Constitution

The Black Hole of Bagram

by Andy Worthington May 24, 2010

On Friday, the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., delivered a genuinely disturbing ruling (PDF) regarding prisoners in the U.S. prison at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, which has turned the clock back to the darkest days of the Bush administration, before prisoners seized in the war on terror had any recourse to justice if they claimed they ...

The Rule of Law, Part 2

by Ridgway K. Foley Jr. March 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 Note well that any contention that the United States of America was born out of a well-developed and unbridled libertarian philosophy does not square with historical fact. Ordinary candor and historical precision compel recognition that not all residents in the 13 colonies (or even a majority of those hardy men) would describe or agree ...

The Rule of Law, Part 1

by Ridgway K. Foley Jr. February 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 Americans laud the rule of law. They invoke its majesty during common discussion and learned discourse. They applaud their storied adherence to this grand old concept and disparage nations and cultures that seem less inclined to live by its guidance. Despite this adulation, I suspect that few of those employing the doctrine could ...

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 ...