Daily Articles

The Sham of Government Transparency

by James Bovard September 1, 2019

The Supreme Court in June ruled that the federal government can keep secret the food-stamp sales totals of grocery stores. By a 6 to 3 vote, the Court declared that such business records are exempt from disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This case, started eight years ago by the Argus Leader, a South Dakotan newspaper, ...

The Specter of Communism Is Haunting Illinois

by Laurence M. Vance September 1, 2019

A specter is haunting Illinois — the specter of communism. Although the governor of Illinois, Jay “J.B.” Pritzker, said earlier this summer, upon signing the state’s $40 billion budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, that the budget was balanced “for the first time in decades,” according to the state’s own actuarial calculations, the budget is actually billions in the red. ...

Free-Market Liberalism vs. Corrupted “Capitalism” and La-La Land Socialism

by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2019

One of the issues that confronts the friends of freedom is how best to make the case for liberty as a political idea and ideal and as a policy proposal.  A central element in that is making sure that we know what it is that we are advocating and why, and what it is that we oppose and why. ...

Insane and Ill-Advised: Trump’s Future War with Iran, Part 2

by Danny Sjursen September 1, 2019

Part 1 | Part 2 Iran is an enigma to most American policymakers. Iranian foreign and defense policies, according to Kenneth Katzman, are “products of overlapping, and sometimes contradictory, motivations.” The key question is whether Iran is an expansionist, theocratic, Shia-chauvinist state, or a rational, defensive bulwark with only limited regional aspirations. While it is a bit of both, ...

The American Gulag

by John W. Whitehead August 29, 2019

“The exile of prisoners to a distant place, where they can ‘pay their debt to society,’ make themselves useful, and not contaminate others with their ideas or their criminal acts, is a practice as old as civilization itself. The rulers of ancient Rome and Greece sent their dissidents off to distant colonies. Socrates chose death ...

The U.S. Revives the Personal State

by Richard M. Ebeling August 28, 2019

It was French king Louis XIV (1638-1715) who famously declared, “L'etat c'est moi” (“I am the state”), indicating his insistence that he possessed absolute power over his subjects and everything else within the reaches of his domain. This week, it was clearer than usual that this is an attitude apparently shared by Donald Trump, president of the United States. America ...

Minimum Wage Nonsense

by Christine Smith August 26, 2019

Once again, the call for raising the federal minimum wage is in the news, with most Democratic Party candidates for president endorsing its doubling from $7.25 to $15/hour. Some candidates have suggested it be increased even more, depending on the region of the country. Of course, this is because of great compassion and empathy for the American worker. Right? After ...

American Apocalypse

by John W. Whitehead August 23, 2019

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out ... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” — H. L. Mencken The U.S. government is working hard to destabilize the nation. No, this is not ...

Radio Hypocrisy

by Laurence M. Vance August 21, 2019

During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe (RFE) broadcast news, information, and U.S. government propaganda to Soviet satellite countries and Radio Liberty (RL) did the same to the Soviet Union. But although the Cold War has been over for 30 years, RFE/RL is still operating. According to the RFE/RL website, RFE/RL journalists report the news in 22 ...

George S. Schuyler, Anti-Racist Champion of Liberty

by Richard M. Ebeling August 20, 2019

One of the most difficult subjects to discuss in America today is race. It is the proverbial “third rail,” which, if talked about outside of the politically correct corridor of “identity politics,” is almost instant death. If you are “white,” anything you say not consistent with the paradigm of identity politics is condemned as explicit or hidden racist attitudes, beliefs, ...

Who Inflicts the Most Gun Violence in America?

by John W. Whitehead August 15, 2019

“It is often the case that police shootings, incidents where law enforcement officers pull the trigger on civilians, are left out of the conversation on gun violence. But a police officer shooting a civilian counts as gun violence. Every time an officer uses a gun against an innocent or an unarmed person contributes to the ...

How Much Damage Will Come from this Trade War?

by Richard M. Ebeling August 14, 2019

First, the good news: the U.S. and world economies have not imploded, so far, as fallout from the rising trade tensions between the Trump administration and Xi Jinping’s government in China. Now, the bad news: there is no certainty that this will not play itself out as a serious and damaging trade war between the two countries that might ...