James Gattuso & Diane Katz: 10 Worst Regulations Of 2014

Laws beyond bad.   As 2014 comes to a close, it is enveloped in red tape. From the breakfast table to the night light, government regulators invaded nearly every moment of our lives. Here’s our take on the 10 worst examples of the past year: Number 10. Federal Censorship Commission: The Federal Communications Commission began considering a    ... MORE

VIDEO: Mad Cop Threatens Citizen With Illegal Car Search

John W. Whitehead : You’re Either a Cop or Little People

A bad year for the little people.  For those of us who have managed to survive 2014 with our lives intact and our freedoms hanging by a thread, it has been a year of crackdowns, clampdowns, shutdowns, showdowns, shootdowns, standdowns, knockdowns, putdowns, breakdowns, lockdowns, takedowns, slowdowns, meltdowns, and ... MORE

DUI Checkpoint: A Tactic To Avoid Warrantless Searches

Featuring the DUI Flyer video.    Is a DUI checkpoint a violation of fourth amendment rights? Interpretations vary, but some claim it amounts to a warrantless search, and they feel their rights are being violated every time they submit to one. YouTuber HONORYOUROATH says there’s an additional concern. He worries that, even if a driver   ... MORE

Wendy McElroy: The Brain Drain, Gain and Retain

On incentives, freedom and prosperity.       America is making emigration more difficult and expensive. Last year, for example, the cost of renouncing U.S. citizenship rose by over 400% from $450 to $2,350. Those who take the far more common step of simply and quietly leaving still remain vulnerable to a massive tax system that reaches      ... MORE

Massachusetts SWAT Teams Claim Private Corporations Status; Contend They're Immune From Open Records Laws

by Radley Balko.    So they're NOT public servants. That explains a lot. As part of the American Civil Liberties Union’s recent report on police militarization, the Massachusetts chapter of the organization sent open records requests to SWAT teams across that state. It received an interesting response. As it turns out, a number of SWAT teams in  ... MORE

VIDEO: Malcolm Gladwell - Excessive Force

NYPD On "Strike" And Everybody Is Better Off!

by Michael Minkoff.   Citizens reap dividends from intra-government squabble. The NYPD Officer Union has called for a semi-limited “virtual work stoppage” to punish Mayor DeBlasio and other people who, according to the NYPD, haven’t been faithful or loyal enough to the cause of police officers. The result has been that most people would be just     ... MORE

Resolve To Make 2015 The Year Of Repealing Bad Laws

by George Leef.    A message to politicians. Look folks, I know that when you say you want to do what’s in the public interest, you mostly mean doing whatever helps you stay in office and calling it “the public interest.” Some of you, however, might actually want to do things that benefit the great mass of the people. This missive is directed   ... MORE

VIDEO: Should Revenge Porn Be A Crime?

David Harsanyi: Thank Gridlock For Economic Turnaround

The Obama Boom is finally here. Gross domestic product grew by a healthy 5 percent in the third quarter, the strongest growth we've seen since 2003. Consumer spending looks as if it's going to be strong in 2015. Unemployment numbers have looked good. Buying power is up. And the stock market closed at 18,000 for the first time ever. All good  ... MORE

California Begins Issuing Drivers' Licenses To Illegal Aliens

by Jazz Shaw.    Welcome to 2015, with the usual hopes for new beginnings and fresh starts. Along with that, there is the expected flood of new laws going into effect all across the nation as proof of the various legislative bodies getting the work of the people done. The people of California in particular will see the fruits of their elected  ... MORE

Congress Poised To Order Audit Of Federal Reserve

by Stephen Dinan.  Rand Paul takes on his dad's cause. After years of being blocked by Democratic leader Harry Reid, the Senate will finally get a chance next year to vote on legislation to force a broad audit of the Federal Reserve’s decision-making. Once championed in Congress by former Rep. Ron Paul, the push to force the country’s central   ... MORE

21,000 Regulations Under Obama, 2,375 More In 2015

Obama's regulation frenzy.   The pace of agencies issuing new rules and regulations has hit a record high under President Obama, whose administration’s rules have filled 468,500 pages in the Federal Register. And, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the president is poised to unleash another 2,375 new rules on American       ... MORE

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell - Government As Decision-Maker

David Perera: Smart Grid Powers Up Privacy Worries

"Smart" means they are data-mining instruments.  The better to monitor us with. The next Big Data threat to our privacy may come from the electricity we consume in our homes. “Smart” online power meters are tracking energy use — and that data may soon be worth more than the electricity they distribute. The Department of Energy ... MORE

Radley Balko: A Drug Informant Lies, An Innocent Man Dies

When home invaders are from the government.   Back in July, we looked at the case of Jason Wescott, a Florida man shot and killed by a police SWAT team during a drug raid over an alleged sale of $200 worth of pot to a police informant. The tragedy was exacerbated by the fact that according to friends and relatives, Wescott had been       ... MORE

VIDEO: It's Always Sunny In Government?

John Stossel: Ignorance

No wonder Cuba wallows in poverty.    Last week, the New York Times reported that the Castro brothers opened a special business zone where foreign companies "would be given greater control over setting wages at factories. ... (P)roposals would be approved or rejected within 60 days." What? If I want to give someone a raise, I have to wait up ... MORE

Paul Derienzo: The State Of Pot Today

Clearing the smoke around legalization.  Marijuana legalization is on the move as ballot measures to free the weed are spreading like a prairie fire across the American landscape. In November voters legalized marijuana for recreation in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. They join voters in Washington State and Colorado who legalized  ... MORE

Don't Blame Me - The Year's Highlights In Buck Passing

by Jacob Sullum.  For years New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has insisted that people who pay for sex and the intermediaries who facilitate that exchange are responsible for violence against women. Hence his February 26 column celebrating the arrests of men who were guilty of nothing but negotiating terms with cops posing as   ... MORE