A Tuxedo Rental and the Tragedy of the Commons

I recently had the privilege of being a groomsmen in my friend's wedding. The day before the big event, I went to the store to pick up my tuxedo rental. $139.99.

I don't own an outfit that costs that much money. And I only got to wear that uncomfortable mess for 8 hours.

A couple of days after the wedding, we were talking with the newly happy couple about their lovely day. And the tuxedo rental cautiously came up. The bride then said, "Yeah, that was a great surprise! When we got to the store, we found out that the groom's tux is free with the paid rentals from all the groomsmen. So we just decided to get the most expensive one."

She said this. In front of me. Without batting an eye. She saw the benefit of a free suit. And didn't think through the fact that her closest friends and family would have to pay double for theirs.

I experienced the law of the commons. And it was indeed a tragedy.

Eric Olsen,
Regular Columnist, THL
Articles | Author's Page | Website

Barack Obama Tattoos

With Barack Obama's approval ratings still at a solid 62%, I became suddenly curious to know how popular the 44th U.S. President really is. Are people so enamoured with President Obama that I could do a quick Google search and turn up some photos of people with permanent tattoos of Obama inked into their very skin? Oh yeah. It's that bad. Below are ten examples of Barack Obama tattoos (some decent, some pretty awful). PS: As a control, I decided to Google "bush tattoos." I found only two examples in the first couple pages, and they were decidedly anti-Bush. I also learned to never, ever Google "bush tattoos" again. Seriously. Don't. There are some gross tattoos out there. In the interests of full disclosure, I must admit that I am not a fan of President Obama . But I've got to say that the tattoos above aren't nearly as bad as this: Editor's note: The pictures are linked to their respective sources. To view the source pages, simply click

Legal Marijuana On The Michigan Ballot for 2018

A Michigan ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana received enough valid signatures to qualify for a vote in November. When the required number of ballot signatures was certified by the State Board of Canvassers, the 4-0 decision of the board was met by cheers from supporters of the initiative who were present, the Detroit Free Press reports . Rick Thompson, a board member of the Michigan National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), put this ballot initiative in perspective as a matter of the State of Michigan safeguarding its own sovereignty and protecting its own citizens from an intrusive federal policy: "The people of Michigan deserve this. They earned it. We've faced many trials and tribulations. We've had so many stop and go signs from the federal government. That's why states have to take the reins on the issue and really be the crucibles of democracy that they've always been intended to be." Indeed the last time

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