Think Globally, Act Absurdly by Scott McPherson December 17, 2004 “We didn’t run for office just to rake the leaves and tend to tree trimming. We’ve got ideas.” — George L. Leventhal, vice president, Montgomery County (Maryland) Council That statement sums up the essence of so-called progressivism. If you’ve got ideas about the way things are supposed to be, ...
Why No Indictment for Bernard Kerik? by Jacob G. Hornberger December 15, 2004 Amidst all the hubbub over Bernard Kerik’s decision to remove himself from consideration as director of Homeland Security owing to his reported hiring of an illegal-immigrant nanny, no one, including the press, seems to be asking an important question: Why aren’t the feds seeking a criminal indictment against ...
States Should End the Drug War by Sheldon Richman December 13, 2004 “Medicine by regulation is better than medicine by referendum.” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said that during last week’s arguments over the much-watched medical-marijuana case. Breyer, in other words, prefers that any change in the government’s prohibition of marijuana use be accomplished by an appeal to the ...
Licensure: A Lawyer Protection Racket by Jacob G. Hornberger December 8, 2004 One of the most popularly held beliefs in American society is that state licensing of attorneys is necessary to ensure that they are competent. But you’d have a hard time convincing people accused of crimes in Virginia of that. In an editorial entitled “A System Still in Crisis”, the ...
The Bill of Rights: Eminent Domain by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2004 One of the bedrocks of a free society is a system of private property. The concept of economic liberty is founded not only on principles of free enterprise but also on the principle that people have the right to accumulate the fruits of their earnings. If government has the power to arbitrarily seize a person’s wealth or property, then ...
Democratic Relativism by Sheldon Richman December 1, 2004 It occurred to me recently that the American political system is even worse than I thought. Before the abstract discussion, lets look at some particulars. When First Lady Hillary Clinton held secret meetings in order to formulate the Clinton administrations plan for medical services, the Republicans exploded with rage. Secret government! they shouted. Nefarious elitism! Conservatives overflowed with venom. Republicans ...
Gun Nuts at 30,000 Feet? by James Bovard December 1, 2004 After the pervasive failure of airport security on 9/11, the Air Line Pilots Association sought federal permission for pilots to carry handguns to defeat hijackers. Capt. Steve Luckey, chairman of the association’s flight-security committee, explained, “The only reason we want lethal force in the cockpit is to provide an opportunity to get the aircraft ...
The Great Voucher Fraud by Laurence M. Vance December 1, 2004 The mantra of “school choice” is repeated endlessly by proponents of educational vouchers, and is getting louder. But does an income-transfer program cease to be an income-transfer program just because it is recommended by conservatives, libertarians, a Republican president, and free-market economists? Advocates of educational reform are agreed on one thing: the doleful condition of the public school system. But ...
Do We Need a New G.I. Bill — Or Even the Original One? by George Leef December 1, 2004 The G.I. Bill turns 60 this year. That legislation, of ficially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, guaranteed, among other things, that returning soldiers could attend college at the expense of the federal government, or to be more accurate, the expense of federal taxpayers. It was the first of Washington’s many forays into higher education. Before the G.I. Bill ...
West Africa and Colonialism, Part 3 by Wendy McElroy December 1, 2004 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In Europe, the tensions that would become World War II were already apparent. In fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini dreamed of reviving the glory of Rome and he looked to Africa for colonies to conquer. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia, a proud nation that symbolized the best of Africa. For more ...
Book Review: Bad Trip by Paul Armentano December 1, 2004 Bad Trip: How the War against Drugs Is Destroying America by Joel Miller (Nashville: WorldNet Daily Books); 242 pages; $24.99. The self-proclaimed toughest cop in America, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, brandishes a badge and a gun, and drives a custom-painted U.S. Army tank. “We are proud to have the ultimate weapon in the war on drugs in our ...
U.S. Regime Change, Torture, and Murder in Chile by Jacob G. Hornberger November 24, 2004 President Bush’s recent trip to South America provides a valuable foreign-policy lesson for Americans. The president was greeted in Santiago, Chile, by some 30,000 angry demonstrators. But it was not only Bush’s invasion and war of aggression against Iraq that Chileans were angry about. Unlike so many Americans, the Chilean people have not fallen for ...