Connect with us

News

Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Unapologetic After Post About Kamala Harris Murder

Published

on

Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Unapologetic After Post About Kamala Harris Murder

A controversial social media post by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) has attracted the attention of state and federal law enforcement agencies, local media have reported, as the political group that has previously developed a reputation for riling Democrats, Republicans, and even other libertarians has dug in and embraced the attention it’s receiving.

LPNH posted on X on Sunday: “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” Amid backlash, the account deleted the post, citing the social media platform’s terms of service but asserting: “It’s a shame that even on a ‘free speech’ website that libertarians cannot speak freely” and “Libertarians are truly the most oppressed minority.” (X’s rules prohibit content “explicitly threatening, inciting, glorifying, or expressing desire for violence.”)

“The point of the second amendment is to shoot and kill tyrannous politicians,” reads another post from Sunday that is still up on the LPNH account.

The post about Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Harris, which was deleted hours before former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump was the subject of a second apparent assassination attempt, drew criticism from politicians and commentators across the spectrum. New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager “condemned [it] in the strongest possible terms,” writing on X that “there is no room for this type of dialogue. PERIOD.” Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver said the post was “abhorrent and should never have been posted.” He added: “As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities.” (LPNH responded to Oliver’s statement by calling him a “leftist” and a homophobic slur.)

Advertisement

The New Hampshire Department of Safety, which includes the state police, and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office told New Hampshire Public Radio on Monday that their agencies were “in communication with our federal law enforcement partners” about LPNH’s posts.

“We are aware of the tweet,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Hampshire told NBC10 Boston on Monday, adding that “although the department generally will not confirm or deny any specific investigation, threatening violence is a crime and those who do this will be investigated, prosecuted, and held to account in a court of law.” The Secret Service similarly told the outlet that it “is aware of the social media post made by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence. We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees.”

Jeremy Kauffman, a member of LPNH believed to be behind the party’s X account, posted a video on Monday showing two men who said they were with the FBI visiting his house. (Just hours earlier, the LPNH account claimed no one affiliated with the group had been contacted by the Secret Service or the FBI “because nothing we said was illegal.”) “All I want to do is talk to you about a post that was made and if you happened to be the one who made the post,” one of the men said. Kauffman, in his own retelling, “mocked them until they left” and could be heard in the video saying “Nothing we did is against the law…I hope you go home and are embarrassed.”

Kauffman—a blockchain technology entrepreneur, former U.S. Senate candidate, and a member of the Libertarian Party’s Mises Caucus, which NPR describes as “a more hardline, edgy and sometimes inflammatory take on libertarianism that is more compatible with the Republican Party under Trump”—was reportedly given access to LPNH’s then-Twitter account in 2021 amid a fracturing of the state’s Libertarian Party. 

Advertisement

Since then, the LPNH account has come under fire on several occasions, including when it called for child labor to be legalized and compared former President Abraham Lincoln to 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, and when it mocked the death of former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Kauffman’s personal account, which has over 130,000 followers and was temporarily suspended in 2022, and the LPNH account, which has over 70,000 followers, have also been frequently criticized for posts considered racist, anti-LGBTQ, and antisemitic.

While jokes or comments about violence befalling presidential candidates are for the most part, according to legal experts, protected by the First Amendment, this campaign season has spotlighted free speech limitations when it concerns the personal safety of presidential candidates. In July, a man in Florida was arrested and charged after posting about wanting to kill President Joe Biden; in August, another man in Virginia was charged for making online death threats against Harris. And in the wake of both apparent assassination attempts targeting Trump, Trump and his allies have blamed Democrat’s rhetoric for allegedly promoting violence. (Kauffman, as recently as last week, highlighted posts that he labeled “death threats” from his critics.)

Hours before Kauffman shared the video of his purported encounter with the FBI, LPNH posted a lengthy statement claiming that the party would “never advocate for the assassination of a tyrannical President” but that it was “merely acknowledging how some members would react to one.”

“Libertarians are not pacifists,” the statement continued. “It is morally correct to use violence to stop aggression.” Assumingly addressing a like-minded audience, the statement explained: “If you celebrate the Pine Tree Riot, the War for American Independence, or the assassination of past tyrants like Abraham Lincoln, you believe that violence is sometimes necessary to advance or protect freedom.”

Advertisement

LPNH explained in the statement that it wants “progressives, socialists, and democrats to be embarrassed to live” in New Hampshire. “While we won’t be initiating violence against them, it’s good when authoritarians feel unsafe or uncomfortable,” it added, saying its posts “are frequently explicitly intended to advance this cause.”

The group describes itself as “the vanguard of the Free State movement” and, in the recent statement, invited people to move to New Hampshire, where it said “You can be as radically libertarian as you want here. You can be your uninhibited libertarian self and still have lots of friends and an active social life. You can raise your children in a culture soaked in these values and propagate them to the next generation.”

Kauffman was, until he was expelled last September over his social media posts, a board member of the Free State Project, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 that aims to get libertarians across the country to migrate to New Hampshire “to prove that more liberty leads to more prosperity for everyone.”

Libertarians elsewhere in the U.S., however, think Kauffman is doing more harm for the political philosophy than good. “The LP of New Hampshire acts specifically in a way that makes libertarianism look like the shittiest possible ideology, just a circle jerk of the worst people alive doing the stupidest shit ever and not doing anything else,” former libertarian journalist Jane Coaston posted on X on Sunday. “Like if the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire were a CIA plot to destroy the Libertarian Party writ large,” she wondered, “what would they be doing differently[?]”

Advertisement

LPNH did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment for this story.

Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Kentucky sheriff held over fatal shooting of judge in court

Published

on

Kentucky sheriff held over fatal shooting of judge in court

A Kentucky sheriff has been arrested after fatally shooting a judge in his chambers, police say.

District Judge Kevin Mullins died at the scene after being shot multiple times in the Letcher County Courthouse, Kentucky State Police said.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder.

The shooting happened on Thursday after an argument inside the court, police said, but they have not yet revealed a motive.

Advertisement

Officials said Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times at around 14:00 local time on Thursday at the court in Whitesburg, Kentucky, a small rural town about 150 miles (240km) south-east of Lexington.

Sheriff Stines was arrested at the scene without incident, Kentucky State Police said. They did not reveal the nature of the argument before the shooting.

According to local newspaper the Mountain Eagle, Sheriff Stines walked into the judge’s outer office and told court employees that he needed to speak alone with Mullins.

The two entered the judge’s chambers, closing the door behind them. Those outside heard gun shots, the newspaper reported.

Advertisement

Sheriff Stines reportedly walked out with his hands up and surrendered to police. He was handcuffed in the courthouse foyer.

The state attorney general, Russell Coleman, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that his office “will fully investigate and pursue justice”.

Kentucky State Police spokesman Matt Gayheart told a news conference that the town was shocked by the incident

“This community is small in nature, and we’re all shook,” he said.

Advertisement

Mr Gayheart said that 50 employees were inside the court building when the shooting occurred.

No-one else was hurt. A school in the area was briefly placed on lockdown.

Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B VanMeter said he was “shocked by this act of violence”.

Announcing Judge Mullins’ death on social media, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said: “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Chinese EV makers boost Hong Kong stock index

Published

on

Electric-vehicle makers boosted Hong Kong stocks on Friday, as major indices rose across the board in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut.

The Hang Seng index rose 1.8 per cent, with Chinese EV companies Xpeng and Geely Auto adding 9 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively.

Japan’s Topix rose 1.5 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi added 1 per cent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent, led by clinical trial groups Euren Pharmaceuticals and Telix Pharmaceuticals, which gained as much as 6.7 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.

Advertisement

On Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 1.7 per cent, hitting a new record after the Fed’s half-point rate cut announcement on Wednesday.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

Starmer ‘in control’ and ‘Al Fayed rape scandal’

Published

on

Starmer 'in control' and 'Al Fayed rape scandal'
"I'm still in control, says Starmer as feud erupts" reads the Daily Telegraph headline

A picture of Scarlett Johansson features on the front of Daily Telegraph as she attends the London premiere of film Transformers One which she stars in. The paper leads on Sir Keir Starmer denying he has lost control of Downing Street “despite civil war breaking out at the centre of his government”. It adds tensions in No 10 and questions over chief of staff Sue Gray’s £170,000 salary threaten to overshadow the Labour Party conference.
The i headline reads "Middle East steps closer to regional war"

A funeral in Lebanon is the main picture on the front of the i newspaper. It reports the Middle East is “steps closer to regional war” as Israel bombs southern Lebanon. Armed group Hezbollah was targeted with pager and walkie-talkie attacks. Elsewhere, it says there is a frantic hunt for the mole who leaked Sue Gray’s salary to the BBC.
The Guardian headline reads "Hezbollah chief vows 'retribution' against Israel after wave of attacks"

The Guardian leads with Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah threatening Israel with “tough retribution and just punishment” in a speech on Thursday. He also threatened to strike Israel “where it expects and where it does not”. Hot To Go! singer Chappel Roan also features on the page, telling the paper: “My whole life has changed”.
Reeves told to reverse cuts after £10bn boost, reads the lead story in the Times

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been provided with a £10bn budget boost by the Bank of England which is increasing pressure on her to ease spending cuts and tax rises, the Times writes. The paper says Labour MPs are calling for the cash to be used to delay scrapping some pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
"Al Fayed 'a serial rapist'" headlines the Metro

“Al Fayed ‘a serial rapist’” headlines the Metro as it reports on the BBC investigation into late billionaire and Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The papers reports the BBC’s investigation found more than 20 female ex-employees say Mr Al Fayed sexually assaulted or raped them. The Metro writes the tycoon who was “portrayed as the gregarious father” of Diana’s lover Dodi in Netflix’s The Crown “was a monster”.
The Daily Mirror headline reads "shop of horrors"

“Shop of horrors” headlines the Mirror as it picks up the BBC’s story on Mr Al Fayed. The Mirror says at least 100 women are feared to have been sexually abused by the tycoon. It quotes Gemma, his former personal assistant. Speaking to the BBC about Mr Al Fayed, who she accuses of raping her, she said: “He felt like such a powerful man with so much money.”
"I survived atomic bomb tests and cancer but will I survive this winter?"

The Daily Express pictures RAF veteran Jack Barlow who says he survived atomic bomb tests but now asks if he will survive the winter due to his winter fuel payment being “snatched away”.
Financial Times headlines "consumer confidence takes tumble as households fear 'painful Budget'"

The Financial Times says consumer confidence in the UK fell sharply in September, wiping out progress made so far this year. The paper observes it comes despite consumers benefiting from cheaper loans, rising real wages and a decrease in inflation. Elsewhere, it pictures people in Lebanon watching the leader of Hezbollah give a speech in which he vowed revenge on Israel.
Daily Mail headlines "English identity is under threat warns Jenrick"

Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has written in the Daily Mail that mass immigration and woke culture have put England’s national identity at risk. He says the ties which bind the nation together are beginning to “fray”. Elsewhere, it reports Mr Starmer is “on the rack” over Ms Gray’s salary and freebies.
The Sun headlines reads: "Ronnie and Laila's 147 break"

The Sun reports Snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan has split from fiancee actress Laila Rouass.
"What planet are they on" says the Daily Star

The Daily Star asks “what planet are they on?” It says minister defends “cadger PM’s £100k of freebies” as some pensioners lose the winter fuel payment.
News Daily banner
News Daily banner

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Banker all-nighters create productivity paradox

Published

on

Banker all-nighters create productivity paradox

Last week JPMorgan made headlines by announcing it planned to cap its junior bankers’ working week to 80 hours (“High pressure, long days, crushing workloads: why is investment banking like this?”, FT Alphaville, FT.com, September 13).

The media and most western professionals and other workers will see that figure as extraordinarily high — but the small print makes clear that the cap will not apply when junior bankers are working on “live” deals.

The 80-hour working week, it seems, is the routine baseline expectation.

Former investment banker Craig Coben, author of the FT Alphaville piece, outlined the history and factors that make the long-hours culture a seemingly intractable fact of life across the investment banking industry — and other related sectors such as Big Law.

Advertisement

As investment banking is a bespoke service the work cannot fit into a standard nine-to-five schedule. The question is: does this bespoke service require regular “all-nighters”?

Is this really the most efficient approach? Research shows that working long hours does not improve productivity. Studies document diminishing returns after a certain threshold — typically around 50 hours per week.

Coben also pointed to the mega-salaries junior bankers earn. In the end, there is no such thing as a free lunch in life.

They know what they are getting themselves into. The reality may not be as glamorous as it seems. Assuming an entry salary of £90,000, as indicated in the article, an 80-hour working week for 47 weeks a year — admittedly a very basic calculation — junior bankers would earn a higher hourly rate by doing private tutoring!

Advertisement

Yes, this is partly down to the nature of the business but it is also a self-perpetuating culture that is blocking efforts to at least mitigate its worst excesses.

Addressing this could, in fact, positively impact productivity as well.

Sonia Falconieri
Professor in Corporate Finance,
Bayes Business School (formerly Cass),
London EC1, UK

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Footballer’s legacy will be ‘a voice for girls’

Published

on

Footballer's legacy will be 'a voice for girls'
BBC Olivia Cusack pictured at a football field in Derby on a sunny day. Olivia has long blonde hair worn loose and wears a grey T-shirt promoting the Maddy Cusack Foundation. Behind her is a line of trees and a goal. BBC

Olivia Cusack says her main focus is carrying on her sister’s inspirational legacy

Maddy Cusack always loved football.

Her sister Olivia remembers how she’d often rope her siblings in for a kickabout, using them for target practice.

It is a memory that comes back to her as she stands in the park in Derby where Maddy loved to train.

“It’s a sacred place for us really,” says Olivia Cusack. “Because it holds so much love and a lot of memories.”

Advertisement

Maddy went on to played for Sheffield United Women from 2019 and became the first player to represent the club 100 times.

A vigil later will mark one year since the day Maddy was found dead at her home, aged 27.

Her family said her spirit had “been broken” by the sport she loved.

Maddy’s club was cleared of any wrongdoing by an external investigation, and a Football Association (FA) inquiry launched in January is ongoing.

Advertisement

An inquest to establish the circumstances around Maddy’s death has been adjourned until the FA reaches its conclusions.

While her family continues to wait for answers, they are turning their attention to her legacy.

“It’s been a year since we lost Maddy,” says Olivia. “A year since our lives completely got turned upside down.

“I have to trust that she can see what we’re doing and is proud.

Advertisement

“That’s the main motivation.”

Getty Images A screen displays a tribute in memory of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack during a match between Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. It's a black and white photo of Maddy in her kit, her hair tied back in a pony tail. Beneath it reads: Maddy Cusack 1995-2023.Getty Images

An inquest into Maddy’s death was adjourned while the FA investigates

Maddy’s family has previously spoken about her facing financial pressures and balancing a full-time marketing job in Sheffield United’s offices with her role in the squad.

The FA hasn’t said exactly what it’s looking into, but wanted to assess whether it needed to take any action.

“We asked for a thorough investigation,” says Olivia.

Advertisement

“That’s definitely what they’ve done as it’s been a while now.

“I hope the FA do the right thing.

“It’s important we don’t skim over what happened.”

Regardless of the outcome, the 25-year-old says there’s no way things can stay the same in women’s football.

Advertisement

“I’d like to think that after what’s happened to my sister, there’s no way there can’t be any change.

“Maddy ultimately lost her life and her spirit to football and it’s important that nobody else goes through that.”

Getty Images Maddy Cusack playing for Sheffield United in 2021. Maddy has her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and wears a black football shirt with three white stripes on the shoulders. She's looking over her left shoulder with a serious expression. Getty Images

Before signing with Sheffield United, Maddy previously played for Birmingham, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest

Maddy’s family has launched a foundation in her name to support women and girls in football and hopes to be a voice for them too.

“You can’t bury your head in the sand,” says Olivia.

Advertisement

“You need to stand up for these girls and stand up for Maddy ultimately as well.

“We just really wanted to find what was missing and give these girls a voice.”

They recently hit a £50,000 milestone, something Olivia says she “never even dreamed of”.

“It made me really proud,” she says.

Advertisement

“I thought, we could really change the game here and change young girls’ lives.”

‘I’m going to be like Maddy’

Some of the money raised goes towards supporting girls like eight-year-old Neveah, who idolised Maddy.

Neveah’s mum, Beth, tells Newsbeat the love started when she was assigned the same number football shirt.

Advertisement

“She’d see Maddy play and say, ‘Mum that’s me – I’m number eight, I’m going to be like Maddy’.”

Last year, Neveah was a mascot for Sheffield United and chose to walk out with Maddy, which Beth says helped to “grow her love of football”.

Contributor photo Neveah and Maddy on the day she was a Sheffield United mascot. Maddy, wearing her red and white striped kit, has her arm around Neveah's shoulder and gives a thumbs up to the camera. They are both smiling, Neveah missing some of her front teeth. Contributor photo

Neveah would always wear Maddy’s Sheffield United shirt under her kit, her mum Beth says

When Maddy died, Beth says Neveah “took it really hard” and, in December, the foundation offered to pay for her to have new boots – something the family had done for Maddy every Christmas.

Since then it has also sponsored her kit.

Advertisement

“She was very touched by that,” Beth says.

“We always get in touch with the family because she likes to tell them how many goals she’s scored for Maddy.”

Although Neveah is sometimes the only girl on the pitch, she is generally supported and encouraged in the sport, says Beth.

But she knows that might not always be the case, and that is why the work of the foundation is so important.

Advertisement

“[Girls] need to know that support is available for them,” she says.

“I just hope Neveah’s journey through football, however long it is, continues to be positive.”

Olivia says her sister was “loved and adored and an inspiration to so many”.

“My main focus with the foundation is to carry that on for as long as I can and to bring her to life for as long as I can as well.”

Advertisement

There will be a vigil for Maddy later and she will also be remembered at a match between Sheffield United and Derby County – the club Maddy supported – on Saturday.

“She would’ve been there for sure,” Olivia says of her big sister. “With a beaming smile.”

A spokesperson for Sheffield United told Newsbeat they were pleased to mark the anniversary with the match.

“The thoughts of everyone associated with Sheffield United Football Club remain with the Cusack family, as well as Maddy’s friends, colleagues and team-mates,” they added.

Advertisement

The FA said it would not be appropriate to comment while it was still investigating.

If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.

A footer logo for BBC Newsbeat. It has the BBC logo and the word Newsbeat in white over a colorful background of violet, purple and orange shapes. At the bottom a black square reading "Listen on Sounds" is visible.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

New sugar taxes could ‘help get Brits back to work’ by cutting obesity

Published

on

New sugar taxes could 'help get Brits back to work' by cutting obesity

SUGAR taxes can help get Brits back to work, a Government adviser claims.

Welfare reform guru Paul Gregg wants high-sugar products treated like ciggies and booze in a bid to cut obesity.

New sugar taxes could 'help get Brits back to work' by cutting obesity

1

New sugar taxes could ‘help get Brits back to work’ by cutting obesity

Stats show 9.4million working-age Brits are not in employment, with 2.8million on long-term sickness.

Advertisement

Professor Gregg is among experts advising ministers ahead of a “Get Britain Moving” plan due this autumn.

He warned that tackling diet-related obesity requires “far more than public health campaigns”.

He added: “Progress means engaging with food manufacturers.

“However, given past challenges in this regard, regulatory measures such as taxing high-sugar products are needed.”

Advertisement

Prof Gregg also calls for more protection for ill workers beyond 28 weeks’ sick pay.

He argues for a “clearer right to return to work,” similar to maternity leave, where mums can take off up to 52 weeks.

The Government said there are “plans to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay so it provides a safety net for those who need it most”.

Inside UK’s obesity capital where gorgers order McDonald’s, pizza & kebabs in SAME day from despairing delivery drivers

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.