I’m not one to fall into the whole “war on Christmas” meme we see repeated this time each year, but this story just strikes me as ridiculous: SEATAC, Wash. — All nine Christmas trees have been removed from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a [...]

The latest target of the food police has been identified. It’s that grave threat to America’s future, the classroom cupcake: Once a cupcake wasn’t something to think about. It was just what your mom brought to school for your birthday. But this year, as schools across the country begin enforcing new federally mandated “wellness policies,” [...]

There once was a Congressman bold Who liked his cash to be cold Were the voters dismayed? The race card was played… And, alas, the Second stayed sold. >;-)

I want to state, first, that this is an expression of what I would think may likely happen, not necessarily what I’d like to see happen. I’d like to see a fully independent Taiwan, living in peace with their neighbors on the mainland. Of course, I’d also like to see the end of the drug [...]

The gavel came down yesterday on the 109th Congress, and the end of an era of Republican control that lasted 12 years. Demoralized Republicans adjourned the 109th Congress at 5 a.m. yesterday with a near-empty Capitol, closing the door on a dozen years of nearly unbroken GOP control by spending more time in the final [...]

In today’s Washington Post, there is a report that serves of a perfect example of what happens when the state becomes involved in regulating business. It involves the milk industry, which, along with the rest of farming, is one of the most heavily regulated businesses in the country. Those regulations, however, aren’t meant to help [...]

So, we have a reader, Walter, who advocates going toe to toe with the Chinese over Taiwan. In response to a single comment by me, he posts a couple hundred words tackling me and his perception of what I advocate or believe. Below the fold, I tackle his comments. I’m sure they won’t make much [...]

So, my family used to use Amazon’s (you don’t really need the URL, do you?) wish list feature for Christmas and birthday gift giving. But there were two problems with it. First, you could only list and link things sold on Amazon. That left plenty of possible gifts that I (or anyone else) might want [...]

These kids are great musicians. It helps, of course, that I love metal too. The Gauchos are a South American sibling garage band that does metal covers. Like Iron Maiden’s The Trooper: Or, their tribute to ELP: But, this cover of Sepultura is probably my favorite: Google was brilliant for acquiring YouTube. One more way [...]

Labor unions exist to protect the interests of their members. All their members. Right ? Well, not so fast. Let’s say you happen to be a member of the teacher’s union in the State of Washington who doesn’t want your union dues used to fund political activities you don’t believe in. Well, at least according [...]

Is how I feel about Dollar Bill Jefferson being re-elected. How can so many people in New Orleans be so goddamned stupid. Let the city sink.

I have a lot of respect for BB&T. After the Kelo decision they took a firm stance in favor of private property rights when they made it a bank policy not to lend money to any developers that used the practice of eminent domain for private development. BB&T is taking another step in promoting capitalism: [...]

There’s been much discussion about the health benefits of New York City’s decision to ban trans-fat’s in restaurants, but no discussion at all about how the trans-fat’s got there in the first place: Before other cities decide to regulate diets absent a safety issue, they might also consider that some of the same people now [...]

David Kirby and David Boaz note that the Republican losses in the 2006 elections can be directly tied to a loss of support for the GOP from libertarian-minded voters: In the past, our research shows, most libertarians voted Republican—72 percent for George W. Bush in 2000, for instance, with only 20 percent for Al Gore, [...]

Ilya Somin writes at The Volokh Conspiracy about what looks to be the most important eminent domain case to reach the Federal Courts since the Kelo decision: [T]wo Port Chester [New York] property owners joined with the Institute for Justice (the public-interest law firm that litigated the Kelo case) to ask the Supreme Court to [...]

That’s the question raised by the case of a Massachusetts man suing his former employer for firing him when he tested positive for nicotine: A Buzzards Bay man has sued The Scotts Co. , the lawn care giant, for firing him after a drug test showed nicotine in his urine, indicating that he had violated [...]

A Question was asked by a reader: 1500 SWAT raids a day…. Has the Drug War completely corrupted our legal system? It depends on what you mean by corrupted. It is certainly corrosive to the souls of the police, and their relationship with the public they are, and must be, inextricably a part of. I [...]

In a case currently before the Utah Supreme Court, the justices are trying to reconcile a case where a 13 year-old girl has been branded a sex offender: Utah Supreme Court justices acknowledged Tuesday that they were struggling to wrap their minds around the concept that a 13-year-old Ogden girl could be both an offender [...]

Former Reason writer Matt Welch gives three reasons why he thinks a libertarian-liberal alliance wouldn’t amount to anything: 1) There’s rarely such a thing as a libertarian in local politics (where most politics are practiced), because it’s awful hard to grant favors (or jobs) to either labor or business while cutting the size of government. [...]

One of the contributors over at Peach Pundit is showing a very limited knowledge of both the Constitution and the intent Founding Fathers with the Second Amendment with this post on the Second Amendment and a gun ban in Washington, DC. The District is arguing that the Second Amendment is a collective right. But one [...]