Daily Articles

Managed Trade Is Not Free Trade

by Laurence M. Vance July 11, 2011

As libertarians have long pointed out, trade agreements like the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not free-trade agreements and organizations. Rather, they are managed-trade agreements and organizations that abdicate power to an international body, and in direct violation of the Constitution. As Congressman Ron Paul stated, We don’t need government ...

Torture Whitewash

by Andy Worthington July 8, 2011

How convenient is it that a door shuts on the Bush administration’s global program of extraordinary rendition and torture, just as America’s military-industrial complex plays musical chairs — with Republican holdover Robert Gates leaving as defense secretary, to be replaced by Leon Panetta, who has spent the last two years as the director of the CIA, while Gen. David ...

Don’t Support the Troops – Bring Them Home

by Sheldon Richman July 8, 2011

Reversing long-standing policy, President Obama will now send condolence letters to the families of U.S. military personnel who commit suicide in combat zones. That’s nice. But he could prevent future suicides by bringing all the troops home and ending America’s interventionist foreign policy. “They didn’t die because they were weak,” Obama said. “And the fact that they didn’t get the help ...

Amazon Taxes Rely on Economic Fallacy

by Fergus Hodgson July 7, 2011

The “Amazon” tax neither generates revenue nor creates a level playing field. It does eliminate profitable relationships and drive companies out-of-state, but that hasn’t stopped elected officials from plowing ahead obstinately. Concerned that people can avoid sales taxes by shopping online, seven states have passed legislation to place out-of-state retailers within their jurisdiction. Fourteen more have ...

Sinking Entrepreneurship

by Rich Schwartzman July 7, 2011

It happens every spring. Umpires shout out to grown men, “Play ball,” and bureaucrats shout out to kids, “Shut down that lemonade stand.” While the latter might not happen every year, it happens often enough. Sometimes a mayor will trot out, tell the bullying code-enforcement officers to go away and then he buys a glass of lemonade to show what ...

Whither U. S. Energy Policy?

by Laurence M. Vance July 6, 2011

President Obama has authorized the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The oil reserve is currently at a historically high level of 727 million barrels. “We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on ...

Coming Soon to an Airport Near You

by Wendy McElroy July 6, 2011

If you fly within the United States in the future, keep your expression neutral, do not blink too much or too little, and do not sweat. Carefully maintain a normal respiration and heart beat as you submit to demands from Homeland Security agents. If you question or resist their demands, you could be detained as a pre-crime suspect, fined ...

The Jacob Hornberger Show: July 2, 2011

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 5, 2011

The Jacob Hornberger Show broadcasts live every Saturday night at 7pm EST. Visit FFF's Ustream Channel to watch the show live. Download the MP3 here, or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The Isolationist Red Herring

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2011

The media have picked up a new buzzword: “isolationist.” They jumped on it after Sen. John McCain, who seems to want the United States to be at war everywhere, said after the last Republican presidential debate, “I do want to send a message, and that is that we cannot move into an isolationist party.” He was soon joined by ...

Lessons from the Middle East, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 30, 2011

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Among the many ways that our American ancestors viewed the role of government in a free society that were so different from modern-day Americans was how they regarded militarism and a standing army. Our ancestors disdained the concept of professional armies because they viewed them as antithetical to freedom. Keep in ...

TSA Abuses: Seeing the Forest and the Trees

by Anthony Gregory June 30, 2011

The Transportation Security Administration is finally getting some of the bad publicity it deserves. We read about an elderly woman forced to remove her adult diaper to go through the screening process. We learn about a mentally disabled passenger deprived of his harmless toy by a sadistic policy, if not sadistic TSA agents. We see pictures of women and ...

Red-Light Camera Feud Reveals Ulterior Motives

by Fergus Hodgson June 29, 2011

By their very name, public servants claim to work for their fellow community members. The recent stand-offs over red-light cameras, however, indicate that many such officials have, to put it gently, conflicting interests. Twenty-five states and Washington, D.C., use red-light cameras, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors last week agreed to a resolution (p188) ...