Constitution

The Bush Secrecy Legacy

by James Bovard January 1, 2010

Many Americans assumed that the Bush administration’s peril to their freedom ended when George Bush exited the White House on January 20, 2009. Unfortunately, the precedents the administration established continue to threaten Americans’ rights and liberties. This is stark on government secrecy. Shortly after the 2000 election, Vice President-elect Richard Cheney convened a task force on energy policy. After he ...

The Supreme Court’s Attacks on Freedom, Part 2

by George Leef October 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom by Robert A. Levy and William Mellor (Sentinel, 2008); 299 pages. Bennis v. Michigan (1996) This case gave Supreme Court approval to ...

The Supreme Court’s Attacks on Freedom, Part 1

by George Leef September 1, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom by Robert A. Levy and William Mellor (Sentinel, 2008); 299 pages. Americans like lists. Most often, we get “Top Ten” lists, but this book is a ...

Do We Still Need the Bill of Rights?

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2008

There are two important points to remember about the Bill of Rights. First, the Bill of Rights does not give any rights to the American people and, second, the Bill of Rights was intended to protect us from our own federal government. Those two points often shock ordinary Americans. Throughout their schooling, ...

The Real Meaning of the Fourth of July

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 4, 2008

Contrary to popular myth, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were not great Americans. Instead, they were great Englishmen. In fact, they were as much English citizens as Americans today are American citizens. It’s easy to forget that the revolutionaries in 1776 were people who took up arms against their own government. So how is it that these ...

The Bricker Amendment: A Battle against the Imperial Presidency

by Gregory Bresiger June 1, 2008

Executive agreements shall not be made in lieu of treaties.... The President shall publish all executive agreements except that those which in his judgment require secrecy shall be submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress in lieu of publication. — Part of one of the proposed Bricker amendments The powers not delegated to the United States ...

No Taxation without Representation in Court!

by Sheldon Richman July 4, 2007

The July 4th holiday readily brings to mind the phrase “no taxation without representation.” A major reason for the Americans’ wish to be independent from the British empire was their belief that people should have a say in the tax policies imposed on them. Well, we got representation — and a ...

What Freedoms Are Americans Celebrating Today?

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 4, 2007

The Fourth of July celebrations will undoubtedly bring forth pronouncements that U.S. troops in Iraq are defending the freedoms expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most of the “freedoms” that Americans will be celebrating today are antithetical to the genuine ...

What Do We Celebrate on the Fourth of July?

by Tibor R. Machan July 4, 2007

One way to appreciate the meaning of the Fourth of July is to reflect on what nearly every one of the Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls focuses on in his or her interviews and speeches. Apart from Texas Representative Ron Paul, who is openly libertarian while running as a Republican, all the rest are embarking upon the standard Santa ...

The Constitution and Foreign Policy

by Bart Frazier July 1, 2007

Protecting the country from invasion and securing individual rights are two of the vital functions of the federal government. At the same time the government is the greatest threat to our freedom. This was the subject of FFF’s June conference, “Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties.” An underlying theme, touched on by every ...

Speaker Spotlight: Ron Paul and Andrew Napolitano

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 4, 2007

This week we spotlight Congressman Ron Paul and Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Andrew Napolitano, our two Sunday dinner speakers for our upcoming June 1-4 conference Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties in Reston, Virginia. If there is a genuine hero of our time with respect to the advancement of liberty, it is Ron Paul. The ...

An Open Letter to High-School Students: Pay Attention to Government

by Bart Frazier March 1, 2007

To every high-school student in this country between the ages of 15 and 18, this letter is to you. If there is ever something that you should take the time to learn about, it is government. Why? — you ask. If your idea of government is endless babbling by old congressional ...