Daily Articles

Politicians in a Panic

by Sheldon Richman August 12, 2011

You can almost see the panic on their faces. The politicians, central bankers, and court economists seem to be thrashing around like bad swimmers caught in a riptide. Despite all attempts — stimulus spending, increased borrowing, the Fed Reserve’s low-interest-rate policy, presidential jaw-boning — the economy refuses to recover. Unemployment remains over 9 percent, investment is stagnant, and even ...

The Jacob Hornberger Show – August 6, 2011

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 12, 2011

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

Sexually Biased Insurance Mandates: Concealed Taxes Set to Backfire

by Fergus Hodgson August 9, 2011

Proponents of the latest federal mandates on medical insurance, targeted solely at women, defend them with claims that they will save money, improve health, and reduce unwanted pregnancies. Such confidence in this lopsided government coercion is either naive or disingenuous. A shift toward “preventive care” and fewer subsequent treatments is the supposed mechanism for cost savings. But that ...

Yes We Can

by Laurence M. Vance August 9, 2011

Speaking from the Rose Garden last week after Senate approval of the bill to raise the debt ceiling, President Obama said about the federal deficit, And since you can’t close the deficit with just spending cuts, we’ll need a balanced approach where everything is on the table. Yes, that means making some adjustments to protect health-care programs like ...

Surviving the Inanity

by Rich Schwartzman August 8, 2011

It’s easy to be skeptical. Sometimes, though, you have to either laugh at the lunacy or go running into the ocean screaming, “Get me out of here.” The United States is just few hundred billion dollars short of the national debt being 100 percent of GDP and is waging illegal wars in a handful of different countries. The 40-year-long war ...

An Amy Winehouse Government

by Ralph R. Reiland August 3, 2011

It feels like we’re dealing with an Amy Winehouse form of governing. “These overdoses happen because these guys drink 20 beers and then reach for their heroin,” a friend of mine said after the late star’s recent death, at 27. “You can’t think straight once you’re totally blitzed.” It seems the same with our politicians, overdosed on their own importance. Their ...

Viva La Lemonista Revolución!

by Wendy McElroy August 3, 2011

August 20 is Lemonade Freedom Day and everyone who can do so is asked to set up a stand; everyone else is urged to imbibe. The reason? Authorities across America are closing down kids’ lemonade stands because, in many states and localities, they violate health codes, licensing laws, and other permit requirements. A recent headline in Reason ...

The Shot that Killed JFK

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 3, 2011

  The Kennedy Casket Conspiracy, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Shot That Killed Kennedy, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Kennedy Autopsy, Part 1, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Kennedy Autopsy, Part 2, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Kennedy Autopsy, Part 3, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Kennedy Autopsy, Part 4, by Jacob G. Hornberger The Kennedy Autopsy, Part 5, by ...

President Obama on the Role of Government

by Laurence M. Vance August 1, 2011

In his speech last week from the East Room of the White House to the American people on deficit reduction and debt-ceiling negotiations, President Obama inadvertently presented us with his view of the role of government: We all want a government that lives within its means, but there are still things we need to pay for as a ...

A Cheer and a Half for the Tea Party

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2011

Were it not for the Tea Party, the debt-ceiling controversy might never have taken place. Kudos on that count alone. It comes as no surprise that the governing class and its boosters in the media portray the Tea Party folks as a collection of bumpkins and idiots who “don’t know the difference between campaigning and governing” — indeed, who would ...

Lessons from the Middle East, Part 3

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 30, 2011

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Two of the primary complaints made by the protesters in the Middle East have been the refusal of government officials to lift decades-old emergency legislation that permits the dictatorial regimes to arbitrarily arrest people, detain them indefinitely, torture them, and even execute them; and the horrible economic conditions that ...

Some Neglected Questions on the Attempted Fort Hood Attack

by Anthony Gregory July 29, 2011

AWOL Army private Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim, has been arrested for plans to attack the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. Two years ago, another Muslim American soldier was arrested for killing 13 people at that base. These and other mass shootings and attempted acts of mass violence have increasingly made the news in the last few years, ...