Of course we know that police are increasingly used as revenue collectors for the state, but rarely are they this blunt about it:
Earlier this year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives put out a request for bids to produce a bunch of Leathermans for ATF trainees. Part of the request was that the [...]

Continue reading " “Always Think Forfeiture” "

Anyone who thinks that voting for either of the major party candidates will lead us towards more freedom must remember that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia (Two Minute Hate to Follow).
Old Thinkers believe in the slavery of the individual over one’s own self. They called this “freedom,” as though a [...]

Continue reading " Obama Co-Sponsors Bill to Create National Fingerprint Registry "

Yesterday was fight prohibition day for me.
Over on StogieGuys.com I published a commentary on Baltimore’s proposed ban on selling individual cigars that cost less than two dollars each:
Like most prohibitions – last time I checked drugs were also illegal in Baltimore, but readily available – this ban is destined to fail. Enterprising individuals will be able to [...]

Continue reading " Tobacco and Alcohol Prohibition "

The first reunions began today as parents of more than 450 children, stolen from them by the dismal Child Protective Services (CPS) of Texas, started picking up their kids. In the end, as it was described in the 3rd Court of Appeals decision, the state offered no evidence of physical or sexual abuse in [...]

Continue reading " A few thoughts on Texas v the FLDS "

Tonight’s 60 Minutes had a feature on the Army’s Ray Gun.  
The Army put on a demonstration for CBS’s news magazine.  Following an Army spokesman speaking about the weapon’s usefulness against enemies and terrorists, Sixty Minutes cut to a demonstration of the weapon.  
The targets of the demonstration were soldiers who were dressed up as [...]

Continue reading " It’s Official: The Enemy Is Peace "

When you criticize the war on drugs, the drug warriors will come after you.
That’s what happened to to the distributor of a movie about the malicious prosecution of Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame).  Thousands of copies of the DVD were seized under the guise of being “drug paraphernalia.” (Here are items that could [...]

Continue reading " The Drug Warriors Strike Back "

The first review of Steven Soderbergh’s (Solaris, The Good German, Oceans 11, 12, 13) newest movie Che largely pans the movie for lack of character development and, at times, poor cinematography.
My interest in the movie is more about how Che is portrayed. Is his brutality as the head of Fidel Castro’s secret police and [...]

Continue reading " ‘Che’ on the Big Screen "

 
My inaugural post on the Ron Paul Blog was delayed by a few days because after 8 months in the trenches of the presidential campaign, I needed to relax and recharge my batteries. That meant a visit to Costa Rica. 
I find the “Rich Coast,” as Columbus coined it, to be an interesting study in comparative [...]

Continue reading " What the US Needs is a Little Pura Vida "