Daily Articles

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 ...

Lessons in Living from Great-Grandma Ladd

by Ridgway K. Foley Jr. May 1, 2006

From the first glance, she evoked the quiet self-reliance and rectitude that imbued the spirit of the American pioneer. She favored long homemade dresses of faded, flowered print. Tall for her generation, and thin and angular to the point of gauntness, she often looked sober but not severe, although at times a slight smile creased her face. She outlived ...

The American Heritage of “Isolationism”

by Gregory Bresiger May 1, 2006

You’re against the war in Iraq. In fact, you’re skeptical about the concept of nation-building and wonder about all of the U.S. interventions in history, from Haiti to the Philippines, the latter resulting in a bitter insurgency at the beginning of the 20th century in which U.S. ...

Death and Taxes

by Gary D. Barnett May 1, 2006

A friend of mine recently passed away at his home. This, in and of itself, is not surprising, as he was 80 years old and had cancer, but this story is about what happened before and up until his death. My friend worked very hard for many years, had a successful career, and then retired. ...