Anarcho-LobbyistSent to us by the author.

The Last Bastille – by Kyle Reardon

Statists have always told libertarians that if we don’t like the law, we should work to change it. Unfortunately, what this means is that if individuals want to secure their liberty, they must do so by begging for it from those tyrants who imagine themselves to be our rulers. Worse, some opportunists use this dynamic in order to put themselves on this week’s news cycle, in order to further their own self-aggrandizement. As the Austrian economists put it, human action is purposeful behavior, yet, what behavior can be said to be purposeful if the actors are doing the same things over and over again, all the while expecting different results?   Continue reading “Grassroots Lobbying Does Not Work: A Review of Chris Cantwell’s “Anarcho-Lobbyist” Series (Season One)”

ARIZONAHuffington Post

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that a voter-approved independent redistricting commission in Arizona is constitutional.

In response to complaints that the state legislature was engaging in partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, Arizona voters approved an independent commission to draw district lines in a 2000 ballot initiative. The commission has two Republicans and two Democrats, who legislative leaders choose from a list composed by the state’s Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, in addition to a chairman who may not be a member of either party.   Continue reading “Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission”

Tampa Tribune

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A group of 35 California counties have agreed to provide basic health care to people who are in the United States illegally.

The decision was made Thursday by the governing panel of the County Medical Services Program, which pools resources of the mostly rural and sparsely populated counties to provide health services to the poor. The counties include Yolo, Sonoma and Marin in the north and Imperial near the southern border with Mexico.   Continue reading “35 California counties extend health care to illegals”

Washington Post – by Jeremy Bordon

ABBEVILLE, S.C. — Three people stood in line recently at the Southern Patriot Shop, Confederate flags tucked under their arms, waiting their turn to check out at the cash register.

Owner Robert Hayes, a 75-year-old with crow’s feet and a lingering smile, had a bit of advice for his customers before they headed back out into a world they say is drifting further and further away from the America they believed in.   Continue reading “At rural South Carolina shop, Confederate flags fly off shelves”

fff_396Veterans Today – by Cynthia Blank

A joint meeting of senior representatives in the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office resulted in the decision to temporarily suspend dialogue with the United States regarding defense aid to the Jewish state. The freeze will remain in place until the conclusion of talks between Iran and P5+1 world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program, if not later.

The main reason for suspending the dialogue, officials told Walla! News, is the mounting tension between the White House and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government.   Continue reading “Israel Freezes Defense Aid Talks with US Pending Iran Deal”

Thanks to cavmedic.

Fox News Radio – by Todd Starnes

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton wants to dig up the bodies of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife and remove them from a city park in the latest and perhaps most despicable example of the anti-Southern cleansing spreading across the nation.

“Which African-American wants to have a picnic in the shadow of Nathan Bedford Forrest?” Wharton said in a Thursday press briefing.   Continue reading “Memphis Mayor Wants to Dig Up Dead Confederate War General”

Business Insider – by Erin Fuchs

The Supreme Court has just ruled that gay marriage is legal nationwide.

Justice Anthony Kennedy issued the ruling, finding that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex.   Continue reading “The Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage nationwide”

Fox News – by Todd Starnes

Football fans at Southside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas have been cheering for the Rebels and Singing Dixie for more than 50 years.

But that long time tradition is about to end, according to television station KFSM.

A school board committee passed a resolution that will ban the school’s fight song – as well as the Rebel mascot.   Continue reading “School To Ban Rebel Mascot and “Dixie” Fight Song”

Supreme Court bldg washington dcFox 17

WASHINGTON (CNN/WXMI) — Obamacare has survived — again.

In a major win for the Obama administration, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that the Affordable Care Act authorized federal tax credits for eligible Americans living not only in states with their own exchanges but also in the 34 states with federal exchanges.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for himself, Justice Anthony Kennedy and the four liberal justices. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent, joined by Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.   Continue reading “Supreme Court rules in favor of Obamacare”

Confederate tagSent to us by Mary in North Carolina.

Baltimore Sun – by Yvonne Wenger

Gov. Larry Hogan will pursue action to stop the state from issuing license plates bearing images of the Confederate battle flag, aides said Tuesday, as momentum seemed to swing decisively against the controversial symbol of a divided America.

Hogan, a Republican, joined the Democratic governor of Virginia in taking steps toward ridding their states of the Sons of Confederate Veterans plates on a day that retail giants Amazon, eBay and Sears followed Wal-Mart in banning Confederate flag merchandise. A major U.S. flag maker said Tuesday it would stop manufacturing and selling the flags.   Continue reading “Hogan wants to recall Confederate plates in Maryland”

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Sierra Vista Herald – by Derek Jordan

SIERRA VISTA — Shortly before 9 p.m., two F-16 aircraft collided mid-air, crashing off of Leslie Canyon Road near the Cochise County Fairgrounds outside Douglas.

Cochise County Sheriff’s deputies responded and are securing the scene, where the wreckage has sparked a fire near a natural gas pipeline.   Continue reading “Two F-16 aircraft collide, crash near Douglas, Arizona”

generals_bwStripes – by Robert Burns

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army on Wednesday defended its past practice of naming forts and posts after Confederate Army generals, saying they memorialize historic figures, “not causes or ideologies.”

The issue arose following the deadly shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., and amid debate over Confederate flags and other Civil War-era symbols of the pro-slavery secessionist Confederacy. The white shooting suspect has been shown holding Confederate flags in widely-seen photos.   Continue reading “Army defends past use of Confederate soldiers in base names”

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The Washington Post – by Colby Itkowitz

In the wake of the Charleston shooting, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) are considering ways to renew their failed push to pass meaningful gun-control legislation.

In separate interviews Tuesday night, at a reception before a ceremony hosted by Sandy Hook families where Toomey was honored, the senators discussed their desire to find a new way forward.   Continue reading “Manchin, Toomey both interested in reviving gun control push”

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Yahoo News

Majdal Shams (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to track down Druze rioters in the occupied Golan Heights responsible for the “lynching” of a wounded Syrian being transported to a hospital.

The Monday attack, roundly condemned by local Druze religious and secular leadership, comes as Druze are increasingly concerned over the fate of their brethren in Syria after attacks by rebels there.   Continue reading “Israel vows crackdown after ‘lynching’ of wounded Syrian”