Justice Sotomayor Has Kind Words For Jury Nullification

by Jacob Sullum.   Because justice is a result, not just a process. This week Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had some kind words for jury nullification, which empowers jurors to judge the law as well as the facts of a case and may involve disregarding the law when the law is unjust. During a discussion about juries at NYU Law School on   ... MORE

Daniel Payne: Say Hello To Twitter’s Tweet Police

No wonder Twitter stock is tanking.  Twitter yesterday announced it is forming a “Trust and Safety Council,” an effort to “ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.” The council features “safety advocates, academics, and researchers,” “grassroots advocacy organizations” and “community groups,” all of them        ... MORE

VIDEO: Eminent Domain After Kelo

Is The ACLU Going Soft On The First Amendment?

by Damon Root.    That's the troubling question raised by University of Washington law professor Ronald Collins, who notes that the ACLU just began its annual fundraising campaign and released an accompanying "National ACLU Workplan," which, in the organization's own words, "lays out [the ACLU's] plans for the year ahead [and] always addresses  ... MORE

Kade Crockford: This Federal Appeals Court's Ruling Put A Dent In The Police Officers' 'Qualified Immunity' Defense

Cop to be held accountable in killing of unarmed man.    A police officer is not immune from accountability after he points a gun at a non-threatening person, with his finger on the trigger and the safety off, and accidentally fires. So ruled the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last week, in a case that has far-reaching implications for public ... MORE

VIDEO: Legalize Raw Milk - Nullify Federal Prohibition

Andrew Napolitano: What If There Is No Difference?

What are the lovers of liberty to do?    What if all the remaining presidential candidates really want the same things? What if they all offer essentially the same ideas couched in different words? What if these primary races have become beauty pageants largely based on personality and advertising? What if our system of governance is so deep   ... MORE

Tim Cushing: Drug Dogs Don't Even Have To Be Right Half The Time To Be Considered 'Reliable' By The Courts

The pretense of probable cause.   All in all, this motion to suppress evidence worked out for the plaintiff, but it does little to address concerns that drug dogs are basically blank permission slips for inquisitive cops. The defendant -- Emile Martin -- was in a vehicle driven by another person (simply referred to as "Montgomery" in the opinion). This vehicle  ... MORE

Gender-Integration Of Combat Jobs Fuels Legislation, Lawsuits To Impose Draft Registration On Women

by Morgan Chalfant.    The Obama administration’s decision to open up all combat roles to women has led to a heated debate over whether women should have to register for the draft and has sparked both legislation and legal action that could change the Selective Service’s rules. It remains to be seen what the impact of Defense Secretary    ... MORE

City Of Buffalo Is Raking In Big Bucks From Auto Drivers After Wildly Expanding Their Traffic Citation Industry

by Matthew Spina.    Throughout last year, Buffalo police pulled over more drivers and handed more tickets to each. But the flood began in July – after City Hall created its new “traffic violations agency” to grab more money than ever from traffic fines. The traffic agency flung open its doors July 1. From that day through December, police issued 30,000    ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - "Fair Share" Tax Policy

John Stossel: High-Tech Ted

Politicians tailor their messages to different audiences. Facing New Hampshire's primary, Ted Cruz talked more about "free-market principles" and a "commitment to the Constitution" and said "no one personality can right the wrongs done by Washington." Politico ran the headline "Ted Cruz, born-again libertarian." I'm skeptical.      ... MORE 

Australia About To Legalize Growing Marijuana Nationwide

by Steve Mollman.      Australia appears set to legalize the growing of marijuana for medical use nationwide. A bill introduced to parliament Wednesday (Feb. 10) by the Liberal Party would amend the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967. It looks guaranteed to become law, as the main opposition party immediately pledged support for it. Under the proposal a national ... MORE

VIDEO: Teaching White Guilt


See the video that provoked the discussion.

Jacob Sullum: What Rand Paul Brought To The Race

The fate of the only small government candidate.  During the last Republican presidential debate in which he participated, Rand Paul condemned the National Security Agency's mass collection of Americans' telephone records, cautioned against reckless intervention in Syria's civil war, and declared that a "true fiscal conservative" must "look   ... MORE

Hottest Year On Record? Claim Not Backed Up By The Data

from Investors Business Daily.    The narrative says we’re living in dangerous times as man’s carbon dioxide emissions heat Earth. But a scientist testifying before Congress showed that the temperature record telling that story can’t be trusted. When the media reported — gleefully because it allowed them to advance their agenda — that 2015  ... MORE

California Grants Driver's Licenses To 605,000 Illegal Aliens

Pass Go, collect $200.  Some 605,000 undocumented immigrants who live in California were granted driver's licenses in 2015, the first year they have been able to enjoy that benefit, officials said Monday. The law known as AB60 took effect on January 2, 2015. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) expects a total of about 1.4 million people   ... MORE

Robert Gore: How To Defeat Your Government

This outcome does not require a plan.     In a recent article, “How to Defeat Your Enemies,” SLL maintained that governments and their people were natural enemies, and that the most powerful adversarial tactic is “getting one’s enemies to fool themselves.” The article detailed the effective use of this tactic by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. ... MORE

VIDEO: Ted Cruz - Common Sense Health Care

Obama Will Seek $11 Billion For Homeless Families

by Nikita Stewart.   Growing the welfare state. After making progress in reducing homelessness among veterans, the Obama administration is turning to the larger and more complicated challenge of homelessness among families with young children. In his 2017 budget, to be presented on Tuesday, President Obama will propose spending $11 billion over  ... MORE

Walter E Williams: Sloppy Language And Thinking

Words mean things.      George Orwell said, "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought." Gore Vidal elaborated on that insight, saying, "As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate." And John Milton predicted, "When language in common use in any country  ... MORE

VIDEO: Transparent Government

Thomas Sowell: Toxic Words

The assumption of lies.  During this election year, we are destined to hear many words that are toxic in the way they misrepresent reality and substitute fantasies that can win votes. One of these words is "entitlement." To hear some politicians tell it, we are all entitled to all sorts of things, ranging from "affordable housing" to "a living     ... MORE

John Tamny: Why All Americans Should Support TPP

Rich countries open their borders to trade.        Quick question: could you manufacture all by yourself the computer on which you’re reading this opinion piece? Could you source and create the thousands of inputs that go into what on its face is fairly simple? If so, you’re in possession of superhuman mechanical skills. At the same time,    ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: Dangerous Speech - Would The Founders Be Considered Domestic Extremists Today?

The only therapy is the truth.     Not only has free speech become a four-letter word—profane, obscene, uncouth, not to be uttered in so-called public places—but in more and more cases, the government deems free speech to be downright dangerous and in some instances illegal. The U.S. government has become particularly intolerant    ... MORE

Generals Want Women To Register For The Draft

by Ilya Somin.     Instead, Let's Abolish It. Top Army and Marine Corps generals recently stated that they believe that women should be required to register for the draft, now that they are no longer barred from most combat positions in the armed forces:  The top Army and Marine Corps generals told senators Tuesday that it will take up to three years  ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - The Real Chris Christie

Cruz Makes Play for Libertarian Voters. Is Anybody Game?

by David Boaz.       As he moved from evangelical Iowa to fiscally conservative New Hampshire, Sen. Ted Cruz didn't waste a minute in changing his tune. In his Iowa victory speech Cruz gave a shout-out to libertarians, who are thick on the ground in New Hampshire. He declared, "That old Reagan coalition is coming back together, ...     ... MORE

Michael F. Haverluck: Homeschoolers Face 23 Years In Jail For Missing The Filing Deadlines Imposed By The State

Treating citizens like slaves.       Parents from two homeschooling families in Ohio face up to 23 years in jail for missing filing deadlines imposed by the state. Despite the fact that each of the families were relatively new to homeschooling in Ohio — along with hundreds of other families around the country who report having trouble navigating ... MORE

VIDEO: Are Electric Cars Really Green?

Obama May Be Ensnared In The Clinton Email Scandal

by Jonathan F. Keller.  Perhaps President Obama’s involvement is the reason that the FBI has not yet referred charges to the Justice Department in the Hillary Clinton email case.  It may be metastasizing so quickly and so dangerously that not only are agents and lawyers within the agency having trouble keeping up with new evidence of wrongdoing, but that    ... MORE

Richard Ebeling: The Proper Role Of Government In Society

Individual rights must be preserved   - without interference from government. What is the role of government in society? This has been and remains the most fundamental question in all political discussions and debates. Its answer determines the nature of the social order and how people are expected and allowed to interact with one another   ... MORE

Joel Kurtinitis: Ted Cruz’s Quiet Coup In Iowa

The process of discovery.    I came home exhausted on Caucus night, just as I had many other nights in the year leading up to our first-in-the-nation nominating contest. As a veteran of the Ron Paul revolution, I considered myself a hardened political warrior, charging the trenches of the establishment and lobbing internet hand grenades at     ... MORE

UK Wants Authority To Serve Warrants In U.S.

by Kevin Johnson and Gregory Korte.   British and U.S. officials have been negotiating a plan that could allow British authorities to directly serve wiretap orders on U.S. communications companies in criminal and national security inquiries, U.S. officials confirmed Thursday. The talks are aimed at allowing British authorities access to a range of     ... MORE

VIDEO: Clinton Email Scandal - Beginning Of The End

Asset Forfeiture Steals Due Process Rights

A Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial. On a dark desert highway, a sleek, Navy-blue Ford Explorer forces a car to the side of the road. Armed men emerge from the SUV and demand that the occupants of the car open their trunk. Inside, they find $250,000 in cash. The men take the money, leaving the car's passengers on the roadside. They   ... MORE

Steven Greenhut: California's Deep Debt Problems

The bureaucratic pension burden. For those who wonder about the practical importance of transparency, I offer as evidence the latest result of a modest rule change in California from a mind-numbingly named organization—the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, or GASB (pronounced Gaz-bee). The group's stated goal is to promote  ... MORE

VIDEO: Who Are the Racists: Conservatives or Liberals?

Nick Gillespie: Two Cheers (& More!) For Rand Paul!

This was only the beginning.      With Rand Paul's suspension of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination comes an understandable deluge of autopsies, elegies, screw-yous, and snarky subtweets. Yet I come not to bury the "libertarian-ish" Paul but to praise him. In five short years as a senator, he's already elevated a host ... MORE

Coral Davenport: To Help Pimp Alternative Energy Sources, Obama Is Willing To Impose A $10-A-Barrel Fee On Oil

A tax on production, what could go wrong.     President Obama’s budget request to Congress will include a new fee on oil companies, requiring them to pay $10 to the federal government for every barrel of oil they produce, the White House said on Thursday. The money, which could bring in up to $32 billion in new federal revenue annually, would ... MORE