Freedom Daily Archive

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 3

by Wendy McElroy July 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In 1912, Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith introduced a “Government of Ireland Bill” that attempted to establish an Irish parliament with a popularly elected lower house and an appointed senate. A small delegation of Irish was to remain at Westminster to represent Ireland’s interest in the ...

The Irish Soldiers of Mexico, Part 1

by Michael Hogan July 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 One of the least-known stories of the Irish who came to America in the 1840s is that of the Irish battalion that fought on the Mexican side in the U.S.-Mexico War of 1846–1848. They came to Mexico and died, some gloriously in combat, others ignominiously on the gallows. United under a green banner, they ...

The Nationalization of the American People

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2004

With military manpower shortages arising out of the war in Iraq, there is talk in the air that the federal government might reinstitute the draft, most likely sometime after the November election. Such a prospect should cause every American to reflect not only on the moral and philosophical relationship of the ...

Did Business Want Campaign-Finance “Reform”?

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2004

It didnt take long for the sponsors of the latest campaign-finance reform (translation: free-speech prohibitions) to complain that their law is being circumvented. Senators John McCain (Republicrat) and Russell Feingold (Demoblican) are infuriated that private groups are using (gasp!) unregulated money to influence an election and their law doesnt seem to be able to stop it. The McCain-Feingold law, also ...

Terrorism Debacles in the Reagan Administration

by James Bovard June 1, 2004

Many Americans are unaware of the dark side of U.S. foreign policys past. Some conservatives think that Ronald Reagans foreign policy began and ended with the thwarting of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, there were many other U.S. actions during his reign that did not reflect favorably on the U.S. governments devotion to human rights. There were few common-places that offended ...

Government Interventionism in Ireland, Part 2

by Scott McPherson June 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 In 1881, the Young Ireland Society was formed. The Gaelic Athletic Association and the Gaelic League followed soon after. The Gaelic League began selling Irish-language textbooks and by 1906 had 900 branches boasting 100,000 members in urban areas around the country. The same Arthur Griffith who would found Sinn Fein in 1905 had in ...

The Colonial Venture of Ireland, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy June 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In the 1840s, a new voice would be heard in Ireland: the Young Irelanders, who urged the Catholic peasantry to return to their Gaelic roots. Literary and political radicals, the Young Irelanders sprinkled Gaelic terms throughout their writings long before the language was revived in order ...

Book Review: A History of Force

by George Leef June 1, 2004

A History of Force by James L. Payne (Sandpoint, Idaho: Lytton Publishing, 2004); 296 pages; $23.95. Tune in to most news broadcasts and you will probably hear one or more stories dealing with the use of force: armed conflicts in the Middle East; crimes; riots; and more. It often seems that we live in a violence-saturated world. Perhaps so, but political ...

Rebuilding America: Foreign Policy

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2004

Ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet empire, it has been an article of faith among many Americans that an extensive overseas military empire and a massive domestic military-industrial complex are vitally important and greatly beneficial to our country. Being the world’s “sole remaining superpower,” it has been widely believed, enables the ...

Is Free Trade Obsolete? Part 2

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 Is it time to throw out all the textbooks that defend free trade? Some people — including one former free trader — think so. Last month we saw how Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage, operating through the price system and the phenomenon of opportunity cost, induces people and groups to specialize in the production of ...

The Neocon War on Peace and Freedom, Part 2

by James Bovard May 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 In their book An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror, David Frum and Richard Perle’s attitude towards civilian casualties shines through in their brief discussion of the UN sanctions imposed on Iraq from 1990 to 2003. During the first Gulf War, the United States intentionally destroyed Iraq’s infrastructure. A 1995 ...

Government Interventionism in Ireland, Part 1

by Scott McPherson May 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 Ireland at the turn of the 20th century was poised for change. Most of Irelands inhabitants wanted to alter in some respect the nature of their relationship with Great Britain, which had been interfering in Irish affairs for more than 700 years. In 1801 the British government had even declared Ireland to be, constitutionally, ...