In 1989, nations in Eastern Europe rebelled against the communist dictatorships that controlled their lives. In Self Defense, an organization that promoted individual rights, sent my article, “New Democracies Need Ideas More Than Money,” in response to calls for American financial aid to the budding democracies. Click here to read the article.
Regressives (they call themselves “Progressives”) have long opposed the system of limited government established by the drafters of the Constitution. As one example, the Seventeenth Amendment, which established direct elections of United States Senators, was ratified in 1913 at the height of the first “Progressive” movement. Prior to that time, Senators were selected by each…
Libertarians believe that individual liberty is compatible with virtually any moral code. However, politics is the application of morality into a social context. To separate the two is to place liberty on a foundation that cannot support freedom. In a piece titled, “Native Americans Had a Lot More Private Property Than You Think,” Daniella Bassi,…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on July 12, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In an effort to balance their budgets, cities across the nation are reducing the money they spend on public libraries. Not surprisingly, the Chronicle finds this “alarming”: For Americans of limited means, and that includes many Houstonians, public libraries…
In the mid-2000s, residents of Hobbs, New Mexico were debating a proposal to implement comprehensive zoning. I was hired as a consultant to fight the proposed zoning ordinance. The article below was published in the local newspaper. $ $ $ The Maddox Foundation has offered a grant of $15 million to the City of Hobbs…
If you examine nearly any debate regarding government policy, almost all of the discussion revolves around government imposing more restrictions and controls on businesses and individuals. It might seem that proposals to eliminate single-family zoning (SFZ) are an exception and a move towards greater respect for individual rights. But that appearance is a mirage. Most…