Civil Liberties & Privacy

Book Review: Liberating the Land

by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2002

Liberating the Land: The Case for Private Land-Use Planning by Mark Pennington (London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 2002); 114 pages; $15. Over the last 20 years there have been a variety of strong reactions against the idea of government planning. But one of the areas in which most people still take for granted the necessity of government planning and regulation is ...

Liberty Again at Risk

by Sheldon Richman August 13, 2002

At the root of the concept “America” is the idea that you can go about your daily business without being monitored by the government. Indeed, every piece of literature about the horrors of totalitarianism includes secret police whose job it is to keep tabs on the people because everyone is under suspicion. This more than ...

Feeling a Draft?

by Sheldon Richman August 12, 2002

Most people may have long forgotten it, but American males who turn 18 are still compelled to register with the Selective Service System. Failure to do so carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. What’s more, states have enacted laws barring nonregistrants from getting ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002

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 Throughout the ages, governments have regulated the economic affairs ...

The Mental Health Parity Scam

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002

President Bush, in yet another slap at the free-enterprise system, wants to force health-insurance companies to cover mental illnesses in the way they cover bodily illnesses. This is known as “mental-health parity.” According to the Washington Post, the psychiatrists in the audience applauded when Bush made his announcement. No kidding. They stand to reap big ...

The Newest Medical Threat

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002

How would you like it if every time you went to your doctor, for whatever reason, he asked: Over the past two weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless? Have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things? Get ready for a further medicalization of the common tribulations of life. The U.S. Preventative Services ...

The De Facto National ID

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002

Back in 1996 some members of Congress got the bright idea that they could impose a national ID card on the American people through the backdoor by linking driver’s licenses to Social Security numbers. Fortunately, widespread concern about violations of privacy caused the law to be repealed in 1999 before it took effect. But Washington operates ...

Speaking with Forked Tongue

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002

The old Indian saying, “White man speaks with forked tongue” would have been more accurately expressed as, “U.S. government official speaks with forked tongue.” In April, Hong Kong immigration officials denied Chinese-born, naturalized American citizen Harry Wu entry into Hong Kong. Wu’s expulsion was unusual given that Hong Kong has ...

Conscription: Not Now; Not Ever, Part 2

by Doug Bandow August 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 Dubious international commitments have exacerbated the military’s recruitment and retention problems. Focus-group interviews have found young men to be reluctant to support America’s increasing role as international policeman. Reported two researchers at the Defense Manpower Data Center, “Youth today generally view the military as less attractive than before the end of the Cold War. A ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 1, 2002

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 PRIMARY SIGNIFICANCE of the Declaration of Independence lay ...

Is the Prison-Industrial Complex on the Ropes?

by James Bovard July 1, 2002

PRISONS HAVE BEEN THE most reliable growth industry in America over the last two decades. The surge in lockups in this country in recent times is spawning a prison-industrial complex, hungry to rig the political system to ensure the continued delivery of legions of bodies along with their related financial profits. But the boom could finally be coming to ...

Conscription: Not Now; Not Ever, Part 1

by Doug Bandow July 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 ON SEPTEMBER 11, it had been almost 60 years since the U.S. homeland had come under attack. As they did after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans turned to the military for their defense. But now, in contrast to the past, they are finding security in a volunteer military. When ...