Daily Articles

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 ...

The Banality of Evil: How the U.S. Government Killed an Innocent Man

by Andy Worthington November 19, 2012

Now that the all-consuming and insanely expensive presidential election is over for another four years, Barack Obama’s in-tray still contains Guantánamo, where, of the 166 men still held, 86 were cleared for release by the Guantánamo Review Task Force. Consisting of officials from the relevant government departments and the intelligence agencies, the Task Force analyzed the cases ...

The War on Terrorism, the Constitution, & Civil Liberties: UC Boulder

by Future of Freedom Foundation November 19, 2012

From October 15-19, 2012 The Future of Freedom Foundation and the Young Americans for Liberty co-sponsored a College Civil Liberties Tour that brought a panel of three lawyers – a libertarian, a liberal, and a conservative – to five campuses on the West Coast. The three panelists, inluding Jacob G. Hornberger, Glenn Greenwald, Bruce Fein, and along with moderator ...

The Goal Is Freedom: Love the Market?

by Sheldon Richman November 16, 2012

Libertarians are sometimes accused of being “market fundamentalists,” and there’s a sense in which I will plead guilty to the charge (though I have multiple criticisms to offer of the Longview Institute’s “vulgar liberal” take on the subject). Libertarians certainly have great esteem for “the market” — but our esteem is rooted in reason and ...

Scottish Independence Vote Holds Important Lessons — And Possibilities

by Scott McPherson November 16, 2012

In 1998 the people of Scotland, part of the United Kingdom, gained a considerable measure of self-government. For the first time in almost three centuries their parliament met in Edinburgh, the capital, after a referendum among Scots in the previous year resulted in 74.3 percent of voters answering “Yes” to the statement, “I agree that there should be a Scottish ...

Republican Reconsideration of Immigration

by Sheldon Richman November 15, 2012

“Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.” — Groucho Marx Apparently Groucho has been elected chairman of the Republican National Committee. Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama has so shocked the Republican Party that it now is willing to question long-held positions. If defeat prompts Republicans to abandon anti-freedom convictions, that’s all to the good — ...

The Disparate Impact Is Nigh

by Wendy McElroy November 15, 2012

A racial agenda is about to be unleashed on America. According to Investor’s Business Daily (Nov. 8), the Obama administration intends to eliminate the “persistent gaps” between whites and minorities “in everything from credit scores and homeownership to test scores and graduation rates.” Almost every organization and business in America could be held legally accountable for policies that ...