Libertarians now hold the balance of power in the Australian senate

Australia Flag

The Australian General Election has seen a surge in support for candidates with libertarian views. David Leyonhjelm, treasurer of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is set to become a senator of the New South Wales (NSW) region. The Party as a whole has increased its share of the vote from 1.81% in 2010 to 8.87% in this election.

The LDP, founded in 2001, has a broadly libertarian platform and an ideology of small government and individual responsibility. Their policies include a 20% flat tax on income, privatisation & deregulation of industry, opening Australian agriculture to foreign investment and opposition to industry subsidies & corporate welfare. They also support gay marriage, legalising marijuana and allowing assisted suicide. Continue reading

More South Park, Less Family Guy

South Park With Family Guy

As both a political junkie and a fan of comedy, I like seeing mainstream TV shows poke fun at politics and society while making references to things that relatively-informed people would understand.

Setting aside the political bias of each show, let’s look at quality and type of humor. It really depends on who you are and what kind of humor you like, but both shows generally satirize society by being vulgar or by discussing matters that are deemed inappropriate to discuss in public. A lot of the times, this is effective and generally attracts a big audience.

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The Obama Administration and the Rule of Law (or lack thereof)

If there is one thing that characterizes the Obama administration, it is its near total disregard for the rule of law.  Flouting the letter of the law is by no means unique to this administration, but it has displayed an obvious zeal in the tactic.  Whether it’s passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through budget reconciliation, using prosecutorial discretion to de facto enact legislation that otherwise did not pass, or any number of constitutional violations in national security policy, the Obama Administration truly seems to perceive the law as merely a barrier to its power rather than its source.

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Syria: Say Hello to Evil

Evil is a word which does not have a lot of mainstream resonance. It is confined to the outskirts of public life: seen only as the mot juste by the inarticulate religious, and nasty Twitter whores – such as pseudo-journalist Sunny Hundal. We need to reclaim the word, not just in a figurative sense – but for use in the very real world; where terror and violence and horror are visited on the innocent by psychopaths, brigands and thugs across the globe. Continue reading

Australian Election Coverage

Tony Abbott

A general election in Australia has resulted in a change of government. The Labour Party administration of Kevin Rudd was voted out and succeeded by a coalition of the Liberal and National Parties. Liberal leader, Tony Abbott, will be Australia’s 28th Prime Minister.

The result does not come as much of a surprise, with polls as far back as the start of the election campaign indicating a likely victory for Abbott over Rudd. A Ray Morgan Channel 10 exit poll predicted the Coalition would pick up 42.5% of the primary vote with Labour at 33.5%. Continue reading

The immorality of interventionism

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It seems truly a blessing from common sense and reason that the UK has stepped down from the dubious honour of being mired in another bloodbath. The horrible, inhumane mess that is the situation in Syria is not a place to exercise the damning saviour’s complex that is Western foreign policy.

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