In French, a “bidonville” is a shantytown. A “bidon” is a large container, like the giant yellow vegetable oil bottles used to carry drinking water in developing countries. I’ve seen plenty of shantytowns in cities from India to Togo; they are an unfortunate consequence of rapid urbanization. What surprised me when I came home to […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/homeless-1.jpg339509Simon Hankinsonhttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngSimon Hankinson2022-07-26 01:55:402022-07-24 16:39:39Bidenvilles: America’s New Emblem of Decay
The capture theory of regulation, popularized in an article by Nobel laureate George Stigler, concludes that regulatory agencies become “captured” by the firms they regulate. Regulatory agencies act in the best interest of the firms they regulate rather than serving the general public interest. Regulatory capture partly occurs because regulated firms have a concentrated interest in […]
His comments about education schools were a clear-eyed revelation of the cronyism and professional incest that has emerged between university graduate programs and university bureaucracies. When Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn commented on university teacher education programs in late June, he not only struck a nerve with teacher advocacy groups but he also struck […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/Larry-Arnn-Hillsdale-College-640x335-1.jpg335640Stanley K. Ridgleyhttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngStanley K. Ridgley2022-07-25 02:05:472022-07-21 16:11:23Hillsdale’s Larry Arnn Is Over the Target
Editors’ Note: The statistics below should be compared with the next several six-month analyses following the SCOTUS New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision in favor of gun owners and their second amendment right for concealed carry without the need to show cause for that carry. Gun sales in America, as […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/gun-and-flag.jpg338507Samuel Stebbinshttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngSamuel Stebbins2022-07-25 02:00:402022-07-24 16:37:11Gun Sales Are Collapsing in Arizona
The debate over election fraud versus voter suppression is high-stakes and high-intensity. Trump loyalists insist the election was stolen, mechanically rigged, and rife with fraudulent actors. Democrats continue to insist that fraud never happens, an argument easily swatted away by the existence of thousands of documented incidents. But Democrats have a point in that the […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/mailballot.jpg339509Thomas C. Pattersonhttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngThomas C. Patterson2022-07-25 01:55:192024-01-17 10:22:40Bulk-mail Voting Is The Main Obstacle to Election Integrity
A new bridge in Los Angeles is one example out of thousands. Los Angeles recently celebrated the opening of its new Sixth Street Bridge, which connects downtown to the city’s eastern district and crosses over an industrial area and the L.A. River (drainage wash). Designed to safely accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles, it is indeed […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/redtape.jpg387447Craig J. Cantonihttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngCraig J. Cantoni2022-07-25 01:50:492022-07-22 12:42:12America Excels at Building Bureaucracy
Editors’ Note: Not much is known about the heroic young man who used his concealed weapon to stop a mass shooter. More will likely come out fairly soon. Was he violating mall policy to have the weapon on him? If so, thank heavens he violated that silly requirement. It never seems to dawn on Progressives […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/eli.webp6751200David Harsanyihttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngDavid Harsanyi2022-07-24 02:00:322022-07-24 08:55:28New York Times Inadvertently Makes The Case For More Concealed Carry
The December 2020 resignation of Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under Trump, revealed predictable hypocrisy. Like so many other government officials around the world, she was caught violating her own stay-at-home order. Therefore she finally left her post following nine months of causing unfathomable amounts of damage to life, liberty, property, and […]
Perhaps the biggest mistake liberty-loving Americans can make is to assume that so-called “progressives” are people who have America’s best interests at heart but simply have different views about how to make America a better place. To believe this is to believe the wolf in sheep’s clothing is really a sheep. The wolf’s sheep clothing […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/ripping.jpg338507Mark Wallacehttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngMark Wallace2022-07-23 02:00:362022-07-23 07:20:54Weekend Read: The“Progressive” Left: Existential Threat to America’s Constitution and Liberty
If America’s leaders had read Prisoners of Geography, maybe America would’ve stayed out of Iraq and Afghanistan. It hasn’t improved my middling IQ, but over my adult life, I’ve read hundreds of books on history and geopolitics. Almost all have been thick ones, many have been impenetrable ones, and most have been scholarly ones […]
https://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/geography.jpg339509Craig J. Cantonihttps://thepricklypear.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngCraig J. Cantoni2022-07-23 01:50:112022-07-21 10:59:58The One Essential Book on History and Geopolitics
Bidenvilles: America’s New Emblem of Decay
/in Culture War, Economy, Featured, Liberty, Life Advocacy, Politics/by Simon HankinsonIn French, a “bidonville” is a shantytown. A “bidon” is a large container, like the giant yellow vegetable oil bottles used to carry drinking water in developing countries. I’ve seen plenty of shantytowns in cities from India to Togo; they are an unfortunate consequence of rapid urbanization. What surprised me when I came home to […]
Rethinking Regulatory Capture
/in Economy, Featured, Liberty, Politics/by Randall HolcombeThe capture theory of regulation, popularized in an article by Nobel laureate George Stigler, concludes that regulatory agencies become “captured” by the firms they regulate. Regulatory agencies act in the best interest of the firms they regulate rather than serving the general public interest. Regulatory capture partly occurs because regulated firms have a concentrated interest in […]
Hillsdale’s Larry Arnn Is Over the Target
/in Culture War, Education, Featured, Latest News, Liberty/by Stanley K. RidgleyHis comments about education schools were a clear-eyed revelation of the cronyism and professional incest that has emerged between university graduate programs and university bureaucracies. When Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn commented on university teacher education programs in late June, he not only struck a nerve with teacher advocacy groups but he also struck […]
Gun Sales Are Collapsing in Arizona
/in Arizona News, Gun Rights, Liberty/by Samuel StebbinsEditors’ Note: The statistics below should be compared with the next several six-month analyses following the SCOTUS New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision in favor of gun owners and their second amendment right for concealed carry without the need to show cause for that carry. Gun sales in America, as […]
Bulk-mail Voting Is The Main Obstacle to Election Integrity
/in Arizona News, Culture War, Featured, Liberty, Politics/by Thomas C. PattersonThe debate over election fraud versus voter suppression is high-stakes and high-intensity. Trump loyalists insist the election was stolen, mechanically rigged, and rife with fraudulent actors. Democrats continue to insist that fraud never happens, an argument easily swatted away by the existence of thousands of documented incidents. But Democrats have a point in that the […]
America Excels at Building Bureaucracy
/in Economy, Environment, Featured, Liberty, Politics/by Craig J. CantoniA new bridge in Los Angeles is one example out of thousands. Los Angeles recently celebrated the opening of its new Sixth Street Bridge, which connects downtown to the city’s eastern district and crosses over an industrial area and the L.A. River (drainage wash). Designed to safely accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles, it is indeed […]
New York Times Inadvertently Makes The Case For More Concealed Carry
/in Culture War, Featured, Gun Rights, Liberty, Politics/by David HarsanyiEditors’ Note: Not much is known about the heroic young man who used his concealed weapon to stop a mass shooter. More will likely come out fairly soon. Was he violating mall policy to have the weapon on him? If so, thank heavens he violated that silly requirement. It never seems to dawn on Progressives […]
Dr. Birx Praises Herself While Revealing Ignorance, Treachery, and Deceit
/in Culture War, Economy, Education, Featured, Liberty, Politics/by Jeffrey TuckerThe December 2020 resignation of Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under Trump, revealed predictable hypocrisy. Like so many other government officials around the world, she was caught violating her own stay-at-home order. Therefore she finally left her post following nine months of causing unfathomable amounts of damage to life, liberty, property, and […]
Weekend Read: The“Progressive” Left: Existential Threat to America’s Constitution and Liberty
/in Culture War, Education, Featured, Liberty, Politics/by Mark WallacePerhaps the biggest mistake liberty-loving Americans can make is to assume that so-called “progressives” are people who have America’s best interests at heart but simply have different views about how to make America a better place. To believe this is to believe the wolf in sheep’s clothing is really a sheep. The wolf’s sheep clothing […]
The One Essential Book on History and Geopolitics
/in Culture War, Featured, Liberty, National Security, Politics/by Craig J. CantoniIf America’s leaders had read Prisoners of Geography, maybe America would’ve stayed out of Iraq and Afghanistan. It hasn’t improved my middling IQ, but over my adult life, I’ve read hundreds of books on history and geopolitics. Almost all have been thick ones, many have been impenetrable ones, and most have been scholarly ones […]