ArcaMax

Last week, this column argued that the only constitutional role for armed federal forces in Portland, Oregon, was to assist U.S. marshals in protecting federal property and personnel there -- in this case, the federal courthouse and those who come to it. The column also argued that under the U.S. Constitution, the feds have no lawful role in ...Read more

Two weeks ago, this column offered a brief history of the freedom of speech in America. The essence of the column was that all public speech is lawful when there is time for more speech to challenge it and that the remedy for hate speech is not censorship, but more speech.

Last week, this column addressed the unconstitutional behavior of ...Read more

"The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own consciences." -- C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Serious issues are implicating personal liberty and public safety in Portland, Oregon. The...Read more

"I disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it." -- Voltaire (1694-1778)

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included in it a list of the colonists' grievances with the British government. Notably absent were any complaints that the British government infringed upon the freedom...Read more

Last week, this column addressed the expectation of revolution and the exhilaration of freedom that pervaded the 13 colonies during the summer of 1776. This summer in America, we are approaching the end of a civilized and free society as we have known it.

The freedom to walk outside without worrying for your life and the reliance that ...Read more

"Government requires make-believe. Make believe that the king is divine, make believe that he can do no wrong or make believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Make believe that the people have a voice or make believe that the representatives of the people are the people. Make believe that governors are the servants of the ...Read more

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

I am amazed at the efforts around the country to remove and destroy painful mementos of our history. One would think that historical figures need to be perceived as perfect to survive the winds of change that buffet their statues and portraits, and the ...Read more

Here is a pop quiz on the Constitution. What is the first freedom protected by the Bill of Rights? If you guessed speech or press, then you are close. The first protected freedom is religion. The two religion clauses in the First Amendment keep the government out of our pockets for religious purposes and out of our churches for all purposes. ...Read more

For two months now, most of America has endured a government-imposed lockdown. I hate to use that word -- lockdown -- as it connotes locking prisoners into their cells during prison disturbances. But it is the word that the government itself uses when referring to its orders of confinement.

Today, we are the government's prisoners. Wear your ...Read more

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

Colonial America was filled with summer soldiers and sunshine patriots who wanted...Read more

The governors of all 50 states, and the mayors of many large cities, have assumed unto themselves the powers to restrict private personal choices and lawful public behavior in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

They have done so not by enforcing previously existing legislation but by crafting their own executive orders, styling those ...Read more

What if the government has it wrong -- on the medicine and the law?

What if face masks can't stop the COVID-19 virus? What if quarantining the healthy makes no medical sense? What if staying at home for months reduces immunity?

What if more people have been infected with the virus in their homes than outside them?

What if there are as many ...Read more

"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

To Thomas Jefferson, the fulcrum between the people and the government they have elected was fear. He argued succinctly that the government would only respect liberty if it feared losing power. ...Read more