Featured
Today is the 99th anniversary of the signing of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. It enshrined into law an idea that stands in total contradiction to the driving force behind the American Revolution and the whole idea of freedom itself.
The great "old right" commentator Frank Chodorov once described the ...read more
The Revolution of 1913
Feb 2nd, 2012 | By Bill Bonner | Category: Economics, Featured, Politics
Readers will scarcely have given any thought to the fact that they have never lived in the system of government argued for by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton in the Federalist Papers.
"It may come as a shock ..." wrote John Flynn, "to be told that[you] have never experienced that kind of society ...read more
The State of the Union, Just Another Reality Show
Feb 1st, 2012 | By Charles Goyette | Category: Featured, Gold, International, Politics
It looks just like a reality show that's not going to be renewed for another season. President Obama's State of the Union ratings are headed in the same direction as American Idol's so far this season – down.
Let me make a secret confession right here. For years, the producer of ...read more
The SOPA Wake-Up Call to Abolish Copyright
Jan 31st, 2012 | By Whiskey Contributor | Category: Featured, Politics
I've blogged quite a bit lately about SOPA and PIPA and the recent Internet blackouts and other protests against these bills, which threaten free speech and the open Internet (Mike Masnick et al. at Techdirt have also been great on exposing and analyzing SOPA).
As Jeffrey Tucker noted recently, the protests ...read more
The Transformation of Banking
Jan 30th, 2012 | By Jeffrey Tucker | Category: Featured, Macro Economics
There is a scene in the Parable of the Talents in which the returned master berates the shabbiest of his three servants. Discovering that he had buried his seed capital in the ground, the master says: "You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when ...read more
The Death of File Sharing
Jan 27th, 2012 | By Jeffrey Tucker | Category: Featured, Politics, Technology
Last week's violent government attack on the hugely popular site Megaupload -- the U.S. government arresting Belgian citizens in New Zealand, of all places, and stealing at gunpoint servers bank accounts and property -- has sent shock waves through the entire digital world.
The first shock was the realization that the ...read more
Zero Percent Uber Alles
Jan 26th, 2012 | By Jeffrey Tucker | Category: Economics, Featured, Macro Economics
We are getting a sense of what life is like with the new Fed policy of openness. It means that the chairman tries to beat the world record for the longest, most-boring press conference in modern history. Ben Bernanke is getting even better at that crucial skill of repeatedly saying ...read more
The Fed’s Men Behind the Curtain
Jan 25th, 2012 | By Jeffrey Tucker | Category: Economics, Featured, Macro Economics
The debate about the Fed is under way, and thank goodness. But as with many policy debates, there really shouldn't be a debate at all. That's because, if you think about it, the idea of central banking makes no sense.
We don't have a government-created central repository that plans and manages ...read more
Hooray for the Rich Who Don’t Pay Taxes
Jan 24th, 2012 | By Gary Gibson | Category: Economics, Featured, Politics
First, a correction. A Bar regular writes...
"Joe Lieberman is not a Democrat. He is an independent, as he resigned from the Democratic Party. Don't you ever check things out before stating them as facts?
"Wish you the best with your paranoia,"
"-- Steve K"
This comes from one of our most-faithful, unswerving, persistent ...read more
It’s Treason to Disagree
Jan 23rd, 2012 | By Jeffrey Tucker | Category: Featured, Politics
A horrifying aspect of modern life is how nearly daily threats to fundamental freedoms and human rights nearly require that citizens become politically aware and active.
Here we are struggling to put food on the table, cultivate a civilized private life, support things we care about, manage our households, and otherwise ...read more

