Author: Eric Scheie

  I got so angry when I saw Glenn’s link to a Reason piece about the FCC’s latest attempt to regulate the Internet that I had to calm down before I could write a post. That’s because the jurisdictional power grab may already be a done deal: Genachowski [close friend, basketball buddy, Harvard Law classmate,…

As regular readers know, I am anything but a sports fan. However, in the two years I’ve been in Ann Arbor, I have developed quite a taste for college football, at least when the Wolverines are playing. That taste, however, did not translate into excitement for Sunday’s Superbowl. I tried to watch it, but I…

A full page ad in the Washington Times (PDF here) maintains that allowing a group of gay conservatives to be at CPAC is a betrayal of Ronald Reagan or something. Yawn. Of course, I hasten to point out that many on the left — especially the gay left — would agree. That’s because they believe…

People who think the Muslim Brotherhood is the driving force behind the protests in Egypt should read this USA Today report that the initial protests — and much of the enthusiasm — were generated by tech-savvy youths: CAIRO — The uprising that threatens to topple Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and transform the Arab world started…

In a comment to my post about ineffective sudafed substitutes, Joseph Hertzlinger reminded me that there is a method to their madness: While we’re advocating legalizing cold remedies that work, maybe we try relegalizing toilets that work as well. Insane as it may sound, it does seem that America is at war with Things That…

Cynical as I am, I have to say that I was a bit taken aback to read that in this day and age, nine out of ten Egyption girls are made to endure female genital mutilation (FGM). But that’s what a piece Glenn linked earlier said: Nine out of ten Egyptian women suffer genital mutilation.…

Speaking of government regulation of drugs, Paul Hsieh, M.D. has a great PJM piece (“America’s Other Drug Problem”) in which he points out that the maniacal bureacrats at the FDA are preventing Americans from getting the life-saving drugs, and thwarting their ability to get the health care they need. Melly Alazraki of Daily Finance reports…

Having just complained about cold remedies that don’t work, I thought I should praise one of the best remedies I have encountered to date. While I mentioned it in a previous post, this stuff is so effective that I thought it merited a post all its own. I refer to “African Sea Coconut” brand cough…

After discussing Megan McArdle’s thoughtful analysis of the sudafed crackdown brought about by the war on Meth, Glenn Reynolds said something that made me want to join the sudafedayeen! I want my goddamn Sudafed. What I’ve noticed is that they keep making it harder to get, but we keep getting more meth labs. Naturally, the…

In a post about “middle class anarchy” the other day, Glenn Reynolds made the following observation: …if the middle class asserts itself it can change things for the better instead. That’s why so many fear the Tea Party movement. Over the weekend I spoke with a Tea Party activist from a Michigan town who told…

Sarah’s post about rebellion made me feel sorry for the children of the Baby Boomers. The rebels of the 60s and 70s had it easy in so many ways, not the least of which was how easy it was for them to rebel: What you are looking at in fact – with the exception of…

I’m fascinated by the idea that bad sex can be considered rape. But after watching the video Glenn Reynolds linked in which Ann Althouse discusses the subject, I find myself worrying not so much about whether bad sex is rape (I don’t think it ever is), but whether there is a double bad-sex-as-rape standard.  It…

Via Glenn Reynolds, I found a classic reminder of the left’s fondness for accusing the right of doing what it does. First, here’s what sainted leftist icon Frances Fox Piven considers worthy of praise and emulation: …tens of thousands of protesters marched through Athens in the largest and most violent protests since the country’s budget…

An idiotic comment to M. Simon’s earlier post (that “libertarians hate Christians”) reminded me of an incident over a decade ago. The president of a socially conservative think tank had voiced a similar sentiment, and I politely reminded him that there is not only is there no contradiction between libertarianism and Christianity, but that there…

Forgive my lack of enthusiasm the past couple of days. I am running a terrible cold which started last week and instead of resolving, has only gotten steadily worse each day.  By yesterday it was much too late to abort the cold, but I did remember the trusty old Yin Chiao I’ve had lying about…

That’s what Michael Ledeen is saying is true in a number of ways. One is that as was the case with the Shah, Mubarak is being sent mixed messages: …Mubarak has to know exactly what we want.  Do we know what we want?  My impression is that we are confused, just as in 1979.  Obama’s…

I’m back from the Michigan Republican Party State Convention in Grand Rapids, which was nowhere near as raucous as the one in Lansing in August. The strength of the Tea Party is undeniable — so much so that the candidates were clearly competing for Tea Party support. I wish I had been quicker with my…

I’m going to be away in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the next couple of days, so my blogging will be light to nonexistent. And alas! Snow is forecast for today and tomorrow across the entire state! (That’s because of that Global Warming Killer Freezing thing, of course…. Freeze till you boil!) Fortunately, there has been…

Dr. Helen reviews a book which explores a vexing social problem of long fascination to me, and what I appreciate the most is the author’s contribution of a new word to describe the phenomenon: “UNDERDOGMA.” I am reading a new book by Michael Prell called Underdogma: How America’s Enemies Use Our Love for the Underdog…

“When people are doing things that are detrimental to their own well being, then government should step in.” So proclaims New York State Senator Carl Kruger in response to concerns that his proposal to ban walking while talking on cell phones or listening to music players might be too nanny statist. (The article fails to…