My commentary on a job market that isn't producing enough jobs that play a living wage, big pharma dramatically increasing the price of medications, Wikileaks email release regarding ISIS and the Saudi government.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Reginald Kaigler ― When Jobs Don't Pay! Big Pharma Price Gouging! Wikileaks Exposes Saudi Gov Funding Clinton, ISIS?
My commentary on a job market that isn't producing enough jobs that play a living wage, big pharma dramatically increasing the price of medications, Wikileaks email release regarding ISIS and the Saudi government.
Akil Alleyn — Rethinking Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is real, but it's not necessarily what its biggest critics say it is.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Akil Alleyne — You're Killing Us, Gary Johnson
There's no good excuse for these ridiculous gaffes that the Libertarian Party nominee has been making—and the liberty movement and the country will pay the price.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Libertarianism and Black Lives Matter
Fellow writer and buddy of my mine, Charles Peralo, recently published and article suggesting that libertarians should partner with Black Lives Matter.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Ex Top Cop: We Need a New Model of Policing
L.E.A.P.'s Neill Franklin reacts to Philando Castillo and Anton Sterling shootings, the deaths of Dallas police officers, and #BlackLivesMatter.
The horrific deaths of Philando Castillo in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, give us an updated and up-close glimpse of police encounters gone bad—but they are rooted in decades of problematic policing in America. "Historically in this country, the police have never really been the friends of the black community," says Neill Franklin, a former officer with the Baltimore Police Department and current executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (L.E.A.P).
Franklin talked with Reason TV Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie at this year's Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada, pointing out that slavery may have ended officially in the late 1800s, but a lot of policing was born out of that era and the one that followed, when police deliberately enforced laws in ways that targeted black citizens. Even today, police are tasked with enforcing laws—from driving without a license to missing a court date—that tend to target poor communities and communities of color.
"You know a $250 fine doesn't mean much to people who have money," says Franklin. "But when you enforce these policies in poor communities, a hundred dollar fine can devastate a family."
It comes down to the need for a new model of policing in America, says Franklin, not just tweaks of the same old system. "What we have now is not like trying to fix a broken car, this car was a used car in the first place."
The horrific deaths of Philando Castillo in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, give us an updated and up-close glimpse of police encounters gone bad—but they are rooted in decades of problematic policing in America. "Historically in this country, the police have never really been the friends of the black community," says Neill Franklin, a former officer with the Baltimore Police Department and current executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (L.E.A.P).
Franklin talked with Reason TV Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie at this year's Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada, pointing out that slavery may have ended officially in the late 1800s, but a lot of policing was born out of that era and the one that followed, when police deliberately enforced laws in ways that targeted black citizens. Even today, police are tasked with enforcing laws—from driving without a license to missing a court date—that tend to target poor communities and communities of color.
"You know a $250 fine doesn't mean much to people who have money," says Franklin. "But when you enforce these policies in poor communities, a hundred dollar fine can devastate a family."
It comes down to the need for a new model of policing in America, says Franklin, not just tweaks of the same old system. "What we have now is not like trying to fix a broken car, this car was a used car in the first place."
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Akil Alleyne — Brexit: Decisions & Consequences
Brexit opponents shouldn't be so quick to blast David Camron for holding the referendum—or to call on the UK government to disregard its result.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Reginald Kaigler ― Hillary Above The Law! Incomes Declining in Metro Areas! Young Men Jobless or Incarcerated!
My commentary on 1/6 of young men being jobless or incarcerated, Hillary Clinton being approve the law, why the judges will protect Obamacare and why the average household income has not improved.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Akil Allenye ― "#NeverTrump" Republicans, Meet Libertarian Governor Gary Johnson
If you're a disaffected Republican voter who doesn't live in a swing state, consider voting for the Libertarian Party presidential nominee next November—especially if that nominee is former two-term New Mexico governor Gary Johnson.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Dr. Elaina George ― The Healthcare Rhetoric vs The Reality
Dr Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology. She received her Masters degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University, and received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
"Everyone can agree that this political season has been different. The candidates and their “win at all cost“ campaigns have unwittingly uncovered what has been lurking under the surface. It is what voters have known, but have been unable to put their fingers on or wrap their brains around – the feeling that there is something wrong with the direction in which the country has been moving.
The rise of the ‘outsiders’ attests to this. However, what has become increasingly confusing to wade through is the exponential rise in the rhetoric which is designed to keep the status quo in place. How else can one explain the fact that on one hand some conservatives have been advocating policies that work against the conservative principles of free market and the rule of law, while actually funding and perpetuating big government policies that centralize power at the expense of individual rights; and on the other hand liberals have been advocating policies that abrogate free speech, restrict the freedom to associate with whom and how you see fit, while championing cronyism in the form of Medicare for all, and taxing the middle class out of existence in the name of the nanny state wrapped in the guise of social justice."
Read the full article HERE.
"Everyone can agree that this political season has been different. The candidates and their “win at all cost“ campaigns have unwittingly uncovered what has been lurking under the surface. It is what voters have known, but have been unable to put their fingers on or wrap their brains around – the feeling that there is something wrong with the direction in which the country has been moving.
The rise of the ‘outsiders’ attests to this. However, what has become increasingly confusing to wade through is the exponential rise in the rhetoric which is designed to keep the status quo in place. How else can one explain the fact that on one hand some conservatives have been advocating policies that work against the conservative principles of free market and the rule of law, while actually funding and perpetuating big government policies that centralize power at the expense of individual rights; and on the other hand liberals have been advocating policies that abrogate free speech, restrict the freedom to associate with whom and how you see fit, while championing cronyism in the form of Medicare for all, and taxing the middle class out of existence in the name of the nanny state wrapped in the guise of social justice."
Read the full article HERE.
William N. Grigg — The Last Full Measure of Misery: When Will Prohibition Finally End?
In the service of a “law” that was routinely violated by those who enforced it, hundreds of thousands of lives would be changed dramatically for the worse – many of them ruined beyond repair. Thousands of people would die through violence either inflicted by agents of the state, or abetted by state policies that gave criminals a monopoly on what had previously been a competitive market.
(Pro Liberate)
“Our safety and happiness lie in obedience to law by every man, woman and child,” pontificated Attorney General Harry Micajah Daugherty in his keynote address to the 1921 annual conference of the American Bar Association in Cincinnati. His homily on the supposed virtue of submission to the state was offered in the service of the crusade to “suppress the age-long evil of the liquor traffic,” a holy errand to which the assembled legal luminaries were firmly committed, at least while they were on the clock.
“After hours,” Edward Behr wryly observed in his book Prohibition: Thirteen Years that Changed America, “many of those attending the meeting were haunting the speakeasies they denounced.”
Everyone in Daugherty’s audience was aware that the Attorney General was profiting handsomely from the kickbacks and other illicit emoluments that inevitably accompany prohibition. Most of them were likewise aware that Daugherty had selected Cincinnati as the site of the conference because its police and municipal court system were entirely controlled by bootlegger George Remus – who was among the Attorney General’s most generous benefactors.
In order for the “Noble Experiment” to proceed, certain “needful lies” had to be recited by people in positions of “authority” – the most significant of which was that the state’s enforcement caste was essentially incorruptible, and thus suited to the task of reforming lesser beings through the application of violence.
(Pro Liberate)
“After hours,” Edward Behr wryly observed in his book Prohibition: Thirteen Years that Changed America, “many of those attending the meeting were haunting the speakeasies they denounced.”
Everyone in Daugherty’s audience was aware that the Attorney General was profiting handsomely from the kickbacks and other illicit emoluments that inevitably accompany prohibition. Most of them were likewise aware that Daugherty had selected Cincinnati as the site of the conference because its police and municipal court system were entirely controlled by bootlegger George Remus – who was among the Attorney General’s most generous benefactors.
In order for the “Noble Experiment” to proceed, certain “needful lies” had to be recited by people in positions of “authority” – the most significant of which was that the state’s enforcement caste was essentially incorruptible, and thus suited to the task of reforming lesser beings through the application of violence.
Read the full article HERE.
Akil Alleyne — Interview: Is Free Trade All It's Cracked Up to Be?
An economist friend of mine helps me grapple with perhaps the most contentious issue in the 2016 presidential election campaign.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Prosthetic Limbs: 3D Printers Making Superhero Hands for Children - Learn Liberty
3D printers have paved the way for digital humanitarians. Now volunteers can make Superhero Hands for children all over the world. Watch more Learn Liberty videos on the frontiers of health care technology, policy, and entrepreneurship. http://www.learnliberty.org/health-care/
Bryant Jackson-Green — The Debt Never Paid: How Reentry Reform Can Fix a Broken Criminal-Justice System
This report discusses some of the barriers to employment former offenders face, and outlines policy changes to address them.
Bryant Jackson-Green is the criminal justice policy analyst with the Illinois Policy Institute. His research primarily focuses on criminal justice reform and regulatory policy.
(Illinois Policy Institute)
Illinois’ criminal-justice system should hold offenders accountable for their crimes. This happens through a loss of freedom during a prison sentence, probation and mandatory supervised release. But the criminal-justice system must also focus on helping offenders become self-sufficient, productive community members, so they do not continue to cycle in and out of the corrections system. The Illinois Constitution states, “All penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the offender to useful citizenship.”1 When someone commits a crime, he or she should expect to suffer the consequences. But that person should also be expected to find employment, support his or her family, and become a responsible taxpayer after paying his or her debt to society.
Illinois’ criminal-justice system should hold offenders accountable for their crimes. This happens through a loss of freedom during a prison sentence, probation and mandatory supervised release. But the criminal-justice system must also focus on helping offenders become self-sufficient, productive community members, so they do not continue to cycle in and out of the corrections system. The Illinois Constitution states, “All penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the offender to useful citizenship.”1 When someone commits a crime, he or she should expect to suffer the consequences. But that person should also be expected to find employment, support his or her family, and become a responsible taxpayer after paying his or her debt to society.
Right now, public policy undermines this goal. In fact, Illinois’ criminal-justice system continues to punish former offenders well after they’ve served their sentences – making them struggle to find work, reliant on welfare, and unable to build stable futures for their families. Former offenders face barriers in the form of occupational-licensing restrictions, loss of work skills during incarceration, and concerns of employers who may be reluctant to hire anyone with a criminal record – even when an ex-offender has reformed and would be a good fit for the job.
Read the full article HERE.
Read the full article HERE.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Akil Allenye ― The Rich World Owes the Developing World Free Trade
Lifting millions of people in the developing world out of poverty is worth the economic dislocation that global competition causes in wealthy countries.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Akil Alleyne ― A REAL Free Speech Exception: Trump's Threats
Unlike "hate speech," Donald Trump's encouragement of violent attacks on protestors at his campaign rallies actually *does* fall within a judicially recognized exception to the 1st Amendment right to free speech.
Reginald Kaigler ―Donald Trump: Massive Turnout! Violence at Rallies! Contested Convention!
My thoughts on rather Donald Trump can be trusted with the GOP nomination.
Alton Drew ― The Latest from Mayberry: The political class’ house is burning down
It is amusing how up in arms the average American voter is getting as she watches the political class’ house burn down. The fear and trepidation expressed by the left and right wings of the political class is not so much in response to Donald Trump’s blustering, “go big or go home” approach to his campaign. It is actually more of a reflection of how inept they have become in reading the needs of a broad base of Americans whose political tastes have changed and are dissatisfied with the same old menu of promises and rhetoric that the left and right have forced fed them since the beginning of the Progressive Era.
Donald Trump, the master of marketing and branding, has taken good notes from political focus groups and given these growing angry voters a voice.
The Establishment, if it ever really knew how to give voice to the masses, has disconnected itself from this primary art of the political deal. It has gotten so used to baking the same old donuts that it has sacrificed its creativity in meeting the needs of a public it pretends to represent.
The Establishment has been pursuing the wrong type of political business cost containment; it has decided it is cheaper to stay on the high horse and cast down upon the masses the same old ready-to-eat rations in order to increase for themselves the profits derived from political privilege and power. Mr. Trump has exposed this weakness and the Establishment’s response to being caught with its britches around its ankles is to call out to whatever minions it has left to rally in opposition to Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump represents an existential threat to the political class and the Establishment hopes to use the farce of the popular vote to save themselves.
Read the full article HERE.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
Fabrice L. Lohadie — Why Trump’s rise doesn’t terrify me
(The Afro-Libertarian)
Donald Trump’s political rise in the Republican presidential race is alarming many people in this country. Some view his political rise as a testament that (white) Americans are angry against globalization/trade and fear America turning more hispanic. Others, like myself, view Trump’s ascendency as a fad that does not truly represent American stance on several important issues. For sake of brevity, I will focus on two topics that seem to be the cornerstone of Trump’s campaign, globalization/trade and immigration.
Americans are not autarkic
Trump’s anti-China/trade rhetoric is just a nice applause line to rally the base, but doesn’t really indicate Americans’ stance on globalization. If the majority of Americans were really as autarkic as Trump’s supporters seem to be, America’s import of Chinese goods would show that. However, the opposite is true. As shown below, US trade (deficit) with China is still growing. American appetite for Chinese-made products strongly shows that they are not as sinophobic as Trump make them to be. It is this hunger for made in China goods that is enabling the U.S. consumer-based economy to chug along since China re-invest its trade surplus in U.S. treasuries. So, when it comes to trade and globalization, Americans are a lot more pro-trade than Trump and Sanders make them look.
Read the full article HERE.
Americans are not autarkic
Trump’s anti-China/trade rhetoric is just a nice applause line to rally the base, but doesn’t really indicate Americans’ stance on globalization. If the majority of Americans were really as autarkic as Trump’s supporters seem to be, America’s import of Chinese goods would show that. However, the opposite is true. As shown below, US trade (deficit) with China is still growing. American appetite for Chinese-made products strongly shows that they are not as sinophobic as Trump make them to be. It is this hunger for made in China goods that is enabling the U.S. consumer-based economy to chug along since China re-invest its trade surplus in U.S. treasuries. So, when it comes to trade and globalization, Americans are a lot more pro-trade than Trump and Sanders make them look.
Read the full article HERE.
Reginald Kaigler ― Retail Imploding! Kansas Shooter! Christie for TRUMP! Auto Subprime Loan Problem!
My commentary on the subprime loans in the auto industry, the retail industry struggling, the Kansas shooter, false claims of sexism and racism. Plus Politics. Rubio blew it! Cruz' support is limited to social conservatives. It's over! Trump is the nominee.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Akil Alleyne ― Rand Paul Supporters: Keep Calm & Carry On
Your man may be able to do more for liberty from the Senate than from the White House anyway.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Akil Alleyne ― Stacey Dash & the REAL Black History Month Double Standard
Why is it that white ethnic groups can celebrate their heritage without controversy, but African-Americans' celebration of their culture is considered suspect?
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Reginald Kaigler — Obama's ATF GUN Scandal! PLANET X Beyond Pluto! ORAL SEX Increases Cancer Risk
My commentary on a new development in the Operation Fast and Furious scandal, astronomers claiming that there may be a 10th planet in our solar system, the boom in existing home sales and a study claiming that oral sex maybe linked to an increase in cancer.
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Friday, January 22, 2016
Black Libertarian Speaks to Black America
Are black Americans ultimately fucking themselves over by voting for Democrats every time?
Is bigger government the answer to rise out of poverty? Or do we need to lead the change ourselves?
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Bryant Jackson-Green ― Re-entry reform must be a policy priority in 2016
Criminal-justice reform can only be successful if policymakers work to remove barriers to employment and work.
(via Illinois Policy)
Most people expect that a criminal offender will have to serve some time in prison, both as punishment and as a means to protect public safety. But too often, people overlook the fact that the criminal-justice system in Illinois continues to punish ex-offenders who’ve already completed their prison sentences and parole – who’ve already repaid their “debt to society.” Many former offenders are locked out of jobs and stable employment even after they’ve completed their sentences.
The single biggest factor in reducing crime and poverty in communities throughout the state is employment. For criminal-justice reform to be successful, Illinois must figure out how to promote job opportunities for former offenders. The more barriers there are to work and employment, the more likely it is that ex-offenders will resort to returning to crime.
Here are three policy changes that Illinois politicians should consider in 2016.
Read the full article HERE.
(via Illinois Policy)
Most people expect that a criminal offender will have to serve some time in prison, both as punishment and as a means to protect public safety. But too often, people overlook the fact that the criminal-justice system in Illinois continues to punish ex-offenders who’ve already completed their prison sentences and parole – who’ve already repaid their “debt to society.” Many former offenders are locked out of jobs and stable employment even after they’ve completed their sentences.
The single biggest factor in reducing crime and poverty in communities throughout the state is employment. For criminal-justice reform to be successful, Illinois must figure out how to promote job opportunities for former offenders. The more barriers there are to work and employment, the more likely it is that ex-offenders will resort to returning to crime.
Here are three policy changes that Illinois politicians should consider in 2016.
Read the full article HERE.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Akil Alleyne ― The Oregon Incident & the Meaning of Terrorism
No, the militia stunt in Oregon doesn't qualify as terrorism, because it doesn't involve deliberate, politically driven violence against civilians.
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