Education: Free and Noncompulsory by Scott McPherson February 1, 2008 “The transfer, by the parents, of so much of their own authority and responsibility to the schools is in most ways a cowardly and contemptible business.” — John Holt, What Do I Do Monday? Several times in the last few years, after I’ve written some criticism of the public-school system and called for a complete separation of school and state, ...
I Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 5 by James Glaser February 1, 2008 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Last month I wrote about the assertiveness training in the Tomah Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) program and how I thought it helped me. This month, it’s dreams and relaxation therapy. I am purposely saving the trauma group ...
The Oil-Addiction Fallacy by William L. Anderson February 1, 2008 Watch any talking head, and when the subject comes to energy, one can expect to hear the mantra, Americans are “addicted” to oil, and especially “foreign oil.” This is repeated as though the repetition is proof that the premise is true. Thus, American taxpayers are currently being forced to contribute billions of dollars — and will be dunned many billions ...
We Need Immigrants by George Leef February 1, 2008 Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them by Philippe Legrain (Princeton, 2007); 374 pages; $27.95. Many years ago, I agreed to be a guest on a talk-radio program originating in California. The host wanted a speaker who would defend immigration. After I explained my position, the host opened the call-in lines, and for the ...
Political Stimulus by Sheldon Richman January 30, 2008 Not understanding basic economics is dangerous because you’re vulnerable to political con games foisted by unscrupulous politicians. Economics properly conceived is just common sense about human activity. An examination of the proposed economic stimulus will make this clear. Nearly all politicians claim that the economy needs a stimulus that only they ...
Brace Yourselves by Jacob G. Hornberger January 28, 2008 Make no mistake about it: the central economic problem facing the United States is out-of-control federal spending and the massive federal debt that continues to pile up. As welfare-state spending and warfare-state spending have continued to soar for the past seven years, U.S. officials have gone on a massive ...
Pathetic Arguments for Foreign Intervention by Sheldon Richman January 25, 2008 Republican presidential contender Ron Paul certainly deserves credit for putting the foreign policy of noninterventionism into the public debate. It’s about time. For decades U.S. presidents have sought to manage the world in behalf of what they call “American interests,” and all it has brought is death, mayhem, anti-Americanism, and ...
Rational Irrationality and Bad Policies by George Leef January 21, 2008 The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies by Bryan Caplan (Princeton University Press, 2007); 276 pages; $29.95. For many years, the standard account of the tendency for democratic governments to adopt perverse policies (restrictions on ...
More Victims of Immigration Control by Sheldon Richman January 18, 2008 Consistent advocates of individual liberty often point out that government restrictions on free immigration violate the rights of people not born in the United States. Not only are they denied their freedom to move and improve their lot in life, but if they make it into the United States, they are ...
Let’s Restore the Republic by Jacob G. Hornberger January 18, 2008 On June 4, 2007, Jacob Hornberger gave the following speech at FFF’s conference Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties. The speech can viewed below in its entirety.
Energy Fascists by Sheldon Richman January 11, 2008 One of the great unnoticed curiosities of the presidential campaign is that the party which claims devotion to free enterprise is full-out socialist — or, more precisely, fascist — when it comes to energy. Listening to the presidential forum the other night, I was struck by how anti–free market all ...
Foreign Policy and the Constitution (video) by Bart Frazier January 11, 2008 On June 4, 2007, Bart Frazier gave the following Speech at FFF’s conference Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties. The speech can viewed below in its entirety.