Daily Articles

Obama Codifies Indefinite Detention

by Sheldon Richman March 27, 2012

In yet another reversal of his professed commitment to the rule of law, President Obama says he will sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which formalizes his authority to imprison terrorism suspects indefinitely without charge or trial. Where is the “progressive” outrage? George W. Bush and Obama both claimed that the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) ...

Welfare for the Masses

by Laurence M. Vance March 27, 2012

When Americans think of U.S. government welfare programs they generally think of programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Other welfare programs include Head Start; the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); Medicaid; Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); energy assistance; housing assistance; and ...

Defusing the Middle East Would Lower Gas Prices

by Sheldon Richman March 23, 2012

Republicans see rising oil and gasoline prices as an opportunity to score political points on President Obama. To be sure, Obama is partly responsible for the rise in world prices and could do something about it. The irony is that Republicans would emphatically oppose the one measure that would be most effective in easing the pressure on prices right ...

The Crash of 2008 and its Implications

by Scott B. Sumner March 22, 2012

On March 19, 2012, Scott B. Sumner gave the following speech at The Future of Freedom Foundation’s “Economic Liberty Lecture Series.” The speech can viewed below in its entirety. Scott Sumner is Professor of Economics at Bentley University. His areas of interest are macroeconomics, monetary theory and policy, and history of economic thought. He has published articles in the ...

The “Taliban Five” and the Forgotten Afghan Prisoners in Guantánamo

by Andy Worthington March 22, 2012

In the last three months, much discussion has focused on the possibility that, as part of negotiations aimed at securing peace in Afghanistan, the United States would release five high-level Taliban prisoners in Guantánamo. Almost entirely forgotten are 12 other Afghan prisoners at Guantánamo who are mostly so insignificant that they have no one to lobby for them and ...

RT Russia Today: Time US Stopped Undeclared Wars Policy (video)

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 21, 2012

Moscow's ready to back a UN resolution on Syria, as long as it contains no ultimatums aimed at Assad's regime. That's according to the Russian Foreign Minister, who's voicing strong support for the UN special envoy's road-map to peace in the conflict-torn country. The UN Security Council is set to consider voting on a draft statement on Syria later ...

A Vanishing Miranda

by Wendy McElroy March 21, 2012

One of the few rights prisoners do not give up upon incarceration is that of due process. At least, this used to be the case. On February 20th, in Howes v. Fields, the United States Supreme Court ruled that prisoners do not have the right to be Mirandized even when being questioned about events outside the prison. For the ...

Time for a Drink

by Laurence M. Vance March 20, 2012

While eating in a restaurant in the Atlanta airport recently, I noticed that the restaurant’s bar was closed and — to make it perfectly clear — all the chairs had been turned over and placed on the bar. Now, although I don’t frequent bars in airports or anywhere else, I was nevertheless intrigued. “The bar doesn’t open ...

An Unlikely Ally

by Rich Schwartzman March 19, 2012

It’s unlikely that anyone would confuse Pat Robertson with Walter Cronkite. While both are known as broadcasters, Robertson — an evangelical Christian and host of The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network — is a controversial commentator in the conservative religious right. Cronkite, during his stint as anchor for the CBS Evening News, had ...

Obama’s Iran Policy Commits Him to War

by Sheldon Richman March 16, 2012

Despite the alleged difference between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran, both embrace a position that logically commits them to war. If war is to be avoided, as Obama says he wishes, he will have to abandon his current stance. The difference between Obama and Netanyahu is more apparent than real. Both ...

America’s Collision with Economic Reality

by Tim Kelly March 15, 2012

The United States is headed toward a financial brick wall. Although the country has been on this collision course for decades, a number of recent events have sped up its pace, and the reckoning will probably come much sooner than most people expect. A few honest politicians and some sober economists and political pundits have been ...

Vouchers: For and Against

by Laurence M. Vance March 14, 2012

The recent school shooting in Ohio in which three students were killed has focused attention once again on the dangers of public schools. It is bad enough that students in public schools are being dumbed down instead of educated; are exposed to rampant sexual promiscuity; are forced to get every available vaccine; are put on ...