Author: James Hanley
A Libertarian Argument for the Basic Income Guarantee
Jason Kuznicki forgot to remind us, but he’s doing his usual bang-up job at Cato Unbound, the latest issue of which features Matt Zwolinski making a pragmatic libertarian case for the basic income guarantee...
Free On-Line American Government Text, Chapter 1: Defining Politics
I’m (slowly) putting together a free on-line American Government text. My reasons are: 1. American Government textbooks discourage student reading because they are stuck in an outmoded style of having 40-50 page chapters that...
Someone’s Lucky Day
So someone just knocked on our door collecting signatures to have a public vote on an anti-discrimination ordinance our town recently passed, which says the city won’t discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation...
Do Not Honor Mom and Pop
“We conclude that the growth in modern retail, characterized by modern chains of midern establishments with more levels of hierarchy, is raising wage rates relative to traditional mom-and-pop retail stores.”
Three Cheers for Command and Control
A couple in Glendora, CA face a $500 fine for saving water by not watering their lawn. Simultaneously, the state wants to fine people who water their lawns. That is, folks can receive a...
What Is It?
Cleaning out the back of a very high top closet shelf we’d never explored before, Johanna found these. Does anyone have any idea what they are? They look like a type of hanger, but...
Hanley’s Old House, Episode 3
The big repair job–ripping open my roof so we can repair some rot caused by a century or so of ice dams–got delayed two weeks because the friend who’s going to help me is,...
The Moral Culpability of Employers
One of the side debates in the discussion of the Hobby Lobby case, the discussion of culpability, leaves me unsatisfied, so I’d like to broach it and focus on it here. [Note: This is...
The American Police State
Can the police become a private corporation exempt from open records laws?
Freedom!
The concept behind separation of powers is to prevent tyranny by not allowing political power to accumulate in the hands of a small number of people. In the U.S. we tend to see it...
World Cup Update
For those who watched the Italy-Uruguay game (my sympathies, Burt), this song may be appropriate.
George Will and Sexual Assault
I am a college professor, and a year from now the first of my three daughters will be preparing to head off to college. So naturally I have some thoughts on George Will’s comments...
What Is the Midwest?
We’ve had a handful of discussions here about what states constitute the Midwest. I have an official answer, from the U.S. Government itself.
Lilies
By the fence the lilies grow lush and green and tall spreading into new frontiers conquering all challengers but never blooming untouched by the sun always and what is a lily without a flower...
