In modern Britain the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are rightly among those most treasured. Following on their heels is the right to property, although at times it seems a rather weaker cousin. Speaking and meeting with others come naturally, but owning property is a bit more involved. If, like most, […]

We have blogged before about the story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell the Philadelphia-based abortionist arrested for murder but, although his trial is ongoing, and the case against him horrendous news networks paid less than scant attention to the proceedings until 72 congressmen and women wrote to 3 of the largest television channels decrying their lack […]

The strongest in society have a duty to support the weakest. As with any duty it is better that it be fulfilled voluntarily. In this instance this is by far the better course because such a duty frequently concerns the disposal of private property. But this duty is rarely fulfilled to the satisfaction of social […]

Perhaps the only social phenomena that could be attributed solely to the internet over the last 20 years has been the meteoric rise in the use of pornography. Like all vices pornography is nothing new but the pervasiveness of it online has led to discussions of whether it should be filtered out (censored) at source […]

The Royal Charter being set up in the wake of the Leveson Report marks an end to a period of 300 years in which government did not regulate the press. It is unprecedented in this country’s democratic history and should therefore be approached with great care. One does not have to look far to find […]

Increasingly we are told that the ‘war on drugs’ has failed, and the evidence for this is persuasive. In spite of the challenges of legalisation it is clear that criminalising everyone associated with the drugs trade is, in the words of one report, ‘as costly as it is ineffective’. Throughout history some people have sought […]

As MPs enter the House of Commons this week the press is flush with arguments for and against the proposed new legislation on ‘same-sex marriage’. There has been much talk of whether or not there is public support for this Bill. But, in spite of multiple surveys and polls commissioned across the political, social and […]

On Christmas Day 2012 Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Django Unchained, made its premiere. The film tells the story of an Afro-American slave in nineteenth-century America searching for his lost wife and of his efforts to achieve legal freedom. The historical background is bloody and the film is, as has been the case with many of […]