The right-to-work proliferates. My first job as a teenager back in 1976 was working as a blue-suited Andy Frain usher at sporting events at places like Wrigley Field in Chicago. When I took the job, I was required to join the local union and pay dues. My co-workers and I used to endlessly complain that the union was snatching money from our paychecks ... MORE
A most anti-science idea. "But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact," said President Barack Obama in his 2014 State of the Union address. Saying the debate is settled is nonsense, but the president is right about climate change. GlobalChange.gov gives the definition of climate change: "Changes in average weather conditions that persist over ... MORE
by Niraj Chokshi. Rand Paul is a co-sponsor. The historic medical marijuana bill a trio of senators plan to unveil on Tuesday has a bit of something for everyone. The bill, which activists describe as a first for the Senate, would end the federal prohibition on medical marijuana and implement a number of critical reforms that advocates of ... MORE
Cutting incentives for theft. Texas has some of the worst civil forfeiture laws in the country. In
2010, the Institute for Justice gave the state a grade of D- in terms of
how easy it is for police to take property allegedly linked to criminal
activity, and how hard it is for the property owner to get it back.
It's not everywhere that a petty thief can ... MORE
Group disparities are common. The U.S. Department of Justice issued two reports last week, both growing out of the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of Michael Brown. The first report, about "the shooting death of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson" ought to be read by every American. It says in plain English what facts ... MORE
Caught driving while black. The town of Woodworth, Louisiana is in hot water. Police officers were caught on dashcam video shaking down innocent motorists during a traffic stop, and the state’s second highest court wants the city to pay for it. On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals in favor of Patricia Parker’s lawsuit against the town. At 6am on ... MORE_0.jpg)
Pot suspect shot in the face by cops in his own home. Meet Derek Cruice, your latest collateral damage in the drug war:A
deputy shot and killed an unarmed man while attempting to serve a
narcotics search warrant in Deltona, according to the Volusia County
Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said deputies were entering the
home on Maybrook ... MORE
The musings of a genius. When President Obama keeps talking about "violent extremists" in the abstract, you might wonder whether Presbyterians are running amok. The mainstream media seem desperate to try to find something to undermine Republican governor Scott Walker's rise in the polls. The worst they have come up with is that he ... MORE
Codifying bad behavior. President
Obama has said that the country needs a strong privacy law so consumers
can protect personal information from advertisers, Internet firms,
employers and other businesses. But the country is not going to get it
from Mr. Obama. The bill his administration recently offered will do
little to help individuals while giving ... MORE
Labor force participation hovers near 37-year low. The labor force participation rate hovered between 62.9 percent and 62.7 percent in the eleven months from April 2014 through February, and has been 62.9 percent or lower in 13 of the 17 months since October 2013. Prior to that, the last time the rate was below 63 percent was 37 years ago, ... MORE
by Brendan O'Neill. Two months after the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, the French state has just taken a massive merde on the graves of those who were killed. It has decided to honor their memory, or dishonor it, by
instituting what promise to be the most stringent anti-hate speech
laws in Europe. It has declared an “unmerciful battle”—the Justice ... MORE
by Maxim Lott. In a step that critics worry will inject political bias into search results, a Google research team released a report this month on ranking search results based on how factual websites are. They propose eventually using that to change Google rankings, which are currently based on website popularity. The Google researchers give, as an ... MORE