July 1, 2019

Political winds have shifted in favor of marijuana legalization

fromTheHill: At the federal level, members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time overwhelmingly voted in favor of legislation halting federal interference in state-specific marijuana laws.

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Homelessness and the problem of public space

fromMises: The debate is between leftwing activists and nearly everyone else: namely, that public spaces ought to be opened up for use by anyone wishing to live on it.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Drug warriors peddle fears about cocaine -- again

fromReason: Cocaine offers better value than the market in prohibitionist fears.

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

⭐️ VIDEO: In Their Own Words - The Democratic Party's Vision for America

fromConsortiumNews: From the Democratic Party Presidential Candidates Debate (June 26-27, 2019), candidates put forward their vision to transform America into a socialist utopia.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption           Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Kamala Harris is a cop who wants to be president

fromReason: The California senator and former prosecutor has a long record of pushing illiberal policies. 

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            Police State America

CIA seeking more impunity

fromConsortiumNews: The agency is trying to get a pass on crimes even before they’re committed and it represents a threat to press freedom.

The Government is Not Us

Nov 13, 2018

The real winner of the 2018 midterms: individual liberty

fromTheHill: The most important takeaway is that we will have a divided federal government, with the executive branch and Senate controlled by the Republicans and the House controlled by the Democrats.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Civil forfeiture is worse than its proponents proclaim

fromSaltLakeTribune: For the uninitiated, this is a law that allows the government to legally take possession of your property without even having to charge you with commission of a crime, let alone secure a conviction.
Police State America

Pot proponents claim victory, set sights on national legalization

fromNBCNews: "Marijuana has now been legalized for adult use in one out of every five states, so I think it's safe to say federal laws are in need of an update," he said.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - Racism as a Political Tactic

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: From Tucker Carlson Tonight, a look at how racism has been reduced to virtually a meaningless political tactic. Christopher Harris.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery     Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Gov’t denies homeless people food by raiding charity, pouring bleach on food to destroy it

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Earlier this month, the kind folks over at Free Hot Soup Kansas City hosted a picnic at their local park and invited hundreds of homeless people to partake in the food. 
Regulation Nation     The Government is Not Us

DEA and ICE 'are hiding secret cameras inside streetlights and traffic barrels across the country'

fromDailyMail: The US Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies have hidden a number of covert surveillance cameras inside street lights, according to federal contracting documents.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

March 19, 2018

National debt hits $21 trillion

fromWashingtonExaminer: This barely includes the effects of the recent fiscally irresponsible tax and spending legislation, which added more debt on top of an already unsustainable trajectory.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: A black man goes undercover in the alt-right

fromTED: Theo E.J. Wilson tells the story of becoming Lucius25, white supremacist lurker, and the unexpected compassion and surprising perspective he found from engaging with people he disagrees with.
Indoctrination and Censorship     Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: Google's Thumb is on the Scale

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Google is not a champion of free thought but neither is the government.
Indoctrination and Censorship     Media Bias on Parade    Regulation Nation

Cops attack innocent family as they grieve the death of 2-month-old son

fromTownhall: Those who are driven primarily by emotion tend to see all imperfection as an outrage that must be corrected.  To these people, trade-offs are heartless and vile. But -- there is a limit to endless outrage.
Police State America

7 techniques liberals use to silence conservatives

fromTownhall: Those who are driven primarily by emotion tend to see all imperfection as an outrage that must be corrected.  To these people, trade-offs are heartless and vile. But -- there is a limit to endless outrage.
Indoctrination and Censorship     Media Bias on Parade

In California's rural, conservative north, there are big dreams for cleaving the state

fromLATimes: Hundreds of people cracked open wallets to help fund their dream of carving — out of California’s northernmost reaches — a brand new state.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle    Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Bathroom Boycotts Flush Safety Of Women And Girls

by Jan LaRue.  Here’s a question for the mayors and governors who are boycotting North Carolina because of its single-sex public restroom law: “Is your taxpayer-funded, executive office bathroom open to the public, including every Tom, Dick and Harry pretending to be ‘Mary’”? North Carolina enacted a law on March 23 that bans individuals from   ... MORE

Brittany Hunter: How Congress Is Giving Up Its Power

Unelected bureaucrats now call most of the shots. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on the growth of federal bureaucracy. At the center of the discussion is a legal principle known as “Chevron deference,” something few   ... MORE

Ian Lovett: California Legislature Approves Assisted Suicide

Individuals gain property rights over themselves.        In a landmark victory for supporters of assisted suicide, the California State Legislature on Friday gave its final approval to a bill that would allow doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives. Four states — Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont — already allow physicians to  ... MORE

Mimi Walters: A Fix To California's Man-Made Drought

Politicians can start prioritizing the people.     This year marks California’s fourth consecutive year of drought. To break it down, nearly 99 percent of California is in “moderate drought,” 71 percent is in “extreme drought,” and approximately 47 percent is in “exceptional drought” – the most severe category. In California alone, over   ... MORE

R Watson And J Burnham: Separation Of Powers, A Primer

Learn the Founder's vision.  Constitutional concepts like free speech or the right to bear arms are ingrained in our popular culture, but just 36% of Americans can name all three branches of the federal government. Even fewer understand why and how our Constitution allocates power among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. As we       ... MORE

Mike Masnick: GM Says That While You May Own Your Car, It Owns The Software In It, Thanks To Copyright Laws

You buy but you don't own it.  Last week, we noted that Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Jared Polis had introduced an important bill to fix a part of the DMCA's broken anti-circumvention laws found in Section 1201 of the DMCA. For whatever reason, some people still have trouble understanding why the law is so broken. So here's a story that  ... MORE

George Will: When Everything Is A Crime

Congress has work to undo.   What began as a trickle has become a stream that could become a cleansing torrent. Criticisms of the overcriminalization of American life might catalyze an appreciation of the toll the administrative state is taking on the criminal justice system, and liberty generally. In 2007, professor Tim Wu of Columbia Law   ... MORE

  

Legislation To Curb Civil Forfeiture Advances In States

by Jacob Gershman.  Georgia lawmakers are set to vote on legislation intended to rein in the state’s civil forfeiture procedures, part of a national push for more scrutiny and limits on asset-seizure programs that law enforcement officials say help curb drug crimes but critics say are prone to abuse. The Republican-led Senate in Georgia could    ... MORE

Bruce Walker: Reclaiming Legislative Power

Too many laws created by bureaucrats.  The power to make laws rests wholly in Congress – at least that is what the Constitution says.  Yet who makes the “laws” in our federal system today?  Vast amounts of legislative power have been “delegated” to independent federal regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission or to the  ... MORE

Vermont Could Be Next State To Legalize Recreational Pot

by Matt Ferner.     Vermont could become the first state in history to legalize recreational marijuana via state legislature with a new bill submitted Tuesday that aims to end prohibition of the plant. Senate Bill 95 would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana in the state for those 21 and older. Adult residents could possess   ... MORE

Federal Bill Would Make Americans More Defenseless

by Dan Cannon.  Making self protection a felony.  Democratic members of Congress apparently aren’t going to be satisfied until American citizens are completely and utterly defenseless. Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) has introduced a bill for consideration of the new Congress which would prohibit the ownership of certain types of body armor for      ... MORE

NH Bill Would Promote Jury Nullification Defense

The power to stand up to tyranny.    A bill in the New Hampshire State House would make it illegal for a judge to stop a defendant from telling the jurors about their ability to nullify unjust or immoral laws. House Bill 246 (HB246) would make it “an act of maladministration for a judge to deny or limit the right of the accused to inform the    ... MORE

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell: Bureaucracy

California Legislature Is Back To Work & Full Of Bad Ideas

by Steven Greenhut.         California residents should hold on to their wallets. On Monday, the state legislature headed back to the Capitol for the new session. Legislators' short stint at the Capitol in December offered a preview of what's coming down the pike, and some of it reinforces Judge Gideon Tucker's famous quip: "No man's life,     ... MORE

It Is Now A Felony for Illinois Citizens To Record Cops

by Matt Agorist.      Government cockroaches prefer darkness to light. In March of this year the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the state’s eavesdropping law, and rightfully so, as it was touted as the most unconstitutional law of its kind in the country. But Illinois, being the the corrupt and violent police state that it is, couldn’t let their    ... MORE

Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide Introduced In California

Notion that people own themselves is forwarded.   California ProLife Council, working in conjunction with a coalition of life-affirming groups, has defeated California Assisted Suicide proposals in the past. But euthanasia advocates have promised to be particularly aggressive this coming year. State Sen. Bill Monning intends to introduce       ... MORE

Public Servants Acting As Public Masters

by Glenn Harlan Reynolds.     "Nothing could be further from the truth. I mean, we wouldn't do that." That was CIA Director John Brennan's answer in March when Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., charged the CIA with breaking into computers used by Senate investigators looking into CIA misconduct. It turns out that the CIA would do that —       ... MORE