Emily Mills writes about Assembly Bill 7, sure to become law: This bill is, at its core, a rollback of the right to vote that impacts the most vulnerable and already disenfranchised populations in this state. It spits in the faces of those who’ve come before and fought (and sometimes died) to see this most…
Laws/Regulations
City, Laws/Regulations, Politics, Wisconsin
A Freshman Legislator’s Unusual Choice
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an AP story over at Walworth County Today entitled, Rep. Wynn pushes for earlier alcohol sales as a convenience to tailgaters. Rep. Evan Wynn is the freshman assemblyman representing the 43rd Assembly District, a district that includes Whitewater. I’m opposed to most restrictions on alcohol, but it’s easy to see that this is an…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
A Victory in the Food Truck Wars
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about the anti-consumer battle against food trucks, and efforts to deny consumers convenient access to the popular, varied, and inexpensive fare that food trucks offer. See, Institute for Justice Defends the Rights of Street Vendors. In El Paso, where that city had tried to zone food trucks away from potential patrons, there’s…
Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Planning
Libertarian Party’s List of Recent Federal Mistakes
by JOHN ADAMS •
The national Libertarian party’s re-published a list of the top-ten federal government mistakes, with the addition of ten new mistakes. I’ve listed them below — the details for each are available at the LP website. Exec. Dir. Wes Benedict contends that these are mostly mistakes of the Obama Administration, but many of these policies pre-date…
Laws/Regulations, Liberty
The Transportation Security Administration’s Latest Outrage
by JOHN ADAMS •
The ACLU issued the following message about the Transportation Security Administration, and that agency’s latest intrusion on Americans’ liberties. In the pursuit of a false security, this agency distorts civil society, badgers citizens, and particularly terrifies children. Note, also, the damage these agents inflict: they speak to children in ways beguiling and undermining of a…
Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Glenn Harlan Reynolds: Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Drink – WSJ.com
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have never supported a ‘big-drinking’ culture. Alcohol is best consumed moderately, enjoyed leisurely, with agreeable company. Wisconsin has seen more than her share of drinking tragedies, made far worse by stubborn insistence that, if only enforcement becomes severe enough, we’ll be able to stop further tragedies. We won’t. No level of enforcement tried or…
Crime, Laws/Regulations
Reason’s Nanny of the Month for March 2011: Drug Warrior-in-Chief Barack Obama
by JOHN ADAMS •
Law, Laws/Regulations, Police
Institute for Justice Shines Light on Law Enforcement Slush Funds
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve posted before about the harm to sound law enforcement through ‘policing for profit,’ where the promise of financial gain motivates law enforcement efforts. Fortunately, the Institute for Justice has done fine work exposing the distortion — and lack of accountability — in departments that drift into this bad habit. See, for example, The Institute…
Education, Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Planning
Bloomberg Television: Veronique de Rugy Explains Fannie and Freddie’s Role in the Housing Crisis
by JOHN ADAMS •
Laws/Regulations
Nanny of the Month for February 2011: Would-Be Brothel Banner Sen. Harry Reid
by JOHN ADAMS •
Laws/Regulations, Press
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism: Despite alternatives, Superior refinery using dangerous chemical
by JOHN ADAMS •
Reporter Lauren Hasler of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WisconsinWatch.org) has a story this morning about Murphy Oil’s continued use of hydrofluoric acid, a dangerous chemical kinow to cause explosions and resulting injury, despite the availablity of alternative substances. Hasler reports that Federal safety inspectors at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Politics
Postville judge calls proceedings “travesty” in new documentary
by JOHN ADAMS •
The massive meat packing plant raid in Postville, Iowa – and the prosecutions of immigrant workers arrested there – have been drawing heat since agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement swarmed Agriprocessors Inc. in May 2008. Via Grass Roots: Postville judge calls proceedings “travesty” in new documentary.
Economy, Laws/Regulations
Coming Soon: A 300-Percent Increase in Foreclosures
by JOHN ADAMS •
At Calculated Risk, Tom Lawler, a real estate economist and former risk policy veep at Fannie Mae, tries to figure out how many people have actually lost their homes to foreclosure, short sales or deed-in-lieu desertions. The answer: Not enough. Lawler (who is now living the life of Riley on a Virginia farm) says the…