Scott Kauzlarich is a professor of Social Science at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, IA. He can be contacted at:

One Night in South Carolina [01/16/08 ] 8:00—The candidates are on stage for the big debate hosted by Fox News. I crack my knuckles and prepare to record every question and every response. I can do this because I am a very fast typist. But first…the national anthem.

Free Michael Vick [08/28/07 ] Atlanta Falcons quarterback and alleged dog murderer Michael Vick has agreed to a plea bargain with the government. Or has he? ESPN is now reporting that Vick is refusing to admit that he killed dogs or gambled on dog fights. This is causing problems with the state because they need Vick to confess to their charges rather than merely confessing to what he is actually guilty of.

False Threats to the First Amendment [04/18/07 ] People, please. The firing of Don Imus by CBS and MSNBC is not a First Amendment issue. Not in the slightest. The First Amendment protects us from the federal government, not our employers. If I hear it the other way around one more time I might puke.

Hope For the Future? [03/12/07 ] I admit it-from time to time I am pessimistic on the prospects for liberty in America. Sometimes I linger too long over the editorial pages of the mainstream press. Depressing. On a regular basis you can find our basic rights under attack there.

Why She Cried Rape At Duke [01/17/07 ] Mike Nifong has dropped the rape charges against the Duke lacrosse players and excused himself from the case. 60 Minutes shoveled more dirt on the prosecution's case this week by turning its cameras on Nifong's attempt to conceal DNA evidence. With Nifong exposed and humiliated in front of a national audience, it would be easy to say that the case is now all but over.

What Flags of Our Fathers Forgot [11/09/06 ] I went to see Flags of our Fathers this weekend and I was expecting a pro-war movie, a Saving Private Ryan in the Pacific type of deal. I'm happy to report that this was not the case. Self-sacrifice was not glamorized; there was no glorious victory. The film was supposedly about the battle of Iwo Jima but in fact, little attention was paid to the battle or its outcome except as the setting for the famous flag-raising picture. The movie spent most of its time recounting the manipulation of the flag-raising soldiers and their families by the government in order to sell bonds. The tone of Flags is decidedly anti-war and anti-state, which is not surprising since it was directed by Clint Eastwood, a self-described libertarian.