Politics & Rights
Ayn Rand & Objectivism, History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Interview with Cynthia Farahat on Growing Up in Egypt, Discovering Ayn Rand, and Fighting Islamists
Joshua Lipana February 10, 2012
Cynthia Farahat is an Egyptian political activist, writer and researcher. She co-founded the Liberal Egyptian Party (2006–2008) and served as a member of its political committee. In 2008-2009, she was program coordinator and program officer at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty in Cairo, a multi-national free market think tank.…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Not Only Catholics Should be Angered by Birth Control Mandates
Ari Armstrong February 8, 2012
Conservatives and Catholics have lambasted President Obama over his plan to force insurance providers, including Catholic ones, to cover birth control. Wayne Laugesen explains for the Colorado Springs Gazette: President Barack Obama’s administration finalized orders last week that will force all Americans, with few exceptions, to buy health insurance plans…
Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Liability Reform Shouldn’t Be Limited to Space Industry
Ari Armstrong February 8, 2012
Colorado legislators are considering a bill to limit the liability of spaceflight companies. The bill’s sponsor says the measure would recognize “the inherent risks of spaceflight activity,” reports the Denver Post. New Mexico’s legislature also took up legislation to limit the liability of space companies. No doubt abusive litigation in America has…
Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
End Tax Favoritism for Wind Energy
Ari Armstrong February 8, 2012
Yesterday seven members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation urged continuation of the wind energy production tax credit, calling on a conference committee to tack the credit onto a bill to temporarily reduce the payroll tax. (An eighth member later added his name.) Twenty-three governors also recently advocated extension of the wind…
Politics & Rights
Israel Should Obliterate the Iranian Regime
Joshua Lipana February 6, 2012
President Obama is feverishly trying to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, warning of the “disruptive” consequence such an attack would have on oil prices and regional security. Instead, Obama is encouraging more diplomacy. The Iranian regime continues to fund and support Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and…
Politics & Rights
Message to Gov. Christie and His Critics: Gay Marriage is a Moral Right
Michael A. LaFerrara February 6, 2012
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ignited a political furor when he vowed to veto a bill recently introduced in the state legislature legalizing gay marriage because he believed the issue should be decided by popular vote through a public referendum. In so doing, he said "I think people would have…
Politics & Rights
Human Rights Watch is Wrong on Islam and Politics
Joshua Lipana February 4, 2012
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the West to respect the rise of political Islam in the Middle East, saying, "The international community must … come to terms with political Islam when it represents a majority preference." Instead of being unsympathetic to political Islam, says HRW, the West should encourage Islamist…
Politics & Rights
There is No ‘Right to Work’ Against an Employer’s Consent
Ari Armstrong February 1, 2012
People have the right to associate voluntarily and to contract by mutual consent. Those rights have long been under assault by the “progressive” left; now they are attacked by conservatives as well. Today Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, signed a “right to work” bill that further erodes freedom of contract.…
Politics & Rights
Texas Anti-Abortion Law Violates Rights to Liberty and Freedom of Speech
Ari Armstrong January 31, 2012
Earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law that forces women seeking an abortion to obtain a sonogram and wait 24 hours before being able to act according to their own judgment. The law also requires doctors to present information and claims that neither doctor…
Politics & Rights
Gingrich Seeks to Violate Rights of Women and Doctors to Engage in Fertility Care
Ari Armstrong January 30, 2012
The spectacle of Newt Gingrich—of all people—trying to dictate the family planning of others is ludicrous. Yet Gingrich’s recent call for more rules controlling in vitro fertility treatments raises an important issue: Under the proposed anti-abortion “personhood” laws that Gingrich endorses, common fertility treatments would be outlawed. The result would…