Blog

Appeals court backs bloggers’ First Amendment rights

The First Amendment protects, among other things, “the freedom of speech, or of the press.” Yet modern governments, less solicitous of our liberties than the Founding Fathers, keep trying to curtail those rights. The latest gimmick is to insist that

86 million private-sector workers support 148 million benefit takers

John Seiler April 18, 2014

U.S. Census numbers tell why America’s economy is sluggish and likely headed downward again: There are just 86 million full-time private-sector workers supporting 148 million benefit-takers. So if you’re a full-time worker in the private sector, such as yours truly,

Santa Ana considers taxing … free Skype calls! Oh, the insanity

Chris Reed April 18, 2014

California is known as the world leader in lots of things — pop culture, technology and wacky lifestyles. Now the Santa Ana City Council is helping the Golden State be seen as the world leader in Maniacally Stupid, Excessive Taxation.

L.A. County ground zero for invasive state surveillance

Chris Reed April 17, 2014

“Enemy of the State,” the 1998 movie about government using technology to track everyone, feels less like sci-fi all the time, especially if you live in Los Angeles County. This is from the scoop by the Center for Investigative Reporting:

CA going Third World

John Seiler April 16, 2014

It took California more than a century to rid itself of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads yellow fever, by the 1970s. It has taken less than 40 years for it to make a comeback, a clear sign that California quickly

Tax Day lamentations

John Seiler April 15, 2014

Today is government workers’ favorite day, the ultimate pilfering of taxpayers to pay for all the lavish public-employee pay, perks and pensions. It’s the Day of Reckoning for the rest of us. Pay up or go to prison. Give our

This is an ‘expedited’ review? Nerve-wracking times on bullet-train front

Chris Reed April 15, 2014

Nine weeks ago, the news seemed promising on the bullet-train follies front. Now the picture looks a bit murkier. On Jan. 24, Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris asked the California Supreme Court to conduct an expedited appeals

“Captain America” sequel: The first libertarian popcorn movie

Chris Reed April 14, 2014

The stars and heroes of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” may be government employees, but the messages of the movie amount to entry-level libertarian thinking — messages with massive resonance for current policy and political debates. Among them: 1) Don’t

Colbert rips Common Core

John Seiler April 14, 2014

Stephen Colbert plays a “conservative” on Comedy Central. When he takes over the the “Late Show” from David Letterman next year, Colbert supposedly will reveal his inner liberal self. We’ll see. In the meantime, Colbert just attacked President Obama’s “Common

Subsidize opera?

John Seiler April 13, 2014

I think everything should be privatized. But as the April 15 Day of Tax Doom approaches, if I’m going to be taxed to death, it might as well be for something useful, such as opera. The San Diego Opera is