As of June 22nd, the California state capital is home to an 800 pound, 8 foot tall replica of former US president and California governor Ronald Reagan. Until now, Reagan was the only president not to be immortalized with a statue in the state house of his home state. The statue was funded by private…

It’s about damn time. The rest of the United States finally caught up to the libertarians on June 26 when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.  It only took 43 years but it looks like the authoritarian right is losing influence, as young people grow increasingly skeptical of power structures. Let’s…

John Adams believed Independence Day would become a great anniversary festival. He was right. July fourth is the central holiday of the summer. Post solstice, on this day folks celebrate with pomp parades, sports and games, the cracking of rifles, the blaze of bonfires and the pop, flash and fizzle of fireworks. It is a…

Harvey Molotch coined the term “growth machines” for the coalitions of real estate and other businesses that control local governments and use them as a vehicles to promote the interests of chambers of commerce — and particularly those of the real estate developers. The collusion between business and state and local government is more, not…

On Friday, June 26th, the United States Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin that same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution.  State-loving progressives are cheering the Supreme Court’s ruling as a victory for “our democracy.” As a libertarian, I too celebrate the decision, although many of my reasons for doing so are far different than those…

Two fatal victims. That is Recife’s (capital of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil) public transportation system body count in 2015. On July 16, college student Harlynton dos Santos, 20, died after trying to climb a bus at 11:30 PM, being tossed out as the vehicle started moving. Camila Mirele was the first victim this year,…

Let’s get this out of the way first: it’s time to abolish government debt. The state should be unable, effectively prohibited to issue new debt and take loans. There is no justification for government debt, which essentially boils down to contracting debt to be covered by future taxes paid for by third parties. By the…

On Thursday (18), Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court minister Gilmar Mendes agreed to hear the arguments challenging drug criminalization in the country. The lawsuit should be judged only in the second semester, but his actions finally signal the political wear of the drug war. The fight against drugs is one of the few constants in the…

On June 22nd pop mega-star Taylor Swift, released an open letter to Apple Music, refusing to grant the company’s new music streaming service access to her newest album. Her letter was a response to Apple’s policy of not paying musicians whose work is listened to, by customers during their three month, free trial of Apple’s…

On June 17th, a white man named Dylann Roof murdered nine black members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (EAME). I mention race because it was not a coincidence – this was an act of terrorism in the service of white supremacy. Understandably, people are scrambling for an easy solution, and most proposals involve…

On Wednesday, June 17th, a shooter murdered nine members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina. After sitting in church for about an hour, the gunman made racist comments before opening fire. After what was clearly a crime directed toward Black people because of their race, President Barack…

If you have even a shred of humanity, the answer is yes. Prisoners Richard Matt and David Sweat have dominated headlines for nearly two weeks after escaping from Dannemora, a maximum security prison in Upstate, New York. One prison employee, Joyce Mitchell, has been accused of providing them assistance in their escape. She too now,…

A recent 12-country study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found a near ten percent increase in the use of mobile devices to access news. Additionally the report found a 42% increase in referrals to news sources from Facebook, with Apple and Google also gaining popularity as news sources. More people, especially younger people, are getting…

A recurring feature of the business cycle is that in deep recession years governments run huge annual deficits as a result of declining tax revenue, increased spending on unemployment and poverty relief and assorted stimulus. This causes government debt levels to skyrocket. In the case of the American “Great Recession,” this manifested itself as a…

The White House recently announced that Obama has approved a plan to send 450 new troops into Iraq to fight ISIS. These “troops” aren’t ground troops, but instead are going in an adviser role to assist the Iraqi military. Now, everyone who believes that please, go stand on your head. It’s been four years since…

It’s June, and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, that means it’s Pride month. All around the world throughout June, pride parades and pride festivals celebrate our identities, our lives, our culture, our progress in smashing stigmas, and our resistance to oppression. That last part, resistance, is absolutely crucial. Pride is…

As of June 9th, hundreds of protesters have marched to the McKinney, Texas swimming pool where a police officer was filmed forcing unarmed black teenagers to the ground. The incident happened when a teenage girl threw a pool party at a suburban community pool for some friends. Though most of the party-goers lived in the community,…

Back on May 19th, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution that would increase the minimum wage to $15 by the year 2020. Fast forward to May 27th, and we see labor “leaders” who intensely supported the increase pushing a last minute amendment to exempt companies from it if they let the unions…

“Behind every great fortune,” Balzac wrote, “there is a crime.” That’s certainly true of the largest concentrations of wealth in the world today. The fortune of every billionaire, it’s safe to say, was amassed through some sort of crime. You don’t make that kind of money on the free market. And the holdings of every…

On the Moroccan Coast, nine migrants gaze across the Mediterranean Sea to Spain. Across the sea lies hope. There is a chance for freedom, a chance to carve out a good life. They have fled Syria, the Sudan, Yemen, Libya and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Poverty, war, terror, oppression and…