Daily Articles

Pretexts and Provocations

by Tim Kelly October 18, 2012

Patrick Clawson, Director of Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), attracted some attention last month for his remarks during a briefing on U.S. policy toward Iran. Clawson said, I frankly think that crisis initiation is really tough, and it’s very hard for me to see how the United States president can get us to ...

The Malalas You Will Not Hear About

by Wendy McElroy October 18, 2012

Some news stories break your heart. On October 9, in Pakistan, 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot twice in the head by Taliban gunmen. She is being treated in a hospital in Birmingham, England, where she was moved for specialized care and personal safety. Doctors say they expect a “good recovery.” Malala was targeted for assassination because ...

The Prospects for Drug Freedom

by Laurence M. Vance October 16, 2012

It seems that the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is allowing too many people to exploit the rules and get more marijuana than they are supposed to. According to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, A person engaged in or assisting in the medical use of marijuana is excepted from the criminal laws of the state for possession, delivery ...

America’s Extradition Problem

by Andy Worthington October 12, 2012

Not content with having the largest domestic prison population in the world, both in numbers and as a percentage of the total population, the United States also imports prisoners from other countries, at vast expense. Last week, five men were extradited to the United States from the UK to face charges relating to their alleged involvement ...

Clinton’s Legacy: The Financial and Housing Meltdown

by Sheldon Richman October 12, 2012

Bill Clinton is certainly full of himself these days. That might have something to do with the fact that no one is likely to ask why he hasn’t owned up to his share of the blame for the housing and financial bust. The former president is treated like an elder statesman whose tenure in office was so good that even ...

An Economy of Illusions

by Tim Kelly October 11, 2012

For the past four years, talking heads, pundits, and other regime apologists have been looking for “green shoots” and other signs of an economic recovery to vindicate the U.S. government’s fiscal and monetary shenanigans. So when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its report on October 5 showing the creation of 114,000 new jobs in September and a reduction ...

Amtrak Joins the Police State

by Wendy McElroy October 11, 2012

According to Homeland Security Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has forged “a new partnership” with “the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Amtrak to battle the trafficking of humans.” DHS will train “over 8,000 frontline transportation employees and Amtrak Police Department officers” on how to recognize and report trafficking indicators and suspected traffickers. Those frontline employees include ...

The Glaring Contradiction in Anti-Iran Policy

by Sheldon Richman October 10, 2012

President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have at least one thing in common when it comes to Iran. All are guilty of flagrant self-contradiction. Each says that a nuclear-armed Iran could not be effectively contained the way the U.S. government contained the nuclear-armed Soviet Union and Communist China. Yet each also says ...

Should More People Pay Taxes?

by Laurence M. Vance October 9, 2012

Should people pay more taxes or should more people pay taxes? Liberals and Democrats usually opt for the former while conservatives and Republicans generally prefer the latter. Libertarians not only don’t take sides, they reject both propositions. While campaigning for president, on September 12, 2008, in Dover, New Hampshire, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said in a speech, And I can ...

The Institutionalized Racism of Affirmative Action

by Wendy McElroy October 8, 2012

A few days ago, the Rev. Al Sharpton dramatically warned that “50 years of progress” for blacks could be “erased with one ruling” by the United States Supreme Court. The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which the Court will hear on October 10. At issue is whether the Equal Protection Clause of ...

Reading List for Attendees at FFF/YAL College Civil Liberties Tour

by Future of Freedom Foundation October 5, 2012

  Prepared by: Jacob Hornberger — President, The Future of Freedom Foundation Books Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by Chalmers Johnson The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic by Chalmers Johnson Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson Dismantling the Empire: America’s Last Best Hope by Chalmers Johnson American ...

In the U.S. Election, No Time for Guantánamo, But Torture Rears Its Ugly Head

by Andy Worthington October 5, 2012

Last week we were reminded by the Miami Herald that Guantánamo is not on the agenda for the forthcoming presidential election. In 2008, Barack Obama was preparing to order the prison’s closure, but his executive order in January 2009 promising to close it within a year failed to lead to the prison’s closure. This time around the ...