If you’re looking for freedom, which state should you live in? Government oppression at the state level comes in various forms and levels. Since Galt’s Gulch doesn’t exist, people must prioritize the state intrusions they can live with. For those valuing freedom, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University is providing a new “Freedom in …

“The United States was lucky to have George Washington as a Founding Father, because he had that same civic virtue, and of course he had read about and admired Cincinnatus.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger Last week, I drove from Florida to New York, and on the way, I listened to the audiobook Total Recall: My Unbelievably …

Bitcoin may reach $100 today. That brings the total value of the existing Bitcoin stock (10,960,500) to more than $1 billion. It was only a few weeks ago when a local Bitcoin trader in my town wanted a 40% premium for a local cash-to-BTC exchange at the rate of $70 per coin. I balked on …

[Ed. Note: Our resident Harvard-trained geologist and ex-naval officer Byron King is back yet again. Today, Byron is exploring the sizeable risks and handsome rewards of offshore oil exploration. Enjoy.] Far offshore and deep beneath the seabed lies the future of the oil industry. There’s a long, fascinating story here. But the short version is that …

I’m looking out the airplane window, marveling that the clouds are below me. My computer is out and I’m surfing online. As usual, I inhale a big intake of air, still dazzled that this is possible. A notification pops up that there is a meeting taking place in Austin, Texas, a digital Meetup sponsored by …

Stocks continued mostly going up last week. Gold bounced up and down… but held above $1,600. Most people would much rather have stocks than gold. Most of the time, they are probably right. Gold pays no dividends. Nor does it invent new things or open up new markets… or do any of the other things …

The Middle East mess affects all manner of scenarios for future price and availability of oil in the world. And later on, I’ll discuss a few scenarios. Recent headlines from the Middle East describe the battle between Israel and Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip. It’s quite a display of ordnance. Since Nov. 16, …

For some time now – years actually – I have pondered the nature of liberty. Or more specifically, what liberty actually means to me. And to be extra clear, I am not talking about the meaning in abstract or philosophical terms, but tangibly – in much the same way I might answer if asked what …

News hit the wires over the weekend that the Republic of Cyprus would begin stealing money from depositors in order to resurrect confidence in its flailing banking system. They want to avoid a crisis, in other words, by creating exactly the kind of uncertainty in which crises thrive. “More likely,” observes Spy Briefing Books’ Jeffrey …

There’s no way it could happen in the United States. That’s the conventional wisdom on this side of the pond about the ECB’s bailout of the banks in Cyprus. That caper looks as if it may take a chunk out of the hides of at least some bank depositors on the tiny Mediterranean island. So …

Americans today live like there’s no tomorrow. You can see this in the data regarding retirement. People behave like they will never retire, and the prophecy is self-fulfilling. Under these conditions, they won’t. A new survey shows that 57% of households have less than $25,000 in total household savings and investments. And the trend line …

“Active duty military personnel in uniform, and people needing a little extra time or assistance, are free to board at this time.” U.S. Airways from Washington to Charlotte accorded the same treatment to soldiers as to people on the short bus… cripples and mental defectives. And why not? The men and women who served in …

The euro elites don’t call it theft or robbery or even a tax, much less an outright default by the banks of Cyprus. They are calling it a “stability levy,” a plan that could lead not to stability, but a domino-style collapse of the banking system in Europe. True to the nature of government propaganda, …

If I were an extremely cynical gun manufacturer, I would save some extra profits to give to Democratic candidates for president. Such presidents come to the White House under a cloud. No matter how many photo ops they hold with guns, many people suspect that they want to ban them. It’s not a crazy assumption, …

I live out in the country. Among my few neighbors is a man we like to call “Mr. Mow-it-All.” This guy has the most perfect lawn you will ever see. He mows religiously when the grass is green. We see him almost daily out there on his zero-turn John Deere riding mower, keeping his lawn …

Conservative activist and all-around muckraker James O’Keefe’s latest hidden-camera video draws inspiration from Milwaukee County’s controversial sheriff, amid the national battle over guns. Last Wednesday, O’Keefe’s Project Veritas released, “On Your Own” (with accompanying Twitter hash tag #OnYourOwn through his usual mass social network distribution), an undercover video that hammers home O’Keefe’s thesis: Citizens under …

There is one reason why you should oppose the proposed $5.3 billion Keystone XL Pipeline. And it has nothing to do with “green religionists,” as The Wall Street Journal calls the opposition in today’s paper. Instead, it has everything to do with a foreign oil company using U.S. government power to force Americans off their …

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs in the Land of the Free when they have to pass a law making it illegal for the government to assassinate its own citizens. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening. Late last week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz introduced Senate bill S.505, “a bill to prohibit the use of drones …

Why is business so often scapegoated for all the problems of society? The term scapegoat comes from the Bible and refers to the goat cast out of the community as part of a purification ritual. Perhaps when people saw that lonely goat walk away and probably into its death, it made them feel better about …

“As long as I live under the capitalistic system, I expect to have my life influenced by the demands of moneyed people. But I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in a postage stamp. This, sir, is my …

Twitter began by calling it “libertarian porn” — the longest and most sustained attack on leviathan from the Senate floor in modern history. But then it became more. And more. It went on for 13 hours. It was about halfway through when the junior senator leaned over to an aide and whispered: “Can I get …

It’s bitter cold outside and the winter storm has lasted for days. The snow is two feet high and getting worse. It’s 1872 and you are living in a dugout, living off small pieces of bread and potatoes, unsure when the weather will settle down. You also have a baby to feed. Curious about what …

For some years now, Swiss Banks have not been willing to take on U.S. clients because of the aggressive tactics of the U.S. IRS. Since they hauled UBS over the coals for harboring U.S. tax evaders and continue to investigate many Swiss Banks, the IRS has posed a threat to Swiss companies operating in the …

It’s Istanbul, not Constantinople, as the song goes. In this history is an omen for any powerful state (read: the U.S.). A somewhat obscure essayist knew all about it back in 1959. His little book deserves wider circulation. Below, we’ll take a look. Constantinople was once the seat of a vast, rich empire. The successor …