Progressives barking up the “profiteering” tree
Gas prices are up, and among the loudest voices decrying the rise are progressive politicians who are convinced it’s all due to big il companies profiting off Putin’s war against…
End the ethanol boondoggle
Soon after Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, global commodity prices for staples like wheat and sunflower oil (both major Ukrainian exports) began to rise and the possibility of global…
Sorting out the conflicts of interest violations on the federal bench will take a toll on credibility
The conflict of interest problems that roiled the federal judiciary a few months ago continue to make waves, this time with appeals courts having to decide whether to overturn decisions…
America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve has become a political piggybank
There have bene a number of references to the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in recent weeks. The most recent was Joe Biden’s declaration that 30 million barrels of SPR…
NYC mayor’s war on…chocolate milk
Never underestimate the ability of politicians to fight battles on the fringes of both common sense and reality. A case in point: New York City’s latest mayor, Eric Adams, is…
Federal government dithering stands in the way of marijuana legalization
Even as more states take it upon themselves to end marijuana prohibition, the federal government continues to dither and dawdle on the issue. Blame the entrenched drug war mentality in…
K Street weans itself off Russian money…for now
Official Washington has long been a magnet for foreign money and influence – including plenty of money from dictatorships and their suspect state enterprises. It’s no surprise, then, that Russia…
Democratic Socialists blame the west, sending their Democratic allies scurrying for cover
The Russian invasion of Ukraine may become a big headache for those Democratic House members who also affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. The reason the DSA’s statement that,…
Seattle soda tax encourages switch to beer
Taxes can change behavior. Economists have known this for decades, but politicians…not so much. An example of how taxes can change behavior comes from Seattle, where local pols decided to…
The extent of stimulus theft gets bigger by the day
The $6 trillion worth of federal stimulus money that washed through the economy in the pandemic’s wake created an obvious and enduring problem: how to make sure it didn’t end…