Trump Overshadowed by Armed & Fabulous, Drug-Fueled Libertarian Chaos

The Libertarian Party… less organized than a frat party, possibly with more drugs!

I consider myself a libertarian minded individual. Notice that I spelled that with a little "l". That is because I do not wish to be associated with the big "L" Libertarian Party.

I value free minds, free markets, and competence. The Libertarian party is notably lacking in that final quality.

As many of you probably saw, Trump recently spoke at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention.

I would say he was booed off of the stage, but he stayed on.

It was interesting to see him try to align with Libertarians, but there were few items of substance, other than a commitment to free Ross Ulbricht if elected president, which was interesting.

Other highlights of the convention included the primary contender for the Libertarian presidential candidacy, Michael Rectenwald, going on a drug-induced rambling speech and being beaten out by underdog Chase Oliver.

When questioned about the incident, Rectenwald stated: “This was not some sort of a major political scandal, okay. I wasn’t found in bed with Stormy Daniels. I’m at a Libertarian Party convention. Somebody offered me something.”

And not to be outdone, Oliver describes himself as "gay and armed" and has a photograph of him posing with a drag queen circulating around the internet.

I want to make sure we are clear, this is not a satire piece.

Folks who are used to Trump being the walking "butt-of-the-joke" in the room may be surprised to see him outdone so handedly by the Libertarians this year.

I don't get involved in politics, mostly because I consider it a waste of time.

The time and effort I put into any political cause would go a lot further to increase the quality of my life if I instead allocated it towards my personal goals.

This is true multi-fold when that political cause is getting a Libertarian elected as president. ~ West

Central Planning’s Swan Song

Our day-to-day lives seem pretty normal, don’t they? We work, pay bills, save for the future. Easy to think things will stay that way forever. But guess what? That’s only true until it’s not.

Friedrich Hayek warned us that centralized institutions follow a predictable lifecycle. They start with “noble” intentions, aiming to create stability and prosperity. However, as they grow, they become increasingly bureaucratic and inefficient, which leads to decay and, ultimately, collapse.

Well, that describes just about every institution I can think of.

If you’re not paying attention, the global economy looks stable. Markets recover, trade disputes happen, and life goes on.

But this is like watching a calm sea, unaware of the deep currents below the surface.

The Economist just rang the alarm about the global economy’s fragility and what the aftermath might look like…

“Once broken, it is unlikely to be replaced by new rules. Instead, world affairs will descend into their natural state of anarchy that favours banditry and violence.”

Strong words for a mainstream publication!

So, should you ignore the signs of institutional decay and hope for the best? Up to you, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

One thing’s certain, the future won’t be like recent memory. It’s time to wake up and get ready for what’s coming next. ~ Zach

Naval is a perennial spring of wisdom.

He goes on to explain that there are two parts to this. One is to test yourself against the world to see if you are getting what you want from it; in other words, actually try to get what you want.

The other is to want the right things in the first place. Pick the right goals. Let's talk about that for a minute.

How do you know if you are picking the right goals? Well, we won't pretend to know the meaning of life, but it stands to reason that you should pick goals that you believe to be both achievable and fulfilling.

You can glean from your prior experiences in life, and by observing the lives of others, what goals may meet these criteria.

A word of caution here though - many things often cited as achievable and fulfilling (driving sports cars, sleeping with eastern European models, and consuming salted fish eggs) all have one thing in common: prestige.

Prestige is measured by other people's perceptions. If your entire framework for goal setting is based on prestige, you are really just delegating the task of setting your life's goals to society, which is not conducive to developing a free mind or living a free life.

To sum up this long-form fortune cookie: Be sure that you will find fulfillment in your goals regardless of society's perceptions of achieving those goals. ~ West

It looks like crypto is starting to receive some bipartisan support, finally.

This isn't particularly surprising to me though.

The most vocal critic of crypto in the political realm has been Elizabeth Warren, who seems to believe that fire and brimstone will rain down upon us crypto-buying sinners and the society that allows us to exist.

But who actually cares whether or not other people buy crypto with their own money?

Is there really a substantial voting block in the US comprised solely of people whose primary concern is what total strangers are doing with their own money?

Let's pretend for a moment that we are busy-bodies that lead lives so boring that we have identified nothing more important than this.

What is there to get worked up about investors having access to crypto markets? What is the actual concern?

Is it investors losing money in this financial "wild west"? Is it greedy speculators making large profits?

I suspect that the specific allegation will vary based on whether we are in a bull or bear market, demonstrating the reactionary nature of this demographic devoid of any foundational moral principles upon which to build a coherent worldview.

Caring this much about whether or not total strangers gain or lose money doesn't seem like a path to happiness, and I hope this shift signals that a majority of American voters are choosing the path of happiness. ~ West