Category: Aggregated

Disappointingly, when discussing free speech and its value to society, I have become accustomed to some variant of the inevitable rejoinder: “Hate speech is not free speech.” This maxim has been repeated in discussions about everything from the protest against portrayal of the prophet Muhammad to the controversy surrounding the Confederate battle flag. It has been parroted by nationally syndicated news personalities under the guise of constitutional truth. I have seen it painted without irony on the free speech wall of my own college. Just as with free speech, there is a distinction to be drawn between hate speech in … Continue reading →

First they hacked the Google car. Now, it appears, they – “they” being hackers – could, in principle at least, take over half-a-million Jeeps (and other Fiat-Chrysler vehicles) equipped with in-car WiFi. They’ve already done so in fact with one. According to a report just published on wired.com a guy lost control of his new Jeep Cherokee when someone – using a laptop and sail fawn – hooked in to the vehicle’s systems and began to root around in its electronic guts, kind of like that scene in the classic William Shatner episode of Twilight Zone. There’s …something on the wing! … Continue reading →

Do you often feel incomplete in the morning without eating some bread or cereal? Do you regularly find yourself purchasing a candy bar just to cope with your mid-afternoon slump? If your answer to these questions is “yes,” you’re not alone: An overwhelming majority of people in the Western world are addicted to the short-term energy boosts that carbohydrates are well-known for providing. Unfortunately, since these foods are usually heavily processed and supply our bodies with little more than excess sugar, we often end up craving them indefinitely – with serious long-term consequences for our health. Thankfully, certain nutrients have been … Continue reading →

How can the life of such a man Be in the palm of some fool’s hand? To see him obviously framed Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land Where justice is a game.—Bob Dylan, “Hurricane” . Attorney John W. Whitehead opens a recent posting (see below) on his Rutherford Institute website with these words from a song by Bob Dylan. Why don’t all of us feel ashamed? Why only Bob Dylan? I wonder how many of Bob Dylan’s fans understand what he is telling them. American justice has nothing to do with innocence or guilt. … Continue reading →

Much of the current immigration debate in the United States centers around the issue of “amnesty,” which is a vague term that may mean anything from “we won’t deport you” to “let’s fast-track you to citizenship and voting rights.” From a laissez-faire perspective, the deportation aspect of amnesty — an increase in federal inaction — is one thing. The extension of voting privileges, though, is something else entirely. Indeed, the amnesty debate has helped to illustrate the difference between real, concrete property rights, and the much different political “rights” such as voting. Limiting property rights is always illegitimate. Limiting political … Continue reading →

When someone’s coughing and spluttering on public transport, it’s easy to wish you had hopped in the car. But the likelihood is your vehicle is festering with its own germs and dangerous bacteria, including staphylococcus and E.coli. More than half of car owners have dropped food onto the seats, foot wells or into nooks and crannies, a third have spilt a drink and a tenth used under the seats as a rubbish bin. Three fifths of motorists still eat at the wheel despite nearly one in ten cars having had someone been sick in it or a pet having a … Continue reading →

Remnant Review If social change came through combining old shibboleths with the latest fads, there would be a future for the Left. But that is not how social change takes place. The latest old Leftist to write a book on the end of capitalism is somebody I had never heard of: Paul Mason. His book is titled, Postcapitalism. To launch it, The Guardian, that aging warhorse of British Leftism, published his article: “The end of capitalism has begun.” This has been announced repeated by The Guardian for 80 years. [Note: the book I regard as the best autobiography I have … Continue reading →