Free Republic

The Libertarian Party applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to strike the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law that discriminates against non-heterosexual marriages. The Libertarian Party has supported marriage equality since its founding in 1971.

Mrs. Colonel and I were watching Stossel's "Illegal Everything" last night and it led to a discussion of what, precisely, the precepts of libertarianism are. Anybody got suggestions on a succinct, unwonky treatise or explanation?

You won’t find him on any Federal Election Commission disclosure forms, but Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is the biggest in-kind donor to the incipient Rand Paul–for president campaign. Whatever its merits, the National Security Agency metadata program couldn’t be better fashioned to play into fears of the government. Is it vast? Yes. Secret? Check. Raise profound questions about privacy? Uh-huh. This is the kind of issue Rand Paul was born and (literally) raised to raise holy hell over. The NSA leak came on the heels of revelations that the Internal Revenue Service was singling out tea-party groups for...

More people value individual liberty, but we might be losing the moral guardrails. Are Americans becoming more libertarian on cultural issues? I see evidence that they are, in poll findings and election results on three unrelated issues: marijuana legalization, same-sex marriage, and gun rights. Start with pot. Last November voters in the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana, by a margin of 55 to 45 percent in Colorado (more than Barack Obama’s margin in the state) and by 56 to 44 percent in Washington. In contrast, in 2010, California voters rejected legalization 53 to 47 percent. These...

Are Americans becoming more libertarian on cultural issues? I see evidence that they are, in poll findings and election results on three unrelated issues -- marijuana legalization, same-sex marriage and gun rights. Start with pot. Last November voters in the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana, by a 55 to 45 percent margin in Colorado (more than Barack Obama's margin in the state) and by 56 to 44 percent in Washington. In contrast, California voters rejected legalization 53 to 47 percent in 2010. These results and poll data suggest a general movement toward legal marijuana. State legislatures...

Subtitled: The libertarian idea is the only truly new political idea in the last couple thousand years.

"Why are there no libertarian countries?" In a much-discussed essay for Salon magazine, Michael Lind asks: "If libertarians are correct in claiming that they understand how best to organize a modern society, how is it that not a single country in the world in the early twenty-first century is organized along libertarian lines?" Such is the philosophical poverty of liberalism today that this stands as a profound question. Definitions vary, but broadly speaking, libertarianism is the idea that people should be as free as possible from state coercion so long as they don't harm anyone. The job of the state...

The libertarian idea is the only truly new political idea in the last couple thousand years. By Jonah Goldberg ‘Why are there no libertarian countries?” In a much-discussed essay for Salon, Michael Lind asks: “If libertarians are correct in claiming that they understand how best to organize a modern society, how is it that not a single country in the world in the early twenty-first century is organized along libertarian lines?”

A man who was an obscure ophthalmologist only four years ago reinforced his role as one of the important political figures in the United States during a short speech on immigration reform before a gathering of conservative Latinos in the Hyatt Hotel in Washington on Wednesday morning. The freshman senator from Kentucky strategically placed himself in the middle ground of the immigration debate. “I’m sort of in between, I think, of where the House and the Senate is,” said Paul. In remarks to reporters afterward he made clear that his vote was still up for grabs—provided that the bipartisan Gang...

Muslim Waleed Aly, (w)academic and (token) ABC host, is angry that US soldiers are fighting in ways which makes it impossible for the Taliban to kill them: [Drones] so radically and fundamentally alter the nature of war that they risk making war seem far less grave, and far easier to wage. Each side confronts the other, with the risk of death and defeat. In short, war should come at a cost. That contract is shredded when you’re attacked by something that cannot itself be killed. It’s not remotely a fair fight. A word to Aly. There is no contract of...

The $605 Million Legal Marijuana Market Is Looking Awesome For Colorado On Tuesday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law the first framework for a legal, regulated marijuana market in the United States. Colorado expects the sale of pot to be a significant boon to state finances. They're already planning for a hefty tax on the substance, and one look at the potential size of the industry has those involved salivating. At the end of last month, when the bill was still under consideration, the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University released a report detailing the expected fiscal impact...

Whether or not you admire the bold individualistic leadership of Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on other issues, I know you will be disappointed and maybe even shocked by the immigration platform he outlined this morning before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. KEY POINTS OF THE RAND PAUL AMNESTY The 11-19 million illegal aliens would get to live permanently in the United States. One year after passing the amnesty, illegal aliens can start getting work permits to compete directly in the legal job market with Americans. New illegal aliens who are enticed by the amnesty will continue to have a relatively open...

LAS VEGAS — “My whole libertarian approach comes out of being just a nutty f'ing peacenik,” magician Penn Jillette confides backstage at his show, a few hours before he is set to perform.

"There comes a moment in nearly all post-apocalyptic stories when the characters are compelled to take to the road. In reality, if there is such a thing, people would do the exact opposite. They stay in familiar halls, linger on the same few streets that are most comfortable. The staples of the genre’s thought experiment would hold true in the real world: the breakdown of order, the need to rummage further and further from home... All of these events are the slow stripping away of the vestiges of the state, deriving step by step the hell that waits at the...

Addressing Planned Parenthood last week, President Obama made what must be one of the least self-aware statements of his tenure. "Forty years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose, we shouldn't have to remind people that when it comes to a woman's health, no politician should get to decide what's best for you," he said. "No insurer should get to decide what kind of care that you get. The only person who should get to make decisions about your health is you." It's no secret that

My thought is certain recreational drugs, such as marijuana, should remain off legal limits for the under 18 year olds, but become legally available when used in the proper environment. In many ways, pot is quite similar to alcohol, in that they should be used responsibly. My thought is to make the sale of marijuana less profitable by making it legal for home use. Personally, I don't smoke anything now, and do not want the smell of tobacco or pot on my clothes should I visit a public place, such as a shopping mall or bus stop. I know this...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, is being pressured to stay out of the race for retiring Sen. Carl Levin's seat by libertarian power brokers Ron and Rand Paul. That's according to a National Journal article published Wednesday that examines the potential candidacies of Amash and fellow Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Howell. According to the article, rumors are flying that Amash — branded in several national media articles as the "next Ron Paul" — is being cautioned against a run by the elder Paul and Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator: But perhaps most illustrative of the tension...

ST. LOUIS - Marijuana, the most prevalent illicit drug in America, seems to be getting less illicit by the day. Among recent developments that would have been unfathomable during the “War on Drugs” begun under President Ronald Reagan: • The states of Colorado and Washington voted last fall to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the first states ever to do so. Though technically still a violation of federal law, the administration of President Barack Obama has responded with a shrug. • The Illinois House voted last week to join the 18 states that have already legalized marijuana for medical use....

Susan Sarandon: ‘War on Drugs’ Is ‘Completely Racist’ April 22, 2013 By Melanie Hunter (CNSNews.com) – Actress Susan Sarandon on Wednesday called the war on drugs “completely racist,” arguing that only lower level drug defendants get locked up – “mostly people of color.” “The war on drugs is ridiculous, because you’re only getting—you’re spending a huge amount of money. It’s completely racist. You’re picking up everybody at the lower level because mandatory minimum drug laws let you trade in to get off, so if you don’t have anyone to trade in, if you’re at the bottom, you’re going to jail,"...