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Headlines
Libertarians: Obama is shockingly pro-war
09/03/2010
 WASHINGTON - Following President Obama's "end of our combat mission" speech, Libertarian Party chairman Mark Hinkle released this statement:
"President Obama needs to stop lying. In his speech, he re [ ... ]
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The high speed rail scam speeds up
08/25/2010
 Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: More spending taking taxpayers for a ride
8/25/2010
Contact:
Ben Olson, Chair, 608-381-6572, chair@lpwi.org
Jim Maas, Vice Chair, 715-212-7007, vicech [ ... ]
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Libertarian Party protests Facebook censorship of its marijuana legalization ad
08/25/2010
WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party (LP) is protesting the decision by Facebook to refuse advertisements that advocate for the legalization of marijuana.
The LP had been running a highly successful [ ... ]
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More spending taking taxpayers for a ride
08/25/2010
Many Wisconsinites, especially in the northern two-thirds of the state, wonder how state and federal legislators can approve new spending for "high speed rail" in Wisconsin when they have no money in [ ... ]
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Libertarians: Obama is shockingly pro-war |
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Written by Jim Maas
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Friday, 03 September 2010 15:13 |
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WASHINGTON - Following President Obama's "end of our combat mission" speech, Libertarian Party chairman Mark Hinkle released this statement:
"President Obama needs to stop lying. In his speech, he repeated the ridiculous and false claim that the U.S. combat mission is over in Iraq. He seems to think that if he keeps talking about the war in a nice way, then the war isn't really happening.
"Unfortunately, even though President Obama is the one person on Earth with the authority to withdraw the U.S. military from Iraq, he has chosen instead to keep over 50,000 troops there, risking their lives, and bleeding American taxpayers.
"The Republicans in Congress are just as bad. They have consistently failed to own up to the terrible financial impact of these wars, all the while claiming that they want to cut government. They want to nit-pick Obama's past statements about the war, but in fact they should be showering him with praise for doing exactly what they want.
"This war has been a shameful failure from the beginning. But even if the U.S. military could impose a sustainable modern democracy on Iraq, it would in no way be worth the hundreds of billions of dollars, and thousands of American lives, lost in the process. The Bush-Obama War in Iraq has done nothing to safeguard the rights of Americans -- on the contrary, it has probably made Americans less safe, and certainly poorer.
"The purpose of the U.S. armed forces is to defend the territory of the United States, not to re-engineer foreign societies.
"Contrary to his rhetoric before being elected, the president has proven himself to be shockingly pro-war. In addition to sustaining the American war presence in Iraq, he has greatly escalated the War in Afghanistan. Just like his predecessor, Obama believes that government force is the answer to everything."
The Libertarian Party platform states under "3.3 International Affairs": "American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid."
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The high speed rail scam speeds up |
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Written by Jim Maas
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 18:07 |
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Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: More spending taking taxpayers for a ride
8/25/2010
Contact:
Ben Olson, Chair, 608-381-6572,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jim Maas, Vice Chair, 715-212-7007,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
[Rothschild] Many Wisconsinites, especially in the northern two-thirds of the state, wonder how state and federal legislators can approve new spending for "high speed rail" in Wisconsin when they have no money in their treasuries with which to pay for it.
"This rail project is now becoming known for the speed with which government transportation officials want to spend our money before a new Legislature takes office," says Jim Maas, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin. "Perhaps the increase in independent and third party candidates has bureaucrats concerned." State officials are accelerating spending on this project. Instead of $50 million in spending, it is anticipated that more than $300 million will have been expended by the end of 2010. The official cost estimate for this project is $810 million, so far.
Maas observes that high speed rail might be nice for folks in the Madison and Milwaukee metro areas, although the new rail route basically is about the same one followed by the Interstate highway, which taxpayers have already paid for. And, there are existing bus services along that same route which the new train would compete against. "Madison to Milwaukee is not a long or difficult trip. Is this train for commuters? Why should taxpayers pay for an expensive redundant route?," asks Maas.
Libertarians support the maximum possible privatization of all publicly owned transportation systems and therefore oppose the creation of any new publicly funded or managed transportation systems. There are seven Libertarian candidates running for the Assembly in 2010. |
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Libertarian Party protests Facebook censorship of its marijuana legalization ad |
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Written by Jim Maas
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 18:01 |
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WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party (LP) is protesting the decision by Facebook to refuse advertisements that advocate for the legalization of marijuana.
The LP had been running a highly successful Facebook ad to express its support of marijuana legalization, but Facebook banned the ad about a week after accepting it.
A sample of the banned LP ad appears below:
In a July 23 email to the LP, a Facebook rep wrote, "We do not allow ads for marijuana or political ads for the promotion of marijuana."
The LP asserts that its ad is not intended to promote marijuana itself, but rather to take a position on the high-profile political question of legalizing marijuana. The issue is particularly relevant now, as a major marijuana legalization measure (Proposition 19) will be on the ballot in California this November.
Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the LP, commented, "Whether or not the folks at Facebook like marijuana, we think they should end their ridiculous censorship of our ad, which expresses the Libertarian position on a political issue of interest to many people."
Benedict continued, "We recognize Facebook's right to control their content and censor whoever they want. But we're also exercising our First Amendment right to complain about their bad decision, and to alert other consumers to put pressure on them."
On July 15, Facebook notified the LP that it had accepted the ad. Then, on July 22, Facebook revoked its approval, stating that "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate."
Recently, the LP learned that Facebook revoked approval of similar ads from other groups, including Just Say Now and the District of Columbia Patients' Cooperative, claiming that their ads violated Facebook's ban on images of "smoking products." The LP notes that Facebook's ad guidelines prohibit "advertisements promoting tobacco products," but that the Libertarian ad does not promote the product itself, and that it is not a tobacco product.
Kyle Hartz, the LP's Development & New Media Assistant, said, "Our ad is targeted to people who have indicated that they are interested in the issue of marijuana legalization. It's bizarre that Facebook won't allow us to advertise to the very people who support what we are advocating."
The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party www.lp.org/ |
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