From the IJ, highlights of ongoing work: Litigating for Liberty. The Wall Street Journal featured IJ’s founder and president, Chip Mellor, this past Sunday. Read the in-depth interview here. Georgia property owners are fed up with forfeiture. The state’s forfeiture law allows law enforcement to seize the property of innocent owners without convicting or even…
Liberty
Law, Liberty
Pres. Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law
by JOHN ADAMS •
The indefinite detention bill passed the Congress with support from both parties, but that only means it was a bad idea with bipartisan backing: President Obama’s action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony…
Foreign Affairs, Freedom of Speech, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
China’s President Pushes Back Against Western Culture
by JOHN ADAMS •
BEIJING — President of Hu Jintao of China has said that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week. The publication of Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a new major policy initiative…
Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty, Politics
Teenage mayoral candidate to ignore cease and desist demand from Sheboygan’s Mayor Ryan
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good for him: Sheboygan teenager and potential recall mayoral candidate Asher Heimermann said he intends to ignore a cease and desist letter from Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan to take down a fake Twitter account claiming to be Ryan, saying the account complies with the social media websites rules for parody and does not rise to…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Politics
Time names ‘The Protester’ Person of the Year
by JOHN ADAMS •
A solid choice: ….In short, 2011 was unlike any year since 1989 — but more extraordinary, more global, more democratic, since in ’89 the regime disintegrations were all the results of a single disintegration at headquarters, one big switch pulled in Moscow that cut off the power throughout the system. So 2011 was unlike any…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Out in the Cold at Age 84: Wisconsin’s Ruthelle Frank Fights for Her Right to Vote
by JOHN ADAMS •
Ruthelle Frank is no less a citizen than anyone else in Wisconsin. I’ve posted before about Ruthelle Frank’s disenfranchisement under Wisconsin’s new voted ID law. She’s a citizen, lifetime resident of Wisconsin, and officeholder, but after eighty-four years, she now faces hundreds of dollars in fees to do what she has a right to do…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Wisconsin
The Disgrace of Wisconsin’s Photo ID Law: Rules leave village leader without right to vote
by JOHN ADAMS •
Although obviously a citizen by birth, and although she’s served on the Brokaw Village Board since 1996, Ruthelle Frank is now disenfranchised: Ruthelle Frank was born Aug. 21, 1927, in her home in Brokaw. It was a hard birth; there were complications. A doctor had to come up from Wausau to see that she and her…
Animals, Business, Economy, Food, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Idaho legitimizes small-scale raw-milk producers
by JOHN ADAMS •
The potato state bests America’s Dairyland in common sense and consumer choice: “There were a lot of illegal raw-milk sales throughout the state,” Patten said. “Across-the-fence sales, let’s say.” So, in early 2010, instead of drawing guns and raiding those operations, the state of Idaho–with the help of raw-milk advocates and a less-enthusiastic dairy industry–modified…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
The Misuse of Law Enforcement Against Peaceful Protesters
by JOHN ADAMS •
I may have my doubts about the Occupy movement’s platform (such as it is), but I’ve none about the aggressive use of law enforcement against peaceful protesters: that use is wrong, being both offensive and contrary to America’s political tradition. The Huffington Post offers up a video of excessive use of force against seated protesters…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Police, Politics
84-Year-Old Woman Becomes the Pepper-Sprayed Face of Occupy Seattle
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photo: Joshua Trujillo / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Worse than outrageous: Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo captured what may become the defining image of this week of Occupy unrest — an elderly woman being led away from the mayhem, her face covered with pepper spray. A pregnant woman and a preist were also hit with pepper spray during a…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Wisconsin
The War on Immigrants
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason’s blog, libertarian Shikha Dalmia writes on Alabama’s War on Immigrants. The essay is solid from beginning to end. I’d recommend readers to consider her full essay, but I’ll quote now from a few key passages. Overview: Conservatives are resorting to ever more draconian measures to take back the country from “illegal immigrants.”…
Free Markets, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Good Riddance, Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce
by JOHN ADAMS •
I see that Russell Pearce, the Arizona Senate president who authored that state’s harsh immigration law, met defeat in Tuesday’s recall from another Republican. Although the other candidate, school-executive Jerry Lewis, shares some of the same views, Pearce’s defeat is still a good day for Arizona and America. See, Arizona recall: Why Russell Pearce lost.…
Crime, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Regulating Over Prohibiting Marijuana
by JOHN ADAMS •
From last Monday’s national Libertarian Party message, there’s a proposal to regulate marijuana like wine. Whether it’s regulated like wine or more strictly, the trend against outright prohibition is unmistakable. See, Gallup Reports Record Number in Favor of Legalizing Marijuana Use. Of those who favor a complete prohibition, two things may be said: they often…
Crime, Liberty, Press
State Journal blasts arrest of Journal Sentinel reporter
by JOHN ADAMS •
Officials’ foolish over-reaching: We’re not anti-cop. Far from it. We’re actually very much pro-law and order. Some of our best friends are police officers, and we admire the difficult work done by the men and women who keep our communities safe. But the decision by Milwaukee police officers Wednesday to arrest a Journal Sentinel photographer…