Some recent work …

A review of The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet Is Killing Our Culture, by Andrew Keen for Reason magazine.

Also here are recent op-ed columns on Tom Tancredo, hope and populism and betting limits in my home state of Colorado.

San Fran Twinkie Tax

Yesterday, I was featured in a ABC World New Tonight segment about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Twinkie Tax idea. Here is the story. I’ve been unable to find the video.

And it’s a felony…

Clearly, zero-tolerance policies have transformed school officials into drones.

What can an average American make of a story like this? After school employees saw a girl cutting her food with a steak knife they jump into action…

An elementary student in Marion County was arrested Thursday after school officials found her cutting food during lunch with a knife that she brought from home, police said.

The 10-year-old girl, a student at Sunrise Elementary School in Ocala, was charged possession of a weapon on school property, which is a felony.

I look forward to a day when it’s a felony for school officials to engage in breathtaking stupidity.

A Soothing Review

An audio review of Nanny State by Steve Biddle at Penn State Public Radio – which looks to be affiliated with NPR and PBS.

Listen to review here>>

Huckabee’s “marketplace”

There are many problems with presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. The more you hear the worse it gets. Yesterday during the Iowa debate the populist was asked about his support for increasing energy mandates (he wouldn’t really answer the question).

ARE YOU WILLING TO INCREASE THE MANDATE?

I AM WILLING FOR US TO MAKE THE DECISIONS WHICH WILL NOT NECESSARILY CREATE THE MANDATES. YOU KNOW WHO ONE OF THE BIGGEST ENERGY USERS IS IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY? THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IF THE GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO BEING THE PRIMARY USER OF ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY, WE HAVE A MARKET BUILT IN AND, THEREFORE, THE BIG ARGUMENT AGAINST HAVING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY IS THERE’S NO MARKET FOR IT. WELL, LET THE GOVERNMENT BE A MARKETPLACE, AND WE’LL CREATE THE KIND OF DEMAND THAT LOWERS THE PRICE RATHER THAN RAISES THE PRICE.

This kind of government marketplace is as good as a massive subsidy. Who does Huckabee believe pays for this government-mandated purchase of energy? Taxpayers do. And when has a government “marketplace” naturally lowered prices for consumers? I’d love to see the example.

The “big argument” is that there is no market for certain alternative energies because they don’t make sense for the average consumer yet. When they do, consumers will start using them. If government creates a false market, as Huckabee is interested in doing, consumers will be waiting even longer for the right energy.

Then again, Huckabee “would make the United States energy independent within 10 years …” With the help of God. Or, rather, the right God.

Friendship, Solidarity and Eviction

According to the Olympic Charter, the goal of the Olympic Movement is “to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

And let’s not forget mass evictions.

In September, the Beijing municipality demolished several buildings in a run-down neighborhood called the “petitioners’ village” in Fengtai District, which provided housing for thousands from all over China who came to complain to the central government about land seizures, forced evictions and corruption, COHRE said.

“Evictions in Beijing often involve the complete demolition of poor peoples’ houses,” the group said. “The inhabitants are then forced to relocate far from their communities and workplaces, with higher transportation costs driving them further into poverty.

Hope everyone enjoys the Softball competition.