Richard Berman: Manufacturing A Food Scare

Marketing to the uninformed.   The wisdom of crowds is a concept that has remarkable predictability. Often, the dispersed knowledge of millions of people making informed decisions is more reliable than the informed bias of policy activists. When it comes to the latest food scare, antibiotics and resistant bacteria, polling shows the public   ... MORE

Jeffrey Tucker: Everyone Needs Freedom To Discriminate

What is liberty if not free to choose? Following the Supreme Court decision mandating legal same-sex marriage nationwide, the New York Times tells us that, “gay rights leaders have turned their sights to what they see as the next big battle: obtaining federal, state and local legal protections in employment, housing, commerce and other      ... MORE

How Bitcoin Can Save You During A Financial Crisis

by Robert Taylor.     A little rebellion. What would you do if the US government suddenly announced a bank holiday, limits or bans on ATM withdrawals or other types of cash and capital controls? Or implemented a “bail-in” where part of your bank deposits were used to further pyramid debt and save an oligarchical financial system? Is there any doubt  ... MORE

VIDEO: Chas Murray - Who Killed The 9th Amendment?

Trump Cured A Cancer -- 'Political Correctness'

by Barry Farber. If Donald Trump were to cure cancer, wouldn’t you feel like thanking him? Even if you were another Republican competing for the GOP presidential nomination, you’d want to thank him. Even if all of your Mexican relatives were priests and missionaries and not drug dealers and rapists, you’d still want to thank him. So go ahead!       ... MORE

Tim Cushing: This Asset Forfeiture Case Points Out Just How Far Government Will Go To Steal The Citizens Money

Everything is probable cause that a crime was committed.  A federal judge has just ordered the government to return $167,000 it took from a man passing through Nevada on his way to visit his girlfriend in California. The officers really wanted that money, too. They used two consecutive stops to jerry-rig some probable cause… even though ... MORE

VIDEO: The TSA's 12 Signs You Might Be A Terrorist

Veronique de Rugy: States Must Confront Pension Costs

State-Based Accounting 101: ranking fiscal condition.   One of the most boring classes I took in college was on accounting. Over the years, however, I've come to understand the importance of proper and transparent accounting. As the disastrous examples of Greece, Puerto Rico, Detroit, and Chicago demonstrate, dodging long-term   ... MORE

Drug-Planting Judge Gets 5 Years In Federal Prison

by Kathryn Rubino.    From high atop their perch on the bench, judges seem like masters of their domain, making decisions and occasionally creating laws that have a real-world impact on the peons in front of them. So there is some natural schadenfreude when judges find themselves at the mercy of a court, especially when they are accused of    ... MORE

Charles Riggs: Parable Of The Sheep

When dealing with wolves.   Not so long ago and in a pasture too uncomfortably close to here, a flock of sheep lived and grazed. They were protected by a dog, who answered to the master, but despite his best efforts from time to time a nearby pack of wolves would prey upon the flock. One day a group of sheep, more bold than the rest, met to ... MORE

The Effects Of The Minimum Wage Rise In San Francisco

by Tim Worstall.   As we keep trying to point out to people there really isn’t anything even remotely resembling a free lunch when it comes to the discussion of wages and labor. Meaning that just because well meaning liberals wave their magic wand and decree that wages will rise there will indeed be countervailing effects. And in San Francisco, where   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Green Tyranny: The Job Killers

John Stossel: Lots Of Democrats Want Socialism

The unintended consequences of socialists.      Nearly 10,000 people turned out to hear Bernie Sanders in Wisconsin. Why? Apparently, many Democrats want socialism. Sanders is the Vermont senator who is running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Sanders calls himself a "democratic socialist," not to be confused with New     ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: Jade Helm, Terrorist Attacks, Surveillance And Other Fairy Tales For A Gullible Nation

A cautionary tale. Once upon a time, there was a nation of people who believed everything they were told by their government. When terrorists attacked the country, and government officials claimed to have been caught by surprise, the people believed them. And when the government passed massive laws aimed at locking down the nation and     ... MORE

VIDEO: Understanding Your State's Fiscal Health

Jacob Sullum: Christie Vs. Paul On Surveillance & Security

NJ governor unconcerned about warrantless snooping.  Chris Christie says Rand Paul, one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, is "politicizing America's national security" by objecting to the government's indiscriminate collection of our telephone records. The New Jersey governor's puzzling charge against the Kentucky senator    ... MORE

Austin Petersen: Dead Idiot Blew His Head Off With Firework, Now His Mom Wants The Rest Of Us To Suffer

Either society or lack of warning label must be to blame.   A dead moron from Maine was killed instantly when he fired a firework off from the top of his head. Predictably, he will now be used as a prop to advocate for stricter controls thanks to a grieving parent… who ought to bear at least some of the blame. From the AP: The mother of   ... MORE