Property rights took a hit in California yesterday: Voters in California yesterday overwhelmingly supported Proposition 99, a ballot measure that will significantly empower state and local officials to seize private property via eminent domain, and rejected Proposition 98, which would have protected property rights and ended rent control. As legal scholar Ilya Somin noted in [...]

Stephen and I attended the post-debate press conference last night where candidates fielded questions from media and bloggers. Stephen asked a question to the candidates about pardoning non-violent drug offenders. The video is divided into two parts. The first is Mike Gravel. He was in the room before the other candidates and kind of took [...]

BobBarr2008.com is live. Here is Mr. Barr’s announcement:

“I think we should welcome all peaceful people to our country. They get to the pursue the ‘American Dream’ and we get to benefit from all the wonderful things that immigrants bring to our country—like good old fashioned soccer. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.” – Drew Carey Drew Carey tackles immigration in [...]

It was indeed the so-called PATRIOT Act that brought Elliot Spitzer down: When Congress passed the Patriot Act in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, law-enforcement agencies hailed it as a powerful tool to help track down the confederates of Osama bin Laden. No one expected it would end up helping to snag the likes [...]

Last week the Judiciary Committee in the Georgia Senate backed a measure that would make it tougher to obtain a “no-knock warrant”: The bill, sponsored by Sen. Vincent Fort, (D) Atlanta, would require officers who want to use so-called “no-knock” search warrants to go to a judge and prove that there is probable cause to [...]

“Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we’ve pared [the budget] down pretty good.” – Former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay As if you needed more evidence, here is proof that Tom DeLay cannot be taken seriously: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay criticized likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain – and by extension some of [...]

Here is some good news concerning District of Columbia v. Heller. US Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Jon Tester (D-MT) are filing a brief with signatures of 250 House members and 55 Senators, urging that the DC gun law be overturned by the Supreme Court: “All of the congressional legislative history is assuming that [...]

The so-called “economic stimulus package” passed the House of Representatives this afternoon and will move over to the Senate for final passage, assuming there are no changes, before heading to the President’s desk: The House, seizing a rare moment of bipartisanship to respond to the economy’s slump, overwhelmingly passed a $146 billion aid package Tuesday [...]

Why am I not surprised by this comment made by Mike Huckabee: I have opponents in the race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the Word of the Living God and that’s what we need to [...]

The Heritage Foundation has released its annual Index of Economic Freedom. The report analyzes different areas of economic policy (taxes, trade, business, property rights and more) and ranks 162 nations accordingly. It’s always an interesting read. If you’re a fan of economics, you’ll enjoy it.

The Department of Justice has filed an amicus brief on behalf the District of Columbia. Yes, you read that right. The Bush Administration is supporting DC in the upcoming case on that will have a major impact on gun owner’s rights. Here is the analysis from David Hardy: As I read this, the (Bush) Dept [...]

Mr. Boortz, I am writing this letter as a plea for you to reconsider your support for Mike Huckabee‘s candidacy for Republican nomination for President. I’ve listened to you since I was fourteen years old. I remember my mom telling me when I was eight or so that I was going to like your show [...]

Here is a neat timeline of the libertarian movement, from John Locke to Ron Paul with many interesting stops in between.

Tax Hike Mike advocated isolating AIDS patients in a previous campaign: Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could “pose a dangerous public health risk.” As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 [...]

Jonah Goldberg wraps on Mike Huckabee on NRO TV. Here is part of the transcript: I think people are focusing way too much on Ron Paul when the real threat is Mike Huckabee. [...] He believes that the government, the federal government, the government in Washington is there to be used to do any and [...]

Atlas continues to shrug in Venezuela: The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, today threatened to strip the country’s industrialists of their assets if they continued to oppose his indefinite presidency. Chávez faces a vote at the weekend on his proposals to change 69 articles of the constitution, including scrapping the limit on the number of terms [...]

Fox News contributor Andrew Napolitano recently gave an interview to Reason magazine to promote his new book, A Nation of Sheep. I have to say that this is one of the best interviews I’ve read in a very long time. On the USA PATRIOT Act: The Patriot Act’s two most principle constitutional errors are an [...]

Tom Tancredo has taken his xenophobic and alarmist message to an all new level with this ad. This is the same moron that wants to incite more hatred in the Middle East by bombing Mecca and Medina. The good news is he isn’t running for re-election.

This is where the nickname “Tax Hike Mike” comes from: Governor Mike Huckabee addressed the Arkansas General Assembly, pleading with them to pass a tax, any tax. He ticked off a list of various taxes that he would find acceptable, a tax on tobacco, a surcharge on the income tax, a sales tax… “I will [...]