by Baylen Linnekin. Last month the San Francisco city council introduced a proposal
to tax soda at a rate of two cents per ounce. The tax, which would
have to be approved by voters, would add a whopping $1.44 to the
cost of a six-pack of soda. The council liked the idea so much that
they soon
introduced a competing proposal to tax soda ... MORE
by Rick Moran. Things are so bad that one candidate for governor in Georgia, Jason Carter, is banking on people being nostalgic for the good old days when his grandfather Jimmy was president. Politico: Carter, a 38-year-old Duke- and University of Georgia-educated lawyer with an attractive young family, is a respected voice in the state Senate, ... MORE
Dictating legislation through regulation. Remember that huge flap earlier this year about how the Internal Revenue Service was targeting tea party and other conservative groups that had applied for tax exempt status — subjecting them to pages of questions and long delays simply for a reply? Well now the Obama administration has ... MORE
Obama's action go beyond mismanagement. Questions regarding President Obama’s competence have mostly been limited to management abilities, laziness, honesty and the like. Allison Martinez, however, opens an issue that many whisper about but dare not speak of publicly — his mental stability: Claims of grandeur that are ... MORE
Gun control, you have to one before you can control it. The Washington Post has an interesting video and story up about how it is now possible to print a useable gun on a 3D printer. The technology is still in its infancy – as one of the videos below shows, the guns don’t always work long – but they’re getting there. And they permit people to ... MORE
The police seem to be gearing up for war. From war zones to city streets, some military vehicles are getting a new life -- and not everyone is happy about the recycling. The Defense Department recently announced it would be giving domestic law enforcement forces hulking vehicles designed ... MORE Related: SWAT Vehicle Runs Over Citizen
So much for behavior detection officers. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spent approximately $900 million over the last 5 years for behavior detection officers to identify high-risk passengers but, so far, according to the General Accountability Office (GAO), only 0.59% of the passengers flagged were arrested and among those ... MORE
by Ed Morrissey. Does the latest NSA revelation
show the agency creating newer and more humane efforts to defuse
potential terrorist situations through discrediting their leaders — or a
dangerous new direction for government snooping? Perhaps this might be a
little bit of both. The NSA collected data on six potential targets
about ... MORE
by Gary Null & Richard Gale. According to all official health reports, we are now fully in flu season. It is that time of year when public health officials, physicians pediatricians and pharmacists warn that everyone over 6 months of age should protect themselves and get vaccinated. Most Americans, believing the government’s ... MORE
Thankfully avoiding the tragedy of the commons. Had today's politicians and opinion-makers been in power four centuries ago, Americans might celebrate "Starvation Day" this week, not Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims started out with communal property rules. When they first settled at Plymouth, they were told: "Share everything, share ... MORE
by Ben Domenech. We probably all know at least one: the person who comes to a family gathering primed to talk about politics – particularly, to let you know why their view is right, and yours is dead, dead wrong. These are the worst kind of guests. They have no interest in catching up and spending a brief moment in time out of the ... MORE
by Miranda Green. After years in the political wilderness, marijuana lobbyists find themselves in a strange position as 2014 approaches: Suddenly their power and support are growing, lawmakers are courting them, and the prospects look brighter to build on major progress the movement made in 2012. Last year, voters in Colorado and ... MORE