They have infiltrated American consumer culture – Walmart, Target, and Costco. They are the mega-chains. Stores that carry anything and everything found in almost every community across the country. Many towns have gone to court to stop stores like Walmart from setting up shop, fearing a loss of local businesses and community charm.

Now in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood, a new phenomenon is starting to take root. The local chain. They’re small businesses linked by a common theme and – unlike their big chain rivals – are located in close proximity to each other. “We’re not cloning one thing and putting it somewhere else,” says Patrick Watson. “We’re trying to target a neighborhood that we know and love incredibly well, and fill the gaps in.”

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WASHINGTON — In the next several months, the Supreme Court will decide at least a half-dozen cases about the rights of people accused of crimes involving drugs, sex and corruption. Civil liberties groups and associations of defense lawyers have lined up on the side of the accused.

But so have conservative, libertarian and business groups. Their briefs and public statements are signs of an emerging consensus on the right that the criminal justice system is an aspect of big government that must be contained. Read the rest of this entry »