Daily Articles

El Mal del Estado de la Seguridad Nacional, Parte 11

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 9, 2012

The following is a Spanish translation of “The Evil of the National Security State” by Jacob G. Hornberger. The translation was done for FFF on a complimentary basis by a FFF supporter in Spain. Please share it with your Spanish-speaking friends.   Parte 1 | Parte 2 | Parte 3 | Parte 4 |

El Mal del Estado de la Seguridad Nacional, Parte 12

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 9, 2012

The following is a Spanish translation of “The Evil of the National Security State” by Jacob G. Hornberger. The translation was done for FFF on a complimentary basis by a FFF supporter in Spain. Please share it with your Spanish-speaking friends.   Parte 1 | Parte 2 | Parte 3 | Parte 4 |

Manufacturing Racism?

by Wendy McElroy April 5, 2012

On February 26, a 17-year-old black youth named Trayvon Martin was walking at night in an area where he had every right to be. A self-appointed captain of the neighborhood watch named George Zimmerman found the unarmed Trayvon “suspicious” even though the youth was not engaged in criminal activity and none has since been alleged. Zimmerman tailed Trayvon, calling the ...

Clinton’s Loose War Talk

by Sheldon Richman April 4, 2012

When President Obama spoke before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee some weeks ago, he admonished those who engaged in “loose talk of war” about Iran. Apparently, his secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, didn’t get the memo. The Associated Press reported this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Saturday that time is running out for diplomacy ...

The Republican Path to the Welfare/Warfare State

by Laurence M. Vance April 4, 2012

Republicans are fond of issuing proposals setting forth things they say they want to do. Back in 1994, when they were trying to take over the House for the first time in 40 years, it was the “Contract with America.” When the Democrats controlled the House in 2010, the Republican minority on the House Budget Committee introduced ...

The Greatest Threat to our Freedom, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 30, 2012

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 The most significant aspect of the case of Jose Padilla is not the horrific treatment to which he was subjected but the fact that what was done to him can now be legally done to every other American citizen. On May 8, 2002 — about eight months after ...

The U.S. Military and Massacres

by Tim Kelly March 29, 2012

The murderous rampage of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales in Afghanistan has received much deserved media attention. Sgt. Bales’s shooting spree, killing 17 Afghan civilians, was quickly condemned by the Obama administration as a horrible incident and an aberration that was in no way representative of the “exceptional character” of the U.S. military. It is a matter of state ...

Ten Years of Torture

by Andy Worthington March 29, 2012

Ten years ago, on the evening of March 28, 2002, the Bush administration officially embarked on its “high-value detainee” program in the “war on terror” that had been declared in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, when Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn (more commonly identified as Abu Zubaydah), was captured in a house raid ...

Health Insurance Mandate: Immoral, Unnecessary

by Sheldon Richman March 28, 2012

The Obama administration argued to the U.S. Supreme Court this week that people must be compelled to buy medical insurance (designed by the government) or the national medical-insurance market will fail. Thus, Obamacare advocates say, the insurance mandate is consistent with the powers delegated under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The argument, however, contains a fatal flaw. If ...

When Did Facebook Become Congress?

by Wendy McElroy March 27, 2012

A March 23rd headline in the tech zine ZDNet caused a buzz on the blogosphere. It reads, “Facebook: Legal Action against Employers Asking for Your Password.” The article explained, “The social networking giant is considering using the law to protect its 845 million users.” The two legal routes being considered are: (a) getting politicians to pass a law ...

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 ...