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In case you somehow missed the news, as of today you’re no longer allowed to leave the United States without a passport. Previously, other countries might have required a passport in order to enter them, but as of now (well, this morning), your government decides whether you’re allowed to leave its jurisdiction. More here. Y’know, [...]

Or maybe those are synonyms — whatever. Just saw this on Cato-at-Liberty: (The recording and interview with the guy are the good part, the rest of the clip is usual FoxNews grandstanding and chest-thumping.) Seriously, though, how can anyone *not* have a problem with a quasi-police force at the airport that’s not responsible enough to [...]

Fascism = “the welfare of the state is more important than the welfare of the individual”. Seatbelt laws. Patriot Act. Airport security. Airport closures for “suspicious comments” (and exploded batteries). Homeland security. DUI checkpoints. Helmet laws. Mandatory waiting periods. Car seat laws. School attendance requirements. Having to register with your driver’s license in order to [...]

It turns out that San Francisco is going to put a net around the Golden Gate Bridge in order to prevent people from committing suicide. If someone really has the audacity and desperation to throw themselves off a bridge, it kind of seems like we should let them. If someone wants to die, why does [...]

I got to work this morning, saw that the flag was at half-mast, realized why it was at half-mast, then had to check myself to avoid vomiting. The people that died in those attacks was one of the lesser tragedies of that day (and the number of deaths, as I’ve detailed sort of inadvertently in [...]

The great thing about quick business trips is that you get to go through airport security twice in one day. Makes it all worthwhile. So in honor of our government’s brilliant new mechanisms put in place in order to ensure every passenger feels sufficiently hassled prior to being allowed to enter the boarding area, I’ve [...]

I know, I’m way behind the times, but there’s a 19-year-old kid in Minnesota who’s been charged with a felony for trying to sell his (presidential election) vote on eBay for a minimum $10 bid (Fox News via Cato). The kid’s obviously an idiot who doesn’t understand the world’s appropriate social order. When elected officials [...]

It’s *possible* that the State of Texas held hearings for each and every FLDS child in Eldorado prior to taking them from their homes. I mean, *possible* — it just seems like, if they did, then they should say something. Otherwise they’ve committed state-sponsored kidnapping based on an anonymous phone call from a person they [...]

Oh, granted, it’s a Radio Free Europe interview with a US-friendly politician, but still, I loved the frankness and candor of Estonian president Toomas Hendrik here. (I was also intrigued that one of the interviewers was named “Chalupa”.) E.g.: “Russian relations with Ukraine and Georgia were fine until they had democratic revolutions.” Plus he references [...]