April 29, 2020

Court strikes down California's ammunition background check requirement

fromReason: The state has already appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
2nd Amendment Assaults

The $2 trillion relief package makes unemployment pay more than work

fromTheHill: Economics is all about incentives. To keep the country prosperous, our public policies should reward productive behavior rather than punish it. But it is too bad the $2 trillion “stimulus bill” does just the opposite.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

The paranoid style in COVID-19 America

fromSpectator: Slowly, the actual COVID-19 situation is clarifying: The public health establishment is desperate to maintain hysteria in the populace.
The Government is Not Us

Walter E Williams: Today's Americans and yesteryear's Americans

fromCreators: Will America emerge from this crisis "a roaring giant or a crying baby."
The Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube censors viral video of California doctors criticizing "stay-at-home" order

fromZeroHedge: The video, which had racked up over 5 million views, asserts there is only a “0.03 chance of dying from COVID in the state of California,” prompting the question: “Does that necessitate sheltering in place?
Indoctrination and Censorship

Coronavirus means the era of big government is…back

fromWallStreetJournal: History shows that national shocks—the Depression, World War II, the financial crisis—have a way of expanding the role of government in lasting ways. This one is looking like no exception.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle             The Government is Not Us

M.L. Nestel: Cops Wake Up Naked Woman Who Was Asleep, Order Her To Show Them A Gun, Then Proceed To Kill Her

Trigger-happy public servants.   Deanne Choate was sleeping naked under the covers when a trio of cops flicked on the lights and came barreling into her bedroom with guns drawn, believing she posed a lethal threat. The police officers from Gardner, Kansas roused her awake and ordered her to show the gun her boyfriend told them she had    ... MORE

John Charlton: Connecticut Cops Push For Armed Drones

To promote "public safety."  The drone discussion has been buzzing around the state Capitol for hearings this week. Monday, a bill to ban the weaponization of drones was discussed, and on Tuesday, a bill to control the use of drones in many ways, including by law enforcement agencies, was debated. Lawmakers listened to testimony concerning      ... MORE

VIDEO: Brian Brown - Supreme Court Resistance

If the Supreme Court declared the sky to be green, would it cease to be blue? 

Absurdly Harsh Penalties Sparked Oregon Rancher Protest

by Jacob Sullum.      As Ed Krayewski noted yesterday, the armed men who are occupying an office building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon broke off from a demonstration protesting the sentences received by two ranchers, 73-year-old Dwight Hammond and his 46-year-old son Steven, who in 2001 and 2006 set fires on their own  ... MORE

Obama Executive Actions To Push Anti-Gun Agenda

by Juliet Eilperin.        President Obama will press ahead with a set of executive actions on guns next week despite growing concerns in the United States over terrorism that have dampened some Americans’ enthusiasm for tighter firearms restrictions. The president will meet Monday with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to finalize a      ... MORE

IRS Possessed Stingray Cellphone Surveillance Gear - Why?

by Nicky Woolf and William Green.     13th federal agency to use secretive dragnet!  The Internal Revenue Service is the latest in a growing list of US federal agencies known to have possessed the sophisticated cellphone dragnet equipment known as Stingray, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Invoices obtained following a request  ... MORE

Eminent Domain: A Million Homes Taken Since Kelo

by Mark A. Calabria, CATO.    It has been just over a decade since the Supreme Court decided in Kelo v. New London that local governments can take private property by eminent domain under a very broad reading of “public use”.  Cato held an event earlier this year to examine the legal impact of Kelo, featuring remarks from George Mason Law     ... MORE

Poll: Gun Control Far Scarier Than ‘Mass Shootings’

by Awr Hawkins.       On October 13, Chapman University released its Survey of American Fears and revealed that more than twice as many Americans fear gun control than fear “mass shootings.” While those on the left may scratch their heads to wonder how this could be, the facts are that gun control leads to gun-free zones, which, in turn, appear   ... MORE

Lawmakers: U.S. Plan For Internet May Be Unconstitutional

by Rudy Takala.       President Obama's plan to "internationalize" the Internet may be unconstitutional, key members of Congress are claiming. The group of lawmakers sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office last week, saying the plan to relinquish oversight of Internet domain name functions to a global, multi-stakeholder body raised      ... MORE

John Stossel: Government - Here To Help!

Government does everything, just nothing well.    Government wants you to think it helps you at every turn. Every time you make a decision, a purchase, government wants to be there, looking essential. But it's a trick. Most government "help" creates new problems. Students once went to private banks to get college loans. Banks, since they   ... MORE

Judge Blocks Federal Power Grab Over State Waters

by Stephen Dinan.     “Inexplicable, arbitrary and devoid of a reasoned process” President Obama’s push to extend the EPA’s regulatory hand to ditches and small streams to enforce clean water rules was blocked Thursday by a federal judge, who said the administration had overstepped its bounds in trying yet another end run around Congress. Judge ... MORE

VIDEO: James Madison vs. "States Can't Do That"

VIDEO: Charles Murray - What The Founders Feared

VIDEO: Who Perverted The Commerce Clause?

Thomas Sowell: Supreme Court Disasters

Supremely lawless overreaches.  Next president more crucial than ever. Many people are looking at the recent Supreme Court decisions about ObamaCare and same-sex marriage in terms of whether they think these are good or bad policies. That is certainly a legitimate concern, for both those who favor those policies and those who oppose them. But   ... MORE

Kimberly Morin: TYRANNY ALERT! Obama Writes New Rules To Throw Gun Owners In JAIL For Doing THIS Online …

Criminalizing speech in America.         According to a new State Department mandate, they want to end the sharing of technical data on line. It’s not clear why they want to do this other than to restrain free speech but they posted their new proposal on June 3rd. And while this ridiculous proposal would affect thousands or even millions of    ... MORE

When It’s A Crime To Withdraw Money From Your Bank

by Josh Barro.    Dennis Hastert has not been indicted on a charge of sexual abuse, nor has he been indicted on a charge of paying money he was not legally allowed to pay. The indictment of Mr. Hastert, a former House speaker, released last week, lays out two counts: taking money out of the bank the wrong way, and then lying to the F.B.I. about     ... MORE

Walter Olson: Jail For Missed Days at School?

The madness of truancy laws.    We've seen it happen again and again: libertarians are derided over some supposedly crazy or esoteric position, years pass, and eventually others start to see why our position made sense. It's happened with asset forfeiture, with occupational licensure, with the Drug War, and soon, perhaps, with     ... MORE

Radley Balko: How Controversial Patriot Act Powers Are Now Overwhelmingly Deployed In Drug Investigations

Read by Rand Paul during his Patriot Act filibuster.  One of the more controversial provisions of the Patriot Act was to broaden the “sneak-and-peek” power for federal law enforcement officials. The provision allows investigators to conduct searches without informing the target of the search. We were assured at the time that this     ... MORE