Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Kip
Reason laments the use by law enforcement of consent searches to evade the Fourth Amendment's requirement of probable cause to search or seize: The other day, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois issued a report on "consent searches" that sometimes accompany traffic stops. Relying on data provided by local and state law enforcement agencies, [...]
Filed under: Fourth Amendment, Law Enforcement Abuses, Privacy Issues | Comments Off
Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Kip
This time it's Supreme Chancellor Schwarzenegger: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has moved to end a budget crisis by sacking 22,000 state workers and ordering pay cuts for 200,000. … "Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward," he said. … California's state financial controller, [...]
Filed under: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists, Law, Taxation & Fiscal Policy | Comments Off
Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Kip
How the heck was this allowed to happen? Some North Dakota attorneys are outraged over the latest North Dakota Law Review, saying the scholarly publication was hijacked by national religious rights [sic] activists bent on stopping gay marriage. … By Wednesday, lawyers' protests had become so passionate and widespread that University of North Dakota Law [...]
Filed under: Gay Rights and Issues, Law | Comments Off
Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Kip
Behold yet another "Christian" speaking on behalf of Focus on the Family —
Filed under: Society, Religion, Culture Wars | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Kip
To review: While I certainly concur with the overwhelming majority of my fellow libertarians that there is a presumptive right to raise one's children as one sees fit, I sometimes get into trouble for insisting that this presumption is rebuttable. Whatever the "right to raise one's children" may be, it simply cannot include a "right [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Constitutional Issues, Society, Religion, Culture Wars, Torts | Comments Off
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Kip
There's been some panic-mongering in the blogs over a supposed provision in the housing bill requiring credit card processors to report (or be able to report) all, absolutely all, transactions to the IRS. That is not correct. The bill includes a de minimis exception for transactions of $10,000 or less and 200 transactions or less [...]
Filed under: Law, Privacy Issues, Updates | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Kip
–Is it a proper function of government to shut down "America's last proper paddle-wheeled steamboat"? Congress granted the Delta Queen an exemption because she is never more than a few hundred yards from the safety of the river bank should a fire occur. Since then, the exemption has been extended nine times. But probably not [...]
Filed under: Questions | Comments Off
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Kip
So, are you New Gay or "New Old Gay? (Note: Apparently those are your only two choices.) Project Runway Season 1 contestant Austin Scarlett is New Old Gay, Project Runway Season 4 winner Christian Siriano is New Gay. The Scissor Sisters are New Gay. Rufus Wainwright flirts with being New Old Gay, but he's really [...]
Filed under: Gay Rights and Issues | 3 Comments »
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Kip
An email I just sent to seven academics: Hello, I would like to bring to your attention the use of your published research by a militant Christian attorney in a piece opposing same-sex marriage in California, on the grounds that gay parenting is "harmful" to children: Given that research by other scholars has been misused [...]
Filed under: Gay Rights and Issues | 5 Comments »
Posted on July 29th, 2008 by Kip
As is always the case with emergency sausage-style legislation in an election season, there is something for everyone: –Renegotiating mortgages. Of course, any borrower is always able to renegotiate their debt — assuming the lender is willing. And given a choice between "renegotiate" and "sue for foreclosure," most lenders readily choose "renegotiate" anyway. Remember: Unlike [...]
Filed under: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists, Economics & Finance, Freedom of Contract, Politics, Taxation & Fiscal Policy | 2 Comments »