Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. This is especially true when a matter of conscience requires standing up to the crowd. For years, the Boy Scouts of America have been under relentless social pressure to begin admitting openly homosexual scouts and leaders into the organization. Recently, the BSA undertook a confidential two- ... MORE
Ben Wolfgang: Online Poker Fans Ready To Deal
A comeback deal. The Obama administration may have called off the game more than a year ago, but the nation’s poker partisans are still looking for a deal. Card sharks are ramping up pressure on the federal government to remove a cloud of uncertainty hanging over Internet poker, caused by a patchwork of federal laws that has left the game in a ... MORE
Labels:
freedom,
gambling,
government,
individual liberty,
Internet,
Obama,
online,
poker,
restrictions
Jacob Hornberger: Should There Be A Federal Tipping Law?
Voluntarily doing the right thing. Suppose the Franklin Roosevelt administration had enacted a law in the 1930s that required every restaurant customer in America to pay a 15 percent tip to waiters. The argument in favor of such a law would have been twofold: to help the poor and to stimulate the economy by getting more money ... MORE
Tom Price: Regulations Are Choking Small Business Growth
Strangled by red tape. The cost is $1.75 trillion. That’s the price of complying with Washington red tape — and that’s not a misprint. While the federal government has the responsibility to establish reasonable regulations to help protect the American people, federal rule-making is so costly and cumbersome that it actually impedes job creation ... MORE
Sheldon Richman: Gun Control Is Not The Answer
Aurora shooting should not overshadow self-defense facts. The shooting in the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater has incited the usual debate over guns. One side says tighter gun restrictions could have prevented the horrible incident that night. The other responds that more guns in the hands of law-abiding people might have prevented it. While the theater ... MORE
Labels:
concealed carry,
crime,
gun control,
law,
police,
protection,
restrictions,
self-defense,
violence
DOJ: Family Can't Run Their Business As Catholics
Government overrules freedom of religion. William, Paul and James Newland and their sister, Christine Ketterhagen, who together own Hercules Industries, have no right to conduct their family business in a manner that comports with their Catholic faith. The federal government can and will compel them to either surrender their business or ... MORE
Feds Want To Help You -- Whether You Want Help Or Not
Giving aid to people who don't want or need it. There are two powerful reasons for giving government aid to the poor, one good and one bad. It alleviates human suffering, which is good. And it increases dependence on government, which is bad. Or at least it is bad if you believe in virtues such as personal responsibility and self-reliance. ... MORE
Labels:
entitlements,
food stamps,
government,
handouts,
ObamaCare,
poverty,
responsibility,
welfare
John Stossel: America, The Law-Crazed
A sad result for the land of the free. Over the past few decades, America has locked up more and more people. Our prison population has tripled. Now we jail a higher percentage of people than even the most repressive countries: China locks up 121 out of every 100,000 people; Russia 511. In America? 730. "Never in the civilized world have so many ... MORE
T.F. Stern: Private Property In Socialist America
Property rights are evaporating like distilled dew. If Rip Van Winkle woke up in America today he’d wonder what happened to private property rights. Imagine finding out other folks can dictate what you can use your property for; this must be some kind of bad dream, go back to sleep and maybe the next time you open your eyes things will ... MORE
Labels:
bureaucracy,
environment,
EPA,
government,
individual liberty,
industry,
mining,
property rights
Robert M. Levy: Obama's War On Individual Liberty
No personal responsibility = no individual liberty. Roger Simon, chief political columnist for Politico, once called President Obama "the greatest orator of modern times." And a week ago last Friday, speaking to supporters in Roanoke, Va., our president proved his ability to communicate to me beyond even Mr. Simon's expectation. ... MORE
Labels:
business,
individual liberty,
Obama,
philosophy,
responsibility,
risk,
self-interest,
welfare state
VIDEO: Obama Dismisses Individual Achievement
Yaron Brook (Ayn Rand Institute) and Terry Jones (IBD) rebut a clueless president.
Marijuana Prohibition Loses Ground To Modern Federalism
Reclaiming a measure of state sovereignty. As a constitutional republic, the US system of government is designed on the principles of federalism. In our federalist system the federal government is one of enumerated powers and those powers not explicitly granted to the federal government are reserved to the states. The framers of the ... MORE
Labels:
Constitution,
drug war,
federalism,
liberty,
marijuana,
policy,
power,
prohibition,
states' rights
Emily Miller: The Assault On Weapons
Gun grabbers wasted no time exploiting Friday’s shooting in Aurora, Colo., by calling for more restrictive firearm laws. Their liberal agenda is off target because, with U.S. gun ownership at its highest level ever, the public sees crime is way down. This blows a hole in the left’s argument, but it doesn’t stop it. Despite the House being strongly pro-gun and the ... MORE
David Hill: Maryland Gun Permit Law Struck
One step closer to finalizing a landmark victory. A federal judge has ordered Maryland officials to stop enforcing a law barring state residents from receiving concealed-carry handgun permits unless they provide a “good and substantial reason” to carry their weapons in public. U.S. District Court Judge Benson Everett Legg on Monday lifted the stay on ... MORE
Thomas Sowell: Random Thoughts On The Passing Scene
Even squirrels know enough to store nuts, so that they will have something to eat when food gets scarce. But the welfare state has spawned a whole class of people who spend everything they get when times are good, and look to others to provide for their food and other basic needs when times turn bad. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution ... MORE
Jury Nullification: The Elephant In The Room
by Lisa Provence. There's an elephant in every courtroom. Prosecutors and judges won't show it to jurors, and even Virginia defense lawyers seem forbidden from mentioning this fact: If you think a law is unjust, you can acquit. It's called jury nullification, and such Founding Fathers as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson venerated juries as "the last ... MORE
Labels:
Constitution,
court,
history,
individual liberty,
jury nullification,
justice,
law,
marijuana,
rights
Thomas Sowell: News Versus Propaganda
Using deception to shape perception. Since so many in the media cannot resist turning every tragedy into a political talking point, it was perhaps inevitable that (1) someone would try to link the shooting rampage at the Batman movie in Colorado to the Tea Party, and that (2) some would try to make it a reason to impose more gun control laws. Too ... MORE
Labels:
gun control,
journalism,
liberalism,
media bias,
news,
politicians,
reason,
regulation,
statistics
Jeffrey Folks: End The Ethanol Madness
Time to inject a kernel of reality. Economists are warning that the current drought in the Corn Belt is going to result in higher food prices. That increase will hit consumers hard, reducing discretionary spending and further weakening an already fragile economy. With every scorching day that passes, the catastrophe mounts. But, as usual, the president is AWOL. ... MORE
Aaron Goldstein: From Aurora To Chicago
The hollow pieties of gun control politics. In the wake of the horrific movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, last Friday that resulted in the deaths of twelve people, there have been renewed calls for increased gun control in the United States. One such call came from the Baltimore Sun in an editorial titled, "If Colorado shooting can't prompt a ... MORE
Labels:
crime,
government,
gun control,
kill,
murder,
protection,
regulation,
restrictions,
violence
Michael Barone: An Economic Tale Of Two Cities
Central planning vs the wisdom of markets. This is a tale of two cities. No, not Dickens' phlegmatic London and passionate Paris. Nor the two neighborhoods Charles Murray contrasted in his recent bestseller "Coming Apart" -- prosperous but isolated Belmont (actually, Mitt Romney's home for decades) and needy and disorganized ... MORE
Labels:
central planning,
cities,
energy,
green,
jobs,
Obama,
oil,
prosperity,
solar power,
Solyndra
Walter E Williams: Stubborn Ignorance
Racism by the numbers. Academic intelligentsia, their media, government and corporate enthusiasts worship at the altar of diversity. Despite budget squeezes, universities have created diversity positions, such as director of diversity and inclusion, manager of diversity recruitment, associate dean for diversity, vice president of ... MORE
Labels:
discrimination,
disparity,
diversity,
gender,
legislation,
policy,
quotas,
race,
reason,
statistics
Domestic Drones: Security And Privacy Game Changer
The security and privacy issues are monumental. Do you recall when researchers from the University of Texas hijacked a drone via GPS spoofing? Congress does and held a House Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee hearing called Using Unmanned Aerial Systems Within the Homeland: Security Game Changer? Professor Todd Humphreys ... MORE
Ronald Bailey: Citizens Resisting Ridiculous Laws?
Protecting individual liberty from the jury box. In Charlottesville, Va. (where I spend most of my time) a jury just found Philip Cobbs not guilty of marijuana possession. As the superb local weekly The Hook reports: Cobbs, a 54-year-old who takes care of his elderly mother, was arrested last summer after a marijuana eradication helicopter flew ... MORE
Labels:
Bill Of Rights,
court,
jury nullification,
justice,
law,
law enforcement,
medical marijuana,
policy
Shaun Connell: What Is Capitalism, Anyway?
Understand it before you decide to hate it. People complain about capitalism almost anytime something socially undesirable occurs. Kim Kardashian's marriage lasted 15 seconds? That's capitalism, for you. People are eating unhealthy food because it's "cheap"? That's capitalism's fault. The poor are getting poorer while the banks are getting ... MORE
Christopher Elliott: The TSA Has A Little Penis Problem
Not a tyrannical agency? Please watch the video. We could be talking about meaningful things today, like the "not guilty" verdict for TSA protester John Brennan. We could be discussing the latest screening outrage, which involves a passenger's feeding tube. We might even debate why the agency assigned to protect America's transportation ... MORE
Thomas Sowell: Trashing Achievement
Outcome differences are called "class differences." There was a time, within living memory, when the achievements of others were not only admired but were often taken as an inspiration for imitation of the same qualities that had served these achievers well, even if we were not in the same field of endeavor and were not expecting to achieve on ... MORE
Charles C. W. Cooke: Our Odd Focus
It's not about the guns. What happened in Colorado in the early hours of this morning was not a “tragedy” but a willful act of mass murder. Beyond his age, name, and ethnicity, nobody yet knows who the shooter is, or why he chose to do what he did. In my view, this is a blessing, albeit a temporary one; for, as has been the way in ... MORE
Labels:
crime,
government,
gun control,
kill,
law,
legislation,
liberalism,
politics,
restrictions,
shooting
Maegan Vazquez: Political Correctness Run Amok?
The tyranny of free speech codes on campus. If you thought college was a place for young people to speak out, challenges one another's deeply-held beliefs and grow intellectually, chances are you've never been to Indiana University Southeast. The school, located just 10 miles north of Louisville, Ky., is the latest college to see its ... MORE
Labels:
college,
education,
First Amendment,
free speech,
individual liberty,
restrictions,
students
Steven Greenhut: California Goes Bankrupt
One city after another becomes insolvent. First Vallejo, then Stockton, then Mammoth Lakes, and now San Bernardino and soon possibly Compton. As Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach told Bloomberg News, the bankruptcy dominoes are starting to fall. One California city after another—following a decade-long spree of ramping up public- ... MORE
Kyle Becker: The Deception Of Perfection
Aiming toward an all-powerful government. The American republic since its inception has been a shining exemplar of success. The nation ascended from fledgling British colony to the sole superpower in the world. It built an economy that generated unparalleled wealth, liberated millions from oppression by wielding the might of its magnificent ... MORE
Energy-Saving Light Bulbs Can Fry Your Skin
Be careful when handling or standing near bulbs. Energy-saving light bulbs might be good for the environment but they can fry your skin, a new study claims. Researchers at Stony Brook University in New York State examined the impact of the efficient compact fluorescent bulbs - or CFL bulbs - on human skin cells prompted by a similar study ... MORE
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