Why is this nomination the subject of such rancor?

I have argued countless times that the federal government has grossly exceeded the limitations the Constitution imposes on it. Wherever you are as you read these words, look around you and try to find something in your line of sight that is not regulated by the federal government. It will be nearly impossible. Today the feds regulate not only our personal private behavior but also the states that created the federal government. More than half of each state’s budgetary expenditures are mandated by the feds.

[Also available to listen to as an Audio Mises Daily]

A superficial observer of present-day ideologies could easily fail to recognize the prevailing bigotry of the molders of public opinion and the machinations which render inaudible the voice of dissenters. There seems to be disagreement with regard to issues considered as important.

As Gallup reports that more Americans expressed support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during the week he denied being guilty of sexual assault, it’s clear that whether accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is speaking the truth, the public might not be ready to accept the allegations without evidence.

The vast regime of torture created by the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks continues to haunt America. The political class and most of the media have never dealt honestly with the profound constitutional corruption that such practices inflicted. Instead, torture enablers are permitted to pirouette as heroic figures on the flimsiest evidence.

One of the great things about working at the Mises Institute is the opportunity to work and correspond with people from around the world. Whether we’re looking at Mises University students, Fellows, Senior Fellows, or Mises Wire writers, we can find writers and scholars from Poland, Britain, France, Brazil, Hong Kong, Spain, Mexico, and many other places as well.

Adapted from an interview with Real Vision.

We have been hearing from international bodies, from central banks that we were living in a synchronized growth territory. That we were seeing developed markets grow faster than what was typical while emerging markets were also growing in tandem. And that the economies were much healthier, that everything was much better, and that 2018 was a year in which we would see the confirmation of that synchronized growth trend and the reflation trade.

Writing decades ago, Friedrich Hayek observed: “In all democratic countries … a strong belief prevails that the influence of the intellectuals on politics is negligible.”

Hayek conceded this was true to “the extent to which they can sway the popular vote on questions on which they differ from the current views of the masses,” but he warned that “over somewhat longer periods they have probably never exercised so great an influence as they do today. … This power they wield by shaping public opinion.”