Conference 2007 Speaker Spotlight: Jim Bovard and Ralph Raico by Jacob G. Hornberger January 12, 2007 Every Friday, Ill be writing to give you a brief update on our June 1-4 conference, Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties, including a mini-bio of two of our featured speakers. On Monday morning, June 1, Jim Bovard will kick off the conference with the first talk. Jim has been a close personal friend of mine and has ...
Bipartisanship? Bah! by Sheldon Richman January 10, 2007 One of our smartest political philosophers, Will Rogers, had it right: Be thankful were not getting all the government were paying for. I think of that whenever I hear politicians and commentators praise bipartisanship. I also think of this saying: Be careful what you wish for. You might get it. Where did all the wise heads get the idea that Americans ...
FFF Conference: “Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties” by Jacob G. Hornberger January 5, 2007 On June 1–4, Friday morning through Monday noon, The Future of Freedom Foundation is hosting one of the most exciting and important conferences of our time: “Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties.” Featuring 24 of the nation’s top libertarian, liberal, and ...
What Exactly Did Gerald Ford Heal? by Sheldon Richman January 5, 2007 Over the last several days former President Gerald R. Ford has been repeatedly praised for healing the nation in the aftermath of Richard Nixons Watergate scandal. Democrat, Republican, and solemn pundit alike paid extravagant tribute to the man who, in their view, saved the American people from disaster. But is that what Ford really did? Lets recall the context. The ...
Empire or Republic by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2007 We now live in a country in which the president wields the power to send the entire nation into war on his own initiative, without the congressional declaration of war required by the Constitution. We live in a country in which the president and the military wield the power to arrest an American citizen and incarcerate him in a military ...
Democracy and Government Schools by Sheldon Richman January 1, 2007 Let’s be frank. We advocates of a completely free market in education are making little progress. I think I know why. Before I get to that, let’s look at where we are. Roughly 90 percent of American children attend government schools. That share has not changed substantially in the last 20 ...
Hungary’s New Lesson for America by James Bovard January 1, 2007 This past October was the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet military. Hungarians bravely expelled Soviet tanks from Budapest and trumpeted their intention to create a democracy. But the Soviets returned with almost 5,000 tanks, killing thousands of Hungarians and re-fettering 10 million people into servitude to Moscow. But at least Hungarians had the gumption to stand ...
Soft-Hearted Economists Need Clear Heads by Bart Frazier January 1, 2007 One of the issues at stake in the 2006 midterm elections was a raise in the minimum wage. Voters in six states had minimum-wage increases on the ballot, and unfortunately all of the initiatives passed. This is not surprising, however. On the surface, it appears that requiring employers to pay at least a subsistence living ...
Executive Orders and the Decline of Law, Part 1 by William L. Anderson January 1, 2007 Part 1 | Part 2 During his presidency, Bill Clinton would conclude his trips abroad by telling his advisors that he was determined to use the powers of his office. Those “powers,” of course, included what are called “executive orders,” which are orders that come from the office of the president of the United States and have the ...
Inflation Is Legalized Robbery, Part 2 by Gregory Bresiger January 1, 2007 Part 1 | Part 2 Whether one believes in the “price stability” policies of our nation’s central bank, or believes such policies have caused countless economic problems, the onus is on the Federal Reserve. It is a strange, quasi-secret public/private agency with little or no accountability.
The Myth of War Prosperity, Part 2 by Anthony Gregory January 1, 2007 Part 1 | Part 2 Depression, War, and Cold War: Studies in Political Economy by Robert Higgs (Oxford University Press: 2006); 240 pages; $35. So the New Deal was far from a success. But most conservatives and even many leftist scholars will concede this; ...
End Draft Registration! by Sheldon Richman December 29, 2006 Whenever U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat who will soon chair the House Ways and Means Committee, calls for resumption of military conscription, a host of powerful figures, Republican and Democrat, civilian and military, chime in at once to repudiate his proposal. They respond that the U.S. military ...