Explore Freedom

Freedom, Hope, and Fear: The Paradox of Vietnam, Part 3

by Rosalind Lacy MacLennan September 20, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 A frightened 10-year old schoolgirl stared shyly at me. We stood outside the War Remnants Museum in front of children’s crayon drawings of bombs dropping from U.S. aircraft on burning villages and palm trees. “Hi, yes, I’m an American,” I said, speaking softly to her in English she didn’t completely understand. Then ... [click for more]

Freedom, Hope, and Fear: The Paradox of Vietnam, Part 2

by Rosalind Lacy MacLennan September 15, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Some backpackers said they preferred understated Hanoi to the raucous attack of venders, the capitalism in Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. I enjoyed the bartering, the drivers who surrounded and harangued me. Told that many hawkers would exaggerate tales of suffering to get a better price, I felt the ... [click for more]

Freedom, Hope, and Fear: The Paradox of Vietnam, Part 1

by Rosalind Lacy MacLennan September 13, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Since the breakdown of Marxist state planning in 1985 and the introduction of free-market reforms in 1986, the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has unleashed a tiger. Free enterprise will not be stopped. Capitalism is respected now for good reason. People are not starving. But police presence hovers. This ... [click for more]

The Bush Betrayal

by James Bovard August 27, 2004

As we defend liberty and justice abroad, we must always honor those values here at home. George W. Bush, October 28, 2003 George W. Bush came to the presidency promising prosperity, peace, and humility. Instead, Bush has spawned record federal budget deficits, launched an unnecessary war, and made America the most hated nation in the world. Bush ... [click for more]

A Divisive Campaign Would Be Welcome

by Sheldon Richman August 9, 2004

That was cute when Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry started his acceptance speech by snapping a salute and saying he was “reporting for duty.” Cute, but not quite truthful. If he becomes president, we will be expected to carry out his commands. It’s only in democratic folklore that government ... [click for more]

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 4

by Wendy McElroy August 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In the North, treatment of Catholics deteriorated as one of the most infamous measures in Irish history was passed — the Special Powers Act of 1922. Catholic-rights advocate Bernadette Devlin explained, It gave the authorities power to arrest people without a warrant on suspicion “of acting or ... [click for more]

What a Republican Majority Has Not Meant

by Laurence M. Vance July 1, 2004

It has been more than a year now since the Republicans gained an absolute majority in Congress and the White House. The road to this majority began in the third year of Bill Clintons first term. The Republicans gained complete control of the 104th Congress (19951997), held on to control in the 105th Congress (19971999), and remained in power ... [click for more]

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 3

by Wendy McElroy July 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In 1912, Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith introduced a “Government of Ireland Bill” that attempted to establish an Irish parliament with a popularly elected lower house and an appointed senate. A small delegation of Irish was to remain at Westminster to represent Ireland’s interest in the ... [click for more]

Our Elective Monarchy

by Sheldon Richman June 16, 2004

One of the myths Americans live by is that they rejected monarchy when the British left involuntarily in the late 18th century. Had a Martian been visiting the United States last week, he never would have believed it. Witnessing the state funeral and worshipful wall-to-wall cable-television coverage, our Martian would have sworn that Ronald Reagan had been the king ... [click for more]

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy June 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In the 1840s, a new voice would be heard in Ireland: the Young Irelanders, who urged the Catholic peasantry to return to their Gaelic roots. Literary and political radicals, the Young Irelanders sprinkled Gaelic terms throughout their writings long before the language was revived in order ... [click for more]

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy May 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Irish history has been likened to the cry of wind through a ruined house because so much of it deals with destruction and the breaking of a whole into parts. Centuries of conflict between Catholic and Protestant, Irish rebel and British authority offer a dramatic narrative ... [click for more]

How Hitler Became a Dictator

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2004

Whenever U.S. officials wish to demonize someone, they inevitably compare him to Adolf Hitler. The message immediately resonates with people because everyone knows that Hitler was a brutal dictator. But how many people know how Hitler actually became a dictator? My bet is, very few. Id also bet that more than a few people would be surprised at how he ... [click for more]