Freedom Daily Archive

Iraq after the Gulf War: Sanctions, Part 1

by Rahul Mahajan November 1, 2007

Part 1 | Part 2 I am willing to make a bet to anyone here that we care more about the Iraqi people than Saddam Hussein does. — U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, CNN Town Hall Meeting, Columbus, Ohio, February 18, 1998 We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more ...

I Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 2

by James Glaser November 1, 2007

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 The Tomah VA Medical Center sits on 173 acres in west central Wisconsin. The PTSD unit there was about 300 miles from my home, and it was a long trip driving down there thinking hard all ...

Gun Control Claims More Victims

by Benedict D. LaRosa November 1, 2007

Last year, Virginia Tech University successfully lobbied the state legislature to prohibit concealed-permit holders from carrying a sidearm on campus. At the time, university spokesman Larry Hincker commented, I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty, and visitors feel safe ...

The Lies of the Drug War

by Paul Armentano November 1, 2007

Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics by Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Scherlen (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007); 268 pages; $27.95. One war appears to be going well for the United States and its allies these days: the drug war. That was the lead in dozens of U.S. newspapers in response to a June 2007 ...

Randy Barnett’s Wrong-Headed Defense of the Iraq War

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2007

In an op-ed in the July 17, 2007, issue of the Wall Street Journal, Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett stated that President Bush’s war on Iraq could be defended on libertarian principles. He argued that the president’s attack on Iraq fell under the libertarian principle of self-defense. He also suggested that the reason that the occupation of Iraq has ...

A Bogus Libertarian Defense of War

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2007

Many conservatives dubiously insist that a robustly interventionist foreign policy can coexist with a free-market domestic policy. That’s why they have no compunction about supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while claiming to support limited and unintrusive government at home. On the face of it, these seem highly incompatible. War requires the accumulation and exercise of awesome powers. ...

Will a Drug Warrior Be Hanged?

by James Bovard October 1, 2007

Thailand’s billionaire prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was deposed in a coup last year by the country’s military. Somchai Hom-la-or, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, recently declared that “Thaksin and his government committed crimes against humanity.” Thai lawyers and human-rights activists are suggesting that he be indicted and tried by the International ...

The Wrong Conversation About Iraq

by Frank Nicosia October 1, 2007

Democrats and Republicans, pundits, retired military, the media, and other critics of the Iraq war are having the wrong conversation about how to leave Iraq. They and others, including most of the Democratic candidates for president, focus on the Bush administration’s lack of “success.” We should withdraw or “redeploy” our ...

I Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 1

by James Glaser October 1, 2007

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 No veteran wants Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In fact most will fight it for years, and when things really get out of hand, they have to go through the embarrassment of asking the Veterans Administration for ...

What’s More American Than an American Flag Made in China?

by Lois Kaneshiki October 1, 2007

In case you haven’t heard, many states are passing laws that make it illegal to sell American flags that were not made in the United States. I can hear the sound of labor unions cheering the deed as I write this. However, if America wishes to remain the great nation she is, she should celebrate American flags made in ...

Blackhawks over Bourbon Street

by Glenn Jacobs October 1, 2007

Last summer it was announced that federal agents would soon join local authorities in policing New Orleans. In addition, National Guard troops will be staying in New Orleans until November, and Mayor Ray Nagin wants the Louisiana Air National Guard to conduct nightly patrols over the city. ...

Rational Irrationality and Bad Policies

by George Leef October 1, 2007

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies by Bryan Caplan (Princeton University Press, 2007); 276 pages; $29.95. For many years, the standard account of the tendency for democratic governments to adopt perverse policies (restrictions on free trade, for ...