In a Complex World, Politicians Have a Simple Demand: More Power

Fans of a large and intrusive state are fond of arguing that leaving people alone is fine for simple, primitive societies, but that the growing complexity of the modern world requires a strong hand and centralized control. It's a convenient position for authoritarians to take, since it leaves them eternally amassing power unless the rest of us give...

1h

The U.K. Approves COVID-19 Vaccine While the U.S. FDA Dawdles

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved today by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the United Kingdom. The Telegraph reports U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock's observation that the vaccine's approval is a "day to remember in a year to forget" and he further described the vaccine as a "victory for science."...

1h

Joe Biden's Pick for Top Economic Adviser, Neera Tanden, Endorsed Bill Creating a National Soda Tax

As the head of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), Neera Tanden applauded and endorsed a Democratic proposal to implement a national soda tax. Now, she is one Senate confirmation vote away from becoming President-elect Joe Biden's top economic adviser. Biden has tapped Tanden, who co-founded CAP in 2003 and has served as...

2h

Medical Marijuana Gets the Greenlight From the United Nations

United Nations (U.N.) votes to reschedule marijuana. In a close 27 to 25 vote (with one abstention) on Wednesday, members of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) backed a World Health Organization (WHO) proposal to take cannabis and cannabis resin off the list of Schedule IV drugs—i.e., those which the international body says are "particularly...

4h

'We're Gonna Need a Bigger Website'

"You're gonna need a bigger boat," Chief Brody famously mumbles to the grizzled old salt Quint after catching a first pants-wetting glimpse of the great white shark that is terrorizing beachgoers in Jaws. Here at Reason, we're gonna need a bigger website to keep fighting for free minds and free markets. Welcome to Day 2 of Reason's annual webathon,...

4h

When Cloth Was Money, Literally

In pre-industrial economies, textiles have many of the characteristics essential to a good currency. They're durable, portable, and divisible. Bolts can be produced in standard sizes and uniform quality. The quantity is limited, since cloth takes a long time to produce and it flows out of the money supply as it's transferred to everyday use, thereby...

6h

Brickbat: Quick-Tempered

When Joseph Bennett noticed some Jeffersonville, Kentucky, police officers near a McDonald's, he decided to stop and videotape them. Bennett was standing across the parking lot, well away from the officers, when some of them approached him and demanded ID. Bennett said he refused, and no sooner did the words leave his mouth than one officer punched...

9h

Private Charity Beats One-Size-Fits-All Government

Many of us will give money to charity this month. Americans give more than any other people in the world. Good for us. 56 years ago, because American charities hadn't ended poverty, politicians said they would end it. They declared a "war on poverty." That "war," so far, has cost $27 trillion. Some people were helped. But the handouts also had a...

13h

Disarmed but Not Dangerous

For lying on her federal income tax returns, Lisa Folajtar got three years of probation and a lifetime of constitutional disability. Because her crime carried a maximum penalty of three years in prison, she was permanently stripped of her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In a case that could give the Supreme Court an opportunity to elucidate...

13h

John Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut was appointed as Special Counsel (Updated)

On October 19, 2020, Attorney General Barr appointed John Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia as special counsel to investigate "certain intelligence and law-enforcement activities surrounding the 2016 presidential election." I have seen the letter Barr sent to Congress, but I have not seen the letter Barr sent to Durham. #Durham...

18h