Daily Articles

Economic Fallacies

by Sheldon Richman January 29, 2012

In On Liberty John Stuart Mill wrote, “He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.” This is an especially important principle for libertarians. We rely on persuasion to win adherents to the freedom philosophy. To persuade, one must use effective techniques of rhetoric. Just as important, one must know what one is arguing ...

Hubris and Illegitimate Assumptions

by Rich Schwartzman January 27, 2012

Are libertarians pro-business or pro-labor? That’s one of the questions from the few moderates and centrists who are deciding to show some interest in libertarian philosophy. They know there’s something fundamentally wrong with what the big-government types say and do, and they want to see what else is out there. It’s a legitimate question, even if it stems from ...

A Real Foreign Policy Debate

by Tim Kelly January 26, 2012

A recent poll has revealed a schism within the GOP over foreign policy. In a Washington Times and JZ Analytics survey, 48 percent of Republicans said the United States should maintain a policy of intervening where its interests are challenged. But 46 percent disagreed, saying the country is “in a new global era” where it can no longer take ...

The Long History of Entrapment Insanity

by James Bovard January 26, 2012

America has seen a profusion of entrapment schemes in recent years. Many of the most high-profile domestic-terrorism cases have been ginned up by FBI agents who preyed on persons who had little competence for creating perils on their own. The explosion in entrapment operations is partly the result of a profound shift in the type of abuses that courts ...

Food Stamp Politicians

by Laurence M. Vance January 24, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is in hot water for referring to Barack Obama as “the food-stamp president.” The NAACP and the National Urban League have sharply criticized Gingrich for saying that “the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.” In the FOX News Republican presidential debate held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on ...

Beyond the DREAM Act

by Fergus Hodgson January 23, 2012

We’ve all heard of the policy centerpiece for immigration-reform proponents, the DREAM Act. The battle over this legislation, which would offer a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants, has labored on for more than a decade now; but, rather than being enacted, the bill has failed repeatedly. Sadly, the legislative battle has stoked animosity instead of intelligent dialogue ...

Stopping the Rush to War against Iran

by Sheldon Richman January 23, 2012

A growing group of individuals and organizations has designated Saturday, February 4, as a “National Day of Action” aimed at preventing a war against Iran. The manifesto is simple: “No War, No Sanctions, No Intervention, No Assassinations.” Nothing is more urgent than stopping the march to war now underway. Economic warfare has begun already. Sanctions and embargoes are belligerent ...

The Road to the Permanent Warfare State, Part 9

by Gregory Bresiger January 23, 2012

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |Part 12 |Part 13 In 1949, Harry Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson convinced Congress that the ...

A Fitting Symbol of the American Empire

by Sheldon Richman January 20, 2012

The image of four U.S. marines urinating on the corpses of Afghan fighters is a fitting symbol of American intervention in Central Asia and the Middle East. That picture will live forever in the memories of people in the region, along with the pictures from Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. Most Americans aren’t much interested in making fine distinctions in foreign ...

The Jacob Hornberger Show – January 14, 2012

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 17, 2012

The Jacob Hornberger Show broadcasts live Saturday nights at 7pm EST. Visit FFF's Ustream Channel to watch the show live.

The American Press and War

by Tim Kelly January 17, 2012

There is a myth of an independent American press existing as a counterforce to government power. Unfortunately, the truth is less inspiring, especially with respect to the U.S. government’s wars, invasions, and foreign interventions. Rather than keeping the public well-informed, journalists and reporters have all too often served as conduits for government propaganda in the march to war. Sensationalistic “yellow ...

Is Ron Paul an Isolationist?

by Laurence M. Vance January 17, 2012

The word isolationist is a pejorative term used to ridicule advocates of U.S. nonintervention in foreign affairs, intimidate their supporters, and stifle debate over U.S. foreign policy. Throughout the twentieth century, opponents of U.S. intervention in foreign wars were smeared as isolationists. Conservative and Republican opponents of Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, although they may argue and fight among themselves, ...