Really Graceful on the really repetitive nature of US military interventionism, this time in directly bombing Iran, down to the use of the same soundbites. Glenn Greenwald notes the latest bombing makes for the 8th Mideast Muslim country the US has attacked in 15 years. And like night follows day, once begun, the war rhetoric switches from “oh, it’s only a limited strike” short term op, to “we must have regime change” bait and switch mission creep, intended to lock America into an indefinite engagement, or yet another forever war:

Queens Libertarians is hosting an open discussion, led by John Clifton and other guests (TBD), on “How to Defeat AOC—A Strategy for 2026 and Impact for LPNY,” July 12 at noon. Discussion will be at Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue in Astoria (in the back area, menu details are at stamatisrestaurant.site/). This address will follow its monthly business session, covering Queens LP planning and subcommittee updates.

Libertarians are currently inhibited from being on the ballot in New York due to imposing petitioning and monetary hurdles. The state party will be addressing this problem next year, through renewed legal and fundraising efforts to support its next Gubernatorial candidate. Clifton proposes an auxiliary, or back up strategy, that combines county-led fundraising drives by most of the active LP affiliates in NY, with running liberty-friendly candidates in certain key districts that directly aid in reaching the statewide petitioning totals needed to obtain ballot status.

“The Queens LP (LPQC) is planning to run four Queens candidates for Congress and the state legislature in 2026 that fit this plan,” says Clifton, “due to the seat being in the correct district, or intersecting with it.” The most prominent one is CD 14, where incumbent Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (due to her prominence and controversies) can serve to attract broad support for an opposition candidacy. LPQC is inviting LP or liberty-friendly candidates dissatisfied with her handling of local as well as national issues to attend, to discuss their potential entry into the race. More details regarding this strategy, and how to apply it across the state, will be laid out at the luncheon.  Details and Directions

Come on, Donald Trump. You pardoned Ulbricht, how about crypto entrepreneur Roger Ver, another Lawfare victim of the Biden regime? As one internet commenter noted, “somehow the left, (with a heavy assist from liberal “Judges”) convicted a non US Citizen, living outside the United States for “tax fraud” on a bitcoin transaction.” Per the national LP site, and recent tweets:

…The Libertarian Party remains dedicated to fighting for justice and individual liberty, including advocating for the release of political prisoner Roger Ver. Known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” Roger has been a trailblazer for economic freedom through cryptocurrency. His case underscores the urgent need to defend innovators from government overreach. Libertarians are at the forefront of this fight, working tirelessly to secure justice and protect the freedoms of all. Join us in standing up for Roger Ver and the principles of liberty…

“Roger Ver is facing life in prison for revealing how the US government worked secretly to subvert cryptocurrency and prevent economic freedom. More people should hear this story…The DOJ and IRS are not ‘really’ after him for tax issues. They certainly did not raid his attorney’s office and want him sentenced for 109 years for THAT. What the establishment wants is simply for Roger, like President Trump and others, to shut up, bow down, and be a lesson for all of us who dare to challenge their authority. The lawfare must stop.”

“A good way for @realDonaldTrump to show that he’s serious about ending the government’s war on Bitcoin is to free @rogerkver,” said Spike Cohen, the 2020 Libertarian Party candidate for Vice President.

Accuse a country of something, never prove it, launch attacks, and (eventually) steal its resources. Outcome—America funding and logistically supporting another new war, forevermore. Palpatine would be pleased. The war against Iran (who has not started a war in 200 years), has begun. Even though they agreed to not make a nuclear bomb, negotiations with them stalled because Iran would not also agree on completely suspending its civilian nuclear POWER technology, aka enrichment, and the US would not agree (in return) to end sanctions. Does Iran have a right to national sovereignty, and to pursue first world status, like all other nations? Antiwar.com blogs that the bombing campaign is criminal aggression, and reports:

P.S.: Col. McGregor also comments on this “Pearl Harbor” moment in an interview with Redacted:

The vote on Angela McArdle’s undisclosed funding of various ventures while National Chair has concluded her activity violated LNC policy. Notably, they did not recommend further legal action, perhaps doubting the party has the resources to successfully pursue the case in a courtroom:

The Libertarian National Committee voted last night to adopt the findings of a Special Investigatory Committee report that concluded former Chair Angela McArdle violated her fiduciary duty to the organization by concealing financial conflicts of interest and misusing donor funds. McArdle resigned from the LNC earlier this year.

The 94-page report, shared online by Third Party Watch, was produced by a committee tasked by the LNC to investigate conflicts of interest and questionable business practices within the national organization. It outlines a series of undisclosed transactions involving two entities linked to McArdle’s domestic partner, Austin Padgett.

The committee’s investigation found that McArdle engaged one of the entities, Freedom Calls LLC, for call center services without board approval or a written contract. The arrangement resulted in $49,600 in party expenditures for fundraising efforts that returned only $2,468.57. The committee also determined that Freedom Calls’ ownership was deliberately obscured through the use of a Delaware LLC and a misleading W-9 form…More

Larry Sharpe’s take on the two leading Democrat candidates for NYC Mayor in the upcoming primary:

Viva Frei on the Kafka trial nightmare that talk show host Alex Jones has faced over the Sandy Hook issue. The issue is not what one thinks about Jones. In the video clips shown below, what would you think if your civil liberties were being trashed, and judges were compelling you to commit perjury from the bench? But at least one of the witch hunt cases seems to be faltering in the appellate phase:

Queens Libertarians is hosting an open discussion, led by John Clifton, on “Should the LP Endorse a Major Party Candidate in the NYC Primary?” June 14 at noon. Discussion will be at Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue in Astoria (in the back area, menu details are at https://stamatisrestaurant.site/). This address will follow its monthly business session, covering Queens LP planning and subcommittee updates.

New York Libertarians are currently inhibited in getting on the ballot due to imposing petitioning and monetary hurdles. Should the party endorse one or more major candidates in the June 24 NYC primary? Do any of the contenders warrant support, or alliance? What major liberty issues should be addressed by contenders in this election? What is the status of LPNY planning to regain permanent ballot status in 2026 going forward? These and related questions will be overviewed in our luncheon discussion.  Details and Directions

Well thank goodness. A unanimous decision is rare from the high court, but it held a driver’s civil liberties were (in this case, fatally) violated when a cop created a situation that put both parties in danger. From a video by Epoch Times:

Former LP Vice Presidential candidate Root’s frank assessment of the Donald’s second term thus far. While the jury is still out about the long term free market sense of Trump’s tariffs from a liberty perspective, the short term geo-political success of the policy is clear. Root overviews the President’s journey to date, and prospects for the success of “the MAGA era” going forward. He points out that circa 2020/2021: 

…Trump was in the middle of an election catastrophe– a rigged and stolen election; the January 6th entrapment of peaceful MAGA protestors by devious Democrats; and so-called “experts” in the media calling Trump everything from a “sore loser” to “insurrectionist” and “traitor.” Everyone in the media believed Trump’s political career was over, and many, if not most, thought he’d wind up in prison…

Trump was elected to secure the border. Guess what? The border is secured– it’s as quiet as a church mouse. To top it off, Trump is in the Middle East being treated like a visiting king. They’ve rolled out the red carpet; brought out the world’s biggest McDonalds truck; and they’re playing “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood as the president steps off Air Force One…

By July 4th Trump will sign a tax bill that makes permanent the largest tax cut in history. And also delivers middle class tax priorities like “No tax on OT,” “No tax on tips,” and “No tax on Social Security.”

So, let’s get this straight. Trump has just dramatically cut our taxes…and dramatically lowered prescription drug bills…and with “drill baby drill” he’s dramatically lowering energy costs…he’s beating inflation…his tariffs are producing a budget surplus…he’s brought China to her knees with tariffs…and the trillions of dollars being invested into the US economy by foreign countries and companies looking to please Trump will create millions of new jobs, and make America prosperous again.

Oh, and one other little thing- we may have peace in the Middle East- which should guarantee Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.

Game, set, match.

Trump just clinched the midterms.

Mic drop.

The Real ID requirements are now in universal effect, so do you feel safe now? Or free? Mises Institute explains what’s going on:

This extensive Al-jazeera profile focuses on New York students who are Jewish, and are not pro-Hamas, but are non-interventionist and feel the Palestinians in Gaza are being mistreated. Exactly why has there been a total media blackout about interviewing non-violent, non-hateful antiwar Mideast sentiment on our campuses?:

Jewish students involved in protests at Columbia University say their pro-Palestinian activism is driven by their faith – not in spite of it.

On Tuesday, a group of Jewish student activists met with members of the United States Congress in Washington, DC, to tell their stories, which they say have been left out of mainstream narratives about anti-Semitism on college campuses. As student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza swept the country last year, Columbia University in New York became a flashpoint.

The university saw one of the first student encampments in the country, erected to demand an end to investments in companies complicit in human rights abuses. Shortly after the tents started popping up, the campus also witnessed some of the first mass arrests of student protesters in the Palestinian solidarity movement. That visibility has made Columbia a focal point for President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on what he called “illegal protests” and campus anti-Semitism…

Raised in upstate New York, history major Tali Beckwith-Cohen said she grew up in a community where Zionism was the norm. She remembers being told “myths” about Palestine as “a land without a people for a people without a land”: a slogan used to justify the establishment of Israel. But as she began to learn Palestinian history and meet Palestinians, Beckwith-Cohen said her beliefs were challenged.

Human rights groups and United Nations experts have found evidence that Israel’s tactics in Gaza are “consistent with genocide”. More than 52,615 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far. “For a long time, I had this kind of feeling of discomfort, this feeling of wrestling, this feeling of maybe cognitive dissonance, and how can I reckon these values I hold dear with Zionism?” Beckwith-Cohen told Al Jazeera.

“We are seeing the bombing, the disregard for human life, for children, for hospitals, for schools. It forced me to make a choice.” She stressed that the protests were spaces of solidarity, where students of all backgrounds were committed to the idea that their safety is intertwined. “There’s so much in the media narrative about what’s happening on Columbia campus that is just disingenuous and just so untrue to what we’ve experienced,”  Beckwith-Cohen said.

“So we’re here today to tell our Congress people that what we’re seeing on campus is clearly an authoritarian, fascist crackdown on all dissent, not only students peacefully advocating for an end to genocide.”

Barnard College student Sarah Borus, who was arrested during the crackdown on the Columbia encampment, said she grew up in an anti-Zionist family in a “very Zionist community”. She felt it was important for Jewish students like herself to convey their experiences directly to the people in power in Washington, DC.

“We’re talking to members of Congress to tell them our stories that are left out of mainstream news,” Borus told Al Jazeera.
“Trump’s mission is not about protecting Jewish students. It is about using fears of anti-Semitism – because of the way that the Gaza solidarity encampment was portrayed last year – in order to target non-citizen student activists, in order to target academic freedom, free speech, and really put many, many people in danger.” Read the rest.

A recent streaming episode of the Daredevil show imagined how there currently could be such a thing as unincorporated territory that NYC neither owned or had jurisdiction over. Surprise, turns out there seems to be a real life example of this in Queens. Here’s how one man from East Elmhurst’s liberty right to life and property prevails over the attempt of the city to control use of his land, while shafting him with liability risks:

A decade ago, only 2 states mandated vaccines or reporting by law. Now states routinely ban personal health freedom to say no to this, and extend wide immunity to manufacturers, with the federal agencies demanding such vaccine mandates by EUA policy.  Rich Purtell calls for RFK Jr to rescind the EUA:

Standing for Health Privacy and Accountability

Introduction

In a time when public health and personal freedom intersect more than ever, the debate over the PREP Act EUA Amendment 12 and the proposed bills in New York State to mandate adult vaccination reporting into the state health department database has gained significant momentum.

The PREP Act

EUA Amendment 12

The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, enacted in 2005, grants immunity to certain individuals and entities against legal claims related to the manufacture, distribution, administration, and use of medical countermeasures during a public health emergency. Amendment 12 to the PREP Act Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) has extended these immunities for FIVE MORE YEARS UNTIL DECEMBER 2029 to include additional protections for manufacturers and healthcare providers, potentially limiting recourse for those adversely affected by vaccinations and treatments.

Why Rescinding Amendment 12 is Essential

Rescinding the PREP Act EUA Amendment 12 is crucial to restore balance and accountability within the healthcare system. By providing sweeping immunity to manufacturers and healthcare providers, this amendment compromises the ability of individuals to seek justice and proper compensation for adverse effects. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s action to rescind this amendment would demonstrate a commitment to transparency, accountability, and the protection of individual rights…More

QL hosts “Diane Sare on Free Speech, Versus the Assault on Democracy” May 10 at noon. Discussion will be at Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue in Astoria (in the back area, menu details are at https://stamatisrestaurant.site/). This address will follow its monthly business session, covering Queens LP planning and subcommittee updates.

Sare will talk on national and New York threats to liberty, and her recent runs for office. Sare was an independent candidate for US Senate in 2024, and is President of the LaRouche Organization. She also previously sought the Libertarian nomination for Senate candidacy. She writes, “Across the European Union and in the United States, democracy is under attack. If you don’t want a war with Russia or you oppose genocide, be prepared to give up your freedom of speech!” She will also comment on state matters, from Gov. Hochul to the recent campus protests. Sare discussed aspects of the speech matter in a recent video shown below.  Details and Directions