A new Stigler Center working paper looks into the effects of referendums and public initiatives on public policy and finds that direct democracy better represents the will of the majority, and therefore might also be better able to counteract the power of special interests over policymaking. The rise of anti-establishment populist movements in the U.S. and Europe is one of
More and more conservatives and liberals, from the halls of Congress to people in communities across the country, are agreeing that the so-called "war on drugs" needs serious rethinking. First, we should define our terms. The "war on drugs" that was started by Richard Nixon in 1971 and persists to this day, refers to illegal "street drugs" -- cocaine, heroin,
Saudi and Israel are once again painting Iran as an existential threat to draw the US back to the region. But is that really in America's interests? President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East has turned out as expected: no single act of outreach to the Muslim world could undo his fueling of Islamophobia and no amount of Iranophobia
MEMO TO THE U.S. CONGRESS ON OBAMA GUN-RUNNING TO SYRIA: It's Already Happening by William F. Wertz, Jr. July 1, 2013 (EIRNS)—This release was issued today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee. June 29—Three recent articles published by Reuters (June 18) and the New York Times (June 22 and June 29) now confirm what LaRouche PAC has asserted for
May 1, 2017 (EIRNS)—A bi-partisan group of nine Senators sent a letter to Saudi Ambassador in Washington Khalid bin Salman Abdulaziz, last Thursday, calling on the Saudi kingdom to cease bombing the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the single port capable of receiving foreign aid for the war-battered population. Today, there are signs that the pressure may be succeeding. Led
Responsibility for the chemical event in Khan Sheikhoun is still very much in question. Once upon a time, Donald J. Trump, the New York City businessman-turned-president, berated then-President Barack Obama back in September 2013 about the fallacy of an American military strike against Syria. At that time, the United States was considering the use of force against Syria in response
Scott Ritter, as many but not all of you know, was a marine officer and the chief UN Weapons Inspector in the 90s who played an important role in making Saddam Hussein comply with requirements that he destroy his WMD at that time. Most importantly, he was one of the few who correctly argued that Saddam no longer had WMD
