Policy Paper: Reconsidering Federal Toilet Water-Use Standards
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- Written by: Dr Loren Jay Chassels DO MST FAAIM FAWM
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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Dr. Loren Jay Chassels is a Board member of the New Jersey Libertarian Party. Loren earned his doctorate from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, followed by an internal medicine residency in 2007. Now board-certified in internal medicine, he has practiced as a hospitalist and emergency physician for nearly two decades. See more at lorenjchassels.com |
The federal toilet standard is grounded in the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which required new toilets sold in the United States to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush beginning in 1994, while EPA’s WaterSense label pushes performance toward 1.28 gallons per flush or less. This paper recommends repealing or substantially revising those federal limits and replacing them with flexible, performance-based state or local standards.[1][2]
Executive Position
The current federal approach is too rigid for a product that depends heavily on plumbing design, waste load, and building conditions. A better policy would preserve conservation goals while allowing higher-flush toilets where needed for sanitation, reliability, and public health.[2][3][1]
Regulatory Background
The national baseline of 1.6 gallons per flush stems from the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and took effect in 1994. EPA’s WaterSense program later promoted toilets that use 1.28 gallons per flush or less, framing them as at least 20 percent more water-efficient than the federal standard. EPA has also continued to revise its WaterSense criteria, showing that the market and performance assumptions around these rules are not fixed.[3][4][5][6][1][2]
MAHA Through a Libertarian Lens - The Positives and the Negatives
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- Written by: Mike Guadagnino
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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Dr. Michael Guadagnino holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the NY Institute of Technology and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from NY Chiropractic College. He served as VP of Public Relations for the New Jersey Libertarian Party from 2017 to 2022. Dr. Guadagnino is the author of the best-selling book Fitness Over 50, 60, 70 and Beyond, available on Amazon and other major platforms. He also shares health and wellness insights on Instagram at @Dr._Guadagnino. Dr. Guadagnino writes on health care topics through the lens of personal freedom and individual liberty. |
The “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, often associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has sparked a national conversation about chronic disease, food quality, government regulation, pharmaceutical influence, and personal health responsibility. While supporters and critics often view MAHA through partisan lenses, libertarians tend to evaluate it based on a different set of principles: individual liberty, limited government, free markets, transparency, and personal responsibility.
From a libertarian perspective, MAHA has both appealing strengths and significant concerns.
One of the biggest positives is its focus on individual health and informed decision-making. Libertarians generally believe that people should have the freedom to make their own choices about nutrition, medical care, exercise, and lifestyle. MAHA’s emphasis on educating the public about food ingredients, environmental toxins, and chronic disease aligns with the libertarian belief that individuals should have access to information so they can make decisions without excessive interference from government agencies or corporate interests.
Many libertarians also appreciate MAHA’s skepticism toward the close relationship between government regulators and large industries. Whether discussing pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers, or agricultural interests, libertarians often worry about “regulatory capture,” where government agencies become overly influenced by the industries they are supposed to regulate. Calls for greater transparency, independent research, and accountability resonate strongly with those who value free and fair markets.
The New Jersey Libertarian Party Rejects an Increase to the Federal Minimum Wage
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- Written by: Bruno Pereira
- Category: Press Releases
On April 28th, 11th District Rep. Analilia Mejia introduced the Living Wage for All Act. This piece of legislation, if approved, would increase the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 up to $25.00 hourly in stages over the next 5 years. This would mean that NJ’s hourly minimum would increase more than 9 dollars. As the name suggests, this legislation is designed to offer assistance to struggling Americans who are suffering due to the increased cost of living.
While we can appreciate the intention here as no one wants to see their loved ones suffer from privation, this act, like all acts of today’s Congress, is woefully blind to the economics behind affordability. Large increases to minimum wage, whether implemented immediately or gradually, increases inflation, worsens unemployment, encourages automation, and makes it all the more difficult for small businesses to operate. As the cost of hiring employees grows, companies will downsize their staff and pass additional costs onto the consumer. California lost between 10-18 thousand food service jobs when they raised theirs to $20. Workers might applaud this bill’s passage now, but when their jobs are phased out and the costs of their needed goods and services grow even more unaffordable, they will realize that once again, the government has made their situation worse.
The NJLP Denounces the Genocidal Rhetoric of President Donald Trump
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- Written by: Bruno Pereira
- Category: Press Releases
On April 7th at 8:06 A.M., President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social and wrote, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” This comes just two days after his infamous Easter post, wherein he said that “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell.” While certainly not the first time President Trump has delivered less-than-presidential messaging, this recent turn towards genocidal rhetoric is wrong, dangerous, and wholly unbecoming of the Leader of the Free World.
Dr. G's Freedom Clinic: When Bureaucrats Sit Between You and Your Doctor
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- Written by: Mike Guadagnino
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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Dr. Michael Guadagnino holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the NY Institute of Technology and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from NY Chiropractic College. He served as VP of Public Relations for the New Jersey Libertarian Party from 2017 to 2022. Dr. Guadagnino is the author of the best-selling book Fitness Over 50, 60, 70 and Beyond, available on Amazon and other major platforms. He also shares health and wellness insights on Instagram at @Dr._Guadagnino. Dr. Guadagnino writes on health care topics through the lens of personal freedom and individual liberty. |
The growing divide between patients and their doctors is one of the most overlooked consequences of modern health policy. For generations the relationship between a physician and a patient was simple and direct.
A person sought care, the doctor used their training and experience to recommend a course of action, and the patient made a decision based on trust and personal preference. Today that once straightforward relationship is buried beneath a mountain of regulations, mandates, billing codes, and bureaucratic oversight created by state and federal agencies.
Instead of a conversation between doctor and patient, health care has increasingly become a negotiation with bureaucracies. Government agencies, insurance administrators, and politically influenced health boards now shape what treatments are approved, reimbursed, or even allowed.
Doctors often know what may help their patients, but they must first ask permission from systems that were designed by regulators rather than medical professionals.
Abolish ICE
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
Nothing should arouse the ire of a libertarian more than having federal agents detaining people on the streets without probable cause. ICE agents have been canvassing the streets of New Jersey performing warrantless raids on homes and businesses. The have been sweeping up citizens, documented immigrants, and undocumented immigrants. We are witnessing the transformation of our communities into zones where "show me your papers" is no longer a dystopian trope, but a daily requirement.
Within the past week alone, the tactics used by federal agents have mirrored those of authoritarian regimes.
- In Morristown ICE kidnapped an honor High School student who has never missed an immigration appointment and had an upcoming appointment with immigration authorities.
- Also in Morristown, a father stepped outside to collect a food delivery and was snatched up – leaving his six year old daughter alone.
- In Warren Township, ICE was seen pulling people out of cars and taking them away.
- Unknown masked agents grabbed a woman and others and took them away in Red Bank.
NJLP Intervention Leads Barrington to Remove Constitutionally Defective Language from Parental Responsibility Ordinance
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
In November 2025, and as previously published by the New Jersey Libertarian Party, the Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project intervened in Barrington Borough's consideration of a proposed "parental responsibility" ordinance after identifying serious due-process concerns in the draft law.
As originally written, Ordinance 1219 included language that would have subjected parents to municipal court summonses based largely on the conduct of their children. Specifically, if a juvenile committed a second offense within a defined period, the ordinance authorized proceedings against the parent for an alleged lack of supervision. The ordinance defined "offenses against the public peace, safety and morals" broadly, including conduct such as "being a disorderly person." Upon a second offense, the parent was effectively presumed guilty and required to rebut that presumption.
Statement from the Chair of the New Jersey Libertarian Party on U.S. Intervention in Venezuela
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- Written by: Bruno Pereira
- Category: Press Releases
As Chair of the New Jersey Libertarian Party, I must address the alarming justification now being offered for the United States’ military removal of Venezuela’s head of state.
In recent public remarks, a sitting United States senator declared, “The days of narco terrorist thugs and tinpot third world dictators down south pushing us around are over. We are a superpower. This is our hemisphere. And we are going to start acting like it again. President Trump is taking back control.”
Several important matters to be heard on Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Latest News
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The Assembly Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear several bills on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., in Committee Room 12 on the fourth floor of the State House Annex in Trenton.
One bill on the agenda is A4674, which would amend New Jersey's cyber-harassment statute to elevate what is ordinarily a fourth-degree crime to a third-degree crime whenever the alleged target of the cyber-harassment is a "public servant" or a member of a public servant's family. The bill defines "public servant" broadly and includes not only elected officials and judges, but also appointed officials, public employees, and others performing governmental functions.
The Government Unconstitutionally Labels ICE Observers as Domestic Terrorists
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- Written by: David J. Bier
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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David J. Bier is the Director of Immigration Studies and occupies The Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy. He is an expert on legal immigration, border security, and interior enforcement. |
Originally published on Cato.org, republished under Creative Commons agreement.
On December 4, the Department of Justice (DOJ) disseminated a memorandum to all federal prosecutors creating a strategy for arresting and charging individuals supposedly aligned with “Antifa.” The memo requires DOJ to investigate and identify the “most serious, most readily provable” crimes committed by potential targets, including those with “extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders.”
Specifically, the document defines domestic terrorism broadly to include “doxing” and “impeding” immigration and other law enforcement. Doxing is not specifically defined, but the memo references calls to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to give their names and operate unmasked. Individuals who donate to organizations that “impede” or “dox” will be investigated and deemed to have supported “domestic terrorism.”
Therefore, it is crucial to understand that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) consider people who follow DHS and ICE agents to observe, record, or protest their operations as engaging in “impeding.” DHS has a systematic policy of threatening people who follow ICE or DHS agents to record their activities with detentions, arrests, and violence, and agents have already chased, detained, arrested, charged, struck, and shot at people who follow them.
The purpose of this post is to establish that these incidents are not isolated overreach by individual agents, but rather, an official, nationwide policy of intimidating and threatening people who attempt to observe and record DHS operations. This matters legally because courts are more likely to enjoin an official policy rather than impose some new requirements to stop sporadic, uncoordinated actions by individual agents.
The Right to Follow, Record, Report, and Protest
The New Jersey Libertarian Party Denounces Dirty Politics
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- Written by: William F Sihr
- Category: Press Releases
Recently a branch of the National Archives released a mostly unredacted version of Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s military records to an ally of Sherrill’s duopoly rival Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli. Among these records were Sherrill’s personal files, which mentioned how Sherrill was denied the ability to walk for her Naval Academy graduation because she did not disclose the names of those 100 midshipmen who were implicated in a cheating scandal. Rep. Sherrill was herself never accused of cheating and, by all accounts, served honorably during her time in the service. This is safeguarded information that is protected by the 1974 Privacy Act. Since the leak, these documents are being weaponized against her and her campaign.
We of the New Jersey Libertarian Party denounce dirty politics in all its forms. Regardless of the target or the intention, it is wrong to weaponize personal data. All individuals have a right to privacy, whether we agree with them or not. While it is true that candidates and public officials have an obligation to be transparent with the people they represent, the idea that a person’s private data can be released without any oversight is wrong. Further, we support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ call for an investigation. We hope that the guilty party(s) are found and that Rep. Sherrill is able to seek the justice she deserves.
The Food Pyramid: A Government-Backed Illusion That Failed Americans
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- Written by: Mike Guadagnino
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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Dr. Michael Guadagnino holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the New York Institute of Technology and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College. He served as Vice President of Public Relations for the New Jersey Libertarian Party from 2017 to 2022. Dr. Guadagnino is the author of the best-selling book Fitness Over 50, 60, 70 and Beyond, available on Amazon and other major platforms. He also shares health and wellness insights on Instagram at @Dr._Guadagnino. As a regular guest contributor, Dr. Guadagnino writes on health care topics through the lens of personal freedom and individual liberty. |
For decades, Americans were told to trust the Food Pyramid. Introduced in the early 1990s by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the pyramid was marketed as the gold standard of healthy eating. Its neat design suggested simplicity: a wide base of bread, pasta, and grains; moderate layers of fruits, vegetables, and proteins; and a small tip for fats, oils, and sweets. It looked like an easy-to-follow blueprint for health. But behind that tidy image lay a web of corporate influence, government policy, and agricultural lobbying that prioritized profits over public well-being. What was sold as nutrition guidance was, in many ways, a governmentsponsored marketing campaign for big agriculture.
The roots of the Food Pyramid lie in the powerful lobbying forces that shaped it. The USDA is not just a health agency; it is also responsible for promoting American agriculture. That dual role created an obvious conflict of interest. Grain producers, dairy farmers, and processed food manufacturers had immense sway over the final recommendations. It’s no coincidence that the base of the pyramid—the foods Americans were encouraged to consume most—was filled with carbohydrates from wheat, corn, and rice. These crops represent some of the most heavily subsidized and mass-produced commodities in the United States. By telling Americans to consume six to eleven servings of bread, cereal, rice, or pasta daily, the government wasn’t just promoting “health”; it was ensuring steady demand for the agricultural industry.
This guidance aligned with food industry interests but not necessarily with human biology. A diet so heavily tilted toward refined grains and starches fueled an explosion of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disease. While Americans were eating bagels, cereals, and low-fat crackers thinking they were making heart-healthy choices, their waistlines and blood sugar levels told a different story. The pyramid’s demonization of fats—lumping healthy sources like olive oil, nuts, and avocados with candy and fried food—was another disaster. Later research proved that many natural fats are essential for brain health, hormone balance, and satiety. Yet, for years, Americans avoided them in fear, only to replace them with processed “low-fat” products loaded with sugar and chemicals.
The State’s Civic “Education”
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- Written by: Om Bhaskar
- Category: Selected Blogs
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Om Bhaskar is a junior attending South Brunswick High School. He is a Debate Captain for his school's Debate Club, Secretary for Model UN, the Vice President for the History Club, and an Editor for the school newspaper. |
By Om Bhaskar
The state has messed a lot of things up. From overcharging hardworking New Jerseyans through horrifyingly high taxes to restricting their freedom to defend themselves with firearms, government-run institutions have proven themselves again and again to be either incompetent, dangerous, or both. Public high schools are no different.
In freshman year, I took a Government class in my high school, South Brunswick High School. The institution is highly ranked, being ranked #60 out of 406 high schools in New Jersey by U.S. News.
Now, it is important to note that most civically engaged high school students in my area are either progressive Democrats or socially conservative Republicans (the former is far more common than the latter). You would be hard-pressed to find a future history, political science, or pre-law major that even knows much about the Libertarian Party, let alone other third parties. Now, from my experiences in public school, there could be a reason for why this is. Simply put, schools seem to subtly push students into believing we only have two choices for governance.
Response to Haddonfield's Law Regarding Homelessness
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
September 5, 2025
Hon. Dave Siedell, Mayor and members of the
Haddonfield Board of Commissioners
242 Kings Highway East
Haddonfield, NJ 08033 (via email)
Dear Mayor Siedell and Commissioners:
I write regarding Ordinance 2025-11, scheduled for final adoption on September 29. Having reviewed the ordinance alongside existing Borough Code Chapter 158 and New Jersey case law, I believe the proposal repeats provisions long preempted by state law and, if enacted, would invite both litigation risk and constitutional challenge without meaningfully addressing homelessness.
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