Author: Eric Scheie

Here in extremely liberal Ann Arbor, the city council and its various boards and commissions apparently have nothing better to do than harass citizens for driving. The latest proposal (which is being treated with utmost seriousness) is to make it a crime to idle the engine in your car. I am not making this up.…

If you have a gun, that’s when you most need it. So why on earth would a state pass a law making concealed carry permit holders criminals if they carry during emergencies? There is no logic to it. Unless they want people unable to be especially unable defend their lives and property during emergencies.

I have mixed feelings about Rick Perry. I like his economic philosophy, as well as his past strong statements of support for limited government, especially the Tenth Amendment. But I’ve been concerned about his positions on social issues, and I have been unable to get past my sour initial take — which is that I…

It’s not every day that I see a headline like this: Federal appeals court refuses to block invasive fish from Great Lakes Because of my unfortunate tendency to read things literally, I was initially taken aback, as I could not understand why anyone would think fish are capable of obeying court orders. But when I…

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the Patriot Act was passed, and a giant new federal bureaucracy was created with vast new powers. The Department of Homeland Security. Like many libertarians, (as well as more than a few conservatives and liberals) I was worried about the threat to freedom posed by this unprecedented federal…

Of all the things that have been said so far about Rick Perry (and there will of course be many more) I think former president Clinton’s observation is the most interesting: Speaking at a fire fighter’s conference in midtown Manhattan this morning, Clinton said, “I got tickled by watching Governor Perry announce for governor, for…

I had no idea that the number of babies receiving WIC food supplements was this high. a shocking 49 percent of all babies born in the U.S. are born to families receiving food supplements from the WIC program, according to Jean Daniel, spokesperson for the USDA. Doesn’t that mean half of all births are essentially…

At Reason, A. Barton Hinkle looks at the dangers of militarized law enforcement: The paramilitary approach to law enforcement flies in the face of the idea that the police and the citizens are on the same side. Officer Friendly, strolling the block in a blue uniform and playing a paradiddle with his baton on a…

While there’s supposed to be a rule against questioning people’s patriotism, Barack Obama had no problem calling Bush “unpatriotic” when he was running for office. What makes this flashback especially rich is the context. Bush, he claimed, had been “unpatriotic” because he added $4 trillion to the national debt over a period of eight years…

While few would agree with me, I think that attacking Rick Perry (there’s even an online form to help) is strategically the smartest thing Team Obama could do right now if the goal is to get Perry on the ticket. Not only is Obama’s popularity at an all time low, but among Republicans, negative attitudes towards…

I realize that Vice President Biden was trying to be “diplomatic” when he pointedly refused to second guess China’s barbaric one child policy, just as I realize that when he and his ilk talk about “reproductive rights” they are not talking about the right to reproduce. But what most gives me the creeps about Biden’s overall…

Some people are upset that Rick Perry apparently likened homosexuality to alcoholism in his 2008 book. Here’s what he said: “Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink,” he wrote. “And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex,…

As I am tired of all things narrative, I thought I would link a few news items that don’t comfortably fit anyone’s narrative. First, Hugo Chavez has proclaimed solidarity with the embattled Muammar Gadhafi: CARACAS — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared Tuesday that he will continue to recognize only Moamer Kadhafi as the legitimate leader…

M. Simon has an interesting post commenting on Walter Russell Mead’s “Inequality Grows As Poor, Ignorant Atheists Swamp US” which Glenn linked earlier. As Mead notes, those with nothing to cling to are dropping God, who seems these days to appeal mostly to people who have it better in life: According to the American Sociological…

Are social issues being used as a “cover” by Republican legislators who seek to back away from painful fiscal conservatism? An intriguing article in Michigan Capitol Confidential (“Are Reluctant Reformers in Republican Ranks Seeking Cover Behind Social Issues?”) offers evidence that they are, and cites the case of a state senator who backed away from…

While I liked Rick Perry’s earlier (since modified) take on the Tenth Amendment, former Senator Rick Santorum did not: “We have people who say, ‘States have the right to pass gay marriage,’” Santorum said last night in Waterloo. “I say, ‘No they do not because they do not have the right to do wrong.’” I…

While I have long known that I should read more science fiction, Glenn Reynolds really drives the point home with this Heinlein quote: “Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be…

When I read that lefty actor Matt Damon is being urged to run for president, my first impulse was to laugh. After all, the far left is promoting him. Like many other progressives, Damon has grown weary of Democrats looking for phony centrism instead of standing up to a shockingly far-right Republican party. Against this…

Speaking of new management, if this Washington Times report (via a comment here) is correct, it looks like the current administration may have literally become a player in the illegal drug business: In an effort to prevent a Los Zetas takeover, Uncle Sam has gotten into bed with the rival Sinaloa cartel, which has close…

While it always annoys me to have to read foreign news items to learn what’s going on with the United States government, I guess I should be glad that thanks to the First Amendment and the internet I can keep abreast of what agencies like NASA are now up to. According to this report in…