Daily Articles

Freedom as a Ticket for Power

by James Bovard March 27, 2006

President Bush exploits the word “freedom” more than any other president. Unfortunately, Americans are sufficiently ignorant that almost any reference to freedom garners applause. “Freedom” has become simply another word to lull listeners to whatever politicians are pushing. “The Restraint of Government Is the True Liberty and Freedom of the People” was a popular saying ...

The War on Terrorism Is a Deadly Sham

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 24, 2006

Pardon me for asking an indelicate question. It’s a question, however, that is staring everyone in the face but hardly anyone, especially those in the mainstream media, wants to ask it. Here’s the question: If we’re really at war against the terrorists, as the Bush administration continues to claim, then what in the world is ...

Book Review: Attention Deficit Democracy

by George Leef March 22, 2006

Attention Deficit Democracy by James Bovard (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006); 288 pages; $26.95. One of Winston Churchill’s most famous quips is that democracy is the worst form of government — except for all the others. The supposition behind the “except” clause is that ...

The New Mercantilism

by Sheldon Richman March 17, 2006

When the old-fashioned colonial powers like Great Britain ruled the waves, and mercantilism was the world’s organizing principle, the developed nations got cheap raw materials from the undeveloped nations and in turn sold them expensive finished goods. We may think that mercantilism and colonialism have been left behind, but as the French say, the more things change, the ...

I Celebrated Christmas in a Detention Center

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 10, 2006

Some 30 years ago, I celebrated Christmas in a detention center outside my hometown of Laredo, Texas. The center was entirely devoted to holding illegal aliens, almost all of whom were from Mexico. Before I share this experience with you, I need to place the situation in a larger context. If this background context, however, begins to bore you, ...

Bush, Chavez, and Hitler

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 6, 2006

U.S. officials become angry and indignant when someone compares the Bush administration’s policies to those of the Hitler regime. Even government officials at the local level get upset over the comparison, as reflected by the public schoolteacher who is under investigation for comparing Bush’s policies to those of ...

RIM was Wronged

by Sheldon Richman March 6, 2006

For the last few years we’ve been reading that Research in Motion’s popular mobile-email service, BlackBerry, may be shut down because the company “infringed the patents” of a company called NTP. That’s all the newspapers said. Curious readers would want to know more. Did black-clad RIM operatives break into NTP’s office ...

The Trouble with Conservatives

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2006

The trouble with conservatives is that they fail to live the principles of freedom that they expound. The problem, however, is not simply that conservatives set high standards and then fail to meet them after striving to do so. The problem is that conservatives expound standards that they knowingly and deliberately violate. Consider, for example, the mission statement of the ...

Revisiting a Libertarian Classic: Nock’s Our Enemy, the State

by Sheldon Richman March 1, 2006

Were spied on by the federal government, often without even a warrant from the submissive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The government has gathered information on anti-war groups and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The president is angry that ordinary people have found out about this. He is planning not to stop these obnoxious activities, but rather to ...

Bush’s Wiretap Crimes and the FISA Farce

by James Bovard March 1, 2006

President Bush proudly announced last December that he is violating federal law. He declared that in 2002 he had ordered the National Security Agency to begin conducting warrantless wiretaps and email intercepts on Americans. He asserted that the wiretaps would continue, regardless of the law. Bush claims that he must ignore ...

The Progressive Era, Part 2: Progressives and the Economy

by William L. Anderson March 1, 2006

Part 1 | Part 2 The last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade or so of the 20th century saw the rise of the large corporation in the United States. Those of us who are used to mega-multi-national firms cannot appreciate the sea change that occurred in the United States, as business enterprises, from ...

Imperial Troubles

by Sheldon Richman March 1, 2006

Iraq is approaching civil war, if it hasn’t already reached it, and President Bush could face the most embarrassing congressional setback of his tenure in the White House. It’s remarkable what troubles imperial ventures can bring. Talk about unintended consequences. The president’s plan was to bring stability to the ...