So much for American values. Diplomats abroad represent the government of the United States. They must, therefore, speak with tact, but also with honesty. After all, most of the people they’re speaking to have no firsthand experience with the U.S. Our diplomats are teaching foreigners about America. In fact, the “primary purpose of United States ... MORE
Steve Chapman: Obama's Auto Fairy Tale
Taking credit for every car sold since 2009. I'm a little hazy on the particulars, but as I understand things from the Democratic convention, a team of Navy SEALs landed in Detroit to save General Motors, and then autoworkers ran over Osama bin Laden repeatedly with a Chevy Volt. Or something like that. What was clear, regardless, is that the same ... MORE
Andrew Napolitano: What If November Changes Nothing?
What if the system is fixed? What if the principal parties’ candidates for president really agree more than they disagree? What if they both support the authority of the federal government to spy on Americans without search warrants? What if they both support confining foreigners, uncharged and untried, in Guantanamo Bay? ... MORE
Robert Rector: How Poor Is 'Poor'?
What's it mean to say 46 million people live in poverty? Yesterday morning, the U.S. Bureau of the Census released its annual report on income and poverty, saying that some 46.2 million Americans –15 percent of the population — were poor in 2011. The poverty rate did not fall from the prior year but remained at a near record high, the agency said. ... MORE
8 Reasons To End Prohibition Of All Drugs Immediately
by J. G. Vibes. The drug war is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the mainstream political dialogue, even among people who are sympathetic to the plight of responsible drug users. It is rare for someone to come out and say that all drugs should be legal, but in all honesty this is the only logically consistent stance on the issue. To say that ... MORE
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addiction,
children,
crime,
drug war,
government,
individual liberty,
legalize,
prison,
safety
Randall Hoven: What's Strangling Job-Creation?
The mountain of government obstacles. Recessions were never fun, but we used to bounce back from them fairly quickly. The phrase "bounce back" actually applied. They were more like injuries in our youth: we could "walk them off." Healing was natural, speedy, and expected. But now it seems like every minor injury sends us to the hospital; ... MORE
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economics,
federal,
history,
jobs,
law,
minimum wage,
private sector,
recession,
unemployment
What The Federal Government Can Learn From The iPhone
by Robert Herritt. During the 2008 election, the Obama campaign touted a vision for a more user-friendly federal bureaucracy they called “iPod government.” It was one of the many pieces of rhetoric that was unceremoniously discarded once the votes were counted. But whether they knew it or not, they were onto something. And with today’s ... MORE
John Stossel: The Clinton Myths
Here's to arrogance and delusion. Bill Clinton got rave reviews for his speech at the Democratic National Convention. My wife said: "Clinton was great. He made Republicans look like liars and losers." Clinton, now a sainted elder statesman, also gets credit for the booming economy of the '90s. Today, he appears in an Obama commercial — in full "I feel ... MORE
Jacob Sullum: The Democrats' Fake Freedoms
Unable to distinguish between rights and subsidies. Sandra Fluke’s claim to fame, aside from provoking Rush Limbaugh's misogynistic ire, is that she chose to attend Georgetown Law School, knowing full well that the Catholic university's student health plan did not cover birth control, and then demanded that the policy be changed ... MORE
Jake Horowitz: FBI Displays Police State Behavior
Ron Paul warned us this would happen. Ron Paul has long warned Americans of the dangers of a federal government-supported police state, and now, it seems his worst fears are coming to life. A 16-year-old Ron Paul supporter has been questioned by the FBI after he created a YouTube video for a school project which highlights how America is slipping into ... MORE
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bureaucracy,
FBI,
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libertarian,
NDAA,
police state,
Ron Paul,
tyranny
VIDEO: Should Government Track Your Political Activity?
Technology takes 1974 legislation to a new level.
Robert Zubrin: Dethrone The EPA
Prosperity through liberty or depression by strangulation. The current presidential campaign hinges on jobs and the economy. Yet most of the debate has centered on peripheral issues such as the Bush tax cut, when there is a Tyrannosaurus in the room that is being virtually ignored. That monster is the EPA. The EPA is today the primary enemy of ... MORE
Elisabeth Meinecke: Domestic Drones And Spying
Should you be worried? There are two types of people that have anything to fear from domestic drones: those who have done something wrong … and those who haven’t. In the next 10 years, there will be a projected 15,000 drones, also known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems, in the U.S. This projection is cited by the Joint Planning and ... MORE
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drones,
government,
Obama,
police state,
privacy,
snooping,
spying,
surveillance,
technology
Ed Morrissey: Ending Privacy As We Know It
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s Nano-Drone! A new report from the Congressional Research Service warns that privacy may become a thing of the past in the approach Drone Age, and it may not just be the government taking a look down from the sky. The technology that allows us to fight a war with less risk also creates ... MORE
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drones,
EPA,
government,
law enforcement,
privacy,
snooping,
spying,
surveillance,
technology
Thomas Sowell: Depending On Dependency
Shameless, but effective. The theme that most seemed to rouse the enthusiasm of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte was that we are all responsible for one another — and that Republicans don't want to help the poor, the sick and the helpless. All of us should be on guard against beliefs that flatter ourselves. At the ... MORE
Richard Adhikari: Who's Watching The FBI Watchers?
New technology offers new opportunity for abuse. The FBI soon will begin offering client software for its nationwide facial recognition database at no charge to law enforcement agencies in the United States. This is the fourth element in its seven-increment Next Generation Identification Program. The facial recognition system was deployed ... MORE
Gerri Willis: Obama's Crony Capitalism
One of the few growth industries. A new report out today from the solar industry touts a surge in the use of solar panels. The report states U.S. solar installations more than doubled in the second quarter of this year up 116%. In total, the U.S. now has 5,700 megawatts of solar capacity, enough to power more than 940,000 households. It all sounds great, but that's ... MORE
VIDEO: California Taxpayers Soaked By Lifeguards
Exposed: California lifeguards paid $200,000 and retire at age 50.
Maggie Clark: A Marijuana Revolt?
It could begin in Washington, Oregon or Colorado. From his porch overlooking Seattle’s Lake Union and Interstate 5, former U.S. attorney John McKay can see tractor trailers speeding down the highway. McKay has strong suspicions about the cargo some of them are carrying. “I know that there are trucks going down that freeway filled with ... MORE
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drug war,
government,
individual liberty,
law,
legalize,
marijuana,
Obama,
poll,
tax,
voting
90% Of Frequent Business Travelers Give TSA Low Marks
Customer service a low priority of government. Business travel blog Frequent Business Traveler has released the results of a poll conducted in partnership with FlyerTalk on the state of the United States Transportation Security Administration. The TSA, the governmental agency tasked with keeping American borders safe from terrorist threats ... MORE
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bureaucracy,
customer,
government,
regulation,
safety,
search and seizure,
security,
snooping
Walter E Williams: Who May Tax And Spend?
A little basic knowledge is vital for the citizen. Within the past decade, I've written columns titled "Deception 101," "Stubborn Ignorance" and "Exploiting Public Ignorance," all explaining which branch of the federal government has taxing and spending authority. So here it is again: The first clause of Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution, generally ... MORE
John Ransom: Another Obama Billion Dollar Green Loser
Chevy Volt jolts taxpayers in a big way. This is getting redundant. If you want investment losses for tax purposes, Barack Obama is your guy. Now, if the country could only figure out how to write off the five trillion dollars we’ve lost during his presidency. As the man said: A billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon were talking about Barack ... MORE
Amy Payne: 25,000 Chicago Teachers Walk Off The Job
Why support for school choice is at all-time high. This morning, about 350,000 students in Chicago Public Schools will be without teachers. While the 25,000-plus unionized teachers take to the picket lines in a strike over benefits and teacher evaluations, working parents are scrambling to figure out what to do. “We know a strike is really going to be ... MORE
Thomas Sowell: The Brass Standard
Politics takes a lot of brass. And Bill Clinton is a master politician. His rousing speech at the Democrats' convention told the delegates that Republicans "want to go back to the same old policies that got us into trouble in the first place." That is world class brass. Bill Clinton's own administration, more than any other, promoted an unsustainable ... MORE
James Valvo: Disinherit The Wind
It's time to end the wind-energy tax preference. The federal wind production tax credit (PTC) is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, offering the country a real chance to end the failed 20-year experiment of propping up a favored industry. Not surprisingly, proponents of the special tax break are working mightily to have it renewed. ... MORE
Paul Ryan: U.S. Shouldn't Interfere With Medical Pot Laws
by Kristen Wyatt and Nicholas Riccardi. Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan told a Colorado television station that he thinks the federal government shouldn't interfere with states that have legalized medical marijuana. Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, told KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs that he personally doesn't approve of medical ... MORE
Brook And Watkins: The Virtue Of Employee Layoffs
Hamstringing the ability to make profits. A CEO stands in front of his crumbling, century-old factory and speaks to his employees. “I promise that no matter what, I will never renovate this place. No matter how many worn-out items break, no matter how much our out-of-date machinery slows us down, no matter how many people tease us for clinging to ... MORE
Proposed Minimum Wage Could Cost Up To 768,000 Jobs
Democrat plan spells more unemployment. The Democratic Party’s 2012 platform calls for raising the minimum wage and pegging it to inflation — and a wage bill already introduced by congressional Democrats could cost at least 256,000 jobs, according to a new report. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut have proposed raising the ... MORE
Mark Steyn: A Nation Of Sandra Flukes
The tragedy for America is that she's all too typical. According to Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke, invited to address the Democratic convention and the nation, America faces a stark choice this November. “During this campaign, we’ve heard about two profoundly different futures that could await women in this country — and how one of those ... MORE
Christopher Danzig: The TSA Needs To Inspect Your Coffee
Kicking the tyranny can down the road. At this point, stuff like this doesn’t even make me mad. I’m just impressed. In a few years, I swear Ashton Kutcher will come out and that he’s been secretly working with the Transportation Security Administration on a new airport-themed reboot of Punk’d. They dump grandpa’s ashes all over the floor. They accuse ... MORE
Geithner's View From The Top Of The Bubble
by Alex J. Pollock. What a careful, informed, balanced, and intelligent discussion of risk management tells us about the high price of extreme risk. On February 28, 2006, Timothy Geithner— then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now secretary of the Treasury—addressed the topic of risk management in the U.S. financial system, in a speech ... MORE
Baylen Linnekin: Is Organic Food A Waste Of Money?
New study challenges conventional wisdom. Everyone knows by now that organic foods are aren’t objectively superior to their conventional counterparts. Right? Exactly. Many of us have been told for years that organic food was healthier (for people, streams, bees, cows, Gaia, etc.) than conventional alternatives. But others have disagreed. ... MORE
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