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Archive for June, 2008

Reading Roundup

Posted in Uncategorized on 30 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Here are a few articles you should check out to start off the week:
- Gouging Consumers and Businesses Alike: Our very own Hannah Mead has a current comment up over at the Mackinac Center about some new gas-gouging legislation working its way through the state legislature and what [...]

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A Video Is Worth…

Posted in Uncategorized on 27 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP Intern, 2008
I think a metaphor is appropriate to describe my general assessment of governmental action. It seems to me that whenever a crisis hits, the government instinctively does the most counterproductive thing possible. Sort of like these goats:

(I actually just wanted an excuse to post that hysterical video, [...]

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In What World Does This Make Any Sense?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on 27 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP Intern, 2008
OK, this is just mind-blowing. Florida’s 2005 Senate Bill 572 (link pdf) states:
Upon a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents, any person who offers goods and services for sale to the public during the duration of the [...]

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Don’t Be Fooled

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on 27 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP Intern, 2008
Warren Meyer (Coyote Blog) rips into a new EU proposal to staunch fuel prices. The whole post is marvelous and well worth reading. However, I found his debunking of a misreported fact to be crucial:
I was amazed at the statement that BP made net profits of 63.4%.  It took me a [...]

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SCOTUS rules 5-4 against D.C. gun law

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on 26 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern
The Supreme Court officially says that the Constitution protects the possession of firearms for self-defense purposes in a predictably split decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.   (They’re technically affirming a lower court’s decision, here.)  I’ll link to some people wiser and better-educated on the issue than me:  There’s lots on [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment : : 26 June 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 26 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Laura J. Davis wrote a great current comment today about university housing and privatization.  One of her better points, and one often overlooked, is that universities simply are not in the housing business.  They are educators, and the more they distract themselves with peripheries like housing, the more [...]

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Partisan Politics at Its Worst

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on 25 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

Jim Vote- 2008 MCPP Intern
 
While conducting some research recently, I came across this candid document on a UAW web site:  “Government Reform Proposal to Help Democrats.” It gave me a laugh, and I brushed it off, given the lack of sources and the overtly partisan nature of the presentation.
 
But now this proposal is gaining strength, [...]

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Thoughts on Michigan’s Unemployment Rate

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 25 June 2008 | 4 Comments »

Much of Michigan’s political establishment believes (or pretends) that the state’s unemployment rate rose to more than 8 percent last month because of high gas prices and the entry of young workers into the labor market. That begs the question, though: How is it that in previous years Michigan unemployment rate wasn’t similarly affected by the entry of young workers [...]

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Be Careful! E. Coli Infections in Michigan

Posted in Uncategorized on 25 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
I apologize in advance for this post not directly relating to liberty or free markets (I could do it pretty easily, but that is beside the point).  I wanted to let our Michigan readers know that a public health alert has been issued for Michigan because of E. [...]

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Michigan Education Digest : : 25 June 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 25 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
The new Michigan Education Digest is up, so go over and give it a look.  One particularly encouraging story concerns the Public Schools of Petoskey, which is continuing a private food services contract that has already saved the district over $150,000.  Small efforts like this one add up [...]

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Swabbing the deck? Let’s see your papers, please.

Posted in Environment, tagged , on 24 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern
Boaters would be required to get a discharge permit for all waste released into the water under an EPA proposal, mandating authorization for about 100,000 commercial vessels and 13 million recreational powerboats and sailboats across the country, the Bay City Times reports.
The original proposal was intended to prevent the spread of [...]

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Beat that dead horse

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on 24 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

-Hannah Mead, MCPP intern, 2008
I’m always baffled by Michigan’s economic improvement strategy: tax the successful businesses to subsidize unviable ones.
Commenting on new “job-creating measures,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Speaker of the House Andy Dillon remarked,
At a time when more job-seekers are entering the workforce, Michigan’s already battered economy is feeling the effects of a struggling [...]

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Mackinac Center Current Comment : : 24 June 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on 24 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »

<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
Phillip Seamon & Scott Taylor give us today’s current comment from Mackinac about the problem of, and answer to, citizen laziness.  Their conclusion is quite good, saying, “As long as we are looking for others to solve our problems, those problems will continue to exist, new ones [...]

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With laws the land will be built

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on 23 June 2008 | 1 Comment »

Lauren Ruhland, 2008 MCPP intern
A British man has declared his tiny home in the Shetland archipelago to be a crown protectorate.   Stuart Hill claims that a historical legal document granted the island of Forvik to the Scottish monarch as part of a wedding dowry in the 15th century.  In her capacity as Queen Elizabeth [...]

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eBay Calls for Trading Freedom

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , on 23 June 2008 | 2 Comments »

Photo from liewcf.
<>< Josh Rule : : 2008 MCPP Intern
BBC News just put up an article about eBay’s recent work to open up international trading restrictions, particularly within the European Union.  Current law makes it difficult, if not illegal, to trade goods across international borders as an online vendor.  Accordingly, traditional vendors are working to [...]

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