From the Archives
25 YEARS AGO November 1992
"Three years after George Bush waved a baggie of crack at the American people and declared war on a group of chemical compounds, Sen. Joseph Biden, the Delaware Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has issued a report that opens with a startling declaration: 'The President's drug control strategy must be evaluated against the only goal that matters—winning the war on drugs.'…The Democrats' 'alternative' to the war on drugs, as always, is a bigger war on drugs."
Jacob Sullum
"Just Say Mo' Money"
"I propose that voting, like cheering at a football game or sending a get-well card, should be understood as primarily an expressive rather than an instrumental activity."
Loren E. Lomasky
"The Booth and Consequences"
"Billy Clinton and Albert Gore look like the two guys we hated most in high school. Clinton's got that evil grin; he's laughin' because he's havin' just a little too much fun. He's getting lucky with every girl in school—even, I'll bet, yours. He's goofing off, getting away with it; didn't inhale, my ass. Damn, he even ends up on scholarship in England while there's a stinkin' war going on.…Albert Gore, on the other hand, never smiles; he doesn't have to, because he's virtually perfect. His daddy was a senator; he's a senator. All the best schools, never in trouble a day in his life, concerned for the environment."
Thomas W. Hazlett
"George of the Bungle"
35 YEARS AGO November 1982
"The fundamental problem is that our political system is inherently biased toward spending—taking money from everyone to reward favored constituencies. Those interests may be narrow and special—nuclear power, farmers, builders—or they may be broad-based—retired people, for example. Most of the 'cuts' thus far have been in the 20 percent of the budget that affects narrow domestic interest groups. Nearly untouched has been the 48 percent accounted for by 'entitlement' programs."
Robert W. Poole Jr.
"Sacred Cows—Or Us"
"Back in 1911, 'Big Tim' Sullivan had promised that his handgun permit law would do more to stop killing 'and save more souls than all the priests and ministers in the state.' New York City's murder rate proceeded to shoot up 18 percent in 12 months."
David T. Hardy
"Gun Control: Arm Yourself With Evidence"
"Corporate Security struck a deal with Reminderville and Twinsburg for protection services. For $90,000 a year—half the amount requested by the Summit County sheriff's department—the firm would provide twice as many patrol cars and a 6-minute emergency response compared to 45 minutes for the sheriff's department. It would select trained, state-certified candidates for the police positions.…In fact, village officials would have full autonomy in hiring, firing, disciplining, and organizing the police force."
Theodore Gage
"Cops Inc."
"Sirloin steak in Moscow costs only about half what it does here. That's the good news. The bad news—maybe you've guessed it already—is that there isn't any sirloin for sale, at least not in the government stores patronized by ordinary Muscovites."
Robert C. de Camara
"The Cost of Communism"
45 YEARS AGO November 1972
"Not surprisingly, [a] public hearing held by the Democratic Party's Platform Committee revealed a nationwide trend of 'disappointment and cynicism about government on all levels.' Yet the same study concluded that 'the disenchantment has not lessened the demand that the federal government take on extensive new programs, from day care centers to guaranteed employment.'"
"The Death of Santa Claus"
"You inherit a kingdom. You have great plans for the founding of a true libertarian society, in which the government shall never initiate aggression against anyone. But there is a band of rebels near the northern border who threaten war if you are installed as chief leader.…So, reluctantly, you decide that in the interests of everyone in the libertarian society you are beginning to install, you have to oppose them by force of arms—there is no other way, for they won't listen to reason. It is self-defense on your part, of course. If only they weren't so blind, you wouldn't have to start your regime with such a dirty job. So you do it—and as a result their numbers increase, the aggressive acts they suspected you would perform all along have now become a reality, and the rebellion grows."
John Hospers
"Some Problems About Punishment and the Use of Retaliatory Force"