13.1
See that fellow over there? He’s running a half marathon. He’s probably in a world of pain. Possibly, though, he’s running laps around heaven itself. It’s 6:10AM, last Saturday. It helps that I’m a...
Author: Jason Kuznicki
Why I Read Bryan Caplan
I know I often disagree with him. But then there’s stuff like this: “What’s stopping Warren Buffett from paying more taxes?” is a red herring. The fundamental question is: “Why is government’s share of...
Why is that UC Davis Cop Still on the Job?
Radley Balko explains. The short answer? Public sector unions. Occupiers, be careful what you wish for.
Tax Credits and Subsidies
My former colleague Will Wilkinson offers some insightful comments on our intuitions regarding taxes, subsidies, and fiscal policy. To wit: I think the assumption on the right is that first we work to make...
U.C. Davis Investigation…
…confirms common sense about that atrocious pepper spray incident last fall. Added touches: the cops acted against orders; they were untrained and unauthorized to use the spray; and — what else? — a sex...
Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was the Nineteenth Century?
Even more of that discussion I can’t believe we’re having. Here I’ll argue that a strict, property-and-contract-only libertarian should still detest the nineteenth century. On his own terms.
Coverture and Liberty
In which we return to a time that Bryan Caplan appears to love… blindly. Inexplicably. Sort of embarrassingly. I mean the nineteenth century. Back in 2010, Bryan wrote that the legal regime of coverture...
Timothy Sandefur at PLF
My friend Timothy Sandefur just happens to be one of the country’s leading libertarian public-interest attorneys. He’s doing some great work explaining and commenting on the Obamacare case at the Pacific Legal Foundation’s blog....
Obamacare at the Supreme Court
After listening to the audio, my sense is that there are only two likely rulings —
The Secret Hearts of Politicians
Rojas spots a fun little contradiction: *If you believe that Barack Obama has spent the last decade hiding his secret beliefs on the subject of religion, and that his public stance on the matter...
The Hunger Games and Politics
So what did I think? The Hunger Games is about the empire of economic necessity. If you’re a human being, congratulations. You’re playing the hunger games too. Within just a few hours, you will...
Plain Dumb Luck
In my perfect world, I’d have Michel Foucault’s old job: Professor of the History of Systems of Thought at the Collège de France. Here’s a bit of what I might want to teach.
Odium Surplus/Odium Deficit
A common way to talk about crime and punishment is to liken them to debt and repayment: A crime creates a debt to society; if the criminal is caught and convicted, a just sentence...
Trust Me, Kids — Peace Is Actually Pretty Awesome
James Fallows continues the Iran War watch. I can hardly believe, after all this country has been through, that we are seriously considering another war. Sold to us, I’d add, by the very same...
Henry Farrell’s Modest Proposal
He first notes a contrast: On the one side of the balance sheet, we have Richard B. Cheney. This gentleman, now in private life, is a self-admitted and unrepentant perpetrator of war crimes –...
Secession, Legal Orders, and Justification
A few days ago ago I tweeted this line: “Secession is the decision to step out of an existing political order, so it’s a category error to try to justify it legally.” Obviously I’m...
At My Real Job: DNA and the Death Penalty
This month’s Cato Unbound is especially interesting to me because it discusses how to integrate new facts into an old public policy debate: Now that we (sometimes) have DNA evidence, what does it tell...
Koch v. Cato – Some Further Thoughts
When I learned that the Kochs were suing Cato, I’m sorry to say that one of the first things I felt was vindication. I’d been saying for years that Cato was essentially an independent...
A Question on Posthumous Baptism
If posthumous baptism is a laudable spiritual practice, then I propose a shortcut. The Mormons could save a little time and just baptize me right away. No, I have absolutely no intention of following...
