"The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought." - Samuel Adams

Thinking in a Box

Here's a fun game you can play during a meeting break or at a dreadfully boring party. Declare yourself a libertarian and start talking about the need to limit the role of government, and then see how long it take before somebody says, "Oh yeah? What about the roads!?!" I promise; it won't take long...

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Only Seeing Half the Story

People have an amazing ability to draw definitive conclusions while only considering one half of the equation. Political philosopher Frederic Bastiat wrote an entire collection of essays illustrating this reality - That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen In the department of economy, an act, a habit, an institution, a law, gives..

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Washington Times Endorses Nullification

I feel like I just stepped into the twilight zone. The Washington Times ran an editorial today supportive of state nullification of unconstitutional acts! And they got the history right to boot! I felt like I was reading my own talking points. Early in our history, nullification was also prominently used by free states to..

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The Tangled Logic of a Critic

I recently wrote an article arguing that the federal government was never meant to serve as a "liberty enforcement squad." I was basically trying to illustrate the concept of delegation of powers through the use of an analogy. Ross sent me an email taking me to task. He believes the federal government SHOULD enforce its..

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Maybe the Problem is the Rope!

The political process in the U.S. resembles a giant game of tug-o-war. On one side, we have team blue. On the other, team red. The two opponents battle endlessly for control of the rope. The Republicans implore Americans to pull for team red. On the other side, Democrats encourage bystanders to jump in and tug..

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The Constitution means what it means!

Many Americans treat the Constitution like a moving target. Recently, I've faced opposition to various constitutional arguments falling into two broad categories. 1. Those who embrace the "living breathing" philosophy. These folks generally believe the constitution was meant to "flex" with the times. They will still hold fast, even tenaciously, to certain constitutional principles, but..

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Monopoly: Good Board Game, Bad Politics

My wife manages a store for the country’s largest grocery chain. Kroger raked in over $90 billion in sales during fiscal year 2012. The company employees some 339,000 people and runs more than 3,000 stores, either directly or through its subsidiaries. Now imagine for a moment Kroger was granted a total monopoly on grocery sales..

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