Ezra Klein, who is a majoritarian: Rather, I’d argue that the central question is “legitimacy.” We have a party-based electoral system that, particularly in the Senate, pushes towards a relatively even division of power. The question then becomes whether we’re more comfortable with the consequences of a system where the minority can block good policy [...]

College enrollment has been booming. Schools have not only been adding new seats to existing programs but also adding new programs. And, unlike the free-market process where the supply of a good is expanding dramatically, the price of these seats has been increasing dramatically – much faster than the CPI. The increased attendance at increased [...]

Remember the “good old days” of the Brady Bill and the instant background check? It turns out that the gun grabbers in the 111th Congress no longer believe these gun control measures go far enough. Introducing perhaps the gravest threat to date against the Second Amendment: H.R. 45 Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of [...]

Yesterday, a reader wrote me and asked: “I have been wondering how bad the current economic “crisis” will get. Depending on who I talk to I have been told everything from “this is simply part of the normal cycle of economics” to being told to invest heavily in ammo” Ok, here’s my take on it. [...]

Feeling left out of President Obama’s stimulus program ? Well, there’s still hope. Thanks to this handy-dandy web link, you can ensure that you are included in the kajillion dollar stimulus package that Saint President Obama will sign into law on Tuesday. I’ve already taken care of myself (click to enlarge):

Ezra Klein quotes approvingly a section of Michael Pollans In Defense Of Food on the high level of diabetes in those eating a Western-style diet. In response, he almost seems to be suggesting that there’s a moral hazard problem of socialized healthcare: A diagnosis of diabetes subtract roughly twelve years from one’s life and living [...]

I’ve said before, when it comes to government, that they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. Perhaps I was being generous, following Napoleon’s quote: “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” Perhaps they know exactly what they’re doing, and they just don’t want to tell us: Geithner’s message was well [...]

Not political, but I know how he feels. An email received by another blogger: “writing this in restaurant bathroom. wife will murder me with a soup spoon if she finds out I took the crackberry to valentines dinner.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I want to throw that thing out the [...]

Did you ever think you’d see the day when Republicans argued in favor of nationalizing the banking industry. Well, you made it: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina of the Senate Budget Committee said today on “This Week” that he is open to “nationalizing the banks.” “I think if you put most of our [...]

Well, New Yorkers can rest a little easier. The proposed soda tax has been shot down. It’s main proponent, Gov. David Paterson, is taking the defeat in stride: New York Gov. David Paterson admitted Thursday one of his most talked-about tax proposals, an obesity tax on sugary drinks, is fizzling. But he said it popped [...]

Human beings are going to make mistakes, whether in the market or in the government. The difference is that survival in the market requires recognizing mistakes and changing course before you go bankrupt. But survival in politics requires denying mistakes and sticking with the policies you advocated, while blaming others for the bad results. -Thomas [...]

Paul Krugman, who doesn’t believe the spending is big enough, on the politicians: And I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach — a feeling that America just isn’t rising to the greatest economic challenge in 70 years. The best may not lack all conviction, but [...]

Now I know where to spend my stimulus! In late-stage talks, Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pressed for $8 billion to construct high-speed rail lines, quadrupling the amount in the bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. Reid’s office issued a statement noting that a proposed Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas rail might get [...]

Over at Pajamas Media, Roger Kimball offers up a nice compare and contrast of quotes between a great president and our current bumbler in chief.  Here’s an example: Reagan: “One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical [...]

The long and short of the case is that three days after his home was broken into, Fredrick fatally shot an intruder who turned out to be a police officer. Fredrick promptly surrendered to the police once he realized the intruders were in-fact a SWAT team serving a warrant (a very small amount of marijuana [...]

Reason’s Matt Welch ponders how libertarians should feel about GOP’s allegedly re-discovered belief in fiscal restraint and small government: I have a vested interest in national politicians embracing limited-government principles, and so tend to be more happy than not on the rare occasions when I hear these ideas cited, but I hold out zero hope [...]

It looks like prosecutors in South Carolina are looking to charge Michael Phelps in connection with the bong-smoking photograph: COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Even if a South Carolina sheriff is successful in building a marijuana case against swimming superstar Michael Phelps, it might be hard to make the charges stick, defense attorneys say. The case [...]

Ezra Klein, discussing the left’s worry about adding AMT reform to the stimulus bill: But this also got to one of the other problems with the bill: So many of the provisions were politically vulnerable in isolation that you couldn’t pick through them one by one. It would have meant passing the legislation late next [...]

If there was any question that Rush Limbaugh was the voice of the future of the Republican Party, this should make that idea laughable: They will not control government forever, and when our turn comes, we are going to turn the power of government against the left. We are going to investigate them. We are [...]

As Barack Obama tries to claim the legacy of our 16th President, perhaps he should think about this quote from Honest Abe: “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up [...]