News Miner 78
Libertarian pledges, the Gadsden flag, registering Democrat, grocery wars, Christian nationalists, tow trucks, lead, and more.
The Ridiculous “Libertarian” Pledges
Complete Colorado published my new column, “Libertarian pledge for GOP an exercise in buffoonery.” Here are some excerpts:
The main thing that the “alliance” between state Republicans and Libertarians proves is that both parties currently are run by a bunch of buffoons. . . .
The [Libertarian] pledges [for Republican candidates] start in disaster. The first item for the federal pledge states, “I will immediately work to pull funding for Ukrainian aid and push aggressively for peace negotiations with Russia.”
What “peace negotiations” mean in this context, precisely, is rewarding one of the most prolific mass-murderers of our age with territory seized through bloody conquest, something that will only encourage subsequent Russian aggression. . . .
As telling as what makes the list is what does not. What about ending “qualified immunity” that legally protects rights-violating public officers? What about restoring jury trials by curbing threats of overpunishment? What about protecting women’s right to get an abortion? What about ending the drug war? What about expanding legal immigration? A pledge that omits those last couple of items, at least, simply is not a libertarian document. . . .
The state pledge again misses some important issues. Notably absent is any comment on zoning reform, one of Jared Polis’s signature efforts. It figures that today’s “libertarian” party is nowhere to be found when it comes to promoting some of the most important libertarian reforms of our era, recognizing the rights of property owners to develop their land as they want.
Read the entire piece.
The Gadsden Flag Incident
I used to sometimes fly the Gadsden flag when it was associated with the early (modern) Tea Party, but then the flag increasingly became associated with alt-right causes. But obviously many symbols, including this one, mean different things in different contexts. Here’s how a recent incident in Colorado regarding the flag went down:
Connor Boyack wrote:
Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has “origins with slavery.” The school’s director said via email that the patch was “disruptive to the classroom environment.”
They cited @USEEOC, which admitted that the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context” . . . But then said “However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages . . .”
The director then argued that the flag is associated with “hate groups,” linking to this weak article that cites a “graphic design scholar” who claimed that “some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism.”
As you can hear his mom say in the video, Jaiden wanted to stand up for his (non-racist!) beliefs. So after he was kicked out of class, he asked his mom to take him to the news station to get the word out.
Jim Pfaff then wrote:
I’m sharing this and appealing to my friend [Jared Polis] to take a stand against this insane restriction. There is clearly no reason for this to have happened. It amounts to an assault against this student's harmless beliefs. C’mon [governor]. It’s the libertarian thing to do.
Apparently Polis agreed, because he then wrote:
The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and a iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans. It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the union of the 13 colonies. It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!
Then the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression chimed in:
We couldn’t agree more, [Polis]. This is a great moment for a history lesson—and a lesson in the 1A. We ask the Governor to ensure that any discipline for protected speech like the display of the Gadsden Flag is lifted immediately and the student’s record is cleared.
My take: Maybe school administrators should quit obsessing about nonsense and focus on, you know, teaching children.
Quick Takes
An Announcement: My note on Twitter: “I am registering to vote as a Democrat. God help me. I will explain why later on. The main reason is that the Republican Party of Colorado, under its present leadership, has become morally and intellectually corrupt.” See also my article from earlier in the year.
Meddling Politicians: Treasurer Dave Young and Secretary of State Jena Griswold have come out publicly against the Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger. What exactly does that issue have to do with either elected position? And how much experience do either of those officials have in the grocery business?
Anti-Trans Protests: Kyle Clark makes a good point regarding the protesters at the Douglas County PrideFest event. Conservatives say parents should be able to raise their kids how they want, but these protesters were interfering with how other people raise their kids.
Right-Wing Libertarians? In response to a Westword article about the Independence Institute encouraging people who “lean right” to enter local politics, Aaron Ross Powell writes, “When I worked for a libertarian think tank, people there would complain all the time that journalists labeled libertarians or libertarian organizations as ‘right-wing’ or ‘conservative.’ ‘We’re not on the left or right!’ they'd say. But the fact is, libertarians routinely give people every reason in the world to believe they’re part of the right.” I hear what he’s saying, but the II always has branded itself as conservative-libertarian and center-right. Powell recommends his article, “Liberty Upsets Patterns—and Conservatism.”
Christian Nationalism: Logan Davis’s article about Andrew Wommack, a Christian nationalist from Woodland Park, is terrifying. As Davis describes, Wommack aims toward theocratic government and hopes for the apocalypse.
Towing: Sam Tabachnik: “Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Monday took the unusual step of publicly acknowledging his office’s investigation into Wyatts Towing, days after a state senator who helped write last year’s towing legislation said she was illegally towed.” See also 9News.
Conspiracy Mongering: Oh joy; Rep. Ken DeGraaf was conspiracy mongering about Fauci allegedly setting up “bioweapon labs.”
Graft Way: Chase Woodruff: “Not to be too fatalistic about it, but Peña [Boulevard] expansion is in large part just the bill coming due on the absolute carnival of graft that surrounded DIA’s development in the 80s and 90s.”
Voting: Kaylee Harter: “Boulder’s first rank-choice voting mayoral election is approaching and candidates began filing their paperwork to run earlier this month.” Approval voting—vote for as many candidates as you want—is better. It’s much simpler to understand and implement, and it avoids rare-case oddities of ranked voting.
Lead: Moe Clark: “Aviation fuel, also commonly called ‘avgas,’ is the only transportation fuel in the U.S. to contain lead, the metal that acts as a neurotoxin and has been tied to lowered IQ, learning disabilities and behavioral problems in children. Although leaded automobile gas was phased out in the 1990s—which resulted in a 98% decrease in lead levels in the air—a carve-out allowed leaded aviation fuel to remain. Today, leaded aviation fuel is one of the largest remaining sources of airborne lead, accounting for 70% of it as of 2017, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”
Mountains: Here’s a photo from a recent hike outside of Blackhawk.