Cato on Campus - Foundations of Liberty: Individual Liberty

District of Columbia V. Heller: What's Next?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:02:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy: "Following a victory that some thought impossible, the advocates of the right to bear arms are asking themselves where to go next. None are more qualified to answer that question than Robert A. Levy, co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark case that has permanently changed the shape of gun rights jurisprudence." - Dr. Jason Kuznicki

Crying Wolf: Are we all fascists now?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:46:00 EDT

By Michael C. Moynihan: "To anyone that has attended a political demonstration, trawled a blog, or attended a Western university in the past half century, the scattershot use of 'fascist' will ring familiar. And almost as clich�d as accusing an ideological opponent of fascist sympathies is the accurate observation that such charges often demonstrate an utter lack of understanding of just what qualifies as fascist, other than 'someone I vehemently disagree with.'"

Banned! Drew Carey Takes a Tour of Nanny State Nation

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:45:00 EDT

"Whether you love it, hate it, or have never thought about it, chances are some politician wants to ban it. 'Welcome to the Nanny State Nation,' says reason.tv host Drew Carey. 'Where the government minds your own business.'"

The Second Amendment Goes to Court

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:23:00 EDT

Alan Gura, Glenn Reynolds, Randy Barnett, Brian Doherty, Sanford Levinson, Jacob Sullum, and Dave Kopel respond to D.C. v. Heller

D.C. Gun Ban Struck Down

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:04:00 EDT

"On Thursday, the Court rediscovered the Second Amendment. More than five years after six Washington, D.C. residents challenged the city�s 32-year-old ban on all functional firearms in the home, the Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the law is unconstitutional. Heller is merely the opening salvo in a series of litigations that will ultimately resolve what weapons and persons can be regulated and what restrictions are permissible. But because of Thursday�s decision, the prospects for reviving the original meaning of the Second Amendment are now substantially brighter." - Robert A. Levy, Co-counsel to Mr. Heller

Democrats Capitulate on FISA

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:45:00 EDT

By Julian Sanchez: "Democrats are trying to rationalize capitulating on surveillance and telecom immunity in the new FISA bill by calling it a compromise. It isn't."

In a Class Of Your Own

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:05:00 EDT

By Roger Pilon: "When the Supreme Court affirms a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, that's news, especially when nearly every other circuit has gone the other way. That's what happened last week in Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, the news would be better had the 9th Circuit gotten it right."

Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:14:00 EDT

By Michael Lewis: "Some of the greatest baseball players the world has never seen are in Cuba, where their talent is government property, and their only chance of turning pro is the risky boat ride to Florida. Gus Dominguez, an L.A. sports agent, has done more than anyone to help escaped players join major-league U.S. teams, but now he sits in a California jail, convicted of smuggling athletes."

Raiding California�Drew Carey on Medical Marijuana and Minors

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:15:00 EDT

"Should medical marijuana be kept from minors at all costs? Why is it that pharmacists can dispense amphetamines without getting busted, but legal operators who dispense medical marijuana face prison time? Why do armed federal agents persist in raiding California?"

Texas Supreme Court: Return the Children

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:15:00 EDT

By Tim Lynch: "[T]he Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Child Protective Services (CPS) abused its discretion by seizing 468 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado."

Presidential Power-Tripping

Thu, 29 May 2008 12:43:00 EDT

By Radley Balko: " The most important issue in this November's presidential election isn't Iraq or terrorism or the economy, though it plays into all three. The most important issue is presidential power."

Drew Carey Reports on the Tragically High Cost of Building a Border Wall

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:51:00 EDT

"At a time when pundits and politicians of all stripes endorse securing the border between the United States and Mexico, reason.tv travels south to see what's really going on�and what the human and monetary costs are of amping up border patrols."

Our Collectivist Candidates

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:41:00 EDT

By David Boaz: "The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a 'narrow concern.'"

Where Does Law Come From?

Wed, 21 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

By Bruce L. Benson: "The lesson here is that law and governance are natural institutions that arise out of people�s interest in prospering through production, the division of labor, and trade. They do not depend on a central coercive authority for their genesis. States can arise when a powerful group, bent on institutionalized extortion, co-opt and alter existing customary law to serve its own particular interests."

Is Real ID Really Going to Happen?

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:11:00 EDT

By Matthew Blake: "Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program."

Fairness, Idealism and Other Atrocities

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:38:00 EDT

By P.J. O'Rourke: "Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: 'Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!' But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech."

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Hounded to Death

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:32:00 EDT

By David Boaz: "Faced with the prospect of years in prison, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the �D.C. Madam,� committed suicide on Thursday. Her pursuers and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves."

Battle Over Eminent Domain Is Another Civil Rights Issue

Thu, 01 May 2008 14:06:00 EDT

By David T. Beito and Ilya Somin: "Few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain. Some 3 to 4 million Americans, most of them ethnic minorities, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of urban renewal takings since World War II."

America on drugs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:14:00 EDT

"In the Los Angeles Times, Jacob Sullum debates Cully Stimson about drug policy in a back-and-forth argument that's wraps up today."

Milton Friedman Prize Selection Committee Member Arrested

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:54:00 EDT

The Ugandan government has arrested Andrew Mwenda, a member of the 2008 International Selection Committee for the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, along with his fellow journalists Odobo Bichachi and John Njoroge. Andrew Mwenda is a brave journalist who tells it like he sees it. He is well known for standing up for the rights of others; his involvement in the Milton Friedman Prize is only one element of his long commitment to human rights.

Venezuelan Student Movement Leader Awarded $500,000 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:02:00 EDT

Yon Goicoechea, leader of the pro-democracy student movement in Venezuela, has been awarded the 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. Under Goicoechea's leadership, the student movement organized mass opposition to the erosion of human and civil rights in Venezuela and played the key role in defeating Hugo Ch�vez's bid for a constitutional reform that would have turned the country into a dictatorship.

Employers Must Pull the Trigger

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:03:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy: "The owner of the property should be able to determine � for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all � whether to admit gun owners, non-gun owners, neither or both. Customers, employees and guests who object may go elsewhere. That's the controlling principle."

The Dance, Dance Revolution Will Be Televised After All

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:19:00 EDT

By Julian Sanchez: "The plan had been to celebrate the birth of the author of the Declaration of Independence by congregating, flashmob style, for ten minutes of quiet iPod-fueled dancing, then repair to a pub nearby. Instead, park police brought the party to an abrupt halt, arresting 28-year-old Brooke Oberwetter and leading her away in handcuffs, while chasing the rest of the group off."

Inequality and Excess

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:47:00 EDT

By Arnold Kling: "What the American people really should feel awkward and defensive about is the level of inequality and excess of political power. Instead of asking ourselves what we can do about Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, we should be asking ourselves about what we can do about the Clintons and the Spitzers. Those who want more and more power should be our biggest concern."

Real ID Act Has Been a Real Fiasco

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:55:00 EDT

"The big trouble is that there�s no evidence that this Draconian act, even if fully implemented, would be more than a minor inconvenience for a determined terrorist. But having all that information � including copies of birth certificates and Social Security cards � available in one database would make an irresistible target for identity thieves. And it would be a major inconvenience for millions of innocent Americans and a major expense for state governments � meaning taxpayers."