by Maggie Lit. Dumb down accomplished. The average U.S. college freshman reads at a seventh grade level, according to an educational assessment report. “We are spending billions of dollars trying to send students to college and maintain them there when, on average, they read at about the grade 6 or 7 level, according to Renaissance ... MOREThe Average College Freshman Reads At 7th Grade Level
by Maggie Lit. Dumb down accomplished. The average U.S. college freshman reads at a seventh grade level, according to an educational assessment report. “We are spending billions of dollars trying to send students to college and maintain them there when, on average, they read at about the grade 6 or 7 level, according to Renaissance ... MOREMatt Kaiser: Overpunishment And Rationality
Injustice by prosecutorial discretion. Judge Jed S. Rakoff has launched a firestorm of conversation about his criticism of the federal criminal justice system in the New York Review of Books and his proposal for how to fix it. First, a bit of backstory for those who do not turn to the New York
Review of Books for commentary on the federal ... MORE
Scott Shackford: One Way Congress Can Help Fight Police Abuse Is By Ending The Incentives To Seize Assets
Remove the profit motive from policing. This election year has seen increased attention to the use and abuse of civil asset forfeiture programs by law enforcement agencies. These programs allow officers and federal law enforcers to seize and keep funds and property they claim are connected to crime. Asset forfeiture has been a huge force ... MORELimited Access To Hydrocodone Pushes Abusers To Heroin
Unintended consequences of DEA dictating health care. After the DEA ruled to make hydrocodone a schedule two drug, some health officials became concerned abusers would find more dangerous ways to feed their addiction. Now that hydrocodone isn't easily accessible, those who abused it aren't able to meet their addiction needs, ... MOREJacob Sullum: Legal Pot Slips Through A Loophole
D.C. residents can breathe easier. Harold Rogers, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House
Appropriations Committee,
says a rider in the omnibus spending bill that Congress enacted
last month stops the District of Columbia from legalizing
marijuana. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's congressional
delegate,
disagrees. So do D.C. Mayor ... MORE
Psychiatrists Now Say Non-Conformity Is A Mental Illness
Only sheeple are ‘sane.’ The nail that sticks up will be hammered down. Modern psychiatry has become a hotbed of corruption, particularly the kind that seeks to demonize and declare mentally ill anyone who deviates from what is regarded as the norm. This is abundantly evident in the latest installment of the industry’s Diagnostic and Statistical ... MOREJohn Stossel: Trust
Just check the ratings. Trust — society depends on it. For most of history, our ancestors lived in clans with other family
members, or in small villages. Everyone pretty much knew who was
trustworthy. People behaved better because they wanted good
relationships with family members and neighbors. It's one reason that
today we trust ... MORECitizen Reporting Theft Has Bike Stolen In Police Station
by Steve Miller. Another one of those police reports, comin' up! A Chicago man might think twice the next time he goes into a police station to report something as stolen. On Friday night, 31-year-old Adam Wisneski rode his bike to the Shakespeare District police station on the Northwest Side to report a stolen iPhone. He says he didn’t have his bike ... MOREPoll: Americans Realize That Government Is The Problem!
The lesson of hope and change has been learned. Confirming the 2014 election zeitgeist, a new Gallup poll finds that Americans are fed up with ever-encroaching, corrupt and incompetent government, as represented by ObamaCare and other federal policies. For the first time since Gallup has conducted polling, people say that the "biggest ... MORE
How Government Money Effects Climate Change Opinion
by Patrick J Michaels & Paul C "Chip" Knappenberger. In our post last week titled “Climate Alarmism: When is this Bozo Going Down?” we described how new research increasingly casts doubt on the validity of climate models and their projections of future climate change. It is increasing clear that climate models simply predict too much ... MOREThomas Sowell: The Equality Racket
Tactics of the ethnic grievance industry. Some time ago, burglars in England scrawled a message on the wall of a home they had looted: "RICH BASTARDS." Those two words captured the spirit of the politicized vision of equality — that it was a grievance when someone was better off than themselves. That, of course, is not the only meaning of ... MOREWalter E Williams: Liberals' Use Of Black People - Part II
Life on the liberal plantation. Last week's column focused on the ways liberals use blacks in pursuit of their leftist agenda, plus their demeaning attitudes toward black people. Most demeaning are their double standards. It was recently reported that Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House majority whip, spoke at a 2002 gathering hosted by ... MOREVIDEO: Immigration Checkpoint Refusal Gone Wrong
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
Kim Bellware: Despite Medical Marijuana Having Been Legal In Illinois For Over A Year, No Patients Have Benefited
Government obstruction at its best. Medical marijuana has been legal in Illinois for more than 365 days,
but the number of patients that have actually been able to get relief
from the drug remains a big fat zero. While 600 local patients have already been approved
for a medical marijuana card, there's no place to actually buy the
stuff. And ... MOREJim Monk: N.D. Bill Would Ban Use Of Sobriety Checkpoints
"Reasonable suspicion," what a concept! A bill in the North Dakota Legislature would prohibit the use of sobriety checkpoints. The Republican-sponsored measure says law enforcement may not perform a traffic stop unless the officer has "reasonable suspicion" of a violation. Senator Tom Campbell of Grafton says sobriety checkpoints ... MORE
The Delirious Happiness Of Free Market Choice
by David John Marotta. In 2007, Malcolm Gladwell, author of “Blink” and “The Tipping Point,” gave a TED talk on psychophysicist Howard Moskowitz.
According to Gladwell, Moskowitz has “done as much to make Americans
happy as perhaps anyone over the last twenty years.” His work and
subsequent fame was in the food science industry, but his ... MOREIRS Horror Story Makes Past Scandals Pale In Comparison
IRS and their license to steal. There are times when it becomes absolutely impossible to support the remarkably bad judgment often displayed by federal agencies under the control of the current administration—even for those of us who are typically viewed as backers of many of this administration’s policies. The latest installment ... MOREIs Obama the Drug Warrior Becoming Obama the Reformer?
by Jacob Sullum. In a 2011 Reason cover
story, I explained why drug policy reformers had been bitterly
disappointed by President Obama's performance during his first few
years in office. With the notable exception of his support for
shorter crack sentences, which Congress approved almost unanimously
in 2010, Obama had done very ... MORE
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 ... MOREJohn 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 ... MOREDUI 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 ... MOREWendy 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 ... MORENYPD 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 ... MOREDavid 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 ... MORECalifornia 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 ... MORECongress 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 ... MORE21,000 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 ... MOREDavid 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 ... MORERadley 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 ... MOREJohn 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 ... MOREDon'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 ... MORENYPD Punishes City by Citing, Arresting Fewer Citizens
by Scott Shackford. That'll teach em! Right now in New York City, guys selling black market cigarettes are much, much less likely to be harassed and arrested (or worse) by the New York Police Department. Apparently, or at least in the eyes of the New York Post, we’re supposed to see this as a bad thing (people not getting arrested is ... MORE
Armed Intruders Fail To Heed Warning From Homeowner With Gun To Not Take Another Step, Then Pay The Price
by Dave Urbanski. In the space of five days the city of Memphis, Tennessee, has seen its
second fatal shooting by a homeowner against reported armed home
intruders. TheBlaze reported the
first instance which occurred Tuesday when a woman answered a knock at a
front door. When two men reportedly forced their way in — one of them ... MOREDUI Checkpoints - Are They Legal & What Are Your Rights?
by Marc Saggese. They go by a number of different names: DUI checkpoints, administrative roadblocks, mobile checkpoints, or as they are referred to by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, sobriety checkpoints. No matter the title, they all have the same effect: to allow the police to stop your vehicle for no articulable reason, ask ... MOREBrian Doherty: Making Colorado Safe For Guns And Pot
Marijuana smokers and the right to carry guns. Two Colorado firearms instructors are planning a ballot initiative in
their state to help smash a huge violation of citizens' rights:
that marijuana smokers, according to the federal government, are
not allowed to own guns. The
1968 Gun Control Act declared in section 922(g)
that unlawful ... MOREMichelle Malkin: Obamacare's Annus Horribilis
There's no candy coating the truth: Obamacare has had a very terrible, horrible, crappy, none-too-happy year. What it really means is that the victims of Obamacare — taxpayers, health care consumers, health care providers, employers and employees — have had a hellish, nightmarish 2014. Let's start with premiums. President Candy ... MORE
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