Steve Chapman: Another Texas Republican For President

The Republican presidential field looks less like an assemblage of candidates than a collection of fatal mistakes and irreparable flaws, with occasional embodiments of one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins. Mitt Romney? A flip-flopper who inspired ObamaCare. Tim Pawlenty? A too-bashful critic of Romneycare, with a sleepy persona. Newt Gingrich? Serial adultery and terminal hubris.   ... MORE

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

by Harvey Silverglate. The Soviet Union enacted an infamous law in 1922 that criminalized “hooliganism.” The crime was in the eye of the beholder, the beholder of consequence being the Soviet secret police. Because it was impossible for dissidents to know in advance whether they were violating this prohibition, they were always subject to arrest and imprisonment, ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - The State Against Blacks


Walter E. Williams joins John to discuss government "poverty measures."

Rob Natelson: A Victory For The Tenth Amendment

Two years ago, I posted an item on the Tenth Amendment Center website entitled, “It’s the People’s Right.” My point was that federalism was not created primarily for the benefit of the states or state officials, but for the protection of individual liberty. I didn’t invent this argument—many others have recognized that it is the better reading of the ratification-era ... MORE

"Our Children And Grandchildren Will Never Forgive Us"

by Marco Rubio.  Last week, President Obama touched down in Miami to raise money for his reelection campaign, just a year after his administration kicked off its “Recovery Summer” campaign to celebrate the failed trillion-dollar stimulus spending bill. Today, Florida struggles with a 10.6 percent unemployment rate, far higher than the national average of 9.1 ... MORE

VIDEO: Liberty & Equality

Walter E Williams: America's New Racists

The late South African economist William Hutt, in his 1964 book, "The Economics of the Colour Bar," said that one of the supreme tragedies of the human condition is that those who have been the victims of injustices and oppression "can often be observed to be inflicting not dissimilar injustices upon other races." Born in 1936, I've lived through some of our openly ... MORE

Steve Chapman: The Obsolete Allaince

 Has NATO outlived its usefulness? Defense Secretary Robert Gates went to Europe recently to announce that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization may have a "dismal future" and that before long, American leaders "may not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost." Why does he make that sound like a bad thing? "Watch out! We may have to stop ... MORE

VIDEO: Drug Decriminalization in Portugal


Since 2001, drugs have been decriminalized in Portugal. So how has it worked out? Glenn Greenwald's reports his findings to CATO.

Republicans Flicker On Light Bulb Ban Repeal

by Geoffrey P. Hunt. The Republican House is flinching on passing the simplest and most symbolic piece of legislation this term: repeal of the incandescent light bulb phase out. Amidst great fanfare and promises to restore limited government, the new majority is proving it isn't much difference than the old majority. The incandescent phase out required under the so-called Energy  ... MORE

David Brooks: The Biggest Scandal Since Watergate

Most political scandals involve people who are not really enmeshed in the Washington establishment — people like Representative Anthony Weiner or Representative William Jefferson. Most scandals involve spectacularly bad behavior — like posting pictures of your private parts on the Web or hiding $90,000 in cash in your freezer. But the most devastating scandal in recent  ... MORE