Olympic Victory: IOC Gets Americans Asking for Rule Change

Olympic Victory: IOC Gets Americans Asking for Rule Change: LONDON – American athletes risked disqualification by leading a revolt against the International Olympic Committee on Monday and its draco...

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!

“THIS IS THE MOST LIBERTARIAN GENERATION THAT’S EVER EXISTED”

Will public disgust with creeping government drive more people than ever toward limited government principles? A very good and interesting story from Illinois’ The Telegraphabout how the movement Ron Paul ignited now also correlates with public attitudes and national trends:

To begin: This is not a story about Ron Paul.

Not exactly, anyway. And yet to get where we want to go we will start at OPA!, a Greek restaurant on the edge of town where Clark County Republicans and tea party conservatives gathered on Nevada primary night for what looked undeniably like a Ron Paul rally.

In one corner was Cindy Lake, the acting chair of the Clark County Republican Party and a delegate to this summer’s Republican National Convention. A self-described “libertarian Republican constitutional conservative,” Lake became a Paul convert in 2007 after she heard him advocate for something she passionately supports: the freedom to buy raw milk.

Nearby stood Megan Heryet, celebrating her GOP primary victory in a state Assembly race. Heryet, a real estate agent, substitute teacher and mom, is hardly a Paul fanatic. But she did back him in Nevada’s caucuses earlier this year, primarily because she is a big proponent of being free to make decisions such as choosing to give birth to her second child at home instead of a hospital. “It’s about being left alone,” she said.

And there were the Bunce brothers, Richard and Carl, who marshaled a four-year “Paulist” takeover of the Nevada Republican Party. The tax system is their biggest irritation. “This is the land of the free,” said Carl. “How free are we when we’ve got a government that can choose how much money we keep in our paycheck?”

But we promised this wouldn’t be about Ron Paul and, in fact, it really isn’t. Rather it’s about unpasteurized milk and home births and taxes and, yes, freedom.

Something’s going on in America this election year: a renaissance of an ideal as old as the nation itself – that live-and-let-live, get-out-of-my-business, individualism vs. paternalism dogma that is the hallmark of libertarianism.

Paul, the Texas congressman and GOP presidential hopeful who champions small government and individual liberty, is one manifestation of it. We saw that with his rising popularity during the Republican presidential primary season and, now, the recent “takeovers” of political conventions in Nevada, Minnesota, Maine, Louisiana and elsewhere that will result in a sizable faction of Paul delegates at the GOP convention come August…

But what looms are far larger questions about whether an America fed up with government bans and government bailouts – with government, period – is seeing a return to its libertarian roots. And, if so, what that might mean in a potentially close presidential race and long after election 2012 is a mere memory.

“There’s this kind of growing distrust of the institutions of government, and so it leads folks to step back and say, ‘Well if they’re not working, then we ought to have less of them in our lives,”‘ said Wayne Lesperance, director of tmw Hampshire.

Paul’s libertarian message joins people “who probably under any other circumstances would not see the world the same way and gets them politically involved,” Lesperance said. “It is a challenge for the Republicans to wrap their arms around this and harness this in a way that gets them an electoral victory.”

"Regardless of popular belief, Romney has yet to actually clinch

This will all be hotly debated this week as thousands converge on the Las Vegas Strip for a libertarian fete called FreedomFest. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul – Ron’s son and the future hope of many limited-government enthusiasts – will speak, along with a slew of libertarian-leaning politicians, scholars, economists and entrepreneurs, from Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and publisher Steve Forbes to Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president.

When the festival first began in 2002, some 850 people attended. Last year, there were 2,400. Festival founder and economist Mark Skousen will tell you this is a sign, albeit a small one, that libertarianism – or something an awful lot like it – is surging.

“It is a rebirth,” said Skousen, and a reaction to a feeling shared by many that America has moved too far afield from its founding principles. “This country was established for the very thing that we’re fighting right now: excessive government control of our lives. In today’s world everything is either prohibited or mandated. … You have to have medical insurance. You have to wear a seat belt. … They have to pat you down (at the airport).”

Skousen has a simple analogy for all of this: “If you restrict a teenager, they rebel. I think that’s what people are feeling…”

In its annual governance survey conducted last fall, Gallup found that a record-high 81 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the way the country was being governed. There were increases, too, in the responses to questions that gauge a more libertarian-view of governance: A record 49 percent said they believed government posed “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens”; 57 percent believed the federal government had too much power; and 56 percent said they would be willing to pay less in taxes and accept fewer services (a position advocated during the campaign by Paul)…

Many pondered why Ron Paul, at 76 years old, attracted some massive crowds of 20-somethings to his rallies and, according to exit polls, consistently won the 18-29 age bracket early in primary season in states such as New Hampshire and Iowa.

Twenty-six-year-old (Students for Liberty President) Alexander McCobin has a response for that: “This is the most libertarian generation that’s ever existed, and it’s because libertarianism is just correct…”

To any remaining naysayers, they warn that this is neither a passing fad nor a “Ron Paul phenomenon” that will fade once he’s gone from the scene. They see hope in other up-and-coming libertarian-leaning Republicans: Justin Amash, a Michigan congressman seeking re-election whom Reason magazine christened “the next Ron Paul”; Kurt Bills, a Minnesota state representative who is running for U.S. Senate; and, of course, Rand Paul.

“Everything we’ve done up to this point is based on ideas. … It carries on well past Congressman Paul,” said Carl Bunce. “Hopefully we’ll start to bring more voters to bear into the Republican Party – all those apathetic voters that were like myself.”

When that happens, he said, “our ideas of liberty and freedom will persist.”

California's Stockton Opts to File for Bankruptcy

In opting to become the nation's largest city to seek federal bankruptcy protection, Stockton, Calif., took a rare financial step of last resort after struggling with the economic downturn, soaring pension costs and contractual obligations.

Only 13 cities, counties and other government entities filed for bankruptcy protection last year — the highest annual level in nearly two decades. Stockton, a river port of 290,000, was the seventh U.S. municipality to file this year and the first California city since Vallejo, which sought protection in 2008, according to James Spiotto, a Chicago bankruptcy attorney who tracks municipal bankruptcies.

"Filing bankruptcy is time-consuming, expensive and complicated," said Spiotto, noting that Vallejo spent millions of dollars alone on attorneys and other bankruptcy professionals. "And you never get the results you desire."

That's why experts are divided on whether other financially struggling cities, towns and other government entities will follow Stockton to bankruptcy court. Spiotto said it will be hard and expensive for Stockton to obtain financing.

Others say bankruptcy comes with non-monetary costs, too.

"Being in bankruptcy is decimating to your staff and morale," said Deborah Lauchner, Vallejo's finance director. "There's so much uncertainty. ... We've been taken apart and ripped by the seams and everybody examined us."

Since Congress added Chapter 9 to the bankruptcy code in 1937 to allow municipalities to seek protection, some 640 government entities have filed. Last year's 13 filings almost doubled the six filed in 2010. That was the most since an equal number were filed in 1994.

By comparison, roughly 1.5 million Americans file for personal bankruptcy a year while some 50,000 companies file for business bankruptcy.

"Bankruptcy is a huge drain on municipalities, because they have limited ways to create more revenue," said Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyer Karol Denniston.

Stockton City Manager Bob Deis said officials were left with little choice but to recommend bankruptcy after failing to hammer out finance agreements with creditors to address the city's $26 million budget shortfall.

"Unfortunately we have no comprehensive set of agreements with our creditors that would eliminate the deficit and avoid insolvency," Deis said at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. He said, however, that the city was still negotiating with some creditors and could reach deals with as many as one-third of them.

"We think Chapter 9 protection is the only choice left," Deis said. "If we get any agreements, those will be honored in Chapter 9."

The City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 to adopt a special bankruptcy budget to address Stockton's $26 million shortfall if the city files for bankruptcy, as expected, by Friday.

The city has been hit hard by high crime and the collapse of the housing market in the past three years. It's also dealt with $90 million in deficits through a series of drastic cuts.

The new budget did not call for additional service cuts beyond those that earlier slashed the police force by one-fourth, the fire department by one-third and 40 percent of other city employees, along with wages and medical benefits.

The budget approved Tuesday night would suspend payments for debts and legal claims; reduce payments for retiree medical benefits; further cut some pay and benefits; and increase revenue through code enforcement and parking citations.

In standing room only chambers, former city employees told council members about their life-threatening medical conditions and said benefit cuts meant they would effectively lose their health insurance.

"For me, bankruptcy might as well be a life sentence," said Gary Jones, a retiree who used to be a police officer in Stockton and said he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Other residents complained about plummeting property values, and recurring break-ins and robberies.

"The average citizen will not put up with this. Their home prices have plummeted, they have no jobs, a lot of people are getting fed up so that they have to resort to crime." said Gregory Pitsch, a 22-year-old unemployed resident who made an unsuccessful run for mayor. "I'm asking you to make the right decision, not destroy the property values in this city, which bankruptcy will do."

But city officials said this Central Valley city in California's agricultural heartland has run out of options. In recent years, thousands of new homes mushroomed in Stockton, part of a suburban housing boom that attracted buyers from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. When the economy crashed and the construction bubble burst, Stockton was battered by foreclosures and lost income from property taxes and other fees.

Under bankruptcy protection, officials would retain power over day-to-day city operations and staffing, but a judge would take over all decisions concerning the city's debts, said Robert Benedetti, professor of political science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

The judge would decide which creditors should be paid, how much and in what order. He would make allowances for expenditures needed by the city to function, and it would be up to city officials to decide how to spend that money.

"One of reasons a city might want to go the bankruptcy route is that they don't want a situation where they have to pay out debts and have to close the police or fire department," Benedetti said. "Filing for Chapter 9 means you're asking the court to protect you against lawsuits from people who hold your debt.

"Bankruptcy won't take away Stockton's underlying financial problems, one of which is the economy, the high unemployment rate and the high foreclosure rate," he said. "It will take years for them to come out of this.""

If Stockton files for bankruptcy, it would be the largest city by population to do so, according to Spiotto, the Chicago bankruptcy lawyer who tracks filings. He said Bridgeport, Conn., is currently the largest city to file for bankruptcy, which it did in 1991.

Jefferson County in Alabama is the largest local government bankruptcy filing to date in terms of the size of its debt. It occurred in November 2011 and was followed by Orange County, Calif., in 1994.

Stockton was the first city to test a new state mediation law, Assembly Bill 506, which is less than six months old.

Under the law, municipalities considering bankruptcy must first negotiate behind closed doors with creditors for up to three months, with the goal of settling debts without filing for Chapter 9 protection.

Bankruptcy lawyer Denniston, who helped draft the bill, said legislators in other states are interested in how the mediation process could be used elsewhere.

"Nationwide, we're faced with a ton of municipal distress," Denniston said, noting dire economic conditions, massive foreclosures and future pension obligations. "It's the perfect storm."

2pac On Stage at 2012 Coachella Festival

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The stars came out on the final day of So-Cal's Coachella festival, only at Coachella would a surprise dance tent performance by a superstar like Rihanna (more on that later) not be THE most talked-about event of the day. Instead, everyone was talking about another, much more surprising superstar cameo, by Tupac. Yes, the late Tupac Shakur. In hologram form.
Tupac died in 1996, three years before the first Coachella festival took place, but that didn't stop him--or at least his bizarrely lifelike 3D image--from joining Dr. Dre onstage during Dre's much-hyped festival finale this year. Call it better gigging through technology: About halfway through Dre's 70-minute set, what appeared to be an actual shirtless Tupac appeared onstage, greeted the crowd with "What up, Coachella?"--and then traded rhymes with Dre's co-billed Coachella partner, the flesh-and-blood Snoop Dogg, on "Come With Me," "Hail Mary," and "Gangsta Party." Concertgoers at first seemed confused--the audience momentarily grew abnormally silent--and that confusion only increased when Tupac suddenly vaporized and vanished from the stage as quickly as he had materialized. All eyez were on him, so to speak, and then, POOF--'Pac was gone.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: COLORADO GOP DELEGATES FORM PAUL-SANTORUM COALITION TO COUNTERACT STATUS QUO ROMNEY

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‘CONSERVATIVE UNITY SLATE’ OF PAUL-SANTORUM SUPPORTERS DEMANDS VOICE AHEAD OF, AND AT, TAMPA

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – Colorado supporters of 2012 Republican Presidential applicant Ron Paul have teamed up with earlier White House wannabe Rick Santorum, counteracting moderate Mitt Romney’s supporters in a battle over how the Centennial State will represent itself at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

The move represents the diminished confidence of many Republican activists who are unhappy with Washington insiders’ inflated pressure to coronate an establishment candidate rather than pursue a discussion over whether an authentic conservative will play a pivotal role at the summer’s RNC.

Colorado Republicans split delegate votes between Romney, unified Paul and Santorum supporters


By Lynn Bartels
The Denver Post
Colorado Republicans are heading to their national convention with their most conservative delegation in years, as supporters for Ron Paul and Rick Santorum masterminded a stunning upset in electing delegates.

At the state convention in Denver today, Paul forces easily were the most vocal, adding their candidate’s name at almost every opportunity. When Republicans sang “Hey, hey, hey, good-bye” to President Barack Obama, Paul backers changed the words to “Hey, hey, hey, Ron Paul.”

The momentum was painful for Mitt Romney supporters, who had assumed when Santorum dropped out of the presidential race this week they’d have a much easier time in winning Colorado’s delegate and alternate seats to the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August.

Instead, some of the Santorum’s supporters united with Paul’s backers to form the “Conservative Unity Slate” to win a slew of delegate slots. Four years ago, only one Paul supporter was elected to attend the national convention.

“This is a revolution,” said Florence Sebern of Denver, an “unpledged” delegate who was wearing a Paul pin. She was part of the slate.

Slate supporters said they wanted to send a message to Romney about the importance of sticking to conservative values.

More than 800 Republicans — easily double the number who sought to attend the RNC in 2008 — ran for the 33 elected delegate and 33 elected alternate slots.

At congressional assemblies Thursday and Friday, Republicans elected 21 delegates and 21 alternates. Thirteen of the 18 winning delegates elected Friday were on the Paul/Santorum unity slate…

To read the full article online, please click here.

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