It’s likely to come as a surprise to many small government advocates that today the US government (local, state, and fed) is the smallest it has been in 45 years.

The Hamilton Project recently released the graph below that shows the ratio of government employees versus population.

The Hamilton Project is an economic policy initiative of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Roger Pion booking photo

Shortly after noon on Thursday, August 2, Vermont farmer Roger Pion, 34, rode his parents’ 20,000 pound tractor into Newport, Vermont, on his way to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department’s new building, where he rolled back and forth over seven of the sheriff department’s cruisers (two unmarked) and a van, before moseying on down the road with no one in pursuit.

Jill-Stein-Arrested

Green Party Candidate Jill Stein went orange last week, after being arrested in Philadelphia. The presidential candidate and her running mate Cheri Honkala joined in on a citizen organized, sit in protest of Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant tied to the housing bubble and subprime mortgages.

Photo: komonews.com

North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un took his first steps onto the international stage Friday when he met with a number of Chinese ambassadors in Pyongyang. This was Kim's first meeting with foreign dignitaries since he came into power after his father, the late Kim Jong Il, died in December.

With the news of the shootings at the Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and with the movie theater shooting near Denver, Colorado, I wonder what we are becoming when people can't enjoy a night out at the movies or a day of prayer in our religious homes. There is absolutely no reason for actions such as this.  And though gun control will likely get into the debate, that is not what this is at this time.  Instead, we as a nation and a community are left to grapple with what has transpired.

With the news of the shootings at the Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and with the movie theater shooting near Denver, Colorado, I wonder what we are becoming when people can't enjoy a night out at the movies or a day of prayer in our religious homes. There is absolutely no reason for actions such as this.  And though gun control will likely get into the debate, that is not what this is at this time.  Instead, we as a nation and a community are left to grapple with what has transpired.

To the regular Paulites, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that Ron Paul calls the latest Iran sanctions an act of war.  Paul is not quiet about his belief in non-interventionism.  But it may be surprising to some that he considers economic sanctions "weapons of trade," arguing that sanctions set the stage for war: