We all know the metaphor for dangerous incrementalism: put a frog in a pot, slowly raise the temperature, and the frog will boil to death. For generations, liberalism has cleverly coordinated the country's slow, incremental push leftward: exploiting sympathies for the poor and sick to expand all things government and hammering the benefits of social justice, diversity, and multiculturalism ... MOREJeff Clancy: Obama And The Frog Pot Boil
We all know the metaphor for dangerous incrementalism: put a frog in a pot, slowly raise the temperature, and the frog will boil to death. For generations, liberalism has cleverly coordinated the country's slow, incremental push leftward: exploiting sympathies for the poor and sick to expand all things government and hammering the benefits of social justice, diversity, and multiculturalism ... MOREVIDEO: Cellphone Alert System Announced in NYC
Alert system gives government new powers to track citizens.
Thomas Sowell: Seductive Beliefs Part I and II
One of the painfully revealing episodes in Barack Obama's book "Dreams From My Father" describes his early experience listening to a sermon by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Among the things said in that sermon was that "white folks' greed runs a world in need." Obama was literally moved to ... MORECops Kill Marine Hero In Botched Pot Raid
by Radley Balko. On May 5 at around 9:30 a.m., several teams of Pima County, Ariz., police officers from at least four different police agencies armed with SWAT gear and an armored personnel carrier raided at least four homes as part of what at the time was described as an investigation into alleged marijuana trafficking. One of those homes belonged to 26-year-old Jose Guerena ... MOREEconomic Stagnation Explained, At 30,000 Feet
by Stephen L. Carter. The man in the aisle seat is trying to tell me why he refuses to hire anybody. His business is successful, he says, as the 737 cruises smoothly eastward. Demand for his product is up. But he still won’t hire. “Why not?” “Because I don’t know how much it will cost,” he explains. “How can I hire new workers today, when I don’t know how much they ... MOREJohn Stossel: Battle Of The Budgets
Since America is on the road to bankruptcy, we've got to make some changes. What would you do? The Peter G. Peterson Foundation gave $200,000 to six think tanks to write budget proposals. The money went to the conservative American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation; the "liberal" Center for American Progress, Economic Policy Institute, and Roosevelt ... MOREVIDEO: Toxic Classroom - Labor Studies
A small sample of the taxpayer-funded poison dispensed at American universities.
John Bennett: Open Mind Or Empty Head?
There is a difference between an open mind and an empty head. But not everyone agrees. At Harambee elementary in Maplewood Minnesota, kindergarteners are starting their indoctrination early. The Star Tribune reports at that this school, "A 'community cultures specialist' tours classes to make sure students are working across racial lines and learning about multiple ... MOREGeneral Motors Will Never Repay Taxpayers
by Shikha Dalmia. The Obama administration, and its media backers, have seized upon news that General Motors made a $3.2 billion profit in the first quarter of 2011 as proof positive that its auto bailout is a success. President Obama is so buoyed that he is reportedly planning to make the bailout a major part of his reelection campaign. But by this standard, Charlie Sheen ... MOREWalter E Williams: Common Sense Versus Nonsense
William J. McGee, the consumer advocate on the Department of Transportation's Future of Aviation Advisory Committee wrote "Forcing the F.A.A. to Fly Blind" in The New York Times (April 9, 2011), where he laments Congress' cut in the FAA budget, saying, "A $4 billion cut will necessarily reduce the work force further. And it's hard to imagine this will not diminish safety." ... MOREFederal Sting Catches Amish Selling Raw Milk
The nanny state milks freedom once again. On the heels of the spectacular attack on Bin Laden's Pakistan compound, Feds closer to home sprung the trap on another major threat to our personal safety – Amish farmers selling raw milk to their neighbors. In a year-long sting operation that culminated in a pre-dawn raid last week, the FDA captured an Amish farmer in ... MOREWaiting Times Grow For English Medical Patients
Patients waiting more than 18 months rose 26% in past year. Doctors are blaming financial pressures on the NHS for an increase in the number of patients who are not being treated within the 18 weeks that the government recommends. New NHS performance data reveal that the number of people in England who are being forced to wait more than 18 weeks has risen by ... MOREIs Medical Privacy About To Be Electrocuted?
Individuals could wind up with public warts. The nation’s push to computerize medical records has failed to fully address longstanding security gaps that expose patients’ most sensitive information to hackers and snoops, government investigators warn. Two reports released Tuesday by the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department find ... MOREThe DC Poll: What A Difference A Debate Makes
by Alexis Levinson. What a difference a debate makes. Businessman Herman Cain is the big winner in the latest Daily Caller/ConservativeHome presidential primary tracking poll, surging forward to become a top contender, despite generally being considered an underdog. This month’s tracking poll asked only three questions: “Who would be your top pick for ... MOREHow To Apply For An Obamacare Waiver
by John Ransom. After several attempts to foist me off on voicemail, I FINALLY got someone from "Democratic Leader" Nancy Pelosi's office explain to me how people apply for waivers from provisions of Obamacare. Turns out ordinary citizens can't, but I'll show you below how you can anyway. Apparently, only companies who donate poltically can ... MOREVIDEO: John Stossel - Undercover Ethics
Investigative reporter James O'Keefe joins John to discuss conflicts between truth-seeking and privacy.
President Obama's War On Fun
by Gene Healy. It's a high-pressure job, the presidency. Think about how badly the bin Laden raid could have gone. The worst case scenario—Navy SEALs trapped in a firefight with Pakistani forces—could have made Black Hawk Down look like a cakewalk. Yet the night after he gave the "go" order, President Obama hit the White House Correspondents' Dinner and had to grin his way ... MOREThomas Sowell: Slaves To Words
We could definitely use another Abraham Lincoln to emancipate us all from being slaves to words. In the midst of a historic financial crisis of unprecedented government spending, and a national debt that outstrips even the debt accumulated by the reckless government spending of previous administration, we are still enthralled by words and ignoring realities. ... MOREWalter E Williams: Understanding Liberals
The liberal vision of government is easily understood and makes perfect sense if one acknowledges their misunderstanding and implied assumptions about the sources of income. Their vision helps explain the language they use and policies they support, such as income redistribution and calls for the rich to give something back. Suppose the true source of income was a gigantic pile of money ... MOREIndiana: Citizens May Not Resist Unlawful Entry By Police
No, you read it right. That’s what the Indiana Supreme Court decided in what would be a laughable finding if it wasn’t so serious: Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes. The author of the story reporting this is right – somehow ... MOREVIDEO: Andrew Napolitano - Unable To Deliver
The U.S. Postal Service has become the poster boy for government inefficiency in general.
Steve Chapman: A Labor Strike Against Economic Reality
The government's pro-union campaign against Boeing. In 1977, Boeing was the target of a strike by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents its workers in Puget Sound, Wash. and Portland, Ore. The aircraft manufacturer had another strike in 1989. In 1995, workers went out for 69 days. In 2005, they struck again. ... MOREIt's Time To Kill The 'Robin Hood' Myth
If you were to judge by the rhetoric, you might think that Paul Ryan’s plan for reducing the federal deficit slashed the government’s budget by 90%, and funded the killing of kittens to boot. E.J. Dionne, for instance, calls it “radical,” “irresponsible,” and “extreme,” and asks, is this “the end of progressive government?” The truth is that Ryan actually proposes increasing ... MOREGovernment Cameras To Monitor School Lunches
Smile, schoolchildren. You're on calorie camera. Health officials trying to reduce obesity and improve eating habits at five San Antonio elementary schools unveiled a $2 million research project Wednesday that will photograph students' lunch trays before they sit down to eat and later take a snapshot of the leftovers. A computer program then analyzes the ... MOREObama Breaks Promise To Respect Medical Marijuana Laws
by Jacob Sulllum. Two weeks ago, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire vetoed a bill that would have clarified the rules for supplying medical marijuana in her state. She cited an April 14 letter in which Jenny Durkan and Michael Ormsby, the U.S. attorneys for Washington, threatened to prosecute not only growers and providers but also "others who ... MOREWalter E Williams: Minimum Wage's Discriminatory Effects
As if more proof were needed about the minimum wage's devastating effects, yet another study has reached the same conclusion. Last week, two labor economists, Professors William Even (Miami University of Ohio) and David Macpherson (Trinity University), released a study for the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policies Institute titled "Unequal Harm: Racial Disparities in the ... MOREThomas Sowell: The 'Education' Mantra
One of the sad and dangerous signs of our times is how many people are enthralled by words, without bothering to look at the realities behind those words. One of those words that many people seldom look behind is "education." But education can cover anything from courses on nuclear physics to courses on baton twirling. Unfortunately, an increasing proportion of American ... MOREBattles Over Endangered Species Are All Too Human
by Katerine Magnu-Ward. Wolves are notoriously slow to hire lobbyists. Lichen doubly so. It's no surprise, then, that the Endangered Species Act is a law written by humans and used for human ends. Ever since the act's 1973 debut, supporters and opponents have accused each other of playing politics with the fates of nearly extinct plants and animals. To be fair, both sides are usually ... MOREThe Unjust Power To Override The Law
by John Hayward. The Obama Administration has been held in contempt by a New Orleans judge, for extending its offshore drilling moratorium in defiance of a court order. The Administration has also declared its intention to continue implementing ObamaCare, in defiance of a federal court judgment that the inseparable “individual mandate” is unconstitutional. These ... MOREDemocrats Launch New Assault On Small Business
by Lurita Doan. It's déjà vu all over again. Democrats in congress have re-introduced a small business –jobs bill that has no hope of helping small business. Pandering to labor union interests, filled with Democrats’ flawed understanding of what creates private sector jobs, and crammed full of recycled regulations from the failed Waxman-Markey Energy bill, H.R. 870 is ... MOREDetroit, The End Game of Liberalism
by Phil Boehmke. What do you get when a mighty industrial city is subject to six decades of one party rule and unchecked union greed? Answer: Detroit. On Election Day 2008, the voters of Detroit turned out in droves to vote for Barack Obama. Special assistance was provided for those who were unable to comprehend the electoral process or read the ballot. ... MOREVIDEO: Milton Friedman - Public Housing
Professor Friedman discusses another road paved with good intentions.
John Stossel: Gas Prices And The Market
The speculators are ripping us off! "The skyrocketing price of gas and oil has nothing to do with the fundamentals of supply and demand, and has everything to do with Wall Street firms that are artificially jacking up the price of oil in the energy futures markets. ... (T)he same Wall Street speculators that caused the worst financial crisis since the 1930s through their greed, recklessness ... MORERobert Bryce: California Dreamin'
California leads the nation in a number of ignominious categories. Its budget deficit of $26 billion is nearly twice as large as that of the next state (Texas). It ranks second in unemployment at 12 percent, behind only Nevada. Unemployment is so pervasive that six of the 14 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with the highest rates of unemployment are in California. Given those ... MORELet The Sun Shine In On Public Pensions, Benefits
As debates heat up in states across the country over budget shortfalls, more and more focus is being placed upon the runaway growth in health and pension benefits for state and local government workers. These excessive benefits are a major factor behind the exploding costs of government in many states. It is time to bring these costs under control before they completely ... MOREDavid Harsanyi: Our Imaginary Debt Ceiling
Political posturing trumps economic sense. It is reprehensible how politicians waste our time with whimsical notions about "debt ceilings" and "budgets." A federal debt limit is much like other government guidelines—e.g., "speed limits" and "filing taxes"—that exist only theoretically. In the past decade, Congress has raised the debt limit -- instituted in 1917 to restrain ... MOREThomas Sowell: Fed Up With The Fed?
When people in Washington start creating fancy new phrases, instead of using plain English, you know they are doing something they don't want us to understand. It was an act of war when we started bombing Libya. But the administration chose to call it "kinetic military action." When the Federal Reserve System started creating hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air, they called it ... MOREWalter E Williams: Let's Blame Speculators
Here's a non-rocket science question: If you expect a reduced harvest of wheat, corn, rice or any other commodity some time in the future, what would be the wise thing to do about your consumption today? I bet that the average person would answer: Consume less now so that more will be available in the future. But how in the world can people be encouraged to consume less now? ... MOREVIDEO: Fight of the Century: Keynes vs Hayek Round 2
Brilliant new economics hip-hop music video by John Papola and Russ Roberts at http://EconStories.tv.
Steve Chapman: Why Birtherism Is Here To Stay
On Oct. 22, 1844, thousands of followers of American evangelist William Miller woke up expecting Jesus Christ to make his triumphant return that day, as they had been told. That night, they went to bed, surprised and disappointed. But Miller's movement endured. It was too much to expect that birthers, presented with President Barack Obama's birth certificate, would say: ... MOREBarack Obama, The Cereal Killer
Administration seeks to protect citizens from their liberty. Food companies are being asked to cut down massively on advertising fatty snacks to children and teenagers. In an attempt to control America's growing childhood obesity epidemic, the long-awaited guidelines, released today by the Obama administration, put pressure on suppliers to rethink how they ... MOREDon't Let The Debt Get In The Way Of The Party
by Mark Steyn. The other day Paul O'Neill said that ... Oh, wait. I suppose I ought to explain who Paul O'Neill is. A decade ago, he was George W. Bush's first Treasury secretary. I have no very clear memory of him except that he toured Africa with Bono and they were photographed in matching tribal dress looking like Col. Gadhafi's Mini-Me twins at a Tripoli sleepover. Other than the dress-up fun, ... MORE
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