Daily Articles

The Government’s War on Free Speech

by John W. Whitehead March 10, 2021

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” — George Washington It’s a given that the government is corrupt, unaccountable, and has exceeded its authority. So what can we do about it? The first remedy involves speech (protest, assembly, speech, prayer, and publicity), and lots of it, in order to ...

Lin Yutang, a Classical Liberal Voice for a Free China

by Richard M. Ebeling March 9, 2021

China Rising! The news media has stories every day about China’s continued positioning as a geopolitical and economic “power” on the international stage. Beijing says its economy will have strong growth in 2021, as it increases military spending to back up China’s gunboat diplomacy in East Asia, and stifles any remaining residues of democracy and civil liberties in Hong ...

Republicans Have Always Dictated What Americans Can Think, Smoke, and Do with Their Money

by Laurence M. Vance March 8, 2021

Democrats may want to censor what Americans can read and watch, but it is comical to hear Republicans complain about it, since they have always dictated what Americans can think, smoke, and do with their money. Late last month, Democratic Representatives Anna Eschoo and Jerry McNerney, both of California, and both senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee ...

All the Ways the Government Can Lay Siege to Your Property

by John W. Whitehead March 3, 2021

“How ‘secure’ do our homes remain if police, armed with no warrant, can pound on doors at will and … forcibly enter?”— Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the lone dissenter in Kentucky v. King Americans are not safe in their homes. Not anymore, at least. This present menace comes from the government and its army of bureaucratized, corporatized, ...

Post-Covid Policy Advice from Ludwig von Mises for Developing Countries

by Richard M. Ebeling March 2, 2021

The coronavirus and the government responses with shutdowns and lockdowns, along with restrictions on international travel and disruptions of the global supply chains that crisscross countries and continents, have made a fuller and more rapid recovery difficult in the Western industrialized countries, but even more so in many places in what used to be called during the Cold War, ...

The Abby Honold Act Will Gut Justice

by Wendy McElroy March 1, 2021

You are hauled in by the police and accused of rape. Being innocent, you demand to know details of the accusation: when, where did the crime occur, and on what’s the evidence? The police respond, “the young woman’s allegation is the only evidence, and her account has shifted several times about when and where. Now prove you did not ...

The Lies of the National-Security State

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2021

I recently came across a plaque with the heading “Died in Service to the Nation — Vietnam 1961-1975.” The plaque then listed several members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in the Vietnam War. The plaque demonstrates a central ill afflicting many Americans — an ill that can be described as living the “life of the lie.” Until ...

Congress Is Still Unfit to Govern

by James Bovard March 1, 2021

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap,” Napoleon is reputed to have said more than two centuries ago. Boundless ignorance is also not a handicap, as Congress demonstrated last December by approving a 5593-page bill without reading it. Plenty of activists and editorial pages howled over the sloppy procedures propelling $2.3 trillion in new federal spending. James Madison warned in ...

The Conflict of the Ages

by Laurence M. Vance March 1, 2021

The year 2020 was a dreadful year as it relates to individual liberty, free association, commercial freedom, and private property, and 2021 isn’t looking much better. The main reason, of course, is not the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but the government response to it. Volumes could be written about the government-mandated restrictions on peaceful activity  that have been instituted during this ...

Frank Knight and the Place of Principles in Economics and Politics

by Richard M. Ebeling March 1, 2021

It is sometimes necessary to recall the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That never seems truer than when turning to the character and content of economic and social policy issues in modern America. Every time it seems that one of the collectivist confusions and fallacies has been once more shown to ...

Liberty in Peril

by George Leef March 1, 2021

Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History by Randall G. Holcombe, Independent Institute, 2019, 245 pages. I finished reading Prof. Randall Holcombe’s book Liberty in Peril during the 2020 election. I have yet to hear any candidate say the word “liberty” and would be shocked if I did. We are bombarded with messages for candidates and messages ...

Letter to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

by Lawrence P. Schnapf February 25, 2021

Note: This letter was written by Larry Schnapf, a New York City attorney, to Carolyn Maloney, Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in reference to release of records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which have been kept sealed for more than 50 years. February 24, 2021 Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney Chair- House Committee ...