Author: Eric Scheie

In a post Glenn Reynolds linked the other day, John Hinderaker touches on something which has long intrigued me: whether or not debts created by governments are in fact owed forever by the taxpayers: The injustice is obvious. Yet the retired or soon to be retired public employees have a point: the law of contract.…

I just learned about a new idea that’s floating around in the left’s ongoing war against private property rights. It’s called “right to rent” and it would require lenders to rent foreclosed properties their former homeowners for an indefinite period. The idea is being promoted as as a reasonable win-win solution; in the Washington Post…

Ah, the joys of being herded into packed rail cars in the hot summer! As many as 70 people were involved in a massive brawl at two Metro Stations in Washington D.C. on Friday night. At least four were injured in the incident which began at Gallery Place station in Washington D.C. Washington D.C. Fire…

A relatively minor incident in the news serves as a reminder of the importance of the First Amendment — as well as its inherent fragility. If the reports are correct, a New Haven, Connecticut man was arrested merely for stating that he understood the mindset of the man who went on a shooting rampage at…

In a post appropriately titled “Housing Insanity,” Megan McArdle expresses astonishment over the fact that despite the horrendous consequences of the housing bubble and its fallout, the federal government is going full steam ahead to promote no equity home purchases: If you want to know why us libertarian types are skeptical of the government’s ability…

Glenn Reynolds linked a post by Gay Patriot the other day that touched on a very familiar issue: Are we facing another American Revolution? Gay Patriot links this widely circulated piece that appeared in Investors Business Daily, and adds, It is interesting to see a number of people now thinking the way I have been…

In a piece Sissy Willis linked titled “The Tea Party vs. the Intellectuals,” Lee Harris touches on what I think is the principal reason for the Tea Party movement’s resiliency. It is at essence a movement founded on the principle of non-conformity — of saying NO. (Even “EFF YOU”!) Quite fascinatingly, this arises out of…

As Dr. Helen’s post reminded me, the left wing considers right-leaning libertarians like her (and like me) to be conservatives. Which means I am considered a conservative by liberals. I could accept that if it ended there. I agree with conservatives about 80% of the time (as online tests confirm). Yet that “minor” twenty percent…

Many Michigan conservatives are undoubtedly disappointed by yesterday’s gubernatorial election. Here are the results: Governor – GOP Primary 5732 of 5732 Precincts Reporting – 100% Snyder, Rick 380,489 36% Hoekstra, Pete 280,326 27% Cox, Mike 239,752 23% Bouchard, Mike 126,991 12% George, Tom 16,965 2% It was quite fascinating to watch the dynamics of the…

It has come to my attention that PFC Bradley Manning — the leaker at the center of the Wiki Leaks scandal — is openly gay. According to Ace, Manning was upset because of a breakup with his lover or something like that, and decided to betray many American allies to the Taliban. Great. So the…

There’s an AP article floating around headlined “New ID theft targets kids’ SS numbers.” Apparently, there’s a huge market in stolen Social Security numbers, and according to the piece, the bad guys consist of those who sell the numbers as well as the credit companies that allow people to run checks on them. Online companies…

Perhaps I didn’t mean to be as facetious as I thought I meant to be when I used the Glenn Reynolds phrase “FASTER, PLEASE” in an earlier post, but I thought this merited a new post, because I think this is worth stressing. By merely clicking on that InstaPundit search phrase, it is possible to…

Weekly Standard Editor Andrew Ferguson takes a look at American voters’ confusing on-again, off-again love affair with statism: A paradoxical people, these Americans: eager to have an incompetent government that they don’t trust do more of the things that they don’t want it to do. That’s not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of Ferguson’s…

Today is Election Day. Michigan’s primary election, that is. So, because I live in a left wing city, I feel largely disenfranchised. That’s because I have a choice between having a voice in selecting the Republicans candidates who might win the higher offices (and having no say at the local level, because whichever Democrat wins…

In early 2004, I discussed the idea of “using genetic engineering to end the Drug War“: What fuels the Drug War, in my opinion, are the absurd prices people are willing to pay for otherwise worthless, commonly available substances — simply because they are illegal in this country, and have to be imported at great…

What do you call someone who advocates religion for the masses but not for himself? Most people would call such a person a hypocrite. At the very least, such a political position evinces a mindset normally thought of as condescending — the sort we would typically associate with the “ruling class.” Doubtless this factored into…

What is bigotry? Let’s start with a common definition of bigot. a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance. We typically think of bigotry as prejudice which…

Sometimes I don’t know what to do with what I guess should be called “news.” Like this um “book” um “review” that was linked on Drudge. Something about Angelina Jolie putting urine in a Mountain Dew bottle intended for her dad Jon Voight’s girlfriend, and how her mom helped her lose her virginity at age…

Lest anyone think that only the mean old Republicans are Drug Prohibitionists, I just learned about another ridiculous anti-drug law that must have passed while I was asleep. At least one one blogger is complaining about it, and because he’s a leftie, I thought I should add my two cents worth. Anyway, thanks to the…

Anyone who thinks that Andrew Breitbart is the inflexible and rigid “authoritarian” that John Dean says he is should read his Newsweek interview: If Sherrod wanted to meet with you, what would you tell her? I’d have a long discussion with her, and I’d tell her that I’m not one of these people in this…