Articles

I enjoyed the story of the Oscar-winning film Hugo in its own right, but to me the most interesting aspect of the film is its exploration of the life and work of French film pioneer Georges Méliès. A fictionalized version of Méliès plays a central role in Hugo, and director…

In a brief video, constitutional law professor Elizabeth Price Foley discusses the Institute for Justice’s amicus brief, which she co-authored, on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) for the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s an excerpt: It’s always been the case under Anglo-American law that contracts have to be…

Frequent and prolonged use of cigarettes has been conclusively linked to significantly increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and a host of other dangerous and unseemly health problems. Governments have seized on this fact as a license to tax, regulate, and slowly criminalize tobacco. Some argue that government is justified…

Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke advocated the federal government’s requirement that insurance companies provide “free” birth control, arguing that, without it, women "struggle financially" and feel “powerless.” In response, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called Fluke a “slut,” the New York Daily News reports. Fluke fired back, saying Limbaugh’s “language…

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born March 2, 1904. He became Dr. Seuss with the publication of his 1937 children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. That’s a great story, as I’ve reviewed, but my favorite will always be Green Eggs and Ham. That’s the book…

The Founders did not say that Americans have the “privilege” of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the Founders recognized that Americans have an inalienable right to those things. Yet Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner claims the federal government should forcibly confiscate more wealth from some citizens, as this is…

Every adult knows that smoking too many cigarettes can lead to serious health consequences (as can over-consumption of countless other things). Adults, however, have a right to make decisions for themselves, and businessmen have a right to market their products as they see fit, so long as they do not…

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum condemned the principle of the separation of church and state, as the Boston Globe reports. Last fall Santorum said that he “almost threw up” after reading John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech endorsing the principle. On Sunday, Santorum elaborated in an interview with ABC’s “This Week”: I…

In his latest email to subscribers, Jason Calacanis pondered: Anyone who . . . used Groupon, Farmville, Facebook, Angry Birds or LinkedIn in the first year knew they were good investments and should have been allowed to invest. Only the rich were allowed to invest. How is that fair? It’s…

A free society recognizes the right of each person to profess his beliefs—no matter how controversial—so long as he does not physically harm (or threaten) others or their property. The government of a free society stops and criminally charges anyone who forcibly interferes with another’s free expression. But last Halloween…

According to the Associated Press, the International Atomic Energy Agency (a branch of the United Nations) said in a confidential report that “Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher-grade enriched uranium over the last four months.” The AP notes that this “feeds concerns about how quickly the Islamic republic…

A new class of drugs shows promising signs of reversing the damage of the frightful disease multiple sclerosis (MS), reports Michael Booth for the Denver Post. New drugs including Gilenya and Tysabri are proving increasingly effective in treating the disease. The web page for Tysabri describes the basics of how…

A senior Israeli official is warning of new attacks by Iran and Hezbollah on Israelis overseas, advising Israelis to be vigilant. The Iranian regime has long expressed its desire to destroy Israel, and continues to sponsor various anti-Israeli terrorist organizations that have murdered Israelis, and aim to murder more. This threat,…

“Operation Enduring Freedom.” That’s what the U.S. government called the military action in Afghanistan. In pursuit of that mission, the U.S. government has sacrificed the lives of more than a thousand U.S. troops and spent trillions of dollars (including tens of billions of dollars in aid). The result has been…

The Pope belies his church’s “pro life” posturing in his recent condemnation of “artificial fertility,” by which he means any medically assisted pregnancy not involving a “conjugal act” between husband and wife. Thus, the AP summarizes, the Pope condemns “sperm or egg donation and methods such as in vitro fertilization.”…