Explore Freedom

Martha Down Under: Kangaroos in the Courtroom

by Candice E. Jackson March 15, 2004

For all of the supposed high drama the Martha Stewart case produced, in the end, it was all quite anticlimactic. According to Time Magazine’s version of the trial and verdict : Stewart was caught in a simple lie, the evidence so compelling ... [click for more]

Martha Stewart Case: Where’s the Victim?

by Sheldon Richman March 10, 2004

We live in a topsy-turvy world. People may ask politicians to give them some of the loot taken from the taxpayers — and no one is even suspected of wrongdoing. Yet if someone’s stock sale piques the curiosity of government investigators armed with vague legal concepts such as insider ... [click for more]

The Wrongful Conviction of Martha Stewart

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 10, 2004

So what’s wrong with the criminal conviction of Martha Stewart? She lied to federal officials, right? And it’s against the law to lie to federal officials, right? So what’s the problem? From the standpoint of the U.S. Justice Department, there is, of course, no problem at all. The law ... [click for more]

Derivative Crimes and Federal Injustice

by William L. Anderson March 1, 2004

One of the common complaints levied against criminal justice in the United States is that criminals often are acquitted because of “legal technicalities.” For example, defendants who seem to be guilty find charges dismissed because police did not properly inform them of their “Miranda Rights,” or evidence that clearly demonstrates guilt is kept from legal proceedings because of the ... [click for more]

The Government Doesn’t Belong in Television

by Scott McPherson February 6, 2004

Any material element or resource which, in order to become of use or value to men, requires the application of human knowledge and effort, should be private property — by the right of those who apply the knowledge and effort. — Ayn Rand, “The Property ... [click for more]

I’ll Take Free Choice

by Sheldon Richman February 1, 2004

Intellectuals who disdain the common man’s freedom never run out of rationalizations for government control. In a recent New York Times op-ed touting his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, psychology professor Barry Schwartz criticized political reforms aimed at expanding choice. He argued that “for many ... [click for more]

Price Controls Can Be Deadly

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 12, 2003

Who would ever dream that the economic fallacies to which U.S. officials subscribe could turn deadly? Yet that’s what recently happened in Baghdad, where an American GI was shot dead while guarding long lines of angry and disgruntled consumers at a gasoline station in Baghdad. Why are there long lines ... [click for more]

“Bad Money Drives Out Good”

by Charles Adams December 1, 2003

This is what has been called Gresham’s Law. It was formulated by Sir Thomas Gresham to explain to Queen Elizabeth I what was happening to the English shilling. Her father, Henry VIII, had been adulterating the English shilling, the basic coin of the realm, by replacing 40 percent of the silver in the coin with base metals — a ... [click for more]

Book Review: Dependent on D.C. by Charlotte A. Twight

by George Leef December 1, 2003

Dependent on D.C.: The Rise of Federal Control over the Lives of Ordinary Americans by Charlotte Twight (St. Martins Press, 2002); 422 pages; $26.95. I have often thought about how different the United States of today is from the United States my grandfather knew. A century ago, he was a young man embarking on a business career. He and all other ... [click for more]

Will Work for Less

by Scott McPherson November 1, 2003

“Thought I’d get a piece of meat,” . “Got all kinds,” he said. “Hamburg, like to have some hamburg? Twenty cents a pound, hamburg.” “Ain’t that awful high? Seems to me hamburg was fifteen las’ time I got some.” “Well,” he giggled softly, “yes, it’s high, an’ same time it ain’t high. Time you go on in town for a ... [click for more]

Vice Laws: A Lethal Cure in Search of a Disease

by Lawrence M. Ludlow November 1, 2003

People sometimes accuse libertarians of being immoral or amoral because we do not define vices as crimes. At its most harmless, the accusation is groundless and based on ignorance. At worst, however, it is an act of deliberate deception — the first step in a chain of thinking that leads to the proliferation of genuine crimes that cause great ... [click for more]

Book Review: Government Creep

by Paul Armentano November 1, 2003

Government Creep: What the Government Is Doing That You Don’t Know About by Philip D. Harvey (Port Townsend, Wash.: Loompanics Unlimited, 2003); 159 pages; $12.95. Shopping for a new car? For your “protection,” it will come equipped with airbags. Don’t want airbags in your vehicle? Tough. Not only is it impossible to buy a new ... [click for more]