Data explodes popular fallacy. Violent crime and binge drinking are two potential undesirable outcomes of access to alcohol. But is increased access to alcohol for adult drinkers a sufficient precondition for these attendant negative externalities of drinking? A recent look at the impact of changes to laws governing pub hours in England and Wales 10 ... MORE
Police admit five of the officers fired their guns. Police in San Francisco shot and killed a man they say was a suspected
stabber after he approached an officer while holding a knife. Video
posted of the incident to Instagram
shows at least nine officers pointing their guns at the man, who
appears to be trying to walk away as an officer moves in ... MORE
by Conor Friedersdorf. A Chicago cop now faces murder charges—but will anyone hold his colleagues, his superiors, and elected officials accountable for their failures? Thanks to clear video evidence, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged this week with first-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Nevertheless, ... MORE
Halt the tax agency’s partisan scheming. After revelations that the Internal Revenue Service was restricting political speech and targeting conservative and tea party groups, John Koskinen was appointed to head the agency, promising reform and transparency. These promises never came to fruition. Instead of admitting fault, Mr. Koskinen’s IRS ... MORE
by Bob Barr. The flood of refugees from Syria and other Middle East countries that the Obama Administration is preparing to distribute to communities across the nation raises very real and understandable security concerns among government officials at the state and local levels, and among the citizenry generally. It is, of course, facile for ... MORE
See the video from the police cruiser. The family of an unarmed teenager shot dead by a sheriff's deputy during a Michigan traffic stop in February has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging that the officer's "entire course of action was illegal." The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against Eaton County Sheriff's Sgt. Jonathan Frost and the county, ... MORE
by Steven Greenhut. They fear body cameras like Dracula fears holy water. As a reaction to national news reports about police killings, the California legislature had introduced a flurry of bills designed to provide better oversight of law-enforcement officials. In May, this column was optimistic about the focus on this long-neglected matter, and ... MORE
Because ignorance is not bliss. It is time for a comprehensive audit of Janet Yellen ’s Federal Reserve — and not just for the reasons presidential candidate Rand Paul and others have given. The Fed needs to be audited to see if its ruling body has broken the law by manipulating financial markets that are outside its jurisdiction. A thorough ... MORE
Imparting values along with knowledge. Many public primary and secondary schools are dangerous places. The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics show that in 2012, there were about 749,200 violent assaults on students. In the 2011-12 academic ... MORE
by John W. Whitehead. Saddled with a corporate media that marches in lockstep with the government, elected officials who dance to the tune of their corporate benefactors, and a court system that serves to maintain order rather than mete out justice, Americans often feel as if they have no voice and no recourse when it comes to holding government ... MORE
Because the government is not us. Last week, Republicans and Democrats in Congress joined President Barack Obama in congratulating themselves for taming the National Security Agency's voracious appetite for spying. By permitting one section of the Patriot Act to expire and by replacing it with the USA Freedom Act, the federal government ... MORE
A sobering thought. In an age of social liberalism, you can expect to see many things become legal. One thing that hasn't become legal and that almost nobody has considered legalizing is childhood drinking. And the reason nobody has really suggested it is because each and every one of us knows that children are idiots. You never really know what ... MORE
by John W. Whitehead. Police officers are more likely to be struck by lightning than be held financially accountable for their actions.—Law professor Joanna C. Schwartz (paraphrased) If you can be kicked, punched, tasered, shot, intimidated, harassed, stripped, searched, brutalized, terrorized, wrongfully arrested, and even killed by a police ... MORE