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Several Oregon government and law enforcement agencies are patting themselves on the back for preventing a possible mass shooting incident by sending a SWAT team to arrest a recently laid-off employee of the state’s Department of Transportation. A news release from the Medford, Oregon, police department (yes, they put out a news release announcing their good work) says the man purchased three guns after his dismissal, and that former colleagues described him as “very disgruntled.” He was taken to a mental hospital for evaluation. The problem is that the man doesn’t appear to have committed any actual crimes.

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Oregon Officials Consult Precogs, Arrest Man for Bloody Shooting Spree That Killed Four Next Week

Serial eminent domain abuser and corporate welfare queen Bruce Ratner took out a full-page ad in today’s New York Times trumpeting his despicable Atlantic Yards stadium project in Brooklyn as a glorious opportunity for “building the community from the ground-up.” It’s an ugly yet revealing way to put it—though I suppose Ratner is feeling cocky about things since he’s planning a ceremonial groundbreaking today at 1:30 PM. (I’ll be there and will report back later with scenes from the event and the protest .) Here’s something you should never forget: The 22-acre footprint for Ratner’s proposed “urban utopia” isn’t a blank slate. Before Ratner partnered with the state government in order to seize private property via eminent domain, the area was home to private residences and successful businesses

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Bruce Ratner: “Building the community from the ground-up” by Bulldozing Homes and Businesses

Some positive developments this week in two ongoing Mississippi stories I’ve been covering. First, the Mississippi Court of Appeals has rejected the state’s motion for a rehearing in the Cory Maye case. Maye was convicted of capital murder for killing a police officer who broke into his home during a 2001 drug raid.

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Good News From Mississippi

Freedom Works’ Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, who have been heavily involved in the Tea Party movement, issued a funny little rejoinder today to David Brooks’ contention last week that Tea Partyistas are a mirror version of New Left radicals of the ’60s. Here’s most of it: [T]his decentralized grass-roots network has little in common with the New Left. It is rooted in the American traditions of individual freedom and constitutional limits on government power, and looks “anti-establishment” only because the political establishment ignores these principles.

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Mr. Brooks, Meet Mr. Smith

Angry small business owners are, again , taking the shizzle out of Yelp.com, the customer review site alleged to be “highly popular.” A Long Beach, California veterinarian has sued the company over Yelp’s high-pressure sales pitches, which included manipulation of negative review rankings. Wired has the story and the court filing [ pdf ]. We begin with the wrath of Gregory Perrault, owner of Dogs and Cats Hospital, over a negative review of his business..

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Yelp Extortion Case: Does a Company “Mantra” Have Legal Weight?

These three sentences appeared consecutively in today’s New York Times : But the real question, still unanswered, is whether you can cut school taxes without damaging schools. The average teacher salary in Hastings is $96,597

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“Unanswered” Questions That Answer Themselves in the Very Next Line

Palestinians pull out of peace talks . Ethics troubles mount for Sen.

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Reason Morning Links: Palestinians Balk, Virginia Says No to Obamacare, Helu Tops Gates and Buffet

Writing at The Daily Beast , Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Edmund Morris responds to the news that President Barack Obama is currently reading one of his books about Theodore Roosevelt. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Roosevelt was a man of action and a gifted political operator.

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Mr. President, You’re No Theodore Roosevelt

On March 9, 2010, Reason’s Tim Cavanaugh discussed Greece’s financial problems on Fox Business’ Cavuto . Approximately 5 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable iPod and audio versions.

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Reason Writers on the Tube: Tim Cavanaugh Talks Greece’s Financial Crisis on Fox Business’ Cavuto