Monthly Archives: March 2012

Big Government Rick (Again)

Here’s Josh Barro writing for Forbes with details of some Santorum plans for wasteful and intrusive government: The Daily Caller flags a little-discussed position paper on Rick Santorum’s campaign website—his pledge to aggressively prosecute those who produce and distribute pornography. … Continue reading

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Best wishes to Bradlaugh

Talking about his recent health issues, and its effect on his life. Obviously I won’t be praying for him, but definitely hoping he’s back to 110% as soon as possible.

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On The Economics of the Pill (2)

In an article for Bloomberg News, Virginia Postrel asks why certain types of oral contraceptive require a prescription. Here is an extract: Requiring a prescription “acts more as a barrier to access rather than providing medically necessary supervision,” argues Daniel … Continue reading

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On the Economics of the Pill

Interesting report here in the New York Times: The recent controversy over contraception and health insurance has focused on who should pay for the pill. But there is a wealth of economic evidence about the value of the pill – … Continue reading

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Shocking News

Via the Washington Post, but even so this is not, perhaps, the most surprising news: The fragile gains Republicans had been making among female voters have been erased, a shift that has coincided with what has become a national shouting … Continue reading

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Liberty is contingent upon cultural capital

Tax Cheats Become Italy’s Public Enemy: In addition to banning cash transactions, the effort has included an ad campaign comparing tax evaders to parasites. There have been headline-grabbing controls focusing on stores, hotels and restaurants in affluent Italian cities. For … Continue reading

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Olympic Fun

Cross-posted on the Corner. Well, here’s a shocker, the Saudi theocracy (and like-minded Brunei and Qatar) will not be sending any female athletes to the 2012 Olympics. As Time’s Nina Burleigh points out: It’s not because Saudi women athletes don’t … Continue reading

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Notes from “Moving Secularism Forward”

In the wake of the conference, where I presented my own vision for conservatism from the perspective of an atheist/secular humanist: – The audience was overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, Left-liberal – The age distribution was bimodal. There was a minority … Continue reading

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It’s not easy being a foodie

A California assemblyman wants to ban food trucks from parking close to schools, on the ground that the vast majority of them peddle fattening fast foods to school children.   The foodie community in Los Angeles is up in arms, because … Continue reading

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It’s not easy being green

California might have to decide between saving the desert tortoise and promoting its anti-global warming agenda: a major solar power project in the Mojave Desert keeps disturbing the ancient reptiles.    BrightSource has spent $56 million so far to protect … Continue reading

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