The Role of Spanish Colonization in Preserving Latin American Indigenous Languages and Cultures

OPINION—It’s always entertaining to hear progressives declare that the Spanish colonized Latin America and obliterated its languages, as if many indigenous cultures uniformly operated with written systems. Most pre-Columbian societies in Latin America were oral societies. This posed inherent challenges to preserving their linguistic and cultural heritage which colonization further impacted the survival and interpretation of these traditions. Modern understanding of surviving pictographs, glyphs, and symbols is therefore inevitably shaped by subjective perspectives.

For societies with writing systems or other forms of physical record-keeping, documentation was greatly facilitated; however, this primarily benefited larger indigenous empires or a few well-organized smaller societies.

Yes, the Spanish engaged in warfare—both with and against indigenous groups—but ironically, their documentation efforts have become an indispensable resource for modern scholarship on pre-Colombian languages and cultures that survived their conquest. Loanwords in Spanish today bear testimony to the rich linguistic communication of indigenous societies, preserved through colonial texts. It’s worth noting that without Spanish record-keeping, we’d have far less insight into the intricate dialects and traditions of these oral societies.

While colonization undoubtedly came with atrocities, including bloody violence and losses of lives and many cultural traditions, blaming the Spanish for failing to preserve what oral societies themselves could not document is a reductive oversimplification that ignores the complexities of history. Oral traditions are invaluable for sharing stories and culture; however, physical record-keeping transcends the limitations of a human lifespan.

We can acknowledge the harms with coercive assimilation and the near-total destruction of indigenous languages and traditions, but we cannot dismiss the cultures and records that have survived or been expanded upon after Spain’s conquest.

The 2024 Libertarian National Convention | Donald Trump Is Challenged By Libertarian Voices As Democrats Rage

The Libertarian community is a loud few in the United States but large enough to become the third largest political party in the United States. Donald Trump has been able to court libertarians in the past when people were unsure of his leadership, but now libertarians have cooled off. Donald Trump faced judgment in front of libertarians at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention. The convention comes after a successful run at his 2024 South Bronx Presidential Rally.

Libertarians have always bounced around policies they liked or disliked from the Republican Party. Before Donald Trump, the populist, was elected, he woke up the drive that was once there during the Tea Party Movement and the Ron Paul Revolution that simmered out. However, libertarians are holding him to some major mistakes, such as the bump stock ban and his vocal support for red flag laws. Trump's inability to successfully drain the swamp and his poor decision to keep reckless people out of his cabinet has led to some distrust in the libertarian community. Trump met boos; His performance was fair, but his legacy did not move the crowd. Garnering praise for some non-interventionism will always be a strong suit of Trump.

However, Donald Trump has done something few politicians have done. Not many Republicans or Democrats take the time to speak directly to the libertarian community—likely because upset enthusiasts will be outspoken. Libertarians tend to be very vocal against the two-party system that suppresses third-party activists like those in the Green Party and the Constitution Party. Libertarians have reorganized and focused on local elections, but the internal instability of the party leads to wide-ranging candidates.

Will Donald Trump be able to court Libertarians? It would be difficult to say; if the libertarians follow a more religious doctrine or a social-conservative edge, they may be more inclined to support the populist. The anarcho-capitalists will not warm up to Donald Trump—yet a few minorities will carve some relationship with other conservatives.

The 2024 Libertarian National Convention will paint a picture for Libertarians as they will get Republican recognition at the national level. Democrats have called the entire event embarrassing for Donald Trump but have not considered the exposure that Libertarians will get. Libertarians are far more likely to support non-interventionist policies overseas. The Democrats and Republicans have a legacy of questionable extrajudicial actions. Democrats have been losing many Latinos, and although Republicans have picked up many, most have remained independent. However, there is growing sentiment from younger libertarian-leaning centrists and conservatives. Democrats have challenged the Latinos on their culture with Latinx, so that may shake up the 2024 election.

With the Israeli-Hamas conflict continuing, anti-war sentiment has grown tremendously as those are calling for a ceasefire. Few progressives and most libertarians hold non-interventionist views. Pro-Palestinian activists will hurt Joe Biden and Donald Trump's chances to secure a landslide victory in the 2024 Presidential Election as Libertarians historically get one to three percent of the general election vote.

Donald Trump took a gamble going to the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, but it may have paid off for third parties.

Peruvian President, Dina Boluarte, Declares Transgenderism a "Mental Illness"

In a world where many liberal countries are trying to one-up each other on who can be more unwaveringly panderous to fringe communities, Peru is taking a strong stance against the LGBT community. Catholicism has been rooted in Peruvian culture for centuries and those traditional beliefs continue to this day. Through numerous reformations, Peru has undergone different political systems but the people have remained as traditional as ever. Peru, unlike other nearby nations, has decided to reform the definitions of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex where people have described them as now being mentally ill.

Gay marriage is not recognized in Peru. This marks a sharp cultural stance with the response in the United States by citizens remaining shocked but were met with positive views from conservative communities. TikTok creators reacted to the policy on LGBT in Peru; some opposed the policy created by the Peruvian health ministry.

As a way to protect the culture of Peru, the Health Ministry has made this declaration against mostly trans and non-binary people. In the United States, some trans community members have supported the term Latinx. That term has gotten a negative reputation and is seen as an example of how progressive LGBT activism can lead to disrupting the community’s identity and culture. Peru is taking a strong stance to protect its culture from outside influence. As a nation with a strong population of indigenous and mestizo people, they would be more inclined to be defensive. They view the issue primarily as a cultural dilemma and not specifically as being homophobic and anti-trans.

With a newfound perspective on the identity of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, the Health Ministry will help redefine their definitions. Their understanding is that “transexualism” is a “gender identity disorder in children.” They also include many other related terms and identities as a part of these disorders. The Health Ministry suggested that this was one of the ways to ensure that those with identity issues could receive their taxpayer-provided healthcare. This decree was signed by President Dina Boluarte of Peru.

Planet 13 Cannabis MegaStore Coming To Florida!

Here in Orlando, Florida, we are no stranger to flying past Cloud 9, but it seems that a new green planet is closer to us than we realize. Scientists have discovered that a new celestial body is heading right towards us to provide us with some fresh chronic that's out of this world, Planet 13. It is also coming to some other major cities in Florida that should also stay wary.

Planet 13, a Nevada-based cannabis company, has decided to open up multiple cannabis dispensary superstores in the State of Florida as the state slowly opens up its market to the cannabis industry. The cannabis company has paid roughly $55 Million for licenses and certifications to operate within Florida. The cannabis industry in Florida generates $1.9 billion in revenue and has expected to climb as tourism rates return and people move to the Sunshine State. The cities on the hit list in Florida include Orlando, Tampa, and Miami; Expected to open doors sometime within a year.

Planet 13 is one of many other businesses that are expanding their operations in the state. The Florida cannabis industry is slowly liberalizing, yet companies are eager to set up shop in Florida, which has paved the way to further legalization. Cannabis has yet to be recreationally legal, but the medical cannabis industry has been pushing for legalization, which Floridians support. 

A recreationally legal Florida Cannabis industry sounds like a good time to me. Do you support legal cannabis in Florida, or should it remain medicinal?

Liberty Is Under Attack

Liberty is under attack in the United States as many people are calling for vaccine passports and other authoritarian mandates for the Covid-19 virus and its variants. Sometimes under pressure, the public is prone to giving up their liberties for some level of feeling secure, which can lead to tyranny in the end. 

People took the opportunity during the pandemic to learn to become self-sufficient. Yet, the government wants to limit your growth with lockdowns. The powers that control this nation want to fundamentally change what we view as normal and acceptable in society. 

Mainstream narratives would convince the public to discriminate against the unvaccinated people and deem it acceptable to push legislation that segregates these people for the sake of public safety. It has been in practice in history with other harmful diseases, except the level of government control will likely become progressively more severe. We take a stand to protect our communities from strict government overreach and support people who have the right to choose to wear a mask or get vaccinated. We continue to defend liberty.

Black Lives Matter Isn't About Social Justice

OPINION - Black Lives Matter, as a movement, has been notorious for claiming to be the fighters for social justice in the black community, however, these groups are demanding far more than what they deserve, while also bringing havoc to some communities across this great nation.

Black Lives Matter has been around protesting for almost a decade already. There are numerous examples from the Michael Brown incident to the recent George Floyd riots. It stemmed from accusations of police brutality where individuals, who may have done criminal activity in the past, were, in some people's eyes, mistreated by law enforcement. In some of these cases, the one they protested for ended up being killed at the hands of police officers. These individual cases are then shared throughout social media before the truth comes to the public, and protests ignite where some of them have ended in destruction and death. Quickly, Latinos, and Hispanics, with other Americans take to the streets in what they call "solidarity".

Black Lives Matter, the movement, is very impulsive with their opposition. Their calls for justice are well-intentioned but surrounded by rhetoric that makes it seem as if the police are the problem. Police and authority figures who promote unjust laws that criminalize everyday actions, yes, that's very much a problem; That is only one place where I can sympathize with Black Lives Matter. Yet the destruction that has brought Portland, Oregon to its knees is a shining example - a bright example - of "flaming passion" that I cannot support. Looking at Black Lives Matter's reign of destruction throughout the country, from my perspective here in Florida, shows me that the real threat to our society and minorities isn't the police, even though they do need improvement, it is Black Lives Matter itself and racial organizations that reject American values - libertarian values.

Many minority businesses and minority communities have been affected by Black Lives Matter violence. Although they claim to fight for these communities, mostly Black communities, they ultimately destroy the chances that people had to improve themselves locally regardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity. The Black Lives Matter organization itself has been very vocal about its opposition to American values and focuses on fighting "systemic racism" with what I perceive as more racism. They don't focus on improving the economic and social liberty of minorities as a whole. The calls to defund the police are admirable, but Black Lives Matter does not want that wealth to return to the pockets of hard-working citizens, instead, they prefer more welfare for failed social programs that hurt minority communities. Perhaps, they may want that money to make victims out of habitual violent criminals who have served as a liability not only to their communities but the country.

There's a lot to be said about improving policing in America. Yet, the riots throughout the country are not justified. Black Lives Matter, including the general community, and the organization, seem very opposed to the ideals that made this country great. They seem to be opposed to the nuclear family, and free speech - they are opposed to liberty. Black Lives Matter isn't about social justice; Black Lives Matter is about envy, jealousy, and victimization.

SpaceX First World Wide Internet Mission Successful

SpaceX has successfully completed the first mission for its Starlink satellite system. SpaceX successfully landed its booster on their drone in the ocean, and successfully deployed their satellites.

SpaceX successfully launched their Falcon 9 rocket and landed their main booster on a drone within the Atlantic ocean. SpaceX launched from the Cape Canaveral Airforce Base in Florida, from complex 40, on Thursday, May 23rd, 2019. SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites as a start to their constellation project of hundreds or thousands of satellites that will provide the entire planet with internet service. After experiencing many delays,  The constellation is expected to be completed and operational by 2027, but some satellites may begin operations for consumers sooner, analysts suspect by 2021-2022.

The Starlink mission is expected to have over 1000 satellites providing internet to our entire planet, its an ambitious mission from Elon Musk. Will you be subscribing to their service if it becomes available for you?

'Dollar Is Going To Self Destruct': Ron Paul Suggests Bitcoin As Alternative

In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Dr. Ron Paul publicly praised Bitcoin and suggested that Americans should adopt stable cryptocurrencies to combat an overreaching government. What are your thoughts on Bitcoin?



Dr. Ron Paul has always held a strong position with gold as being "real money", and he is a longtime critic of fiat currencies, but cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, in particular, has not gotten much attention from Dr. Paul over the years. He admitted that he is "not a computer person", but has praised Blockchain technology and has grown fond of it as he has learned more about the advancements in its security. Dr. Paul defended Bitcoin in stating, "I think what Bitcoin offers: An alternative. I want a free marketplace."

Governments such as the United States, China, and Russia have held very conservative opinions about Bitcoin, and some politicians are even calling to ban cryptocurrencies altogether which is a big worry to any free market, or cryptocurrency enthusiast. "There will be hostility but it will be more dignified. They will work behind the scenes and put in roadblocks if they can. The more successful that cryptos are, the more the government will get involved.", warned Paul.  Cryptocurrencies have begun to take a more political tone, but many enthusiasts fear that politicians are far too ignorant about the technology to be able to make responsible policy decisions.

Dr. Ron Paul expands on politicians attempting to ban cryptocurrencies within the interview. These politicians, according to him, retain a jingoist mindset about defending the United States Dollar in global affairs. Ron Paul says that the "[US] Dollar is going to self-destruct" to the notion that people shouldn't "mess with the dollar". Ron Paul believes that there should be regulators, but questions the validity of anyone being capable of regulating cryptocurrencies without destroying individual liberty. It would go against his ideals of freedom to support the government regulating the free exchange of goods, no matter how the government perceives packets of data transfers.

Ron Paul completes the interview stating that he doesn't own cryptocurrencies although he does accept cryptocurrencies at his foundations. Ron Paul still retains the belief that private property and gold are the best investments to secure a future, but cryptocurrencies are the alternative. 

Florida Libertarian, Sam Adams, Running For Congress

Florida Libertarian, Sam Adams, is running for Florida's 6th congressional district (includes Daytona Beach and the Palm Coast) in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3rd, 2020.



Sam Adams is a young Libertarian politician who has suspected roots to John Adams. He officially filed his candidacy with the FEC on April 9th, 2019. Adams was born in Great Bend, Kansas, and currently lives in Daytona Beach, Florida and runs several local businesses. The last significant run by the Libertarian party in regards to congressional districts was a candidate by the name of Lucas Overby who was able to garner over 24% of the vote in 2014 for the 13th Congressional District of Florida. Most libertarian party members hold local offices such as members of a council or board members, particularly in fields regarding education and water treatment.

Sam Adams has an official campaign page for eager voters to inform themselves on his positions. Here are a few highlights we found interesting:

• Improving free trade and expanding free market capitalism
• End the drug war
• Downsizing the government
• Privatizing healthcare further

The primaries will be held on August 25, 2020.

Do you plan on voting for Sam Adams? If you lived in his district would you support him?

Libertarian Jacob Hornberger Running For President?

Jacob Hornberger, seen on Ron Paul's Liberty Report, and also the president of the Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) may soon be on a presidential run according to media speculation of his recently made website.



Generally speaking, if you've heard of Ron Paul, or have studied Austrian economics, there's a strong chance that you've come across Hornberger in the libertarian community. Jacob Hornberger is known for being a politically active libertarian advocate and he is present at most Libertarian conventions throughout the United States. He is the founder and current president of the Future of Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit libertarian advocacy group, that was founded in 1989.

The Future of Freedom Foundation's Mission:

The mission of The Future of Freedom Foundation is to advance freedom by providing an uncompromising moral and economic case for individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government.

JacobForLiberty.com is a site created by Hornberger's team and it seemingly does indicate that Hornberger may be experimenting with a presidential run for 2020. It cites his positions on various matters like immigration, the drug war, and touching upon the underlying causes of police brutality. The site also shares his upcoming appearances for eager individuals to ask him his thoughts on society and politics. Since making the website, many libertarians are suggesting that he is likely to be running in 2020 with the Libertarian ticket, but there is no official confirmation from Jacob Hornberger.

Background

Jacob Hornberger is from Laredo, Texas. An accomplished author, who studied at the University of Texas School of Law.

You can also follow his website's facebook page!

Would you vote for Hornberger if he did run?

Florida Looking To Hemp For Revenue

Florida lawmakers have proposed many bills to regulate and tax hemp production, thanks to a federal law change making it legal. Experts say that hemp production and the production of cannabis as a whole will become a very lucrative market as re-regulation persists throughout the states, thus it can be used as an option to generate revenue for the state.



Ben Albritton proposed a hemp bill on Thursday (February 14th, 2019) that would set up a hemp program under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In Florida, its also notable that Cannabis is used primarily for medicinal purposes. The bill will also require individuals and organizations to have their goods or products inspected by the local authorities. They also must register with the FDACS. Earlier, Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried named Holly Bell as Florida state's first Director of Cannabis. The purpose of the position is to focus specifically on building up and maintaining a hemp industry.

This bill, proposed by Albritton, also shares other similarities to HB 333 and SB 1020, respectively. Also more than half of the United States hemp production comes from Colorado, and currently there are more than 80 Marijuana dispensaries in Florida for patients and nearly 200,000 active registered patients.

Koch Brothers Funded SuperPAC, AFP Action, Pushing For Libertarian Candidates

Conservative-Libertarian leaning billionaire's, the Koch Brothers, have funded a new SuperPAC, AFP Action, which they say will help get more Libertarian voices, and conservative leaning idealism into mainstream elections. They are funding this through Americans for Prosperity alongside working with the Latino/Hispanic super PAC Libre Action and Concerned Veterans for America Action. Overall, The libertarian party has increased in members over the years but they have yet to hit any major landmark positions in office.

Opinions from the author:
Koch funded groups within florida have also fought to return voting rights to felons, and other libertarian organizations have been pushing to remove red-light cameras as it is a breach of the US constitution. Koch Industries and associates have been accused of colluding with other industry leaders on price fixing, and oligopolistic practices, but none of accusations have been significant. Koch brothers have always held a positive view for libertarian values, but generally lean far more conservative than what people initially believe.

Author:
Luis Rosales

Social Media Attacking Libertarians?

Lately, there has been a lot of breaking news where libertarians, and conservative minded groups have been targeted by major social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and video hosting site, Youtube.

Donald Trump Threatens Shutdown Over Illegals | Read more...

Alex Jones, a prominent conservative conspiracist throughout the web, has had his Facebook page struck down, along with his YouTube account, and also his accounts at Spotify and Apple have been banned from sharing/selling content. Many of these sites are citing breaches of their Terms of Service (ToS), which many people within the community call it a farce and see that Jones' is being unjustly censored. Others believe, Jones being kicked off is justified to how he carries himself and how he fabricates lies about famous people and politicians with so called "evidence" for their 'crimes'. They claim he slanders and smears people's name for his own personal benefit, in order to sell merchandise to grow his business based off fear mongering. It should be noted that Alex Jones still has his Infowars app available on the Android App Store, and his Google+ page is still active (for now), and that this was not a total ban from Google products, but from YouTube itself and possibly for audio content (podcasts).  People have their own viewpoints in regards to Alex Jones, but some others that are affected by these mass suspensions are very much so undeserving of this punishment.

Other than the major backlash against Alex Jones on other sites, Twitter hasn't made any major particular moves other than "shadowbanning certain people". However, there seems to be a purge with lots of people being suspended in a short amount of time, which those affected are more often than not conservative, or libertarian leaning individuals. Twitter has suspended prominent libertarian speakers such as the Director of the Ron Paul Institute, Daniel McAdams. Many in the libertarian community are scratching their heads as to what McAdams could have done on Twitter, which would constitute a ban.

Overall, this entire situation goes on a case by case basis, and we all must accept and acknowledge that these social media sites have every right to regulate the news feed so that it may allow for family friendly content to be promoted within the algorithm as they see fit. Yet, we must also know that we are free to criticize these corporations for their actions, and very much so seek alternatives. Whether you view their bans or suspensions as justified or not, there are underlying questions that people may need to ponder on in the future: Should we allow powerful technocrats the power to regulate our newsfeed and control what we see on their platforms? We all make a choice with each packet we download, and our bandwidth IS our voting power in the online world. Perhaps, we should be throwing our support and time behind corporations that actually respect freedom of speech and whom are not going to silence people for their political beliefs.

Why Has Police Brutality Grown?

In my view, I don't believe police brutality has 'grown', if anything it has always been with us and has been a part of many societies since the dawn of law enforcers (as a whole). If anything there may be less 'police brutality' today than there ever was before, but it doesn't seem that way because of the level of technology that we have in this instant in time. Stand-alone cameras and camera phones have been closing the gap between the information given by the officers about a situation and their aggressor (or victim). Today we can see on social media sites such as YouTube and Vimeo the atrocities of police brutality, or general harassment.

We are bombarded by news media outlets on this "new" trending topic that is generally referred to as 'police misconduct'. Why is that, but a form of sensationalist reporting all for profit (which there is no problem with that). Though the reality is such violence done so by law enforcers has always been occurring; Whether it is because of race, religion, creed, etc. It has always been around (from the crusades to genocides). To state that there is more police brutality today, or that it is growing, is rather silly. It may be, perhaps, the perspective in which one sees it, although taking historical examples into account, we're in a much better place today than not. This is just speculative for crimes per capita, and let's take into account the brutality in police brutality.

Cameras are just one of many steps to thwart police brutality, although, to me, cameras are just a feel-good feeling to think that things will become 'so much better'. I'm not stating that with the cameras things have not improved, of course not. Although with the rise in police using cameras themselves on their person, I suspect a further rise of cover-ups and withholding valuable information about certain cases. Private cameras have been doing a wonderful job in bringing about the awareness of these violent acts, but that's just it. Awareness. Protests have come about because of this awareness, yet with little legislative effort done so by our "representatives" in office. And from those protests, many have come with police brutality.

How Can We Stop or Lessen Police Brutality?

Police brutality has been on a trend down because of the exposure of the overreaches of force. Today we can expose these atrocities while at the same time ensuring that the police respect the people because of our level of unification when we actually drop the chips and football and come together. However, the main point of lessening police brutality is to not just hack at the branches. Of course not, we must remove it from its source, which are the laws in place which creates a "need" for an aggressor where otherwise there would be no conflict if no such law existed. We have to be clear in stating that the laws in place are nothing but a form of profit for the police departments, and municipalities.

Police brutality is the direct result of the law itself.

Koch and Soros, A Duel?

Long have we known that money has influenced our political debates; our wars, and conflicts: even at home.

Though, other than self interest billionaires, and laws that restrict free people, there are few coming to the charge in support of, at least some, free ideals; Ideals of individualism and what some call "moral collectivism". Needless to say, this is not a battle of ideology, but more of an observation of something interesting happening, and something worth noting.

The lot of us libertarians/and liberal-republicans have been accused of being associated with the likes of the Koch Brothers (founders of Koch Industries), though vice versa with the Liberals and democrats with George Soros (Soros Fund Management). We can go, on and on, about our discourses between associations, labels, and oppositions by ideology, but one thing we cannot miss is this:

These two behemoths, one of the coal industry leaders, the Kochs, and an investment banking leader in his field, George Soros, have both invested heavily in Healthcare, and minority growth; both are also proponents of gay marriage equality and the repeal of marijuana abolition, as an example.

I think, generally, we can agree in some part to their pushes for freedom, although, of course, most of us may not agree, including not agreeing with violence caused by such revolutions. Koch's stand more on the economical side of liberties, of course, give or take, because they do influence politics to favor their businesses as well; likewise, Soros does the same, except limiting economic freedom, yet excelling at personal liberties; on the basis of egalitarian virtues, not individualism...

Both sides have made great strides, but have been called out by their oppositions.

What do you guys think? Do they deserve the negativity portrayed at them? Does one deserve more negativity than the other?

Florida 2014 Elections for Governor Results

With the election day behind us, Florida can now rest soundly from the remembrance of FanGate; With a voter turnout of about 6 million, its hard to forget. Rick Scott, Charlie Crist, the front runner's, while third party candidates trail behind, confidently.

It's not often we get to hear of these third party candidates, mostly because of private debate rules, respectively they have campaigned greatly in their districts and across the state. In a national trend of demilitarisation, pro civil liberties (gay marriage, recreational/medicinal drug use), the people seem to not be able to escape the clutches of 'bipartisan' rule.

It is no question, we all feel betrayed by our parties, or our ideological idols, though I cannot help but notice we are committing into the same behavior. The republicans and democrats have had quite a long running for over 100 years nationally; I believe it is time to promote change.

The Election Results for Florida Governor, 2014
Rick Scott 48.3%
Charlie Crist 46.9
Adrian Wyllie 3.8%
Glenn Burkett 0.7%

What about Amendment 2, 2014?
To amend the Florida State Constitution the legalization of medicinal marijuana.
Needed a 60%, aka super majority:
No: 42.5%
Yes: 57.5