Daily Articles

Better Them Than Us

by Scott McPherson January 19, 2004

In response to soaring violent crime, Brazil has passed what some are considering one of the strongest anti-gun laws in Latin America, and Brazil’s pro-gun lobby, backed up by the powerful National Rifle Association, was powerless to stop it. Rather than mourn, however, Americans who fight against “gun control” ...

A Bush-Clinton Ticket Would Be Unbeatable

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 14, 2004

In view of President Bush’s State of the Union address, I’ve got a great idea as to how the president can guarantee himself reelection — dump Dick Cheney as his vice-presidential running mate and select Bill Clinton instead. Think about it: Bush and Clinton share the exact same philosophical vision for the role of government ...

A Successful War Is Being Waged on the Bill of Rights

by Don Cooper January 14, 2004

Two years after launching of the War on Terrorism and the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the most successful war being waged by the United States seems to be against the U.S. Constitution, not terrorists. Although the war in Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power and damaged Osama bin Ladens al-Qaida ...

Enola Gay, Just War, and Mass Murder

by Scott McPherson January 12, 2004

On December 15, 2003, the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, part of the National Air and Space Museum, was opened to the public. The Center boasts a number of high-profile attractions. The SR-71 Blackbird, the Air France Concorde, Russian MIGs, and even the Spaceshuttle Enterprise can all be found in this 294,000-square-foot, 10-story hangar on ...

Bush Worker Plan Betrays American Ideals

by Sheldon Richman January 9, 2004

In proposing a temporary worker program, President Bush promised to reassess “the standard of knowledge in the current citizenship test… must ensure that new citizens know…the ideals that have shaped our history.” Maybe he should also look at the standard of knowledge for presidents. If we use the test ...

The International Terror-and-Drug Cop Is On the Beat

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 7, 2004

Those who favor the U.S. government’s role as international policeman must be ecstatic that the feds are now expanding their jurisdiction in their decades-long war on drugs to include the entire world. How so? Well, despite the fact that U.S. drug laws apply only in the United States, U.S. military forces are now using their ...

Insanity Defense Has No Place in a Free Society

by Sheldon Richman January 5, 2004

John W. Hinckley Jr., who in 1982 was acquitted by reason of insanity in his attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, has been granted court permission to have unsupervised visits with his parents. Hinckley has been held in St. Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital in Washington, D.C., for more than ...

Sanctions: The Cruel and Brutal War against the Iraqi People, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 Immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush and other U.S. officials announced that the attacks had been motivated by hatred for America’s “freedom and values.” Nothing could have been further from the truth, and U.S. officials knew it. For 12 years, they had been waging a cruel and brutal, silent and undeclared ...

Iraqi Sanctions: Were They Worth It?

by Sheldon Richman January 1, 2004

In May 1996 Madeleine Albright, who was then the U.S. ambassador to the UN, was asked by 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, in reference to years of U.S.-led economic sanctions against Iraq, We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima. And, ...

Iraqi Sanctions and American Intentions: Blameless Carnage? Part 1

by James Bovard January 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 President Bush’s advisors assured Americans that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators — with flowers and hugs — when the United States invaded Iraq. That promise turned out to be one of the biggest frauds of the Iraqi debacle. One major reason for the animosity to U.S. troops is the lingering impact and bitter ...

The Perils of Nation-Building, Part 1

by Doug Bandow January 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 The United States easily conquered Iraq, but the war was only the beginning. Winning the peace is proving to be far more difficult. Destroying an unpopular, isolated dictatorship in a wreck of a country was one thing. Creating a liberal, multi-party, multi-ethnic democracy where one has never existed is quite another. Despite the positive tone ...

A Lesson from Vietnam, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy January 1, 2004

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 One lesson offered to America by the Vietnam War is the folly of forcing regime change in a nation whose religion, culture, history, and politics differ dramatically from its own. As a story, the folly may begin in September 1945, when a slender figure stood on a balcony in Hanoi to ...