Hornberger's Blog

Paternalism and the Drug War

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 28, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court has declared a California law banning the sale of violent videos unconstitutional. That’s fine, but how about going further and declaring laws banning the possession and distribution of illicit drugs by adults to be unconstitutional too? After all, if we’re going to treat minors like adults, what would be wrong with treating adults as adults ...

A Liberal Attack on Jim Bovard

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 27, 2011

One of the enjoyable things about being a libertarian is being attacked by both the right and the left. Whenever a libertarian attacks some form of statism, you can be confident that either conservatives or liberals or both are going to be offended. A recent example from the left is an attack on James Bovard (who serves as a senior ...

Conservative Disdain for the Constitution

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 24, 2011

Today’s op-ed in the Washington Post by noted conservative Charles Krauthammer, entitled “Who Takes Us to War?” reveals a lot about conservatives and how differently they view the Constitution compared to us libertarians. Krauthammer’s article is about the Constitution’s declaration-of-war requirement. As Krauthammer acknowledges, the Constitution delegates the power to declare war to Congress and the power to wage war ...

The Welfare-Warfare Anchor Is Taking Us Down

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 23, 2011

It’s really fascinating to see how American statists are addressing the financial problems in Greece. They’re blaming Greece’s problems on the credit bubble, the banksters, greedy people, government mismanagement and corruption, or some combination thereof. So far, it doesn’t seem like they’re blaming the crisis on illegal aliens but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. The statists simply cannot ...

Thank You, Julian Heicklen

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 22, 2011

Last February I published an article entitled, “Jury Nullification Prosecutorial Abuse,” in which I detailed the ridiculous and abusive federal indictment of Julian Heicklen. What was the crime that the feds indicted Heicklen for? Handing out pamphlets in front of a public federal courthouse in Manhattan that informed people of the right of juries to judge the law ...

Terrorist Retaliation against Obama’s Aggression

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 21, 2011

Immediately after a NATO missile hit a home a few days ago and killed several civilians, including children, Libya’s foreign minister, Abdulati al-Obeida, called “for all Muslims to initiate a global jihad against the oppressive criminal West,” according to the New York Times. Military officials issued the standard statements of regret that are customarily issued when their bombs kill innocent people. ...

The War on Immigrants, Farmers, and Consumers

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 20, 2011

The Los Angeles Times published an article last week about another travesty in the war on immigrants. Georgia farmers are having trouble finding people to pick their fruit crops. The likely reason is that Georgia’s new harsh immigration law, set to take effect in July, is scaring off illegal immigrants. The travesty is not a new one. A few years ago, California ...

Did It Begin and End with Juan Cole?

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 17, 2011

The New York Times is reporting that a former CIA official, Glenn L. Carle, has revealed that the George W. Bush White House “sought damaging personal information on a prominent American critic of the Iraq war in order to discredit him.” Carle said that officials in the Bush administration “at least twice asked intelligence officials to gather sensitive information on Juan ...

Imperial Inanity

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 16, 2011

The New York Times yesterday carried an interesting article about U.S. military attacks in Yemen, one of five countries (that we know of) in which the U.S. Empire is killing people. The article indicated that the CIA is building a secret base outside of Yemen in order to carry out attacks inside the country in the future. Why is the base being ...

Impeach Obama

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 15, 2011

Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution states in part: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Article I, Section 8, states in part: “The Congress shall have Power To Declare War….” The Constitution is the highest law of ...

Bahrain’s Dictatorship and the Pentagon

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 14, 2011

Sometimes it’s good to look at foreign dictatorships to see what the president and the U.S. military have done to our country. Consider, for example, the trial of 20 doctors that is currently taking place in Bahrain. As most everyone knows, Bahrain is ruled by a brutal dictatorship, just as many other countries in the Middle East are. Bahrain is ...

Restoring Faith in a Free-Market Healthcare System

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 13, 2011

The New York Times’ account of Cuban cyclist Damian Lopez Alfonso could help Americans regain their faith in a free-market healthcare system. When he was 13, Lopez was electrocuted while trying to retrieve a kite caught in some power lines. Doctors were able to save his life but not his forearms. His face was also horribly disfigured. Notwithstanding the loss of both ...