Chris Trotter writes – THERE WAS A TIME when a leftist’s definition of “leftism” corresponded pretty closely to everybody else’s definition. The term identified a coherent worldview – to the point where knowing where someone stood on one issue enabled them to predict with surprising accuracy where they stood on a host of others. If […]
CHRIS TROTTER: Are you a leftist?
CHRIS TROTTER: Are you a leftist?
10 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, The fatal conceit, unintended consequences
“The Spirit of Aloha”: The Hawaii Supreme Court Challenges the U.S. Supreme Court Over Gun Rights
10 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, politics - USA, property rights Tags: constitutional law, gun control
It has been 65 years since Hawaii became a state, but the Hawaiian Supreme Court appears to be having second thoughts. In an extraordinary ruling, the unanimous Supreme Court rejected the holdings of the United States Supreme Court on the Second Amendment as inapplicable to the 50th states. Hawaii apparently is controlled not by the…
“The Spirit of Aloha”: The Hawaii Supreme Court Challenges the U.S. Supreme Court Over Gun Rights
Jury finds in favor of Michael Mann in defamation lawsuit against Mark Steyn, Rand Simberg
09 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: defamation, free speech, regressive left
The jury awarded Mann $1 in compensatory damages from each plaintiff. It also awarded $1,000 in punitive damages from Simberg and $1 million from Steyn.
Jury finds in favor of Michael Mann in defamation lawsuit against Mark Steyn, Rand Simberg
The Most Litigious Place on Earth: Disney Loses Major Challenge to Florida
07 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: constitutional law
Last year, I criticized the lawsuit of Disney against Florida after losing its special status in the former Reedy Creek Improvement District. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee appears to view the matter as dimly as I did. He just dismissed the action in a major loss for the House of Mouse.
The Most Litigious Place on Earth: Disney Loses Major Challenge to Florida
Open Borders and Closed Courts: How the Supreme Court Laid the Seeds for the Immigration Crisis
06 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, economics of immigration
Below is my column in The Hill on the worsening situation at the Southern border and how the Supreme Court laid the seeds for this crisis over a decade ago. The courts have left few options for either the states or Congress in compelling the enforcement of federal law. Here is the column:
Open Borders and Closed Courts: How the Supreme Court Laid the Seeds for the Immigration Crisis
No, Omar Cannot be Denaturalized on the Basis of her “Somalians First” Speech
31 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) yesterday called for the denaturalization of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) after a controversial speech was uncovered in which she pledged to put Somalia first in Congress and her work. While I have been a long critic of Omar, her views expressed in this speech are not only protected speech, but […]
No, Omar Cannot be Denaturalized on the Basis of her “Somalians First” Speech
PLAYING WITH FIRE: THE 1968 ELECTION AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS by Lawrence O’Donnell
29 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, politics - USA
(The 1968 Democratic Convention demonstration on the streets of Chicago) The publication of MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell’s new book, PLAYING WITH FIRE: THE 1968 ELECTION AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS comes at a propitious moment in American political history. According to O’Donnell 1968 is the watershed year that set our current politics in motion […]
PLAYING WITH FIRE: THE 1968 ELECTION AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS by Lawrence O’Donnell
Legal Blow: Hunter’s Defense Hammered by Discovery of Cocaine on Gun Pouch
26 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in the New York Post on discovery of cocaine on the pouch holding Hunter Biden’s gun. Biden’s team is likely to move to keep the tests out of the trial due to the breaks in custody (it was first thrown into a dumpster and then discovered by a man rummaging through […]
Legal Blow: Hunter’s Defense Hammered by Discovery of Cocaine on Gun Pouch
My letter to the Chicago Maroon about Students for Justice in Palestine
25 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Over the last several months, I’ve seen and read about demonstrations on our campus by the pro-Palestinian group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which apparently has roughly 200 campus branches in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand. SJP has been particularly active since last year’s October 7 massacre of Israelis and others, which they […]
My letter to the Chicago Maroon about Students for Justice in Palestine
Bill Maher has a new rule, which is his
21 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, television, TV shows
Here’s an eight-minute clip from Bill Maher in which he touts a new rule: 2024 is supposed to be “The Year of Sanity”. Maher gives several examples of pervasive insanity, the most prominent being the likely reelection of Trump as President. He also mentions tolerance of shoplifting, pro-Palestinian activists, admiration for the Houthis, frantic rumors […]
Bill Maher has a new rule, which is his
The periodical Science touts Indigenous science
20 Jan 2024 1 Comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, regressive left
That this editorial appears in the premier journal Science, and is one of a growing number of pieces urging us to respect “indigenous ways of knowing”, suggests that the woke movement has sprouted a new branch. It’s one I’ve discussed many times with respect to Māori “ways of knowing” (Mātauranga Māori, or MM) in New […]
The periodical Science touts Indigenous science
The Right and Wrong Way to Reduce Poverty, Part II
16 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty
In Part I of this series, I explained that the War on Poverty, launched by Lyndon Johnson and expanded by other profligate presidents, has been bad news for both taxpayers and poor people. More specifically, I shared some academic research showing how it led to a big increase in dependency on government. Let’s expand on […]
The Right and Wrong Way to Reduce Poverty, Part II
‘Say it Nicer’: Hunter Makes a Familiar Last-Minute Offer to Congress
16 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in The Hill on Hunter Biden’s sudden offer to appear for testimony in Congress. Biden’s demand presents institutional considerations that weigh against re-issuing the subpoena. This was a valid subpoena issued by multiple committees with independent subpoena authority. Few members relish Hunter and his team turning them into dancing bears for […]
‘Say it Nicer’: Hunter Makes a Familiar Last-Minute Offer to Congress
Going Flat? Bud Light Sales Still Down 28 Percent as Consumers Continue Boycott
15 Jan 2024 1 Comment
in industrial organisation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, survivor principle, theory of the firm Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Beer analysts are saying that Bud Light is still struggling with the boycott that has reduced its sale by a whopping 28% over the four weeks leading up to Dec. 9 — and heading to the all-important New Year’s sale period. The tragic irony for the company is that Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing…
Going Flat? Bud Light Sales Still Down 28 Percent as Consumers Continue Boycott
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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