Civil Liberties & Privacy

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 11

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents One of the important cases in the history of ...

The Draft Is Un-American

by Sheldon Richman March 10, 2003

Rep. Charles Rangel’s logic for reinstating military conscription is hard to follow. As near as I can make out, he wants to bring back the draft for two reasons: first, to slow the policymakers’ rush to war against Iraq by putting their sons at risk, and, failing that, to spread the ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 10

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents An analysis of the Gold Clause Cases, decided by ...

Government’s License to Inflict Injustice

by James Bovard March 1, 2003

Sovereign immunity is one of the most dangerous concepts to freedom. And the larger and more powerful governments become, the more sovereign immunity becomes a black hole where citizens’ rights can vanish. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes declared in 1907, “A sovereign is exempt from suit there can be no legal right as against ...

Free or Not?

by Sheldon Richman February 23, 2003

Free Bonus! FanMail!! Time magazine recently published its annual cover story on health, focusing on the relationship between mind and body. To its credit, it contains some rarely heard criticisms of the mental-health laws, which nearly everyone accepts as appropriate in the land of the free. But as John Cloud writes, “ diagnoses can ...

Speaking Out for Freedom in War and Peace

by Richard M. Ebeling February 21, 2003

If war comes between the United States and Iraq, one of the first results right here in America will be the attempt to close off all further criticisms of U.S. foreign policy. Spokesmen for the Bush administration, various members of Congress, and many of the talking heads on the ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 9

by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents The ancient Chinese symbol for “crisis” is made up ...

The Draft Is Nothing to Joke About

by Scott McPherson February 1, 2003

In an attempt “to achieve a full sharing of the sacrifice which will be required of the American people if the president chooses to invade Iraq,” Rep. Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.), has introduced legislation that would require “compulsory military or national service for men and women, ages 18 to ...

Rule of Law versus Unlimited Rule

by James Bovard February 1, 2003

President Bush is fond of reminding Americans of his devotion to the rule of law. On May 3, 2002, he told an audience that he “always” lectures foreign leaders “about the need for there to be rule of law ... and our country is a shining example of that.” Unfortunately, the current U.S. “rule ...

Lott Jeopardizes Individual Liberty

by Sheldon Richman January 8, 2003

One of the problems with a politician like Trent Lott is that he discredits perfectly legitimate policy positions by associating them with racism. To make matters worse, now that he has again gotten caught with his foot in his mouth, he will probably support bad laws in order to ...

Postconstitutional America

by Sheldon Richman January 5, 2003

It’s a truism today that in this time of “war,” we must shift the balance between liberty and security, sacrificing some freedom in order to protect our society from assault. Leave aside that this ignores Benjamin Franklin’s famous statement about freedom and security. Funny how we blithely forget ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 8

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents The tremendous legal battle between the advocates of economic ...