It was indeed the so-called PATRIOT Act that brought Elliot Spitzer down: When Congress passed the Patriot Act in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, law-enforcement agencies hailed it as a powerful tool to help track down the confederates of Osama bin Laden. No one expected it would end up helping to snag the likes [...]

Once again, there’s speculation that former Congressman Bob Barr may be running for President as a Libertarian: Bob Barr for president? According to the Washington Times, the former Republican congressman from Cherokee County confirms he is considering a run for the White House as a Libertarian. “There is great deal [of] dissatisfaction with the candidates [...]

One of the hot topics in this campaign is a call for “energy independence”. All the candidates for president, with the exception of Ron Paul are for it. The vast majority of the candidates for Congress are for it too. Essentially, the proponents are arguing that if people living in the U.S. bought less oil [...]

An interesting case-in-point raised by this article in The New York Times: When Xavier Alvarez was asked to say a few words about himself at a meeting of a California water board last summer, he decided on these: “I’m a retired marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I [...]

His policy statements are vague, he’s got no experience and I’m about 80% sure he’s still on drugs, but damned if he isn’t a likeable scamp who can belt out a good tune, so I’d consider tossing the man a vote. It’s time for America to drink from the hose once again (and barbecue on [...]

I watched/listened to the oral arguments in DC vs. Heller this morning, and in my view (solely based on my knowledge of the justices, and the questions and arguments raised today; which is always iffy) we’re looking at a mixed bag. Well, first the good news. It seems clear that the entirety of the court, [...]

The Supreme Court had allotted 75 mintues for oral argument in D.C. v. Heller today — 30 minutes for each side and 15 minutes for the U.S. Solicitor General — but they actually ended up running nearly half an hour longer as the Justices considered the interpretation and application of an Amendment that has been [...]

Beginning at 10am today and lasting for 75 minutes, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in the most significant Second Amendment cases ever to come before it. Today, in the Boston Herald, Robert Levy, one of the lead attorneys for the citizens in the case, gives a preview of the argument he’ll be [...]

Some parents apparently said yes. Click that link first. Watch the video. Digest it for a second. Then come back. And look at some of the comments: Those kids will feel very proud of themselves in in the? next decade I? am crying watching this video. I wish and pray for all kids around the [...]

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in District of Columber v. Heller, the case challenging the District of Columbia’s decades-old and near-complete ban on gun ownership by city residents. At stake is interpretation of an Amendment that has received almost no judicial scrutiny in 209 years since it was enacted. One blogger, former [...]

ATLANTA (AP) The Georgia Supreme Court denied a new trial Monday for a death row inmate convicted of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989, even though several witnesses against him recanted their testimony. Troy Davis, 39, was a day away from being put to death last July for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Officer [...]

Let all become attentive to the grounds and principles of government, ecclesiastical and civil. Let us study the law of nature; search into the spirit of the British constitution; read the histories of ancient ages; contemplate the great examples of Greece and Rome; set before us the conduct of our own British ancestors, who have [...]

The Constitution has only been amended 27 times in it’s 219 year history. Ten of those amendments, The Bill of Rights, were passed within two years of when the Constitution first went into effect, and two of them, the 18th Amendment and the 21st Amendment, essentially cancel each other out. Moreover, with the exception of [...]

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court will hear argument in what is clearly the most important Second Amendment case in decades: Despite mountains of scholarly research, enough books to fill a library shelf and decades of political battles about gun control, the Supreme Court will have an opportunity this week that is almost unique [...]

Starting tonight, HBO will begin running what looks to be an amazing mini-series about one of America’s most misunderstood Founding Fathers: When in the course of media events, a network devotes six Sunday nights, more than seven hours of airtime and $100 million to a miniseries, it’s likely that the show will be awash with [...]

On Thursday, President Bush decided to offer some encouragement to the troops in the war Afghanistan (a war he has often neglected in favor of his disastrous vanity project in Iraq) by offering this bon mot on his personal feelings about the mission and the service rendered by our armed forces: I must say, I’m [...]

Earlier this week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made this rather absurd comment in the debate of earmarks: “As we look back in history, the Founding Fathers would be cringing to hear people talking about eliminating earmarks,” Reid said, noting that the Founders dictated in the Constitution that all spending should originate in Congress, not [...]

A reader passed on to me a link that asks a question with what would seem like an an obvious answer, but at least one libertarian thinks the answer is no: Why not? Because no living veteran of any US foreign military incursion has done anything to protect a US citizen. “Gee, Joe, you’re a [...]

First of all, I’ve got to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Stephen’s sentiments, expressed here and here, that Elliot Spitzer pretty much deserved everything that has, and will, come to him. During his time as Attorney General of New York, he was a no-holds-barred zealous prosecutor that cared little for the facts or for [...]

Steve Chapman takes up the cause at Reason: Outlawing this commerce serves mainly to make things worse, not better. It assures income to criminal organizations with long experience evading the law. It makes prostitutes vulnerable to abuse. It prevents measures to protect the health of providers and patrons. It exempts an industry from the taxes [...]