June 25, 2020

What the data do and don't say about policing and race

fromVolokhConspiracy: Harvard's Roland Fryer argues both Left and Right misunderstand or misrepresent the empirical evidence.
Police State America

The triumph of the country mouse

fromNationalReview: A column by the very excellent Victor Davis Hanson. Cities lose their charms when they’re engulfed in chaos, crime, and mobs — and run by virtue-signaling appeasers.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Andrew Napolitano: The afterlife of America's original sin

fromCreators: You can escape reality. But you cannot escape the consequences of escaping reality. Those consequences will be the inevitable repetition of a past we should never forget.
Indoctrination and Censorship

VIDEO: Black Wisdom Matters - The Promise of Black Politicians

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, Bob Woodson, Walter E Williams and Shelby Steele look at the promises and delivery of politicians representing the ethnic grievance industry.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Was the search warrant for the drug raid that killed Breonna Taylor illegal?

fromReason: The information in the no-knock warrant application was based purely on guilt by association.
Police State America

College to remove word “freedom” from ID cards after petition says it’s offensive to some minorities

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: The students passing around the petition believe “freedom” is offensive to black students who may have had relatives who were slaves 160 years ago. When freedom is vilified, only the state wins.
Indoctrination and Censorship

May 21, 2020

The US is dramatically overcounting coronavirus deaths

fromTownhall: "New York is classifying cases as Coronavirus deaths even when postmortem tests have been negative." 
Indoctrination and Censorship

Nothing changes as long as you obey

fromFreeMan'sPerspective: There is a very simple reason why complaining has no real effect: Because the complainers keep right on obeying. 
The Government is Not Us

VIDEO: Remy - Surfin' USA (Beach Boys lockdown parody)

fromReason/YouTube: Remy hangs ten but could be out in five with good behavior. 
Police State America

Bobo the clown revenge. How the media is helping to elect Donald Trump

fromJonathanTurley: Former Barack Obama adviser Rahm Emanuel, during a recent interview, reminded us of his 2008 financial crisis quotation, "Never allow a crisis to go to waste." 
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Walter E Williams: Let's not waste a crisis

fromCreators: Former Barack Obama adviser Rahm Emanuel, during a recent interview, reminded us of his 2008 financial crisis quotation, "Never allow a crisis to go to waste." 
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Cops accused of stealing over $225,000 can't be sued, thanks to qualified immunity

fromReason: A court ruled that officers did not have enough information to know whether or not stealing violates the Constitution.
Police State America

May 20, 2020

Why American life went on as normal during the killer pandemic of 1969

fromNYPost: “That generation approached viruses with calm, rationality and intelligence,” he said. “We left disease mitigation to medical professionals, individuals and families, rather than politics, politicians and government.”
The Government is Not Us

Will SCOTUS revoke its license for police abuse?

fromCreators: This week the Justices are considering 13 petitions involving the pernicious doctrine of qualified immunity.
Police State America

YouTube censors epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski for opposing lockdown

fromNYPost: Wittkowski believes the coronavirus should be allowed to achieve “herd immunity,” and that short of a vaccine the pandemic will only end after it has sufficiently spread through the population. 
Indoctrination and Censorship

The Breonna Taylor shooting shows how reckless drug war tactics lead to senseless deaths

fromReason: At this point, police can hardly be surprised when they are mistaken for armed criminals.
Police State America

Bill Barr, champion of justice

fromCreators: A lot of people hate Trump. And he does little to try to change their minds. But law enforcement shouldn't be a popularity contest, with prosecutors hounding individuals who haven't broken the law.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

10 ways a roadside police stop can go wrong

fromReason: What could happen—and what to do about it—if you get pulled over by the cops 
Police State America

March 29, 2020

Abolish the World Health Organization

fromSpectator: Another pointless organization pandering to the world’s worst actors.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Coronavirus and autocrats: Never let a pandemic go to waste

fromWallStreetJournal: With much of the world on lockdown, the coronavirus pandemic has chipped away at individual liberties everywhere.
The Government is Not Us

FDA tells at-home diagnostics companies to stop Coronavirus test roll-outs

fromReason: The companies are complying. Customers won't get their results and are being told to destroy their test kits.
Regulation Nation

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - Monopoly and Anti-Trust

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Rand defines what constitutes a monopoly and explains the nature and reality of anti-trust laws.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Dr. Birx pops media's Coronavirus panic balloon

fromTownhall: Despite clamorous reports about a shortage of medical supplies in New York, Dr. Birx said that ICU beds are still readily available and more than a thousand ventilators remain unused.
Media Bias on Parade

FDIC asks Americans to keep their money in the banks

fromDailyBell: When they say zig, you should zag. Why Americans need cash in their home safe.
The Government is Not Us

March 20, 2020

Coronavirus will be deadly to your liberty

fromReason: COVID-19 is the healthiest thing to happen to government power in a very long time.

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle                     The Government is Not Us

It's up to the Supreme Court to teach Seattle 'Free Speech 101'

fromTheHill: The Constitution protects not only your right to speak but also your right not to speak, including your right to refrain from paying for the speech you oppose.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption                     The Government is Not Us

Save sports for the next generation of female athletes

fromTownhall: Stop biological males from competing in female sports and provide a legal remedy for girls deprived of opportunities from policies that permit males to compete on female teams.

Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - Don't Confuse the Two Kinds of Capitalism

fromReason: Ayn Rand explains that there are two types of capitalists in America and only one reveres the free market.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

Victor Davis Hanson: The mysterious rise, fall and rise of Joe Biden

fromTownhall: At no time did Biden cease his bloopers or embarrassing moments of forgetfulness and confusion. The field changed, not Biden himself.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

David Stockman says coronavirus is sparking a financial crisis, warns ‘Wall Street is toast’

fromCNBC: “It’s going to end as a financial crisis because the illusion that central banks always have your back and the economy would keep expanding and growing forever was complete nonsense.”

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

March 16, 2020

This is a test: How will the Constitution fare during a nationwide lockdown?

fromtheDailyBell: What is about to unfold over the next few weeks is a test to see how well we have assimilated the government’s lessons in compliance, fear and police state tactics.

The Government is Not Us

Dems try taking advantage of coronavirus crisis to put new mandates on business

fromPersonal Liberty: Politicians will always see a crisis to be a golden opportunity to expand the size and scope of government.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

Life inside the Italian lockdown

fromSpiked: Panic is seldom an advisable guide to action. But, it does provide government with an opportunity to centralize more power.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

VIDEO: Joe Biden - Here's the Deal

fromReason: A fun/frightening look at the deal Joe Biden offers America.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Why ‘price gouging’ actually helps during a crisis

fromLibertarianInstitute: When prices aren’t allowed to move in response to changing economic conditions, those who most urgently need these critical items will likely find the shelves empty.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

Liberty activist ‘murdered as he slept’ by SWAT team seizing his guns

fromFreeThought Project: This case appears to be crystal clear. Police claimed the innocent man’s guns were illegal, raided his home to take them, and killed him in the process. He had harmed absolutely no one.

Police State America

February 20, 2020

The socialist delusions of Bernie Sanders

fromReason: Central planning kills economic growth.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market.          Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Financial feudalism

fromReason: The oligarchy uses debt offensively (to increase wealth and power), while the masses must use debt defensively (to survive)...
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

6yo girl taken from school by police without parents’ consent, held in facility for 48 hours for tantrum

fromFreeThoughtProject: After the body camera footage was released, the school responded by claiming that police were not present when Nadia was allegedly throwing her tantrum.

Police State America

WaPo opinion piece calls for elites to have a 'bigger say in choosing president'

fromTownhall: “Democracy Dies in Darkness” may be The WaPos slogan, but many are wondering if it’s actually the paper’s mission statement.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

This crackdown on a jury nullification activist violates the First Amendment

fromReason: Apparently, the majority of Democratic presidential contenders want to parade student debt sob stories around. These stories don't show the full picture.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Cashless agenda? China is scrubbing cash notes to stop virus spreading so its paper money won’t kill you

fromActivistPost: Beyond China, this crisis might also be used by governments in different parts of the world that want to transition to a “cashless society” to justify their actions.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

February 7, 2020

Police have no duty to protect you, federal court affirms yet again

fromMises: “Police can watch someone attack you, refuse to intervene and not violate the Constitution.” The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government has only a duty to protect persons who are “in custody.”
Police State America

Iowa might have screwed up the whole nomination process

fromFiveThirtyEight.: "There’s a good chance that the candidates who did well in Iowa get screwed, and the candidates who did poorly there get a mulligan." The Iowa vote count was a Hillary Clinton production.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Red flag nation: anti-gun laws, sanctuary cities and the Second Amendment

fromRutherfordInstitute: Even the most well-intentioned government law or program can be—and has been—perverted, corrupted and used to advance illegitimate purposes once profit and power are added to the equation.
2nd Amendment Assaults

Here's the medical marijuana ad CBS Banned From Super Bowl Broadcast

fromTMZ: Though ads pimping booze were in abundance.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

This may be the end of Iowa's political clout

fromNewser: Many predicting the end of the state's first-in-the-nation voting status. Without the usual parade of pandering politicians, ethanol may be in trouble four years from now.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

BREAKING: Punxsutawney to retire Phil the groundhog, replace him with Greta Thunberg

fromWattsUpWithThat: If globally respected child climate forecaster Greta Thunberg sees her shadow it will be an early and warm spring aided by climate change. If she doesn't, the world will end in 12 years.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

January 21, 2020

Fiscal analysis of Colorado's 'red flag' law assumes gun confiscation orders will be granted 95% of the time

fromReason: Such a high approval rate reflects the threat these laws pose to due process and the Second Amendment.

2nd Amendment Assaults

Tulsi Gabbard endorses legalizing drugs

fromForbes: The Democratic candidate joins Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, Carl Sagan, William F. Buckley and others in their understanding that the war on drugs is a war on you.

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Virginia gun sales soar as Dems consider draconian "assault weapons" ban

fromZeroHedge: Ever since Virginia's Democrats retook the state assembly and Senate in November, Democratic Gov. Ralph "blackface" Northam and the legislature have been gearing up to pass a draconian gun control bill.

2nd Amendment Assaults

California energy policies are fueling the housing crisis and homelessness

fromWattsUpWithThat: Prices for electricity in California are already fifty percent higher than the national average for residents, and double the national average for commercial, and are projected to go even higher. 

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market                 Regulation Nation

Senators propose limits on police use of facial recognition

fromReason: Some privacy activists say the bill still falls short.

Police State America          Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Warren and Sanders and the wealth tax folly

fromCreators: You don't need to be the sort of person whose weeping could fill a mug to have strong doubts about a wealth tax. It has scant support among economists on either the right or the left.

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

December 5, 2019

The destruction of American liberty

fromFFF: There is no way to reconcile a system of mandatory charity with the principles of a free society.

The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency                 The Government is Not Us

Newspaper will stop reporting any news “traumatic” to snowflakes

fromDailyBell: The Daily Northwestern student paper, staffed by these aspiring journalists, recently apologized for covering a “traumatic” event on campus --  a speech by former Trump official Jeff Sessions.

Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: Top 10 Lies from the Democratic Debate

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Number one is epic, even by political standards. 

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption                   Media Bias on Parade

Walter E Williams - Scientists: Dishonest or afraid?

fromCreators: Environmentalists attribute the recent increase in forest fires to global warming. Not so, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: John Stossel: Government bans ambulance competition

fromReason/YouTube: 35 states have laws that let established businesses block new businesses. Consumers are the true victims of such policies.

Regulation Nation

California's restrictive gun laws still can't prevent shootings

fromReason: Instead of reducing the dangers posed by criminals, California's gun restrictions have increased the threat posed to decent people by the law itself.

2nd Amendment Assaults

October 15, 2019

What if there is no climate emergency?

fromWattsUpWithThat?: The premise that scares the daylights out of the left.

Political Correctness & Other Nitwittery

John Lennon vs. the Deep State: One man against the ‘monster’

fromRutherfordInstitute: “You gotta remember, establishment, it’s just a name for evil. The monster doesn’t care whether it kills all the students or whether there’s a revolution. It’s not thinking logically, it’s out of control.”—JL

The Government is Not Us

Judge approves Devin Nunes’s lawsuit against Twitter

fromGatewayPundit: Opens door for thousands of conservatives mistreated by social media giants.

Media Bias on Parade

Trump's new executive orders To restrain the administrative state

fromReason: Federal agencies evade the rule-making process, yet still levy fines, revoke permits, and seize property via “guidance.” Trump’s orders may put a stop to this practice.

Regulation Nation

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - Politics for a free society

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: From a 1965 Columbia radio broadcast, Ayn Rand explains the necessary components for a free society.

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

👉🏻 Pointing a finger gun lands 12-year-old Johnson County student in handcuffs

fromWattsUpWithThat?: It’s a felony if a kid commits the same crime a second time -- regardless of whether the finger is loaded. So hand gestures are not considered to be free expression, protected by the First Amendment?

Political Correctness & Other Nitwittery

September 13, 2019

The secret history of the monopolization of welfare by the state

fromAIER: Left out of today’s public discourse is the issue that guided classical liberals in the 19th century: should people be free or shall they be coerced to do what others consider to be “the right thing”?

The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

NRA sues San Francisco over terrorist declaration

fromABCNews: "...accuses city officials of violating the gun lobby's free speech rights for political reasons and says the city is seeking to blacklist anyone associated with the NRA."
2nd Amendment Assaults

Climate change has been a routine scare tactic since the 1930's

fromArmstrongEconomics: It has long been a ploy of the socialist left to demean and destroy the concept of private property with apocalyptic predictions.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

John Bolton left because Trump wouldn’t let him start a war

fromVox: There was always going to be a conflict between Trump’s “America First” and Bolton’s “America Everywhere.”
Defense Versus The War Machine

9/11 Solidified the Destruction of Our Freedom

fromFFF: The saddest thing about 9/11 is how American politicians allowed a band of terrorists to successfully destroy American freedom.
The Government is Not Us

Flynn hearing reveals existence of bombshell DOJ memo exonerating Michael Flynn

fromSaraCarter: A bombshell revelation was barely noticed at Michael Flynn’s hearing, when his counsel revealed the existence of a Justice Department memo from Jan. 30, 2017 exonerating Flynn of any collusion with Russia.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

July 3, 2019

Hong Kong protests show dangers of a cashless society

fromReason: Many digital payments can be tracked, potentially assisting an authoritarian crackdown.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: Tech Tyranny - Censoring the Town Square

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Record-low American patriotism is the latest casualty of the sharply polarized political climate in the U.S. today. Fewer than half of U.S. adults say they are extremely proud to be Americans.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            The Government is Not Us

How Amazon and the cops set up an elaborate sting operation that accomplished nothing

fromVice: It was a scare marketing scheme by Amazon that failed when cops were unable to make any arrests.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The sinister, unconstitutional effort to ban secure encryption is back

fromReason: Government is demanding everyone be more vulnerable to hackers to protect their snooping.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make            The Government is Not Us

U.S. Supreme Court rules police can forcibly carry out blood draws on unconscious drivers

fromRutherfordInstitute: Screw the Fourth Amendment.

Police State America

American pride hits new low; few proud of political system

fromGallup: Record-low American patriotism is the latest casualty of the sharply polarized political climate in the U.S. today. Fewer than half of U.S. adults say they are extremely proud to be Americans.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            The Government is Not Us

June 12, 2019

California Democratic Party: First Amendment ‘Limited to exclude hate speech’

fromDailyWire: The First Amendment exists primarily to protect unpopular speech (hate speech for some) since popular speech needs no protection, a concept lost on California's Democratic Party.

Indoctrination and Censorship        Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

VIDEO: Rachel Maddow - Julian Assange and the Future of a Free Press

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: When the operations of government are shielded from public view democracy is a farce. Prosecuting the publisher of such information could only be acknowledgement that the government is not us.  

The Government is Not Us       Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

VIDEO: Walter E Williams - The Future of Free Enterprise and Liberty

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: A warning about the trajectory of economic and personal liberty in America.  

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Empty words: Why Pelosi is suddenly saying she wants Trump ‘in prison’

fromWashingtonExaminer: The “in prison” line allows the speaker to look like a good anti-Trump ally, but it is clearly in service of avoiding an impeachment.  

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Not the Onion: Biden promises to cure cancer If elected

fromZeroHedge: This begs the question, why do politicians lie? Answer: Voters want the impossible and only a liar will promise it.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Federal court rules citizens well within the law to tell a cop “f**k you”

fromFreeThoughtProject: While a federal court ruled this month that citizens can swear at police officers and the police officers cannot arrest them for it, it is still not recommended.  

Indoctrination and Censorship        Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

May 15, 2019

Drivers beware: The deadly perils of traffic stops in the American police state

fromNationalReview:   Russiagate has always been a political narrative masquerading as a federal investigation.

Police State America

Barr appoints US Attorney to investigate FBI/DOJ spying on Trump; has investigated FBI before

fromZeroHedge:   US Attorney John H. Durham has been appointed to examine the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation to determine if the FBI's spying on the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate."

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

VIDEO: John Stossel - Moral panic over sex work

fromReason/YouTube:   Police often accuse people of "sex trafficking." Usually, it’s simply prostitution.

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

'Fake news' is a really dangerous excuse for censorship

fromReason:   Whatever excuse they raise, government officials will always find an excuse to try to suppress criticism and ideas they find uncomfortable. It's our right to speak out anyway.

Media Bias on Parade          Indoctrination and Censorship

Russiagate: Law in the service of partisan politics

fromNationalReview:   Russiagate has always been a political narrative masquerading as a federal investigation.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Trump's latest trade war scheme might be the nuttiest one yet

fromReason:   The most likely end result of Trump's literal Buy American policy: lots of American farm goods rotting in federal warehouses.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market