The Wall Street Journal reported on May 14 that a bill passed by the Alabama Senate would raise the amount of alcohol allowed in beer from 6% to 13.9%. The current six-percent limit means that many kinds of beer, such…
Maybe the economy has recovered faster than we all thought, because otherwise it seems odd that legislatures would still be spending time on low-pants legislation. Tennessee is the most recent jurisdiction to devote energy to this vital issue. House Bill…
Earlier this week, I learned (from the excellent blog, "Popehat") that West Virginia lawmaker Jeff Eldridge (D-Lincoln) had introduced a bill that would make it illegal to sell Barbie dolls in the state: A BILL to amend the Code of…
Recently, a South Carolina judge ruled that poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance. The issue was before him because state police — apparently with little else to do — have been raiding private poker games,…
Power tools and sledgehammers were wielded in this one.
While Sweden's parliament was on the right side of this dispute, you would think it might have more important things to do than get involved in a fight over who should be invited to an eight-year-old's birthday party. I know…
The Wall Street Journal reported in October that an ethics committee in Switzerland has interpreted that country's constitution to require respect for the dignity of plant as well as animal life. Among the committee's conclusions: it is "morally impermissible" to…
The city council of Lynwood, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, is the latest to join the crusade against sagging pants. Reports said that the new city ordinance would impose a $35 fine on anyone found to be showing more than three…
The U.S. Congress, which some of you may remember as a third branch of government, roused itself this week to override President Bush’s veto of a popular farm bill. That was the plan, at least, until somebody noticed that they…
I’m starting to think it is the purpose of a house of representatives (using lower-case there to mean, generically, that half of a bicameral legislature, not a specific house that happens to be full of representatives) to pass utterly stupid…