The Most Dangerous Substance of All by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2001 For all our preoccupation with ridding society of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, little thought is given to the most dangerous mind-altering substance of all: ink. Do you doubters need proof? Take Rachel Carson’s famous book, Silent Spring. In 1963 Carson wrote a book claiming that the insecticide DDT was damaging ...
Some Reflections on the Right to Bear Arms by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2001 For millions of Americans the Second Amendment and its right for the individual to bear arms appears irrelevant and practically anachronistic. It seems a throwback to those earlier days of the Wild West, when many men, far from the law and order provided by the town sheriff and circuit judge, ...
The Sham of Political Compromise by Sheldon Richman August 2, 2001 Writing on the New York Times op-ed page recently, new Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle called for “a spirit of principled compromise.” The top Democrat presumably means compromise with the Republicans. He’s in luck. Compromise with the Senate Republicans is entirely possible — because they hold the same reactionary principles ...
Reexamining the “Good War” by Richard M. Ebeling August 2, 2001 The Second World War is considered America’s “good war” of the 20th century. The First World War is considered the tragic war. President Woodrow Wilson intended the war to “make the world safe for democracy,” but instead it generated the rise of communism, fascism, and Nazism. The Korean War cost the ...
Liberty and the Constitution by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001 ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS in the United States is that people’s rights come from the Constitution. Without the Constitution, it is believed, people wouldn’t have such rights as freedom of expression and religion. People should be grateful to the Founding Fathers, it is said, for establishing the vehicle by which people could have such rights as life, ...
What O’Reilly Doesnt Know by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001 Bill OReilly, populist star of the Fox News Channels OReilly Factor may be the hottest television property around, but he doesnt know beans about how markets work. The other night he charged the oil companies with conspiring to keep gasoline prices high. He quoted a 1995 Chevron memo stating that refining ...
Israel M. Kirzner and the Austrian Theory of Competition and Entrepreneurship by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2001 WITH THE END OF THE 2001 SPRING SEMESTER, one of the leading Austrian economists in the world, Dr. Israel M. Kirzner, has decided to retire from formal academic life at the age of 71. Over a scholarly career that has spanned more than 40 years, Kirzner has enriched our understanding of the theory of the competitive process, the role ...
Does the Truth Not Matter? by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001 Thank you, Philip Morris. The tobacco company has reminded us that today “the truth” doesn’t mean that which corresponds to reality. It means “that which furthers a political agenda.” Philip Morris recently had a study done for the Czech Republic to answer the oft-made charge that smokers impose financial burdens on nonsmokers. Conducted by Arthur ...
A Stupid Way to Get Health Insurance by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001 Who came up with the idiotic idea that workers should get health insurance through their employers? If it’s such a great idea, why is no one getting their fire and auto insurance that way? Does it make sense to be tethered to your boss in this manner? There are people who fear changing jobs because ...
Update on the Drug War by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001 THE U.S. SUPREME COURT has ruled that “medical necessity” is not a permissible defense under the federal statute that outlaws distribution of marijuana. This has been widely interpreted as a lethal blow to the medical marijuana movement. The government had sought an injunction against an Oakland, California, cooperative that distributed marijuana to people whose ...
Only Individuals Have Rights by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2001 Attorney General John Ashcroft has let it be known that it is the official position of the executive branch of the U.S. government that individuals possess the right to keep and bear arms. Hallelujah! As the anti-self-defense lobby says, this is a reversal of a position held for about 30 ...
A Different Look at World War II by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001 Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, although many people supported giving aid to England, most Americans opposed entry into the war against the Nazis. Americans still remembered the ravages of World War I (“the war to end all wars”), when American soldiers were drafted and sent ...