DC has 3 full-time straw cops on the beat to enforce the straw ban. And of course a tip line.
Plastic Police: DC City Gov’t has plastic straw cops to enforce ban! – DC urges public to ‘submit a tip’ if business or org. is ‘in violation’ by using ‘plastic straws and/or stirrers’ or ‘foam’ cups, plates, bowls or plastic bags
Plastic Police: DC City Gov’t has plastic straw cops to enforce ban! – DC urges public to ‘submit a tip’ if business or org. is ‘in violation’ by using ‘plastic straws and/or stirrers’ or ‘foam’ cups, plates, bowls or plastic bags
15 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, environmental economics, politics - USA
Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Right Answer.
14 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, law and economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people is a good idea. Not…
Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Right Answer.
Australia Moves Toward Draconian Anti-Free Speech Law
14 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, media bias, political correctness, regressive left

We have previously discussed how Australia has eagerly joined the plunge into censorship and speech controls, including a court system that has repeatedly refused to protect free speech. It is now on the verge of enacting a new censorship bill that replicates the abuses under the European Union’s draconian Digital Service Act (DSA).
Australia Moves Toward Draconian Anti-Free Speech Law
Countering objections to free speech
14 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left

Greg Lukianoff is, as most of you know, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He’s also a lawyer and co-author, with Jon Haidt, of the excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind. Yesterday in Quillette, Lukianoff wrote a piece that many of us may find useful, outlining how to give comebacks […]
Countering objections to free speech
Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense
13 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left

Alissa Eleanor Azar, a well-known Antifa activist, was sentenced to jail recently in Oregon after being convicted of felony riot and disorderly conduct. What is notable about the case was the journalism defense put forward by Azar, who claims that she was not a participant but press. That assertion is belied by not just videotapes […]
Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense
Sixth Circuit Hands Down Major Free Speech Win for Professor Against the University of Louisville
13 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit handed down a major victory of free speech this week in favor of professor challenging his treatment by the University of Louisville. In Josephson v. Ganzel, a unanimous panel ruled for Dr. Allan Josephson who was subject to adverse actions after he publicly expressed skepticism […]
Sixth Circuit Hands Down Major Free Speech Win for Professor Against the University of Louisville
Here’s How One Biden-Appointed Judge’s Ruling Could Bring Drilling in Gulf of Mexico to A Halt
12 Sep 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, fisheries economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, resource economics Tags: nuisance suits
Notably, oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico is less carbon-intensive than oil produced elsewhere; one May 2023 analysis commissioned by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) found that oil extracted offshore in the Gulf of Mexico is 46% less carbon-intensive than the global average excluding the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s How One Biden-Appointed Judge’s Ruling Could Bring Drilling in Gulf of Mexico to A Halt
Bill Maher won’t vote for someone who conveys “ick”
12 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: 2024 presidential election
Although Maher is always accused of being a right-winger, that’s not true at all; he’s more or less a left-centrist, like me. Here he defines “ick” with some graphic examples, and says that Trump has a bad case of it, and that’s the best thing Democrats have going for them. But. . . . he […]
Bill Maher won’t vote for someone who conveys “ick”
Tonight’s debate and what Tom Friedman thinks Harris must do to win
11 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election

As you know, there’s a Big Debate tonight between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It’ll be broadcast on television on ABC, a non-cable channel. ABC says this: (note that times are Eastern times): The ABC News debate, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 9 p.m ET. […]
Tonight’s debate and what Tom Friedman thinks Harris must do to win
VP Harris hasn’t ‘moderated’ on climate issues – She doubles down on ‘climate crisis’ narrative, still supports net-zero policies that will harm grids, U.S. farming, and domestic energy
11 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, solar power, wind power
KamalaHarris hasn’t “moderated” on climate issues. She doubles down on “climate crisis” narrative, still supports net-zero energy policies that will harm grid stability, agriculture, and all energy-related sectors. Nor does she regret her IRA vote.
VP Harris hasn’t ‘moderated’ on climate issues – She doubles down on ‘climate crisis’ narrative, still supports net-zero policies that will harm grids, U.S. farming, and domestic energy
Failing Banks
11 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economic history, financial economics, global financial crisis (GFC), great depression, great recession, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA Tags: bank panics, bank runs
From Sergio Correia, Stephan Luck, and Emil Verner: Why do banks fail? We create a panel covering most commercial banks from 1865 through 2023 to study the history of failing banks in the United States. Failing banks are characterized by rising asset losses, deteriorating solvency, and an increasing reliance on expensive non-core funding. Commonalities across…
Failing Banks
Get Musk: Leading Investor Calls for the Prosecution of Elon Musk for “Undermining” the Federal Government
10 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee this weekend went on MSNBC’s “Last Word” and called for the arrest of Elon Musk for “undermining” the federal government by sharing his opinions on X.
Get Musk: Leading Investor Calls for the Prosecution of Elon Musk for “Undermining” the Federal Government
The Ghost of Richard Daley: Democrats Aren’t Creating Disorder; They’re Preserving it
10 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election

Below is my column in the Hill on the effort of Democratic officials to keep Robert Kennedy on the ballot in swing states after seeking to block actual candidates from the same ballots. It is all in the name of democracy. Here is the column:
The Ghost of Richard Daley: Democrats Aren’t Creating Disorder; They’re Preserving it
Hunter Biden Discovers There is No “Nicer” Way to Say “I’m Guilty”
08 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election

Below is my column in Fox.com on the Hunter Biden guilty plea. The plea proved vintage Hunter Biden for all of the wrong reasons. The effort to plead guilty without admitting guilt left him looking like the most privilege person since Marie Antoinette. However, it was consistent with a bizarre criminal defense that never seemed […]
Hunter Biden Discovers There is No “Nicer” Way to Say “I’m Guilty”
From the comments, on moving to the suburbs
07 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - USA, transport economics, urban economics
As Ed Banfield observed, the flight to the suburbs pre-dated the car because people prefer cheaper housing and more space: “The first elevated steam railroads were in New York in the 1870s, and twenty years later every sizable city had an electric trolley system. Railroads and trolleys enabled more people to commute and to commute […]
From the comments, on moving to the suburbs
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