"One of the traditional methods of imposing statism, or socialism, on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can't afford it." --Ronald Reagan
"There's a reason why the Obama administration wanted to cram this massive spending bill through the Congress by Abe Lincoln's birthday. Speed is of the essence: The longer it lingers, the more details emerge, proving this egg is rotten to the core. Republicans are now using those details to build skepticism about this freight train of partisan pork." --Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center
"You know how Congress is. They'll vote for anything if the thing they vote for will turn around and vote for them. Politics ain't nothing but reciprocity." --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)
"Big government is where nations go to die -- not in Keynes' 'long run,' but sooner than you think." --columnist Mark Steyn
"Americans now know that the 'change we can believe in,' which President Obama promised, means a taxes-optional administration." --columnist Debra Saunders
"We can’t afford the bailout. And we certainly cannot afford the misnamed 'sweeteners' intended to buy the votes of House members. Using money the government doesn’t have to persuade legislators to spend even more money they don’t have is a fiscal and moral outrage. Turning normal bills into fiscal Christmas trees is bad enough, but the administration’s and congressional leadership’s attempt to avoid a genuine vote on the merits of legislation so expensive and far-reaching is a travesty." --Bob Barr, Libertarian Party nominee for president
"These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis." --Rep. Barney Frank, in rejecting a 2003 Bush administration plan to reform the mortgage industry.
"The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. The wise and correct course to follow in taxation is not to destroy those who have already secured success, but to create conditions under which everyone will have a better chance to be successful." --Calvin Coolidge
"If government subsidized beaches, we would have a shortage of sand." --Ronald Reagan
"The government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." --President Gerald Ford
"Taxes are commonly a calamity for the people and a nightmare for the government. For the former they are always
excessive; for the latter they are never enough, never too much."
--Juan de Mariana (1535–1624)
"Almost all limits on federal power have been set aside in the interest of the common good. Politicians pay far
more attention to the wishes and demands of the mob than they do to the constraints of the Constitution. Politicians,
beginning with Woodrow Wilson, have been working with great success to convince the vast majority of Americans that this
is a country of majority rule, not a country of law." --Neal Boortz
My Pledge of Allegiance It was a sad day indeed when it dawned on me last week that I could no longer, in good conscience, recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Ironic isn't it, that a former Texas A&M University Naval cadet and patriotic American citizen should find himself in such a position. by Kurt Nauck
What's Wrong with Social Security?
Recently, Alan Greenspan has shaken up the major news media with his testimony to Congress about the health of the
Social Security system. Headlines scream, "Greenspan says that Social Security benefits must be cut!" Well, duh.
by Donald A. Tevault
John Q., National Health Care and the Hollywood Left
Denzel Washington is a brilliant actor who wastes his talent by starring in some really stupid, poorly-written
movies. I now only watch his movies whenever I happen to be someplace where one is playing on television. That was
the case a few nights ago, when I saw John Q. on the Starz channel.
John Q. isn't just a bad movie, though. It's also a two-hour long propaganda piece that extols the
virtues of national, government-run health care.
The Farce of Campaign Finance Reform
The U.S. Congress have just shredded the First Amendment. So, why hasn't
there been more of a public outcry?
Why Study Civics? As
is the case with most every webmaster, I like to get a general idea of who
visits my site, and how people find
it. So, a few weeks ago, I noticed from my Hitbox statistics that someone had
found my site by asking a search engine, "Why study civics?". That is a good
question. And, I believe that it deserves a good answer. There are, after all,
some fairly important reasons.
Economic Lessons from the California
Power Mess The current mess in California proves how important it is
for everyone to have a good, soa good, solid understanding of basic
economics. Indeed, one has to wonder if anyone at all in California has even
the least bit of a grasp on this particular topic.
Certainly, California's politicians don't. The voters don't either, or else
they'd vote these rascals out of office.
Adventures in Watching CNN I
never watch CNN because I choose to. The only time I ever watch CNN is when I just happen to be some place where someone else is
watching it. Such was the case on Thanksgiving day 2000, when I visited my aunt up in Alpharetta, Georgia. In a very short period of time, I pointed out to
her several instances of blatantly biased reporting.
Should Everyone Vote? You've heard it all before. "It's your civic duty to vote!
Democracy depends on it!" Even MTV gets into the act with their ridiculous "Rock the Vote" campaign. The main problem with this is that
too many people--dare I say, most people?--have absolutely no business coming within 100 yards of any polling booth. Why?
Simply because, they haven't a clue as to what
they're doing.
About Those Executive Orders The subject of presidential executive orders has been a
controversial one for many years. While President Clinton has made extensive
use of executive orders, he's not the first President to have done so. In fact, his uses of executive orders haven't always been the most
controversial.
The Tenth Amendment--Forgotten, But
Not Gone The founding fathers of our country believed in a small
federal government with limited powers. So, accordingly, they wrote a
constitution that is short, sweet and to the point. In it, they enumerated
the powers and the duties of each branch of the federal government. Then, in
an attempt to ensure that the federal government would remain small and
unobtrusive, they added the Bill of Rights. It's hard to read the news
without seeing something mentioned about one of these rights. One that's never
mentioned though, is the tenth amendment. Since the days of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, the tenth amendment has been completely ignored. As a result, the
federal government is now doing all kinds of things that the constitution does
not authorize it to do.
Secession and Slavery An interesting commentary, “Lincoln, Secession, and Slavery” by Tibor Machan, published by the Cato Institute on June 1, 2002, was recently brought to my attention. I should say at the outset that I have long been a fan of Machan, and have the utmost respect for his positions. I just think he got it way wrong here.
by Scott McPherson
Taking Gore Seriously
The compounding probabilities of climate change alarmism.
by Jonathan V. Last
Why Would Gays Want Children?
Is there a more obvious product of heterosexual behavior than the creation of children? If so then isn't it somewhat peculiar that those who shun the behavior of heterosexuality so deeply crave the product that it brings?
By Kevin McCullough
What's discrimination?
Walter E. Williams: If action were outlawed, life would 'turn into a carnival'
Superman Needs an Agent
Here is this extraterrestrial with amazing powers. Why, asks Robert Murphy, isn't he using his skills more productively?
Rosa Parks and history
Most people do not know the rest of the story, however. Why was there racially segregated seating on public transportation in the first place?
by Thomas Sowell
Power to the Papal
Even Fidel Castro bows to the man who did so much to bring down communism.
BY BRENDAN MINITER
The Misnamed Conflict
The authors of a new book make the case that Civil War and the Confederate defeat resulted in an "ideological downfall"
for the limited government established by the Founders. Laurence Vance is the reviewer.
I Wanna Be Sedated
Johnny Ramone was a Bush punk for the ages.
By Andrew Cline
Freedom vs. Dependency
The Civil Rights Act was a triumph. The War on Poverty was a quagmire.
BY MYRON MAGNET
Adv.--Year of the Rat : How Bill Clinton Compromised U.S. Security for Chinese Cash While many political journalists largely
considered the second term of Bill Clinton's presidency in terms of his
romantic interludes, Edward Timperlake and William C. Triplett II follow up on
one of the more controversial scandals of the 1996 reelection campaign. The
Democratic National Committee was eventually forced to return $2.8 million in
illegal contributions, much of it from foreign nationals, and much of it
brought to the party by fundraising executive John Huang.
The Dear Leader's Little Nuke
Was North Korea's low-yield test explosion really a failure? Maybe not.
by Michael Goldfarb
Israel loses Lebanon war
WND Jerusalem bureau chief says Olmert restrained IDF 'at every turn'
By Aaron Klein
Southern Corruption
The failures of Mexico's government fuel illegal immigration.
By Deroy Murdock
'Helping' Africa to death
Walter E. Williams uses Zimbabwe as evidence Western aid makes things worse.
The Palestinians' Real Problem is Aid
We should have learned the lessons of Africa: unconditional aid destroys economic growth and infantilizes its recipients.
by Irwin M. Stelzer
A Foreign Aid Disaster in the Making
In the wake of the tsunami disaster in Indonesia, governments throughout the world are doing what governments always do:
throwing money at the problem, writes Thomas DiLorenzo.
< href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=176277" target="_blank">Has 'standing' been created in hunt for Obama birth doc?
Appellate judges threaten penalties for seeking president's information By Bob Unruh
Constitution of No This exchange illustrates the way "yes we can" liberals treat the Constitution: They simply ignore it when it gets in the way of their big-government bailouts and takeovers. by Senator Jim DeMint
Obama Administration Wants Govt Control of Media Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of Obama's Federal Trade Commission, is at the epicenter of a quiet movement to subsidize news organizations, a first step toward government control of the media.
By: Dick Morris
One mind-changing page Sometimes you can read a book that will change your mind on some fundamental issue. Rarely, however, is there just one page that can undermine or destroy a widelyheld belief. But there is such a page – page 77 of the book "Out of Work" by Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway. by Thomas Sowell
“A Republic—If You Can Keep It”
I had to look away and blink a couple of times before reading the email again. But it still said the same thing: “Benjamin Franklin said, ‘We have given you a democratic-republic… if you can keep it.”
by Chip Wood
Our Greatest Presidents? In the 1940s and early '50s, a school of establishment historians existed who made it their business to extol the virtues of the "Great Presidents." by Ralph Raico
Barack, The Amazing Mr. Obama Barack Obama is truly an amazing man, with many amazing friends. He has succeeded where countless others have failed. And he has also succeeded where many before him have succeeded with the same time honored methods. By Mark S. McGrew
Obama Citizenship Accusations Come to a Head As we have reported earlier in our article "Barack Obama and the Citizenship Scandal," it has been alleged that Barack Obama is ineligible to become president for two reasons:
by Kurt Williamsen
'Jolting' The Economy Barack Obama says that we have to "jolt" the economy. That certainly makes sense, if you take the media's account of the economy seriously-- but should the media be taken seriously?
By Thomas Sowell
Henry Hazlitt on the Bailout
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson needs to change his reading list. Instead of reading the balance sheets and income statements of the failing banking industry, he needs to read Henry Hazlitt's classic book Economics in One Lesson.
by Scott A. Kjar
The Corporate State Fails According to popular myth, the current financial turmoil is the result of Bush administration deregulation. One problem with that theory: there was no deregulation. The last banking deregulation, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill, was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1999. Oops. by Sheldon Richman
The Corporate State Wins The Senate’s passage of the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, and its presumed acceptance by the House, exposes once and for all the true nature of the American political-economic system. It is free-enterprise in name only. by Sheldon Richman
Dr. Seuss and the Bailout Plan That Uncle Sam!
That Congress-man!
We do not like your bailout plan!
We do not like your taxing plan!
By Joy Hubbard, Bryan Fischer and Debbie Fischer, with apologies to Dr. Seuss
Who is in Charge? Karl Marx or the Marx Brothers Little did I know at the time that less than a year later Americans not only would be confronting bank failures, a credit crisis, and a wildly gyrating stock market, but also a federal government taking actions that would make even Karl Marx blush.
by Nick Nichols
Government Failure To hear the media pundits and presidential candidates tell it, you’d think Adam Smith has been president for the last eight years and, with a Congress full of free-market advocates, had enacted an agenda of full-blown laissez-faire.
by Sheldon Richman
Is This What We Want? The bailout is the worst sort of government interference in the market.
by Rep. Louie Gohmert
Fair Tax, Flawed Tax
Does adding 30% to the price of every house sold sound like a good idea to you?
BY BRUCE BARTLETT
No More Great Presidents
My idea of a great president is one who acts in accordance with his oath of office to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Not since the presidency of Grover Cleveland has any president achieved greatness by this standard.
By Robert Higgs
Professor Stiglitz and the Minimum Wage
Nothing gets me more upset than when someone brings up an argument supporting minimum wage legislation. It's not that I can't counter the argument; it's just that it takes some time to do. So, once and for all, I'm going to target the main motivation for minimum wage advocates in academia: politics.
By Vedran Vuk
Stiglitz is Wrong on Government Joseph Stiglitz shared the Nobel Prize in 2001 partly on the basis of an important paper of his (with Greenwald) that says interventions can make everyone better off. He is a prolific, outspoken, and outstanding spokesman for the pro-government school. Stiglitz sees market imperfections that are remediable by government everywhere he looks; and this paper is supposed to provide the intellectual and analytical foundation for government intervention. Michael Rozeff argues that this important and oft-cited paper completely fails to prove the potential worth of government interventions.
Government Keeps People Poor
Washington reruns are boring. A Democrat beholden to Big Labor proposes an increase in the mandated minimum wage. Republicans beholden to Big (and small) Business defeat the bill. End of episode. Each side has thus reestablished its bona fides with its respective constituency and thus can return to what it really cares about - spending the people's money on war against this, that, or the other.
by Sheldon Richman
Times 2, Bush 0
Why hasn't [President Bush's] Justice Department been directed to investigate these crimes against the Espionage Act and acts of treason in a time of war?
by Pat Buchanan
How the FBI Let 9/11 Happen
Never mind Moussaoui, the smoldering gun was right there all the time
Jeff A. Taylor
State-Sponsored Terrorism, Anyone?
An examination of a key report on Iraq and the Saudi Opposition from the cache of documents captured during Operation Iraqi Freedom and now released by the U.S. government, with additional commentary by the document's Iraqi translator who is working with Ms. Mylroie.
By Laurie Mylroie, with Ayad Rahim
The Paper Trail
Newly released documents provide more evidence of Saddam's terror ties.
BY LAURIE MYLROIE
Choosing Ignorance
The New York Times finally acknowledges the Saddam documents--if only to dismiss them.
by Stephen F. Hayes
Post-Haste
The first batch of captured documents from pre-war Iraq and Afghanistan are now available online.
by Stephen F. Hayes