Liberty Pile - Libertarian News

All the Libertarian News you can use for the week of December 13th-December 19th, 2008

Starting off the week was the hilarious (and now infamous) shoe-throwing event. Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, a reporter with Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, hurled two shoes at Bush during a press conference in Iraq. Video of the event swept the Internet, producing extremely hilarious edits and animations.

A new study out by the Death Penalty Information Center concludes that 37 executions were carried out by various states in the US during 2008. There was a 12% drop in executions over 2007, the bulk coming from Texas (surprise). I wonder how the Free State Project members in New Hampshire are taking the news that NH just issued its first death sentence in 49 years.

A man named Mike Gogulski (of nostate.com) made waves on the Internet this week as he announced his renunciation of US Citizenship. The now "Stateless Person" lives in Slovakia and has been keeping track of the press coverage on his blog.

In another feat of Liberty, Will Buchanan (of walkforliberty.com) recently completed his 3,100 mile walk from Oregon to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project.

Did anyone realize it was Bill of Rights day in the US on Monday? Does anyone actually believe that the US Federal Government takes the Bill of Rights seriously any longer? Next time you go through the airport, take these through the checkpoint and see how the TSA treats you.

Oil is really cheap now, right? So, what do you think OPEC announced this week? You guessed it! They are going to cut production by 2 million barrels. Everyone wins!

The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education released its 2009 report. FIRE found that "approximately 74 percent of schools surveyed maintain policies that clearly restrict speech that, outside the borders of campus, is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution".

North Carolina is pretty upset about fuel efficient cars and people cutting back on their driving in general. Why would this be? It's a good thing afterall. For North Carolina bureaucrats, it means less tax revenue. To combat this, NC is looking to tax how far motorists drive. Implementation would be done via regular odometer checks or GPS technology in cars. I bet NC residents can't wait for this. Think of the children!

To finish off the week, 30-year mortgage rates fell to a historic low and the RIAA has announced it will stop suing consumers directly, opting to work with Internet Service Providers instead. How wonderful.