Freedom Daily Archive

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 4

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 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 After the end of the Civil War, the “carpetbag” ...

Homeland Security and the Bureaucratic Dilemma

by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2002

On the evening of June 6, 2002, President George W. Bush delivered a brief nationwide television address in which he called for the creation of a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. The president stated that “America is leading the civilized world in a titanic struggle against terror. Freedom and fear are at war. And freedom is winning.” But in ...

Packing Heat, Part 1

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 I sometimes wonder what the people around me would think if they knew I had a pistol under my shirt. A few years ago I would have been the last person I know who was likely to carry a concealed handgun. But here I am. I carry it nearly everywhere. ...

Protectionist Welfare for Steel

by James Bovard September 1, 2002

On March 5, President Bush announced that he was slapping high tariffs on steel imports. Bush began the announcement by declaring, “Free trade is an important engine of economic growth and a cornerstone of my economic agenda.... To open even more markets to American products, I have urged the Senate to grant me the ...

Conservatives, Guns, and Drugs

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2002

Conservatives are generally good at arguing against gun control. Besides the constitutional case — that the Second Amendment protects an individual right keep and bear arms — they are also well versed in the “pragmatic” arguments. For example, they say that gun laws will not be respected by people intent on committing crimes of violence because ...

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 ...

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 ...

Anything for War? George W. Bush and the Shadow of FDR

by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2002

In 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell lies if it will help win the war.” Now in wartime it certainly may be necessary for a general or a commander in chief to try to misinform or deceive the enemy about a planned attack or about the defense positions and strength of one’s ...

Can We Call It an Empire Yet?

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002

Once upon a time people who favored an aggressive global military policy for the United States avoided the word “empire.” They instinctively sensed the anti-American ring to it, so they found euphemisms and dismissed charges of U.S. imperialism as delusions from the fevered imaginations of unpatriotic agitators. Now that has begun to change. First the new imperialists approached the issue ...

Bush’s Farm Fiasco

by James Bovard August 1, 2002

In May, President Bush signed one of the most wasteful farm bills that Congress has ever enacted. Though the estimated cost of the handouts continues rising ever closer to $200 billion over the next six years, Bush refused to squander any of his political capital protecting the American taxpayer. The hottest controversy ...

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 ...

Teaching Obedience, Not Algebra

by Crispin Sartwell August 1, 2002

There’s no such thing as public education. Education happens to exactly one person at a time. There are some things that you just have to do by yourself. Even if I’m your teacher, you can’t have my education; your education is a private task that is given to yourself. The education of someone or everyone else doesn’t add a single ...