Ben Bullard Reconciling the concept of individual sovereignty with conscientious participation in the modern American political process is a continuing preoccupation for staff writer Ben Bullard. A former community newspaper writer, Bullard has closely observed the manner in which well-meaning small-town politicians and policy makers often accept, unthinkingly, their increasingly marginal role in shaping the quality of their own lives, as well as those of the people whom they serve. He argues that American public policy is plagued by inscrutable and corrupt motives on a national scale, a fundamental problem which individuals, families and communities must strive to solve. This, he argues, can be achieved only as Americans rediscover the principal role each citizen plays in enriching the welfare of our Republic. Email this author.

If Your Husband Kills You To Shut You Up, ‘That’s How It Is In Our Religion,’ Warns Controversial Islamic ‘Life Coach’

A woman who styles herself a “life coach” for Muslims advises other Islamic wives to shut up or face their exasperated husbands’ religiously justified violence with the dignity their pre-ordained domestic role demands. “Women talk ceaselessly. It’s the woman’s fault if she’s killed,” said Sibel Uresin in an Islamic print magazine column. “It looks better […]

Moping In The Motor City, China’s Fizzle, Syrian Defectors Lift Al-Qaida, Obama’s Secret Energy Meet, Public Schools Fracking Out: Thursday Morning News Roundup 5-9-2013

Here is a collection of some of the stories that Personal Liberty staffers will be keeping an eye on throughout the day. Click the links for the full stories.

Bloomberg’s Gun-Control Group Eats Its Own With Ads Assassinating Democrats Who Break Rank

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charity for municipal elected Democrats who view gun control as a palliative for urban violence, is being less than charitable to a few U.S. Senators who helped defeat the Manchin-Toomey gun control bill last month.

Top Business-Friendly States Share Common Traits: Low Regulations, Low Taxes, Happy Workforce

A survey of more than 700 corporate chief executives has produced a ranking of the Nation’s most business-friendly States, using a few basic criteria. Not surprisingly, the States that top the list have a lot in common.

U.S. Military Says Bye-Bye To Pin-Ups, Calendar Girls And Naughty Screen Savers

U.S. military barracks with girlie calendars and pin-ups on the walls will be getting the sterile treatment under another Defense Department inspection aimed at rooting out gender-offensive material in military working environments. The new round of “close-up, comprehensive” inspections will focus on soldiers, sailors and Marines, much the same as a similar sweep of Air […]

Number Of Americans On Disability Could Populate State Of Georgia — Or 42 Other States

Only seven States have a population greater than the total number of Americans now on government disability, according to data just released by the Social Security Administration (SSA). For the month of April, the SSA reported 10,962,532 beneficiaries receiving payments from the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. That number represents a consistent monthly increase in […]

JoBi Tells Religious Leaders: Morality Favors Gun Control

Noted theologian and United States Vice President Joe Biden entreated a room full of religious leaders to support Congress’ second attempt at gun control by recasting the language of gun-related violence in moral terms when communicating with their followers. In a closed-door meeting Monday, Biden spoke with Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other religious leaders, calling […]

Jack Lew’s John Hancock, Rodman The Diplomat, Frost On Egypt’s Arab Spring, The Donald Hawks A Startup, Colbert-Busch? We Hardly Knew Ye: Wednesday Morning News Roundup 5-8-2013

Here is a collection of some of the stories that Personal Liberty staffers will be keeping an eye on throughout the day. Click the links for the full stories.   U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been widely mocked for his scribble signature, which is required on each currency note in order to make it […]

Reader Reaction: 2nd Amendment Vigilance Isn’t Just Some Fringe Hobby For Trigger-Happy Nut Cases

The reader comments that continue to follow from our Tuesday article about one man’s effort to rally 2nd Amendment supporters for a nonviolent armed march on Washington, D.C., range from all-out enthusiasm for the idea to indignant disdain for firearms and their place in American life.

Texas Jobs Trip May Find Obama Grudgingly Embracing Governor Rick Perry’s Free Market Success Story

This week, Barack Obama will embark on a jobs tour that’s supposed to take the President to States and cities across the country whose employment and economic successes (and, presumably, failures) illustrate something germane about freeing Americans to innovate, work and prosper.