The Minimum Wage

The minimum wage has been a big part of this year’s election cycle, mainly due to Bernie Sander’s campaign and his idea of a national minimum wage. There has been lots of discussion of this, but most of it is just, well, bad. There are really two things that one can point to as to why wages above the market wage can be good.

Libertarians Are to Blame for Donald Trump’s Racialized Rhetoric?

The idea that Donald Trump has gotten his racialized rhetoric from libertarians is simply errant nonsense. The libertarian view, broadly speaking, is not defined by Murray Rothbard, Llewellyn Rockwell, and Ron Paul and those who share their views. This is but a small and even fringe group of what could be called the libertarian community.

Federal Prosecutors Will Not Retry Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell

After a unanimous Supreme Court victory, Bob McDonnell won’t be facing another corruption trial.

Follow Up on My Mercantilism Post

Responding to comments on this morning’s post.

Donald Trump Shrugging Donald Trump Shrugging

Trump Polling Worse Among African-Americans Than Any Republican Since Barry Goldwater

Donald Trump’s support among African-Americans is at historic lows, and seems unlikely to recover.

More Irresponsible Rhetoric from Trump

Basic trust in process is essential for democratic governance to function and major party nominees ought not be undercutting that trust for cynical gain.

Federal Courts Strike Down Voter ID Laws In Wisconsin, North Carolina

Big losses for proponents of Voter ID laws in two swing states.

Theresa May Set To Become Next British Prime Minister On Wednesday

A quick succession of events this morning means that Theresa May will become Britain’s Prime Minister far sooner than anticipated.

New Poll Finds Strong Support For Enhanced Background Checks For Gun Sales

A new poll finds strong public support for enhanced background checks and barring people on Federal watch lists from purchasing weapons.

Obama Expands Access to Federal Records, Requests 27-Month Delay in Releasing Hillary’s Emails

President Obama signed a law vastly expanding public access to government records yesterday. In other news . . . .

SCOTUS Declines To Hear Appeal Of Pharmacists With Religious Objection To ‘Morning After’ Pill

The Supreme Court won’t hear the appeal of a pharmacist who objects to providing the ‘morning after’ pill.

Deadlocked Supreme Court Leaves Obama’s Immigration Relief Plan Blocked

Thanks to a 4-4 tie, President Obama’s temporary immigration relief program remains blocked by a Federal Court Injunction.

Senate Rejects Post-Orlando Gun Control Efforts

As expected, the Senate rejected four gun control measures introduced in the wake of the attack in Orlando.

SCOTUS Declines To Review Case Challenging New York, Connecticut Gun Control Laws

Continuing a pattern that began six years ago, the Supreme Court has again declined to hear an appeal in a case involving a challenge to state gun control laws.

Evaluating Donald Trump’s Short List For Running Mates

The Trump campaign is out with its own ‘short list’ of potential running mates.

Senate Approves Bill Requiring Women To Register For The Draft

The Senate has passed an amendment to a military spending bill that would require women to register for the draft.

Elizabeth Warren Endorses Clinton, Attacks Trump, As Democrats Unite Behind Clinton

Senator Elizabeth Warren is the latest Democrat to unite behind the party’s presumptive nominee. A marked contrast to the chaos that reigns on the Republican side of the aisle.

Oklahoma Legislature Passes Unconstitutional Bill That Makes Abortion A Felony

Oklahoma’s Republican legislature passed a clearly unconstitutional bill outlawing abortion in the state.

Federal Court Finds Portion Of Administration’s PPACA Subsidy Funding Unconstitutional

A Federal Court has ruled that the Administration violated the law when it spent funds allocated under the PPACA for purposes other than those authorized by Congress.

Eight Years Ago, Clinton Trounced Obama In West Virginia. Today, She Looks Likely To Lose

Thanks largely to the fact that she has moved left on coal, Hillary Clinton seems likely to lose today’s West Virginia primary. But it will have only a minimal impact on Clinton’s quest for a delegate majority.

Donald Trump’s Vice-Presidential Choice: Would It Be Conventional, Or Crazy?

Several top Republicans have already said that they would not accept a position on a ticket with Donald Trump, so who might he choose?

Transgender Rights And The Sudden Conservative Obsession With Bathrooms

The passage of a new law in North Carolina has revealed an apparent obsession among some on the right with who gets to use which restroom.

Clinton And Sanders Clash In Advance Of High Stakes New York Primary

Just days before a high stakes primary in New York, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed over familiar themes in their latest debate.

Bernie Sanders Exposed?

How much command of detail should we demand of presidential candidates?

The End Of Paul Ryan’s Honeymoon?

Five months after becoming Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan seems to be running into some of the same difficulties that John Boehner did.

Supreme Court Rules Against Seizure of Property Needed To Pay For Defense Counsel

A victory in the fight to reform civil asset forfeiture laws.

Supreme Court Looking For Way To Work Around 4-4 Tie In Obamacare Birth Control Cases

The Supreme Court appears to be looking for a way to resolve an issue that has been mired in controversy for six years now.

Michael Bloomberg Came Really Close To Running For President, But Decided Not To

Michael Bloomberg announced today that he’s not running for President, but he came awfully close to getting into the race.

Latinos Are Becoming Citizens For The Chance To Vote Against Donald Trump

Donald Trump is motivating people! The problem for Republicans is that he’s motivating them to become citizens so they can vote against him and, potentially, other Republicans.

[picture of 3 iPhones] [picture of 3 iPhones]

Federal Judge Denies Request To Force Apple To Extract Data From iPhones In Drug Case

A Federal Judge in New York has denied an F.B.I. request to force Apple to extract data from iPhones involved in a Federal drug case.

Jeff Sessions Endorses Donald Trump, While Other Republicans Begin To Panic

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions became the latest prominent Republican to endorse Donald Trump, but there are a lot more Republicans who are starting to panic over what Trump could do to their party.

President Obama Submits Quixotic Plan To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison

The President has another plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It’s as likely to be well-received on Capitol Hill as all of his other previous plans on this issue.

[picture of 3 iPhones] [picture of 3 iPhones]

Apple Fighting Order To Assist In Decrypting Phone Of San Bernardino Terrorist

Apple is resisting a Federal Court order that it assist the F.B.I. in decryption of the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists.

U.S. To Resume Commercial Air Travel To Cuba

Another step forward with regard to the American-Cuban relationship.

Clinton Gets Aggressive With Sanders In Wake Of New Hampshire Loss

If last night’s debate is any indication, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is about to get much more aggressive in its critique of Bernie Sanders.

Marco Rubio Becomes The Main Target At Eighth Republican Debate

Marco Rubio was the man in the cross hairs in last night’s Republican debate.

Supreme Court Accepts Appeal Of Ruling Halting Obama’s Deportation Relief Programs

The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in what is guaranteed to be a high profile case heading into the 2016 elections.

Clinton, Sanders Clash In Final Democratic Debate Before Iowa Caucuses

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed in the final debate before the Iowa Caucuses in the context of a race that has appeared to become tighter than it was before Christmas.

Democratic Race Continues To Tighten, Democrats Still Believe Clinton Will Be Nominee

Polling is continuing to show a tightening in the race for the Democratic nomination, even though most Democrats continue to believe that Hillary Clinton will be their eventual nominee.

Obama’s Lame Duck State Of The Union

President Obama’s final State Of The Union Address was largely a recognition of the fact that his time on the world stage is quickly coming to an end.

Greg Abbott, Anti-Federalist

Governor Abbott may claim he seeks to restore the constitutional order, but in fact his proposals have a lot in common with those who opposed the documents ratification in the first place.

Obama’s Executive Action On Guns Is More Symbolism Than Substance

The gun control regulations to be announced later today by President Obama later today amount to far less than the hype would lead you to believe.

After More Than Three Decades, Americans Held Hostage In Iran To Receive Compensation

After more than three decades, the men and women held hostage in Iran for 444 days will receive at least some compensation.

Marco Rubio Misses Senate Vote On Omnibus Budget Bill

After making a big deal about voting against the budget bill passed yesterday by Congress during the last debate, Marco Rubio ended up missing the vote altogether.

Final Spending Bill Sails Through Congress, Giving Speaker Ryan Another Legislative Win

The final spending bill for the 2016 Fiscal Year sailed through Congress today, marking the end of a very successful first two months in office for Speaker Paul Ryan

Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates For First Time In Nearly A Decade

In a move it had been telegraphing for the better part of a year, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since July 2006.

Cruz And Rubio Clash, Everyone But Cruz Clashes With Trump, In Fifth Republican Debate

The Fifth Republican Debate, and the last of 2015, was marked by expected clashes between the candidates, and one that never happened.

Republican House Member Introduces Resolution To Fight The ‘War On Christmas’

A Colorado Republican Congressman has introduced a resolution meant to involve our nation’s representatives in the non-existent ‘War On Christmas.’