So, if the conventional wisdom about piracy holds true, why aren't HBO’s president of programming and the show’s creators more upset about this? Probably because the conventional wisdom on the cost of piracy is almost entirely bogus, and there’s recent scientific studies to back that claim up.

A national Amber Alert was issued Wednesday for two Tampa-area boys after they were abducted by their "anti-government" parents, deputies say. A grandmother was tied up at a Tampa home Wednesday morning and the two children in her possession were taken by their parents in what investigators are calling a parental abduction/kidnapping. The parents are considered armed and dangerous. According to investigators, the couple lost custody of the two boys after an "anti-government" rally in Louisiana. The father was charged was possession of marijuana in the presence of the children.

Being president of the U.S., the most powerful man in the world, is often most about perception. The man (or, one day, woman) in the job takes actions large and small every day, but it is the perception of the man that seeps into the everyday lives of working Americans.

Sometimes, that perception cuts to the core. Like when President George W. Bush stopped playing golf in 2003, at the height of the Iraq War.

Panelists talked about their opposition to the TSA. The most interesting is Edward Hasbrouck's extensive description of the various ways they track travelers. The idea of freedom to travel is discussed.

APRIL 2013 - The dramatic recent events in Cyprus have highlighted the fundamental weakness in the European banking system and the extreme fragility of fractional reserve banking. Cypriot banks invested heavily in Greek sovereign debt, and last summer's Greek debt restructuring resulted in losses equivalent to more than 25 percent of Cyprus' GDP. These banks then took their bad investments to the government, demanding a bailout from an already beleaguered Cypriot treasury. The government of Cyprus then turned to the European Union (EU) for a bailout.

Cameras in the courtroom would benefit court and public
Public demand for cameras in the court is well established. We have conducted a series of public opinion studies on the issue over the past few years and most recently found that 93 percent of likely voters say “the workings of the Supreme Court should be more open and transparent.” This sentiment spans Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. In addition, 58 percent of voters say there is “too little” news coverage of the Supreme Court.

EDITORIAL: Freedom’s just another word
Freedom means different things to each of us, but in New Jersey, California and New York, shrinking personal and economic freedom means shrinking population. In the decade since 2001, New York has lost 9 percent of its population, California 4.5 percent, and New Jersey 5.6 percent.

Dodgeball has been banned in Windham schools, due to concerns about violence and bullying, with the School Board voting 4-1 to remove dodgeball and nine other “human target” activities from the district’s curriculum. “We spend a lot of time making sure our kids are violence free. Here we have games where we use children as targets. That seems to be counter to what we are trying to accomplish with our anti-bullying campaign.”

In a rarity among modern American jurisprudence, a state highway trooper has lost his job over a traffic ticket he didn't write — and now his fight has sparked a wider dispute over who gets preferential treatment for enforcing the law on the road. Does anyone need to guess that this happened in Florida?

Debate opens on sex life of France's disabled. Belgian law often leaves the sale of sex in a legal gray area, allowing for some sexual services for people with severe disabilities. In neighboring France, however, a tense debate on the topic is just beginning.