Okay, that’s probably a bit of an overstatement… But I don’t think that starting a trade war with the Americans who say “eh” and “aboot” Canadians is a really good idea. Via co-blogger Jason Pye at his personal blog: Canada’s six NHL teams are scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements south of the border after [...]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued benefit checks totaling $40.3 million to an estimated 6,100 beneficiaries for months – and in some cases for decades — after receiving notification of their deaths, according to a June audit report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General. H/T: The Other McCain

Two Hundred Twenty Two years ago in Philadelphia, the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia completed it’s work. At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a Mrs. Powel anxiously awaited the results, and as Benjamin Franklin emerged from the long task now finished, asked him directly: “Well Doctor, what have we [...]

The more things change, the more they stay the same: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration supports extending three key provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year, the Justice Department told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday. Lawmakers and civil rights groups had been pressing the [...]

Obama says that he won’t sign a healthcare bill that adds one dime to the deficit. I hope he’s right about that, because the people who are financing that deficit are a tad bit worried about the prospect: And yet, there was budget director Peter Orszag rushing to a lunch with Chinese bureaucrats on a [...]

After reading the litany of Radley Balko’s Puppycide chronicles, I still took solace in the fact that if some brute squad mistakenly came to bust down my door instead of a neighbor’s, my 10 lb Yorkshire Terrier, who I refer to as a “barking cat” due to his laziness, would probably not get himself shot. [...]

The new FBI Crime Report is out and reveals some interesting information: Prostitution and “commercialized vice” — 75,004 arrests Gambling — 9,811 arrests Drug Possession — 1,401,188 arrests Heroin or Cocaine Possession — 342,210 arrests Marijuana — 754,224 arrests Synthetic drugs (i.e., crystal meth) — 56,184 arrests Other “dangerous” drugs — 248,570 Which leaves us [...]

From The Economist, Buttonwood (their financial op-ed analyst): This only adds to my worries about the Weekend at Bernie’s aspects of this recovery (and kudos to “Hedge fund guy” who first used the analogy). The Japanese spent much of the 1990s propping up their economy and sticking sunglasses on its face; every time they let [...]

From Coyote Blog: Democrats: The people in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove them and put our guys in charge Republicans: The people in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove them and put our guys in charge libertarians: People in power can’t be trusted.  You need to remove their power and [...]

The Senate Finance Committee is finishing up work this week on a “compromise” Obamacare bill that’s being billed as better than pure Obamacare because it doesn’t include “death panels”, a public option, and free healthcare for illegal aliens. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Monday that he will propose an overhaul of the [...]

Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer is seeking to inflict yet another tax on the American people. This one, though, is far more insidious than the average tax thought up by Congress: The “Road User Fee Pilot Project” would be administered by the US Treasury Department. This agency in turn would issue millions in taxpayer-backed grants to [...]

I have always been a strong believer in the power of the free market. – President Barack Obama September 14, 2009

Barack Obama’s recent dictatorial decision to once again break his campaign promise on raising taxes byraising tariffs on Chinese made tires in order to payback political allies in organized labor is already having some consequences. First of all, Obama has probably ignited a new trade tensions that may cause a trade war between the US [...]

Possible discussion point — should we on the libertarian end of the spectrum start more aggressively using the rattlesnake image from the Gadsden Flag? I’m a huge fan, but may not be a representative sample. UPDATE: Photo originally from this post. The post is itself worth a read.

Want a laugh? Well go back one year to this column, and ruminate on whether it could be possible for the author to be any more wrong… There have been 11 recessions since the Great Depression. And we’re nowhere close to being in the 12th one now. This isn’t just a matter of opinion. Words [...]

There are very men in history who we can say truly saved the world, but surely Norman Borlaug, who died yesterday at 95, counts as one of them: Norman E. Borlaug, the plant scientist who did more than anyone else in the 20th century to teach the world to feed itself and whose work was [...]

“I can make a firm pledge….no family making less than $250,000 will see any form of tax increase…..not any of your taxes”-Barack Obama, September 12, 2008 Once again, President Obama has lied to the country. After raising cigarette taxes earlier this year, Obama just ordered another tax increase. This time, he raised every American’s taxes [...]

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of drunkenness? Well now that you put it that way…

In addition to my own take, there are two other takes on the speech I’d like to highlight as being dead on. The first is from Cato@Liberty, which offers us a look at Obama’s speech in plain English: Translation: I, Barack Obama, ignoring thousands of years of failed price-control schemes, will impose price controls on [...]