Daily Articles

The Padilla Ruling Is a Victory for Freedom

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 2, 2005

As I have been writing for the past two years, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the Jose Padilla case. The power assumed by the U.S. military and the Bush administration in the Padilla case constitutes what is arguably the most ominous and dangerous threat to the ...

The Bill of Rights: Bail, Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishments

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2005

Like the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment deals with the administration of criminal justice. The Eighth Amendment reads as follows: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This is how bail works: When federal officials arrest someone suspected of having committed a crime, they are required to take him promptly ...

Medical Marijuana Is Not a Libertarian Cause

by Sheldon Richman March 1, 2005

“Medicine by regulation is better than medicine by referendum.” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said that during arguments in the much-watched medical-marijuana case, Ashcroft v. Raich. Breyer, in other words, prefers that any change in the government’s prohibition of marijuana use be accomplished by an appeal to federal drug-enforcement authorities rather than by a public vote in the ...

Ashcroft, 9/11, and Government as Victim

by James Bovard March 1, 2005

John Ashcroft resigned as attorney general last November. Unfortunately, few Americans are aware of how profoundly Ashcroft botched his job and abused his power. He continues to be revered by many conservatives, despite his role in dragging the Bill of Rights into the mud. Nothing better illustrates both Ashcroft’s arrogance and verbal manipulations than his testimony last April 13 to ...

Ashcroft v. Raich: Whither Federalism?

by George Leef March 1, 2005

Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution provides that “Congress shall have the power to prohibit citizens from consuming or ingesting any substance that it deems hazardous to the health, safety, or morals of the people.” On the basis of that grant of authority, Congress has carefully investigated the effects of numerous substances and has chosen to ban ...

SSA’s Response to a Request for Freedom

by Jean Carbonneau March 1, 2005

As President Bush tells the world, we have a new fresh air of “freedom” in this country. I felt it and so I thought I would act on it. I wrote to the Social Security Administration to see if I could get out of Social Security. Here’s SSA’s reply to ...

Henry David Thoreau and “Civil Disobedience,” Part 1

by Wendy McElroy March 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an introspective man who wandered the woods surrounding the small village of Concord, Massachusetts, recording the daily growth of plants and the migration of birds in his ever-present journal. How, then, did he profoundly influence such political giants as Mohandas Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, and Martin ...

Some Civics Lessons for My Son

by Don Boudreaux March 1, 2005

My son, Thomas Macaulay Boudreaux, is seven years old. He’s the most precious creature in the world to me. My wife, Karol, and I will never indoctrinate him, but we do and we will teach him as best we can. Here’s a list of some of the lessons that he’ll get from me as he grows into manhood. Even in ...

Economics for the Citizen, Part 1

by Walter E. Williams March 1, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Last fall semester, I didn’t teach for the first time in 37 years. No, I haven’t retired. It was my semester-off reward ...

Are Illegal Immigrants Criminals? Not!

by Ken Schoolland March 1, 2005

I hear it from some of the nicest people one would ever meet. Some dear friends of mine, whom I respect very much, say that all illegal immigrants are criminals because they broke the laws that control who may come into this country. And since these immigrants are criminals, we don’t want that kind of person here. Such accusations confuse ...

Congressional Sadists

by Sheldon Richman February 25, 2005

Even though April 15 is more than a month and a half away, this is the time of year when people are thinking about and preparing their income-tax returns. So it’s a good time to contemplate this particular bit of oppression under which half the adult population labors. Many people act as ...

An Elective Despotism

by Sheldon Richman February 21, 2005

Before American politicians lecture others on the virtues of representative government, perhaps some self-examination would be in order. The United States unquestionably has the trappings of representative government. Americans vote for officeholders on a regular basis, and these officeholders, in theory, vote on issues with their constituents’ interests in mind. From the outside it ...