All seven members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Death Panel voted earlier today to deny Hank Skinner’s request to have DNA samples tested. Unless Gov. Rick Perry or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Hank Skinner will be executed this Wednesday as scheduled. The courts have rejected Skinner’s requests for the DNA tests [...]

We’ll they’ve passed it, so now we can find out what’s in it. And here’s something that I was a bit surprised to see: Tucked neatly inside the health reform legislation headed to the Oval Office for a presidential signature is language that will require calorie labeling on chain restaurant menus, menu boards, and drive-through [...]

As we all know, most of ObamaCare is pushed out to 2014 or so. But Ezra Klein, ever helpful, points out this nice PDF which explains what will occur nearly immediately. Ezra is always celebrating the cost-control measures of ObamaCare, so let’s see how these provisions stack up: 1. SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS—Offers tax credits [...]

It was 245 years ago today, that The Stamp Act of 1765, one of the first of the many punitive taxes imposed on the American colonies and precipitated the Revolution, was passed by Parliament. 244 years and 364 days later, the United States Congress passed a piece of legislation that makes the Stamp Act look [...]

Shortly, ObamaCare will be the law of the land, then the next round in the battle begins: WASHINGTON — The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political [...]

If you thought thirty was sleazy and dirty what can one say about 700K? >;-)

A little ditty for those who love liberty: Remember, remember come every November, The April Obamacare plot; I know of no reason Why the ”health care” treason Should ever be forgot. No matter what the tyrants of the Hill and the White House hope, this fight isn’t over. It’s ON. >;-)

Tonight’s Obamacare vote was a victory for the Democratic Party. That much cannot be questioned. Was it just a victory over heathen Republicans who have yet to see the light? No. It was so much more… It was a victory over ethics: “When the deal goes down… All this talk about rules… we make ‘em [...]

Well, big things have happened this weekend. The opening round of the NCAA tournament brought far more excitement than last year’s, with some major-league upsets. I’ve heard that some big vote occurred in Washington as well, but I’ll have to look into that later. In our own bracket challenge, the first weekend has ‘sploded quite [...]

From Billy Beck: I keep hearing about how this DeathCare deal will be the end of the Democrats in November. I cannot think of a single reason why that should matter, and there are many why it doesn’t. (For instance: when this thing is in the bag and done, who do you think is going [...]

The Constitutionality of ObamaCare is apparently a subject that neither Nancy Pelosi, nor any other Member of Congress has given any consideration to. In today’s Washington Post, however, Law Professor Randy Barnett takes a look at the probable Constitutional challenges to the health care bill: Can Congress really require that every person purchase health insurance [...]

As the debate over health care reform approaches it’s final hours in the House of Representatives, there’s been much discussion over the past week over a rather obscure topic — the internal operating procedures of the House of Representatives, and specifically the apparent intention of House Democrats to use something that has been called “deem [...]

With less than five days until the scheduled execution of Hank Skinner, a DNA testing laboratory in Phoenix, AZ has offered to test evidence that Skinner’s attorneys say will prove his innocence. Chromosomal Laboratories has told Texas Gov. Rick Perry that they will run the tests for free if Perry agrees to grant Skinner a [...]

From the LA Times, a story about the LA City Council. Electronic auto-voting allows council members to avoid actually attending council meetings, much to the chagrin of voters: Still, their physical absence frequently infuriates members of the public who show up to testify only to find themselves addressing one or more empty chairs. Advertisement “We [...]

While the Democrats in Congress will try to spin it otherwise, the truth about the CBO numbers released today can be found on the first page of CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf’s letter to Speaker Pelosi: Although CBO completed a preliminary review of legislative language prior to its release, the agency has not thoroughly examined the [...]

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. – Thomas Jefferson

March Madness has arrived. For the first time, I’ve decided to throw together a Liberty Papers Bracket Challenge. Hosted at CBS Sports (p/w “thomaspaine”), feel free to sign up. Hurry, of course, as the games start Thursday morning. Scoring rules are somewhat standard, but with a kick on the first two rounds. Picking a winner [...]

It’s very simple… Just require federal employees to follow the law, and they’ll make themselves ineligible for service: `SUBCHAPTER VIII–INELIGIBILITY OF PERSONS HAVING SERIOUSLY DELINQUENT TAX DEBTS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT `Sec. 7381. Ineligibility of persons having seriously delinquent tax debts for Federal employment `(a) Definition- For purposes of this section– `(1) the term `seriously delinquent [...]

Hank Skinner is scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on March 24th. Despite more than a decade of requests to have his DNA tested, Texas courts have denied him every step of the way. The Medill Innocence Project has even offered to pay for the testing to no avail. Skinner’s attorneys have [...]

Economist Donald Marron: I often tell my students that, in my humble opinion, one purpose of government is to help people be happy. The DC government did a good job on Wednesday. I disagree with that on so many levels. The government’s job is to secure people’s rights, and as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently said, [...]