July 23, 2007

Wake Up!

by Paul Jacob Isn't it annoying when advocates of whatever stripe tell you to "Wake up!"? As if you have to be in a torpor to disagree with the guy! However, at the extreme, I've taken the same tack. Take...
Posted by RobertCapozzi at 06:40 AM

August 23, 2006

Joe Lieberman and the Soul of the Republican Party

By Paul Gessing A few weeks ago, prior to Connecticut’s Democratic primary in which Joe Lieberman lost to Ned Lamont, I wrote that this was a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. Well, we all know now how...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:51 PM

August 06, 2006

Joe Lieberman and the Soul of the Democratic Party

By Paul J. Gessing On Tuesday, voters in Connecticut’s Democratic Primary will go to the polls to decide whether they would rather allow Joe Lieberman to represent them for six more years or whether it is time for a change....
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:32 PM

June 22, 2006

VIDEO: Right Against War in Iran

Below is video shot by Senior Editor Robert Capozzi at the "Right Against War with Iran" event which took place June 21st at the Cannon Building on Capitol Hill. The event was sponsored by the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign...
Posted by KevinRollins at 07:15 PM

May 27, 2006

Freedom Lovers for Feingold?

By Paul Gessing In the world of politics, especially presidential politics, it is never too early to start talking about the future. Never has that been truer than it is now and rarely have so many Americans been so concerned...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:49 PM

April 13, 2006

At the Very Least…Don’t Repeat Iraq Mistakes

By Paul Gessing I did not support the Iraq War. I disagreed with it from the very beginning and never felt that the Bush administration was telling the truth when it came to the imminent threat of a "mushroom cloud”...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:16 AM

February 19, 2006

The Right to Dissent on the Right

by Chuck Muth A couple years back, I did a stint as the executive director at the American Conservative Union (ACU), which hosts the wildly popular annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). At the time, I made a suggestion that...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:17 PM

February 02, 2006

Support Freedom of Speech

Sign the Petition to Support Freedom of Speech at http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/freespeech1
Posted by LeonardHarris at 07:05 PM

January 31, 2006

Attack of the Hegelian Anarchists

By Carl Milsted, Jr. I must admit I was a bit surprised by the reaction of some anarcho-capitalists and other libertarians to my previous essay, “The Need to be Anarchists.” For years, the active political branch of the libertarian movement...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:50 AM

January 30, 2006

Al Gore and the Transpartisan Future

By Kevin Rollins Transpartisanship means finding overarching truths that transcend political divisions for the betterment of all. Former Vice President Al Gore did just that in his speech on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Putting aside party differences, Gore called...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:31 PM

January 23, 2006

The Need to be Anarchists

By Carl Milsted Proposition 1: Taxation is theft. Observation 1: Anarchy has failed worldwide. Every society that was anarchistic has either been conquered or created a government of its own. That is, unless you count Somalia, which is hardly a...
Posted by KevinRollins at 07:21 AM

January 08, 2006

What I learned about the Patriot Act

Matt Morrison, a Virginia high school student, recounts his experience debating the Patriot Act with peers at the Princeton Model Congress. Are legislators better informed about the laws they pass than high school students? What are the dangers of constitutional illiteracy?
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:19 AM

October 12, 2005

The Miers Nomination: Avoiding Advice and Consent

By William Watkins Most Americans recognize the Supreme Court as final arbiter of our rights and the Constitution. Even if the President, a unanimous Congress, and the people of all fifty states agree on a particular piece of legislation, a...
Posted by KevinRollins at 06:14 PM

August 28, 2005

Food Police Nothing to Laugh About

By Chuck Muth "CAUTION: The Attorney General has determined that cooking food may be harmful to your health." Don't laugh. That ridiculous warning label could actually soon appear on bags of Mickey D's fries or Lay's BBQ chips. For that...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:04 PM

July 21, 2005

The Transpartisan Triangle: Another Way to Look at the Political Landscape

By Robert Capozzi Where are we, politically, as a nation? Are we Left, Right, conservative, liberal…what? And what the heck is a “Free Liberal”? Increasingly, in the “postmodern” world, the answers entirely depend on who you ask. Few would suggest...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:27 PM

July 18, 2005

In Defense of Eminent Domain

By Charles McDowell There appears to be universal condemnation in libertarian and conservative circles of the recent Supreme Court ruling in Kelo vs. City of New London. While I don’t have a lot to say about the specifics of this...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:36 AM

July 16, 2005

The Silver Lining of the Kelo Cloud

by Lady Liberty On June 23, the US Supreme Court released its decision on a Connecticut property rights case. Much to the dismay of millions, the court ruled 5-4 that cities can seize homes or businesses via eminent domain and...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:42 PM

July 11, 2005

A Real Litmus Test for the Supreme Court

By Paul Gessing Now that Sandra Day O’Connor has retired, opening a vacancy on the Supreme Court, average Americans – those of us who are not stridently pro-choice or pro life – need to consider what they personally want from...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:37 AM

June 29, 2005

If it’s property they want, it’s property they’ll get

By Stephen Gordon "Those who profess to favor freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:27 PM

June 22, 2005

Once Again, It’s Flag Burning Time!

By Paul Gessing No, it’s not time to run out in your front yard and take the lighter fluid that you’d otherwise use for grilling hot dogs and hamburgers to fry the stars and stripes to a crispy brown. Actually,...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:41 AM

June 12, 2005

Pirates of the Brazilian

By Chuck Muth In the 2003 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," the evil mutineer's name was Captain Barbosa. How ironic, then, that the current Brazilian health minister's name is Jarbas Barbosa. The booty Minister...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:30 PM

June 09, 2005

Amnesty International vs. The American Gulag

by Jason Miller On 6/3/05, the Bush administration lacked the courage to face its accuser directly. Jim Lehrer of Newshour on PBS moderated a discussion between Amnesty International and the Bush administration. The topic was Amnesty's recent allegations concerning prisoner...
Posted by KevinRollins at 03:08 PM

June 04, 2005

Missing the Point: Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research

By Ron Paul Medical and scientific ethics issues are in the news again, as Congress narrowly passed a bill last week that funds controversial embryonic stem cell research. While I certainly sympathize with those who understandably hope such research will...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:05 PM

May 27, 2005

The Daily Fight for Liberty

By Paul Gessing In defeating Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential contest, Ronald Reagan famously once said “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” During Carter’s four years in office, Americans were faced with stagflation, the...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:35 AM

May 16, 2005

"Freaking Out" Over Government Surveillance

By Chuck Muth Why are we so worried about a few million illegal aliens infiltrating society who have no idea what being an American is all about when we have so many more natural-born, home-grown Americans who have no idea...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:49 AM

May 13, 2005

Greatest Show on Earth?

By Jason Miller Phineas Taylor Barnum would be green with envy. The master of the hoodwink would be in awe of the Religious Right movement. Mirroring Barnum, snake-charming, beguiling, conning, and flimflamming are at the heart of its repertoire. Yet...
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:56 AM

May 11, 2005

Basic Income Guarantee: Response to Ginivan

By Timothy Carter My recent article in The Free Liberal advocating a basic income as a replacement for current regulatory labor protections such as the minimum wag has attracted two responses to which I would like to reply. The first...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:00 AM

May 07, 2005

The British Election Results

By Richard Sincere Watching the election returns from the United Kingdom -- first on the live feed from the BBC on C-SPAN, then the streaming video on line at bbc.com -- I am struck by a few salient differences between...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:49 AM

May 06, 2005

Working Within the System: The Republican Liberty Caucus

Following last month’s interview with the Democratic Freedom Caucus, The Free Liberal took a look at the other side of the aisle and found a thriving force for libertarian and classical liberal views within the Republican Party. The Republican Liberty...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:26 AM

April 26, 2005

Dietary Supplements and Health Freedom

By Ron Paul Millions of Americans take dietary supplements every day, and the numbers are growing as the Baby Boom generation ages. More and more Americans understandably are frustrated with our government-controlled health care system. They have concluded that vitamins,...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:17 AM

April 20, 2005

"Bad Intelligence" - The Subject is Subjectivity

by Arash Norouzi Americans, it would seem, are the ideal audience for propagandists, precisely because they don't believe they are being propagandized. We have just seen the U.S. government cry wolf, then admit there was no wolf, and still maintain...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:56 AM

April 18, 2005

The Economics of the Basic Income Guarantee

By Matt Ginivan Tim Carter's proposal to abolish the minimum wage and establish a government guaranteed basic income is misguided. The labor market reaches an equilibrium when the price-setting relation (PS) and the wage-setting relations (WS) are equal. PS is...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:47 AM

April 14, 2005

Another Approach: The Democratic Freedom Caucus

It’s said that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and Paul Gagnon, member of the Democratic Freedom Caucus (DFC) National Committee, would agree. He and his colleagues on the DFC have been working from within to inject...
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:24 AM

April 11, 2005

Alternatives to the Minimum Wage

By Timothy Carter Republicans want to eliminate the minimum wage. The most explicit statement of this desire comes from the Republican party of Texas, home of President George W. Bush and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Their 2004 Party Platform...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:55 AM

April 08, 2005

Who’s Better Off?

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Whenever the administration is challenged regarding the success of the Iraq war, or regarding the false information used to justify the war, the retort is: “Aren’t the people of...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:08 AM

March 01, 2005

Bowing and Scraping for the WTO

By Ron Paul The World Trade Organization, which the United States joined in 1994, has been disastrous for American sovereignty. A tax bill passed last year provides a vivid example of just how blatantly Congress is surrendering our sovereignty to...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:37 AM

February 09, 2005

Gay Marriage is Coming: The Beginning of the End of DOMA

By Chuck Muth Forget Massachusetts. The court decision gay marriage opponents - and supporters - ought to REALLY be worried about is the one handed down in New York last week declaring gay marriage legal, a decision which surely will...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:48 AM

January 19, 2005

Virginia Enters the Twentieth Century

by Richard Sincere When the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in the otherwise obscure case of Martin v. Ziherl on January 14, it belatedly brought the Commonwealth into the 20th century. How so? The court overturned a law dating to the...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:33 AM

January 18, 2005

The Free Market for War: How I Almost Became a Mercenary

By Ali Hassan Massoud In 2002, life was not going well for me. I was making decent money selling agricultural chemicals but the collateral damage from the job was hurting me badly in other ways. Yeah, I was making excellent...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:30 AM

January 16, 2005

Tigers, snowmobiles, and Sudafed: There oughta (not) be a law

By Bill Winter Here's the best legal advice you'll get in 2005: Don't let your pet tiger drive a snowmobile across a not-quite-frozen lake and then buy three packages of Sudafed at a drugstore. If you do, you'll get into...
Posted by KevinRollins at 11:09 AM

January 14, 2005

Ed Thompson on Democracy and Liberty

Ed Thompson, brother of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and 2002 candidate for Wisconsin governor, recently gave this speech on the affairs of his state government. It is truly a shame that we—the politically homeless--must gather here today....
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:46 AM

January 13, 2005

Top Ten Bills from the Virginia Legislature in 2005

The Virginia state legislature is now hard at work again to make Virginia safer, more beautiful, and generally a more fun place to live. Free Liberal contributor Nathan Larson reviews some notable bills. You put your weed in there: “It...
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:15 AM

January 01, 2005

Taunting the Libertarian Bull

By Chuck Muth There's an old saying my dad taught me as a kid: Don't fool with the bull or you'll get the horns. It appears Washington state GOP chairman Chris Vance missed that day in Life's Lessons 101. And...
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:41 AM

December 23, 2004

Getting the Royal Shaft by Euro-Weenies

By Chuck Muth You're not gonna believe this one: In an international anti-trust case, a European Union court ruled on Wednesday that Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), an American institution, was being unfair to its European competitors and consumers by controlling...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:01 PM

December 07, 2004

Congressman Ron Paul Denounces National ID Card

Washington, DC- Congressman Ron Paul today denounced the national ID card provisions contained in the intelligence bill being voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives, while urging his colleagues to reject the bill and its new layers of...
Posted by KevinRollins at 06:56 PM

November 24, 2004

The Alternative Reality of George W. Bush

By Scott C. Smith When Attorney General John Ashcroft resigned on November 9th, he stated in his resignation letter to President George W. Bush, “The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.” When...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:19 PM

October 26, 2004

Government Debt- The Greatest Threat to National Security

By Ron Paul Once again the federal government has reached its "debt ceiling," and once again Congress is poised to authorize an increase in government borrowing. Between its ever-growing bureaucracies, expanding entitlements, and overseas military entanglements, the federal government is...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:33 AM

September 28, 2004

Ron Paul: What's Wrong with the IMF?

By Ron Paul You won't hear either presidential candidate say much about the issue of foreign aid during this election season, despite the record levels of federal spending and debt that plague our economy. Very few Americans realize the extent...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:32 AM

September 13, 2004

Forcing Kids Into a Mental Health Ghetto

By Ron Paul A presidential initiative called The "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health" has issued a report recommending forced mental health screening for every child in America, including preschool children. The goal is to promote the patently false idea...
Posted by KevinRollins at 04:45 PM

September 09, 2004

Interview: Leaving the Liars Club

Interview with Dr. Brad Blanton. By Michael Ostrolenk, Senior Editor Brad Blanton Ph.D., psychotherapist, seminar leader and author of a number of books on Radical Honesty, is running for Congress as an Independent in the 7th district of Virginia against...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:42 AM

September 02, 2004

Beyond Left & Right: Toward A New Transpartisan Politics

By Michael Ostrolenk In today's post-partisan world, left-right, liberal-conservative, Republican-Democrat lack useful significance in describing a complete picture of contemporary politics. These 19th century shopworn terms fail to include a new large post-partisan demographic which is emerging and has yet...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:45 PM

August 24, 2004

The 9-11 Commission Charade

By Ron Paul The 9-11 Commission report, released late last month, has disrupted the normally quiet Washington August. Various congressional committees are holding hearings on the report this week, even though Congress is not in session, in an attempt to...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:06 PM

August 20, 2004

Nationalism and Politics: Are the Bad Old Days Back?

By Jack D. Forbes I grew up during World War II with the creation of the United Nations and the hope that the days of nationalistic wars had come to an end. The Allies had put together a powerful coalition...
Posted by KevinRollins at 09:01 PM

Rollins: Be Careful Whom You Quote!

By Kevin Rollins Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka got in trouble for quoting Council of Foreign Relations chairman Peter G. Peterson's new book. On his blog, he said: Both of the two major parties are responsible and guilty for...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:01 AM

August 09, 2004

Police State USA

by Ron Paul Last week's announcement that the terrorist threat warning level has been raised in parts of New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. has led to dramatic and unprecedented restrictions on the movements of citizens. Americans wishing to...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:06 PM

August 03, 2004

A Government Agency That Even Libertarians Can Love: The GAO and Pentagon Accountability

By Nathan Larson The Government Accountability Office (GAO) acts as Congress’ investigative arm, studying how the Government spends taxpayer dollars. No other agency can audit Federal departments with the same degree of independence from the President. Two recent investigations –...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:03 PM

July 29, 2004

The GOP's History Of Crony Capitalism and Moral Fervor

By Jack Forbes From the Civil War of the 1860s until 1932 the federal government of the United States was dominated almost completely by the Republican Party, also known as the G.O.P (Greedy Old Predators to some, Grand Old Party...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:54 PM

July 20, 2004

Economic Realities to Recognize and Accept: A Short Lesson for Virginians and Other Americans

By Gary Wolfram, Ph.D. Empirical literature demonstrates that high taxes, or taxes that are increasing, dampen economic growth. Dr. Richard Vedder, a professor of economics at Ohio University, is well-published in this area and most recently showed that not only...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:49 PM

June 28, 2004

Attack on 'Fahrenheit 911' documentary shows 'Constitution is on fire,' Libertarian says

WASHINGTON, DC -- The attack on Michael Moore's new documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," shows that free speech has come under an unprecedented assault in America, thanks to the campaign finance law passed by Congress last year, says Libertarian presidential candidate Michael...
Posted by KevinRollins at 08:23 PM

June 17, 2004

Interview with Michael Badnarik

Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Michael Badnarik with North Carolina activist Tara Grubb While he was still a year from winning the Libertarian nomination, Michael Badnarik talked with TFL Publisher Kevin Rollins about his campaign and his ideas. April 2003, Charlotte,...
Posted by KevinRollins at 03:47 PM

June 14, 2004

From G.A.T.T. to WTO : The Return of Mercantilism

By Jean-Louis Caccomo "Commerce, that enriched British citizens, contributed to make them free, and this liberty then spread commerce" Voltaire (1694-1778) In the beginning, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), created just after the Second World War in...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:20 PM

June 09, 2004

U.S. Justice Department Secret Memo on Torture Sets Dangerous Precedent, Libertarians Say

WASHINGTON, DC -- A secret legal opinion by the Justice Department that reportedly justifies torture should be repudiated by the U.S. government before it backfires on U.S. troops or civilians overseas, Libertarians say. “Iraqis can torture Americans just as easily...
Posted by KevinRollins at 08:38 PM

May 13, 2004

Passing the Buck in Iraq

By Ron Paul The allegations of prisoner torture by our troops in Iraq are disturbing, and clearly drastic action must be taken to ensure such conduct stops immediately. But why are we condemning a small group of low-level reservists when...
Posted by KevinRollins at 07:43 PM

May 10, 2004

7 State Chairs Endorse Nolan, While Gun Rights Group Endorses Russo

Gary Nolan, candidate for the Libertarian nomination for President, today announced seven endorsements from Libertarian Party state chairs. Nolan also announced endorsements from five other state-level officials. Endorsements released today include: Mark Cenci - Acting Chair, LP Maine & Region...
Posted by KevinRollins at 08:00 PM

May 06, 2004

JUDGE GRAY TO TOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT SUPPORT, SPEAK ON DRUG WAR, GMOS IN MENDOCINO CAMPAIGN SWING

Orange County, CA. -- Superior Court Judge and US Senate candidate James P. "Jim" Gray (L-CA) will bask in the glow of endorsements by the top two law enforcement officials in Mendocino County on Tuesday, May 11th when he addresses...
Posted by KevinRollins at 10:44 PM

March 23, 2004

9/11: Blood On Bush's Hands?

By Jonathan David Morris Over the weekend, former Bush administration official Richard Clarke -- author of the new book, Against All Enemies -- told 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl, "I find it outrageous that the president is running for re-election on...
Posted by KevinRollins at 01:29 PM

March 19, 2004

Michigan Appeals Court Sides With Think Tank

Washington, DC-The Michigan Court of Appeals today threw out a lawsuit filed by the Michigan Education Association that attempted to punish the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank that accurately quoted the union's president in a fundraising...
Posted by KevinRollins at 02:41 PM

February 12, 2004

A Wise Consistency

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 11, 2004 A wise consistency is the foundation of a free society. Yet everyone knows, or thinks they know, that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. How...
Posted by KevinRollins at 12:55 PM