-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 Channel 4 WDIV Detroit reports on a new bumper sticker campaign prompting people to “Buy American Products: They’re Better and Safer.” 1. If American products were, in fact, better, we consumers would purchase them. As it turns out, however, foreign cars (at least in my experience) are markedly more reliable.…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 Over at Freakonomics blog Sudhir Venkatesh journals his experience introducing a millionaire donor to life on the streets. It’s a long article, fairly interesting, and hits that all-important point: you don’t understand, you never could, but it’s still your fault. Because I’ve never lived in extremely difficult circumstances, I can’t…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 I must admit my bias: I cared about gymnastics long before I cared about politics. I still drool over Olympics footage from the Atlanta games and, while I of course root for the U.S. I have nothing but sheer admiration for such athletes as Russia’s Alexei Nemov and Australia’s Ian…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 One day earlier this summer, I went to the post office to buy 1¢ stamps to augment my 41¢ snowman stamps. (I don’t send a lot of mail.) I good-naturedly joked about how I could hardly afford to send a letter these days with stamp prices rising so often. The…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 …we’d still be riding in horse-drawn carriages and wearing homespun, hand-stitched clothing. Ever since I was a young child I’ve had little respect for the music industry. The RIAA is one of the most backwards organizations I’ve ever encountered. For years they tried to eliminate online music sharing, getting all…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 In a study of the 35 most populous U.S. cities, Reason Magazine reports, “Chicago wins the booby prize for most meddlesome metropolis by a wide margin.” Citing such regulations as bans on guns, smoking and DWOTP (driving while on the phone), Reason supports their hypothesis. A group of us head…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 The new education budget that passed both chambers removes Detroit Public Schools’ veto power over charter schools. A lot of people are peeved. Rep. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, claims, Public school academies have been cherry-picking the good students … (adding to) the death spiral of the Detroit public school system. This…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 Let it be understood that I do not advocate violence of any sort except in self-defense and that I think all types of people should be allowed to express the lifestyle they have voluntarily chosen so long as they do not infringe on others’ same rights. I was intrigued by…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008 One awesome thing about the blogosphere is how courteous bloggers are. I’m not talking about posts or comments — these can of course get nasty. But the proliferation of such kind behavior as citing HTs, putting (pdf) after a link and giving spoiler warnings is pretty universal. And it’s pretty…
-Hannah Mead, MCPP Intern, 2008 In response to the airlines’ ridiculous email plea vilifying futures market speculators, Kimberly Strassel vents her frustrations at airlines (HT: Coyote). I found it very therapeutic. Note that the airline industry is so bureaucratized that it avoids the market forces that keep other service industries serving the customer. Because the…
Trying Liberty 