Daily Articles

The Long Pursuit of Accountability for Bush’s Torture Program

by Andy Worthington November 29, 2012

In June 2004, in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal, a notorious memo from August 2002 was leaked. It was written by John Yoo, a lawyer in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and it claimed to redefine torture and to authorize its use on prisoners seized in the “war on terror.” I had no idea ...

The Domino Effect of Sugar Protectionism

by Michael Tennant November 29, 2012

“Like most conservatives, I don’t like subsidies or government intervention in markets.” So began a column in the Daily Caller by Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). Anyone familiar with the ways of Washington knows what’s coming next: a series of sorry excuses for why — just this once — the congressman’s alleged commitment to free-market principles must be jettisoned. Rooney ...

Deportations Guarantee Injustice

by Scott McPherson November 29, 2012

This country’s immigration laws are a travesty. Americans boast that their country is a free and open society, with a long history of immigration and a dedication to fairness and opportunity. They then support laws that arbitrarily limit the number of people allowed to live, work, and pursue their happiness within our borders. Such laws create unfair burdens on businesses, interfering ...

The Real Fiscal Cliff

by Laurence M. Vance November 28, 2012

The combination of expiring tax cuts and unemployment benefits, spending cuts, and tax increases — all scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2013 — has been termed the “fiscal cliff.” To make matters worse, the debt ceiling of $16.394 trillion — the maximum amount of money the government is legally allowed to borrow — may ...

Jumping off the Fiscal Cliff

by Tim Kelly November 28, 2012

The American people are once again being told of an impending financial catastrophe. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin S. Bernanke has said that America will plunge off a “fiscal cliff” if Congress doesn’t do something by January 1, 2013. Former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin has also warned of the dire consequences of Congress not doing something. And the firm JP Morgan ...

Nullify the Drug War!

by Sheldon Richman November 27, 2012

Thomas Jefferson said a revolution every 20 years would be a good thing. Regardless of what one thinks of that, perhaps a little constitutional crisis every now and then would have its benefits. One such crisis may be brewing now. On election day, solid majorities of voters in Colorado and Washington voted to make marijuana a legal product, not just ...

Look for the Union Liable

by Wendy McElroy November 27, 2012

Unions are now more empowered and more desperate. They feel empowered because a radically pro-union president has been elected for a second term. An Investor’s Business Daily headline (Nov. 21) proclaimed, “With Obama Win, Big Labor Feels Its Oats.” The article explained, Unions are feeling their oats after the re-election of President Obama. It’s comparable to the perception ...

TGIF: The Virtues of Competition

by Sheldon Richman November 23, 2012

When I discussed reasons to esteem the free market last week, I conspicuously left out any reference to competition. That might have seemed strange, but I did it because the subject deserves its own treatment. Differing attitudes about market competition divide people needlessly. An appreciation of what competition makes possible could prepare the ground for a convergence ...

Reflections on the 2012 Elections

by Tim Kelly November 23, 2012

Every two years the parasitic political class must subject themselves to a vote of confidence from their hapless hosts, the American people. These elections — which H.L. Mencken called “an advance auction sale of stolen goods” — allegedly grant legitimacy to the system of legalized plunder we call politics. The quadrennial presidential elections have long since become meaningless ...

Thanksgiving, Socialism, and the Free Market (2008)

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 22, 2012

This article was originally published in November 2008. As Barack Obama prepares to assume the presidency, it would be appropriate today to remember that the original Thanksgiving celebrated the demise of the “spread-the-wealth” economic system that the colonists at Plymouth Rock initially established. The story ...

Why Are Brothels Illegal?

by Laurence M. Vance November 21, 2012

In contrast to the boring and predictable presidential candidates, there are some unusually colorful candidates who somehow manage to get into office each time there is an election. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was twice elected to the California governorship. Professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota. Singer Sony Bono was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives until his life was tragically cut ...

Petraeus Fell for the Wrong Reason

by Sheldon Richman November 20, 2012

David Petraeus has fallen — but not as he should have. Before being disgraced by an extramarital affair, the retired four-star general and ex-CIA director should have been shamed out of public life for his horrendous military record in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are we talking about the same David Petraeus who is said to have heroically saved Iraq with the ...