Rand Paul was demoted from the upper-tier Republican debate last night, and he decided to boycott the undercard debate and hold a national town hall from Twitter headquarters instead. Meanwhile, Lew and I were stuck watching the debate. But as always, we have great fun breaking it down for you! Listen to the podcast For audio of the previous debates go to TomWoods.com.

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The State of Idaho remains perversely determined to steal five years from the life of Matthew Townsend as punishment for publishing a defiant but harmless statement on his Facebook page.  His supposed offense was to criticize Meridian Police Officer Richard Brockbank by name, demand the dismissal of an equally spurious “resisting and obstructing” charge filed by the officer, and to promise a “non-violent and legal shame campaign” employing “peaceful but … annoying” tactics in the event that charge wasn’t dropped. The trial, which will be a Soviet-style exercise in seeking the imprisonment of a political dissident, will begin on January … Continue reading →

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Your bullshit-ometer should be making an awful racket in response to the shifting explanations given for the twenty-four-hour Iranian hostage scare involving two US Navy boats intercepted in the Gulf. First they told us “at least one of the boats” had experienced a “mechanical failure.” Then they said the boats had run out of fuel, although it wasn’t clear if they meant both boats. Then they said “there was no mechanical problem.” Then they claimed that the two crews had somehow not communicated with the military command, although “they could not explain how the military had lost contact with not … Continue reading →

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A couple years ago, we compiled a list of the 17 best Western films ever made. As with all such lists, readers were quick to chime in with those omissions they strongly felt ought to have been included. And indeed, there were many worthy suggestions made. So we compiled this follow-up of the best Westerns, as recommended by you, the readers. 3:10 To Yuma (1957) Small-time, down-on-his-luck rancher Dan Evans needs to do something to keep food on the table for his family. So when a stagecoach company offers $200 to transport the outlaw Ben Wade to Contention City in order … Continue reading →

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I recently heard comedian Nick DiPaolo say, “I don’t think I can watch Angelina Jolie beat the shit out of six Green Berets. My suspension of disbelief just can’t take it.” He was describing the art of ruining a great movie with propaganda, which is becoming the norm. The morbidly obese Melissa McCarthy is clenching her fists and making men cry while adolescent girls annihilate street thugs for using homophobic slurs. I’ve discussed men’s role in creating this mess before, but it’s everywhere now and it’s permeated every part of our culture. If you just landed here from outer space, … Continue reading →

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By Dr. Mercola If you care about your health, filtering your household water is more a necessity than an option these days. Water pollution has become a very significant problem that simply cannot be ignored any longer. It doesn’t matter where you live, as many of the most dangerous chemicals find their way into the ecosystem and food chain, spreading from one continent to another, as described in a recent article by Prevent Disease.1 Fish and other wildlife are demonstrating the ramifications of out of control water pollution, and there’s cause to believe chemical pollution may be affecting human health … Continue reading →

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Did you ever question “The majority rules?” Why not? It’s the most famous example of what we can call for convenience, “The Collective Fallacy.” With the help of it’s more subliminal offspring, this fallacy has twisted Western cultures into tormented shapes inimical to life and human nature. In the case of “The majority rules,” even the U.S. founders were aware of the dangers – – – “Mankind will in time discover that unbridled majorities are as tyrannical and cruel as unlimited despots.” –U.S. “Founding Father” John Adams “An elective despotism was not the government we fought for” –Thomas Jefferson: Notes … Continue reading →

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Actor Alan Rickman has died of cancer, the second cultural icon to have been lost to that disease this week.  His nearly forty-year career on the screen is filled with too many works to name all of them here and probably not necessary to do, anyway, given his popularity.  In recent years, he was the embodiment of Professor Severus Snape and brought life to a philandering husband in Love Actually.  But an early film of his, the one that brought him into American consciousness, is what likely came to mind among readers here: Die Hard. Like Love Actually, Die Hard … Continue reading →

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Remember when the Fed’s dots – less than a month ago – suggested there would be 4 rate hikes in 2016? Ah, the memories. Well, you can not only forget that (now that the market is estimating the next rate hike will come in October if ever), but it appears that the Fed will follow Kocherlakota’s advice after all and not only cut rates (the possibility of a January rate cut now is 10%), but will pass go, and collect negative rates: DUDLEY: IF ECONOMY WEAKENED, WOULD CONSIDER NEGATIVE RATES After today’s atrocious, recessionary data, one can be certain that … Continue reading →

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Matthew 7: 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. A charlatan (also called swindler or mountebank) is a person practising quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception. “We really can’t forecast all that well, and yet we pretend that we can, but we really … Continue reading →

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To awaken Thursday to front-page photos of U.S. sailors kneeling on the deck of their patrol boat, hands on their heads in postures of surrender, on Iran’s Farsi Island, brought back old and bad memories. In January 1968, LBJ’s last year, 82 sailors of the Pueblo were captured by North Korea and held hostage with Captain Lloyd “Pete” Bucher, and abused and tortured for a year before release. In the final 444 days of the Carter presidency, 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, and released only when Ronald Reagan raised his hand to take the oath. In 2001, under … Continue reading →

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An avalanche that left three skiers dead in the French ski resort of Les Deux Alpes on Wednesday has served as a tragic reminder of the risks of off-piste skiing and the need to be prepared when disaster strikes. While avalanches may be difficult to predict and can happen quickly, experts have revealed their top tips for skiers to improve their chances of avoiding or surviving one. They include everything from carrying essential gear, including a locator beacon, at all times and ‘swimming’ or rolling while you’re carried down the mountain. What is the avalanche danger rating? The Association of … Continue reading →

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