Trump has revoked federal approval for Governor Hochul’s congestion pricing scheme for midtown Manhattan, and the local bureaucrats be real mad. Eric Peters, a Libertarian blogger on auto issues, comments on the less than free market dynamics of government forcing pricing distortions and more fees on working and middle class New Yorkers:

…On top of already paying for the roads they use at every fill-up, via the motor fuels taxes that are supposed to be used to pay for the maintenance of existing roads and the building of new roads, to ease congestion – people who wanted or needed to drive into New York City during “peak” times (meaning during normal business hours) must pay another $9 each time they drive into the city. That’s one Hell of a driving surcharge on top of the 66.2 cents drivers already pay on top of what they pay for every gallon of gas they buy in New York state.

That’s about $10 in gas taxes on every 15 gallon average-car fill-up. Add another almost $10 to that – every day you drive into the city – and it becomes too expensive to drive into the city.

And that is how “congestion” is “relieved” in New York.

…But it looks like relief may be coming to besieged New York drivers who’ve been relieved of their money (twice) as well as their economic ability to drive into the city ever since the mulcting went into effect earlier this year.

According to CBS News, “President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have spoken twice in the past week about ending congestion pricing tolls in the city.” CBS says that “Hochul tried to convince him the program is making a big difference in New York, not only raising much-needed cash for the area’s aging transportation system, but reducing traffic and speeding commutes.”

Take note of the “much needed cash part.”

But that is only a part of this enserfment scheme. The key part is pushing private cars off the roads – at least, those owned by working and middles class proles – and their drivers into government (it is marketed as “public”) transportation, such as trains where “immigrants” push people onto the tracks and sometimes light people on fire, too. In order to put those working and middle class people onto the government’s schedule… More

It appears NYC Mayor Eric Adams has persuaded the incoming President that the outgoing President set him up for Lawfare ruination, due to Adams making Biden look bad on the migrants situation. But the attempt to drop the corruption charges has run into institutional resistance, with the acting federal prosecutors at SDNY defying the new DOJ by “resigning on principle.” Both sides accuse the other of being politically motivated, leading to the usual call for investigations. Robert Gouveia goes over the legal letters exchanged, and notes the feds may have initially goaded Adams into making unprotected statements at a meeting, as part of an entrapment scheme. Can we go back to the days when the criminal justice system’s handling of defendants was not readily subject to abuse, or used to discredit the opposition, or where prosecutors abided by the upper chain of command’s decision to drop a case?

Note: Brian Doherty at Reason on the war of conflicting allegations (and now investigations) over the recent departure of Angela McArdle from the National Committee. There has been a mountain of acrimony in both directions for months over the Mises Caucus’s control of the party since 2022, with critics asserting it is too “right coded” or possibly corrupt, and defenders saying McArdle has been slandered and subjected to Lawfare in an attempt to overthrow the whole faction. QL has mostly avoided comment on the internal fight as the whole thing seems to reek of “small ball” bickering, at a time when the LP should be focused on larger victories it has been achieving. But you be the judge:

Riding a wave of accolades for her role in convincing Donald Trump to fully pardon Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, Angela McArdle made a surprise announcement late on January 24 that she was resigning from her position as chair of the Libertarian Party’s National Committee (LNC).

McArdle released a farewell video a couple of days before a Sunday night LNC board meeting via Zoom that selected her replacement in which she stressed Ulbricht’s release from prison as the “biggest political victory” the party has ever achieved. She also accused George Phillies, a past L.P. candidate for office from Massachusetts and operator of Third Party Watch, of being a federal operative and called on her supporters to avoid the “demonically possessed.” She hinted without directly stating that she left the L.P. to work for the federal government in Robert Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services. In an emailed response to questions, she wrote specifically regarding her next steps: “I am moving to another position very soon where I won’t be able to stay Chair. I’ll be announcing it later this week or early next week, but I can’t say what it is yet.”

Kennedy certainly owes her; under her leadership the L.P. formed a joint fundraising agreement with his campaign, thus helping a candidate opposed to the L.P. raise money (while also keeping a portion of it for the L.P., and indeed the money flowing from McArdle’s decision to ally with Kennedy seems to be keeping the L.P. from running out of money entirely.) Organizations she controls outside the L.P. in turn have received over $750,000 in 2024. The vast bulk went to her nonprofit Rescue the West, some from the Kennedy Joint Fundraising Committee itself and more from other PACs and operations associated with Kennedy’s campaign, such as American Values 2024, MAHA Alliance, and MAHA PAC.

This information was first reported in December by Jake Porter, a former L.P. candidate for governor of Iowa. In response to emailed questions about what that money from the Kennedy operations was used for, McArdle wrote, “The organization that I run with Bret Weinstein held a giant unity event in September called Rescue The Republic. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”

The LNC at Sunday night’s meeting created an investigatory committee to, in its language as voted on, “investigate issues of conflict of interest and business practices of the Libertarian National Committee.”…McArdle wrote: “The LNC is reacting as best they can in the face of constant attacks by unstable litigants like Caryn Ann Harlos, and my cyber stalkers Todd Hagopian and Jake Porter. I have retained an attorney to deal with the aggressive cyberstalking by these men. I will be working with new appointees in the Trump administration to find out if the FBI and State Dept have been involved in the attacks on the LP and me. There are lots of unclassified documents on Reason Magazine and yourself, Brian Dougherty [sic], in the State Dept archives. We know the feds have a strong interest in disrupting the Libertarian movement, especially at a moment like now when we have freed Ross Ulbricht – the biggest political victory the LP has ever achieved.”  Read the rest.

Daniel McAdams talks with Ron Paul on Trump’s proposal to take control of the Gaza strip, and renovate the area, converting it into a kind of international zone in the Mideast. What if many or most Palestinians don’t agree to move from what they view as their homeland? If they are forced out, doesn’t this amount to ethnic cleansing? How is this consistent with Trump’s promises to not start or extend conflicts, or more intervention? If the aim is to end the fighting, how does hypocritically denying one people’s right to self determination (Palestinians), while affirming another’s (Israel) avoid the very resentments that have caused the ongoing fighting over the last 75 years? Do all peoples have a right to their own independent state, or just Israel? See also the fuller version of the discussion below.

Viva Frei analyzes the grilling of Tulsi and what it says about the resistance of Deep State controlled politicians:

Join Queens Libertarians (in its topical event for LPQC) on February 8 at noon, to hear author and NYC tour guide Fred Cookinham present Part 2 of a talk on his book “The Journey of Dagny Taggart: A Commentary on Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.” Discussion will be at Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue (details on their menu are at https://stamatisrestaurant.site/). This address will follow its monthly business session, covering Queens LP planning and subcommittee updates.

Cookinham’s new book is a study guide to Rand’s magnum opus, and he states “I will explain how to use my book, why I wrote it, as well as my Ayn Rand-themed walking tours, and Rand’s place in libertarian thought.” Details and Directions

LPNY Communications Director Christopher Skelly on the tragic killing of Brooks by upstate corrections officers:

“The Libertarian Party of New York is appalled and deeply saddened by the news of the killing of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, NY. This tragic event highlights the ongoing and urgent need for reform within New York’s criminal justice and prison systems. Robert’s death, at the hands of correctional officers, is a grim reminder of the violence and neglect that often permeate our correctional institutions. Every individual, regardless of their status or circumstances, is entitled to basic human rights, dignity, and safety. The failure to ensure these rights reflects a grave injustice that cannot and must not be ignored.

We demand a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Robert Brooks’s death. Accountability is crucial, and those responsible for this heinous act must be held to the highest standard of justice. The Libertarian Party of New York will continue to advocate for meaningful reforms, including the protection of individual rights within correctional facilities. Justice for Robert Brooks is not just about uncovering the truth—it is about ensuring that no one else suffers a similar fate.”

The implications of the pardoning of Ross Ulbricht, by Bretigne Shaffer:

The Dread Pirate Roberts is a free man.

Like so many who have called for Ross Ulbricht’s freedom for the past eleven years, I never fully believed I would see this day. And, like many of us, I have heard all kinds of (ignorant) reasons why I should not be supporting him.

“He’s a drug dealer!”

“He ordered a hit on a father of three!

Neither of these are true. If you want to know what he actually did, and why he was caged for eleven years, here is a place to start.

There is a much bigger issue at stake though, than the particulars of Ross’s case.

Sarah Thompson puts it well:

“Ross Ulbricht embodies the most important issues and ideals of our time. He is just a man, human and fallible, and also an icon: the quiet hero, an innovator so threatening to the established order that they had to bury him. To a small group of people, they made him a martyr instead. And, beyond hope, he is free, having faced the darkness.

“Our choices are Ross or Klaus Schwab. We can’t have both; any drift towards Schwab washes us over the precipice. We still stand on a knife’s edge. But, for this moment, the sun has broken through the murk low on the horizon. Let us not forget our hearts when it sets. The world is still in spin.”

The government did not put Ross Ulbricht in prison because he was a criminal. Ross committed no crime against anyone. But he, and the platform he helped to build, did threaten the government’s monopoly on crime. And that is why they had to lock him up: To send an unmistakably clear message to anyone else who might think about doing anything similar.

When Barack Obama ordered a hit on a US citizen and his sixteen-year-old son, along with other innocent people, nobody threw him in a cage. And I’d be very surprised to find that any of those who were cheering for Ross’s incarceration have likewise called for Obama to be incarcerated for his many crimes.  …More

Incoming President Trump fulfilled a campaign pledge by issuing Day 1 pardons to whom he has called ‘January 6 hostages.’ Per the NY Post:

President Trump issued pardons Monday night to hundreds of participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — staying true to his promise to grant clemency to people involved in halting the counting of Electoral College votes that day.

Trump, 78, said he issued “approximately 1,500” pardons after returning to the White House from a day of inaugural festivities, telling reporters present that “I hope they come out tonight.”

The newly sworn-in 47th president signed a document commuting 14 prison sentences and offering “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

Meanwhile, outgoing President Biden issued last second “pre-emptive” pardons to Dr. Fauci, Gen. Milley, the entire J6 committee, and his own family members. These pardons have evoked similar controversy, even among Democratic allies such as pollster Mark Penn, who tweeted:

“Last minute pardons for Biden’s political accomplices were the plan all along. The pardons for drug dealers and commutations for murderers were just cover for the main act of these pardons and his son — all done after elections have passed.

The only administration to try to jail political opponents was not Trump’s but Biden’s, and it was the voters who rejected it with their votes.

There were legitimate questions on whether Fauci lied about his funding of gain of function research, whether Miley broke the chain of command and had unauthorized communications with the Chinese and whether the Jan 6th committee coached witnesses. They may have all been right and truthful but there were questions, and they will all go unresolved now.

But Biden was elected lying to the public about his son’s business (which was eventually uncovered), sought to win reelection hiding his infirmities, (which was also eventually uncovered), and genuinely abused his office in the closing days of his presidency as his low ratings sink even lower.”

Finally, the humble Razorfist chimes in on both sets of pardons, below.  P.S.—Trump just pardoned Ross Ulbricht, as per his promise to the National LP last spring!!!:

The Mideast ceasefire and hostage release agreement seems to raise more issues than it settles. If Hamas has been so crushed and ‘put on their heels’ (to use hawk verbiage), how do they have so much leverage as to have secured a lopsided deal involving getting hundreds more of their prisoners freed than the US and Israel did? Why is Hamas calling this a military ‘victory,’ and Israel vowing to resume the conflict in a few weeks, as if this is just a stage in an ongoing operation? Shouldn’t a ‘permanent’ ceasefire be something that ends the hostilities, period? Antiwar reporter Dave DeCamp (who spoke at LPQC in 2019) runs down the implications:

Note:  The Libertarian Party has strongly advocated for “Defend the Guard” legislation in recent years, which seeks to prohibit a state’s National Guard units from being deployed into active combat without a formal declaration of war by Congress. From the Independent Political Report:

The Libertarian Party has launched its nationwide effort to support Defend the Guard legislation, beginning with efforts to lobby New Hampshire legislators for a pending bill being heard in Committee later this week. The party stated it would be making calls throughout the week to garner support.

“This week we kick off our support for Defend the Guard bills across the country!” the party announced on Monday. “The New Hampshire House will be hearing the bill in Committee on Friday 1/17. In order for this bill to succeed we need the grassroots to show up and remind the politicians that we want this bill passed.”

The Libertarian Party held a Zoom training session for phone bankers on Monday morning, with plans to start making calls later that day and continuing throughout the week. The party previously stated that generating support for Defend the Guard legislation would be a central focus in the new year, establishing a formal ad hoc Defend the Guard Committee to identify and assist relevant legislation.

“Our Defend the Guard Committee will work in close collaboration with Bring Our Troops Home, the driving force behind Defend the Guard legislation, the party said in a release following November’s election. “With their guidance, the committee will recruit and organize volunteers for phone banking and other activism activities in support of Defend The Guard legislation across the country.”

In its more recent statement, the party also noted that the Defend the Guard Committee operates as part of Project Decentralized Revolution, which is an initiative tied to the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus. The project is a further extension of the Caucus’ “Four Prong Strategy,” which, according to its website, involves building broad issue-based coalitions, focusing on local elections, organizing within the Libertarian Party, and fostering a cultural shift toward liberty-oriented values.

The great libertarian economist and scholar Murray Rothbard, circa 1976 from Reason, on the Panama Canal issue. From Teddy to Reagan to Trump, why do we seem committed to a “seize first, ask no questions later” approach to controlling the hemisphere?:

…Ronald Reagan has been making a great deal of hay in the primaries with a demagogic and jingoistic campaign on behalf of maintaining the alleged sovereignty of the United States over the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone. The Ford Administration reply that the treaty with Panama retained ultimate sovereignty in the hands of Panama is correct but only scratches the surface of the problem. One neglected point is that the Canal Zone is an egregious example of socialism in action, since the U.S. government owns not only the Canal but the entire Zone territory, and every Zonian resident is a U.S. government employee. How can an alleged opponent of Big Government devote so much energy to a persistent defense of an enclave of U.S. socialism?

A second neglected point—neglected by Americans, of course, not the Panamanians—is how the United States came to exercise total occupation and control of a slice of Latin America that is clearly not part of the United States. The answer is a naked imperialist power grab, in which our first openly imperialist President, Theodore Roosevelt, engineered a phony “revolution” in northern Colombia, a coup directed by officials of the American-built Panama Railroad Co., and then quickly defended by U.S. troops against attempts of the Colombians to land troops to put down the coup.

The U.S.-organized coup was justified by Roosevelt as a protection of American tax-payers against the desire of the Colombian government to “hold up” the United States for an extra $10 million for the right to build a canal across the isthmus of Panama in northern Colombia. The actual facts, however, were very different. The United States had agreed to pay $40 million to the virtually bankrupt French-owned Panama Canal Co., for the right to build a canal, and what the Colombian government wanted was not an extra $10 million from the U.S., but $10 million to come out of the agreed-upon $40 million. In other words, President Roosevelt organized the power-grab, engineered a coup in Colombia, and quickly recognized the “rebels,” not to save American taxpayers any money, but to save $10 million for the French Panama Canal Co…  More

Larry Sharpe on how the new congestion price scheme will be driving prices up, tourism down, and producing other bad effects in NYC:

John Procida, 1994 founder of LPQC, and at 92 years old as New York’s grand old man of liberty, on the latest globalist tax dream. See also his breakdown video on stopping real estate tax reassessment, below:

The Great Reset

To understand our government, it is helpful to understand the meaning of the word “State”. Funke and Wagnalls dictionary gives many meanings to the word state but one of its meaning is that a State is a nation. Therefore we are really a group of united nations banded together for protection and economic gain. What our forefathers had in mind and what we are now is upside down. What our forefathers fought and died for was an escape from tyranny and what they left us with was a minimal federal government and a country run for and by the states, independently for the most part. They started the revolution over a tax of 2.5 %on tea. Now we are each paying about 55% of our income in combined taxes per year… Read More

Year end notes: LPQC/QL is pleased to have honored LP 2024 Presidential candidate Chase Oliver with this year’s Thomas Stevens National Libertarian Award at its Annual Holiday Luncheon in December. Our hard working Treasurer Mark Weinblatt received the Local Libertarian Award for his talks on health care and national liberty issues given over the past year. And as of January, it was decided that we continue with Stamatis Restaurant in Astoria as our regular monthly meeting place, although we may use Tu Casa or other Kew Gardens location as an alternate/backup venue on special occasions.

Speaking of Stamatis, join Queens Libertarians (in its topical event for LPQC) on January 11 at noon, to hear a discussion of retired professor Robert Luster, on thoughts towards formulation of “A Libertarian Manifesto” (note: this was originally scheduled last fall). Discussion will be held at our new Astoria location, Stamatis Greek and Mediterranean Restaurant at 29-09 23rd Avenue (details on their menu are at https://stamatisrestaurant.site/). This talk will follow its monthly business session, covering Queens LP planning and subcommittee updates.  Details and Directions

Also be advised there will be a teleconference (PHONE only), titled an “LP NYC 5-Borough 2025 Election Meeting,” planned to start 6:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22, to run 90-120 minutes. Access number and code is here (712-832-8330; 994-3970). This planning meeting will be an informal review of election issues in NYC, where LP members/activists from the 5-borough area will go over 1) proposing and vetting potential candidates for citywide office in 2025, and 2) projects that could be jointly conducted or coordinated by the existing LP county committees in NYC. Do we have candidates, should we hold a city convention? Let’s talk it out. Happy New Year!  More Details