on the Senators from our state, and the Federal Representative for our District, subject to penalty of law, including removal from office, imprisonment up to 25 years, and fines of up to $100,000 per issue. Continue reading →

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Low how the mighty have fallen: deterioration, decay, and collapse

Posted on 2016-03-03 by TPOL Nathan

Libertarian Commentary #16-09D by Nathan Barton

Lo, how the mighty have fallen. The deterioration of government and society and the current “civilization” worldwide proceeds apace.  Stories this week illustrate this, and send a chill up my spine.

The major example comes from Europe, and specifically the European Union.  Conditions in Greece, steadily worse for years if not decades, are deteriorating in an accelerating manner. Yahoo reports that food lines are growing in Greece while the border camps housing the Muslim “refugees” flooding through Greece into the rest of Europe explode.  Greece is in a full-blown depression and government actions have made bad conditions incredibly worse. This is coupled with a similar depression in Spain, where their government is more interested in forcing Catalonia to remain part of Spain than in setting ALL the Spanish people free to make a living and behave as adults.  And this in turn is helping send Europe over the boiling point. Continue reading →

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