Two Opposite Systems in U.S. History by Jacob G. Hornberger January 31, 2014 There have been two opposite systems in American history. Here are the two systems: Program Social Security Medicare Medicaid Welfare Public Housing Farm Subsidies SBA Loans Education grants Economic Regulations Minimum Wage Laws Price Controls Licensure Laws Immigration Controls Public Schooling Gun Control Income Taxation Federal Reserve System Fiat Money Drug Laws War on Poverty Standing Army Military Industrial Complex CIA NSA Foreign Military Bases Foreign Policing Foreign Alliances Foreign Aid Foreign Wars Foreign Interventions Regime Change Operations Sanctions and Embargoes War on Terrorism Torture Indefinite Detention Denial of Due Process Denial of ...
Don’t Forget Financial Privacy by Jacob G. Hornberger January 30, 2014 Amidst all the revelations about how the American people, many of whom are absolutely convinced they live in a free society, have their telephone calls, emails, website visits, and who knows what else under surveillance by their own government, let’s not forget the massive infringements on financial privacy that have gone on for decades. Consider, for example, that ridiculous $10,000 ...
Racket Protection in China and the U.S. by Jacob G. Hornberger January 29, 2014 A Beijing court has just convicted two more activists of the crime of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.” One of them, Yuan Dong, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison. The other Hou Xin was spared any incarceration. What did these two convicts do to merit their convictions? They displayed a banner in public calling ...
Who Are the Bad Guys in Egypt? by Jacob G. Hornberger January 28, 2014 Echoing the official line of the U.S. government, the New York Times has referred to the “terrorist insurgency” that has developed in response to Egypt’s military regime. The Times was specifically referring to the shoot-down of an Egyptian military helicopter by militants. For the life of me, I don’t understand why people who resist tyranny are considered “terrorists.” ...
What’s Wrong with Income Inequality? by Jacob G. Hornberger January 27, 2014 For the life of me, I just don’t understand why leftists are so concerned with income inequality. What’s wrong with some people having more income or wealth than other people? It seems to me that the obsessive concern about income inequality might have something to do with envy and covetousness, something that God says we shouldn’t be engaged in. The ...
The Rule of Law versus the NSA by Jacob G. Hornberger January 24, 2014 In the wake of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s traffic scandal, in which Christie’s aides were punishing a New Jersey mayor for not loyally supporting Christie’s reelection bid, critics were suggesting how dangerous it would be to have Christie in charge of the NSA. Imagine what he could do, people suggested, with all that personal information with which he ...
Is Life So Dear? by Jacob G. Hornberger January 23, 2014 There really isn’t anything shameful about being a serf. What is shameful is the willingness to accept one’s serfdom for the sake of being kept safe and secure. That’s the trade that unfortunately all too many Americans have made, with respect to both the warfare state and the welfare state. On the warfare state side of things, people are willing to ...
If We Had No Constitution and Bill of Rights by Jacob G. Hornberger January 22, 2014 What would life be like without the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? For the answer, all we have to do is look at places where the federal government operates independently of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Consider Guantanamo Bay, for instance, a federal installation that the president and the Pentagon announced from the very beginning would be ...
Unlimited Government by Jacob G. Hornberger January 21, 2014 One of the charades that all too many Americans, especially conservatives, continue to subscribe to is the notion that the federal government is a “limited government” — that is, one whose powers are limited in nature and scope. They like to say that this is what distinguishes the U.S. government from totalitarian regimes. Limited government was the original idea behind ...
Martin Luther King, the White Rose, and the NSA by Jacob G. Hornberger January 20, 2014 Several days ago, the New York Times reported that German officials had found the guillotine that they believe was used to execute Hans and Sophie Scholl and other members of the White Rose organization. I wrote about the White Rose in my essay, “The White Rose: A Lesson in Dissent.” Why did German officials execute the Scholl siblings? They ...
The Immoral Foundation of the Welfare State by Jacob G. Hornberger January 17, 2014 Permit me to propose a welfare program that will expose the foundation of immorality and wrongdoing that undergirds the welfare state way of life. Here’s my proposal: The federal government gives every single American adult an annual dole of $10,000. The money will be free, with no strings attached. No doubt both conservatives and liberals would enthusiastically embrace my proposal. ...
A Warped Measure of Success in the War on Poverty by Jacob G. Hornberger January 16, 2014 Proponents of the federal government’s war on poverty say that even though the war has not defeated poverty after 50 years of fierce warfare, it has been somewhat successful in alleviating poverty. What is the principal measure of success that welfare-statists point to? They point to the large number of people who have been put on the federal dole ...
