New Warrantless Wiretap Ruling Makes Spying Legal

by Dan Graziano. A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of President George W. Bush’s controversial Terrorist Surveillance Program, which allows the government to spy on Americans without a warrant. The court reversed an earlier decision in which two American attorneys were awarded more than $20,000 in damages and their lawyers        ... MORE

VIDEO: SWAT Kills Unarmed Man During Drug Raid

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Graphic evidence of the sometimes dire consequences of the drug war.   In the video released by the Salt Lake Tribune, a member of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force repeatedly shoots and kills resident Todd Blair as Blair steps into a hallway holding a golf club like a baseball bat. According to a Tribune article in December, Blair was not the target of the raid. ... MORE

Peter Schiff: The Not So Super Hero

We must stop waiting for a savior.   The past week provided clear lessons not just in how central bankers have a limited ability to positively influence the economy but also how they are limited in their capacity to deliver the shortsighted policy actions that investors currently crave. The developments should provide new reasons for investors and    ... MORE

The Problem Is There Is No Such Thing As "States' Rights"

by Frank Keegan.   When U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois tried to fire up a ballroom full of state legislators here Tuesday morning, he used the phrase “states’ rights.” It popped up a few other times as the National Conference of State Legislatures met for its annual “Build Strong States” summit. The only problem: There is no such thing as “states’  ... MORE

The Number Of Americans Spied Upon Is Too High To Count

by Andrew Napolitano. Gazillions. That's the number of times the federal government has spied on Americans since 9/11 through the use of drones, legal search warrants, illegal search warrants, federal agent-written search warrants and just plain government spying. This is according to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who, when he asked the government to tell him what it was ... MORE

John Stossel: Wars To End War

America needs to reevaluate the military's mission.     On his recent trip abroad, Mitt Romney observed an American taboo by not criticizing President Obama's military policy. But before his trip, he made his position clear. Obama has "exposed the military to cuts that no one can justify," Romney said. He meant that unless Congress intervenes  ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - First Jobs

Richard E. Ralston: The Separation Of Medicine & State

For politicians, healthcare is all about control.     The federal government in general, and the Food and Drug Administration in particular, increasingly inject themselves into direct control of every medical practice. The FDA is aggressively moving past its lock on the approval of every medication and all medical equipment. It now seeks control     ... MORE

Carrie Lucas: Let's Make Education Big Business

Utilize profit, loss and high pay for top performance. When you see that Americans spend more than $1.1 trillion on education—that’s 7.8 percent of GDP—it’s tempting to call education “big business.”  Except that it’s not really: 80 percent of that spending is controlled by government and spent on public schools and universities.  That means that it’s ... MORE

VIDEO: Celebrating the End of the Fairness Doctrine

Doug Bandow: Killing The Economy With Gov't Stimulus

Death by spending.    President Barack Obama’s presidency hangs in the balance after another disappointing employment report.  He continues to advocate new government “stimulus” programs to boost his reelection campaign.  However, Washington is awash in government “stimulus,” without effect.  Only productive private investment will spark economic   ... MORE

A. Barton Hinkle: Got A Pencil? You Didn't Build That

Nobody can make a pencil by himself.     Most people would never accuse President Obama of memorizing Milton Friedman under the covers at night. Yet the patron saint of laissez-faire probably would not take as much exception as many Republicans have to Obama’s comment in Roanoke three weeks ago that “if you’ve got a business – you didn’t build that.   ... MORE

Gene Healy: Take Me Down To The Parasite City

The District is blooming. Have you seen the latest jobs report? Major buzzkill: creeping unemployment, anemic growth, and the recovery's totally stalled. But not here: The District is booming! "Washington may have the healthiest economy of any major metropolitan area in the country," says New York Times D.C. bureau chief David Leonhardt in Sunday's   ... MORE

Gary M. Galles: Expand Freedom, Not Government

State power has an unbroken record of inability.   President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” rationalization for increasing taxes has since been “clarified” to the fact that teachers, roads, bridges, etc., provided by government, “gave you some help.”  But it still doesn’t support his conclusion. President Obama is mistakenly equating society  ... MORE