The Meaning of Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger November 25, 2001 Today's Wall Street Journal's editorial page reflects how differently libertarians and conservatives view the meaning of freedom. For libertarians, freedom entails the right of people to live their lives any way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful. For conservatives, freedom entails the right of government to do just about anything it ...
A New Foreign-Policy Paradigm for America by Jacob G. Hornberger November 25, 2001 Ludwig von Mises observed that government intervention inexorably leads to more government intervention until the point comes that government assumes total control over the affairs of the citizenry. The idea is that since government interventions always produce perverse consequences, government officials will inevitably enact new interventions designed to fix the problems resulting from the ...
An Unkeepable Promise by Sheldon Richman November 20, 2001 President Bush should be wary of making promises he may not be able to keep. He’s vowed to prosecute a long and victorious war against “terrorism,” an amorphous “entity” if there ever was one. But before he extends his campaign beyond Afghanistan, which will have as its inevitable casualties a long list of civil liberties, ...
Emergencies, Military Tribunals, and the Constitution by Jacob G. Hornberger November 20, 2001 President Bush has ordered that people he suspects of being "terrorists" will be tried before military tribunals rather than indicted and prosecuted in the customary judicial manner. Judges and juries (which will consist of the same people) will be appointed by the secretary of defense, trials will be held in secret, and convictions will ...
Patriotism and War by Jacob G. Hornberger November 15, 2001 In every war, controversies over patriotism inevitably arise. Most everyone would agree that patriotism involves the loyalty that a person has toward his country. But there are two conflicting concepts arising out of the application of that principle. One concept dictates that a citizen has a duty to make an independent, reasoned judgment of whether the ...
Winning the Battle and the War (short version) by Richard M. Ebeling November 9, 2001 The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have aroused a degree of sympathy for the victims and a demand for justice against the perpetrators that have not been seen in America in relation to any other event for many decades. But in this understandably emotional moment it is necessary for every American to step back and ...
The War on Drugs and Police Funding by Jacob G. Hornberger November 7, 2001 The following was published as a Capsule Commentary in the November 7, 2001 edition of the FFF Email Update. The October 14 issue of the Washington Post reported that Washington area police and sheriffs' departments garnered a bonanza of nearly $2.2 million last year from the war on drug's asset-forfeiture ...
Remembering the Constitution by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2001 CONSTITUTION DAY — September 17 — came and passed without fanfare. That is the day that commemorates the signing of one of the two most important documents in our nation's history. (The other one, of course, is the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate on the Fourth of July.) In the midst of a crisis in which Congress has vested ...
We Aren’t Children by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2001 Theoretically this is the Land of the Free, but don't you believe it. In the Land of the Really Free, adults wouldn't be treated like children. Yet all levels of government treat us like the youngest, dumbest children you can imagine. Here are some examples, all from one state (my adopted state of Arkansas) and involving only one thing: alcohol. Just ...
A Republic, If You Can Keep It by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2001 AT THE CLOSE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what type of government the Constitution was bringing into existence. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Regardless of one’s judgment concerning the type of government that the Constitution brought into existence in 1787, no one can deny that it was truly the most unusual and ...
Terrorism and the Drug War by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2001 Americans no doubt would be distressed to learn that the U.S. government helped finance the terrorist attacks that killed so many people in New York and Washington. It’s not such a far-fetched thought. According to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, terrorist organizations are financed in part by profits from trading in drugs. “The illegal drug trade ...
Classical Liberalism in the 21st Century: Freedom to Move by Richard M. Ebeling November 1, 2001 FORTY YEARS AGO — August 10, 1961 — Nikita S. Khrushchev, the premier of the Soviet Union, attended a birthday party in Moscow for Sergei S. Verentsov, the Soviet marshal in charge of the missile program of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Khrushchev informed the celebrating assembly of leading Soviet ...