First there was “The Decider.” Then came Big Man Obama. “The Decider” is the nickname George Bush gave his all-powerful self. To go by the dictionary, and “within the context of political science, big man, big man syndrome, or bigmanism refers to corrupt and autocratic rule of countries by a single person.” “The Decider” habitually sidestepped the chain of command in … [Read More]

States across the country are rediscovering and reasserting the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Quaint, I know, but to the federal government were delegated only limited and enumerated powers (Article I, Section 8): … [Read More]

I like FOX-News broadcaster Glenn Beck. The man exudes goodness and has a visceral feel for freedom.  From this scrupulous soul I’d like to hear less about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and more of the original Lockean phrase, from which Thomas Jefferson drew when writing the Declaration of Independence. “No one ought to harm another in his life, … [Read More]

I thought Elizabeth Hasselback, the Republican Party’s brain trust on The View, was a little simple. But, intellectually, she towers above the succession of vacuous, narcissistic, pig-ignorant panelists paraded on Sean Hannity’s “Great American Panel.” (Not to mention the surgically altered publicity whores.) Just as you thought American pop-politics could go no lower, a woman with real curb appeal appears on … [Read More]

Whether they are armed with bombs or bacteria, stopping weaponized individuals from harming others—intentionally or unintentionally—falls perfectly within the purview of the “night-watchman state of classical-liberal theory,” in the words of the philosopher Robert Nozick. But thumping majorities within rarified libertarian, Objectivist, and loony left circles disagree. When Objectivists eulogized the dazzling Randian Madeleine Pelner Cosman, Ph.D., Esq., most downplayed her … [Read More]

That is not the question.  I can’t get worked up about the current torture tempest. The two parties are exchanging fusillades over ten interrogation techniques deployed with fourteen “high value al-Qaida detainees,” three of whom endured the most controversial method of all, because they were purported to possess “credible intelligence of an imminent terrorist attack,” as well as “actionable intelligence” to … [Read More]

Today I interview James Ostrowski, libertarian extraordinaire, lawyer, writer, and tea party organizer. Mr. Ostrowski is the founder of Free Buffalo (2005), and author of the tea party manifesto, “How We Can Win the Second American Revolution Without Firing a Shot.” He’s been fighting the political machine for 35 years. ILANA: The tea party protests across the country are all fueled … [Read More]

“Hip” is how rapt reporters referred to the iPod the president and first lady gave the Queen of England. Thanks to his fawning friends in the British and American media, Barack Obama got away with giving another foreign dignitary a vulgar gift. Shades of the reality show “Cribs”… The MTV series features hip-hop rappers, and other American royalty, showing off their … [Read More]

A secret Missouri State police report, “entitled ‘The Modern Militia Movement,’ and dated February 20, 2009,” is warning about subversives like … me. Apparently, this scribe has the makings of a militia member, and then some.  One of the incriminating telltale signs the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is on the look out for are Ron Paul stickers.  I have one … [Read More]

Members of the Congressional committee investigating the insurance giant A.I.G. can certainly posture. The righteous roar rising from those quarters drove home the vast differences between our elected officials and the executive officers of the American International Group, whose employee retention bonuses are causing such a commotion across the country. The one gang has bankrupted a country; the other a company. … [Read More]