Daily Articles

The Noninterventionists Told You So

by Sheldon Richman June 18, 2014

Contrary to popular belief, there is no satisfaction in being able to say, “I told you so.” This is especially so with Iraq, where recent events are enough to sicken one’s stomach. Yet it still must be said: those who opposed the George W. Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq in March 2003 — not to mention his father’s war ...

FFF Webinar: Work! (video)

by Sheldon Richman June 17, 2014

On Wednesday, June 11, 2014, FFF vice president and editor Sheldon Richman hosted a free, interactive online webinar entitled “Work!” This was an interactive experience with Sheldon and was be limited to 24 participants.

The Libertarian Angle: The Iraq Debacle

by Future of Freedom Foundation June 16, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: the continuing debacle in Iraq. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

TGIF: We Were Warned about the Rise of Empire

by Sheldon Richman June 13, 2014

American critics of U.S. foreign policy (as well as some neoconservative supporters) often refer to the United States as an empire. This is not an emotional outburst but a substantive description of the national government’s role in the world. But what exactly is an empire? This question is all the more relevant today with Iraq is being consumed ...

The Calling: Economic and Personal Liberties Under the Ninth Amendment

by Steven Horwitz June 12, 2014

We libertarians like to distinguish ourselves from our friends on the right and left by our equal concern with economic and social/civil liberties. For libertarians, the right to engage in contract and exchange with consenting adults is just as important as the right to engage in speech and sex with consenting adults. Other civil liberties, such as the right ...

Republicans and the EPA

by Laurence M. Vance June 11, 2014

Republicans are upset with Barack Obama — again. This time it is over the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulations to limit carbon emissions from power plants. According to the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill, The EPA already regulates sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, mercury, and particle pollution from power plants, but not carbon emissions, which account for roughly one-third ...

News Coverage Misinforms Americans on the Bergdahl Swap

by Sheldon Richman June 10, 2014

In national-security matters, the news media couldn’t do a better job misinforming the public if they tried. The latest example is their portrayal of the five Taliban officials traded for Bowe Bergdahl. The media of course have an incentive to accentuate controversy. In the Bergdahl deal, this includes portraying the five Taliban prisoners as, in Sen. John McCain’s words, ...

The Libertarian Angle: Amazon, NSA, and Bergdahl

by Future of Freedom Foundation June 9, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: Amazon, the National Security Agency, and Bergdahl. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

TGIF: The Disaster That Is U.S. Foreign Policy

by Sheldon Richman June 6, 2014

We live in angry times. For evidence, turn on any news program. An awful lot of people, led by right-wing politicians and radio and TV entertainers, are angry at Barack Obama for trading five Taliban officials, who have been held for years without charge in the Guantánamo prison, for an American soldier, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who apparently walked away ...

Sgt. Bergdahl and the Fog of War

by Sheldon Richman June 4, 2014

The “fog of war” is a reference to the moral chaos on the battlefield as well as the rampant confusion. Individuals kill others for no other reason than that they are ordered to. Things deemed unambiguously bad in civilian life are authorized and even lauded in war. The killing and maiming of acknowledged innocents — in particular children and ...

The Libertarian Angle: Afghanistan and Bergdahl

by Future of Freedom Foundation June 2, 2014

FFF president Jacob Hornberger and FFF vice president Sheldon Richman discuss the hot topics of the day. This week: Afghanistan and the trade for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly. Go to the podcast.

The U.S. Embrace of Monetary Tyranny, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 2014

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In the midst of the Civil War in 1862, Abraham Lincoln secured passage of the first legal-tender law in the history of the United States. It was a law that planted the seeds of monetary debauchery that would culminate more than 70 years later during the presidential regime ...