The attempted act of terror on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas has already resulted in new restrictions imposed on airline passengers by the TSA.

Every time someone commits an act of terrorism, it results in new rules and loss of freedoms for the rest of us who have done nothing wrong.

James Joyner explains it well…

“Among other steps being imposed, passengers on international flights coming to the United States will apparently have to remain in their seats for the last hour of a flight without any personal items on their laps. Overseas passengers will be restricted to only one carry-on item aboard the plane, and domestic passengers will probably face longer security lines.”

“The restrictions will again change the routine of air travel, which has undergone an upheaval since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001 and three attempts at air terrorism since then.”

“In effect, the restrictions mean that passengers on flights of 90 minutes or less would most likely not be able to leave their seats at all, since airlines do not allow passengers to walk around the cabin while a plane is climbing to its cruising altitude.”

Joyner goes on to quote the Agitator, who makes the smartest point.

“In addition to keeping with its usually tradition of making policy on a reactionary basis, this one wouldn’t even have done anything to prevent the attempt over the weekend. The guy was in his seat when he tried to light the explosive device. And the passenger who confronted him got out of his seat to do it.”

“TSA, on the other hand, equates hassle with safety. For all the crap they put us through, this guy still got some sort of explosive material on the plane from Amsterdam. He was stopped by law-abiding passengers. So TSA responds to all of this by . . . announcing plans to hassle law-abiding U.S. passengers even more.”

We were warned about this by Ben Franklin who said “Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.”

Am I saying we should do away with air travel security? No. But there’s no denying that as security measures increase, our privacy and liberty erodes.

There has to be a better way.

Good morning, America. Liberty died while you slept last night.

Against your will, the United States Senate voted for cloture on ObamaCare at 1 AM on December 21, 2009. They didn’t meet last night to create jobs. They didn’t meet last night for the economy. They didn’t meet last night for national security.

They met last night to take away your liberty.

Below, you can see the video of the 58 Democrats and 2 Independents who voted AYE, as well as the 40 Republicans who voted NO.

Readers: If you’re a Democrat and you think this is good news, I suggest you check in with Markos Moulitsas.

Enjoy the end of your liberty, America.

He didn’t defend them then…

“The Obama administration’s response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s fraudulent election victory is cowardly, lily-livered and wrong. The White House’s refusal to officially question the result or even condemn the brutal suppression of opposition protestors, is undermining America’s standing as a global power, and is little more than a face-saving, cynical exercise in appeasement that will all end in tears.”

And so far, he’s not defending them now…

“TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran has sentenced five people to death over the unrest that followed the country’s disputed June presidential election, state television reported Tuesday.”

“At least three others caught up in the turmoil have received death sentences previously.”

“Iran began a mass trial in August of prominent opposition figures and activists, accusing them of a range of charges from rioting to spying and plotting what authorities have called a “soft revolution” to topple the country’s Islamic rulers.”

“The opposition led massive street protests and clashed with security forces in the weeks following the disputed June 12 presidential election. The opposition claimed fraud after election authorities declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of a second term and their anger unleashed the most serious internal unrest in Iran in the 30 years since the Islamic Revolution.”

Grow a pair, Mr. President.

Think WWRD.

ObamaCare has nothing to do with health care. ObamaCare has nothing to do with helping people. ObamaCare has nothing to do with health insurance. ObamaCare has nothing to do with humanitarianism. ObamaCare has nothing to do with compassion. ObamaCare has nothing to do with charity.

ObamaCare is about politics.

ObamaCare is about creating a permanent Democrat majority. Period.

No more checks, no more balances.

Leave your liberty at the door.

That’s all folks.

With the introduction of Cap & Trade, ObamaCare and corporate bailouts, you can practically taste the surge of of interest in libertarian ideology in the air. It’s no accident that Tea Parties are springing up everywhere, Ayn Rand is more popular than ever and Glenn Beck’s ratings continue to rise.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Wall Street Journal where Steven Kurutz recently interviewed Ayn Rand biographer Anne C. Heller.

“When Anne C. Heller set out five years ago to write a biography of Ayn Rand, she was intrigued by the fact that though Rand’s novels like “The Fountainhead” continued to sell well, the libertarian writer was barely spoken about. One near-Depression later, however, Rand’s anti-socialist beliefs championing individualism over collectivism are suddenly striking a chord with critics of the government’s recent nationalization of banking and other industries.”

“The Wall Street Journal: Ayn Rand has been invoked at town hall meetings across the country. Why are Rand’s fiercely libertarian ideas — and novels — back in the news?”

“Her sales and reputation bubble along under the radar quite consistently. But certain opinion makers like Glenn Beck rediscovered her because there’s a strange parallelism between her visions in “Atlas Shrugged” and the Obama administration — namely, government taking over private industries. In periods of economic downtown “Atlas Shrugged” strikes a chord in people who are afraid of economic collapse.”

This liberty driven zeitgeist hasn’t escaped Reason Magazine either. A well known Libertarian outlet, Reason is producing a video series on the suddenly increased relevance of Ayn Rand’s work.

Ed Morrissey of Hot Air wrote a great post on this subject today where he tied it all together in this brilliant quote:

“Who would have guessed that the era of Hope and Change would have produced Rand as a counter-cultural phenomenon?”

“Well, perhaps Rand herself would have foreseen it — and in fact she did, in Atlas Shrugged.”

Libertarians and conservatives are old political friends. Although there have been a few bumps in the road over the years, we should all give credit to President Obama for making us more solid than ever.

Maybe that’s what Obama meant when he said he was a “uniter.”

I hope we can expect to see more of this as young people, who overwhelmingly supported Obama, begin to realize that Democrats want ever expanding control over their choices, money and lives.

The Baker County Press reports:

“The two newest political groups in Baker County may also be the youngest, dispelling the notion that people under 40 are disinterested in government.”

“The Baker County Young Republicans, a group opened to those between 18 and 40 years old, and the Libertarian Party of Baker County, which has two officers under 30, held their first meetings this month at local eateries.”

“Twenty people attended the Young Republicans gathering at Calendar’s October 13 and heard from two county commissioners. Ten others interested in the local Libertarian Party met five days before at the Waffle House where Jeff Hunt of Jacksonville, a member of the state party’s executive committee, was the featured speaker.”

“Clint Shivers, 29, of Macclenny serves as treasurer for the Libertarian Party of Baker County.”

“As a registered Libertarian, Mr. Shivers was recently contacted by the party’s regional leader Phil Laibe, who hoped to get a local arm of the party started here.”

“He and another local man, Richard Nader, soon met with Mr. Laibe and started the county-level affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Florida. Mr. Nader serves as the local party chair and Cindy Waltman, 28, handles public relations.”

“We decided to go ahead and sign the paperwork that day and make it official,” said Mr. Shivers, a former Republican who also joined the Young Republicans meeting last week.”

“Both groups welcome anyone to their meetings, not just the party faithful, as long as debate remains civil.”

“Mr. Shivers registered Republican after turning 18 and stayed true to the party as long as he could.”

“What I tell people is that I didn’t leave my party, they left me,” he explained.”

“The Internet and computer specialist employed by Baker County became disenchanted with both Democrats and Republicans and saw the third party as a vehicle for something different.”

“The both keep making the same mistakes. We need a change,” said Mr. Shivers. “The Libertarian Party makes the most sense to me. They stand for limited government, fiscal responsibly, basically they want to get back to the roots of the founding — where power lies at the local level and not the federal level.”

“Though they aren’t necessarily stepping outside their party’s tent, the Young Republicans, or YRs, are about creating a new forum for ideas locally.”

“That forum is one that member Jesse Davis of Macclenny calls “generationally relevant.”

“Generally speaking,” he said, “people in this age group [18 to 40] have different points of view, different ways of relating to each other, different ways of communicating and a different view on what the future should look like and how politics should be handled.” Full Article

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in NY-23 and Governor Sarah Palin clearly understand this Libertarian Republican zeitgeist.

Newt Gingrich and the RNC might want to take note.

It’s interesting to note that according to Rasmussen Reports, just 41 % of American voters want ObamaCare:

“Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.”

On the other hand, Governor Sarah Palin’s book hasn’t even been released and yet she’s breaking sales records:

“Two days after the release date of Sarah Palin’s book was announced, it’s already become the top seller at both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.”

“Palin’s publisher announced Monday that the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential candidate had finished her memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” early and was moving the release date up from the spring to November 17.”

“A Palin source told POLITICO that she “is very grateful” for the strong early sales.”

“This book has taken off like a rocket,” the source said.”

Funny that.

Jammie Wearing Fool and Memeorandum have more.

This is actually an audio recording Reagan made in 1961. In it, he talks about the nightmare that is government run healthcare. More importantly, he points out that this has nothing to do with humanitarian ideals or the provision of better care.

It is about politics, power and the loss of liberty, plain and simple. What a genius Reagan was. This recording is as important today as it was almost 50 years ago.

Update: Welcome Instapundit readers!

As the Tea Party movement continues and many Americans grow more concerned by government expansion, the interest and support for Libertarian style Republicanism is knocking loudly at the front door of conservatism. The GOP would be wise to answer.

Consider this report from The New Ledger:

“Part of what is harming the Republican party these days is the disillusionment of the Republican base, and many of the members of the base are small-government activists who feel as if the party has abandoned their pet issue. Getting those people back would help tremendously in the revival of the Republican party, and a more libertarian turn to Republican politics would serve to re-energize the small-government base.”

I know what you’re thinking. That’s just an isolated incident, right? What about the poll from Right Wing News today that says a majority of conservatives would vote for an atheist president?

6) Would you vote for an atheist for President?

Yes: 67.2% (41 votes)
No: 32.8% (20 votes

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room under the tent for conservative Christians, it means the opposite actually. Atheists, Agnostics and religious conservatives can co-exist under the same tent because they’re united by conservatism, not their religious views.

Eric Dondero, the editor of Libertarian Republican, has reported booming traffic at his website and was recently mentioned by Jonah Goldberg at National Review.

There are other signs too. Ron Paul (ever the Libertarian) still has many supporters who are happy that Dr. Paul’s “Audit The Federal Reserve” bill is gaining steam.

“Paul, as of Tuesday, has won 245 co-sponsors to a bill that would require a full-fledged audit of the Federal Reserve by the end of 2010.”

“Paul attracted just 18 co-sponsors when he authored a similar bill, which died, in 1983. While the impact Fed policies have on inflation is once again a concern, fears about loose monetary policy and excessive federal spending appear even more widespread in 2009.”

Finally if there’s any doubt left in your mind, Greg Gutfeld host of the FOX News program Red Eye, was recently interviewed by the ultimate authority on Libertarianism, Reason Magazine.

The money quote? 2:51

“I became a Conservative by being around Liberals and I became a Libertarian by being around Conservatives.”

Click the image below to watch the video:

This time from the Tampa Tea Party.

Have you found your local tea party yet?