Bushs Dangerous Game in the South Caucasus by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2008 The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of ...
How Abu Ghraib Was Politically Defused, Part 1 by James Bovard November 1, 2008 Part 1 | Part 2 It is now more than four and a half years since Americans first saw the photos depicting the brutalizing of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. At that time, some commentators thought that the photos would be a political disaster for the Bush administration, perhaps even imperiling the president’s reelection. However, the Bush ...
Fair-Housing Fascism by George Leef November 1, 2008 In his recent book, Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg argues that most of the liberal political agenda is fascistic, in the true meaning of the word. Fascism is a system based on the use of governmental directives to control private property. Whereas communists simply confiscate private property particularly what they call the means of production fascists ...
Property Rights, Freedom, and the Constitution by Rick Lynch November 1, 2008 It is simply impossible to understand the U.S. Constitution without first possessing a thorough understanding of property rights. If you traveled back in time to enter James Madison’s mind as he wrote and debated such weighty issues as free speech, the right of self-defense, freedom of the press, and freedom of conscience, but came away lacking knowledge of his ...
Where Are the Patriots? by Christine Smith November 1, 2008 We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of ...
Taking the Prince of Peace Seriously by Thomas E. Woods Jr. November 1, 2008 Christianity and War, and Other Essays Against the Warfare State by Laurence M. Vance (Vance Publications, 2008); 432 pages. Several years ago, Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) told parishioners at Suncreek United Methodist Church in Allen, Texas, something he had said to President George W. Bush: “Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in ...
Two Checks on Tyranny by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2008 The purpose of the Bill of Rights was twofold: first, to ensure that certain fundamental rights were protected from federal infringement and, second, to ensure that the American people were expressly guaranteed certain procedural rights in federal criminal prosecutions. While all of the rights and guarantees enumerated in the ...
More Bush Freedom Hokum by James Bovard October 1, 2008 Perhaps no American president has praised freedom as often as George W. Bush. From his declarations that the United States was attacked because of freedom, to the names “Operation Enduring Freedom” and “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” to his proclamations of a “calling” from history to defend freedom, freedom quickly became the cloak ...
The Court Almost Gets It Right on Guns by Sheldon Richman October 1, 2008 Advocates of freedom barely dodged a bullet when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the right to keep and bear arms, the subject of the Second Amendment, is an individual not a collective right. Opponents of gun ownership have long maintained that the Amendment’s reference to the militia indicates that the right does not apply to private individuals. Thankfully, ...
The Nanny State by Laurence M. Vance October 1, 2008 Whenever some new perceived crisis comes along, Americans typically look to the state as a problem solver. Are we running out of oil? The government should increase CAFE standards so that cars are more fuel-efficient. Is gas too expensive? The government should limit the profits of oil companies. Is the planet getting warmer? The government should mandate reductions in ...
Who Are You Calling Selfish? by Michael Tennant October 1, 2008 In an early episode of the television series Bewitched, Harold Harold (Paul Lynde), a highly nervous driving instructor, tries to teach Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) how to drive a car. At one point in the lesson he instructs her to go the wrong way in a traffic circle. Samantha, however, ...
The Authoritarianism of American Labor Law by George Leef October 1, 2008 American labor law is a dank miasma of special-interest legislation that tramples on the rights of some citizens in order to advance the interests of others. The main beneficiaries are labor-union officials who lobbied for and received extraordinary and unique powers from compliant politicians. The victims are business owners and workers who prefer to have ...