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The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has published an update and a revision of a 2007 study entitled “Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom”. The report analyzed three primary “freedom variables” for each state, determining the overall burden that local and state policies place on individual residents. So how did California stack up? Frankly, not so good. In fact, California was only underperformed by New Jersey and New York. The authors, William Ruger a

From police actions, to court rulings, to the impending renewal of key provisions of the Patriot Act next week, the debate over the Fourth Amendment, its meaning, and its relevance could not be any more heated, nor could a frank national conversation about civil liberties be more urgent than right now. What does the Fourth Amendment say and what rights does it guarantee to all U.S. citizens? Is the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution under assault? How can we balance the interests of publi

If asked what type of renewable energy is most prevalent in California, most would choose solar or wind, but in reality, those two forms of renewable energy aren't even close. Instead, the current California champion for renewable energy is geothermal, followed by small hydro. Say what? As an example, on Wednesday May 4, 2011, geothermal energy production in California was 23,980 MWh, followed by small hydro with 13,210, then wind at 10,166. Solar power was last, with 3,094, behind biomass and

The confluence of three cultural events this week has raised my awareness of the precious value of freedom.  Two were just completed novels, and one was the repetition of an annual holiday.  The books were Barbara Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible" -- a searing account of the life of an American missionary family in the Congo as that nation won its independence from Belgium, and Eric Flint's historical novel "1824: the Arkansas War," which posits an independent Arkansas territory in what is today t

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Inventory has been analyzed by the American Farmland Trust (AFT), an agricultural conservation group working to aid farmers, ranchers and their communities. The numbers, published in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of American Farmland Magazine, reveal California's dismal performance over the past quarter-century in protecting its rural legacy from suburban sprawl resulting in a risk to domestic specialty crop production. “During the

While Wall St. and the Federal Reserve continue to claim that inflation is virtually non-existent, Main St. knows otherwise.  According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas has surpassed the $3 mark again, placing increased financial strain on consumers facing 9.8% official unemployment and 17.0% official underemployment.  Since this time last year, the nation's average gas price has risen almost 17%.  Unseasonably cold weather in the U.S. and Europe, a weak U.S. Dollar, record deficits

While national security hawks on both sides of the aisle vociferously condemn Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, they continue to remain mum on U.S. support of Saudi Arabia.  This is despite the fact that several cables revealed U.S. concern over Saudi Arabia's illict financial support of Islamic extremists, as well as Iraq's fear that Saudi Arabia is destablizing the nation by funding a resurgent Al-Qaeda and other Sunni-related causes.  Yet, there is little outcry from hawkish Democrats or toug

For a movement supposedly dedicated (at least in part) to anti-elitism, "Tea Party" was always a strange name. True, the name was meant to conjure up images of the Boston Tea Party rather than demure ladies sipping from china cups, but all the same, the name "Tea Party" was (and is) a strange name for a supposedly populist, neo-Perotista uprising. This is probably because, as Tuesday's election results showed us, the Tea Party is not well-suited to this role. In fact, for the Tea Party to remai

After shocking the political world by announcing his decision to retire after this year, U.S. Senator Evan Bayh warned that conditions could be ripe for a Ross Perot-type candidate in 2012. Referred to as a 'Centrist Democrat', 'Blue Dog Democrat', or 'Moderate Democrat', Senator Bayh (D-Indiana) claimed that his retirement was largely due to intense frustration over the partisan-fueled gridlock in DC.  Others, however, believe that he merely wanted to avoid facing a brutal re-election campaign.

Mild summer weather has slowed the growth of many California crops, but forecasters are predicting a record year for walnuts.  According to a report by the California Farm Bureau Federation, the lack of heat throughout the golden state this season has stalled pepper and prune production and offered challenges to fruit growers whose crops need more heat to raise their sugar levels. The San Joaquin Valley is seeing “lighter” grapes come off the vine as the early winegrape harvest winds down. This