Daily Articles

The Pentagon Dishonors VMI’s New Market Heroes

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 24, 2005

I don’t know how the Pentagon comes up with names for its military operations, but I do know that its recent name for a certain military operation in Iraq — “Operation New Market” — dishonors the memory of the 257 brave young cadets from the Virginia Military Institute who ...

Evolution or Intelligent Design? None of the Government’s Business

by Sheldon Richman August 22, 2005

You’d think that with all he has to do — including fighting the global struggle against violent extremism, or whatever they’re calling it this week — President Bush would be too busy to make the really big decisions: such as what ought to be taught in science class. But ...

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 5: War Crimes and Atrocities

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 22, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 For Machiavelli, there is no deed too ruthless for rulers on the fast track to dictatorship. A prince who wishes to remain in power must not blink at opportunities for cruelty when they can advance his position. ...

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 4: War

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 19, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 On the subject of war, Machiavelli offers simple advice (chapter 14): Thus a prince should have no other object, nor any other thought, nor take anything else as his art but that of war and its orders ...

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 3: Lies and Appearances

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 19, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 In words that are echoed in the mendacity of today’s political class, Machiavelli enthusiastically endorsed lying. In chapter 18 he summed up his reasons: How praiseworthy it is for a prince to keep his faith, and to ...

The Answer to Cindy Sheehan’s Question

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 19, 2005

Cindy Sheehan has asked President Bush an important question: Exactly what “noble cause” did her son Casey die for in Iraq? It’s a question that some Ohio parents whose children were recently killed in Iraq are also asking. It’s a question that every American should be asking.

Cindy Sheehan Is Right

by Sheldon Richman August 19, 2005

The sort of people who think there is no greater honor than to die in a war are visibly uncomfortable with Cindy Sheehan. They can’t understand her. Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Casey Sheehan, a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. She’s camped outside President Bush’s Crawford, Tex., ranch ...

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 2: Ethics and Creating the Facts

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 17, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Once we understand Machiavelli’s dismal view of humanity, it is easier to understand the ethical universe in which he operates. Machiavelli opens his discussion of princely virtues by immediately discarding them. His explanation is that virtues lack ...

Virginia Politicians and Highway Pork

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 17, 2005

For a good example of the moral perversity of the budget-busting, pork-barrel highway bill, consider what recently happened in Bristol, Virginia. While on his annual statewide listening tour across the state, Republican Sen. George Allen proudly told Bristol voters that their local officials were going to receive even more money from Congress than they had ...

Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 1: Pattern and Perception

by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 15, 2005

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 During a much-quoted radio broadcast in October 1939, Winston Churchill commented on the surprise Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland — an invasion that closely followed the German attack from the west, which triggered World War II. In ...

Why Payola Doesn’t Matter

by Bart Frazier August 5, 2005

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has recently leveled a $10 million fine against Sony BMG for payola, a practice in which radio producers are paid for promoting certain songs. Why the fine? The argument against payola is that music lovers are ...

Zen and the Art of Iraqi Regime Change

by Sheldon Richman August 3, 2005

What does it mean to overemphasize the presence of what is absent? That Zen-like question arises from an interview the Associated Press recently published with Douglas Feith, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s departing chief policy advisor. Feith told the AP the Bush administration “overemphasized” the matter of weapons ...