News & Discussion

News Clippings There are still people who are convinced that socialism, or it’s close cousin, communism, “just haven’t been done right”. “Democratic socialism” is the most recent rebranding these systems of evil. Here is a timely reminder of what happens when socialism and communism “works”. While other nations had total figures, China’s shadowy death penalty system left the human rights group only able to offer a grim estimate of “thousands”. FTA/ Firing squads and lethal injections are two favourite methods of execution used by China. Killer jabs were legalised by the regime in the 90s and are sometimes administered in … Continue reading “Inside China’s brutal execution system with mobile injection vans & firing squads after killing most in the world”

News Clippings FTA/ That ultimate weapon of the judicial system, finding someone in contempt of court for violating its order, was not realistic, O’Connor said. …“I don’t have a force that would go over and handcuff them if they were found to be in contempt.” / When the Supreme Court of Ohio holds anyone on contempt, any county sheriff is enpowered to arrest and hold them.The fact that life long Republican politico Maureen O’Connor, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, doesn’t have confidence in the power of judicial censure, at the highest level, lays bare that we are not … Continue reading “Dubious distinction for Ohio GOP leaders: Only ones in US to ignore a court order”

As 2023 arrives and the two-year anniversary of the infamous January 6th insurrection approaches, there is plenty to be grateful for as our imperfect nation ventures into the new year. Of course, there is also still much work to be done and more good fights to be fought. Here in Ohio, fascism continues to stand on our doorstep –– and is perhaps even knocking on the door –– especially as a new GOP supermajority is set to be seated in our Statehouse in January and Governor Mike DeWine starts his second term, both of which were decided by a majority of Ohio … Continue reading A Republic, If We Can Keep It

Starting this year Columbus City Council elections will be kinda based on 9 districts.We say kinda, because while candidates will be required to reside within 1 of the 9 districts to run for that district, form a 5 person committee and collect 250 valid signatures from district residents, the actual primary and election will be _-= city wide =-_ (same as ever). Yup.The same 50k-ish voters will continue to control what happens in Columbus, despite the charter amendment that everyone thought was meant to adopt ward-style elections. Signature Requirement (City Council) … Min. 250 – No Max.cFiling Deadline … 4:00 … Continue reading Run for Columbus City Council!

A little money goes a long way in Franklin County! Your gift will help spread the word to the public at community festivals and fairs, purchase literature, and pay the cost of community outreach.

My wife and I recently celebrated the birth of our first child. A few weeks before he was born we were watching a particularly depressing evening news broadcast. We sat through half a dozen stories that evoked feelings of anger, sadness, and despair before looking at each other and asking, “What are we doing bringing a kid into this crazy world?” The question was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but I imagine every parent asks themselves that at some point and it’s really not surprising why. Let’s take stock of where we’re at… We’ve just come out of a multi-year pandemic that resulted … Continue reading For Ourselves And Our Posterity

Have you considered running for public office, but find yourself intimidated by all the rules and process?We can help! We have experienced past candidates, and current elected officials, that can train, explain and help you through every step in the process!If you ran for office before, consider running again, your odds actually go up on the second try! The deadline for filing for the May Primary is 4:00 p.m., February 1, 2023! Write-In Filing Deadline, 4:00 p.m., February 21. Here are the localities and roles up for election in Franklin County for 2023: FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURTHandouts: Acknowledgement of Notice … Continue reading Run for Local Office!

My daughter sometimes surfs the bore wave that heralds the incoming tide at Turnagain Arm, Alaska. The wave, or waves, to be exact, can reach a height of ten feet, but are usually smaller. Regardless of the size, the waves draw surfers from all over, each looking for the rush of riding a crest, and hoping not to crash in the foam. While I have yet to surf those freezing waters, which are bounded by menacing quicksand-like mudflats, I recently rode a wave that lasted almost two years. To tell the truth, I enjoyed the ride. Sure, I knew my … Continue reading If We Ride the Cantillon Wave, We Should Remember That We’ll Crash with It Too

Every now and then I go on social media to remind myself why we deserve extinction. My most recent example is something that’s been going asking if people have noticed that every couple that appears in television commercials is interracial. And the typical response is that it’s the work of woke corporations trying to push diversity on the general public.  And there’s the outcry every time a black actor is cast in a Star Wars project. Bob Jones University, a Baptist college, used to have rules against interracial dating until they were dropped following a media outcry after George Bush … Continue reading Dominoes

Wed, July 27 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Learn about ballot access, running for local office, state and local issues, and developing a county party to support local candidates and issues. Jackie Ray’s Grill 20 Cromley St Ashville, OH 43103 United States Get directions and learn more: https://www.fclpo.org/event/regional-development-meeting-pickaway/

Thanks to everyone who volunteered and donated for our successful float and booth at the Stonewall Pride March and Festival! Kudos to Drake and Cooper Lundstrom for their patience and charm, spell binding the crowd with balloon twisting artistry! Your support makes events like this possible! Please donate, volunteer or get involved!

During the 5/17/2022 business meeting for the Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio Central Committee the following actions were taken. The following individuals were elected to the following roles: Central Committee Chair – Michael Sweeney Vice-Chair – John Stewart Treasurer – Chris Gill  Secretary – Ken Holpp Executive Committee Chair – Michael Sweeney Vice-Chair – Drake Lundstrom Treasurer – Pat Hoffman Secretary – Ken Holpp At Large – Jordan Bertke At Large – John Stewart At Large – Chris Gill After the elections we discussed and voted on the following changes to the FCLPO By-Laws: Bylaw D – Central Committee, … Continue reading FCLP Committee Updates

The following individuals have been elected to the Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio Central Committee. John S. Stewart – Gahanna Ward 04 Patrick J Hoffman – Madison Township Kenneth D. Holpp – Worthington Ward 01 Michael Sweeney – Gahanna Ward 03 Jordan T Bertke – Hilliard Ward 04 David Nadolny – Worthington Ward 02 The meeting of the full committee, election for Central Committee officers and Executive Committee officers, will occur  at the next regular county party business meeting on May 17th, 2022.

We need your help to get the Libertarian Party regain ballot access in Ohio. This article helps explain what ballot access is, why it is important to us, and why the Libertarian Party of Ohio does not currently have it. To volunteer, check the “Circulate Petitions” or “Validate Petitions” box on the Volunteer form. What is “ballot access”? “Ballot access” is the right to put a political party label under a candidate’s name on the ballot. Having ballot access also enables a party to hold a primary. Under Ohio law (ORC 3501.38, amended in 2013 by Senate Bill 193), a … Continue reading Help get the Libertarian Party back on the ballot!

TOMORROW, MAY 3RD is the first Ohio Primary Election for 2022. tl;dr If you are a Libertarian in Ohio, be certain to pull an “issues only” ballot for the Ohio Primary Election. If you intend to join or remain a member of the Libertarian Party of Ohio, and also intend to vote in the Ohio Primary, you must remember to request an “issues only” ballot from your poll workers.Be sure to verify that you were issued an “issues only” ballot and do not have primary candidates for the Republican or Democratic parties.If you do participate in either major party primary … Continue reading 2022 1st Ohio Primary Election Instructions

A lot of exciting things are coming in the next couple of months – both the State and National Conventions and the Central Committee elections.  I highly encourage you to participate in as many of these as you can. As the Republicans and Democrats increasingly turn to their fringe groups for support (and battle their influence at the same time) it is ever more important that we stand up and show people the better alternative we offer. As the world spins ever more out of control it is important to show people that the cause of liberty is the best … Continue reading Ludo Fore Putavimus

The LPO Office will be open to the public for voting in the Central Committee Election from 9am to 6pm, May 3rd, 2022.

In March of 2003, the US invaded Iraq on the flimsiest of pretenses.  In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, also on the flimsiest of pretenses.  We hailed our invasion as brave and valiant and necessary for our security.  We condemned their invasion as barbarous and the work of a power-hungry tyrant. I’ve been wondering just what the difference is between the two.  The only thing I’ve come up with is, when we invade a country it’s good; when they invade a country it’s bad. But wait, you say, we were attacked on September 11, 2001.  We were…but not by Iraq.  They didn’t even have the stockpile of weapons … Continue reading A Tale Of Two Conflicts

Medical Apocalypse – the dramatic climax of a very bad horror movie. The United States has massive problems to solve.  I believe the collapse or corruption of our health care system, our financial system and our election system are the most important to us as libertarians.  Any one of these three issues could destroy the country.  At the very least, our economy and our ability to compete on the world stage have been severely compromised. These issues feed directly into an unsustainably high cost of production which is in turn caused by an unsustainably high cost of living.  America’s costly … Continue reading Three Books on Health Care Policy

 There is talk of another round of lockdowns for the Omicron variant and the winter weather, since Covid does seem to be seasonal, so it seems reasonable to give them an evaluation so far.  There have been a lot of other, more informed people than me talking about whether lockdowns have been effective (my understanding of the peer reviewed literature is that they have not been shown to have statistically significant positive effects), but not much talk about the costs. That seems weird to me, haven’t people been talking more about the overdose deaths, destruction of the economy, and so … Continue reading Worse Than You Think

A reader wrote this in response to last month’s Opinion Piece: Mr. Lundstrom makes a few good points in his essay, but I wonder how many of us may never have been here if mandatory polio and tuberculosis vaccines had not been received by our parents.  I would bet that, if choice were left to individuals, those diseases would still be a worldwide scourge.  We still cannot get rid of polio and TB entirely, only because some pockets of the world population are not vaccinated.It’s long been a Libertarian principle that one’s freedom extends only to the point that it … Continue reading A History Of “You have to do this to protect someone else”: Part 2

The national government is mandating vaccination with the justification, paraphrased: “you have to take this to protect someone else”. This is an argument that governments have used time and time again, and it’s worth seeing how it has been abused in the past. Just the US over the last century or so has had many instances of this abuse of power.  Eugenics: The same Supreme Court case that allowed for mandated vaccinations also allowed for forcibly sterilizing people who were criminals or simply not smart enough. The famous quote from it is “three generations of idiots is enough”, and the … Continue reading A History Of “You have to do this to protect someone else”:

Some years ago there was a science fiction series called Babylon 5. As one of the many running storylines, one of the alien races called the Centauri invaded and occupied the homeworld of another alien race called the Narn.  In exchange for help from the former Narn ambassador in eliminating the insane Centauri Emperor, the Centauri ambassador promised to end the occupation of the Narn homeworld. As the Centauri were withdrawing, the Centauri ambassador’s aide, one of the more sympathetic characters in the series, looked out a window to watch the Narn celebrations and said, “What was it all for?” On … Continue reading What Was It All For?

 It seems like everything and everyone has gotten more political over the past year.  Families and friends engaging in regular screaming matches about Washington.  But the funny thing about that?  You, me, and anyone you know personally (with rare exceptions) have almost no influence in what happens in Washington, and we are mostly ignoring the area where we do have lots of influence: our local governments.  The vast majority of people can’t name their mayor, much less their town council members.  Even less than that have ever been inside city hall, or their equivalent, and even less have been there … Continue reading How You Can Change The Law

Robert Higgs identified the Leviathan as an opportunistic beast, using crises—real or manufactured—to expand its realm, to slither its tentacles into the remaining halls where large amounts of liberty are found. Any national or international event can be spun into the need for more government, more interventions, and more intrusions of its slimy appendages. We have seen this time and time again, as the Leviathan strikes while the masses tremble. Somehow we are calmed by the sight of this powerful yet ugly serpentlike creature, believing that it is only grasping what it needs in order to protect us, and praying … Continue reading Opposition to State Power Evaporates Whenever There Is a “Crisis”