Explore Freedom

Is Fraud a High Crime or Misdemeanor?

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 16, 2003

In claiming that 16 controversial words in his State of the Union address last January were technically correct, the president is implying that he didn’t actually deceive — or intend to deceive — the American people. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the president wants people to focus only on the technical wording ... [click for more]

False in One, False in All

by Sheldon Richman July 14, 2003

When I was a newspaper reporter covering the criminal courts in Pennsylvania, lawyers always told juries they were entitled to apply this old legal principle to any witness: falsis in unum, falsis in omnibus — false in one thing, false in all things. This means that if jurors determined that ... [click for more]

Presidential Sophists on the Loose

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2003

The controversy over President Bushs State of the Union allegation about President Saddam Hussein of Iraq and African uranium is a lesson in how to distinguish a PR flack from an honest commentator. The latter tries to ground his statements in evidence and logic. The flack performs embarrassing mental contortions that have no bearing on the matter. For example, to ... [click for more]

Short-Sighted Bush

by Sheldon Richman May 9, 2003

Advocates of big government sometimes say that politicians are superior to business people because the latter are shortsighted: they only care about the next quarter’s balance sheet. This was always nonsense, because while business has strong incentives to look farther up the road, politicians have little incentive to look beyond the next election. It turns out that ... [click for more]

Don’t Look for Sense Where There Is None

by Sheldon Richman December 18, 2002

Presidents, their cabinet officials, and their press secretaries show how much they respect the American people by how they use the English language. To be more precise, they indicate how much they disrespect the American people by how they abuse the language. All presidents lie. We know that. But when ... [click for more]

With Friends Like These

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 2, 2002

Without any shame whatsoever, President Bush has returned John Poindexter, Elliott Abrams, and Henry Kissinger to the federal government. Poindexter is in charge of “Total Information Awareness,” a government information-gathering operation straight out of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Abrams has been appointed as top National Security Council envoy to the Middle East. And ... [click for more]

Political Plundering of Property Owners

by James Bovard November 1, 2002

For the first 175 years of the American republic, it was clearly recognized that government should not casually seize people’s property and give it to other people for their private use. The Supreme Court ruled in 1937 that “one person’s property may not be taken for the benefit of another private person ... [click for more]

Anthrax Antics from Uncle Sam

by James Bovard April 1, 2002

SINCE THE TERRORIST ATTACKS last September 11, public opinion polls show a sharp decrease in cynicism about government and politicians. Yet, if one has been paying attention since then, it is difficult not to conclude that there is still, occasionally at least, a sliver of evidence that could foment cynical tendencies. In his state of the Union address on January ... [click for more]

Real Campaign-Finance Reform

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 2, 2002

Congress has recently engaged in another flurry of activity over ampaign-finance reform. Yet, congressmen never ask a fundamental question: Why shouldn’t people be free to do whatever they want with their own money, including donating whatever amounts they want to political candidates? The usual answer that congressmen give is: “That type of system would make us crooked and corrupt ... [click for more]

Enron and the Cheney List

by Sheldon Richman March 1, 2002

The controversy over Vice President Dick Cheney’s secret energy-policy consultation list is amusing. Government should certainly err on the side of disclosing such things, but that’s not the point here. Those most vocal in demanding the list seem to be saying they can’t judge the Bush administration’s energy policy ... [click for more]

Recovering Our Bearings

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2001

CHRISTMASTIME ALWAYS PROVIDES a good time both for reflection and for looking forward. While we usually do this as individuals and families, this year is an especially good time to do so as a nation. How did America start, how has it changed over the years, and where are we heading? Our country began as the ... [click for more]

The Sham of Political Compromise

by Sheldon Richman August 2, 2001

Writing on the New York Times op-ed page recently, new Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle called for “a spirit of principled compromise.” The top Democrat presumably means compromise with the Republicans. He’s in luck. Compromise with the Senate Republicans is entirely possible — because they hold the same reactionary principles ... [click for more]