Daily Articles

The Axis and the Bully

by Scott McPherson December 17, 2002

Hoping to rally the country and the world around his “war on terrorism,” President Bush previously identified an “axis of evil” of rogue states that he claimed help to train, fund, support, or provide safe haven to terrorists, states that he hinted could easily find themselves in the sights of the U.S. war machine. These ...

A Message from Jacob Hornberger and Richard Ebeling

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 12, 2002

No one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result. Whether he chooses or not, every man is drawn into the great historical struggle, the ...

Spitting on the Constitution

by Scott McPherson December 12, 2002

On December 6, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s ban on “assault rifles” on the ground that only state organizations, and not private citizens, have the right to keep and bear arms.  The Court ruled that the Second Amendment did not apply to “an ‘unregulated’ mob of armed individuals.” The ...

Arrogance Is Humility

by Sheldon Richman December 4, 2002

Taking a step back from all the particulars, the lesson of 9/11 is that for more than 50 years the U.S. government has put the American people in harm’s way by its heavy-handed intervention in bitter disputes throughout the Middle East. Then, despite hundreds of billions spent each year on “national security” and countless signals ...

D.C. Sniper Didn’t Need Legal Loopholes

by Sheldon Richman December 4, 2002

Like clockwork, the gun controllers are shamelessly exploiting the D.C.-area sniper horror to press their agenda. How unseemly it is to attempt to parlay every decent American’s revulsion at random serial murder into support for their program, which would do nothing to prevent such crimes in the future. How many laws ...

With Friends Like These

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 2, 2002

Without any shame whatsoever, President Bush has returned John Poindexter, Elliott Abrams, and Henry Kissinger to the federal government. Poindexter is in charge of “Total Information Awareness,” a government information-gathering operation straight out of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Abrams has been appointed as top National Security Council envoy to the Middle East. And ...

Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 7

by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2002

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |  Table of Contents In 1895 the New York legislature enacted a law ...

The Dangers and Costs of Pax Americana

by Richard M. Ebeling December 1, 2002

On September 17, 2002, the White House released a 31-page document entitled “The National Security Strategy of the United States of America.” It spells out the planned global agenda for the U.S. government for the foreseeable future. It is nothing less than the declared statement of the intention for the United States to consciously become the policeman and social ...

In Our Name

by Sheldon Richman December 1, 2002

Are we justified in feeling a raging contempt for the people who call themselves our “leaders”? I believe so. For more than 10 years, these people have bombed Iraq and kept food, medicine, and sundry vital supplies from children and other innocent Iraqis in our name, yours and mine. If that isn’t worthy of contempt, what is? And now, if ...

Drug-War Justice for the Rich and Powerful

by James Bovard December 1, 2002

Even in these difficult times, a few simple rules can take some of the peril out of everyday life. For instance, if you’re planning to become a crackhead, make sure that you are the president’s niece. And a governor’s daughter. And that your family is rich enough to hire three lawyers to ply every legal ...

Immigration Controls Are Bad for the Economy And for Freedom

by Scott McPherson December 1, 2002

At the risk of uttering a terrible clich, America is a land of immigrants. The 13 British colonies that flourished on the Atlantic coast could not have existed were it not for brave men and women willing to start life anew in a strange land. These people came for many reasons; some wished to escape religious and political persecution; ...

Book Review: The Myth of Ownership

by George Leef December 1, 2002

The Myth of Ownership — Taxes and Justice by Liam Murphy and Thomas Nagel (Oxford University Press, 2002); 190 pages; $25. During the Vietnam War, a popular protest slogan went “Fighting for peace is like drinking for sobriety.” After reading The Myth of Ownership, I feel like making a sign reading, “Taxing for justice is like fighting for peace and drinking ...