Another day, another “you have got to be kidding me” moment related to the rollout of medical marijuana in the State of Minnesota. In the spirit of full disclosure – I support full repeal of prohibition against marijuana, both medicinal and recreational; whether you grow it yourself or buy it at a dispensary, whether you use it to alleviate medical issues or just because you like the feeling, that's none of my business and it's none of the government's business either. So, naturally I think the medical marijuana situation in Minnesota is a farce.

"I woke up this morning to the news that the government no longer has the legal authority to spy on the phone records of every American. Those most egregious provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act expired last night, thanks in large part to the efforts of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. This is a powerful first step in the fight to restore liberty for all Americans." -Nicholas Sarwark, LP Chair

On June 1st, the infamous Patriot Act is set to expire. Yet right now, Congress is debating the Freedom Act, a supposed reform of the aforementioned law. But what is the difference between these two bills? How does, if at all, the Freedom Act curb the groundless search and seizure of private information? Here's a Libertarian's guide.

LPMN Chair Chris Dock was on the Libertarian Party's National radio show titled "Libertarians Working for You" hosted by National LP Vice Chair Arvin Vohra on May 20, 2015. The discussion centered around the current state of politics in Minnesota, including the most recent budget negotiations, transportation, education, and how the state government is trying to find creative ways to spend the $2 billion budget surplus, even though the surplus was created by over-taxation of us rather than under-spending by them.

When I was in elementary school, I remember working feverishly on school projects the night before they were due, and my parents asking me the same question every time - “how long have you known about this project?” That-last minute approach is just like how Minnesota's legislators work.

228 Republicans and 41 Democrats in the U.S. House voted for a $612 billion defense authorization bill on May 15. They maneuvered the increase in military spending, which should have been prohibited by “sequester” spending caps established by the Budget Control Act of 2011, by putting some of the spending in a slush fund.

You can't make this stuff up. The Minneapolis City Council is levying a special tax assessment on property owners downtown. Even nonprofits are being made to pay. Even churches! But one entity is special. Only one has the clout to wiggle out, because they have friends in very high places. Guess who it is.

Albeit the nasty winds, getting soaked at the end, our tent almost taking flight, our flag breaking, and the event being called short ... we ended up with FOUR TIMES the amount of signups over last year. 90%+ of the people who stopped by signed up to learn more. Nearly all conversations were positive. Put it down to some new approaches and the "Libertarian moment".

Government regulations often lead to costly, ineffective, and progress-stifling outcomes, and are frequently criticized by Libertarians. Skeptics abound, however. Many of the public are wary of "deregulation", fearing a "wild west" where individuals could be left on their own against the unscrupulous. Unfortunately, these skeptics aren't familiar with how oversight would be performed in a libertarian society, and in fact, is already being performed in many cases. And that's what this article is about.

This commentary was published in MinnPost, a Minneapolis news service, written by our Vice Chair. He introduces the Libertarian philosophy to the public and asks them to consider, “What if politics could be more like how we already conduct ourselves in our daily lives?”