Freedom Daily Archive

Do We Need a New G.I. Bill — Or Even the Original One?

by George Leef December 1, 2004

The G.I. Bill turns 60 this year. That legislation, of ficially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, guaranteed, among other things, that returning soldiers could attend college at the expense of the federal government, or to be more accurate, the expense of federal taxpayers. It was the first of Washington’s many forays into higher education. Before the G.I. Bill ...

West Africa and Colonialism, Part 3

by Wendy McElroy December 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In Europe, the tensions that would become World War II were already apparent. In fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini dreamed of reviving the glory of Rome and he looked to Africa for colonies to conquer. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia, a proud nation that symbolized the best of Africa. For more ...

Book Review: Bad Trip

by Paul Armentano December 1, 2004

Bad Trip: How the War against Drugs Is Destroying America by Joel Miller (Nashville: WorldNet Daily Books); 242 pages; $24.99. The self-proclaimed toughest cop in America, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, brandishes a badge and a gun, and drives a custom-painted U.S. Army tank. “We are proud to have the ultimate weapon in the war on drugs in our ...

The Bill of Rights: Due Process of Law

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2004

One of the most deeply rooted principles in American jurisprudence is the concept of due process of law, which is enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Due process of law actually stretches back to the year 1215, when the ...

Bush’s Brave New World

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2004

One of the biggest frauds perpetrated on the American people is the Republican Party’s image as the party of individual liberty and limited government. After almost four years of the Bush administration, there shouldn’t be much left of that image. A quick survey of Bush’s record on domestic and military spending, deficits, foreign intervention, civil ...

Bra Wars

by James Bovard November 1, 2004

President Bush continually scapegoats foreigners for his decisions to pilfer Americans. While Bush loves to praise free trade, in reality, “free trade” is whatever George Bush says it is. For Bush, like other recent presidents, “fairness” is the magic word to sanctify whatever trade restrictions he imposes. In his speeches, President Bush ...

Are HOAs Anti-Freedom?

by Scott McPherson November 1, 2004

A large number of people, including some libertarians, dislike the concept of homeowners’ associations (HOAs). HOAs are private agencies that administer new housing developments, requiring a monthly fee to maintain common areas and regulating everything from grass height to house colors to where you can park your car — and their rules are enforceable by contract law. In the ...

Corporatism and Socialism in America

by Anthony Gregory November 1, 2004

Principled advocacy of the free market requires an understanding of the differences between genuine free enterprise and “state capitalism.” Although the Left frequently exaggerates and overemphasizes the evils of corporate America, proponents of the free market often find themselves in the awkward position of defending the status quo of state capitalism, which is in fact a common adversary of ...

West Africa and Colonialism, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy November 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Nineteeth-century Europe revolutionized trade through the development of steam power that sent trains across continents and large cargo ships across the sea. Construction projects, such as the Suez Canal, were proposed to link Africa and Asia to a trade-hungry Europe. With the advent of quinine, which effectively removed the worst ...

Book Review: Drug War Crimes

by Paul Armentano November 1, 2004

Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition by Jeffrey A. Miron (Oakland: The Independent Institute, 2004); 109 pages; $15.95. For the past several decades economists, perhaps more so than any other group of professionals, have been largely united in their criticism of American drug policy. On numerous occasions, prominent economists such as Milton ...

The Bill of Rights: Searches and Seizures

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2004

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is rooted in the horrific government abuses arising from “general warrants” in English history and “writs of assistance” in British colonial history in America. With the aim of protecting the American people from similar abuses at the hands of U.S. federal officials, the Fourth Amendment was worded as follows: The right of ...

The Danger of Science

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2004

Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Ludwig Lachmann, among other members of the Austrian school of economics, often lamented that the discipline of economics alienated itself from flesh-and-blood existence to the extent it imitated the natural sciences, such as physics. With that in mind, I received the news that Cambridge University economist Partha Sarathi Dasgupta, ...