Succinct testimonials about the libertarian philosophy.
A summary by FEE of how George Washington led the colonial army in defeating the mighty British military:
…As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army throughout America’s eight-year War for Independence, Washington led the country to a victory that seemed beyond reach in the early stages. His lost battles outnumbered his wins by more than two to one. How did he manage to keep thousands of regular soldiers and militia on the same page for so long when few of them received more than a pittance in compensation while their families struggled in their absence?
To be sure, Washington was daring and audacious. Crossing the Delaware on a wintry Christmas night in 1776 to assault Hessian mercenaries was a master stroke. So was his plan five years later to lay siege to Yorktown and rely on French allies to bottle up the Royal Navy. Washington’s use of spies is legendary; he even forged documents in his own handwriting and deployed double agents to deliver them and befuddle the best British generals. Avoiding a risky “grand battle,” he skillfully implemented a strategy and the appropriate tactics to wear down the enemy. But on paper, it almost always looked like a British victory was the safest bet…
A person of strong character is a person of conscience who tries to do what he believes is morally good. Conscience is an inner voice, a moral compass. It helps form our character and guides our decision-making. A leader who holds his character accountable to his conscience possesses the ability to inspire and motivate. Self-discipline comes naturally to him. He sets a standard others can admire and emulate.
A leader with neither conscience nor character can only lead at gunpoint. His “followers” are usually looking for the exits. He is aloof, imperious, erratic, distrusting, and untrustworthy. Washington was just the opposite. To his men, he epitomized honor, dignity, principle, and patriotism. He lived and suffered with them. He never accepted any payment for his services. He rejected any suggestions that he seize power or pursue personal fame. His commitment to the patriot cause never wavered, no matter how dire the circumstances. He exuded grace, humility, and self-mastery. In short, he gained respect by virtue of his demeanor and behavior. This is what wins wars when the numbers, the money, and the firepower say that you can’t.
Samuel Downing served under Washington and echoed a common sentiment among fellow soldiers: “We loved him. They [the troops] would sell their lives for him.” Washington’s character inspired that intense loyalty and devotion.
In an essay on Washington’s generalship, historian Thomas Fleming noted this additional aspect of the great man’s leadership:
Perhaps the most appealing thing about Washington’s strategy was its strong link to freedom. It eschewed the militaristic idea of hauling every man into the ranks at the point of a gun. It rested instead on faith in the courage of free men. It was a realistic faith: He did not expect men to commit suicide in defense of freedom, but he did believe men would take grave risks if they thought they had a reasonable chance of succeeding. More
The LP in New York and elsewhere are seeking effective ways to get around the barriers to participation in the election process. Consultant Jack Gleason proposes the “Un-Campaign” approach, based on the template laid recently by the Spencer Pratt race in CA, to allow outsiders a low or no cost way to bypass the establishment blackout of independent-minded candidates. Imagine if Libertarian candidates used this blueprint to reproduce similar results!:
…Grassroots candidates can flip the script on the establishment by using a strategy first mastered in the entertainment world. This is the approach that propelled Spencer Pratt to massive success in uberliberal California—before his second-place finish was stolen.
Pratt gave a masterclass on how to beat the system and talk directly to the people. He completely bypassed traditional media gatekeepers and rejected expensive, polished public relations campaigns. Instead, he used his cellphone to create raw, high-frequency, unscripted videos and encouraged his supporters to share his message. He didn’t spend a dime on paid advertising.
By using free, vertical-video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts along with local digital channels, down-ballot candidates can get more reach, real authenticity, and deeper voter trust. They can replace fake, focus-group talking points with a raw look at real-world issues that matter to voters…
The Un-Campaign must generate video content on a daily basis and commit to a strict schedule, putting out raw, real-time local observations every single day.
Candidates must deploy distinct content strategies tailored directly to where each voter group hangs out online. For Wary Conservatives, the candidate will focus on government incompetence and waste by broadcasting unedited, on-site project analyses directly into closed civic groups and localized online forums. To reach Disaffected Democrats, the message shifts toward the everyday cost of living and basic survival, utilizing high-empathy, kitchen-table economic discussions shared in non-political community spaces. Finally, to win over Pure Independents, the content will highlight physical safety and local infrastructure through practical structural breakdowns, distributed across hyper-local social media networks… More
Appeals court decides we can keep and bear arms, based on a Supreme Court Decision about a NY case, yippee:
The anti-gun agenda suffered a major legal defeat on Friday after the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s ban on semi-automatic rifles and its prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 rounds violate the Second Amendment.
In a sweeping 10-5 en banc decision, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey’s so-called “assault firearm” ban cannot survive the constitutional test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision. The court also struck down the state’s 10-round magazine limit.
The 192-page opinion concluded that New Jersey’s prohibition on semi-automatic rifles, including the popular AR-15 platform, and its restrictions on so-called “large-capacity magazines” infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. …More
Full text of the presentation summarized by Philip Schoenberg at the July meeting of the LPQC, on the topic “Who is the Better National Leader?” One caveat from the discussion that followed, is that the issue could also be framed “which leader better represents their people,” based on their form of government, and what representation the voters wanted?:
Introduction—Why should we care?
The original topic for today “Who is the Better National Leader: George Washington who launched our new nation, Abraham Lincoln who preserved the Union, or Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada who has enhanced Canada’s sovereignty, or Donald Trump who has boasted: “I could be the greatest president in history — greater than Abraham Lincoln, greater than George Washington.” Has been changed to discuss the twenty-first (century) leaders to make the comparison (easy) to understand. While Donald Trump boasts and claims to be “I’m the most successful person ever to run for the presidency, by far. Nobody’s ever been more successful than me.” Makes no such claims but merely acts instead talking. We will evaluate whether or not Trump’s distinctive style as an outlier has enabled him to outperform these other leaders. To make today’s presentation easier to understand, I will concentrate on trying to answer the following question: Going mano a mano, who is the better leader: Carney or Trump?… More
A landlord critiques the plan, saying it’s a wrecking ball to the housing market of the city under Chairman Zo. One commenter suggests, “the objective is to prevent landords from having the funds to do repairs to the buildings, so that the city can take them over due to “disrepair.”
A New York City landlord, Jude Jean Paul Bernard, has gone viral on IG after tearing into Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his commie voters who backed his rent‑freeze agenda, calling the policy “socialism at its best.” Mamdani had celebrated the Rent Guidelines Board’s 7–1 vote to freeze rents on both one‑ and two‑year leases for roughly one million rent‑stabilized apartments with a social‑media clip from his kitchen freezer, telling more than two million affected residents “your rent’s gonna be frozen next year.”
In his response video, Bernard opens by sarcastically trolling by congratulating renters for “doing it” and “getting the rent frozen” for the next two years, before warning that the victory is not what they think it is. “Now, that doesn’t mean that expenses have gone down,” he tells the audience, listing taxes, insurance, water and energy as costs that have not fallen even as revenues are capped by the city.
“If we were struggling to make the numbers before, I’m not sure how we’re going to fix that boiler, fix that broken elevator, and do all those things that you tenants deserve,” Bernard continues, arguing that the freeze leaves owners without cash to maintain buildings. He goes on to note that “the same city that just passed this rent freeze has also said that they will be taking distressed properties from bad landlords,” suggesting that officials are setting up a scenario where owners are first starved of income and then punished for failing to keep up with repairs. “So, you don’t have the money to fix the properties, but if we don’t fix the properties, you guys are going to take it away,” Bernard says, capping his monologue with the line, “I love it (sarcasm). Socialism at its best!” Read the rest
America is at 250! Join LPQC (Libertarian Party of Queens County) for a lively discussion after a compelling comparative analysis: “Who is the Better National Leader? Washington, Lincoln, Carney or Trump?”
Philip Ernest Schoenberg, PhD examines how leadership styles—from Washington’s institution‑building and Lincoln’s moral statesmanship to Carney’s technocratic crisis management and Trump’s media‑driven populism—shape national resilience, crisis management, and legacy. Our meeting commences July 11, Saturday, at noon, at our Astoria location, Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue (in the back area, menu details at stamatisrestaurant.net).
Aly was held in an ICE Detention Center in PA until his release on June 24, though he still faces legal issues. Enforcing legal immigration statutes and defending US borders is one thing, but misapplying that system to lock up LEGAL RESIDENTS for their legitimate protest of abuses of civil liberties under those laws is another. As per a full resolution by the national LP in April, “the Libertarian National Committee condemns the inhumane, unjustifiable actions of I.C.E. and the D.H.S., and calls again for their abolition; BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Libertarian National Committee urges all members, affiliates, and allies to support captives such as Mr. Aly through public advocacy, community solidarity, attendance at organized protests, and through direct support to their legal defense.”
Libertarian Party activist Islam “Izzy” Aly has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, according to supporters who advocated for him since he was first detained and shared photos of him following his release.
Supporters began sharing details on social media on June 19 that Aly was being released from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a privately operated immigration detention facility in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, where he had been held since first being detained in late December. Those same supporters said Aly would be returning to Florida while continuing to attend hearings connected to his case.
“Though he’s not out of the woods legally, he’s free from DHS confinement,” LP Alliance, an intra-caucus Libertarian coalition that has rallied support for Aly over the months, wrote in one such post announcing his release.
Photos of Aly following his release also circulated over the weekend, including a photo of him shared by Tony D’Orazio, a former New York Libertarian leader who now lives in Pennsylvania and chairs an organizing Clearfield County Libertarian affiliate near the facility. “We are right to be opposed to these detention centers,” D’Orazio wrote in his own post. “They are the opposite of the liberty we fight for. They are human suffering for profit. And escaping from that is a good reason to be so visibly happy.” Read the rest.