Reducing the Cost of IP Law - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Institute

Reducing the Cost of IP Law - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Institute: "There are literally no studies clearly showing any net gains from IP.[4] If anything, it appears that the patent system, for example, imposes a gigantic net cost on the economy (approximately $31 billion a year, in my estimate)."

A New Dictator? | Ted Galen Carpenter | Cato Institute: Commentary

A New Dictator? | Ted Galen Carpenter | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is exhibiting disturbingly authoritarian behavior on multiple fronts. The most recent incident, on January 14, was the Independent High Electoral Commission's decision to bar more than 500 candidates, representing 15 different parties, from running in the March 7 elections."

"Officials have launched lawsuits against journalists and their employers for allegedly libelous (broadly construed) comments. The Maliki government also pushed through a law to close media outlets that "encourage" terrorism or violence. Even worse, that law imposes the same penalty for encouraging "tensions"—a vacuous category that essentially allows the government to ban media critics whenever it wishes.

If those measures weren't enough, there are now new rules (with virtually unlimited discretion given to authorities who review the applications) to license television satellite trucks, censor books, and control internet cafes."

The Myth of an "Obesity Tsunami" | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Myth of an "Obesity Tsunami" | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary: "During none of the five periods was there a statistically significant trend, except for boys at the highest BMI levels. In other words, if there was a spike in obesity, it was confined to a very small number of very obese boys."

"they also debunk the public health establishment's erroneous claim that increases in children's weight are due to junkfood advertising and too many sugary soda drinks. According to the survey, the root cause of any weight gains that one does see appear to lie in physical activity levels."

No Taxes, Please, We're Democrats | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

No Taxes, Please, We're Democrats | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Under an agreement negotiated by the Obama administration, congressional leaders, and union bosses behind closed doors, their policies will be exempt from the tax until 2018. Plans for state and local employees would also be exempted.

That's right: if you have two workers doing identical jobs, earning the same wages, and receiving the same insurance plan, the one who doesn't join the union gets hit with a 40% tax; the union worker doesn't."