Distorted press coverage of a Supreme Court decision gave a big boost to the Obama campaign, which made the decision a major campaign issue by bashing and distorting it. The New York Times has since refused to correct its erroneous coverage of that decision, refusing to even read relevant portions of the very decision on which it reported, and court documents in the case, which plainly contradict its coverage. The Obama Administration and Obama campaign also made easily verifiable false claims about the decision,…

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The “Beige Book” is out, and the news is dismal. This afternoon the Federal Reserve released its summary of economic conditions in the 12 Federal Reserve Districts (see map above). Based on anecdotal information, reports, and interviews with key sources, the report is issued eight times per year.

The key adjectives used to describe recent economic conditions in those districts were “bleak,” “stagnant,” “dismal,” “sluggish,” “slow,” “dropping,” “falling” and other descriptors for a sharp decline in economic activity across almost all areas…

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As I blogged about earlier many states in the US,  facing budget shortcomings of their own making are looking at beer and wine tax increases as a way to make some cash. One of my assertions, beside the fundamental stupidity of penalizing production and wealth creation, is that such tax increases will hurt employees and pubs hardest. To back that up we can take the UK as an example—they are experiencing the roosting chickens of Chancellor Darling’s 2008 beer tax in the…

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The Supreme Court handed down its decision this morning in the Wyeth v. Levine federal preemption case, holding, by a 6-3 majority, that “Federal law does not pre-empt [plaintiff Diana] Levine’s claim that [the Wyeth drug] Phenergan’s label did not contain an adequate warning about the IV-push method of administration.” Justice Stevens wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyr, and with Justice Thomas concurring in the judgment. Justice Alito wrote a compelling dissenting opinion, joined by…

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