Thoughts, essays, and writings on Liberty. Written by the heirs of Patrick Henry.

February 23, 2009

It’s Time To Lower The Drinking Age

Last night 60 Minutes ran an interesting piece about the suggestion from some that the drinking age be lowered back to 18: (CBS) Last fall, a group of over 100 college presidents – including the heads of Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Duke – signed a declaration stating that the 21-year-old drinking age is not working, [...]

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February 17, 2009

The Brady Bill Was Only Step 1

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 [...]

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February 15, 2009

The Moral Hazard Problem Of Socialized Healthcare

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 [...]

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February 14, 2009

Oh, It Was All About Raising Awareness?

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 [...]

Posted By: Brad Warbiany @ 5:35 pm || Permalink || Comments (5) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Government Regulation,Taxation,The Nanny State
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February 13, 2009

A Few Thoughts About the Ryan Fredrick Case

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 [...]

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February 12, 2009

Quote Of The Day — Lincoln-esque Edition

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 [...]

Posted By: Doug Mataconis @ 1:02 pm || Permalink || Comments (6) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Quote of the Day,The Nanny State,The Welfare State
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February 9, 2009

Which is Freakier: A bong hit or “the application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris [as] an excellent means of allaying the abnormal excitement?”

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps took a bong hit; Kellogg’s has dropped their sponsorship of Phelps. In my opinion, Kellogg’s has every right in the world to drop the sponsorship. And I have every right in the world to quit using Kelloggs’ products. If the Phelps issue wasn’t enough, let’s [...]

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February 7, 2009

Stimulis: Because all economies have performance issues

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February 4, 2009

Utah To Replace Private Club Booze With Big Brother Booze?

After reason.tv’s first foray into the explanation of the idiocy of Utah’s blue laws, the Hit&Run blog has followed it up with Utah’s proposal to finally end the “Private Club” craziness that they put people through. But is the cure worse than the disease? A plan to do away with Utah’s private club law and [...]

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February 3, 2009

Execute Michael Phelps

I’ll assume that US News and World Report writer Mary Kate Cary despises the people on this list (which was provided by Radley Balko): Barack Obama, president-elect.  Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the U.S.  John Kerry, U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic nominee for president.  John Edwards, multi-millionaire, former U.S. Senator, and 2004 Democratic nominee for [...]

Posted By: Stephen Gordon @ 10:33 pm || Permalink || Comments (9) || TrackBack URI || Categories: The Nanny State
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“They Still End Up Gettin’ Drunk” In Utah

Utah is a beautiful state. I have traveled there quite a few times over the last few years — I”ll be there next week, in fact — and am always struck by the amazing scenery available just traveling in the Salt Lake City area. I’ve driven through the salt flats, and have stayed up in [...]

Posted By: Brad Warbiany @ 3:09 pm || Permalink || Comments Off || TrackBack URI || Categories: Dumbasses and Authoritarians,Federalism,Government Regulation,The Nanny State
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February 2, 2009

Administration Declares War On Middle Class Dissatisfaction

…or something like that: For years, we had a White House that failed to put the middle class front and center in its economic policies. President Barack Obama has made it clear that is going to change. And it’s why he’s asked me to lead a task force on the middle class. America’s middle class [...]

Posted By: Brad Warbiany @ 10:11 am || Permalink || Comments Off || TrackBack URI || Categories: Politics,The Nanny State,The Welfare State
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January 29, 2009

Nanny State Republicans

According to Rasmussen, “62% of adults say there should be a nationwide ban on smoking in all public places, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree, and five percent (5%) are not sure.” Here comes the money line: Republicans, who usually frown on government restrictions, are more emphatic about [...]

Posted By: Stephen Gordon @ 10:59 am || Permalink || Comments (5) || TrackBack URI || Categories: The Nanny State
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January 26, 2009

The Most Dangerous Phrase Strikes Again

Seriously, congresscritters are morons. There can be no other explanation. Sadly, this is not the most idiotic, ridiculous, laughable, or embarrassingly stupid law ever proposed; but it’s close: “New Law Will Require Camera Phones to ‘Click’ Author: Michael Horton A new bill is being introduced called, Camera Phone Predator Alert Act, which would require any [...]

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January 23, 2009

Ezra Klein — China Should Replace Personal Savings With Tax Burden

Okay, that’s not exactly what he said, but that’s what it boils down to: But it’s worth zooming in on why the Chinese are making this a priority right now: Chinese economists see universal health care as a way to induce consumption and economic dynamism. The Chinese have a high savings rate — indeed, an [...]

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January 21, 2009

Open Thread – The Emergency Alert System

On my way to work today, my XM radio blared the ever-familiar “This is only a test” emergency alert system. As I tried to switch to a station other than Rawdog Comedy (where a good comedy bit was playing), I realized that this discordant tone was across the entire spectrum. And I was annoyed. Is [...]

Posted By: Brad Warbiany @ 12:00 pm || Permalink || Comments (3) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Government Waste,Technology,The Nanny State
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January 18, 2009

More “Change” From the Obama Administration

Meet the new “change” — same as the old change. Here’s soon-to-be Surgeon General Sanjay Gupta on the reform of medicinal marijuana laws: But I suspect that most of the people eager to vote yes on the new ballot measures aren’t suffering from glaucoma, Alzheimer’s or chemo-induced nausea. Many of them just want to get [...]

Posted By: Stephen Gordon @ 12:52 pm || Permalink || Comments (2) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Federalism,The Nanny State,The War on Drugs
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January 14, 2009

Is Naming Your Child “Adolf Hitler” Child Abuse ?

Apparently, in the State of New Jersey the answer is yes: Authorities in New Jersey removed 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell and his two young siblings from the care of their parents, according to a published report Tuesday. The state’s Division of Youth and Family Services took the boy, as well as his sisters — JoyceLynn [...]

Posted By: Doug Mataconis @ 11:09 am || Permalink || Comments (6) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Individual Rights,The Nanny State
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January 8, 2009

The Logical Conclusion Of “Universal Healthcare”

Paul Hsieh, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, opens: Imagine a country where the government regularly checks the waistlines of citizens over age 40. Anyone deemed too fat would be required to undergo diet counseling. Those who fail to lose sufficient weight could face further “reeducation” and their communities subject to stiff fines. Is this [...]

Posted By: Brad Warbiany @ 8:53 am || Permalink || Comments (5) || TrackBack URI || Categories: Healthcare,Socialism,The Nanny State
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December 12, 2008

Che, Mao, and Pop Culture

One thing that disturbs me to no end is the way despotic Communist serial killers like Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Mao Zedong are iconic figures in American pop culture. When I see someone wearing Che’s ugly mug on his/her chest, I want to ask him/her: “Do you really have any idea who this man was [...]

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