Individual Rights Must Be Preserved Without Interference from the Government by Richard M. Ebeling February 1, 2016 What is the role of government in society? This has been and remains the most fundamental question in all political discussions and debates. Its answer determines the nature of the social order and how people are expected and allowed to interact with one another – on the basis of either force or freedom. The alternatives are really rather simple. Government ...
Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Blacklist by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2016 I wish every American would see the movie Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, which was released last November. The movie is based on a true story. It depicts how the U.S. anti-communist crusade during the Cold War damaged or ruined the lives of many innocent people, including Hollywood screen-writer Dalton Trumbo and nine others, who became known as the Hollywood ...
The Census Bureau’s Latest Peril to Freedom by James Bovard February 1, 2016 The Census Bureau is sending its hefty American Community Survey to more than three million households a year. I recently received this 28-page tsunami of questions about everything from my plumbing to my profession to my ethnicity and income. But as a former Census taker who has written about Census controversies for more than 25 years, I distrust this ...
The Fatal Flaw by Laurence M. Vance February 1, 2016 The presidential primary season is in full swing. Current and former Democratic and Republican candidates alike have put forward various tax-reform proposals. Some of their proposals were officially unveiled at a press conference; others were unofficially presented in campaign speeches or during one of the debates. Some rehash old proposals, others recommend something entirely new. But whether Democratic, Republican, ...
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms as a Check on Tyrants by Scott McPherson February 1, 2016 Whatever makes kings can unmake them. — Isabel Paterson, The God of the Machine Service in the militia, for purposes of national defense, suppression of rebellion, and answering the “hue and cry,” was widely understood as an ancient right and duty of the free citizen. By securing to individual citizens “their private arms,” the Framers of the Constitution were also ...
Securing the Blessings of Liberty by David S. D'Amato February 1, 2016 The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty by Timothy Sandefur (Cato Institute, 2014), 200 pages. In his book The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty, Timothy Sandefur, an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation and a Cato Institute adjunct scholar, argues that “the primacy ...
Circus Politics: Will Our Freedoms Survive Another Presidential Election? by John W. Whitehead January 28, 2016 “Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Adding yet another layer of farce to an already comical spectacle, ...
The Libertarian Angle: The Case for Open Borders by Future of Freedom Foundation January 26, 2016 Each week, FFF president Jacob Hornberger and Richard M. Ebeling discuss the hot topics of the day. This week, Jacob and Richard, and special guest Bryan Caplan discuss the merits and morality of an open immigration policy. Go to the podcast.
What If Obama Believed in Individual Liberty and Free Markets? by Richard M. Ebeling January 25, 2016 President Barack Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016, and devoted most of the time to defending his “legacy” of bigger and more intrusive government, with an emphasis on the other aspects of personal and social life he wished could come under the blanket of more political paternalism, if only there was ...
The Right to Tell the Government to Go to Hell by John W. Whitehead January 22, 2016 “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”― George Orwell Free speech is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for those who are easily offended, readily intimidated or who need everything wrapped in a neat and tidy bow. Free speech is often messy, foul-mouthed, obscene, intolerant, ...
Common Misconceptions about Rights by Benedict D. LaRosa January 21, 2016 The debate about gun rights sparked by President Obama’s recent executive actions and his town hall meeting of January 7, 2016, has brought to light several popular misconceptions, of which the following are some of the more egregious. Misconception #1: Only United States citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, and then only within the borders of the ...
Republican Medicaid Wars Miss the Real Issue by Laurence M. Vance January 20, 2016 Republicans are at it again. Just as they battle with Democrats over things that are relatively unimportant, so they fight with each other. But, as usual, they miss the real issue. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the PPACA, the ACA, or Obamacare, was signed into law by Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, after the ...