Those Government Gun-Free ZonesIt's no big surprise. A gun massacre brings out the gun-control crowd, which loudly demands that gun control be imposed on the American people, as if that would have prevented the massacre in Connecticut.
It's really a shame to have to trot out the same arguments exposing the fallacies of statist thinking, but, alas, it must be done.
First, murderers don't and won't obey gun-control laws. If they don't comply with murder laws, they're not going to comply with gun-... (more)
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Government, the New Debtors' PrisonAn old banking buddy of mine has been out of work for a full year. I met up with him yesterday, and he told me the good news that he has finally found work. It's not enjoyable. But it pays better than sitting at home.
His time of unemployment had been doubly tough because his son was also out of work at the same time. The proud father seemed happier that his son had also found a job.
"And since he works for a nonprofit, they will pay his student loan," he said.
... (more)
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Pundits And Politicans Very Quick To Blame Video Game & Movie Violence For NewtownThe tragedy last week in Connecticut is still horrifying to think about on many different levels -- but the constant search for blame, and using it to support pet political ideas is troubling. This isn't to say that we don't necessarily need to have a "conversation" on various hot potato political issues, but basing it around an event like this isn't likely to be a productive and informed conversation, but one driven purely by emotions. I understand the desire, and the idea that making use of ... (more)
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Drug-War Tyranny in Its Purest FormStephanie George, who is now 42 years old, has spent the last 15 years of her life in jail. That might turn out to be a short period of time, given that her sentence is life without parole. She has no hope of ever being released from jail. Her crime? Living in a house in which her boyfriend maintained a lockbox hidden in the attic that had a half-kilogram of cocaine in it. The judge said that the lockbox was evidence that George was helping her boyfriend sell drugs.
Forty-seven ye... (more)
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How the State Will DieGoogle bought YouTube in 2006 at the height of the infringement hysteria. The new owners got busy trying to get the platform up to legal standards and avoid billions in pending lawsuits. It seems that users had been posting a vast amount of copyrighted material, and Google was going to be held liable.
Over the next three years, the takedowns happened furiously. Users were having content deleted. Short films that used copyrighted background music found that their videos were silenc... (more)
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George Will's False Choice on War and DronesFailure to distinguish between the private person and state action is always a recipe for muddled thinking. This is especially so in regard to the conduct of war. Though it can occur between any cluster of persons, war is characteristically seen as a state activity through and through. War, as Randolph Bourne saw it, is "the chief function of States." Because the state exists by violence and predation, war and the state end up "inseparably and functionally joined." This leaves little room fo... (more)
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"Damned from Memory": When the Drug War Turns on its OwnJohn McLaughlin, known to his friends as “Sparky,” was a True Believer in the War on Drugs. He was convinced that his work as an agent of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNI) was protecting innocent people from opportunists and thugs who prey on the weak.
He eventually came to the sorrowful realization that the most ruthless elements involved in the drug trade aren’t found in Latin America or blighted urban neighbor... (more)
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Los Zetas vs. "Your" Government: The Dreaded Comparison“Could Mexico be the next Benghazi?” asks Greta Susteren of Fox News. “Congressman Michael McCaul is warning us because U.S. agents are helping Mexican police go after the most violent drug cartels, and yet our agents are not allowed to carry weapons in Mexico.”
Politicians and their pet pundits of all stripes and all nationalities love to wave around the bugaboo of “... (more)
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Prohibitionists are Overstating Feds vs. State Marijuana Legalization Case to MediaA mostly great piece in Rolling Stone this weekend, "Obama's Pot Problem," missed the mark on the federal preemption question -- can the feds shut down Washington and Colorado's legalized regulation systems? Tim Dickinson wrote the following on that subject:
[T]he administration appears to have an open-and-shut case: Federal law trumps state law when the two contradict. What' ... (more)
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Government, the ThiefHow secure are property rights if the police can take your stuff and keep it, citing no particular reason at all? Not very secure. This is the way police work in the developing world. Of course, this practice is increasingly common in the U.S. too.
Municipalities around the nation are battling to stay afloat, and local police departments are increasingly focused on profits instead of “protecting and serving.” Retired LAPD deputy chief of police Stephen Downing told FoxNews Latino,... (more)
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Nearing the End of Serfdom's RoadIn France, Minister for Energy and Environment Delphine Batho recently proposed a light curfew to pertain to "in and outside shops, offices, and public buildings" between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. beginning next July. Some merchants are up in arms as the rule adds to existing bans such as the forced closing of stores on Sunday and night shopping in general. If enacted, the illuminat... (more)
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If "Progressives" Didn't Exist, Big Business Would Have to Invent ThemDaily Kos recently reprinted a popular column that periodically makes the rounds (“75 Ways Socialism Has Improved America”) by someone using the nom de plume TheNewDeal00.
Not just “75 Examples of Socialism,” mind you, but “improvements.” Going down the list, you’ll notice items like “The Military/National Defense,” “War,” “The Pentagon,” “Homeland Security,” a... (more)
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The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the StateNearly everyone agrees that a few core government functions —foremost among them the provision of law and justice—can’t be performed in a free market. A handful of rogue thinkers, however, questions this conventional wisdom.
Foremost among them is Florida State University economics professor Bruce Benson, who has been studying the issue for decades. His The Enterprise of Law, first published in 1990, has been republished and updated, with the intervening years only m... (more)
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Police Stops in the First World vs. the Third WorldI have been stopped by the police for minor infractions and for no legitimate reason on numerous occasions in the USSA, the Balkans, and Mexico. Perspective is vital when doing a cost/benefit analysis of police encounters.
An indoctrinated American statist might say something to the tune of, "well, at least we're more civilized and safer with the rule of law!"
To which I might reply "you are correct, now el presidente may legally and safely put you in jail forever w... (more)
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Marijuana is Now Legal in Washington State!As of today, Thursday, December 6, 2012, marijuana possession is legal in the state of Washington. Under the I-502 initiative passed by the state's voters last month, adults 21 and older can now legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana (or 16 ounces of marijuana-infused edibles) without fear of arrest or criminal prosecution.
The date comes just one day after the 80th anniversary of the end of alcohol Prohibition and could mark the beginning of the end for marijuana prohibition... (more)
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Judge Illegally Orders Teenager to 10 Years of Church AttendanceJudicial immunity has been covered here on Copblock from time to time. Perhaps the most notorious and flagrantly offensive case involving judicial immunity would be Stump v. Sparkman, wherein a judge conspired with a young girl’s mother to have her secretly sterilized. When she found... (more)
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The Homogenization of the CarThe antique car, specially ordered for the occasion, was waiting for the bride and groom to take them to the party after the wedding. I was among the guests who were more enraptured by the car than by the main event. Absolutely stunning.
It was a Studebaker. At best I can tell, it was a 1940 Commander convertible. I had to look it up: This company was born in 1852 and died in 1967, and produced some of the most visually gorgeous cars in its day. It even made an electric car in 190... (more)
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