Freedom Daily Archive

Bad Medicine

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2003

Those who have been hungering for a real political debate in this country can’t help but be deliriously overcome with the news that CBS’s 60 Minutes will feature 10 face-offs between former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole. The history of political thought will ...

Should the U.S. Military in Iraq Adopt Israeli Methods?

by James Bovard November 1, 2003

The Associated Press reported on September 18 that an Israeli military official declared that the U.S. military “is showing interest in Israeli software instructing soldiers on how to behave in the West Bank and Gaza.” The United States is looking at the Israeli policies as examples of how American soldiers can better handle a hostile population in Iraq. That may ...

Will Work for Less

by Scott McPherson November 1, 2003

“Thought I’d get a piece of meat,” . “Got all kinds,” he said. “Hamburg, like to have some hamburg? Twenty cents a pound, hamburg.” “Ain’t that awful high? Seems to me hamburg was fifteen las’ time I got some.” “Well,” he giggled softly, “yes, it’s high, an’ same time it ain’t high. Time you go on in town for a ...

Background of the Middle East Conflict, Part 2

by Wendy McElroy November 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 The Arabs would not have fought so bravely had they known of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which had been signed by the Entente in May of 1916. In essence, the Agreement divided the Middle East between Britain and France. When the Arabsdid learn of the agreement, they were incensed and sent ...

Vice Laws: A Lethal Cure in Search of a Disease

by Lawrence M. Ludlow November 1, 2003

People sometimes accuse libertarians of being immoral or amoral because we do not define vices as crimes. At its most harmless, the accusation is groundless and based on ignorance. At worst, however, it is an act of deliberate deception — the first step in a chain of thinking that leads to the proliferation of genuine crimes that cause great ...

Book Review: Government Creep

by Paul Armentano November 1, 2003

Government Creep: What the Government Is Doing That You Don’t Know About by Philip D. Harvey (Port Townsend, Wash.: Loompanics Unlimited, 2003); 159 pages; $12.95. Shopping for a new car? For your “protection,” it will come equipped with airbags. Don’t want airbags in your vehicle? Tough. Not only is it impossible to buy a new ...

The Doomsday Weapon

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2003

Gun-rights advocates sometimes defend the Second Amendment in terms of the right to defend themselves from criminals and the right to hunt. Those things are, of course, important but they miss the real purpose of the right to keep and bear arms, which is to protect against tyranny imposed by federal officials. As Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski pointedly ...

The Fraud of Insider-Trading Law, Part 2

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 It is virtually unquestioned in America today that insider trading in the securities markets is a dastardly act. We must make a distinction here between trading by insiders and trading by insiders on the basis of nonpublic information. Insiders are legally allowed to buy and sell stocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires ...

Wilson’s Crusade and Bush’s Crusade

by James Bovard October 1, 2003

George Bush’s promise to “rid the world of evil” — which he made in the opening weeks of his war on terrorism — is reminiscent of the 1917 promises of President Woodrow Wilson to “make the world safe for democracy.” Wilson, like Bush, was leading the nation into war and sought to push the hot buttons in Americans’ idealism. ...

The Deerslayer, the Bootmaker, and the Violin Player, Part 2

by Scott McPherson October 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 The months went by, and winter’s long nights held a hint of spring and summer to come. The snow had stopped falling, and turned to water in the occasional sunlight that poked through the breaking clouds. The Deerslayer and the Bootmaker could often be found sitting on the porch watching the drops fall from ...

Background of the Middle East Conflict, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy October 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 The modern-day Middle East centers on Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt — clustered close to the Mediterranean Sea. Lying near the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the Middle East has traditionally acted as a commercial, cultural, and military route between the worlds of East and West. The British ...

The Drugs-and-Terror Ad Campaign

by Paul Armentano October 1, 2003

“Where do terrorists get their money? If you buy drugs, some of it might come from you.” Or so claimed a year-long series of U.S. taxpayer-funded public service announcements (PSAs) alleging that recreational drug use sponsors international terrorism. Nevertheless, despite the Bush administration’s having spent tens of millions of dollars on the much-ballyhooed ad campaign, it’s painfully apparent that ...