When I was eighteen years old, I went down to the government office in Olympia, Washington with my friend Steve (no, not that Steve) and signed as the character witness on his application for a concealed carry permit for his handgun. I was probably stoned at the time; I often was back then. (FYI, I […]

The economic policies proposed for states by the conservative American Legislative Council Exchange (ALEC) not only don’t work, but carry risks for states’ economies, according to new research by the Iowa Policy Project and Good Jobs First. As we have seen most recently with Michigan’s passage of anti-union so-called “right to work” legislation (which lets […]

This video featuring Bruce Bartlett and Yves Smith on Overhyping the Fiscal Cliff is worth watching. Independent political and economic analysts Bruce Bartlett and Yves Smith join Bill in a discussion that’s become as rare as it is necessary — why are Washington insiders talking about the deficit crisis and not the jobs crisis? Bartlett, […]

From David Zetland comes this re-posting from  Aguanomics on addressing issues in the political economy for  water. The political-economy of water…all in auctions I’ve been working on this idea for 5-6 years, and I think it has great potential for reallocating water while respecting the rights of existing users. It just came out in the Journal of Environmental […]

More on gun legislation and law: …the bottom line is that Liptak’s spot-on, and that I think that the Supreme Court will use that Illinois case that Liptak discusses to make clear that the Second Amendment is not absolute. The Illinois statute bars carrying any weapons in public, even unconcealed ones. I think that, 5-4, […]

There are a number of well thought out plans to handle the problems proposed by opponents of Social Security and also those concerned about its sustainability. To have our political and media debate confined to one item like chained-cpi should make any reasonable voter pause and wonder “Is that all? How dumb can we be?” […]

‘Horror scene’ as 4 Lakewood police officers shot, killed LAKEWOOD, Wash. – Four uniformed police officers were shot and killed in a bloody Sunday morning attack at a Lakewood-area coffee shop, and investigators are seeking a person of interest in the killings, officials said.Pierce County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ed Troyer said the person they are […]

There is no crisis with Social Security. Social Security is not going broke. Social Security adds NOTHING to the deficit. Social Security is not welfare. Update: Pelosi says she can live with it There are many options to address issues for the program, which are not offered as part of Pres. Obama’s  insistence on keeping […]