statism

How DC Is Going to Ruin the Driverless Car

"One issue is that the laws are requiring licensed drivers to sit in the driving seat, eliminating one of the main advantages of the technology. Yet there are more problems. Bizarrely, Cheh’s bill also requires that autonomous vehicles operate only on alternative fuels. Another flaw in Cheh’s bill is that it would impose a special tax on drivers of autonomous vehicles. Instead of paying fuel taxes, 'Owners of autonomous vehicles shall pay a vehicle-miles travelled (VMT) fee of 1.875 cents per mile.' Administrative details aside, a VMT tax would require drivers to install a recording device to be periodically audited by the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow DC Is Going to Ruin the Driverless Car

U.S. Constitution Created an Empire

"The continent lay before the framers and Americans. Land lay before the framers and Americans. Untold riches and wealth in land beckoned. Land speculation was an American constant. Empire as a form of government was the chosen vehicle for expansion into these lands. Dreams of liberty also prevailed, and the framers thought that empire and liberty could co-exist. This illusion has never been shattered, not even by the bloodiest of all American wars. Today, we inherit the problem that empire and liberty, in the final analysis, cannot be reconciled. One or the other must prevail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Constitution Created an Empire

Support for Kill List and NDAA make Obama and Romney unfit for office

"It wasn’t so long ago that the following statement could only appear in a dystopian novel or movie script. The U.S. President has killed an American citizen without due process, without even charging him with a crime. His decision to do this has been challenged by members of neither party. While the media-fueled frenzy goes on about how supposedly different Romney and the conservatives are from Obama and the liberals, no one even raises an eyebrow about this terrifying political development. Not even the left, which quite correctly howled at the Bush administrations’ assaults on freedom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupport for Kill List and NDAA make Obama and Romney unfit for office

NYC Mayor Bloomberg spending millions on political ads as ‘counterweight’ to NRA

"NRA spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam said the group had 'billions of reasons' to take Bloomberg’s efforts seriously, making reference to his estimated net worth, but criticized his efforts in the wake of superstorm Sandy, which has left millions of Bloomberg’s constituents without power. 'The message that he’s sending is he’s so obsessed with banning guns that he’s trying to influence federal and state races from Pennsylvania to Florida to California instead of helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy,' Arulanandam said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYC Mayor Bloomberg spending millions on political ads as ‘counterweight’ to NRA

Police Arrest Gas Buyer In New York

"Police arrested a 47-year-old New York man accused of filling up 30 five-gallon Home Depot buckets with gasoline on Saturday night. According to investigators, Yunus Latif, of Richmond Hill, collected money from his neighbors, bought gas at a Valero station in Orange and planned to bring it back to his neighborhood, where they had no power and gas. The owner of the Valero gas station, located at 347 Boston Post Road, was arrested as well. Police claimed Muniruzzaman Gomosta should have known what Latif was doing since he came into the store several times to pay for buckets of gasoline." Continue reading →

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Poll suggests win for initiative repealing Michigan’s emergency managers law

"Public Act 4 of 2011, pushed by Gov. Rick Snyder (R), allows Michigan to appoint managers to municipalities and school districts facing financial struggles, turning the power of elected local officials over to state bureaucrats. Snyder has said the law is necessary to resolve fiscal crises within the state. The managers have sweeping powers, being able to cut public workers, slash services, sell off public infrastructure, cancel union contracts, overrule and even fire elected officials, and write all contracts as they see fit. Benton Harbor, Flint, Pontiac, and Ecorse are currently being overseen by emergency managers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoll suggests win for initiative repealing Michigan’s emergency managers law

Gas Lines, Gouging, and Hurricane Sandy: Keeping Prices Low Means Nobody Gets Fuel

"So why does it look 1973 all over again at gas stations throughout New York and New Jersey? Hurricane Sandy knocked power out to New Jersey's gas refineries, causing shortages throughout the region. Govs. Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo responded by doing exactly the wrong thing: They threatened to prosecute any station owners caught raising prices, thus removing any incentive to truck more gas in from other parts of the country. Thanks to a cadre of small businessmen, though, Brooklyn residents have an alternative to spending all day in line." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGas Lines, Gouging, and Hurricane Sandy: Keeping Prices Low Means Nobody Gets Fuel

How to Fix the Gas Shortage: Let ’em Gouge

"A lot of people suppose that the anti-gouging laws are a remnant of some puritan past, like laws that ban buying alcohol on Sundays. But they aren’t. The first one was passed in New York in 1979 in response to rising heating oil prices, according to an essay on the laws by Michael Gibberson published in Regulation last year. Three more states adopted similar laws in the 1980s, eleven more in the 1990s, and 16 in the last decade. These aren’t ancient blue laws—they are a growing legal innovation. Again you’re probably asking: why? As it turns out there is one set of actors who does benefit from these laws—politicians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Fix the Gas Shortage: Let ’em Gouge

Close monitoring of prostate tumors may make radiation, surgery unnecessary

"Close monitoring of prostate cancer tumours may make radiation and surgery — which can cause incontinence and impotence — unnecessary, a new study has shown. Prostate cancer is one of the slowest-growing forms of the disease, and many men with tumours may never develop symptoms during their lifetime, meaning that many are treated unnecessarily — often with serious side-effects. A study has now shown that many prostate cancer sufferers may dispense with treatment if they opt instead to undergo active surveillance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingClose monitoring of prostate tumors may make radiation, surgery unnecessary