Daily Articles

Coercion versus Freedom at Thanksgiving

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 26, 2003

In response to an announcement that many Washington, D.C., residents would go hungry on Thanksgiving, a private company called Sodexho promptly delivered 1,000 turkeys to our nation’s capital. According to a Yahoo news report, Sodexho USA (www.sodexhousa.com) “is the leading provider of food and facilities ...

Were the Feds Capable of Killing JFK?

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 24, 2003

Forty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the debate over whether there was a conspiracy to kill him rages on, and the History Channels series suggesting that U.S. officials were involved in such a conspiracy certainly raises disturbing questions regarding the issue. What seems somewhat amusing, however, is the long-held position of the mainstream ...

The Government’s War on Children

by Sheldon Richman November 19, 2003

Goose Creek, S.C., recently was the scene of a horrific event spotlighting two government institutions: schools and the war on drug users. On a quiet day early in November a squadron of policemen stormed into Stratford High School, automatic pistols and shotguns drawn. They ordered the students to the floor ...

Iraq: Democratic or Free?

by Sheldon Richman November 17, 2003

The White House website has this to say about Iraq: “Under the leadership of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the new Iraqi Governing Council, major strides are being planned and made in three key areas: security, economic stability and growth, and democracy.” Let’s focus on that last ...

What’s So Bad about the Budget Deficit?

by Scott McPherson November 12, 2003

Recently I was discussing taxes with a friend who was praising President Bush for pushing his massive tax cut through Congress. “Sure,” I replied. “But a lot of good it does us when he has simultaneously pushed federal spending through the roof.” I was referring to the projected $540 ...

U.S. Senators Are the Real Cowards

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 10, 2003

The Pentagon has gracefully decided to reduce criminal charges brought against Army Sergeant Andreas Pogany from “cowardice” to “dereliction of duty.” That’s right — cowardice is a criminal offense under U.S. military law, punishable by death or incarceration and dishonorable discharge. What did the good sergeant do ...

Albright “Apologizes”

by Sheldon Richman November 7, 2003

In 1996 then-UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright 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, you know, is the ...

So Much for Federal “Justice”

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 3, 2003

Those who are still operating under the quaint and innocent notions that the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are antiquated technicalities in the new era of the so-called war on terror and that federal officials can now be trusted with the omnipotent power to ...

The Inalienable Right to Self-Medication

by Sheldon Richman November 3, 2003

What’s lost in discussion of Rush Limbaugh’s alleged illegal use of painkillers is the inalienable right to medicate oneself, which is contained in the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. True, governments don’t recognize this right. Limbaugh himself has not recognized it. But as some conservatives say about the right to ...

The Ten Commandments Controversy

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2003

Recently the Ten Commandments were embroiled in controversy in the state of Alabama, where the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court defied a federal order to remove a stone monument containing the commandments from the rotunda of the state supreme court building. The controversy raised important issues relating to federalism ...

Bad Medicine

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2003

Those who have been hungering for a real political debate in this country can’t help but be deliriously overcome with the news that CBS’s 60 Minutes will feature 10 face-offs between former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole. The history of political thought will ...

Should the U.S. Military in Iraq Adopt Israeli Methods?

by James Bovard November 1, 2003

The Associated Press reported on September 18 that an Israeli military official declared that the U.S. military “is showing interest in Israeli software instructing soldiers on how to behave in the West Bank and Gaza.” The United States is looking at the Israeli policies as examples of how American soldiers can better handle a hostile population in Iraq. That may ...