Daily Articles

Has Compassion Gone Astray?

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

As part of his presidential-campaign theme of "compassionate conservatism," Texas Gov. George W. Bush recently announced nearly $500,000 in state-financed grants to Christian groups in Texas. "America will be changed because people of faith and good heart are willing to help people in need," Bush said. "I believe rallying ...

Educational Coercion and Aberrant Behavior

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

Many years ago, a high-school teacher from North Dakota invited me to deliver a lecture to one of her classes, assuring me that I would find it to be a fascinating experience. The class was composed of approximately 10 students who had been classified by the school authorities as "slow ...

The Art of Plunder

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1999

Now that the controversy surrounding the art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum has calmed down, it's a good time for some sober reflection. To recap, the museum, which is subsidized with taxpayer money, is hosting an exhibit that includes among other things, a painting purportedly of the Virgin Mary adorned ...

Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 34: Free Banking and the Political Case against Central Banking

by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 1999

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 ...

The Consequences of World War II

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1999

The hysterical reaction to Pat Buchanan's hardly unique views on World War II reveal more about his critics than about him. Why are they so afraid of this man? World War II is often viewed as the last good war. In contrast to the wars that followed it-Korea and Vietnam, primarily--World War ...

Professional Courtesy

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

"Cuban authorities recently sentenced a Cuban-born U.S. resident to life in prison for smuggling Cuban citizens out of Cuba. Meanwhile U.S. officials, working in cooperation with their Cuban communist counterparts, continue to attack defenseless Cuban refugees and repatriate them to Cuba. If any of the Cuban or U.S. government ...

CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Our Governments Black Box”

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

"In last Sunday's edition of the Washington Post, Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at the National Security Archive, details the U.S. government's refusal to disclose its full role in the violent overthrow of Chilean president Salvador Allende and the murder of American journalist Charles Horman. The CIA in particular refuses to ...

CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Compulsory Charity”

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

"Texas Gov. George W. Bush has announced nearly $500,000 in state grants to Christian groups. Bush said, 'America will be changed because people of faith and good heart are willing to help people in need.' Where exactly is the goodness in this? The Texas state government collects tax from the people ...

The Myth of Public Service

by Sheldon Richman October 1, 1999

The death of John F. Kennedy Jr. filled the airwaves with much rhapsodizing about "public service." Never mind that Kennedy did not go into public service, but rather launched a for-profit enterprise, George magazine (although it glamorizes public service). That didn't stop commentators and politicians from lavishing praise on the Kennedys for, as Vice President Al Gore put it, ...

Ethnic Cleansing, American-Style

by James Bovard October 1, 1999

The United States government intervened earlier this year in a civil war in Yugoslavia. President Clinton and other Western leaders justified the NATO bombing by the crackdowns that Serbian forces had conducted on Kosovar Albanian rebels and civilians. However, prior to the onset of NATO bombing, the actions of the ...

Child Labor and the British Industrial Revolution, Part 2

by Lawrence W. Reed October 1, 1999

Part 1 | Part 2 It has not been uncommon for historians, including many who lived and wrote in the 19th century, to report the travails of the apprentice children without ever realizing they were effectively indicting government, not the economic arrangement of free exchange we call capitalism. In 1857, Alfred Kydd published a two-volume work entitled ...

Time to Rethink the War on Drugs

by David Boaz October 1, 1999

Eighty-four percent of Americans say that possible cocaine use in his 20s should not disqualify Texas governor George W. Bush from being president. But if a cocaine user can go on to be president, why should we put young people in jail for using cocaine? Maybe the voters' indifference to Bush's possible past indicates that ...