The Mercatus Center of George Mason University released its annual report on liberty, ranking freedom in each of the states. Wisconsin comes in a disappointing 25th, no better than middling. See, Freedom in the Fifty States 2011. Wisconsin’s freedoms have been under siege in 2011 — our new administration and legislative majority regulate from the…
Liberty
Crime, Liberty, Tyranny
When Nat Hentoff Met Che Guevara
by JOHN ADAMS •
In this clip, civil libertarian Hentoff describes a meeting he once had with Che Guevara. Hentoff notes that even in a simple interview, Guevara, a tyrant and mass murderer masquerading as a liberator, was dissembling, initially choosing to hide behind an interpreter. YouTube – When Nat Hentoff Met Che Guevara.
Freedom of Speech, Law, Liberty
Nat Hentoff: Anonymous Speech is Protected Speech
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Cato Institute filmed noted civil libertarian Nat Hentoff discussing topics of liberty in honor of his eighty-sixth birthday. Age has scarcely slowed Hentoff down, and he writes and speaks frequently on topics in law (and jazz, for which he is equally well-regarded). In this clip, Hentoff discusses the traditional American right to anonymous speech.…
Liberty, Politics
Eight Steps for Responding to Political Wrongs
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are political decisions of all kinds, but few are truly wrong. Most are simply efficient or inefficient, practical or impractical. There are times, however, when a politician offers a proposal that works a great wrong, and stands against America’s fundamental principles. When a politician takes that course, what is to be done? First, speak…
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Police, Politics, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 173
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, Rep. Don Pridemore’s Arizona-syle immigration legislation received a numerical designation: Assembly Bill 173. The full text of the bill is online at the Legislature’s website. The bill has the following initial sponsors: “Representatives Pridemore, Wynn, LeMahieu, Kleefisch, Steineke and Jacque; Cosponsored by Senator Lasee.” One could have expected Wynn to support this measure. His…
Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Nanny of the Month (May 2011): North Carolina Bans Rare Burgers!
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Freedom of Speech, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Police
The Government’s War on Cameras
by JOHN ADAMS •
Photography and recordings do much to safeguard citizens’ rights and protect honest officers against false accusations. Places in which officials discourage lawful, constitutional photography are ones in which officials not only act outside the law but also imprudently. There will be fewer injustices, and better policing, in a word of expansive photographers’ rights. By the…
Free Markets, Laws/Regulations, Liberty
Scenes from the War on Consumer Choice (Raw Milk Front)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Law, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Liberty
Impediments to Second Amendment Rights
by JOHN ADAMS •
There a story over at the Janesville Gazette that catalogs the objections that some police leaders have to concealed carry rights (and probably to many other gun rights). See, Law enforcement against concealed-carry legislation. I doubt that opposition to gun rights is nearly so strong among field officers as it is among administrators. In any…
City, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Politics, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Emily’s Post: ‘Welcome to Wisconsin, Jim Crow’
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
Liberty
Bollywood vs. Bin Laden: Why radical Islam fears pop culture
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s the description accompanying the Reason.tv video: Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India’s pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people. As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia explains, Bollywood movies and videos appeal to…
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…
Libertarians, Liberty
Why the MacIver Institute’s Not Libertarian
by JOHN ADAMS •
….Brett Healy, president of the conservative John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy in Madison, said it’s important to distinguish between public and private sector unions. “Unions originally were established to help a group of individuals come to a reasonable agreement with their employer,” he said. “In this case, the employer is the government. So…
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…