Question

Rioters rattle Bolivia demanding gas nationalization

How come nobody takes to the streets to demand privatization of anything? Maybe I could organize protests to demand privatization of Amtrak or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or the TVA, but something tells me I'll end up all alone and looking like a total moron. Oh well.

Outsource Teaching? Why not!

Why I'm not a Green

Listen to this guy...

As an Australian I am ashamed of my goverment's involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Waging war is a crime against not only humanity but against the environment.

...as if humanity and the environment are morally equivalent.

Hooray!

I know I'm a little late in posting this, but I'm going to do it anyway. SCOTUS ruled that states can't discriminate against other states in the wine trade. Of course, some states are now going to attempt to ban the direct sale of wine outright, bastards!

LOL

Another gem from Exploit the Worker:

Market reforms introduced in North Korea in recent years mean most people only get about half the food they need through the state and have to buy the rest themselves.

It's fascinating, even in a Stalinist country the press makes it sound like it's the market's fault for malnutrition and starvation.

Update: Johann Norberg found it too.

Update 2: Boy, this is really getting around quickly. Tom G Palmer has discovered the article.

CAFTA

Exploit the Worker has a detailed anaylsis of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Dingel believes that CAFTA represents preferential trade rather than genuine free trade.

Toll Roads

The Reason Public Policy Institute argues that toll roads in Orange County, California (where I live BTW) have been mostly successful. See here and here.

Social Security Reform

I was looking at the economists who support social security reform and, much to my suprise, my former Economics teacher, Bob Bise, is on there. You can find his name on the first page. He's in the third column and fourth from the top.

Traffic

One way to ease traffic congestion is to convert high occupancy vehicle lanes into toll lanes. They're already in use in San Diego.

Update: I have more on toll roads above.

Globalization

Tom Palmer dispels the myths and explains the benefits of globalization here (warning PDF file).

Civil Liberties - 1 FCC - 0

Antipiracy Rule for Broadcasts Is Struck Down

This is what happens when politicians have nothing better to do with their time (and power):

Politicians of the Texas State House took the time this week to pass HB 1476 which will put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances by middle and high school students. The bill, all 219 words of it, didn't bother to define what a sexually suggestive performance may be.

Here are the main portions of the bill:

Sec. 33.088. SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE PERFORMANCES PROHIBITED.
(a) A school dance team, drill team, cheerleading team, or similar
performance group may not perform in a sexually suggestive manner
at an athletic or other extracurricular event or competition
sponsored or approved by a school district or campus.
(b) A school performance group that violates Subsection (a)
may not perform for the remainder of the school year in which the
violation occurs.
(c) If the commissioner determines that a school district or
a campus in a school district knowingly permits a sexually
suggestive performance prohibited by Subsection (a) or knowingly
permits a school performance group to perform in violation of
Subsection (b), the commissioner shall reduce the funding the
district receives under Chapter 42 by an amount the commissioner
determines appropriate.

More here

This was something I was worried about. Unfortunately, my fears have been confirmed:

Strict US visa policy scares away students, investors

May Day

Catallarchy has an excellent series of posts dedicated to the evils of Communism for May Day. Start here.