Jed S. Rakoff: Why Innocent People Plead Guilty

And why does the system promote such?     The criminal justice system in the United States today bears little relationship to what the Founding Fathers contemplated, what the movies and television portray, or what the average American believes. To the Founding Fathers, the critical element in the system was the jury trial, which served   ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: The FBI - America's Secret Police

Secret police.   Secret courts.   Secret government agencies. Surveillance. Intimidation tactics. Harassment. Torture. Brutality. Widespread corruption. Entrapment schemes. These are the hallmarks of every authoritarian regime from the Roman Empire to modern-day America, yet it’s the secret police—tasked with silencing     ... MORE

Democrats Turn On The REAL Enemy: Each Other

by J.D. Tuccille.       Even before the Democratic Party's...drubbing (that seems to be the favored term this time around) in yesterday's elections, the White House was already blaming its supposed allies for the defeats that were (correctly) anticipated once voters trooped to the polls. "Ultimately, you know, it's the quality of these candidates ... MORE

VIDEO: A Discussion On Equality And Affirmative Action

Dan Mitchell: How Washington Profits By Pillaging America

Why politicians love to shear the sheep.    I’ve been banging the drum for years about Washington being a racket for the benefit of politicians, cronyists, bureaucrats, contractors, lobbyists, interest groups, and other insiders. I’ve written about horrific examples of bloated spending that line the pockets of the well connected.        ... MORE

David Leonhardt: Football, The Newest Partisan Divide

Dismantling the gridiron.      To the list of issues that divide the country along partisan lines, you can add an unusual item: football. Yes, virtually every slice of America still watches football in enormous numbers. But blue America — particularly the highly educated Democratic-leaning areas of major metropolitan areas — is    ... MORE

VIDEO: Righteous Drug Warriors Burn The Evil Weed

California To Release All Non Violent Drug War Prisoners

by Kelsie Paige. Voters may room in prison for the violent. California just voted to release all their drug prisoners and will no longer allow felony convictions for drugs! Wow and Wow! Peace, Love and NeverGetBusted. California approved a major shift against mass incarceration on Tuesday in a vote that could lead to the    ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: More Culture Wars?

Will the Republican victory make a difference?          Because of the way the news business works, I am writing this column before the close of the polls in the so-called midterm elections, and hence as I write, I do not know their outcome. Will the Republicans or the Democrats control the U.S. Senate for the next two years?   ... MORE

IRS Rules Make Federal Government Primary Pot Profiteers

by Katie Kuntz. A 70% Tax? Voters in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., will decide Tuesday whether to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana. But any new pot shops that voters approve may not be able to survive a drug war-era tax code that already threatens many businesses in Colorado and Washington state. Under this tax code the federal  ... MORE

Joel Gehrke: Election Eve Dump - Eric Holder Releases Fast And Furious Documents That Got Him Cited for Contempt

Holder contempt vote vindicated?    Justice Department officials provided House investigators with thousands of documents related to Operation Fast and Furious that President Obama had previously claimed were exempt from congressional review. In an “election eve dump,” as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Crime In America

Pot Legalization Spreads Through The West And Into D.C.

by Evan Halper.  Joints, pot brownies, cannabis–dosed sodas and other marijuana products will soon be sold in retail shops to any adult who wants them throughout a large chunk of the West, after voters in Oregon and Alaska approved legalization measures Tuesday. And an initiative approved overwhelmingly by Washington, D.C., voters legalizes   ... MORE

Michael Zennie: Hillary Mocked By Rand Paul After Almost Every Democrat She Campaigned With LOST In Midterms

Hillary's inconvenient truth.        Tuesday night's victory for the Republicans wasn't just a blow to President Barack Obama - it was also a knock on Hillary Clinton, who campaigned for almost all of the candidates who lost Democratic US Senate seats on Tuesday. And Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a likely challenger to Clinton in the 2016 presidential   ... MORE

VIDEO: Learn Repugnance - Stop Obeying Them

Drugs And Prostitutes Help Bring Italy Out Of Recession

by Shane Ferro.   Italy is no longer in a recession, thanks to its black market. Because the European Union changed the way it calculates GDP to include illegal revenue from things like underground alcohol sales, drugs, and prostitution, Italy found out Wednesday that its 0.1% GDP decline in the first quarter of 2014 was actually flat— or 0.0%    ... MORE

John Stossel: Electing Liberty

Yearning to live as a free man. I watch election results to gauge whether America has become freer or more tyrannical. It's hard to know whether Tuesday's results will make much difference. Often, individual liberty erodes in ways that neither major political party much cares about. Last weekend, I suffered through the New York       ... MORE

With a Big GOP Wave, Americans Wisely Voted for Gridlock

by J.D. Tuccille.    On election night, TV talking heads watching the Republican wave/surge/tidal flow across the country earnestly looked at each other and asked if the new Republican Senate majority can work with the president and overcome the gridlock that has so turned off voters. Umm...what?  Yeah, I know Americans keep telling      ... MORE

Joanne Moudy: Politically Correct Or Prostitution?

Can we be honest?    Personally, I’ve never been one to mince words, which has occasionally gotten me into a bit of boiling water. But since I’d rather deal with a few uncomfortable moments now than burn forever in the fires of hell, I’ve stubbornly clung to clarity and honesty over doublespeak and lies. Considering the never ending, illogical   ... MORE

VIDEO: Journalist Targeted By Obama Administration

Citizenfour: A Thrilling View Of History In The Making

by Bill Goodykoontz.       Snowden documentary gets high marks. "Citizenfour" captures history in the making. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it's not. Director Laura Poitras takes her camera to Hong Kong, where she and investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald meet with a whistleblower who will, even during the course of the making  ... MORE