Daily Articles

Monsters, Inc.

by Samuel Bostaph June 1, 2006

In 2001, an animated film from Pixar Animation Studios was released and became extremely popular with both adults and children. Monsters, Inc. is set in the city of Monstropolis, where all monsters live. A corporation that gives the title to the movie employs scarers, monsters who venture out of the city every night to enter the human world through ...

For and Against Libertarianism: A Debate, Part 2

by George Leef June 1, 2006

Part 1 | Part 2 Libertarianism: For and Against by Craig Duncan and Tibor Machan (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005); 167 pages. In the second part of Libertarianism: For and Against, Duncan goes first, presenting his main case, which he calls “Democratic Liberalism: The Politics of Dignity.” Here, he fleshes out the “dignity” ...

U.S. Hypocrisy in Cuba

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 26, 2006

If there was ever a charge against the U.S. government on which most foreigners would agree, it is the charge of hypocrisy. Most Americans continue to view their federal government as a beloved parent, one who never lies to them; who takes care of them and gives them “freedom” in the form of ...

Moussaoui and Foreign-Policy Unrealities

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 22, 2006

Writing about the Zacarias Moussaoui case in the Washington Times, Suzanne Fields displays one of the major maladies that typify conservatives — their propensity to create their own realities with respect to foreign policy in order to avoid confronting the harsh consequences of U.S. foreign policy, especially in the ...

Fear Is the Coin of the Realm

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 15, 2006

Uh, oh! A new study reveals that “fears that the deadly strain of bird flu would move through Africa and Europe in flocks of wild birds have so far proven unfounded....” That means one less fear that the feds can use to frighten grown-up American men and women as an excuse ...

Hearing Moussaoui

by Sheldon Richman May 15, 2006

You had to read the papers very closely to see what Zacarias Moussaoui, who got life imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiring in the 9/11 attacks, had to say at his sentencing. Most newspapers either buried his statement or left it out of the story altogether. Curious, isn’t it? Don’t the newspapers ...

The Meritless Language Argument

by Scott McPherson May 10, 2006

Anti-immigrant types often use the language argument to make their case: that without a common language, people will never be able to get along and prosper. I couldn’t help but think of this recently when my wife and I decided to get some much-needed work done around the house. I’m no handyman, ...

Speaking Spanish and Assimilating

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 10, 2006

I’m always intrigued by people who complain that Latino immigrants who don’t learn English aren’t “assimilating” within American society. Consider my hometown of Laredo, Texas, where I was practicing law in the 1970s. The jury pool for judicial trials consisted of citizens whose names had been taken from the voter ...

Oil Feeding Frenzy

by Sheldon Richman May 3, 2006

The feeding frenzy in Washington over oil prices and profits may win pander-points for cynical politicians, but it takes the public’s eye off the ball. The regular outcry over rising prices, which, you’ll notice, requires a previous period of falling prices, highlights some fascinating puzzles. For example, there is a ...

A Democratic Dictatorship

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2006

Amidst all the discussion and debate about whether President Bush has violated the law by ordering the National Security Agency (NSA) to record telephone conversations, we must not overlook an important fact: the United States is now traveling in uncharted waters, ones in which the ruler of the nation is exercising omnipotent power over the American people. A more ...

Free Cory Maye

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 2006

Where are all the celebrities and human-rights activists? Where are Mike Farrell and Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon? Bianca Jagger, call your office! I watch cable news a lot, but I have yet to see one word about death-row inmate Cory Maye. Why not? You haven’t heard of Cory Maye? Few people have, despite the best ...

Nonsense on the Inevitability of Democracy

by James Bovard May 1, 2006

Many Americans are being lulled into assuming that democracy is inevitable. This is a favorite theme of President Bush’s beating on the same drumhead used by President Clinton, President Wilson, and other notable demagogues. But the fact that politicians agree does not make something true. Since Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that ...