A lesson from Canada. Hardly was there time to celebrate the demise of Section 13, the infamous provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act prohibiting "communication of hate messages," before we were reminded this was not the only unwarranted restriction on freedom of speech on the books. Section 319.2 of the Criminal Code, for example, ... MORE
Prohibition creating bigger problems than drug use. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has become the latest leader to condemn the now 40-year-old war on drugs. "The war on drugs, while well-intentioned, has been a failure," Christie said Monday during a speech at The Brookings Institution. "We're warehousing addicted people everyday in state prisons in ... MORE
Sometimes a gain in one means a loss in the other. One of the reasons for the popularity of political rhetoric is that everybody can be right, in terms of their own rhetoric, no matter how much the rhetoric of one side contradicts the rhetoric of the other side. President Obama constantly repeats how many millions of jobs have been created ... MORE
More punishment for Arizona. The federal government is a bull that has found yet another china shop, this time in Arizona. It seems determined to inflict, for angelic motives and progressive goals, economic damage on this state. And economic and social damage on American Indians, who over the years have experienced quite enough of that ... MORE
Sifting the objective from the subjective. One of the more difficult lessons to teach economics neophytes — and, many times, trained economists — is that economic theory cannot say anything definitive about subjective statements, such as what's better, good, bad or worse. Let's try a few examples to make the point. Cabernet sauvignon wine is ... MORE
Thong underwear not recommended for air travel. No, women still haven’t gotten used to this TSA practice. And it’s still offensive, humiliating, degrading, and makes being a woman an unfortunate preexisting condition (thanks, Nancy!). The TSA asked a female passenger at Philadelphia International Airport this morning to raise her ... MORE