The Supreme Court handed those who believe in the right to self-defense another victory yesterday with their McDonald v Chicago decision. Sadly, as with their Heller decision two years ago, it was only 5-4, but residents of the People’s Republic of Illinois (as my dad likes to call it) can now sleep a little easier […]
It’s a good time to be an anarchist. It is encouraging to hear that eighty-six percent of people think the government is broken, even if they are misguided about exactly how and why. You see, saying our system of government is broken is like saying the internal combustion engine is broken. Sure it produces all […]
You’ve no doubt seen the story by now of this Seattle police officer caught on videotape. The headline reads “Seattle officer punches girl in face during jaywalking stop,” which is a bit sensationalist, but does sum up the salient points. Watch the entire clip on YouTube, however, and you’re provided with some context for the […]
I’ve written about how rights are digital, but there is another quality that I’d like to explore a bit. While all of our rights may be equal, they may not always be symmetrical. We all have the right to do whatever we want unless or until it infringes upon the rights of another to do […]
I am hereby starting the national dialog on reforming our nation’s Appetite Care laws. Your appetite cannot be ignored, after all. If you cannot afford to address your appetite issues, then you will surely die. So, clearly, you have a basic human right to appetite care. But not everyone sees it this way. There are […]
As long as the government is going to regulate every aspect of marriage (who can get married, who pays for the kids, etc.), I think Congress should go ahead and eliminate the moral ambiguity of adultery. Sen John Ensign’s comments about his extramarital affair last year highlighted the fact that adultery isn’t technically illegal. Why […]
This is addressed to those who routinely mispronounce the name of my home state. Some of you, inexplicably, are from this state and you still don’t know how to pronounce it. Since you somehow managed to escape any proper instruction in its pronunciation, allow me to enlighten you. It is pronounced Mizz-oo-ree. Please note that […]
Many years ago I remember hearing about a story where someone had the battery stolen out of their car. A day or two later, a brand new car battery showed up on their doorstep, with a note apologizing. The heartfelt apology described how they were down on their luck and needed the battery to get […]
Having spent a few weeks on the road this year, I’ve had more exposure to the TSA recently than I really care to. This, coupled with the announcement that the current theater that passes for airport security will be enhanced with random hand-swabbing, is enough to bring into sharp relief the myriad reasons that I […]
Ignoring for the moment the complete absurdity of giving a third-grader detention for eating a Jolly Rancher, let’s explore this story a little deeper. In other words, follow the money. Because the real story here doesn’t appear until the tenth paragraph, when the school district superintendent, Jack Ellis, says, “failing to adhere to the state’s […]
Thought to be a curse of ancient Chinese origin, the title of this essay is appropriate for life in America today. A new report by the Pew Research Center is in the news today — just the latest data showing that most believe our government is broken, echoing results from a similar CNN poll conducted […]
…in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. — Luke 2, KJV I guess the connection between taxation and the census is as old as the human race. But for roughly 150 […]