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I’ll be a guest on Diana Hsieh’s Philosophy in Action Talk Radio show tomorrow, Wednesday, October 10, at 6pm Pacific Time. The subject is common mistakes people make in thinking about ethics or morality. We’ll discuss religious ethics, duty ethics, social and subjective ethics, pragmatism, and more. From the Philosophy…

In a striking indication that an economy hovering barely above recession is becoming the “new normal,” the president and much of the media heralded the September unemployment figure of 7.8 percent as great news. In fact, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, “the real news . . . is…

Should Sesame Street’s Big Bird or the like receive tax dollars? Not according to wise and fair Sesame Street characters. Mitt Romney took that position, too, when, during the first presidential debate, he said: I will eliminate all programs by this test: Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing…

Should politicians be permitted to restrict campaign speech? That is a question Colorado voters will face this Fall regarding Amendment 65, a ballot measure asking politicians to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution "that allows Congress and the states to limit campaign contributions and spending." Recently I presented my…

Catholic Archbishop John J. Myers has issued a pastoral statement declaring that the legalization of gay marriage would threaten religious freedom. In fact, however, the archbishop’s claim is a threat to religious freedom. America has a secular government that is supposed to protect every individual's rights to free association and…

“You didn’t build that.” “Spread the wealth around.” Don’t “roll back regulations” on businesses. “Make these critical investments” in government projects, from Solyndra to Obamacare to federal education programs. Such are the ingredients of Barack Obama’s vision of an increasingly powerful central government—a government far past the bounds prescribed by…

A recent article from the Denver Post reveals the central problem with the modern clash between Democrats and Republicans: While both parties seek to protect individual rights in some ways, both seek to violate rights in other ways. The Post interviews a college student, Tyler Antikainen, about one main issue,…

A recent Washington Post article clarifies the meaning and purpose of Barack Obama’s government “investments.” As the paper reports, Obama has showered select citizens of Ohio with tax dollars and special privileges, helping them receive a grant for a “manufacturing center,” large tax credits for allegedly “clean energy,” and “the…

You are invited to an Objective Standard Mini-Conference on Saturday, October 20, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. LOCATION Double Tree by Hilton 4099 Valley View Lane Dallas, Texas 75244 PROGRAM & SPEAKERS “Religion vs. Morality” by Andrew Bernstein   For thousands of years, and continuing to this day, many people believe(d) that…

As Fox News reports, the United Nations is seeking to “create global taxes that would transfer hundreds of billions, and even trillions, of dollars from the rich nations of the world—especially the U.S.—to poorer ones.” [caption id="attachment_3473" align="alignright" width="242"] Image: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Although a spokesperson from the U.S. Mission to…

It would be shocking if it weren’t so predictable. Steven Rattner, who once advised the Obama administration, begins his recent New York Times op-ed as follows: We need death panels. Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently—rationing, by its proper name—the…

The Obama Administration is running ads throughout Pakistan condemning and apologizing for the video that allegedly sparked the anti-America riots across the Middle East, including the sacking of the U.S. consulate in Libya and the murders of the American ambassador and three other U.S. Citizens. The New York Post sums…

Responding to criticisms of his comments about the “47%”, Mitt Romney, in an attempt to turn the tables, zeroed in on a quote from 1998 in which Barack Obama explicitly endorsed government-enforced redistribution of wealth. But in attempting to rebut Obama, Romney granted Obama’s basic premise. CBS News quotes Romney:…

What explains the U.S. government’s cowardly appeasement of Islamist violence in the Middle East? As Richard Salsman explains in his recent column for Forbes, one major cause is the worship of democracy by U.S. leaders: Asked if Egypt was still a U.S. ally, [Barack] Obama dissembled: “I don’t think we…

First consider recent actions by leaders of Islamic nations following Islamist assaults on American embassies and murders of American officials. From the New York Times: On the eve of his first trip to the United States as Egypt’s new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally…