Freedom

How Democracies Become Tyrannies

February 17, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

American Thinker | Ed Kaitz | Feb. 16, 2009

Back in 1959 the philosopher Eric Hoffer had this to say about Americans and America: “For those who want to be left alone to realize their capacities and talents this is an ideal country.”

That was then. This is now. Flash forward fifty years to the election of Barack Obama and a hard left leaning Democrat Congress. What Americans want today, apparently, is a government that has no intention of leaving any of us alone.

How could Hoffer have been so wrong about America? Why did America change so quickly? Can a free people willingly choose servitude? Is it possible for democracies to become tyrannies? How? [Read more…]

A Chamberlain Moment

February 13, 2009February 14, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

Great Britain decides that freedom of speech and truth are really not that important when it comes to radical Islam.
FrontPageMagazine.com | Stephen Brown | Feb. 13, 2009

It was a watershed moment of capitulation. On Thursday, February 12, visiting Dutch politician Geert Wilders was humiliatingly bundled back on to a plane to his native Holland shortly after arriving in London. Wilders had been invited to show his controversial, 17-minute documentary film, Fitna, in Britain’s House of Lords but was warned in a letter from the British Home Office last Tuesday he would be denied entry to the country. As reasons for his being declared persona non grata, Wilders was told in the letter he would “threaten community harmony and therefore public security.” The directive never stated, however, that the statements Wilders made in Fitna are false or misleading in any way. [Read more…]

Economics, Evidence and Enlightenment

February 12, 2009February 14, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

American Thinker | Randall Hoven | Feb. 6, 2009

With today’s economy, wouldn’t it be nice if we knew how to make an economy grow? To know what works and what doesn’t? Well, we do. We just prefer to ignore the truth.

What works is economic freedom. What doesn’t work is more government. [Read more…]

‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years

February 9, 2009March 13, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

The Wall Street Journal | by Stephen Moore| January 9, 2009

Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read “Atlas Shrugged” a “virgin.” Being conversant in Ayn Rand’s classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only “Atlas” were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster. [Read more…]

California: Court says private school can expel lesbians

January 28, 2009January 28, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

San Francisco Chronicle | Bob Egelko | Jan. 28, 2009

A private religious high school can expel students it believes are lesbians because the school isn’t covered by California civil rights laws, a state appeals court has ruled.

Relying on a 1998 state Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Boy Scouts to exclude gays and atheists, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino said California Lutheran High School is a social organization entitled to follow its own principles, not a business subject to state anti-discrimination laws. [Read more…]

The End of Capitalism?

January 25, 2009 by Orthodox Editors

Acton.org | Michael Miller | Jan. 21, 2009

Who would have imagined 20 years ago — when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated the death of socialism — that capitalism would begin 2009 under heavy fire. The Cardinal of Westminster, Cormack Murphy O’Connor, reportedly went so far as to say that, as 1989 marked the end communism, 2008 was the year when “capitalism had died.”

What are we to make of capitalism in light of all the crises, fraud, and government intervention, when even some traditional supporters of markets are supporting bailouts and seem to have lost faith in the market order? Is capitalism no longer credible? Is capitalism really to blame for the financial woes we now face? [Read more…]

Truth and Freedom

January 3, 2009 by editor-main

First Things | Michael Novak | Jan. 2, 2009

Human liberty depends on an accurate grasp of the human condition, not as we might like it to be, but as it is: “The truth shall set you free.”

Let us suppose, for instance, a situation in which truth is rendered servile by some contemporary enthusiasm. If truth is held captive by a powerful force of attraction, can the human beings who live under that force ever find a way to liberty? Only by luck, great courage, and long perseverance.

During the past hundred years, ideologies have often trumped the unimpeded search for truth. Here is where the sentence from Orwell becomes pivotal. “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” [Read more…]

Blame me for job losses

December 12, 2008December 13, 2008 by editor-main

American Thinker | C. Edmund Wright | Dec. 11, 2008

When the jobs report for November came out last week, many so-called “experts” were shocked at the massive loss of an estimated 533,000 jobs. Even a Time /CNN organization called “The Curious Capitalists” were at a loss to explain it.

Let me attempt to help out these “curious capitalists” (though I am still skeptical that anyone working for CNN or Time is either curious or a capitalist). I caused part of this job loss and I know precisely why; the election. The results portend big trouble for small business. [Read more…]

Atlas Is About to Shrug

December 1, 2008December 2, 2008 by editor-main

Human Events | Dr. Lee Hieb | Dec. 1, 2008

Most Americans do not understand the system that feeds them. 50 percent of Americans pay 97 percent of taxes, while the other 50 percent contribute only 3 percent. Most in the latter group pay nothing at all. Beyond their lack of tax liability, these 50 percent do not run businesses, they do not sign the front of the paycheck. [Read more…]

America, the Blessing

November 27, 2008November 27, 2008 by editor-main

American Thinker | Kyle-Anne Shiver | Nov. 27, 2008

What is to become of modern civilization if we Americans throw in the towel on the ideals of liberty and individual dignity, and stop believing that these are worth the suffering required to protect them? How can it be that young Americans do not see the bountiful blessings bestowed upon the rest of the world by us? [Read more…]