Politically progressive parents who withdraw their children from government schools are ideological hypocrites who undermine the common good, insists Dana Goldstein, a Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation.
In recent years, "there has been a resurgence of interest in homeschooling -- not just the religious fundamentalist variety practiced by Michele Bachman and Rick Santorum, but also in secular... (more)
There is a dangerous confusion among many pacifists that government gun control will bring us a more peaceful society, but sadly this is far from true. I personally find myself in a rare but growing group of pacifists who oppose any kind of gun control policies whatsoever. It may seem counter intuitive to say that more people having more guns will make us safer, but history shows us that this is actually the case.
When gun control legislation is put into place, every gun in the ... (more)
"I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Because I don’t like to pay taxes, I was intrigued by the title of the article by Stephen Foster that I was directed to titled: "102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes." The article is a liberal defense of the legitimacy of the government (usually federal, but sometimes state or local) confiscating... (more)
An Arizona sheriff running for Congress as a Republican denied accusations Saturday that he had threatened to deport an alleged ex-lover, a Mexican national. In the process, he also resigned from a volunteer position with Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign and came out as gay.
After a report published Thursday by the weekly Phoenix New Times, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu acknowledged that he had a "personal relationship" with a man identified only as Jose.
The Department of Homeland Security has hired hundreds of security guards to protect scores of government buildings across the country as the federal agency prepares for terror threats and potential civil disorder in the United States.
“One company, Vendtech-SGI, LLC, of McLean, VA, landed a contract worth more than $311.5 million to provide about 600 guards to protect approximately 200 different posts at more than 130 separate buildings in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Misso... (more)
US Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has callously described the assassination of Iranian scientists as "wonderful," threatening that those who work for Iran's nuclear program "are not safe."
"On occasion, scientists working on the nuclear program in Iran turn up dead. I think that's a wonderful thing, candidly," said Rick Santorum addressi... (more)
In his magnum opus, Human Action, Ludwig von Mises wrote on the type of outcome governmental occupational licensing invariably leads to:
Where the government directly fosters monopoly prices we are faced with instances of license monopoly. The factor of production by the restriction of the use of which the monopoly price is brought about is the license wh
Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.
Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.
In a case brought by major recording labels including Sony, EMI and Warner, today a judge in the High Court ruled that The Pirate Bay and its users breach copyright on a major scale. The ruling means that it is almost inevitable that The Pirate Bay will face a nationwide UK ISP blockade in the coming months.
After the MPA won its blocking case against the Newzbin2 Usenet indexing site last year, it became clear that the entertainment industries would seek further injunctions again... (more)
The censorship of The Pirate Bay, which is slowly spreading to ISPs all around Europe, is designed to reduce the availability of unauthorized media, but the site also allows artists without a corporation-backed delivery mechanism to self publish to the world. However, since blockades are a blunt instrument, their work is being wiped out too. On this basis, the legality of a recent Pirate Bay blockade is now being questioned.
During May 2011, the Copyright Information and Anti-Pira... (more)
Although the common perception of human nature is very negative, the truth is that most people who aren’t mentally ill have a very difficult time committing acts of violence. Usually it takes a sizeable payment and a fair amount of manipulation to convince someone to act violently, and even then a tremendous amount of guilt typically follows regardless of the circumstances. This factor of personal guilt always came into play in executions, so over the years, they devised different ways of ... (more)
Have you ever heard the claim that paying income tax is voluntary? The term "voluntary" is variously used in government documents, including the 1040 form itself, and some very naive people have actually taken this to mean that they don't have to pay if they don't want to. They think that "voluntary" actually means voluntary, as in the free exercise of human volition.
It's an odd position that seems not to comprehend the meaning of the word "tax." What makes a tax different from a... (more)
As most everyone knows, the CIA has been assassinating people practically since the time it was formed in 1947. By and large, however, the CIA kept its assassinations secret. Americans, for their part, had a feeling that such things were being done but didn’t ask any questions.
The system was almost in the nature of a secret, unannounced pact between the government and the people. As part of its job to protect “national security,” the government would have the... (more)
The federal government has been paying lip service to the idea that it wants to encourage new businesses and startups in the US. And this is truly important to the economy, as studies have shown that almost all of the net job growth in this country is coming from internet startups. Thankfully some... (more)
We're still waiting for any actual evidence that this new cybersecurity bill is really necessary. An actual description of the real problem being dealt with would be a good start. Instead, we just get pure fear mongering. While some Senators are asking supporters of the bill to slow down and carefully consider the issue, the bill's backers, led by ... (more)
It appears that the famed "revolving door" between government and the big entertainment industry lobbyists continues. The MPAA has announced four new hires -- all of whom come from roles within the government, and who raise significant questions about who they were working for when they were in their government positions.
