June 20, 2020

Op-Ed: Those who exercise free speech should also defend it — even when it’s offensive

fromLATimes: As we rise up to remake America, free speech must be not only something we rely upon, but also part of what we fight for.
Indoctrination and Censorship

How Federal courts gave us qualified immunity and forced it on all 50 states

fromActivistPost: A legal doctrine first created out of thin air by judicial fiat went unchallenged – and the court did what it does so well, it eventually forced that same doctrine on all 50 states.
Police State America

Police violence, COVID-19 lies, and the end of legitimate authority

fromReason: Our leaders and institutions are failing us spectacularly. It's up to us to reboot society.
The Government is Not Us

San Francisco police were ordered to turn off body cameras in raid on journalist's home

fromReason: Their illegal search was not recorded. If police were actually public servants, and not merely state agents, this would not happen.
Police State America

PG&E pleads guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter tied to deadliest wildfire In California history

fromZeroHedge: An investigation eventually found that PG&E inadvertently started the fire when a transmission line broke from a nearly-100-year-old Pacific Gas & Electric Tower after years of neglect.
Regulation Nation                      The Government is Not Us

Business licensing makes it too easy for politicians to punish people they don't like

fromReason: Making a living is a right, not a privilege, and should be respected as such.
Regulation Nation

February 24, 2020

Why it's so hard to escape America's "anti-poverty" programs

fromMises: The state has created a permanent underclass.

The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

Rand Paul: End the Afghanistan war and bring our soldiers home

fromNewsweek: Just as government cannot provide absolute safety at home, it cannot guarantee perpetual stability abroad. Nation-building only endangers our troops.
Defense Versus The War Machine

Death by socialized medicine

fromDailyMail: Laura Hillier, 18, died after waiting for a bone marrow transplant during a hospital bed shortage in Canada, despite having willing donors available.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - Racism is the Lowest Form of Collectivism

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Ayn Rand identifies the true nature of racism and the steps that can be taken against it.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

California bill would require occupational licenses for porn actors, strippers, cam girls

fromReason: Adult performers are outraged at the proposed licensing requirements.
Regulation Nation

This is what happens when you take 550 doses of LSD at once

fromVice: A mindblower. You don't know what you think you know.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

February 17, 2020

The student debt you willingly took on is not my problem to solve

fromTheFederalist: Apparently, the majority of Democratic presidential contenders want to parade student debt sob stories around. These stories don't show the full picture.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

It's time to ask Schiff about his informant, Eric Ciaramella

fromFreeThoughtProject: Eric Ciaramella is the infamous whistle leaker. His name has been an open secret in Washington D.C. He has been named by Rush Limbaugh, Eric Trump and Rand Paul.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

New law to decriminalize prostitution allowing cops to focus on actual crime

fromEagleObserver: Just like the war on drugs creates crime by pushing the unending demand for illicit substances into the black market, the war on the sex trade creates crime in the same manner.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Walter E Williams: A more or less perfect union

fromCreators: "A More or Less Perfect Union" is a three-part series, produced by Free to Choose Network, that will air on various PBS stations across the nation starting in February.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Walter E Williams: Political bias on college campuses

fromCreators: The true tragedy is that so many Americans are blind to the fact that today's colleges and universities pose a threat on several fronts to the well-being of our nation.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption           Indoctrination and Censorship

A government license for 'art therapy,' because glue and scissors are 'potentially' dangerous?

fromReason: Based on such potential dangers as the "sharp edges" on scissors and "toxic chemicals" in glue, state lawmakers in Virginia are on their way to approving a new licensing law to cover art therapists.
Regulation Nation

January 15, 2020

Atlanta police make monumental move, disband entire drug unit to focus on actual crime

fromFreeThoughtProject: “Violent crime and gang activity must be the Department’s primary focus and where we will have a greater impact on the crimes affecting those most often victimized in our communities.”

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle                   The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

John Stossel: Occupational licensing hurts the little guy

fromReason: People who want to work should be allowed to work.

Regulation Nation

Elderly, wheelchair-bound woman alleges TSA agents groped her body in full view of other travelers

fromFreeThoughtProject: TSA employees reportedly ordered a 95-year-old leukemia patient in a wheelchair to remove her adult diaper so that agents could search her.

Police State America          Government is Watching Every Move You Make

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - Entitlements Cannot Be Rights

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: A brilliant explanation of rights and entitlements and the inherent difference in the two.

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle 

Walter E Williams: Unappreciated crime costs

fromCreators: Criminal activity imposes huge costs on black residents in low-income neighborhoods of cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and many others.

The Government is Not Us

Nullify government tyranny: In 2020, harness the power of your discontent

fromDailyBell: Twenty years into the 21st century, and what do we have to show for it? Government corruption, tyranny and abuse have propelled us at warp speed towards a full-blown police state.

Police State America                      The Government is Not Us

May 15, 2016

California politicians are hellbent on telling you how to live

fromReason: Now, our so-called "representatives" are seeking to force you on to buses and trains by making life more inconvenient. This is called public service.
Regulation Nation   The Government is Not Us

Walter E Williams: Kanye and Democrats

fromCreators: West raps, "See, that's the problem with this damn nation. All blacks gotta be Democrats. 
Man, we ain't made it off the plantation."
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption    Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

This Taco Bell can't get a liquor license because city officials don't like Taco Bell

fromReason: But the pizza place next door can have one.
Regulation Nation

California's boneheaded solar remedy for climate change

fromReason: Good intentions are a possibility, but awful policies are the routine reality.
Regulation Nation

Mueller may have a conflict — and it leads directly to a Russian oligarch

fromTheHill: A corrupt political weapon known as the FBI is slowly but steadily being exposed.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

On marijuana and opioids — the DEA has no clue what it’s talking about

fromTheHill: This is hardly breaking news but it is at least being finally acknowledged in some media.
The War On Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

January 22, 2018

Government-approved workouts? The fight against fitness licensing.

fromReason: Crossfit is fighting to keep the government from regulating how Americans are taught to exercise. The health of the nation may be at stake.
Regulation Nation

California Dems propose surcharge on businesses to fund social programs

fromFoxNews: State busybodies have a new scheme to drive business out of the state.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: Sean Hannity - The Deep State Assault on Democracy

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Often chided as a conservative puppet, Sean Hannity has earned his stripes with brilliant and insightful investigative reporting on Clinton-FBI collusion and corruption.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

VIDEO: Cops taser, assault handicapped vet—then arrest him for half a gram of cannabis

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Crossfit is fighting to keep the government from regulating how Americans are taught to exercise. The health of the nation may be at stake.
Police State America     The Government is Not Us

Sweden is preparing for a "civil war": PM wants to deploy army in no-go zones

fromReason: Can we admit there is something very wrong going on in Sweden?
Defense Versus The War Machine

Google has an actual secret speech police

fromReason: It’s not just terrorist videos that Google is censoring.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

December 26, 2017

Jury nullification: A powerful tool for the advancement of liberty

from Capitalism Magazine: You may see no better opportunity to advance liberty on an individual yet highly effective level.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Classic Thomas Sowell: Trickle Down Ignorance

from Capitalism Magazine: Students can spend years in educational institutions, discussing all sorts of issues, without ever having heard a coherent statement of the other side of those issues that differ from what their politically correct teachers say.

Indoctrination and Censorship    Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Dimming Christmas lights reflect Venezuela's grim crisis

from ABCNews: This season, for the first time in years, no festive lights will bring it to life.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

How fines and fees criminalize poverty: explained

from InJusticeToday: To increase revenue, many states and municipalities impose hefty fines on those charged with minor offenses like traffic violations, jaywalking, or even leaving a trashcan on the street.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process    The Government is Not Us

UNC takes steps to crack down on heckler’s veto

from LegalInsurrection: The “Campus Free Speech Act” requires a policy on free speech and free expression that guarantees “the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression” on campus.

Indoctrination and Censorship

Why governments treat you like a number, not an individual

fromTheDailyBell: Students can spend years in educational institutions, discussing all sorts of issues, without ever having heard a coherent statement of the other side of those issues that differ from what their politically correct teachers say.

Regulation Nation

December 19, 2017

Is the FBI really unaware of how they’ve abused its own surveillance?

from TheDailySheeple: It’s amazing when the fox guards the chicken house, and it’s no more apparent than with the recent testimony before Congress by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Twitter deploys censorship to combat "hate speech"

from Alternet: Unpopular ideas have no place on Twitter as website becomes PC echo chamber.
Indoctrination and Censorship   Media Bias on Parade

$15 minimum wage studies predict bleak future for California, Seattle

from TheGazette: California became the first state to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour, but that could mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, a report warned last week.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market    Regulation Nation

The big con: The truth behind Net Neutrality and why the sky Is not falling

from TheDailyBell: An Obama era regulation which attempted to police businesses was repealed, paving the way for the free market to run its course.
Regulation Nation

California wildfires don’t have to be the new normal

from Mises: When land is privately owned, owners have strong incentives to maintain its long-term value. In the South, this means that owners monitor their land for concentrations of deadwood that could spark fires.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market    Regulation Nation

Musician arrested, strip searched, thrown in jail for singing without a license 

from TheDailyBell: Insecure bully cops will arrest citizens for questioning their orders, and will charge them with “obstruction of justice.”
Regulation Nation   Police State America

December 14, 2017

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - Corruption@FBI

from LibertyPen/YouTube: Evidence is mounting that the FBI is in reality a weaponized political force for the Deep State, not an impartial information-gathering law enforcement agency.
The Government is Not Us    Police State America    Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

TSA to stop taking driver’s licenses from 9 U.S. states

from TravelZoo: Including California. Terrorists rack up another victory over American liberty. They have now succeeded in damaging America's freedom to travel, with the compliance of authoritarian U.S. bureaucrats.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Moral Values and Customs vs. Laws

from Creators: From the incomparable Walter E Williams. Customs, traditions and moral values have been discarded without an appreciation for the role they played in creating a civilized society, and now we're paying the price.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Liberate food trucks

from Creators: A John Stossel column. The rules, like demands for licensing of florists, moving companies, hair dressers, tour guides, etc., are passed by politicians. But often these politicians are in cahoots with owners of established businesses.
Regulation Nation

Welcome to the surveillance state: China’s AI cameras see all

from Creators: The future in monitoring human livestock. Coming to tyranny near you. Authorities showed a BBC reporter that they could use the system to identify and apprehend him in seven minutes.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Death and taxes: Trump's tax bill and the National Defense Authorization Act

from NationalPrioritiesProject: The $66 billion in war funding represents the permanence of the wars that began 16 years ago in Iraq and Afghanistan, with no end in sight.
Defense Versus The War Machine

December 13, 2017

Less regulation means less opportunity for government corruption

from Reason: Smaller government has the possibility to be more honest government.
Regulation Nation

CNN covers botched Don Jr. story 27 times more than correction

from DailyCaller: Joseph Goebbels: If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. Goebbels would be proud to see his observation has become the mission statement at CNN.

Media Bias on Parade

Justice Sotomayor unintentionally highlights the danger of having too many laws

from WashingtonPost: Justice Sotomayor highlights a dangerous reality of our legal system. So long as there are vastly more laws on the books than the government can realistically hope to enforce, the rule of law will continue to be imperiled.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Want More Jobs? Fight Occupational Licensing!

from Reason: Getting a cosmetology license in Oregon requires 2,300 hours of classroom instruction, but getting a similar permit in New York requires a mere 1,000 hours of training.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

FBI agent becomes GOP public enemy No. 1

from TheHill: A slate of reports from multiple outlets have catapulted the once-anonymous intelligence agent into the political maelstrom over what Republicans say is a woeful double standard of political bias at the FBI.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Rebellious jurors make the world a better place

from Reason: Jury nullification has officials losing cases, changing policies, and fretting over the power of the people they abuse.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

November 20, 2017

The Clintons’ day of reckoning

from LewRockwell.com: When the Harvey Weinstein story broke about a month ago, I offered that the reason (after decades of such behavior) might have something to do with the democrats getting tired of telling Hillary to go away.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Trump brags about his deregulation—and he may be right

from Reason: Pruning back regulation doesn't have to be a partisan issue.
Regulation Nation

The FISA amendments reauthorization act restricts Congress, not surveillance

from EFF: The bill squanders several opportunities for meaningful reform and, astonishingly, manages to push civil liberties backwards, restricting surveillance reforms, not surveillance itself.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The disappearing right to earn a living

from The Atlantic: Want to become a florist in Louisiana? A home-entertainment installer in Connecticut? Or a barber anywhere? You’re going to need a license for that—and it’s going to cost you.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Why people will happily line up to be microchipped like dogs

from Zero Hedge: First come the sheep voluntarily, then come the holdouts brought in by force.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

What National Review gets wrong about the opioid crisis and the war on drugs

from TheDailyBell: Libertarians understand that drug prohibition itself has been the cause of the widespread use of hard drugs, while many conservatives remain blind.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Licensing Laws Shut Young People Out Of The Job Market

by Ben Casselman.  Young people entering the job market have always faced challenges: a lack of skills and experience, limited professional networks, unfamiliarity with workplace culture and expectations. But increasingly, they are also facing another obstacle: legal requirements that can shut off avenues to jobs before they even get the chance  ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Students Argue Liberty Vs Regulation

Occupational Licensing Regulations Stifle Job Creation

from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.      How long do you think it takes to train to become a licensed barber in Nevada?   A month?  Six months?  Maybe a year?  Nope. Try 2½ years. In a recent piece for Politico, Andy Koenig points out that barbers are among dozens of entry- and mid-level professions harmed by out-of-control occupational      ... MORE

Felony Charge For Selling A Wisconsin Beer In Minnesota

by Brian Doherty.      Complete f-ing insanity from the outskirts of the Land of the Free, as reported by Minnesota Star-Tribune, about a former pair of publicans from Minnesota who will be going to court in March facing felony charges for selling Spotted Cow beer at the Maple Tavern in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The former owner and manager (the bar is    ... 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

TSA Will Stop Accepting Driver's Licenses From 9 States

by Nick Gillespie.    The last time we took notice of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), it was to inform you that the unpopular, expensive, and ineffectual outfit had decided it could force travelers on domestic airline flights to go through full-body scanners. Previously, TSA had allowed folks to submit instead to a full-body pat-down.     ... MORE

J. D. Tucille: Red Tape And Licensing Remain Powerful Deterrents To Starting Businesses And Creating Jobs

by J.D. Tuccille.  Serial failed businessman Samuel Clemens might have a lesson or two to offer to his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. Thwarted in his riverboat-piloting career, unsuccessful as a miner, and disappointed (to put it mildly) in his investments in an automated typesetting machine, "Mark Twain" could have told officials in his old stomping ground  ... MORE

In Iowa, Braiding Hair Risks Heavy Fines, Even Jail Time

by Nick Sibilla.   Achan Agit is no stranger to oppression. Born in what is now South Sudan, Achan was forced to flee her homeland in 2001 during the Second Sudanese Civil War. After living in Egypt as a refugee for three years (amid rampant xenophobia and racism), in 2004, she came to the United States and became a lawful permanent resident.   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Rule Breakers Promoting Freedom