March 2006

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Editor's Notes

• Editor's Note: Fighting Yesterday's Battles Today

  Nick Gillespie

Contributors

• Contributors

Letters

• Letters

Citings

• Breaking Rent

  Ronald Bailey

  After Katrina.

• Terror in Nebraska

  Matt Welch

  PATRIOT Act abuses.

• Ghost of Tonkin

  Matt Welch

  Cover-up covered up.

• Middle-Class Warfare

  Tim Cavanaugh

  Military recruits and poverty.

• Tech Delusions

  Kerry Howley

  Laptops for the poor.

• Rocking the Bus

  Jacob Sullum

  Mandatory ID checks.

• Have Gun, Won't Travel

  Jacob Sullum

  Gun-free school zones.

• Friends With Benefits

  Julian Sanchez

  Targeting gay employees.

• Covert Advertising

  John Hood

  The FCC vs. product placement.

Balance Sheets

• Balance Sheet

  Jeff Taylor

Soundbites

• Soundbite: Kidnapped by Aliens

  Kerry Howley

Data

• Data: Complaint Fraud

  Jacob Sullum

Quotes

• Quotes

Columns

• Old Propaganda and New

  Matt Welch

  Bush is wrong to use the Cold War's covert tactics in the new twilight struggle.

• Torturing Logic

  Cathy Young

  Is pulling fingernails really just an aggressive manicure?

• Dead Man Tells No Tales

  James Bovard

  Media docility and another no-cost federal killing.

Features

• Absolution in Your Cup

  Kerry Howley

  The real meaning of Fair Trade coffee.

• Why Poor Countries Are Poor

  Tim Harford

  The clues lie on a bumpy road leading to the world's worst library.

• Selected Examples of Wasteful Homeland Security Spending

• Are We Ready for the Next 9/11?

  Veronique de Rugy

  The sorry state--and stunning waste--of homeland security spending.

Culture & Reviews

• Curb Your Enthusiasms

  Radley Balko

  Moralists left and right want to control your carnal desires.

• The Wal-Mart Crusade

  Julian Sanchez

  Big-boxing a mega-retailer's ears.

• The Silence of the Cats

  John J. Pitney, Jr.

  Trent Lott still refuses to speak frankly about racism.

• Does This Fat Suit Make My Heart Look Big?

  A.S. Hamrah

  Moribund Hollywood visits morbidly obese America.

• Volatile Stardust

  Kenneth Silber

  The fertile mind of astronomer Fred Hoyle.

Artifacts

• Artifact: Drug Freak Show

  Jacob Sullum