Young Americans for Liberty – Ole Miss Chapter

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm in Bondurant Auditorium (Room 204C) on the Ole Miss Campus

If you get pulled over on your way home from the Square, what do you say to the police if he asks to search your car?

Come join us Tuesday and invite all of your friends, so you’ll be prepared the next time you encounter the police!

Visit this event on our Facebook page:

Madison Featherston writes for the DM on revisions in the University’s speech code. Our YAL chapter’s biannual Banned Book reading is mentioned.

See FIRE’s statement on Ole Miss’ new rating here.

The weekend is here! Check out these stories from today.

• Remember that whole debt ceiling thing? Yeah, we’re there again.
• Then again, there could be hope yet. Obama’s attempt to merge and consolidate federal trade agencies could be a true gesture towards smaller government.
• Frank Hurdle at the Col. Reb Sez blog defends Haley Barbour and the pardon power more generally as a means of rehabilitating criminals. UMFreedom on Barbour’s pardongate here.
• In other state news, Matt Eichelberger at Cottonmouth reports on Speaker Gunn’s decision to hire a “political ad man with a salary commensurate with a circuit court judge.” That’s $110,000 a year. Eichelberger laments, “The party of small government, indeed.”
• Matt Zwolinski of the Bleeding Heart Libertarians blog has a good piece at the Daily Caller, emphasizing the importance of organizations like IHS. He’s right that organizations like IHS, YAL, and SFL have more long-term significance within the liberty movement than a single campaign. It’s important to note, though, that candidates like Ron Paul introduce many to the concept of a free society.
• Lastly, for your Friday the 13th viewing pleasure:

Stay up-to-date, follow Ole Miss YAL on Facebook and Twitter.

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James Robertson currently attends the University of Mississippi, where he plans to receive degrees in Political Science and English. He is the President of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. He can be contacted at jrrobert@olemiss.edu, Facebook and Twitter.

Ahh, Thursday – the beginning of the weekend in Oxford. Here’s what we’re reading this Thursday morning:

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  Marshall Ramsey's Always-Cutting Take on Haley's Pardongate

  Coverage of Haley Barbour’s Pardongate expanded yesterday as the former governor came under criticism for issuing around 200 pardons his last day in office.  Attorney General Hood’s efforts to block the release of prisoners seems to be moving forward. Haley’s defensive statement here.

• Mississippi Democrats are calling for a shortened legislative session. While this move is probably politically motivated given the recent Republican takeover of the House, giving the government less time to mess things up seems like a good idea. This is where Texas gets it right.

• The latest poll released from South Carolina shows Romney (23) essentially tied with Gingrich (21), followed by Santorum (14), Paul (13), Huntsman (7), and Perry (5).

• Another Iranian nuclear scientist is dead, further evidence that either American or Israeli forces are actively waging a covert war on Iran’s nuclear program.

• Another one of the reasons our military presence abroad inevitably inspires others to fight against us.

• MSN Money has a great piece warning about the dangers of another round of quantitative easing by the Fed. The author, Anthony Mirhaydari, lays it out: ”In simple terms: The Fed is laying the groundwork for another round of unmitigated money printing.”

• The Department of Justice asked a judge to rule in favor of allowing citizens to record police officers on duty. As Radley Balko notes, “The federal government rarely urges a federal court to give the government less power.”

• While covering the GOP primary in New Hampshire, Adam Kokesh had a surprisingly cordial encounter with a police officer discussing the use of recording equipment.

• Ole Miss YAL hosted Kokesh to speak in the grove during the 2008 presidential debate at Ole Miss. That video here.

Stay up-to-date, follow Ole Miss YAL on Facebook and Twitter.

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James Robertson currently attends the University of Mississippi, where he plans to receive degrees in Political Science and English. He is the President of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. He can be contacted at jrrobert@olemiss.edu, Facebook and Twitter.

Yesterday, Phil Bryant was inaugurated as the 64th governor of Mississippi. The outgoing Haley Barbour wasted no time his last day on the job, pardoning 27 convicted criminals, many of them felons. This last-minute pardoning frenzy has made both national and international news.

• Tom Freeland at the North Mississippi Commentor blog examines some of these cases in several posts, noting that Karen Irby was also granted clemency. More on the Irby case here.
• Cottonmouth also has coverage, noting that the pardons allow convicted murderers to once again carry firearms. He also raises an interesting question about whether Barbour’s pardons violated a state constitutional provision due to lack of prior notice.
• Back in 2009, Radley Balko wrote about Barbour’s “bizzare” pardon record at Slate, noting that the governor granted pardons to “murderers who just happen to do work on his house.”

As expected, have taken to both Facebook and Twitter, to voice their disgust. On a somewhat lighter note, though, others have turned to farce:

• @lindsey_brooks posts: ”"THIS JUST IN!!! Haley Barbour’s latest pardons: Darth Vader, Count Chocula, Cruella de Vil, Skeletor, and Voldemort.”
• @thirdcup writes: ”Next time you see Haley Barbour, skip the hellos and say “I beg your pardon.” “Pardon me” will suffice as well.”

Today, residents of New Hampshire head to the polls to vote in the nation’s first presidential primary. The Democrats failed to field a legitimate primary challenger to Obama, pledging their implicit support for his foreign intervention and disregard for civil liberties at home. Glenn Greenwald confronts this hypocrisy masterfully.

On the Republican side, though, things are a bit more interesting. Polling suggests that Mitt Romney will easily win the state, followed by a possible second place finish for Ron Paul and Huntsman in third.

• Tom Woods, who spoke to Ole Miss YAL after the release of his book Meltdown, is on the ground in New Hampshire.
• A recent Politico piece suggests that Ron Paul’s libertarian message is failing to inspire voters, referring to his stump speech as “a grim, thousand-points-of-darkness jeremiad that makes the rest of the GOP field’s somber depiction of Obama-era America seem sunny.”
• In light of the current election season, A. Barton Hinkle discusses the liberal backlash against Citizens United and why the Supreme Court made the right decision.
• Now that Romney is the established front-runner of the Republican field, several of his opponents are laying it on. Both Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman have criticized Romney for firing workers while working at Bain Capital. As James Pethokoukis from the American Enterprise Institute notes, the attacks are purely political and suggest that the Republicans’ understanding of free markets is superficial at best.

“Of course, Romney and Bain weren’t in the game to create jobs. They were in it to make money for their investors and themselves. Then again, the same would go for Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Warren Buffett, and just about every other successful entrepreneur and investor you could name. But that is the miracle of free-market capitalism. The pursuit of profits by creating value benefits the rest of society through higher incomes, more jobs, and better products and services.”

• On an unrelated note, Reason’s Brian Dougherty has a fascinating post which asserts that Haiti’s lack of prosperity stems from their insecure property rights.

Join us back here tomorrow to discuss the New Hampshire results!

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James Robertson currently attends the University of Mississippi, where he plans to receive degrees in Political Science and English. He is the President of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. He can be contacted at jrrobert@olemiss.edu.

Happy Monday, everyone! Beginning today, Ole Miss YAL will be sharing some of our favorite links from around the Internet. Please feel free to comment, offer your suggestions, and share any interesting stories with us.

• Roger Wicker, Senator from Mississippi who voted to allow for the indefinite detention of American citizens, already has two challengers who’ve qualified to run against him

• According to recently revealed evidence, the White House hosted a secret “Alice in Wonderland” Halloween party in 2009. Apparently, administration officials decided not to publicize the event “for fear of a political backlash during hard economic times.” Let them eat cake, right?

• If you were busy watching the network television debates this past weekend, you might have missed the enormously entertaining “Lesser-Known Presidential Candidates Forum.” Make sure you don’t miss Vermin Supreme.

• At the Mises Institute, James E. Miller defends Kim Kardashian against a group of tax-happy Californians. Challenges the class-warfare mentality that animates many progressives.

• Daniel Hannan points out that defenders of free markets must be careful when claiming that we are currently suffering from a lack of capitalism. Instead of railing against so-called “crony capitalism,” libertarians should focus on highlighting concrete reforms that allow markets to regulate big business.

•  George Monbiot, environmental blogger for The Guardian, discusses the libertarian conception of property rights and declares them unworkable when dealing with modern environmental challenges. Is this a role which only government can fill, or can a system of clearly defined property rights defend against pollution?

• At Reason, Damon Root addresses a common criticism of libertarians: that they want to scale back the federal government but have no problem with the state governments abridging liberties. As Root points out, the US Constitution, by way of the Civil War amendments, includes several provisions that prohibit states from infringing upon individual liberty.

Have a great week!

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James Robertson currently attends the University of Mississippi, where he plans to receive degrees in Political Science and English. He is the President of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. He can be contacted at jrrobert@olemiss.edu.

On Tuesday, November 8, Mississippi voters will consider the application of voter identification at every precinct in the state. Those in favor of voter identification argue that providing a state issued photo id will decrease voter fraud and reinforce the integrity of elections. The most popular arguments of the opposition deal with the possibility of lower voter turnout due to discrimination in race and age.

As a libertarian, I tend to look at cost before I look at benefits.  In 2008, the Supreme Court looked at state imposed voter ID in Indiana in the case Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.  In the majority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens stated that voter ID was constitutional as long as the state offered the identification cards free of charge. Otherwise, voter identification cards qualify as a poll tax.  If the Mississippi voter ID initiative passes in November, the physical printing and distribution of a new form of identification as well as the implementation of the new policy will end up costing the state one and a half million dollars a year.  Are the benefits worth the cost?

Studies have shown that states that require photo identification in elections have little to no significant difference in voter turnout or fraud.  “In [a] 2008 survey, three out of 2,564 respondents said that they tried to vote but were not allowed because of voter ID, a fraction of a percent.”[1]  The only claim by either side that has any relevance is that some groups may not receive equal treatment by poll workers when asked for identification.  “In the 2008 Super Tuesday primary states, 53% of whites were asked to show photo ID, compared with 58% of Hispanics and a staggering 73% of African Americans.”[2]  The above data should be a warning for Mississippians to rethink their support of voter identification when they go to the polls this Tuesday.  More unnecessary spending and possible discrimination at the polls makes voter identification contain more negative policy implications than positive.  This is why I am voting NO on Initiative 27.

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Richard Burke is the executive director of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, an active member of Young Americans for Liberty Ole Miss, and a contributor to UMFreedom.com. He can be contacted at guitarhog@yahoo.com.

So you think the next key election will be in 2012?

Think again.

If you’re a registered voter get out your calendar and put a big red circle around November 8th. This is when Mississippi voters will be asked to decide ballot Initiative #26: The “Personhood Amendment.”

Wait a minute. Is “personhood” even a word? No matter. If Initiative 26 is passed it will suddenly become a household term as Article III, Section 1 of the Mississippi State Constitution is amended to define “person” or “persons” to include “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”

That would undoubtedly make abortion illegal. And much, much more.

While there are many Mississippians who in good conscience would like to outlaw abortion, this strangely phrased initiative doesn’t stop there. It could ultimately be interpreted to ban most birth control pills, Plan B (the emergency morning-after pill), various IUDs, in vitro fertilization and stem-cell research.

Not to worry ladies – chastity belts, diaphragms and the good old rhythm method will still be permissible. For the time being, anyway.

The government has no business selecting contraception for its citizens. Frankly, the idea that bureaucrats believe this is in their scope of power is horrifying.

It’s not as if Mississippi is The Chastity State. A recent study by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center reported 76 percent of high school students admit that they’ve had sex by the 12th grade. Chances are that number is actually higher. Moreover, we all know Mississippi has the highest national teenage pregnancy rate.

Some want to use these grim statistics as ammunition in an on-going argument for extensive sex education for students. Please. Public schools are educational institutions that should be teaching children academics. Period. In a state with one of the highest illiteracy rates everything else is superfluous. In fact, all sex-ed classes ought to be scrapped. Just as government shouldn’t inject itself into contraceptive decisions, neither should it take on the role of parents in teaching children about sexual norms and personal values.

Accompanying those deplorable statistics is an especially discouraging one: the Magnolia State also has the highest child poverty rate in the country. The cost of these social problems is steep: The Mississippi Business Journal reports that taxpayers are on the hook for more than $154 million annually due mostly to lost tax revenues, incarcerations and foster care associated with teen parents.

Given this dismal picture, it is simply mean-spirited to propose making access to contraception nearly impossible for Mississippi women.

The Personhood lobby wants you to believe that this is simply a feel-good pro-life measure. Don’t be fooled. There is much more at stake this November than a pro-choice versus pro-life vote. Once this initiative is enshrined in law, Mississippi women could find themselves forced to cross state lines for basic contraceptives.

Even more curious than the intentions of those backing this initiative is the timing of the vote. Remember, 2011 is an off-year election. The architects of the Personhood Amendment seem to be counting on low voter turnout to ram through this sweeping change to Mississippi law. It’s a clever scheme to rally their supporters to get out and vote, while the rest of the population sleeps.

This is an old political trick. Don’t fall for it.

In fact, beware of any political movement that can only succeed if the majority of voters stay home.

Opponents of the Personhood Amendment, such as the ACLU, are confident that even if Initiative 26 passes, it will ultimately be ruled unconstitutional and nullified. Great. But that will take years of litigation and countless taxpayer dollars. Worse, in the meantime Mississippians will have to live under a bad law.

If you’re registered to vote in Mississippi go to the polls on November 8th.  Show the shortsighted “Personhood” lobby that smart people vote even in off-year elections.

And this time they’re saying “no.”
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Bryn Kerrigan Mahan is a Senior Political Science major from Virginia Beach, Virginia.  She is a member of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty and a contributor to UMFreedom.com. She can be contacted at bkmahan@olemiss.edu.

On November 8, Mississippians will head to the polls to decide three proposed ballot initiatives. One of these referendums, termed Initiative 31, aims to protect private property rights in Mississippi by restricting the government’s power of eminent domain. Governments have always used the power of eminent domain to acquire property on which to construct roads, schools, and other public developments.

Private property rights form the bedrock of a society of ordered liberty. For this reason, governments should prioritize the protection of private property second only to life and liberty itself. The justifications for a state’s eminent domain power lie in two considerations: 1) The state must provide adequate compensation for the acquired land, and 2) the land must be devoted to a public use. Using its power of eminent domain, both federal and state governments have purchased land from individuals to construct roads, schools, and public buildings.

In the controversial 2005 case of Kelo v. New London, the US Supreme Court vastly expanded the power of eminent domain. The case concerned a Connecticut resident whose property was acquired by the government using the power of eminent domain. Instead of using the land for a traditional public purpose, though, the government planned to transfer the property to a private pharmaceutical company. In a 5-4 decision that upended the world of eminent domain law, the court ruled that this was a constitutional use of the government’s taking power.

According to Kelo, eminent domain can be used to transfer private property to another private entity as long as the new owner will provide an “economic benefit” to the community. Using this logic, Peter the used car dealer could lobby the government to acquire your family farm. Though the farm belongs to you, Peter convinces the state that by opening a new car lot on your land, he could benefit the town economically.

Initiative 31 aims to prevent just this sort of crony capitalism. In response to this expansion of power, Mississippians have a chance to defend their private property against government that seeks to transfer it to another citizen. Initiative 31 would amend the state constitution to prohibit the state from transferring private property to another private individual for 10 years. This greatly reduces any incentive for the government to take private property for private uses.

Support property rights on November 8 by voting YES on Initiative 31.

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James Robertson currently attends the University of Mississippi, where he plans to receive degrees in Political Science and English. He is the President of the Ole Miss Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. He can be contacted at jrrobert@olemiss.edu.