Cato on Campus - Foundations of Liberty: Limited Government

What Next for D.C.'s Gun Laws

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:36:00 EDT

By Robert A. Levy and David Kopel: "The Supreme Court ruled in June that provisions of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the city has responded with new regulations that are a flagrant attempt to circumvent the court's decision."

Keeping Our Cool: What to do About Global Warming

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:56:00 EDT

By Jim Manzi: "The loss of economic and technological development that would be required to eliminate literally all theorized climate change risk would cripple our ability to deal with virtually every other foreseeable and unforeseeable risk, not to mention our ability to lead productive and interesting lives in the meantime."

Seeing China Whole

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:21:00 EDT

By Steve Chapman: "Anyone contemplating the thuggish repression still prevalent under the Beijing government may find that hard to imagine. But if the last 30 years have taught us anything, it is not to underestimate China's capacity for positive change."

Why California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Charlie Lynch Was Found Guilty in Federal Court of Selling Drugs

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

"In this latest reason.tv video, we talk to Lynch's lawyers and the forewoman of the jury to find out precisely how Lynch got convicted and what happens next. It's a disturbing, provocative video that should make even the hardiest drug warrior wonder just what the hell we're doing locking up businessmen who play by the rules and give aid and comfort to sick people."

Banished: 'The Forsaken' by Tim Tzouliadis

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:49:00 EDT

Reviewed by Richard Pipes: "Most of these expatriates, not intellectuals but simple working men, were quickly disenchanted and wanted to return home, only to find that Moscow considered them Soviet citizens and barred them from leaving. Ignored by the American government, many of them ended in the gulag."

Elevator Arguments for Drug Policy Reform

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:25:00 EDT

By Pete Guither: "So you�ve been studying hard and you�re starting to amass an incredible amount of data supporting drug policy reform. You�re ready to make a difference.
And then opportunity presents itself. Somebody actually asks you a question about drugs... just as you get on the elevator. But here�s the problem � he�s getting off at the 12th floor and you�re going to 14. What do you do?"

Swedish Myths and Realities

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:03:00 EDT

"Johan Norberg, author of In Defense of Global Capitalism, sits down with reason.tv's Michael C. Moynihan to sort out the myths of the Sweden's welfare state, health services, tax rates, and its status as the 'most successful society the world has ever known.'"

Consenting to Be Abused

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:47:00 EDT

By Steve Chapman: "In a nation founded on respect for the rights of every person, these searches give all priority to the power and convenience of the government, while mocking the liberties we are supposed to have. Why would we consent to that?"

A Few Questions for Barack Obama

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:29:00 EDT

By Radley Balko: " In my last column, I posed questions to GOP presidential hopeful John McCain. This week, it's Democrat Barack Obama's turn."

Why Muslims Still Hate Us

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:51:00 EDT

By Patrick Basham: "An analysis of Muslim public opinion since 9/11 finds that, on balance, the "foreign policy trumps culture" argument is correct. This finding has important implications for the debate over U.S. Middle East policy and the broader war on terrorism."

The Grand Exaggerator

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:47:00 EDT

By Patrick Michaels: "OK, it's pretty much standard rhetoric in Washington to say that if you don't do as I say, there will be massive consequences. But to say, as Gore recently did: 'The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk;' and: 'The future of human civilization is at stake' � that's a bit much, even for the most faded and jaded political junkie."

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.'"

A Matter of Life and Death

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:22:00 EDT

By Karol Boudreaux: "By some estimates South Africa has taken in over three million illegal immigrants in the past year - not just people in search of better jobs, but also Zimbabweans fleeing Robert Mugabe's reign. The unfortunate byproduct of this influx of immigrants is a longstanding and mostly dormant xenophobia that has reared its head. "

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."

From Breadbasket to Basket Case

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:38:00 EDT

By Mary Anastasia O'Grady: "As the presidential campaign drones on, Barack Obama and the Democrats are fleshing out the promise of "change" with some specific, big-government policy proposals. Many are familiar, perhaps because they already have been tried � in Argentina."

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?"

Narcissists With Nukes

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:46:00 EDT

By Shawn Macomber: "Should Cato Institute Senior Editor Gene Healy's wonderfully informative, perception shifting examination of the wayward American executive, The Cult of the Presidency, receive the attention it so richly deserves, however, it may serve as a perfect literary tonic for our historical and cultural amnesia. Perhaps Healy, armed with a persuasive, good-natured outrage, will even inspire some among us toward a more narrow definition of presidential virtuousness and, by extension, broaden the conception of our own."

Government, War, and Libertarianism

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:23:00 EDT

By Justin Logan: "Why has the war�and post-9/11 foreign policy generally�been so controversial for libertarians? And now, more than six years after 9/11 and more than five years into the war in Iraq, what can libertarian insights tell us about how we got here and what to do next?"

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."