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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?

Earmark reform is all the rage for the minute in D.C.

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As Congress Gets Set to Yap & Maybe Even Ban Some Earmarks, Check Out Where DC Insiders Party on Your Dime

As soon as the Supreme Court decision came down in January ruling that the corporate spending ban violated free-speech rights, a number of leading Democrats demanded action to undo this unconscionable wrong. But as Steve Chapman explains, imposing new restrictions on speech is no way to enhance democracy.

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New at Reason: Steve Chapman on the Misguided Liberal Response to Citizens United

From our April issue, Anthony Randazzo explains why the White House’s claims that the economy is on the mend don’t add up.

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New at Reason: Anthony Randazzo on the Myth of the Recovery

When men like Joe Stack and John Bedell launch their kamikaze attacks, you won’t learn much by trying to discern if the would-be killers are “right-wing” or “left-wing,” writes Managing Editor Jesse Walker. They have less in common with the organized right or left than they do with George Metesky’s one-man bombing campaign against Con Edison, Samuel Byck’s feckless attempt to assassinate Richard Nixon, or the Luddite crusade of the Unabomber.

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New at Reason: Jesse Walker on Lone Wolves

There seems to be growing optimism among some Republicans that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finagles the votes to pass Obamacare, the GOP triumphantly will sweep into power and immediately repeal it.

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New at Reason: David Harsanyi on the GOP Repealing ObamaCare

Earlier this week, Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano took his excellent Freedom Watch show on the road to Ohio State University and pulled in a good crew of special guests, including the Buckeye Institute’s Maurice Thompson and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). Can’t get the embed to work, so go here to watch the whole thing.

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Freedom Watch With Judge Napolitano, Ron Paul, Roadshow at Ohio State

In 1992, Jim Gray, a conservative judge in conservative Orange County, California, held a press conference during which he recommended that we rethink our drug laws. Back then, it took a great deal of courage to suggest that the war on drugs was a failed policy. Today, more and more Americans are coming to the realization that prohibition’s costs—whether measured in lives and liberties lost or dollars wasted—far exceed any possible or claimed benefits.

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Recently at Reason.tv: Judge Jim Gray on The Six Groups That Benefit From Drug Prohibition

From our April issue, Editor in Chief Matt Welch looks at President Barack Obama’s slippery relationship with the truth.

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New at Reason: Matt Welch on Obama’s Habit of Telling Untruths