Donald Luskin’s spent years criticizing Krugman, not as much for Krugman’s economic accomplishments (Krugman’s a Nobel laureate) but for his subsequent politico-economic columns in the New York Times. Krugman is Luskin’s white whale, but that obsession isn’t as interesting to me as Luskin’s observation (toward the end of the video) that Atlas Shrugged is, principally,…
Liberty
Libertarians, Liberty, Politics
Can Libertarians Be Christian? Must Libertarians Be Socially Liberal?
by JOHN ADAMS •
One hears all sorts of questions like this, about whether libertarianism requires a certain religious view, or a certain social outlook. One can certainly be a Christian and libertarian, and libertarians run the range from socially liberal to socially conservative. Although libertarianism is more influential in America than ever (so much so that many groups…
Holiday, Law, Liberty
Constitution Day
by JOHN ADAMS •
Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Matt Welch Debates Ann Coulter on the Iraq War, TSA, and Using Torture
by JOHN ADAMS •
Reason editor-in-chief Matt Welch debated Ann Coulter on a special Stossel episode dedicated to how the government has responded to 9/11. Welch debated Coulter on how secure America is after invading Iraq, creating the TSA, and implementing torture for information gathering. Air Date: September 8, 2011. I’m with Welch on all three, believing particularly that…
Freedom of Speech, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Recall Signs on Lawns as Protected Political Speech
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a lingering – but easy to answer – question about whether it’s legal to put a conventional, ordinary-sized ‘Recall Walker’ sign on your private lawn. Yes, it is. It’s a free speech right that cannot be abridged by state or local election ordinances limiting the mere display on private property of conventional political signs.…
Liberty, Tyranny
Russia’s Struggling Democracy, Twenty Years On
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Defending Street Vendors, Food Trucks, and Consumer Choice
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s an update in the battle for economic freedom and consumer choice. I’ve written before about how incumbent, brick-and-mortar restaurants try to use government to shield themselves from food-truck competitors. Those restaurateurs do not — will never — deserve governmental protection. They made a free choice to open a store, instead of operating a truck,…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Raw Foods Raids: Rawesome Foods Raided…Again
by JOHN ADAMS •
Today’s a day of catching up on new developments about earlier posts. Longtime readers may recall a post from November 2010, entitled, Raw Foods Raids: The Fight for the Right to Eat the Food that You Want, about an armed raid on the Rawesome Foods co-op in California. They’ve been raided yet again. Here’s a…
Libertarians, Liberty
What Nat Hentoff Found in His FBI File
by JOHN ADAMS •
Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Planning
Plant a Garden, Go to Jail for 93-Days?! Reason’s Nanny of the Month for July 2011
by JOHN ADAMS •
Food trucks, baggy pants, but the winner involves trying to ban vegetables in a front yard. Oak Park, Michigan’s city planner, Kevin Rulkowski, tried (but ultimately failed) to ban a front-yard vegetable garden on private property. What’s funny-sad is his attempt to justify the ban through his limited understanding of the word ‘suitable,’ coupled with…
Law, Libertarians, Liberty
Mark Grannis on Rights
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Crime, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Whitewater’s Concealed Carry Debate
by JOHN ADAMS •
Concealed carry legislation went to the governor, and he signed it, about a month ago. (For an overview of that legislation, see Mary Spicuzza’s Concealed carry bill heads to Walker for signature. A provision of the bill allows communities to place restrictions on the presence of otherwise lawfully-concealed weapons, beyond the restrictions (police stations, court…
Freedom of Speech, Libertarians, Liberty
Forget the Tea Party: Is It Libertarianism That’s On the Rise?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a press release for FreedomFest, a place to meet libertarians from across America: “Greatest libertarian show on earth” projected to hit record crowds LAS VEGAS – Move over Tea Party, libertarianism is on the rise. Combining much of the civil liberties perspectives of social democrats with a fiscally conservative philosophy, libertarian-minded voters want to…
Law, Liberty, Official Misconduct, Police
Six Years in Prison for Legally Recording a Police Officer?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photography and video recordings both protect honest police departments against false accusations and assure communities receive information about instances of official misconduct. When citizens exercise their rights to photography and video recording, they are also bolstering the work of good officers by helping identify a few corrupt ones. Yet not everyone sees it this way,…