Dick Lyles: Individual Liberty Vs. Government Tyranny

Big government is liberty's greatest threat.   Hardly a day goes by that I’m not compelled to reflect on the haunting words of Pastor Martin Niemoeller: “First they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the trade ... MORE

Jonathan Turley: Free Speech Under Fire

First Amendment gives way to blasphemy and hate speech. The recent exchange between an atheist and a judge in a small courtroom in rural Pennsylvania could have come out of a Dickens novel. Magisterial District Judge Mark Martin was hearing a case in which an irate Muslim stood accused of attacking an atheist, Ernest Perce, because he was wearing a  ... MORE

VIDEO: Milton Friedman - Economists Agree On Markets

Barry Farber: Breitbart's Death Just A Coincidence?

How far-fetched are Breitbart conspiracy rumors?    First, let’s nail down the difference between a conspiracy theorist and a broad-minded person. A conspiracy theorist says, “Of course, Andrew Breitbart was assassinated. Look how many people benefit from his absence. He told CPAC he had videos that could doom Obama’s re-election chances. He told   ... MORE

NY Times: Pat Robertson Calls For Legalized Marijuana

A sure sign the war on drugs has failed.    Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate. “I really believe we should treat ... MORE

VIDEO: Channeling Self-Interest for Good

Stephen Dinan: Government Creates Record Deficit

Government economic malfeasance continues merrily along. The federal government recorded its worst monthly deficit in history in February, according to a preliminary report Wednesday from the Congressional Budget Office that said the deficit in fiscal year 2012 is already more than half a trillion dollars. The CBO’s figures show that despite repeated efforts to trim ... MORE

Providing Abortions & Transgender Therapy To Illegals

ObamaCare forces taxpayers to pick up tab.    U.S. immigration officials are under standing orders to provide abortion services for detained illegal aliens in some circumstances and hormone therapy to those who say they are transgendered. The orders to do so are included in the “2011 Operations Manual ICE Performance-Based National Detention   ... MORE

A Privacy Revolution Begins With Tainting The Data

by Adam Dickter.   Is this unethical? No more so, I think, than ducking into a cab to avoid a stalker, or closing the blinds on a peeping Tom. Or luring people into a massive social network under the guise of "helping you connect and share with the people in your life" while collecting a complete dossier on you. Comedian Steve Martin once came up with a novel way to fend ... MORE

John Stossel: Greed, Capitalism And Romney

Who are the REAL bad guys?    Now that Mitt Romney is likely to be the Republican nominee, we can expect new attacks on his “vulture capitalism.” That’s how Rick Perry characterized his private equity work when he was still a GOP presidential candidate. As the campaign has unfolded, Newt Gingrich’s supporters ran an ad about Romney’s   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Should Prostitution Be Legal?

Andrew Napolitano: Can The President Kill You?

Does the government recognize your right to life?     Can the president kill an American simply because the person is dangerous and his arrest would be impractical? Can the president be judge, jury and executioner of an American in a foreign country because he believes that would keep America safe? Can Congress authorize the president to do this?    ... MORE

Paul Streitz: Rise In Oil Prices & The Decline Of The Dollar

The seen is oil prices. The unseen is decline of the dollar.   The rise in oil prices is not due to the laws of supply and demand regarding oil. It is the result of the continued fall of the dollar. As the Federal Reserve creates more money, the value of the dollar falls. As the value of the dollar falls and oil producers demand more and more for each barrel     ... MORE

VIDEO: The Left Screwed With The Wrong Guy


Andrew Breitbart accurately predicts his own legacy.

Tim McCown: Obama's War On The Bill Of Rights

Power will always trump rights. Where are all the Progressives who were outraged by George W. Bush's frontal assault on the Bill of Rights and our civil liberties with the Patriot Act, military tribunals, use of torture, and other violations of human rights and International law? Where is the outrage when a sitting president asserts through a surrogate ... MORE

U.S. Police Agencies To Start Deploying Drones In May

Eyes in the skies will troll for crime. Coming soon to the skies above you — drones, drones and more drones. And all giving police and who knows who else the chance to peek into your backyard. Legislation just signed by President Obama directs the Federal Aviation Administration to open the skies to remotely controlled drones within the next three years.  ... MORE

Gene Healy: The Struggle For Individual Liberty Never Ends

Because big government is relentless.    For supporters of limited government who are closely following the 2012 presidential race, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is the "Cult of Obama" is dead. A recent Reuters story explores the Obama campaign's marketing difficulties, and the headline says it all: "Obama's Slogan: Looking to Replace ... MORE

Larry Gabriel: How The Drug War Rolls Back Civil Rights

Identifying Jim Crow under another name.    State Rep. Rick Olson (R-Saline) made an amazing blog post last month. He had recently attended a luncheon hosted by the Legislative Black Caucus to hear Michelle Alexander, a lawyer and author who teaches at Ohio State University. Olson's post was titled "Medical Marijuana Law Needs Clarification, But ... MORE

VIDEO: Andrew Napolitano - What If Democracy Is Bunk?

Stephan Salisbury: How To Fund An American Police State

Homeland security may be a greater threat than terrorism. At the height of the Occupy Wall Street evictions, it seemed as though some diminutive version of “shock and awe” had stumbled from Baghdad, Iraq, to Oakland, California.  American police forces had been “militarized,” many commentators worried, as though the firepower and callous tactics ... MORE

FOX NEWS: Maryland Gun Law Ruled Unconstitutional

"Good reason" not required to exercise basic rights.    Maryland residents do not have to provide a "good and substantial reason" to legally own a handgun, a federal judge ruled Monday, striking down as unconstitutional the state's requirements for getting a permit. U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg wrote that states are allowed some   ... MORE

VIDEO: Markets Need Rules

John Fund: Will Affirmative Action Be Forever?

Yes, if Eric Holder gets his way.   Later this year, the Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of the use of racial preferences in college admissions in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. The battle lines will once again be drawn over the meaning of the equal-protection provisions of the Constitution. So it’s noteworthy that Attorney General Eric   ... MORE

THE BLAZE: Could Oil Reach $440 A Barrel?

It could if history repeats itself.   Bob Bandos, president and CEO of GAC North America, a marine logistics and service company headquartered in Dubai, fears that the tension between Iran and the West will lead to an exponential increase in the price of oil. Many Blaze readers are aware of the details: several Western countries have threatened to sanction Iran ... MORE

John W. Whitehead: Criminalizing Free Speech In The U.S.

Congress abridges the freedom to speak and assemble.   One of the key ingredients in a democracy is the right to freely speak our minds to those who represent us. In fact, it is one of the few effective tools we have left to combat government corruption and demand accountability. But now, even that right is being chipped away by statutes and court rulings  ... MORE

Ira Stoll: Limbaugh's "Slut" Comment Is A Red Herring

Instead of ObamaCare, we're talking Rush Limbaugh.    The press and President Obama have been all over Rush Limbaugh for the words he used to criticize a Georgetown Law student, Sandra Fluke, who spoke on February 23 at a meeting of the House Democratic Steering and Policy     ... MORE   

VIDEO: John Stossel - Illegal Everything - Pt 3

J.G. Vibes: Revisiting The Caring Nature Of Individualism

The essence of liberty. Is there any valid reason or excuse to violate the rights of a nonviolent person? That is the primary question that separates the two political philosophies of collectivism and individualism. I’m sure that this was not a question that was raised in your college political science class, but nonetheless this is the fundamental question that determines   ... MORE

Walter E Williams: It Just Ain't So

Do we really have a trade imbalance?   The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 2011 manufacturing output grew by 11 percent, to nearly $5 trillion. Were our manufacturing sector considered a nation with its own gross domestic product, it would be the world's fourth-richest economy. Manufacturing productivity has doubled since 1987, and     ... MORE

VIDEO: Could the Federal Reserve Really Collapse?

John Maday: The Cost Of Regulation And Shrinking Herds

Shrinking livestock inventories threaten the U.S. food economy, and excessive regulations on agriculture exacerbate the problem threatening our export markets, according to a new report from the United Soybean Board (USB). The report, titled “The Consumer and Food Safety Costs of Offshoring Animal Agriculture,” documents how the costs of regulation on    ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: James Q. Wilson (1931-2012)


Thank you Mr. Wilson.   There are undoubtedly many people who are alive today because of James Q. Wilson, who died last week. He was not a doctor or medical scientist, nor was he a fireman or coast guardsman who rescued people from immediate dangers. James Q. Wilson was a scholar who studied crime. He saved lives because his penetrating analyses of     ... MORE

Brian Doherty: Is The Soul Of The GOP Worth Fighting For?

Ron Paul vs. Rick Santorum. Ron Paul’s campaign (and his fans) had hoped to make the Republican presidential nomination race a Romney vs. Paul one by now. In this wished-for scenario, Paul could use his Tea Party, small government, Christian conservative bonafides to be a legitimate contender on the delegate-collection path toward Tampa. Alas, the former joke ... MORE

Eric Peters: Chevy Volt Sleeps With The Fishes

It might as well have been a Trabant. GM has just announced it will be idling the plant (and the 1,300 workers at that plant) where the "game changing" Chevy Volt electric car is -- uh, was -- built. GM says it's only temporary -- until they figure out how to "align production with demand." It could be a long wait for those workers. GM projected production  ... MORE

VIDEO: Harry Browne - Anti-Freedom Traps

Washington Times: Taking Back Property Rights

Kelo decision needs to be plowed under. Congress is taking steps to reverse a Supreme Court decision that turned a thriving middle-class community into a waterfront wasteland. It’s about time Kelo was knocked off-kilter. On Tuesday, the House passed a bill aimed at mitigating the impact of the controversial 2005 Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New ... MORE

Emily Miller: D.C.'s Crime Solution: Become A Victim

Official insists resident shouldn't defend themselves. Washington residents are up in arms, though not armed. With violent crime up 40 percent in the first two months of the year - including double the number of robberies at gunpoint - residents are looking for ways to protect themselves. Elected officials and police have no solution. Take Benjamin Portman   ... MORE

VIDEO: The February Nanny Of The Month


Busybodies minding your own business.

Eric E. Sterling: The War On Drugs Hurts Business


Time for an economic analysis of drug policy.  “The drug war is weakening state institutions, infiltrating judicial systems and undermining rule of law,” all of which is bad for business, César Zamora, Nicaraguan businessman and vice president of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) told the Christian Science  ... MORE

Robert Stacy McCain: The Breitbart Experience

His powerful voice for individual liberty will be missed.      Last Friday, at 10:30 p.m., Andrew Breitbart sent me a two-word text message: "Where y'at?" We were both in Troy, Michigan, that night. He was scheduled to speak at the next day's Americans for Prosperity forum. I was in town to cover the Republican presidential primary campaign. Knowing he would be  ... MORE