Individualism Vs. Collectivism
Posted by The Observer in Philosophy on February 23, 2012
Given the heating Republican race for the presidential candidacy nomination and the fact that President Obama will soon be defending his own record in office against whoever receives it, it is important to differentiate between individualism and collectivism when scrutinizing the various key players (or anyone for that matter). In this context, individualism is the [...]
Representative Giffords’ Last Bill
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on February 10, 2012
Today, President Obama signed into law Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ final (for now?) piece of sponsored legislation. The new law, entitled the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act, focuses on strengthening the penalties associated with illegally smuggling drugs into the country by amending the Tariff Act of 1930 to include the relatively unique air vehicle. Notwithstanding [...]
USSC Determines Warrantless Surveillance Unconstitutional
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on January 24, 2012
Monday, “in a first test of how privacy rights will be protected in the digital age,” the United States Supreme Court found that police surveillance carried out via warrantless global positioning system tracking in the case of United States v. Jones (2011) amounted to a direct violation of the 4th Amendment’s Warrants Clause. In an [...]
American Communism
Posted by The Observer in Current Events, Philosophy on December 22, 2011
Recently, actors Sean Penn and Maria Conchita Alonso entered into a verbal altercation at Los Angeles Airport concerning their respective geopolitical opinions. Penn, a noted Hugo Chavez apologist, and Alonso, a Cuban-born, Venezuelan-raised, American capitalist, had what one could understatedly call a disagreement over the merits of the socialist* approach to societies. While I tend [...]
Federal Concealed Weapons Reciprocity
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on November 21, 2011
The House of Representatives passed a measure Wednesday that would make concealed weapon permits valid across state lines, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president (not that such a measure has a realistic chance of occurring). According to the proposed legislation, states that recognize the right to carry concealed would [...]
Debt “Supercommittee” Fails to Meet Its Charter
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on November 21, 2011
By now, virtually everyone has come to know that the so-called debt supercommittee has reached an impasse in its attempts to trim the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion by the prescribed deadline. Not that this should come as any great surprise to anyone who has been following the growing trend of divisional faction in the [...]
“I Want My Country Back”
Posted by The Observer in Miscellaneous on November 17, 2011
This is an interesting video of Dr. Russ Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason University, testifying before the House Oversight Committee two years ago as part of his “The Vices and Virtues of Limiting Executive Compensation” subcomponent of the executive compensation hearings. 28 October 2009
National Debt Monetization
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on November 17, 2011
Largely lost in yesterday’s media coverage of the national debt eclipsing the $15 trillion mark was the fact that the Federal Reserve has officially become the largest holder of public debt in the United States. I suppose we no longer have to fret about China being the number one debt holder now that the Fed [...]
Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to “Obamacare”
Posted by The Observer in Current Events on November 14, 2011
Though it surely comes as no surprise, the United States Supreme Court has officially announced that it will hear challenges to the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, specifically relating to the individual mandate, as filed by 26 states in conjunction. Clearly, requiring individuals to purchase anything in support of the so-called “greater good” [...]
Capitalism and the Free Lunch Myth
Posted by The Observer in Philosophy on November 12, 2011
In light of the socialism-oriented messages emanating from some of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, I felt it a great opportunity to share the following. This video is one of my favorites concerning the subject of conceptual economics and captures the essence of free market principles. Phil Donahue Interview with Dr. Milton Friedman – 1979. [...]
