Complexity is the enemy of affordability, and cars have an affordability problem. An automobile has always been a big investment, but now, more than ever, the problems come once the car leaves the dealer’s lot. While an out-of-warranty repair or a minor collision was once somewhat affordable to fix, even the simplest-seeming parts of a car can cost thousands of dollars. A new bumper, for example, is no longer something simple and relatively inexpensive to replace. Cars Have Become Rolling Computers Credit: Mercedes-Benz Cars becoming rolling computers isn’t a new complaint, but we’re not talking about a fairly basic ECU chip…

The Department of Justice has launched its first litigation aimed at “sensitive places”, suing Montgomery County, Maryland for its ban on lawful concealed carry in parks, places of worship, libraries, recreational facilities, and multipurpose exhibition facilities, along with the 100-yard “buffer zone” surrounding those locations where lawful carry is also forbidden.  The lawsuit follows on the heels of a similar complaint brought by a Montgomery County rabbi last week in a case supported by the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Like the DOJ’s other Second Amendment litigation, today’s lawsuit is a “pattern and practice” case brought…

Ask most Americans what the Coast Guard does, and the answer stops at helicopter rescues. That’s real, and it’s the most visible part of the job, but it’s a fraction of what the smallest of the six armed services is actually responsible for on any given day. By law, the Coast Guard operates under 11 statutory missions, ranging from stopping drug cartels to keeping the Great Lakes shipping lanes open through the winter. Here’s what that actually looks like. Drug Interdiction: The Numbers Are Genuinely Staggering The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction, and the…

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was created to protect the firearm industry from ruinous lawsuits meant not to recoup actual damages caused by companies’ misdeeds, but to punish them for selling guns to the public. The acts of third parties, most of whom never bought a gun lawfully in their life, were laid at the feet of the industry, and Congress responded to put an end to this. The lawsuits weren’t anything but lawfare. They were an attempt to destroy the industry through legal expenses, making it too risky to do business…

The United States Coast Guard turns 236 years old this Aug. 4 — older than the Navy’s current organizational form, older than the Marine Corps as a permanent standing force and older than the country’s income tax by more than a century. It’s also, by a wide margin, the least understood branch of the U.S. military, in ways that go beyond people simply not knowing what it does day to day. From 10 Ships to a Fifth Armed Service The Coast Guard’s roots trace to Aug. 4, 1790, when Alexander Hamilton, then secretary of the treasury, persuaded Congress to authorize…

Side-by-sides used to be fairly straightforward machines. You got an engine, four tires, a bed, and enough rattling plastic to make your dang head implode. Things are a little different now, though. The 2026 Polaris Ranger XD 1500 NorthStar Mountaineer Edition costs nearly $46,000 for the three-seat model and $50,000 for the six-seat Crew. It weighs close to 3,000 pounds and comes with heated seats, power windows, air conditioning, and a touchscreen. By nearly any reasonable standard, it is a luxury side-by-side, which is apparently a thing now. After using it to haul feed, move tools and building materials, help…