So I have a question for disciples of the Obamessiah:

When Bush ordered air strikes against a sovereign country, it was murder and a blatant example of American imperialist aggression; but when Obama orders drone attacks in Pakistan that kill 22 people, including three children, it's a display of "smart power", and no one on the left even raises ( Read more... )

Yay nationalization!

Well, I hope we all enjoyed this little experiment in "free" markets, because it's over now.  Once the financial markets are nationalized, there will be no segment of the economy safe from government "rescue".  Enjoy your new status as serfs.

Megan McArdle recalls her life of crime, as an underage drinker in Pennsylvania . . . in 1992.  She was caught by state liquor agents, fined, forced to attend alcohol-education classes, and promised never to drink underage again.  According to the Liquor Control Board, that should have been the end of the matter:

Alas, they never told the ( Read more... )

The state, to serve and protect our children:

Two Philadelphia social workers were among nine charged yesterday in the death of a Danieal Kelly, a 14-year-old girl who starved to death in 2006, her body eaten by bed sores to the bone.

Unveiling a blistering grand jury report today [PDF], District Attorney Lynne Abraham blasted the city's ( Read more... )

If something like this actually comes to pass-and it should be noted that both Barack Obama and John McCain support the concept of national service, if not this specific implementation-I am getting my family out of the country.  Period ( Read more... )

• I was wrong: Americans are driving less, to the tune of 11 billion miles in March compared to last year.  And mileage dropped another 4.5 billion in April vs. a year ago.
• The current markup in gas prices includes speculation that hurricane season (which began June 1) may disrupt supplies, but it could go even higher if another Big One hits the Gulf.
• ( Read more... )

It's because states are capable of doing this:

Myanmar's junta seized U.N. aid shipments headed for hungry and homeless survivors of last week's devastating cyclone, prompting the world body to suspend further help on Friday ( Read more... )

They hate us for our "freedoms", all right.

Best opening line I've read in a while:

To grasp American immigration policy, to the extent that it can be grasped, one need only remember that the United States forbids smoking while subsidizing tobacco growers.

It just gets better from there.  Do read the whole thing.  I have little to add, as Fred Reed has pretty much nailed the central point ( Read more... )

Skyrocketing metal prices have led to roof panels disappearing from English churches (HT: Marginal Revolution):

For centuries, people have stolen religious artifacts in Europe, including chunks of religious buildings, but Britain is in the midst of an accelerating crime wave that some experts call the most concerted assault on churches since the ( Read more... )