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Reason Roundup

Harris Would Hike Teacher Pay Across the Nation by 23 Percent

Plus: Is Obamacare canceled? Beware "national cyber strategy." And Baltimore attempts eminent domain to take down a racetrack.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.26.2019 9:30 AM

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F. Carter Smith/Polaris/Newscom

Raises would be kickstarted by $315 billion from feds. In a plan unveiled yesterday, Democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Kamala Harris (D–Calif.) said she would raise base public school teacher pay nationwide by 23 percent, a raise of about $13,500 per year for the average teacher. The proposal is not congressional legislation but part of the Harris 2020 campaign.

It's a politically popular plank—perhaps. "Last year, a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that almost 90 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans thought teachers were underpaid," notes HuffPost.

But part of the reason is that communities routinely vote not to raise their own local or state taxes in order to raise local teacher pay. And it seems like Harris' plan would only overcome part of that problem: Community members would still see tax increases or other tradeoffs to cover the salary hikes, they just wouldn't have a choice in the matter anymore.

Under the Harris proposal, "the Department of Education would work with states to set a base salary goal, which would vary by state depending on how much professionals with similar educational levels make there at the beginning of their careers," write Rebecca Klein and Maxwell Strachan. "That pay level would then increase based on tenure and additional qualifications to keep up with the pay levels of people in comparable fields." Schools would not be allowed to divert funds for existing programs to teacher pay.

In other words, the federal government would determine what teachers across the country get paid, and disallow variation between different communities.

Harris promises that the feds would provide much of the funds for this…you know, along with providing "Medicare for All," reparations to black Americans, launching the Green New Deal (all campaign promises so far), and housing all the new federal prisoners a Harris presidency would surely create (this one not talked about so much).

Her campaign said federal contribution to the teacher raises would cost about $315 billion over 10 years. But federal funding would only cover the first 10 percent of the gap. States would then only get more federal funds based on how much they put into the teacher-pay fund.

Harris' rationale for the teacher measure is telling. Here's what she said at a campaign event in Texas last Saturday:

I'm declaring to you that by the end of my first term, we will have improved teachers' salaries so that we close the pay gap. Because right now, teachers are making over 10 percent less than other college-educated graduates and that gap is about $13,000 a year. And I am pledging to you that through the federal resources that are available, we will close that gap.

Leaving alone the likelihood of that statistic being accurate, it showcases how Harris would sees salaries and fairness. Everyone who went to college, no matter what they studied or what jobs they went into after, should make around the same pay, like the strictly tiered federal government pay system writ large across all of U.S. industry.

FREE MINDS

Tech companies facing onslaughts from all sides. In the new Cyberlaw podcast, Stewart Baker and Amy Zegart "discuss the national cyber strategy and what's wrong with it, besides all the bloviating," as Baker blogged at The Volokh Conspiracy yesterday. More:

We also explore the culture clash between DOD and Silicon Valley (especially Google), and whether the right response to the Mueller report would be to conduct a thorough investigation into how the Intelligence Community and Justice handled the collusion allegations at the start of the Trump Administration. […] Apparently looking for Odd Couple of the Month coverage, Sen. Josh Hawley is sounding all Sen. Elizabeth Warren-y about Facebook and Silicon Valley. And Devin Nunes is renewing claims of social media bias against conservatives. Indeed, he's putting his lawyers where his mouth is, suing Twitter and his fake Twitter Mom for defamation. It's an uphill battle, but I would really love to read the internal Twitter emails about Nunes if his case gets to discovery. That's his best chance to show actual malice.

FREE MARKETS

Affordable Care Act should be dismantled entirely, says Justice Department. More from Reason's resident health care expert, Peter Suderman, here. Comments Volokh Conspiracy blogger and lawyer Jonathan Adler:

The Justice Department's change in position is astounding. It was remarkable enough that DOJ failed to question the states' standing to challenge an unenforced and unenforceable mandate, and even more remarkable that the Department failed to defend a readily defensible federal law. It is more remarkable still that the DOJ is abandoning its position -- and the position on severability advanced by the Obama Administration -- in favor of a highly strained and implausible approach to severability with little grounding or precedent.

I was among those who cheered the selection of William Barr as Attorney General and hoped his confirmation would herald the elevation of law over politics within the Justice Department. I am still hopeful, but this latest filing is not a good sign.

QUICK HITS

  • Last month, the U.S. government spent $234 billion more than it brought in.
  • Duke University is paying the federal government $112.5 million to settle allegations of falsifying research in order to get federal grants.
  • Baltimore is trying to use eminent domain to shut down the Preakness Stakes:

My take on Baltimore's ill-advised effort to use eminent domain to condemn "a freaking horse race" (the Preakness Stakes). Even if the city wins the case, they will end up losers. Builds on op ed by @walterolson. https://t.co/ZX6QwP8WSO

— Ilya Somin (@IlyaSomin) March 26, 2019

  • Transparency win:

DC court ruled the Federal Bureau of Investigation must search for and produce records related to the agency's impersonation of documentary filmmakers during investigations #PressFreedom https://t.co/TeIh0n3VMp

— Dr. Courtney Radsch (@courtneyr) March 26, 2019

  • Here's what celebrity (and lately, increasingly erratic) lawyer Michael Avenatti tweeted yesterday morning:

Tmrw at 11 am ET, we will be holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 25, 2019

  • By the end of the day, Avenatti had been arrested by the feds on extortion charges, after Nike went to the FBI and it listened in on subsequent calls between Avenatti and Nike representatives.
  • It looks like the part of a Florida bill that would've created a Solicitation of Prostitution registry has been voted down.
  • Good news for D.C. drinkers:

New legislation would allow DC breweries and distilleries to open additional "satellite" taverns pic.twitter.com/F7Zq8NEV64

— Jessica Sidman (@jsidman) March 25, 2019

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

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NEXT: Stop Listening to the Spymasters and Generals

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

Reason RoundupEducationTeachersKamala HarrisElection 2020
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  1. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    By the end of the day, Avenatti had been arrested by the feds on extortion charges, after Nike went to the FBI and it listened in on subsequent calls between Avenatti and Nike representatives.

    Just don't do it.

    1. Rufus The Monocled   6 years ago

      Hello.

      Trump is guilty. Come on people. Work with me!

    2. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

      Don't do the crime
      if you can't do the time.

      And keep your eyeeeeeeeeee on the sparrow.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jes-iZzy_Tk

      1. Nardz   6 years ago

        I saw Red Sparrow last night.
        It's not good.
        The sex content was way overhyped.
        And Jennifer Lawrence just doesn't really do anything great.
        Atomic Blonde was a much better spy movie, and RS couldn't even approach Basic Instinct as an erotic noir.
        C-

        1. Cyto   6 years ago

          And Atomic Blonde isn't good either.

          Neither is terrible. Just not good.

  2. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    In a plan unveiled yesterday, Democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Kamala Harris (D?Calif.) said she would raise base public school teacher pay nationwide by 23 percent, a raise of about $13,500 per year for the average teacher.

    I thought Democrats already had the teacher vote builtin.

    1. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

      Nice try, Kammy, but Yang is promising everyone $12,000 a year. For a couple, that's $24,000. Step up your game.

      1. Rich   6 years ago

        And don't forget Vermin Supreme, who is promising everyone *a pony*.

        1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

          A pony is only about $1,000, so Vermin's plan is more realistic?

          1. Rich   6 years ago

            That cheapskate! This is The Wealthiest Nation On Earth?!

          2. JWatts   6 years ago

            "A pony is only about $1,000, so Vermin's plan is more realistic?"

            I think his plan includes free room, board and health care for all of the ponies. And of course, all pets will be classified as "ponies" to avoid discriminating against the equinophobic.

    2. Idle Hands   6 years ago

      quid pro quo?

    3. albo   6 years ago

      An extra $13.5K a year is motivation for the unions to do more GOTV. Plus I'm sure a bunch of that new money will be turned around and sent back to President Harris and the DNC as campaign contributions

      1. Anomalous   6 years ago

        One hand washes the other.

        1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

          Like an M.C. Escher sketch. Of two butts wiping each other.

    4. Enjoy Every Sandwich   6 years ago

      Community members would still see tax increases or other tradeoffs to cover the salary hikes, they just wouldn't have a choice in the matter anymore.

      Yeah, who gives a fuck what the taxpayers want? Lazy peasants, get back to work! We've got a Socialist Worker's Utopia to build!

    5. AlmightyJB   6 years ago

      "I thought Democrats already had the teacher vote builtin"

      It's all about the Benjamins.

    6. Lucky Ned Pepper   6 years ago

      "That pay level would then increase based on tenure and additional qualifications to keep up with the pay levels of people in comparable fields."

      Comparable fields should be easy to identify; you know, jobs that give you three months off for summer, only require you to be there 8-4 when the doors are open, minimum two weeks off over Christmas, additional paid vacation for things like spring and fall breaks, and when you're union protected from pesky performance reviews. Oh, and a comfy guaranteed retirement package for when you put in thirty years at the age of 52.

      1. Rat on a train   6 years ago

        Don't forget snow days. There's a reason teachers know the weather forecast in detail. My wife gets giddy when we get a call from the school district when the forecast is bad.

  3. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    They can put a rover on Mars and slingshot satellites around massive planets a decade after they were launched but failed to pack the right gear for women in space.

    C'mon, y'all. https://t.co/fp1hZOYEXV
    ? Jonathan Blanks (@BlanksSlate) March 26, 2019

    In space, no one can hear you accessorize.

    1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

      They can always rip off their own hand to get back to the ship.

    2. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

      Wait, there are differences between men and women? People should know about this!

      1. Longtobefree   6 years ago

        No, there are no differences; they are identical in every way.
        So identical that either one can be the other one just by saying so.
        Pay attention!

  4. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    Parents Refuse To Facilitate 'Sex Change' Of Autistic Son, So Authorities Threaten To Put Him In Foster Care
    Recalling the horrifying ordeal to The Daily Mail, the couple, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed an NHS clinic in the U.K. said their then-14-year-old boy should be put on hormone-blockers since he told them he thought he was a girl. The parents, believing their child's autism played a role in the declaration of gender confusion, refused to cooperate with the "transition," particularly since the blockers can cause irrevocable harm.

    After mom and dad pulled their son from the gender clinic, school officials reported the parents to child services for "emotional abuse" due to their objections to the sex change. One of the teachers, The Daily Mail noted, told the parents "that they should find alternative accommodation for their son or else he would be put into temporary foster care."

    1. Idle Hands   6 years ago

      That is a fucking horror story.

      1. John   6 years ago

        Transgenderism is the most grotesque thing the left has ever produced. They are literally out to mutilate children. It is just fucking sick.

        1. albo   6 years ago

          20 years from now we're going to look back at this time and wonder how we all became so insane all of a sudden.

          1. John   6 years ago

            At this point, I hope you are right and that it all fades after a few years.

            1. Ron   6 years ago

              only after thousands of peoples lives have been ruined by this lie

          2. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

            20 years from now we will be run by generation after generation who learned this in government schools and know nothing else.

          3. Shirley Knott   6 years ago

            Yeah, just like we did about satanic ritual abuse.
            This will be forgotten and dismissed.

            1. lap83   6 years ago

              That would be comparable if Satanists had actually been trying to lure children into their clutches

        2. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

          Single payer healthcare at work. Every bureaucracy wants to expand its power. The bureaucrats who run single payer are, of course, the healthcare experts. Why should some poor child have decisions made for him by some mouthbreathers just because they are the kids parents?

          Alfie Evans, Charlie Ward, this. All within normal left wing beliefs.

        3. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

          Its the flip side to "toxic masculinity" - boys who might be a problem to The State as adults will be given estrogen until they are sufficiently docile.

        4. colorblindkid   6 years ago

          Luckily I had two brothers so I turned out to be relatively masculine for a gay man, but I was a pretty fucking effeminate little kid. If I had different parents or grew up today, there's a good chance I would have been brainwashed into thinking I was transgender. Almost all children with gender "dysphoria" grow up to be homosexual cis-gendered adults. Fuck these assholes. Nobody should be allowed to transition to anything until they are 18 and puberty is finished.

          1. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

            Older or younger or both brothers? I saw in a documentary called "Born That Way" that younger sons are more likely to be gay because the previous boys' testosterone generated an estrogen response in Mom.

            No offense - I wish you nothing but happiness. Just curious.

            1. colorblindkid   6 years ago

              Both. I honestly don't think there is a "gay gene", and do think it has something to do with hormones during development. There are identical twins with different sexualities, so it obviously can't be just genes. Doesn't matter either way to me.

              Anybody who gets offended by people trying to figure out why homosexuality exists is a fucking moron. I can't think of any evolutionary purpose for it, so it is some weird mistake of nature that manages to get passed on every new generation somehow. I'm as interested as anybody to see where it comes from.

              1. Ron   6 years ago

                It is not our job to judge a person wether they are born a certain way or choose to be a certain way. But now they are forcing people to make a choice when they may not be ready to make that choice. there is no reason to hurry such things.

                1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

                  Especially kids. Kids are stupid and don't know their asses from holes in the ground. Its why kids have parents and we dont abandon our young at 5 years old.

                  parents are supposed to teach kids things. One thing to teach is that you cannot control what other people think. If a kid thinks that they were given a dick by mistake, then prep that kid to do what they want when they are an adult. If they want to chop off their dick, so be it.

                  These transgender people think they were given the wrong sex organs and want to fit into the opposite gender role so bad that they cannot fathom that they can be an individual or a Sheeple.

                  I think many of the transtesticles are not happy even after get sex changes operations because they think that they can force others to accept them and are unhappy when that never happens.

          2. Nardz   6 years ago

            Transgender promotion is a sneaky way to holocaust the gays?
            You might have a point there

          3. MP   6 years ago

            If you haven't listened to Thad Russell's podcast with Katie Herzog, you really should. She talks directly to the current cultural pressures to overly diagnose homosexuality as transgenderism. It's truly disturbing what's going on now.

        5. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

          No, John, 20 years from now you will be claiming you never opposed transgender rights.

          1. John   6 years ago

            Ah No. You might have no integrity and be willing to tell whatever lie you are told is necessary to be "tolerant" but do the rest of us a favor and stop projecting that cravenness on everyone else.

          2. John   6 years ago

            I know you like to poke me, but you can't actually believe this disgusting nonsense.

            1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

              Of course not. UK is insane in the membrane.

            2. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

              You give him far too much credit.

          3. Chuckles the Snarky Piggy   6 years ago

            No, John, 20 years from now you will be claiming you never opposed transgender rights.

            So, using chemicals to alter the body of a 14 year with a diagnosed mental impairment is somehow "transgender rights"?

            20 years from now, you will be progging for the forced sterilization of these people. What a cocksucker.

          4. JWatts   6 years ago

            "No, John, 20 years from now you will be claiming you never opposed transgender rights."

            In front of the Peoples Tribunal....

        6. Ron   6 years ago

          Transgenderism is the new Eugenics but with clearly evil political intent that does not help those with physical dismorphism

        7. Zeb   6 years ago

          There are going to be a lot of lawsuits in 10-15 years. Maybe sooner for some who are teenagers now.

          I'm pretty well convinced that transgender is a real thing in some sense. But government getting involved and forcing one particular way of dealing with the issue on people is absolutely disgusting. It is far from clear or obvious that hormones and body modification are the best way to address gender dysphoria. The activists are using the law to codify their assumptions about something that is just not well understood.

          1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

            The major 'real' thing about transgender people is that they have serious mental defects.

            Maybe they have body gender defects too and I am fine with that being studied.

            We used to call people who aided crazy people being crazy as enablers. Do people not sue that word anymore?

            1. Zeb   6 years ago

              Well, "crazy" is what it is. Some people can't be cured of certain mental peculiarities. It's plausible that for some people with gender issues can be happiest in life living as the other sex and even taking hormones and modifying their bodies. I very much doubt that is the best answer for most people with these problems, but I'm in no position to judge.

              So while I agree that there is a lot of enabling going on, I'm open to such enabling being the appropriate response in at least some cases.

    2. Conchfritters   6 years ago

      So the autistic kid is in charge - got it.

      1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

        Haha, that's naive. The government is in charge, now get back in line.

      2. John   6 years ago

        The thing about autistic kids is that they can be amazingly clever and have an almost uncanny ability to sense what a teacher or a therapist wants to hear and to tell them just that. For not having full emotional maturity or skills, they can be manipulative little suckers. My guess is that these morons planted the seed in the kid's mind and he told them exactly what he sensed they wanted to hear.

        1. Rich   6 years ago

          Clever Hans

          1. John   6 years ago

            Exactly

      3. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

        "So the autistic kid is in charge"

        That's called "pulling a Chipper Morning Wood"

    3. Rufus The Monocled   6 years ago

      This is horrific.

      Always a good time to point out this is progressivism. Pure evil.

    4. DRM   6 years ago

      As someone with gender dysphoria on the autistic spectrum (Asperger's), I would have then been, and strongly suspect today I would be, happier if I'd been put on puberty blockers when I was 14 (when they weren't yet an established treatment) and then gone through reassignment surgery when I was 18.

      Does my autism/Asperger's play a role in why I'm gender dysphoric? Given the high rate of co-morbidity between autism spectrum disorders and gender dysphoria, almost certainly. But unless and until autism/Asperger's can be cured, it's not like there's a "real me" that can be brought out that will be happy with my male physiology.

      1. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

        Hormone blockers will cause permanent developmental damage to normal puberty and reproduction. from a state of mind many, if not most children who have it will change from by the time they are adults.

        I am not sure a teenager or younger has the capacity to comprehend the consequences of deciding to go forward with such "treatmeant".

        1. DRM   6 years ago

          And I strongly doubt anyone who doesn't have gender dysphoria has the capacity to judge whether the permanent consequences of blocking puberty are better or worse than the permanent consequences of going through with puberty while dysphoric. People who would not have considered taking blockers even if they were permanent-consequence-free simply do not have the necessary perspective to make the judgment.

      2. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

        I know that you probably don't want to hear this but trying to stop normal body development, so you can be a different gender is fucking crazy.

        Especially at 14.

        I hope you find what you are looking for but I understand that many post-op transvestites still have depression and other let downs.

        1. DRM   6 years ago

          My realism about how it wouldn't fix my other issues and how poorly it would work now are the big reasons why I don't think a transition now is worth the sort of effort, pain, and expense it would take. But if I were (roughly) three decades younger, I'd take the puberty blockers.

          Am I crazy? Well, my brain is fairly obviously disordered in several ways. However, barring any available fix for those disorders, the best I can possibly do is adapt my life to the broken brain I have. I don't have the option of being normal, so trying to live as a normal person is not going to work. And I'm pretty sure I'd be better-adapted, though still with a broken brain, if I'd transitioned.

    5. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

      And as we learned from the medical cases in last couple of years, children in the UK are the property of the state. Parents only have the authority the bureaucracy deigns to give them.

      1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

        Life has enough consequences from bad decisions. Letting or forcing kids to do this transgender stuff before they finish puberty seems like a regret waiting to happen.

  5. Conchfritters   6 years ago

    ...and housing all the new federal prisoners a Harris presidency would surely create (this one not talked about so much).

    I take it ENB not a Harris fan.

    1. Cyto   6 years ago

      That supposes that Harris did all the horrible things that she did as a prosecutor because she is a true believer. While it may be true that the war on "human trafficking" and the war on drugs are paramount motivations for her, my supposition is that climbing the ladder and attaining more power is the primary motivation behind her actions, rather than any particular ideological motivation.

  6. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    NASA issues space herpes warning as virus reactivates in astronauts

    1. Rich   6 years ago

      space herpes warning

      Nice band name.

      1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

        First album: A Pleasant Shade Of Gray

    2. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

      Space suits are the new tractor seats.

    3. TrickyVic (old school)   6 years ago

      Who knew the movie Ice Pirates would be prophetic?

      1. ElvisIsReal   6 years ago

        Holy shit somebody else who has seen Ice Pirates!

  7. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    New legislation would allow DC breweries and distilleries to open additional "satellite" taverns pic.twitter.com/F7Zq8NEV64
    ? Jessica Sidman (@jsidman) March 25, 2019

    How does this not remind everyone the oppressive nature of government?

  8. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    America should allow other countries to vote in the 2020 election

    1. Idle Hands   6 years ago

      Collusion?

    2. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

      She is laying down the gauntlet for dumbest article of the year... and it's only March!

    3. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

      Apparently, some British cannot wrap their minds about the notion of national sovereignty.

  9. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    In New Zealand, they evacuated around 5000 people from a concert because somebody thought they'd seen a right-wing tattoo. New levels of hysteria.

    1. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

      Note that New Zealand has a govt. official with the title "Chief Censor".

      1. Anomalous   6 years ago

        Within living memory (I'm alive, and I remember it) the state of Maryland had a Board of Censors and every film shown had to show a disclaimer that it was approved by the board, with a registration number.

        1. Shirley Knott   6 years ago

          John Waters hardest hit.
          He has a few amusing things to say about the pinch-faced vinegary twat who ran the office.

      2. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

        Not to be confused with Chief Censer.

    2. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

      Stampede stamp.

    3. colorblindkid   6 years ago

      Imagine if a rodeo in Texas was evacuated because somebody thought they saw a Muslim. That's the exact same situation. Fucking hysterical morons. The fearmongering and irrational hysteria from the press about right-wingers is even worse than Trump's idiotic fear-mongering about illegal immigrants and Muslims.

      1. John   6 years ago

        No, imagine if a rodeo in Texas was evacuated because someone thought they saw someone wearing a turban. That is how stupid these idiots are.

        1. Cyto   6 years ago

          If a rodeo in Texas was evacuated because someone thought they saw someone wearing a Turban, they'd have that guy in prison on hate crime charges. And probably a national boycott of rodeos and anyone who works for rodeo-associated businesses by banks, social media companies, vendors, hotels.....

          1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

            Plus, Americans would not do that. We are still the most accepting nation for people from other places and religions in the World.

            Its why Americans are a mixtures of nearly every race, creed, and background.

            1. Cyto   6 years ago

              Look, that's your privilege talking. So check your privilege, m'kay?

      2. ChuckNorrisBeardFist   6 years ago

        Can't imagine a rodeo in Texas being evacuated..now maybe everyone would pull out there guns.

        Actually, the rodeo is a pretty tame around Houston. Horrible traffic, parking, over priced food, but no fights and everyone gets along.

    4. Chuckles the Snarky Piggy   6 years ago

      "While the concern in this case appears to have been an innocent misunderstanding, Police would like to remind people to stay vigilant and call 111 if they see anything suspicious."

      Getting confused and walking away from the produce section with someone else's cart is an innocent misunderstanding. Evacuating 5000 people because of a tattoo should have some kind of consequences to the idiots that escalated the situation.

  10. John   6 years ago

    The Justice Department's change in position is astounding. It was remarkable enough that DOJ failed to question the states' standing to challenge an unenforced and unenforceable mandate, and even more remarkable that the Department failed to defend a readily defensible federal law. It is more remarkable still that the DOJ is abandoning its position -- and the position on severability advanced by the Obama Administration -- in favor of a highly strained and implausible approach to severability with little grounding or precedent.

    I was among those who cheered the selection of William Barr as Attorney General and hoped his confirmation would herald the elevation of law over politics within the Justice Department. I am still hopeful, but this latest filing is not a good sign.

    When State Attorneys General were refusing to go to court to defend gay marriage bans, Reason and Volkh thought that was great. How is this any different? Because reasons and getting your pony matter is a principle I guess.

    1. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

      It is different when it is done for an issue they support, John.

  11. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    It's an uphill battle, but I would really love to read the internal Twitter emails about Nunes if his case gets to discovery. That's his best chance to show actual malice.

    Perhaps that's the goal.

    1. John   6 years ago

      I can't see how it wouldn't be the goal. These people are arrogant and stupid. I bet they put all kinds of damaging things down in writing.

  12. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    Swedes say refugees should be accepted into people's homes. When presented with one and asked to take him in, they suddenly change their minds!

    1. Rich   6 years ago

      Obviously the solution is to require refugees to take more refugees into their homes.

    2. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

      Obviously Sweden doesn't have the 3rd Amendment.

    3. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

      Progressives are always the most generous with other people's stuff.

  13. Conchfritters   6 years ago

    Baltimore is trying to use eminent domain to shut down the Preakness Stakes.

    Sounds like they're in the slop at Pimlico.

  14. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    Last month, the U.S. government spent $234 billion more than it brought in.

    Buying elections isn't just a one time payment.

  15. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    UK Denies Asylum To Christian Convert From Iran Because "Christianity Is Not Peaceful"

    1. Shirley Knott   6 years ago

      They're not wrong. From Leviticus to Revelation, the Christian Bible is an extended horror story.
      So, of course, is Islam, but to pretend that Christianity is all sweetness and light is to ignore the texts and the history. Eternal punishment for finite and temporally limited acts is obscene, but it is a bedrock tenet of the faith.
      People are good despite religion, not because of it. Religion is a reliable trailing indicator of morality.
      Merely look to the slave trade, and how Christianity has 'evolved' on that issue.

      1. John   6 years ago

        Revelation is violent in the sense that it shows God taking measure of the world. It in no way advocates Christans take matters into their own hands. Christianity is not on its face a violent relgion. It is a pascifist religion.

        1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

          Come on, John, you can't say that with a straight face.

          1. John   6 years ago

            Yes I can. Christians the people are people like any other. But they are distinct from the religion and the ideals that they follow.

          2. Fancylad   6 years ago

            Cite one New Testament verse, in context, Chipper, just one, that encourages or even allows Christians to be violent. You can't, because it doesn't.
            In fact Christian scripture encourages extreme passivity in the face of violence.

            What fucking idiots like Shirley and the guy who turned down the appeal don't understand is:
            a) The New Testament doctrine of the New Covenant, which is the sole foundation of Christianity, says that Leviticus and the Old Testament Laws no longer apply. It's explicitly rejected.
            That's why Christianity is a different religion than Judaism and why Christians eat cheeseburgers, bacon and keep their foreskins intact.
            b) All the violence in Revelations is perpetrated by either evil men or God. All the Christians do is get beheaded by your lot.

            This is what happens when today's anti-theists learn all their theology from Aron Ra Youtube videos.

            1. FreeRadical   6 years ago

              Fancylad, very well said. Love and forgiveness is the core message of Jesus.

      2. colorblindkid   6 years ago

        It is nearly impossible to read the New Testament and come away with anything but love and peace. Sure the Old Testament is similar to all texts back then from all religions, but the New Testament is absolutely unique among religious texts in its portrayal of a compassionate and loving God.

        1. Shirley Knott   6 years ago

          Simply false. Hinduism is one counter example.
          The 'burning lake of hellfire' is not a feature crafted by a peaceful or loving deity.
          It takes very selective, indeed, literally prejudicial, reading to claim either uniqueness or compassion and love as defining characteristics of Christianity.

          1. John   6 years ago

            Saying that God will take justice on those who reject him at the end of the world has nothing whatsoever to do with the inherent pacifism of Chriatianity. Love they enemy. Where in Hinduism does it tell people to love their enemies? Nowhere. Moreover, Hinduism specifically embraces war and destruction as part of the natural circle of existence. "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds", that is Vishnu trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty and destroy his enemies in war inthe Bhagavad Gita.

            Who the hell told you Hinduism was pascifst? Good God, where do people get this nonsense.

            1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

              All religions have bloody and violent pasts. Even Buddhism. But Buddhism, in its original form at least, is the only major religion to promote a path to salvation that is earned.

              1. John   6 years ago

                is the only major religion to promote a path to salvation that is earned.

                Every religion offers a path to salvation that is earned. That is what religions do.

                1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

                  You know what I mean. Accepting Christ into your heart != years of meditation.

                  1. Ron   6 years ago

                    blessing every meal and praying every night = years of meditation

                    Different words same outcome

                    1. Zeb   6 years ago

                      Depends on how you do it, of course. Some people just go through the motions. Some people are really doing something. I'm not sure what it is, but it's something.

                  2. Zeb   6 years ago

                    I think it sort of is for some people who really take it seriously.

          2. colorblindkid   6 years ago

            Revelations is an entirely different situation, and explicitly not a guideline to live by. Hinduism has benevolent gods and violent gods, and they often battle and kill each other. Yes, compassion and love are in there too, just like they are in the Quran, but the New Testament God is still unique among the world's largest religious texts. Buddhism is such a amalgamation of texts that I'm not including that, even though that is almost entirely based on compassion and peace. I didn't say Christianity is unique. I said that the New Testament is unique.

            1. Shirley Knott   6 years ago

              Christianity is also an amalgamation of texts, written over time, repeatedly edited, and hand-picked by the powerful. Yes, the Bible is a book. So is every anthology.

              1. Cyto   6 years ago

                Your characterization of Christianity is facile and inaccurate.

                Christian theology is dominated by a single concept, that of salvation by grace through faith. It is not at all about punishment for bad acts - or rewards for good acts.

                There is only a concept of a separation from God and a sacrifice on the cross that allows that separation to be crossed via faith.

                None of which makes it true, false or indifferent. But it isn't true to make those claims about christian beliefs. Also, people do a lot of horrible and violent things in the name of religions of all stripes - even Buddhists, which is just bizarre. There are actually several violent conflicts currently taking place with explicitly violent Buddhist sects at the core.

                All of which fits with Jewish/Christian/Muslim beliefs. Man is sinful by nature. Which explains how even Buddhists can decide that it is holy to kill people in the name of their god.

                1. Zeb   6 years ago

                  Buddhists can decide that it is holy to kill people in the name of their god

                  If they even have one.

                  1. Cyto   6 years ago

                    Hence the irony

          3. Zeb   6 years ago

            I pretty much agree with colorblindkid. Especially if you focus on the gospels.

            I'm not religious and can probably fairly be called an atheist. But I think that (what I see as) the essence of Christianity is pretty good.

      3. Mickey Rat   6 years ago

        The man in question is a convert from Islam, so it may be a relative comparison. Furthermore, you kind of missing the forest for the trees, here.

  16. OpenBordersLiberal-tarian   6 years ago

    More bad economic news.

    Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Post Smallest Gain in Six Years

    #DrumpfRecession
    #UnbanPalinsButtplug

    1. John   6 years ago

      Nothing says bad times like affordable housing.

    2. itsjustbob   6 years ago

      "At the same time, other data suggest the market has since picked up: A report last week showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes rebounded in February to the fastest pace in almost a year."

      Nice try

    3. MP   6 years ago

      I know this is a parody, but it's amazing how many people actually do consider this a bad thing.

  17. Longtorso, Johnny   6 years ago

    I wonder who these kids will wind up voting for......

    A new kind of nightmare 'snowplow' parent is calling their kids' employers to talk about issues their children are having at work
    "Snowplow parents" are the newest embodiment of a hyper-intensive parenting style that can include parents booking their adult children haircuts, texting their college kids to wake them up so they don't sleep through a test, and even calling their kids' employers.

    "Helicopter parenting, the practice of hovering anxiously near one's children, monitoring their every activity, is so 20th century," Claire Cain Miller and Jonah Engel Bromwich wrote in The New York Times. "Some affluent mothers and fathers now are more like snowplows: machines chugging ahead, clearing any obstacles in their child's path to success, so they don't have to encounter failure, frustration or lost opportunities."

  18. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    Duke University is paying the federal government $112.5 million to settle allegations of falsifying research in order to get federal grants.

    They're just going to have to sell admissions to celebrities to make up the revenue.

    1. John   6 years ago

      That is burying the lead. The best part is that the whole thing is the result of a qui tam suit brought by a disgruntled former employee. Qui Tam is short for a longer latin phrase "he who sues for the king also sues for himself". If you bring a suit for fraud of federal money, you get to keep a third of whatever is recovered. That guy walked away with over $33 million and the greatest fuck you ever given to a former employer. That is just awesome.

  19. John   6 years ago

    http://twitter.com/EmeraldRobi.....2250541056

    The lovely Emerald Robinson sums up the media's Russia hoax problem quite well.

    So #russiagate is the ultimate scandal of American journalism because its roots go back to other scandals: the Fusion GPS story, the 2016 Podesta email leak, the 2010 JournoList story, and finally the takeover of major news outlets by Clinton/Obama staffers.

    1. colorblindkid   6 years ago

      The DNC and Podesta e-mail hacks and leaks didn't make Hillary look that bad. There weren't any groundbreaking or scandalous things for her. What it did was expose the press for the Democrat propaganda they are, which was even worse for them.

      1. John   6 years ago

        They also showed that the Democrats fixed the nomination to ensure Hillary won. But, mostly they just showed how corrupt the media is. Amazingly the media won't talk about that.

        1. colorblindkid   6 years ago

          How does Donna Brazile still have a job? How does she still get booked to talk on TV? She was caught giving Hillary a heads up about debate questions. Not to mention that in the 1988 campaign she was fired from Dukakis's campaign for completely making up and spreading rumors about HW Bush having an affair.

          1. John   6 years ago

            Because if they fired her, they would have to hold everyone else to some standard of integrity. And no one wants that.

            1. Cyto   6 years ago

              Nice attempt at finding logic...

              But I think it is way, way more simple than that. She offers access across all of the DNC power brokers. So she's still in the game.

              Possibly more to the point - the DNC folks want her there.

  20. Rich   6 years ago

    Men-Only Group Aims To Heal Through Power Of Cuddling

    According to their Meetup page, the Men's Therapeutic Cuddle Group's goal "is to provide a safe, structured, and platonic environment for men to experience 'the three As': Acceptance, Affirmation and Affection."

    It's not called The City of Brotherly Love for nothing.

    1. John   6 years ago

      Don't they already have bathhouses for that or have those all been closed down?

      1. Chipper Morning Wood   6 years ago

        Cuddling doesn't have to be sexual. Come here and get a hug, John.

        [opens arms]

    2. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

      the three As': Acceptance, Affirmation and Affection.

      I'm guessing that 90% of these men have a 4th 'A' in mind when they're cuddling.

      1. Rich   6 years ago

        Abstinence?

      2. Griffin3   6 years ago

        Assisstance?

        1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

          You're getting closer

          1. See Double You   6 years ago

            Assassinations?

      3. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

        Assblasting?

        1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

          Subtle, as usual.

  21. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    Last year, a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that almost 90 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans thought teachers were underpaid...

    Americans have had the "if only teachers were paid as much as professional athletes" line drilled into them for decades now. There's no getting past that level of pop culture brainwashing. And while it's certain that some good teachers are indeed underpaid, that's by no means universal. I doubt it's even prevalent. (Of course, the very concept of worth is subjective.)

    1. Cyto   6 years ago

      I work with teachers at public and private schools quite a bit.

      They don't make a lot. Particularly at private schools. Most of the private school teachers are second income earners for their families and the free or reduced tuition for their kids is often the motivator for their job choice.

      What I've learned from that experience is that there are not a lot of A players in the teaching game. There are some who are very good at their jobs who still are only C players in the grand scheme of things. They are the "round peg, round hole" folks who have the right skillset and match it with motivation and hard work.

      There are very, very few people that would have survived my graduate school path, or who could have worked for me as a developer, system administrator or in QA. They might be on par with average report writers.

      And working for 2/3 of the year and getting weeks of holiday during the rest of the year puts you in a different category. As does the very generous pension packages. And, around here at least, they still get more vacation time and sick leave than workers of comparable ability in regular jobs.

      So I'd say it would be tough to come up with truly "underpaid" teachers, even though there are quite a few who go above and beyond to provide an excellent education to their students.

      1. Zeb   6 years ago

        Any analysis of compensation that doesn't consider benefits including time off/time actually worked, pension and everything else is very dishonest.

        You aren't going to get rich, but it's a pretty decent and secure job if you are suited for it. I think teacher compensation also varies quite a bit depending on where you are.

      2. Bubba Jones   6 years ago

        Teaching salaries and benefits are all publicly disclosed prior to anyone choosing to get an education degree and a teaching certificate. Salaries are therefore fair, by definition.

  22. Sevo   6 years ago

    Predictions are hard, especially ones about the future:

    "Big U-turn: Key melting Greenland glacier is growing again"
    [...]
    " A major Greenland glacier that was one of the fastest shrinking ice and snow masses on Earth is growing again, a new NASA study finds.
    The Jakobshavn (YA-cob-shawv-en) glacier around 2012 was retreating about 1.8 miles (3 kilometers) and thinning nearly 130 feet (almost 40 meters) annually. But it started growing again at about the same rate in the past two years, according to a study in Monday's Nature Geoscience . Study authors and outside scientists think this is temporary...."
    http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo.....g-61929192

    Of course they think it's temporary; it contradicts their claims.

    1. John   6 years ago

      its just weather. It is not climate. Climate is significant things like having a hot July one year.

      1. MP   6 years ago

        It's Climate when it supports the narrative.

    2. Zeb   6 years ago

      Glaciers are all temporary.

      Seems likely there are cycles and growth and shrinkage are likely always temporary.

  23. Fist of Etiquette   6 years ago

    It looks like the part of a Florida bill that would've created a Solicitation of Prostitution registry has been voted down.

    Thank heaven for the legislator/john.

    1. Cyto   6 years ago

      Doesn''t really help Robert Kraft, does it?

  24. damikesc   6 years ago

    I was among those who cheered the selection of William Barr as Attorney General and hoped his confirmation would herald the elevation of law over politics within the Justice Department. I am still hopeful, but this latest filing is not a good sign.

    I missed Reason's concern when Obama declined to defend laws he didn't like.

    1. John   6 years ago

      They flat out cheered when State AGs refused to defend gay marriage bans. But, that was different because reasons.

  25. colorblindkid   6 years ago

    i'd be all for raising the starting teacher's salary $15,000 if we lowered lowered the same amount of older teachers' salaries $15,000. It is the unions' absurd pay scales that screw over the young people in favor of the old, not the government or funding.

    1. Rich   6 years ago

      How about for every five teacher raises an administrator is eliminated?

      1. colorblindkid   6 years ago

        Yeepppp. And also Rich's comment about the administors. Absofuckinglutely.

        1. Cyto   6 years ago

          Look, administrator pay has to rise concomitant with their subordinates' pay. This is known. So you are barking up the wrong tree there.

          Plus, those nice administration buildings with the fancy furniture and marble floors aren't gonna pay for themselves, now are they?

          Just shut up and cut some checks, plebe...

          1. Cthulunotmyfriend   6 years ago

            True, and don't forget that the teachers on special assignment, TOSA s need more too. And we'll need to raise the level of compensation at the superintendent's office, to make it all balance. And at the end of the day, all the American children on their cell phones that don't want to do much, won't do any more than they have previously. Oh, and we can't force them to give up their phones when their in class, I am not kidding about this... And the motivated few will keep doing great, especially the Asians. I make good money, work hard, but not near as many hours as some of my peers in other professions. I am not crying for a raise. Typical Democratic plan, we will fix our problems in education by throwing more money at it, rather than addressing the fact that most Americans are too seldom indulgent and lacking in discipline to tackle the harder subjects in education, like Math and Science.

    2. John   6 years ago

      I would offer to raise their salaries all to six figures in return for teachers' unions being banned, tenure being ended, and teachers held to the same standards other people making that kind of money are held.

      I am going to go out on a limb here and say they would never take my deal in a million years.

    3. BearOdinson   6 years ago

      This. I had a degree in engineering (with the course work for the equivalent of a minor in physics). I went back to get my teaching certificate so I could teach AP Physics.

      I got paid exactly the same amount as the freshman English teacher with an MA in secondary education.

      Undergraduate education majors are generally in the lowest scores of SAT/ACT, and those seeking a graduate degree in education are by far, the lowest scores on the GRE.

      But this is primarily due to the union. I couldn't bargain for myself to get a better salary.

    4. chipper me timbers   6 years ago

      just eliminate public schools. Problem solved

  26. Rufus The Monocled   6 years ago

    So is Obamacare an example of a poorly thought out law, pathetically executed and unpopular of something collapsing under its own bull shit?

    1. John   6 years ago

      All of the above. The truth is that Obama repealed Obamacare. The bill was so poorly written that there was no way it could be implemented as written. So, the Obama Administration just ignored or rewrote large parts of it because they had no other choice.

      1. Rufus The Monocled   6 years ago

        It was lost once all those exemptions were given.

        What's the point?

    2. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      ObamaCare is unconstitutional as there is no enumerated power to force Americans to buy any product or service.

      John Roberts knew this and "fixed" ObamaCare into a tax. Americans can be forced to pay taxes. The problems are that its not a tax and all revenue bills must originate in the House.

      Obamacare was a Reconciliation Bill that the Senate wrote when they had 60 votes. When the Democrats lost 1 Senator, ObamaCare needed to pass the House and then be voted on again with 51 votes in the Senate. ObamaCare was rushed thru to pass it, so Obama could sign it.

    3. CatoTheChipper   6 years ago

      ObamaCare was designed to fail. Pelosi and Obama didn't care what they had to do to get it passed. All they needed to do is get the employer mandate and the individual mandate. When the Rube Goldberg machine built on a house of cards failed, Democrats would blame the greedy insurance companies and -- voila! -- single payer.

      Everything was working according to plan until November 2016. There could only be one explanation: the Russians hacked the election.

  27. BestUsedCarSales   6 years ago

    Last month, the U.S. government spent $234 billion more than it brought in.

    Duke University is paying the federal government $112.5 million to settle allegations of falsifying research in order to get federal grants.

    That outta help put a dent in it.

    1. John   6 years ago

      33 million of that goes to the whistle blower who brought it to the government's attention.

      1. BestUsedCarSales   6 years ago

        But after taxes it goes right back. That's how they get ya.

    2. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

      Need MOAR tariffs!

      1. John   6 years ago

        You do know that the federal government was originally funded entirely by tariffs don't you? The power to impose tarriffs is right there in the Constituition. The founders put it there on purpose and everything. Really.

        1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

          Shush John, he's emoting.

        2. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

          Lots of things are in the Constitution. Just because they are allowed doesn't mean they are good ideas.

          1. John   6 years ago

            Like what? What other parts of the constitution do you want read out of the document? Funny how the US had by modern standards a very protectionist economy for most of the 19th Century and somehow managed to build the largest industrial economy in history. Did the evil trade monster just not take his rightous vengence that time or something? Was he feeling benevolent?

            1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

              Are we really going to argue the virtues of free markets (free trade) on a supposed Libertarian website? I mean it's in the freaking banner.

              1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                Nice deflection.

            2. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

              Leo is not a fan of America fighting for lower trade restrictions overall with our trading partners.

              He was okay with the managed trade that we had and foreign trade restrictions that we had on US exports.

              Fuck the American businessmen that want to make money exporting goods and services, ammirite?

            3. Cyto   6 years ago

              That response doesn't entirely make sense.

              He's right.

              Just because the constitution grants a power to the Federal government, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is a requirement.

              The constitution also authorizes an income tax. It still might be a better idea to not have an income tax.

      2. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

        Who's arguing that the benefit of tariffs is balancing the budget?

        That argument for tariffs by Trump has been about trade balances, jobs, etc. I suggest criticizing the arguments people are actually making.

        1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

          Umm.... Trump is, or was at least.

          1. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

            I can't get to the date behind the pay wall.

            When is that story dated?

            Are you saying that you're responding to Trump's claim there specifically?

            1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

              Responding to the absurd idea that we have a revenue problem, generally.

              The date is in the URL -- 8/16/2018

              1. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

                Trump's statement, there, has little or no currency.

                cur?ren?cy
                /?k?r?ns?/
                noun
                noun: currency; plural noun: currencies

                2.
                the fact or quality of being generally accepted or in use.

          2. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

            Tariffs do go into the general fund, so they go toward federal revenue.

            That is not why some of us are supporting using tariffs to get lower trade restrictions overall from our trading partners.

            1. Cyto   6 years ago

              The bottom line of that position is that being in favor of using tariffs as a cudgel in bargaining with a trading partner is not the same thing as being in favor of tariffs.

              1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

                Cyto, more articulate than my comment.

  28. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

    "Democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Kamala Harris (D?Calif.) said she would raise base public school teacher pay nationwide by 23 percent, a raise of about $13,500 per year for the average teacher. The proposal is not congressional legislation but part of the Harris 2020 campaign."

    This is a naked attempt by Harris to attract endorsements and donations from teachers' unions across the country. I guess making a public speech is less expensive than sending out requests for bribes. If they want her to push for $315 billion from congress like Trump pushed for the wall, it's a pretty good investment for them. I'm not saying that what she's doing is illegal, but it is disgraceful.

    1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

      She's probably the first politician to make a campaign promise like this. Dastardly!

      1. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

        Did I say she was the first?

        It's disgusting anyway.

        She's running for president. She's part of the discussion. She's legally asking for bribes. And the legal way for us to combat that is to point out her disgusting behavior.

        What does not being the first example of her disgusting behavior have to do with anything?

        1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

          Republicans offer subsidies and other payoffs to Iowa farmers every single election. I think Trump offered some E15 regulations or something the last time he was campaigning in Iowa. Not to mention the bloated farm bill he offered as penance for his trade wars. If he receives campaign contributions from the very farmers that benefit from these policies, isn't that the same thing?

          It is disgusting. But why pick on just one side?

          1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

            "But why pick on just one side?"

            Because that's who ENB decided to discuss today?

            1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

              Are you serious? Nearly every conservative in these comments says something along the lines of "Where was TReason when Obama did this?" every time they're critical of Trump.

              1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                "Nearly every conservative in these comments says something along the lines of "Where was TReason when Obama did this?" every time they're critical of Trump."

                So this is about sticking it to Republicans.

                How boring.

              2. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

                Libertarians even ask why Reason is treating Trump differently than Obama.

                The TDS coming from most Reason staff makes many of the things they say ridiculous.

                Secure borders is a perfectly Libertarian fundamental concept. Reason does not just disagree and make the statement that they think borders should be open or less secure. Reason goes TDS hyperbole that:

                States let people move freely across the border all the time. They don't issue visas. They don't require passports. They don't make buying a house or taking a job contingent on legal residency. And yet even states with large immigrant populations, such as California, New York, Florida, Arizona, and Texas, somehow manage to sustain vibrant democratic traditions. (The Enlightenment seems to be getting along OK, too.)

                This is ridiculous as the Constitution provides a specific provision to make this possible and the Commerce Clause prevents states from interfering in American migrations.

                1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

                  Trump's Tribal Immigration Policies Hit a Wall of Facts

                2. Cthulunotmyfriend   6 years ago

                  Trump gets more shit from the media than any other President because he is so bombastic and offensive. Heck, the crowd size crap, my crowd was bigger than Obama's crowd, was annoying from day one. It is an emotional reaction that I have and that Reason has, not logical. That is why even Reason, which does have many articles that do laud Trump policies that are pro libertarian, still hates on him sometimes on neutral concepts. I am ok with immigration, and think the gains outweigh the many cons, but I get people are rightfully horrified by the fact that a decent portion of our tax dollars go to social programs, including medical coverage and education, that are spent on people who are here illegally. I just don't buy the "Build the Wall" crap. How bout make employers use everify, install sophisticated electronic monitoring along the border but not a wall, and furthermore, don't allow illegal immigrants to go to public school, nor get driver's licenses? If Trump wasn't such an annoying fucker, this would be an easy sell.

          2. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

            So I can't talk about Harris' disgusting behavior without mentioning every other instance of the same disgusting behavior, too?

            Why?

            P.S Does the term tu quoque mean anything to you?

            1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

              So I can't point out that it's normal behavior?

              1. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

                I'm not the one objecting to having bad behavior pointed out because it's supposedly "normal".

                The next time there's a big sexual assault story in the news, I'll be watching to see if you object because the victim is hardly the first person to be sexually assaulted.

                1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

                  I'm sorry that I interrupted your "Democrats are bad" echo chamber.

                  1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                    Kamala Harris is bad. Try not to let your biases cloud your vision.

                    1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

                      She is bad. I completely agree.

                  2. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

                    I've been as hard on the Republicans over the years as was appropriate. Both John and lovecon1789 can tell all the things I've criticized Trump over--from my open borders position to my criticism of his tariffs.

                    With all that being said, Nancy Pelosi is now moderate Democrat--not because she's changed one iota but because the party has shifted hard to left under her feet. All the Democrat candidates are endorsing the Green New Deal, reparations for slavery, and Medicare for All, specifically, and they're all embracing socialism generally, some of them even calling themselves "socialist" by name.

                    Yes, as the Democratic Party becomes more authoritarian and more socialist, there's little for a libertarian capitalist to do but become more Republican. After all, we are living with the reality of single member districts, and Duverger's law is a real thing.

                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law

              2. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                "Leo Kovalensky II|3.26.19 @ 10:41AM|#

                So I can't point out that it's normal behavior?"

                We can't point out that you're not advancing the duscussion in any way and are also off topic?

                1. Leo Kovalensky II   6 years ago

                  I normally prefer the insightful banter between you and Moneyshot that made almost every thread unreadable yesterday.

                  1. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                    So you want this to devolve into that?

                    Oh no, YOU get to troll but god forbid anyone else does.

                    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

                      Reason barely kicks off spammers and it took them years to get rid of Hihn.

                      If they dont care that their ban of PB resulted in the sock Moneyshot, then maybe maybe Moneyshot shitting up a thread will.

                  2. Tu­lpa AKA "feeling smug"   6 years ago

                    "Nearly every conservative in these comments says something along the lines of "Where was TReason when Obama did this?" every time they're critical of Trump."

                    And that was one thread and a few (3 I think) comments in another. If you had trouble reading all the others it's most likely a literacy problem.

      2. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

        In Libertopia, this sort of behavior will make candidates unelectable.

  29. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

    CBO projections by year for ACA enrollments:

    2016: 23 million
    2017: 25 million
    2018: 26 million

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/th.....810bc4919d

    Actual enrollment:

    2018: 11.7 million
    2019: 11.4 million

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/af.....553555429?

    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      I have suspected that Lefties have infiltrated most government bureaucracy and the CBO is no different.

      Everything has a Lefty political tinge to it.

      ObamaCare enrollment estimates is an example of that, where after the first two years of being wrong, the CBO should adjust their estimates down by 50%+ to be more accurate.

      1. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

        Anybody's projections can be wrong.

        The point is that in addition to however far off they were on costs, etc., they were also wrong about how many people would participate in this program. Whatever decisions were made based on the assumption that twice as many people would be participating need to be reevaluated on the basis of the actual numbers.

        In business, we'd say, "Okay, so that business plan didn't pan out. What's the best thing to do now?", with pulling the plug on the whole operation being one of the options under consideration.

        1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

          They keep making the same mistakes. I think because its on purpose. The hope is that politically popular programs dont get ignored or the axe.

          I would fire any employees that make preventable estimate mistakes over and over.

    2. CatoTheChipper   6 years ago

      And 90+% of those enrollments get a subsidy.

      Unless one is rich, ACA plans are ridiculously expensive and offer negligible benefits.

  30. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

    "Leaving alone the likelihood of that statistic being accurate, it showcases how Harris would sees salaries and fairness. Everyone who went to college, no matter what they studied or what jobs they went into after, should make around the same pay"

    Exactly. The job of the federal government is to redistribute wealth. From each according to their ability, to each according to their need. There's a name for that.

    P.S. ENB has been excellent lately. Not that she cares what I think, but I keep finding myself RTA instead of just the comments.

  31. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

    "My take on Baltimore's ill-advised effort to use eminent domain to condemn "a freaking horse race" (the Preakness Stakes). Even if the city wins the case, they will end up losers."

    From memory as a kid growing up about halfway between DC and Baltimore, this was precisely the move that cost Baltimore the Colts.

    The Colts moved in the middle of the night because the city was about to use eminent domain to try and force them to stay. Okay, I'll look it up.

    "The city of Indianapolis, Indiana, made an offer for the Colts franchise to move there. Baltimore was unsuccessful at persuading them to stay, so the city government attempted to get the state legislature to condemn the Colts franchise and give ownership to another group that would promise to keep the Colts in Baltimore. Oakland, California had just had some success in court trying the same tactic with the Oakland Raiders. Under the threat of eminent domain from the city of Baltimore, the franchise relocated to Indianapolis in the middle of the night on March 29, 1984."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.....dianapolis

    Y'all know the definition of insanity, right?

    1. BearOdinson   6 years ago

      One of the coolest things about that was that there were Indiana State Troopers that met every one of the moving vans at the state line and escorted them.

      I realize that is probably not a very libertarian thing, but there is something cool about the state actually trying to protect people from a different state using authoritarian tactics.

    2. Dillinger   6 years ago

      the snowy video on espn was awesome

    3. Bubba Jones   6 years ago

      Eminent domain on a business? Not real estate?

      WTF

  32. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

    Last month, the U.S. government spent $234 billion more than it brought in.

    Didn't we taxpayers save money when the federal government was shutdown for 35 days?

  33. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

    Pentagon authorizes up to $1B to start 57 miles of border wall construction

    The Pentagon notified Congress late Monday that it authorized the transfer of up to $1 billion to erect 57 miles of "pedestrian fencing" along the U.S.-Mexico border in direct support of President Trump's national emergency declaration from last month.

    The fencing, which will be 18 feet high, is to be erected in the Yuma and El Paso sectors, the statement read. The Pentagon's announcement was notable. A reporter from the New York Times tweeted that it is the first time the funds will be transferred under section 284 for the border wall.

    Section 284 allows the Pentagon to "construct roads and fences and to install lighting to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of Federal law enforcement agencies," the statement read.

  34. Ken Shultz   6 years ago

    New Jersey's legislature is about 2-1 Democrat in both the General Assembly and the senate, but they had to pull the bill to legalize marijuana due to a lack of support.

    Even in the most progressive places in the U.S., am I right about this--California, Oregon, and Washington State--they had to legalize marijuana by referendum because they couldn't get their progressive legislatures to legalize it.

    I suspect a lot of it has to do with law enforcement unions, but it also shoudln't be surprising that progressives who don't think you should be able to buy large sugary soft drinks with plastic straws also don't think you should be free to indulge in other things.

    1. BearOdinson   6 years ago

      I believe you are absolutely correct. I am quite sure that of the rank and file Ds vs. Rs. there are significantly more Ds who support drug legalization. But, at the level of government, there is not a dime's worth of difference in practical terms on this issue.

    2. Cthulunotmyfriend   6 years ago

      It is wierd. Obama acted super conservative about legalization, even though that's what many of his supporters wanted. I really thought Trump was going to at least remove Marijuana from being a Class 1 controlled substance, but then he appointed Jeff Sessions, and when he got rid of that idiot, he still has moved in the opposite direction. The politicians don't want to vote for legalization because they think it puts them in a bad light, so they move it to referendum, which is fine. However, we really need some leadership from the federal level. There are no federal referendums. It would be interesting if there were.

    3. ElvisIsReal   6 years ago

      Only one state so far (Vermont?) has actually passed a law. EVERY other state, the people took matters into their own hands.

      Remember that when the Ds try to claim they helped end the drug war.

  35. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   6 years ago

    It's a politically popular plank?perhaps. "Last year, a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that almost 90 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans thought teachers were underpaid," notes HuffPost.

    If that's true, it's certainly a testament to the power of continued, haranguing propaganda.

    1. DRM   6 years ago

      Well, five or more decades ago they were, because sexism depressed demand for educated women, leaving it a buyer's market. And the Boomers had their maximum exposure to teachers during that period.

    2. CatoTheChipper   6 years ago

      12 years of indoctrination in government schools.

  36. meh130   6 years ago

    "Teachers are making over 10 percent less than other college-educated graduates and that gap is about $13,000 a year."

    Teachers work 10 out of 12 months a year, so they paid 83% of what someone working 12 months would make (such as the year-round state education system administrators). A $13,000 gap equaling seems high compared to average teacher salaries ($58,353 national average in 2016).

    But it remains the number of months worked explains most of this difference. If you add in the value of the average teacher's defined benefit pension plan, they likely end up with higher overall average compensation. Of course, many of those pension plans are underfunded.

    Perhaps we can pay these teachers an extra $13,000 and in return during their two summer months not teaching, they can augment the municipalities' public works departments fixing potholes.

    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      Dont forget all the holidays teachers get and other perks that business people dont get.

      With that being said, some teachers cannot get good petty cash funds to buy extra supplies for projects etc and have to pay out of their pockets, which is bullshit. Most of my local taxes go to school districts and these school districts are management heavy, so there is extra money there.

  37. Science33   6 years ago

    I get paid over $180 per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I just got paid $ 8550 in my previous month It Sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don't check it. http://www.home.jobs89.com

  38. Cyto   6 years ago

    In a story that will make you go "Wait, what?"

    Charges against Jussie Smollett have been dropped.

    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      That is wacky. The charges being dropped was after an "emergency court hearing".

      The Lefties have 'evidence' that it was Trump and Pence who attacked Jussie Smollett that night in Chicago.

      MAGA!

    2. Longtobefree   6 years ago

      No mystery there; Chicago judicial system, rich guy, no charges.
      Procedures were followed.

  39. drisco304   6 years ago

    Let the bidding resume. I bid a free car and a free house. Two free vacation packages per year. Free solar panels for the house and a free wind turbine at a location of your choice. Of course this is in addition to free medical care and free college tuition. The important thing is to isolate a substantial and visible segment of the population and promise taxpayer money (certainly not my own) and act like Santa Claus. Welcome to the Democratic Party. (sarcasm)

  40. Longtobefree   6 years ago

    I have yet to hear a good explanation of how paying the same teachers more money will make them better teachers.
    Are they slacking now in hopes of making more money?
    Does a bigger paycheck actually make you smarter?
    Will paying them more get rid of the inane procedures and policies that hamper real education?
    Exactly how does all this work?
    Or is this all bullshit?

    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      The jig is up on many teachers being Lefty indoctrinators of American youth and conservatives are fighting back.

      This requires more taxpayer money to subsidize teachers so they can give more to the Democratic Party.

      The sooner we get to private schools that pay great teachers better than other teachers (and can fire bad teachers immediately), the better.

    2. Cyto   6 years ago

      It doesn't work tomorrow. It changes things over time.

      Do the extreme extrapolations to get the general picture.

      Make all teacher positions into $200k jobs. What happens?

      Well, tomorrow, nothing. The teachers go to work and cash much bigger checks.

      But what next? Well, a lot of very, very sharp people put in their resumes. The guy who is pulling down $95k as an optometrist looks over at the teacher's hours and double the salary and says, "Hey, I could do that!" So does the internist, accountant, controller, attorney, system administrator, etc.

      You get the picture. Pretty quickly the current crop of teachers gets swamped out of the job by people with top 20% IQ and test scores who are working in fields that make substantially less. Now the education degree from college becomes much more valuable. The schools begin upping their game as well, since they have to differentiate between 120 IQ guy and 145 IQ guy, instead of placing every graduate without any difficulty.

      1. Cyto   6 years ago

        And take the opposite extrapolation... cut the pay to minimum wage.

        Now what happens.

        Well, lots of teachers go out to get jobs in accounts payable or as sales assistants, or in service jobs like waiting tables.... If they were pulling down the minimum and were hourly, working for only 2/3 of the year (and then having loads of days off in the other 2/3) would be a non-starter. Very few people would do that job. And they'd be people who couldn't get a job stocking shelves at Walmart.

        So, that's what increasing pay does. (or decreasing pay).

        Most employers calibrate their pay according to what it takes to attract a competitive workforce. Schools? Eh, somewhat. But they have the unions pushing for more, always and regardless. So the only thing keeping salaries in check is the ire of the voters because of the millage rate.

  41. shortviking   6 years ago

    Why isn't REASON part of Apple News+?

    1. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

      Reason wastes too much money trying to keep non-Libertarian writers like Shikha.

      No money left over to pay Apple to carry Reason.

  42. awildseaking   6 years ago

    I can't wait for the Democrats to simultaneously decry Trump's deficit and outbid each other on gibsmedats for various protected classes.

  43. Dillinger   6 years ago

    >>>said she would raise base public school teacher pay nationwide by 23 percent

    which as your next congresswoman from California she'll be able to do?

  44. loveconstitution1789   6 years ago

    ASUS response to the recent media reports regarding ASUS Live Update tool attack by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups

    Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks are national-level attacks usually initiated by a couple of specific countries, targeting certain international organizations or entities instead of consumers.

    ASUS Live Update is a proprietary tool supplied with ASUS notebook computers to ensure that the system always benefits from the latest drivers and firmware from ASUS. A small number of devices have been implanted with malicious code through a sophisticated attack on our Live Update servers in an attempt to target a very small and specific user group. ASUS customer service has been reaching out to affected users and providing assistance to ensure that the security risks are removed.

    Instead of creating more secure computing systems that protect against North Korean and Chinese state attacks, Taiwan and US companies create less secure equipment so the consumer can be spied on by everyone.

  45. Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland   6 years ago

    People who figures tariffs should be used to try to help half-educated losers lacking marketable skills and can't-keep-up towns lacking redeeming qualities, while objecting to increased compensation for teachers, are among my favorite casualties of the American culture war.

    1. Red Rocks White Privilege   6 years ago

      half-educated losers lacking marketable skill

      Arthur L. Hicklib's still bitter he has to give handjobs for his McDonald's breakfast.

  46. mastonson   6 years ago

    Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail.
    >>>>>>>>>> http://www.GeoSalary.com

  47. vek   6 years ago

    When you adjust for hours worked, and the actual degrees most teachers have, PLUS their benefits to boot... They actually make more per hour than comparably credentialed people.

    It is true that a teacher in NYC or SF probably has a shit standard of living... But as somebody with multiple teacher relatives, I can tell you in most places in America they're doing fine. Nice house, nice cars, etc. They're not living in poverty. At best this means lib-tards in SF etc should jack THEIR teachers pay, and leave everybody else alone.

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