libertarian Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Randy Barnett: A Libertarian Scholar’s Memoir and the Making of an American Originalist

July 18, 2024 CKelly

FreedomFest is an annual, largely Libertarian conference that brings together people from various fields to discuss and promote ideas related to liberty, free markets, and individual freedom. This year in Las Vegas, The Arizona Sun Times interviewed Randy Barnett, whose memoir, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, offers an insightful look into his life, philosophy, and professional achievements. As one of the most influential legal scholars in constitutional law, Barnett champions liberty and originalism in his book. Originalism, he explains, is the judicial interpretation of the Constitution that aims to closely follow the original intentions of its framers.

Commentary: Argentina’s First-Ever Libertarian President

November 26, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Voters in Argentina have elected a libertarian as president for the first time in their history. On Sunday, Argentina had its second round of voting, and Javier Milei received 55.69% of the vote against the Peronist Sergio Massa’s 44.31%. In a country that suffers 143% annual inflation and a poverty rate hovering around 43%, Milei has a long and difficult road ahead.

Milei’s win marks the first time in 40 years that someone outside Argentina’s two largest parties was elected. La Libertad Avanza, Milei’s 3-year-old political party, finally broke through the entrenched and archaic political apparatus. In a tweet back in June, Milei stated that Argentina was choosing between the old politics and the new ideas. During his presidential campaign, Milei pledged to tackle Argentina’s inflationary unhealthy economy by dollarizing the peso and minimizing government spending.

Argentina Makes History, Voters Deliver Clear Mandate with Election of Free Market Libertarian Javier Milei by Double-Digits

November 20, 2023 ADN America

Libertarian candidate Javier Milei of the “La Libertad Avanza” (Liberty Moves Forward) party, will become the president of Argentina on December 10. The free market capitalist obtained 55.86 percent of the votes, with 91.81 percent of the polling stations counted, a stunning victory for the right that resulted in the defeat of ruling party candidate Sergio Massa, who only garnered 44.13 percent of the votes.

Populist Javier Milei Stuns the World, Wins Argentina Presidential Election

November 19, 2023 Admin

Libertarian candidate Javier Milei secured victory in the Argentinian presidential election on Sunday, defeating left-leaning economy minister Sergio Massa, according to The Associated Press.

‘Bloodbath:’ New Zealand Voters Reject Liberal Party in Pivot Away from Authoritarian ‘Lockdown’ Regime

October 15, 2023 Admin

The voters of New Zealand spurned the liberal Labour Party in Saturday’s national elections, knocking them into the minority and electing a conservative coalition led by the National Party.

Commentary: The Libertarian-Socialist Axis

February 21, 2023 Admin

On the surface, it might seem ridiculous to suggest libertarians and socialists work to further the same political agenda. Their ideologies are diametrically opposed. The extreme version of a socialist system is for all property to be owned and controlled by the government. The extreme version of a libertarian system is for all property to be privately owned. And yet the extremes meet.

The unwitting consequence of socialist and libertarian movements in the United States has been to assist in the formation of an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a corporatist elite that has perfected its ability to manipulate both movements.

TikTok Removes Video by Libertarian Organization Defending Kyle Rittenhouse

December 12, 2021 Admin

Libertarian organization Young Americans for Liberty says it recently posted a video in support of Kyle Rittenhouse that was subsequently censored by TikTok

In early December, the group posted a video in response to reports that members of the Arizona State University student body were protesting Rittenhouse’s online attendance at their university. The protestors called the acquitted teenager a “murderer,” and claimed he posed a threat to the student body.

Commentary: You Don’t Need a Permission Slip to Go Back to Normal

May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Group of people together socializing at dinner table

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control did an about-face, announcing that the fully vaccinated among us may resume normal activities. The news came more than a year after California initiated the first lockdown on March 19, 2020.

The CDC’s new posture comes with some narrow exceptions. If you’re traveling on a plane or find yourself in a homeless shelter or in a medical or correctional facility, you still need to wear a mask; and the CDC made sure to clarify, apparently out of great deference for federalism and Hayekian spontaneous order, that its guidance does not predominate over the requirements of federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.

Before the CDC updated its pandemic guidance, this was exactly the position espoused by libertarian law professor Ilya Somin of George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law. Writing from his regular perch at the legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy, Somin’s argument is summarized nicely in the subheading of his piece, “Free the Vaccinated from COVID Restrictions”: “Doing so will protect constitutional rights, reduce vaccine hesitancy, and increase liberty—all at once.”

Commentary: Is an Alliance Possible Between the Conservatives and the Libertarians?

March 22, 2021March 21, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

In a recent column, I argued that libertarians should stop supporting third-party candidates and join our side in an effort to stand up to the Left. In response, writing for the Orange County Register and Reason, libertarian writer Steven Greenhut contended that although conservatives and libertarians have been allies on many issues in the past, “now we’re like residents of different planets.”

Rep Justin Amash, Who Recently Left GOP, Says He’s Not Ruling Out a Presidential Bid

July 8, 2019July 7, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chuck Ross Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who announced July 4 that he is leaving the Republican party, said Sunday that he is not ruling out a run for president. “I still wouldn’t rule anything like that out,” Amash told CNN’s Jake Tapper when asked if he is considering…

Michigan U.S. Rep. Amash, a Trump Critic, Quits Republican Party

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

U.S. Rep Justin Amash of Michigan is quitting the GOP. The only Republican in Congress to call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, Amash said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post Thursday – July 4th – that he was declaring his independence from the Republican Party because the…

Ex-Massachusetts Governor Weld to Seek 2020 Republican Presidential Nomination

April 17, 2019April 16, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced his candidacy on Monday to challenge President Donald Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination. Weld, 73, who served two terms as governor, from 1991-1997, enters as a long-shot candidate against an incumbent president who has remained popular within his party. Weld in February…

There’s a New Tea Party Brewing… in Moscow

February 4, 2019February 3, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Vera Kichanova As Moscow celebrated its 870th anniversary, a futuristic $245 million Zaryadye Park was inaugurated in the heart of the capital — a generous present from Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to his citizens. The 32-acre park includes a ‘floating bridge,’ a piece of tundra, and even an ice cave. The miracle…