When the Obama administration and congressional Democrats decided that they could start mandating that every American citizen make purchases as dictated by the federal government, the lurch away from rule under the Constitution to living by federal diktat was clear to virtually everyone. That the mandates imposed by ObamaCare are unconstitutional has now been made clear by the courts. And now at least one legislator in South Dakota is demonstrating the absurdity of the entire endeavor through a little legislation of his own.

In a development that ought to surprise no one, the Obama administration is planning to release its plan for new gun-control legislation within the next two weeks. The fact that Obama made no mention of such legislation during this week’s State of the Union address is hardly an indication that such a move is not on the administration’s agenda; it simply means that while the Democrat leadership is loath to let a crisis “go to waste,” that does not mean that they intend to broadcast their intentions, either.

Columbus Day — once a time to celebrate one of the heroes of modern Western Civilization — is dying a slow death. Besieged by leftwing loons and of little apparently utility to the shopping malls, the day to remember Christopher Columbus may simply fade away. According to a Columbus Day article in the Wall Street Journal:

In the midst of public outcry over the decision by Scottish authorities to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, convicted in 1991 for his involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103   over Lockerbie, Scotland, the anniversary of an older case of state-sponsored terrorism, the shooting down by KAL 007 by Soviet jet fighters in 1983, is almost forgotten by the media and public.

Give Herodotus his due: the fifth-century B.C. Greek historian had a far better understanding of the history of his age than many modern historians have been prepared to credit to him.

Following in the wake of the news of the discovery of Nero’s extravagant banquet hall, another archaeological find is revealing even more about the life in first century Rome. According to a story from LiveScience.com, scientists are closer to a definitive explanation for the reported increase in Rome’s population during the crucial period surrounding the fall of the Republic and the first generations under the reign of the Caesars:

In a style worthy of the name of the man who “fiddled while Rome burned,” archaeologists believe they have now found the legendary banquet hall of emperor Nero.

With the United States’ official poverty rate now at a seventeen year high of 15.1 percent — and an actual poverty level that may be substantially higher — the absurdity of President Obama’s advocacy of so-called ‘green jobs’ is increasingly clear.

After years of media hype and presidential accolades, Chevrolet has rolled out its new electric car, the Volt, to one of the coolest receptions since Ford began production of the Edsel; in fact, the only way that sales figures for Chevy’s new electric car can appear positive is by comparing them to the even more abysmal sales experienced by the Nissan Leaf.

In a clear case of having more dollars than sense, America Online (AOL) is undertaking its least palatable acquisition to date: Arianna Huffington’s amalgam of left-wing screeds, The Huffington Post. Ironically, what some might view as a website with a less than favorable view of capitalism went for a king’s ransom of $315 million.