Author: nick

[ad_1] This is part of 1776 All-Stars, a series about Reason’s favorite American Founders. Read more here. Joanna Andreasson”Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others,” wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1819. This accords well with the Cato Institute’s definition of libertarianism: “the belief that each person has the right to live his life as he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others.” Immediately following his definition of rightful liberty, Jefferson properly cautioned, “I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’; because law is often…

[ad_1] Photograph Source: U.S. Secretary of Defense – Public Domain Waxworks have nothing to say, but when incarnated in the form of former Fox News anchor and, at a pinch, “personality”, Pete Hegseth proves to be a marvel of sheer stupidity. It’s not that one cannot be provocative on matters of discomfort, teasing the political consciousness and prodding the sensitive. Immigration, and what makes it up, is a point of energetic disquiet in Europe, and a figure insisting on raising it is bound to add a spoke to the news cycle.  But to do so in the fashion of the US…

[ad_1] Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair I lie in bed listening to the birds in the trees. Living with a true artist means no art on the bedroom walls, only in the studio. In the background is the hum of London traffic. Above all this, the first passenger jet of the morning. I have recounted this before—the birds, trees, traffic and planes of London. London is home to as many as 1.5 million wild birds and more than 300 species. Even in the eaves above the bedroom window they nest. It also contains some eight million trees—almost one for every…

[ad_1] Former San Luis Obispo County, California, probation officer Fallyn Rollins was sentenced to 270 days in county jail after she admitted embezzling over $160,000 from her department’s union while serving as its treasurer. Prosecutors and the Santa Barbara Probation Department had recommended a sentence of eight years and four months in state prison, arguing that Rollins abused a position of public trust, but the judge instead imposed a much shorter jail sentence and smaller fine after considering testimony about her mental health. The judge said she found Rollins’ crimes “substantially less serious” than other similar crimes, noting that though…

[ad_1] Organic Amish farm, near Hope, Indiana. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. Many consumers assume that food labeled organic is grown without pesticides. The reality is more nuanced. Organic farmers can and do use pesticides, but the types of pesticides they use, the circumstances under which they use them, and the regulatory standards governing their use differ significantly from those in conventional agriculture. Understanding those differences matters because pesticides affect more than the crops on which they are applied. They can influence the health of farmworkers and rural communities, the quality of soil and water, the well-being of pollinators and other…

[ad_1] Ready for the biggest failure in televised sporting history? Mangroves at a turning point after decades of loss. 3 historical figures people really thought were vampires. The Devil wears Prada—and so does the Artemis astronaut. Billy Cox gives his review of the UFO press conference at the Capitol’s steps. Between spirits and desire: sex, power, and ayahuasca tourism. Physics and the occult: Mark Booth (AKA Jonathan Black) in Against Everyone with Conner Habib. The joy of autism. Scientists may have pinpointed physical evidence of our consciousness. Stanley Krippner: Dreams from another dimension? The Where Did the Road Go? Podcast…

[ad_1] Government officials may not fully understand what social media is, but they damned well plan to do something about the ills it may or may not inflict on our society. They’ll happily start with extracting some money from the companies behind social media, though it may take a few tries, given politicians’ complete lack of understanding of the thing they want to tax. Illinois is a good example, where legislators just passed an attempt at a social media levy that runs afoul of its authors’ ignorance. You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of…

[ad_1] A coastline erodes as sea levels rise. Long Beach, California. Photo by Joshua Frank. This week in the Anthropocene The first major swell of the year pummeled Southern California this week, and onlookers flocked to Balboa Peninsula in ritzy Newport Beach to watch adrenaline junkies attack the Wedge – a mutant wave that ricochets off a rock jetty, forming a steep, heavy wall of water that accelerates and breaks chaotically. Only the bravest (craziest?) dare to face it down. A wild storm system, nearly the size of the United States, took shape in the central South Pacific last week…

[ad_1] On this segment of Free Media, Senior Editor Robby Soave and Daily Caller Editor in Chief Amber Duke react to Donald Trump storming out of an NBC interview after clashing with host Kristen Welker. Before calling it quits, the two discussed how the president did not keep his promise of “no new wars,” and he called Welker “crooked.” [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] On this segment of Free Media, Senior Editor Robby Soave and Daily Caller Editor in Chief Amber Duke discuss the turmoil at CBS surrounding its flagship news program, 60 Minutes, as the network faces internal backlash and questions about editorial independence after Bari Weiss took over the network. [ad_2] Source link