Many readers of The Beacon will know that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued an executive order prohibiting governments in Florida from mandating that people wear masks. Meanwhile, many local government officials, including my local school board and superintendent, have defied that order and issued mask mandates. In response, the governor and state commissioner...
Read More »

Literally on 9/11/01 and throughout the 20 culture-destroying years since, the Independent Institute has stood hard and fast for the difficult but essential principles that undergird liberty, human dignity, and the rule of law. While many whom we had thought shared our devotion to liberty were doing things like removing the word “Peace” from...
Read More »

The state of resistance, in this case, is Florida. Many readers will be aware that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has prohibited mask mandates in the state, and faced some resistance from local school boards that have imposed mask mandates in defiance of the governor’s prohibition. Meanwhile, where I teach, at Florida State University, the...
Read More »

I am a faculty member at Florida State University, and for several months we have been told that the fall semester would be a return to normal campus operation. Last year, I taught in-person classes all year, wearing a mask, and was looking forward to teaching without one. The university’s announced policy was that...
Read More »

As everyone is aware, governments have been mandating restrictions on people’s behavior in response to the COVID pandemic for more than a year. Cases are on the rise around the US, and in response, governments are retaining existing mandates and reimposing mandates that had previously been repealed. COVID is not going away, but the...
Read More »

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is a hot topic these days. President Biden recently announced plans to place additional limits on current Second Amendment rights with the argument that those restrictions can “address the gun violence public health epidemic.” Second Amendment defenders (here’s an example) argue that further restrictions on...
Read More »

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have de-platformed some (most notably, Donald Trump) and have been censoring the posts of others. Google has adjusted their “search algorithms” so that left-leaning results dominate sources from the political right. I’ve seen a lot of people who lean toward limited government support government intervention to...
Read More »

There’s a movement well underway to make it illegal for low-productivity workers to hold jobs. The idea is that people who are not productive enough to earn $15 an hour should not be allowed to work. Several states have already passed laws that will prohibit those who are not productive enough to earn $15...
Read More »

IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN THE MATTER OF THE IMPEACHMENT OF DONALD JOHN TRUMP DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS This matter comes before the United States Senate on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. Because Defendant is no longer president, vice president, or a civil officer of the United States, the Article of Impeachment should be...
Read More »

I was discussing (virtually) the prospects for preserving liberty recently with a few individuals who were pessimistic about liberty’s prospects. I’m optimistic. Liberty has always been threatened by those who want the power to control the lives of others. They have a measure of success because some people don’t care enough to protect their...
Read More »