@belleWaring: Belle, you are awesome, as always. (Just a shoutout from a hardcore USW liber[al]tarian supporter of the right of contract, and the right to choose third party representation in negotiating same.)

You may object that you are an anarchist, and then I can say, “Lendu militias in eastern Congo just killed a bunch of innocent people last weekend, and raped many women to death. The private rights enforcing groups the various villages muster up keep rapaciously turning on their neighbors till the country is burned black to the bone. How’s that actually existing anarchy working out for you? You are refuted by irony, qua Alanis Morissette!” This, frankly, has some merit, but it is still below the belt.

I support strong unions despite being a libertarian in many ways because I think it is the only way that labor can be a counterweight to capital, to conduct free negotiations with it. Nothing could be less fair or free than to deny men and women the right to form a common association to negotiate on all their behalves, since each alone has no power. Unions ended child labor, gave us the weekend, the concept of reasonable work hours and overtime, safety regulations, and many more things. Libertarians are always in favor of these after they pass but regard them as a shocking infringement of freedom beforehand. One rarely sees people advocating a return to allowing child labor in factories (I don’t think Newt Gingrich counts); to allowing locking workers into workshops with no fire escapes. Sure, unions featherbed, they let assholes go on working, they do dumbass things. The often abet police abuses and they should get smacked down for that. Excesses should be curbed by lawmakers, but the principle is sound as ever. “Right to work” was always popular in the Southern states most dominated by white suprematist groups and most fearful of race riots (which they thought agitation for labor rights would allow.) This remains true till now. South Carolina could use some damn unions, trust me.

The only thing that could’ve made that day worst for him was if he had to fly Delta afterward: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2012/08/24/delta-airlines-tsa-tolerance-policy-joke-t-shirts/

Now were he to pull out his sidearm and start firing away, he might first shoo the cameras out of view.

Maybe.

A bit OT but whatever happened with Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman? I saw that he was charged with 2nd degree murder and was fired. A judge dismissed the lawsuit against the city. That’s all I can find.