January 24, 2020

Facial recognition and the danger of automated authoritarianism

fromReason: Hundreds of police departments are using facial recognition technology without oversight.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make             Police State America

People no longer believe working hard will lead to a better life, survey shows

fromTripleHack: A growing sense of inequality is undermining trust in both society's institutions and capitalism, according to a long-running global survey.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

Walter E Williams: Diversity and inclusion insanity

fromCreators: George Orwell was absolutely right when he said, "There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them."

Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

The big loser in the Iowa debate? CNN’s reputation

fromFAIR: One really does get the impression that if CNN were holding a debate on the Titanic, the first question would literally be about rearranging the deck chairs.

Media Bias on Parade

The evil list

fromSlate: Which tech companies are really doing the most harm? Here are the 30 most dangerous, ranked by the people who know.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make             Police State America

VIDEO: Ayn Rand - The Suicide of Capitalism

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: The principles of capitalism are the principles of American individualism. So why is economic freedom now under threat? An insightful look into this question from Ayn Rand. (1961)

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

September 29, 2018

Murders and rapes increasingly going unsolved as cannabis arrests surge—despite legalization

fromFreeThoughtProject: New research shows cannabis arrests are on the rise at the same time over half of the United States have legalized cannabis in some form or another.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Mom regains custody of 10-month-old son who was taken by CPS because she left the hospital too quickly

fromReason: Judge: "There is nothing in the record which would lead this court to believe that the mother is unwilling to provide the appropriate care for the child."
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

VIDEO: should you need the government's permission to work?

fromInstituteForJustice/YouTube: In a free country, no third party would stand between an man needing an employee and a man willing to work at the rate offered.
Regulation Nation

The government wants airlines to delay your flight so they can scan your face

fromTheIntercept: No inconvenience is too great for the common man when government seeks to expand its database on the citizenry. Designed to be a public servant, government is now the master.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Stormy Daniels and “peak oil”

fromEricPetersAuto: Everyone knows about Stormy Daniels. How many know that United States is on track to be a net exporter of oil by the early 2020s Whatever happened to “peak oil”? Weren’t we supposed to be running out?
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

John Stossel: Leaving the left

fromCreators: Dave Rubin began doing long interviews with people like talk show host Larry Elder. The more people he interviewed, the more he became convinced something was missing in the left's picture of the world.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

August 3, 2018

Federal Judge Breaks Up Albuquerque’s Car Theft Ring

fromSpiked: A new ruling says the city’s civil forfeiture program violates the right to due process. Car theft becomes more difficult for the police department.
Police State America

The ACLU is turning its back on free speech

fromCreators: Once a civil liberties champion, the ACLU has exposed itself as just a leftwing front group, explicitly endorsing the view that free speech can harm ‘marginalized’ groups by undermining their civil rights.  
Indoctrination and Censorship

Keeping cops hands out of your pocket

fromAmericanConservative: The Supreme Court recently agreed to rule on a case that could have a major impact on whether civil asset forfeiture can continue to serve as low hanging fruit for bureaucratic interests run amok.  
Police State America     The Government is Not Us

VIDEO: How Trump Transformed the Democratic Party Into the World's Dumbest Religion

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: A once principled political party has devolved into a kooky religion where all things Trump are satanic. Tammy Bruce breaks down the situation with Tucker Carlson.   
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption     Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

John Stossel: Working for tips

fromCreators: As usual, those who want the government to decide that workers must be paid more insist that "women and minorities" are hurt by the market. But waitress Alcieli Felipe says the politicians should butt out.  
Regulation Nation

Facebook blocks searches for pages that reference marijuana—even those of government agencies

fromReason: The platform is struggling to handle contradictory laws about legal and illegal use of pot.  
Indoctrination and Censorship      The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Hyprocrisy On Steroids: California Labor Union That Fought To Impose $15 Minimum Wage Now Wants An Exemption

The point is to drive up the costs of their competition.  The labor union that led the charge for a $15 minimum wage hike in cities across California is now moving to secure an exemption for employers under union contracts. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor buried the exemption on the eighth page of its 12-page proposal for the  ... MORE

Paul Bedard: Americans Are Now Spending More On Taxes Than They Do On Food, Clothing And Housing Combined

After April 24, you get to work for yourself.    A tax advocacy group on Wednesday revealed that Americans spend more on taxes than their whole budget for food, clothing and housing. The Tax Foundation, in its annual report on when the nation as a whole has earned enough to pay its taxes, announced the date as April 24. "Tax Freedom Day  ... MORE

23% Of Americans In Their Working Prime Are Unemployed

by Michael Snyder. Did you know that when you take the number of working age Americans that are officially unemployed (8.2 million) and add that number to the number of working age Americans that are considered to be “not in the labor force” (94.3 million), that gives us a grand total of 102.5 million working age Americans that do not have a job right ... MORE

China Trade Isn't Killing America's Working Class

by Shikha Dalmia.    Politicians & misconceptions. American politics aren't exactly immune to bouts of protectionism. A Bloomberg poll has found that two-thirds of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, are four-square behind it—a sentiment that Bernie Sanders is exploiting on the left and Donald Trump on the right. But although free trade has     ... MORE

VIDEO: Do Women Earn Less Than Men?

Walter E Williams: Minimum Wage Dishonesty

Higher prices mean less demand.  Michael Hiltzik, a columnist and Los Angeles Times reporter, wrote an article titled "Does a minimum wage raise hurt workers? Economists say: We don't know." Uncertain was his conclusion from a poll conducted by the Initiative on Global Markets, at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, of 42   ... MORE

VIDEO: Edgar The Exploiter

John Farrier: This Robot Keeps Store Shelves Full

In response to a $15 minimum wage.   One of the most common tasks for retail workers is to look at the shelves, see which items are low, and restock those areas from storage. Now that task may be partially replaced with robots. Simbe Robotics calls its invention Tally. This robot roams a store autonomously, scanning shelves, finding out which  ... MORE

Walter E Williams: Wealth, Poverty and Politics

Sowell's new book is a fun read.  Dr. Thomas Sowell, my colleague and friend, told me several years ago that he wasn't going to write any more books, but that was two books ago, and now he has just published his 45th. The man writes with both hands, as can be seen from his website, which lists his 45 books, 19 journal articles, 71 essays in       ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Unconventional Business

How Capitalism Enriches The Working Class

by Thomas DiLorenzo.       In the early days of capitalism there was a mass exodus from farm to factory.   No one forced the masses to work in factories; they did so because factory work  was better and more profitable than the alternative – sixteen hours a day of backbreaking farm labor for less money.  Or begging, prostitution, crime, and    ... MORE

Occupational Licensing Hurts Just About Everyone

by Elizabeth Nolan Brown.     The White House Council of Economic Advisors gets it.  Horse masseurs.  Hair braiders.  Funeral attendants. Florists. All are subject, at least in some states, to "occupational licensing," defined by the Treasury Department as "a government permit allowing workers to legally practice." Since the 1950s, the     ... MORE

So-Called Public Servants Won't Take No For An Answer

Ah, the census worker.   An East Dallas woman is outraged after she claims one U.S. Census worker showed up at her door for a housing survey and would not take “no” for an answer. Sonia Platz said the worker went as far as to camp out in her yard as she waited for Platz to change her mind. “She’s ringing the bell, knocking on the door. And I’m like, ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - First Jobs Regulated Away

Warren Buffett Knows Minimum Wage Hurts Workers

by Chris Matthews.    Billionaire suggests education instead. Warren Buffett is a favorite of the American left for his support of such policies as higher taxes on the rich and healthcare reform. But advocates for workers rights may be a little less pleased with the billionaire investor after he published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Friday, decrying   ... MORE

VIDEO: Freedom To Give - Why Liberty?

Obamacare Is Really Expensive For Small Businesses

by J.D. Tuccille.    Lousy news for the economy. "Complying with the health care law is costing small businesses thousands of dollars that they didn't have to spend before the new regulations went into effect," reports AP business writer Joyce M. Rosenberg. This should be a surprise to exactly nobody. In general, government mandates have poor track      ... MORE