The New York Times reports today that the federal government is in conflict with a school district in Palatine, IL over the district’s treatment of a transgendered student: “Federal Education authorities, staking out their firmest position yet on an increasingly contentious issue, found Monday that an Illinois school district violated anti-discrimination laws when it did […]

In my last post I put forth a proposal for what a new president might do to reduce regulations in the bloated “administrative state.”  I will now add more fuel to the fire by suggesting what actions the new president might take to eliminate whole agencies.  Yes, I did say entire Federal agencies.  I won’t […]

“Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive.  Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster.” So began the narration to one of my favorite boyhood television shows in the mid-1970s.  The […]

As we watched the Democratic and Republican Party presidential debates, I have heard some, but not nearly enough, discussion of the problems of the “regulatory state,” that is, that “Fourth Branch” of government affectionately called bureaucracy.  Since this is a national election, I will confine my comments to the Federal agencies such as EPA, FCC, […]

I am reminded of a story, possibly apocryphal,  from the Constitutional Convention.  One of our Founders proposed an element to the Constitution that would prevent the young republic from ever having a standing army larger than 5,000 men. This suggestion has to be understood within the context of the recent past where American colonists believed […]

As goes Ohio, so goes the nation. On Tuesday November 3, Ohioans will go (hopefully flock in droves) to the polls to vote either for or against ballot initiative Issue 3. Issue 3 is a proposed constitutional amendment calling for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use. There are many reasons why you might want […]

It always amazes me that most people think that the effect of central bankers on the global economy is small. Its not just our resident critic here @ BATG. I went to a conference last year where a very conservative Christian financial advisor told me that the stock market was basically just about the great […]

In the recent Democratic Party debate Bernie Sanders told us we should look to Sweden, Denmark and Norway to see how a successful democratic socialist economic system works.  I have heard others say the same thing.  Even some conservatives have argued that socialism of the democratic kind works pretty well in those Scandinavian countries.  Rich […]

Fellow Berean Mark Caleb Smith continues to write eloquently about the need for improving civil discourse, as in our current featured post, yet I fear he will continue to be a voice in the wilderness.  While he and I have some disagreements in this area, certainly he is right that a major problem in our […]

As we approach 5 November, the date that Treasury Secretary Lew has said the U.S. will run out of money, there are more articles coming out on the possibility of the U.S. defaulting.  Implicit in almost all the reporting is the false assumption that if partisan politics prevents an extension of the debt, the U.S. […]