June 27, 2020

Venezuelans take extraordinary steps to beat water shortage

fromAP: Critics of the socialist government blame chronic infrastructure failures on years of corruption and mismanagement that have also left the electrical grid fragile and destroyed Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Will government mandate COVID-19 vaccinations?

fromTheHill: Government mandated vaccinations for adults would be a major and controversial step. But then government has taken a number of major and controversial steps recently, such as shutting down the economy.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

California agency blocks release of police use of force and surveillance training, claiming copyright

fromActivistPost:Our elected officials can pass laws regulating the police, and watchdog bodies can review law enforcement policies, but if training materials are kept secret, it provides a back door for manufacturers of surveillance technology and private organizations to influence police practices without oversight or accountability.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make        Police State America         Regulation Nation

Walter E Williams: Insults to black history

fromCreators: Both blacks and whites can benefit from a better appreciation of black history.
Indoctrination and Censorship

The pandemic's economic carnage looks worse than expected

fromReason: If you thought the economic toll wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was only going to be horrendous, you may have been overly optimistic.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: Black Wisdom Matters - Good Intentions of the Welfare State

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Thomas Sowell, Walter E Williams, Star Parker, Jason Riley, Bob Woodson and Larry Elder share their insights on how a half century of the welfare state has changed America and the American family.
The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

Jan 29, 2019

America’s public schools have become socialist indoctrination factories

fromAmericanThinker: How is it that the same generation that has benefited more from capitalism than any other in human history is also the generation most willing to destroy it?

Indoctrination and Censorship

Washington state lawmaker wants to ban dwarf tossing, says it 'ridicules and demeans'

fromReason: What's actually demeaning is thinking you know what's best for an entire group of people.

Regulation Nation

VIDEO: Deep State Double Standard - The Persecution of Roger Stone

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: The Mueller investigation doggedly persecutes Trump associates over crimes not associated with Russian collusion but rather stimulated by his own inquisition.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process        Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

One way outraged Americans can beat Robert Mueller

fromAmericanThinker: Jury nullification can be used to rebuke abuses of power committed by unaccountable, out-of-control special counsels like Robert "Gestapo" Mueller.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process        Police State America

America's stubborn left clings to Nicolas Maduro despite all evidence

fromReason: It's time to admit the failure of Venezuela's "21st century socialism."

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

California governor calls for a tax on the very water citizens drink

fromTheFreeThought Project: Communities throughout the state struggle with dangerous pollutants in their supply, but opponents of the suggested tax say there is no need to tax residents in order to solve the problem.

Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery      Regulation Nation

June 11, 2016

Social Security and Medicare going broke even faster than projected

fromSchiffGold: For the first time since 1982, Social Security will have to dip into its $3 trillion trust fund in order to cover benefits this year. The program’s expenses will exceed its revenue three years earlier than projected.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Berkeley scholar admits "climate change has run its course"

fromZeroHedge: Treating climate change as a planet-scale problem that could be solved only by an international regulatory scheme transformed the issue into a political creed for committed believers.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Trade clash: EU to hit US with $3.3 billion in tariffs next month

fromCNNMoney: Americans are about to start paying for Trump's economic misconceptions.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Jerry Brown wants to tax drinking water

fromTheDailyCaller: The California governor will not be happy until every penny you earn is transferred to the politicians who run the state.
The Government is Not Us      Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Cops swarm and beat a black man unconscious in Arizona for no apparent reason

fromTheDailyMail: Robert Johnson was beaten unconscious by members of the Mesa Police Department because he "wouldn't sit down", though the law prohibiting standing was not provided.
The Government is Not Us      Police State America

Venezuela’s oil meltdown defies belief

fromWolfStreet: The problems for Venezuela continue to mount, and the news that it is considering force majeure points to a more catastrophic decline in production and exports.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

EPA Dodges Accountability For Flint Water Crisis

by Paul Dykewicz.  Government failures at the federal, state and local levels that led to toxic water flowing from the faucets in Flint, Michigan, spurred the House Oversight Committee to hold two hearings this week in which the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its former Midwest region administrator claimed agency officials    ... MORE

VIDEO: John Oliver - Special Districts (from HBO)

Here’s How To Fix Flint’s Water System: Privatize It

by Adrian Moore.     Social media sites are awash in pictures of Flint’s awful water. Local children exposed to lead will likely face long term health consequences—and it appears that kids suffer from high lead levels in many Michigan cities. Amidst revelations that the state of Michigan made sure its Flint employees had clean water long before taking ... MORE

 

How Long Could The U.S. Go Without Electricity?

by A. Barton Hinkle.      The power is still out, and things are getting scary. The house is so cold you can see your own breath. Some of the food in the refrigerator is good, but there's no way to cook it. The water is still running, barely, but it smells bad and tastes worse. The grocery store is open, but it's only taking cash—which you can't get, because the   ... MORE

Flint Lead Poisoning: The Anatomy Of Government Failure

by Shikha Dalmia.         In the simple morality tale that is modern mainstream liberalism, government spending leads to good things and cutting government spending leads to bad things. So when news broke that Flint, Michigan’s, water system was laced with lead and may have poisoned up to 2 percent of city residents, including 23 children, they      ... MORE

How Government Poisoned The People Of Flint

by John Counts.    Flint water has poisoned more than just its children. It's poisoned the citizenry's faith in government, which is supposed to provide safe drinking water, one of life's most basic essentials. Just ask Pete Nichols who was picking up bottles of water from a downtown fire station on a recent weekday. "Somebody needs to go to jail for  ... MORE

Obama’s Top Ten Constitutional Violations Of 2015

by Ilya Shapiro.     As we approach the final year of Barack Obama’s presidency, there isn’t much that the president can do to change people’s opinion of him, for better or worse. His legacy, barring some extraordinary occurrence — including an extraterrestrial one, as the holiday advertising blitz for the new Independence Day movie reminds us — is     ... MORE

California Has Plenty Of Water — And Too Much Politics

by Steven Greenhut. Almost everyone knows California is running out of water as it enters the fourth year of a grueling drought. The results are stark, as massive reservoirs turn into mud pits, and state inspectors fine residents for watering their lawns. But in the state's second most populous county, there's a problem of a different sort. The San Diego   ... MORE

Guess What Marijuana Is Being Blamed For Now

by Sean Willliams.       We're less than three weeks away from the calendar ticking over to a new year -- a year that very well could be the most important for the marijuana industry to date. We can certainly look back on some of the milestone events within the marijuana industry over the past two decades and argue that they've been pivotal        ... MORE

Phillip Schneider: Government May Be Too Tyrannical When It Seeks To Criminalize The Collection Of Rainwater

A war on self-sufficiency.   Collecting rainwater is classically seen as a safe and sustainable way of supplying your household with an off-the-grid water supply. Some people collect rainwater only for a backup reservoir, while others prefer to go all the way and maintain their household with pure off-the-grid rainwater collection. This method ensures  ... MORE

Daren Bakst and Katie Tubb: Lawmakers Need To Kill EPA’s And Army Corps’ Water Rule: Property Rights Are At Stake

Regulators gone wild.     Congress appears to be stepping up to the plate to kill the Environmental Protection Agency’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ water rule (known as the “waters of the United States” or WOTUS rule). Lawmakers just need to bring it home by sending legislation to the president. In doing so, Congress will be protecting       ... MORE

Victor Davis Hanson: Can California Be Saved?

So naturally rich but so poorly run.  Crime is back up in California. Los Angeles reported a 20.6 percent increase in violent crimes over the first half of 2015 and nearly an 11 percent increase in property crimes. Last year, cash-strapped California taxpayers voted for Proposition 47, which so far has let thousands of convicted criminals go free  ... MORE

The Underbelly Of The California Drought

by Victor Davis Hanson.     People should be represented as well as salmon. Even the high mountain lakes and reservoirs are about empty – and equally void of vacationers who have few places to boat, fish, and ski, and are unsure where the next forest fire will break out and force evacuations on often one-lane winding mountain roads. Four years of       ... MORE

Matt Stevens: The Unintended Consequences Of Conserving Water: More Leaky Pipes, Less Revenue, Lots Of Bad Odors

A corrosive policy in more ways than one.  Under orders to slash water use amid a historic drought, cities and towns across the state saved about 75 billion gallons in July, eclipsing Gov. Jerry Brown's once-daunting order for a 25% reduction. But, in a paradox of conservation, water agencies say the unprecedented savings — 31% in July over July  ... MORE

John Stossel: Market Magic

If people need it, the market does it.     People have long lists of things they think the market can't possibly do — from building subways to fighting wars. Sometimes, the market does them anyway. War, for example. Even conservatives, who often praise markets, assume that only government can fight terrorists. Tell that to Matthew VanDyke.  ... 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

Brian Doherty: Environmental Protection Agency Dumps A Million Gallons Of Orange Mine Waste Into A Colorado River

Pollution is fine, as long as government does it.     Disturbing news of a real make-work program from the Environmental Protection Agency, reported by Associated Press via Huffington Post: A million-gallon mine waste spill that sent a plume of orange-ish muck down a river in southwest Colorado on Thursday was caused by a federal mine   ... MORE