‘We the People’ Lose by John W. Whitehead October 2, 2020 “Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves.” ― Herbert Marcuse Republicans and Democrats alike fear that the other party will attempt to hijack this election. President Trump is convinced that mail-in ballots are a scam except in Florida, where it’s safe to vote by mail because of its ...
Socialism, American Style, Part 6 by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2020 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 I grew up on a farm on the Rio Grande just outside Laredo, Texas, a city that is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border. I lived practically half my life in Texas. Throughout that time, I witnessed an immigration ...
“Extremism” as a Ticket to Tyrannize by James Bovard October 1, 2020 “Extremists” are one of the famous bogeymen that American politicians invoke to sanctify their own power. But the definition of “extremism” has forever been in flux. The only consistent element in definitions of extremism is that politicians always win. In the 1770s, people who suggested that the king of England had no right to rule America were considered extremists. Even ...
Donald Trump, Flag Burning, and the First Amendment by Laurence M. Vance October 1, 2020 Earlier this year, Germany’s Parliament passed an amendment to outlaw the burning of foreign flags, including the flag of the European Union. The vote was in response to an anti-Israel rally held on the streets of Berlin in which protesters burned Israeli flags. The penalty is a maximum of three years in prison. Burning the German flag is already ...
The Socialist Elixir Is a Deadly Cyanide by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 2020 Suppose you saw someone holding a bottle that had a label with the word “cyanide” and he was about to drink from it. You tell him to be careful, that that is poison, and he could die a painful death. He says, no that’s not true, cyanide is a delightful drink, that he has heard that it cures many ...
The Continuing, Poisonous Russia Obsession by Ted Galen Carpenter October 1, 2020 For more than a decade, there has been pronounced animus toward Russia in the American news media and among hawks, especially congressional Democrats, in the political community. That hostility surged when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. Furious political leaders and Western media outlets slammed the Kremlin’s action as an outrageous case of unprovoked aggression, akin to the ...
Stakeholder Fascism Means More Loss of Liberty by Richard M. Ebeling September 29, 2020 A strong wave of anti-free market thinking and policy proposals are currently dominating the debates over the role of government in society. From calls for greater emphasis on income equality, to “saving” the planet from global warming, and on to demands for increased attention to claimed gender and racial “social injustice” inside and outside the marketplace, the presumptions are ...
What Is Good for Students Might Be Bad for Taxpayers by Laurence M. Vance September 28, 2020 The federal Department of Education was created in 1979 by Jimmy Carter and his Democratic-controlled Congress. It was established by the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979 that split the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the departments of Education, and Health and Human Services. It began operation in May 1980. Conservatives generally opposed the creation of this ...
No, the U.S. Supreme Court Will Not Save Us by John W. Whitehead September 24, 2020 The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of the people. — Justice William O. Douglas The U.S. Supreme Court will not save us. It doesn’t matter which party gets to pick the replacement to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The battle that is ...
Milton Friedman and the New Attack on Freedom to Choose by Richard M. Ebeling September 23, 2020 We are in the midst of an open counterrevolution against liberty and limited government in the United States. This may sound like strong language for dramatic affect. But it is really not an exaggeration in the current climate of political discord and antagonism, admittedly amplified by it being a presidential election year when political parties make hyperbole the norm. ...
Disaggregating Keynes Demonstrates Macro Delusions by Richard M. Ebeling September 16, 2020 The economic downturn that has accompanied the coronavirus crisis has seen huge increases in government deficit spending and mounting national debt in the United States and many other countries around the world. A revived version of Keynesian Economics has emerged rationalizing and justifying massive government expenditures as cures for falling production, rising unemployment, and widening income inequality. It seems ...
What Do Republicans Stand For? by Laurence M. Vance September 11, 2020 Since this is a presidential election year, and the Republican Party wants Americans’ votes, it is fitting to ask the question: What do Republicans stand for? Writing in Politico Magazine, chief political correspondent Tim Alberta hit the nail on the head: “The supposed canons of GOP orthodoxy — limited government, free enterprise, ...