Eric Imhoff's Blog

Students for Liberty is putting on an essay contest. Here is a quick overview of the contest to find out about it in more detail please click here.

Here is the challenge:

 “Relate the central theme in one of Bastiat’s essays to a current public policy issue”

The requirements for the essay are:

• Length: 500 – 750 words
• Double spaced
• Times New Roman font, size 12
• 1-inch margins
• Registration deadline: December 1, 2010
• Submission deadline: January 3, 2011

Also you must be a student enrolled in High School, College or Graduate Studies to enter.

Prizes:

• 1 Grand Prize: $1,000 and a scholarship to the 2011 International Students For Liberty Conference
• 1 Second Place: $200 and a scholarship to the 2011 International Students For Liberty Conference
• 8 Runners Up: $100 each

 If you have any questions please email me at Imhoff(at)mackinac(dot)org.

Here is a post by John Stossel.

Your Right to an Overseas Vacation
Supporters of Obamacare often appealed to natural rights when pushing their bill. Harry Reid proclaimed: “This bill recognizes that health care is a human right.”
Now, the European Union has gone a step further and declared overseas vacations a human right. The UK Times Online reports:
Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right and pensioners, youths and those too poor to afford it should have their travel subsidised by the taxpayer…
“Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life,” [European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry Antonio Tajani], said…
Tajani’s programme will be piloted until 2013 and then put into full operation… it is expected the EU will subsidise about 30% of the cost.
Who could possibly be against free vacations?
Tajani’s spokesman said: “Why should someone from the Mediterranean not be able to travel to Edinburgh in summer for a breath of cool, fresh air; why should someone from Edinburgh not be able to travel to Greece in winter?”
It’s amazing how watered- down the idea of  “rights” has become since Jefferson wrote about “certain unalienable Rights… among these Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But at least the US government isn’t giving away vacations yet.


Read more: http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2010/04/19/your-right-to-an-overseas-vacation/#ixzz0lh1xwoZM

Here is what would be legalized:

“Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet, which is puny by Humboldt County standards. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.”

Many people will be shocked by the idea of legalizing something that has been illegal for 73 years.

Do people really think it is wrong? Do people think it should be illegal? I am going to say the majority of people are moving to answer no for both of questions.

In the article on MSNBC the people that are the most upset about the legalizing marijuana are the growers. They are upset because the price of the product will fall and their monopoly will be over. They will have less influence on their customers than they had because the customer or buyers will have more choices.

They were actually so worried that in Humboldt County, CA the growers had a meeting with county officials to discuss their next move. They are worried about the entire northern California’s economy; supposedly the illegal weed trade heavily supports the area.

Here are some of the ideas that the county and growers have put together.  One Start branding their pot as “Humboldt” and make it the best quality on the market. Another idea they came up with idea to make the area like Napa Valley but for Marijuana.  That is innovation at its best. But they are still fighting for keeping it illegal here is the text from a sticker going up around the county.

 "Save Humboldt County — keep pot illegal."

Here is a Milton Friedman video on Drug Legalization.

I am in no way showing my support for either party, but the free market ideas are winning. I am saying this because Ron Paul, who is a Republican/Libertarian, won the straw poll at CPAC this year by 9% over Mitt Romney.  

In a recent study conducted by Highway Loss Data Institute. It shows that bans on cell phones have not decreased accidents or the kind of accidents. It just shows that taking away general freedoms is not a way to make us safer. Which makes me wonder, if the law that bans texting while driving will be effective.