The Regrettable Decline Of Higher Learning

by Victor Davis Hanson.   Political correctness has taken a toll. What do campus microaggressions, safe spaces, trigger warnings, speech codes, and censorship have to do with higher learning? American universities want it both ways. They expect unquestioned subsidized support from the public, but also to operate in a way impossible for anyone else.  ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Politics After Iowa

Just how strong is "the will to believe." Senator Ted Cruz's upset victory against Donald Trump has robbed "The Donald" of his stock answer to any criticism from rivals— that he is winning and his critics are losers. Now that he has lost, Mr. Trump may finally have to try to come up with some substantive arguments about the complex issues facing    ... MORE

VIDEO: The Grand Jury - A Prosecutor's Best Friend

How the grand jury system can be easily manipulated for political purposes.

Andrew Napolitano: Sources, Methods And Lives

What classified info did Hillary compromise? This has not been a good week for Hillary Clinton. She prevailed over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses by less than four tenths of one percent of all votes cast, after having led him in polls in Iowa at one time by 40 percentage points. In her statement to supporters,       ... MORE

Rick Manning; Donald Trump's Health Care Dance

Do issues still matter to Republican voters, or are they so mad at the failed GOP establishment that they have forgotten what made them mad in the first place? Donald Trump’s past flirtation with a nationalized government run health care system brings this question starkly into play. In his book, “The America We Deserve,” published in 2000,     ... MORE

VIDEO: John Cleese - Political Correctness Killing Comedy

Steve Chapman: Cruz, Rubio Tie God To Governing

Why is faith over reason a plus?       If you attend a Republican presidential event on the campaign trail, you may come to wonder if you made a wrong turn and ended up in church. If you are not a believer—an evangelical Christian believer, that is—you may feel ever so slightly unwelcome. The deity-centric approach is working for Ted Cruz  ... MORE

Youths' Attraction To Sanders Shows Education Failure

by David Deming.  An OU professor's observation. It's disheartening that an avowed socialist is a viable candidate for president of the United States. Socialism is a dead end. For hundreds of years, it has failed everywhere it's been adopted. The enthusiasm of our youth for the candidacy of Bernie Sanders is a symptom of our failure to      ... MORE

The Only Small Government Candidate Leaves The Race

by Anthony L. Fisher.  The era of big government continues. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has suspended his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. In a statement released this morning, Paul wrote: It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to    ... MORE

Police State Update: Ex-Cop California Assemblyman Wants Encrytion Keys For All Cell Phones Available To The Police

by Cyrus Farivar.    A second state lawmaker has now introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of smartphones with unbreakable encryption. Except this time, despite very similar language to a pending New York bill, the stated rationale is to fight human trafficking, rather than terrorism. Specifically, California Assemblymember Jim Cooper’s (D-Elk   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Economic Lessons 2015

John Stossel: Political Arrogance

Candidates advocate for a big fat government.   After the Iowa caucus results, it looks like Hillary Clinton vs. Marco Rubio in November! They lead the betting at ElectionBettingOdds.com. This scares me. Neither candidate shows any interest in limited government. They scoff at anyone who suggests that their grand schemes do more harm than good.  ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: Television, Football & Politics: Gaming Spectacles Designed To Keep The Police State In Power

Freedom is an action word.    When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk;    ... MORE

VIDEO: Does Free Speech Offend You?

Hail To The Censor! Hillary's Long War On Free Speech

by Matt Welch.         On December 6, after delivering an address about Israeli-American relations at the Brookings Institution's Saban Forum, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton was asked how she would deal simultaneously with the bloody dictatorship of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the terrorist menace of ISIS. After spending  ... MORE

Why Jury Nullification? New Jersey Man Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Growing 17 Marijuana Plants

by MaryAnn Spoto.    Because justice is a result, not simply a process. A Mays Landing man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for growing 17 marijuana plants in the Pinelands. When Jon Peditto was arrested in 2012, he admitted the pot plants were his and told investigators he grew them primarily for his own use but had also ... MORE

The Decline Of America's Economic Freedom Under Obama

by Anthony B. Kim.  Millions of people around the world are emerging from poverty thanks to rising economic freedom. But by sharp contrast, America’s economic freedom has been on a declining path over the past decade. According to the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom, an annual publication by The Heritage Foundation, America’s economic    ... MORE

Pete Kasperowicz: National Debt Hits $19 Trillion

Only Rand Paul would halt the spending.  The national debt hit $19 trillion for the first time ever on Friday, and came in at $19.012 trillion. It took a little more than 13 months for the debt to climb by $1 trillion. The national debt hit $18 trillion on Dec. 15, 2014. That's a slightly stepped-up pace compared to the last few $1 trillion mileposts.  ... MORE

VIDEO: Donald Trump - Government-Run Health Insurance

Obama Lied, And The Debt Ceiling Died

an Investor's Business Daily editorial. Transparency: What do you call it when an administration blatantly lies to the public to get its way in a debt ceiling fight, then covers it up for two years? For the Obama White House, it’s called “par for the course.” “There is no way to make our federal payment system work well to pick and choose what     ... MORE

Jenny Hopkinson: A Win For Cruz, A Loss For Ethanol

Only Ted and Rand stood up to the special interests.    Corn country just picked a candidate who wants to put an end to one of its favorite government programs. Sen. Ted Cruz’s victory in the Iowa Republican caucus, besting Donald Trump by 3.3 percent, is the first time a candidate opposed strongly by the state’s ethanol industry   ... MORE

VIDEO: Milton Friedman & Phil Donahue Debate Regulation

Thomas Sowell: Random Thoughts On The Passing Scene

Musings of a wise man.    Will this November's presidential election come down to a choice between a felon and a pied piper? People who call Barack Obama a lame duck president seem not to have noticed that he is exercising more power than ever, and has turned the Republican Congress into a lame duck branch of government. The best New Year's    ... MORE

Walter E Williams: Isn't It Strange

More inconvenient truths.   There is a letter titled "Isn't It Strange?" making the rounds in email boxes. It asks questions to which our fellow Americans should know the answers, save for those caught up in modernity. It starts off asking, "Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment,  ... MORE

Michael J. Hurd: The Psychological Cost Of Socialism

Ruining lives of the poor.    Bernie Sanders is an outwardly socialist candidate running for president who might actually get somewhere. In some polls, he’s neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton for his party’s nomination. No, he will probably not get the nomination in the end. But he could, and he’s having an impact on his party. Thanks in part to  ... MORE

Here’s How To Fix Flint’s Water System: Privatize It

by Adrian Moore.     Social media sites are awash in pictures of Flint’s awful water. Local children exposed to lead will likely face long term health consequences—and it appears that kids suffer from high lead levels in many Michigan cities. Amidst revelations that the state of Michigan made sure its Flint employees had clean water long before taking ... MORE

 

VIDEO: John Stossel - Racial Tensions 2015

John Cleese: Political Correctness Is Killing Comedy

Oversensitivity will be the death of free expression.    Monty Python member John Cleese has become the latest comedy legend to wade into the shark-infested waters that is the debate over political correctness in comedy. In a video for commentary website Big Think, Cleese warns that oversensitivity from political correctness is hurting comedy and   ... MORE

Texas Police Turning Into Mobile Debt Collectors

by John Cassidy.     Reduced to tax collectors with badges. Two new technologies and one failed state program could make highway travel perilous for Texans traveling between San Antonio, Austin and Houston. Law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over I-10 east of San Antonio and I-35 between San Antonio and Austin have signed contracts   ... MORE

VIDEO: Ayn Rand's Philosophy For Living On Earth

Happy Birthday Ayn Rand!

Why Libertarians (Still) Plot To Take Over New Hampshire

by Madison Pauly.     On February 18, hundreds of libertarians will flock to the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire, for the ninth annual Liberty Forum, a four-day conference featuring presentations on topics such as religious freedom, school choice, and "Anarchy: Dressing for Success." A big draw will be Edward Snowden's keynote speech,  ... MORE

Prostitution Decriminalization Debated In New Hampshire

by Elizabeth Nolan Brown.    New Hampshire legislators last week debated the merits of decriminalizing prostitution, in response to a bipartisan bill filed by state Reps. Amanda Bouldin (D-Hillsborough), Carole McGuire (R-Merrimack), and Elizabeth Edwards (D-Hillsborough). On Thursday, January 28, the New Hampshire Criminal Justice and   ... MORE

What Are My Rights If The Police Want To Search My Car?

Just say no.   Police are only allowed to search your vehicle under very limited circumstances.   However, too many consent to incriminating searches because they do not know they can refuse or they feel intimidated. This information about police and vehicle searches can help you if you face one of these encounters.  It cannot be          ... MORE

How To Anonymize Everything You Do Online

by Andy Greenberg.    One year after the first revelations of Edward Snowden, cryptography has shifted from an obscure branch of computer science to an almost mainstream notion: It’s possible, user privacy groups and a growing industry of crypto-focused companies tell us, to encrypt everything from emails to IMs to a gif of a motorcycle jumping   ... MORE

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell: Advice To Voters

Why Grand Juries Are A Prosecutor's Best Friend

by Sara J. Berman.   Choosing evidence to control the outcome. Unlike a preliminary hearing, held in court with the defense side present, the grand jury does not make its decision in the context of an adversary proceeding. Rather, grand jurors see and hear only what prosecutors put before them. (Prosecutors technically have an obligation to     ... MORE

Political Correctness Nightmare: An NAACP Leader Uses F-Word To Apologize For Using T-Word After N-Word Meet

by Olaf Ekberg.      The NAACP’s mission of political correctness and equality careened off the rails this week when a local president complimented a TV reporters breasts during an interview. Don Harris, the president of the Maricopa County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, had just finished an event  ... MORE

VIDEO: Why NSA Spying Is Unconstitutional

Thomas Sowell: Grow Up

A narcissist with followers. Of all the many things said about Donald Trump, what was said by Roger Ailes, head of the Fox News Channel, said it all in just two words: "Grow up!" It is amazing how many people have been oblivious to this middle-aged man's spoiled brat behavior, his childish boastfulness about things he says he is going to do, and his     ... MORE

Sheri Fink: Healthcare Rationing Begins - Drug Shortages

The new incentives.   In the operating room at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Brian Fitzsimons has long relied on a decades-old drug to prevent hemorrhages in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. The drug, aminocaproic acid, is widely used, cheap and safe. “It never hurt,” he said. “It only helps.” Then manufacturing issues caused a     ... MORE