Pressing problem: Sidewalks all across the nation are in disrepair and thus do not meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In California they aren’t asking for much during a Depression from a state that has run out of money and ways to steal more money – they only ask for wheelchair ramps [...]

Here’s an article in Newsweek on Ayn Rand’s relevancy to the modern experience. It’s written by South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. I think at a fundamental level many people recognize Rand’s essential truth—government doesn’t know best. Those in power in Washington—or indeed in Columbia, S.C.—often lead themselves to believe that our prosperity depends on their [...]

From Despair, Inc., that funny website that mocks those awful, collectivist, feel-good corporate posters.

Yesterday, seven more banks were closed – quietly – as the number reached 106 for the year. The Wall Street Journal has an interactive map of bank failures (131) since the beginning of 2008. On a related note, as the commercial real estate bust heats up, Capmark Financial Group, Inc.  (formerly GMAC Commercial Holding Corp.) [...]

National “emergencies” are always good for “bypassing rules” and making things up on the fly. President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients. Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius now has [...]

This is not a very sophisticated article (“Muddying the Regulatory Debate” from the Financial Times), but it does give attention to Mises and the Austrians. He presents some weak interpretations of Mises, and this paragraph seems to say that Misesians would propose intervention to downsize the banking system? Maybe I am reading it wrong, but [...]

I am linking this “know your czars” piece because it’s a great idea to put something like this together. However, the piece is not very well done, starting with the formatting and grammar. Also, the descriptions of many of the Czar’s activities are misleading and/or incomplete, and some things are presented in an overly sensationalist [...]

There have been so many stories over recent years about the state stepping in to take away children because they (the children and/or the parents) are too fat. There’s this recent story on FOX about the couple in Scotland who had their seven children removed from the home (blogged on LewRockwell.com) Formerly, the state used charges [...]

Call it anything you want, but it’s still a turbo. Remember this? DETROIT, Jan. 6, 2008 – Ford Motor Company is introducing a new engine technology called EcoBoost that will deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy on half a million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles annually in North America during the next five [...]

National sports – in Norway it’s cross-country skiing, in Lithuania it’s basketball, in Cuba it’s baseball, and in America it is “being offended.” Everywhere you go, someone is offended by something that has nothing whatsoever to do with them. Yet they whine and gripe and voice their petty complaints about insignificant things, and mostly, it’s [...]