Gay Marriage and The Role of State
The legitimate functions of a properly limited government do not include either stigmatizing gay behavior or applauding it.
Gay Marriage Exposes the Hypocrisy of Both “Right” and “Left”
When it comes to gay marriage, the leftists are right—for the wrong reasons, as usual. And the conservatives are just plain wrong—as usual. Let’s try applying reason and rationality to this issue, just once. May we, please? The purpose of a proper government is to...
Is Egoism Obvious?
My book, How to Be Profitable and Moral: A Rational Egoist Approach to Business, has been translated into Finnish and was recently published in Finland. At the book launch in Helsinki, an appreciative reader (of the English-language original) and a business owner...
Poor Language, Poor Thinking
Here's what the Harvard University Civil Rights Project's "scholars" said in a July 2001 press release: "Almost half a century after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Southern school segregation was unconstitutional and 'inherently unequal,' new statistics from...
Freedom of Association
Do Americans really cherish freedom of association? Are there any justifiable restrictions on freedom of association? In my book, any restriction on one's right to associate freely with anyone he pleases, on mutually agreeable terms, is both offensive and a gross...
“Friends” of Blacks, Part 2
In a commercial that ran during the Christmas-New Years holidays a few years ago, the husband was trying to keep an old car patched up, while the wife wanted him to get a new one. At the end, the wife asks: "Should old acquaintance be forgot?" And she answers...
Yet More Tears for Africa
In a report in the Washington Times, the Bush administration said in August that it no longer considers President Robert Mugabe to be the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe and called upon "the body politic" of his country "to go forward and correct that situation."...
Gray Davis’s Government By Smog Check
The race for governor of California has played like a choice between the lesser of two evils. But there are several reasons why Bill Simon, Jr. -- whatever his flaws -- will do less harm to California. Ruled by the liberal dogma of his most ardent supporters, Gov....
Who are America’s Greatest Heroes?
With the anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, Americans have remembered and lauded our fireman and police heroes, as we should. But now that the commemorative ceremonies are over, it is time to ask ourselves: who are America's greatest heroes?These firemen and...
The Trend Toward Totalitarian Government
A truly civilized, wealth-respecting world would observe capital flight and brain drains, recoil in horror and stop penalizing success. It would cut tax rates and regulation and cease calling wealth-makers as criminals who deserve a noose -- or deportation. But this...
“Friends” of Blacks
If the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall.
Enron vs. Atlas
The hysteria over "corporate crime" is finally beginning to lead a few people back to the one source that puts this scandal frenzy in its proper perspective: Ayn Rand's epic novel "Atlas Shrugged," which was recently profiled in The New York Times and just this week...
One Year Later: Does Bush Really Understand the War?
The AP reports President Bush's overall approval rating has slid steadily downward over the summer, largely because of a withering of support in the way he is conducting foreign policy. According to a CBS News-New York Times poll released earlier this month, a...
Protect America: Stop Marrying Terrorists!
Here's another item to add to Dr. Laura's list of "10 Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives": Stupid treachery. An alarming number of American women have ruined their lives -- and threatened the lives of their fellow citizens -- by marrying Middle Eastern...
“Race Cleansing” in Zimbabwe: UN Sees No Evil
Only the United Nations, we're told, has the vision and the moral authority to be the keepers of justice in the world. Well, as they say, actions speak louder than words. The UN's bureaucrats spend a huge amount of time wringing their hands over the United States'...
Bureaucratic Leftism: The United Nations vs. American Sovereignty
In the debate over Iraq, the Democrats and most allied governments are demanding United Nations Security Council endorsement of a military campaign - or they are against it. This is a strange position. The U.S. government, with an over two-century record of forwarding...
When Your Home Is Not Your Castle
Should a random passersby be able to dictate the color of your house? The Lake Tahoe Regional Planning agency is advancing this and other assaults on property owners living around Lake Tahoe. A recent 12-to-1 vote by the agency recommends a swarm of new regulations...
The War on Art Historians
I just discovered a story that sums up, better than anything else, the end result of the War on Terrorism so far. It is a story, not about the suppression of Islamic fanatics in the Middle East, but about the suppression of our own liberties here in the United States....
End Sanctuary for Illegal Immigrants
What does fighting terrorism have to do with stemming massive illegal immigration? Much more than government officials have been willing to let on over the past year. When September 11 hijackers Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar needed help getting fraudulent...
Mad about Mandela
According to a Reuters report filed by Brendan Boyle, South African statesman Nelson Mandela condemned President Bush's policy on Iraq earlier this month, saying he was "appalled" by U.S. threats of military action. According to the report: "What they are introducing...
Why America’s Become Sissified
"America: A Sissified Nation" was the title of a past column that brought in hundreds of favorable responses, mostly from American men and women who were not sissies. In that column, I argued that we Americans have become sissified and are meekly giving up essential...
The ‘Chickenhawk’ Defense
Whether or not most Americans agree, there may be a multitude of lucid reasons why the United States should avoid a preemptive military strike against Iraq. Problem is, most arguments employed by anti-war pundits these days are at best unconvincing and at worst...
FCC Tunes Out Consumers
Last month, on August 9th, the Federal Communications Commission issued a final order to carry out its 1997 congressional mandate to "phase in" High Definition Television (HDTV) over the next five years. The order says that in 2007, all television signals must be...
Who Will Replace James Ziglar?
Good riddance to James Ziglar, the hopeless head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) who announced his resignation last month. This is a man whose main qualifications for the nation's top immigration enforcement job were his boyhood friendship with...
Individual Rights Loses a Round to ‘Democracy’
"Judicial activism" is a term which gets thrown around far too much, and often too erroneously, when criticizing the acts of federal judges. Most judges are, regardless of political persuasion, fairly timid creatures who balk at acting against the perceived popular...
Hillary and the Great Clitoridectomy Hoax
Being a feminist means never having to say you're sorry. Witness The Great Clitoridectomy Hoax -- brought to you by the unapologetic, estrogen-fueled brigade of Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts and Hillary Clinton. In 1997, a West African woman calling herself "Adelaide...
Intellectual Activism: Stop the RAVE Act
Bipartisan stupidity is alive and well in Washington. On June 27, just nine days after its introduction, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported out S. 2633, the "Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act," or the "RAVE Act." The cute acronym alone should earn...