Hornberger’s Blog, November 2010 by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2010 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Willie Nelson and the Drug War One of the benefits of the war on terrorism, from the standpoint of the statists, is that it has served to distract attention from the violations of civil liberties and privacy arising from that other famous federal war — the war on drugs. Last week’s arrest of Willie Nelson on pot ...
Libertarianism and the Tea Party by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2010 Will Tea Party wins in congressional elections make any difference at all? Nope. Federal spending and debt will continue to soar, and the prospect of inflation and even federal bankruptcy will continue to loom on the horizon. While Tea Party members are genuinely concerned about out-of-control federal spending and debt, they are still a long way from recognizing that the only ...
Debating a Socialist by Jacob G. Hornberger October 29, 2010 I just returned from Tampa, Florida, where I engaged in a debate sponsored by the Tampa branch of the Young President’s Organization. The topic was “Libertarianism or Socialism?”. My opponent was a gentleman named Brian Moore, who is a self-avowed socialist. The debate was cordial but hard-hitting. Moore is an affable guy, but it amazes me that there are actually ...
Libertarianism, Statism, and NPR by Jacob G. Hornberger October 26, 2010 The controversy over NPR’s firing of Juan Williams brings two predictable consequences: liberals decrying a violation of freedom of speech and conservatives making their periodic call for the termination of federal funding for NPR. Actually, there is no free-speech violation at all. The First Amendment operates as a restriction on the federal government, not private organizations. NPR is a private ...
Torture, Death, and Destruction in Iraq by Jacob G. Hornberger October 25, 2010 The Wikileaks revelations confirm that ever since the U.S. government invaded Iraq seven years ago, U.S. officials were willing to accept any amount of death, destruction, and brutality among the Iraqi people to achieve that goal. Recall what U.S. officials said after those infamous WMDs failed to materialize. Did they admit their error? Did they apologize? Did they order U.S. ...
Liberals, Conservatives, and Cuban Socialism by Jacob G. Hornberger October 22, 2010 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1992 Preamble: We, Cuban citizens … guided by … the political and social ideas of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Principles of the State:Article 1. Cuba is an independent and sovereign socialist state…. Article 9: The state … directs in a planned way the national economy… assures the educational, scientific, technical and cultural progress of ...
More Illegal Alien Nonsense in California by Jacob G. Hornberger October 21, 2010 The latest illegal-alien controversy in California’s gubernatorial race reflects the vicious and hypocritical assault on fundamental rights and economic liberty that liberals and conservatives have waged for decades. In 2000 Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor, employed a Hispanic housekeeper, Nicky Diaz Santillan. Unbeknownst to Whitman, Diaz was an illegal alien who furnished false documentation establishing that she was ...
Stuck in the Statist Box by Jacob G. Hornberger October 20, 2010 The latest political controversy in the Christine O’Donnell and Chris Coons race shows how conservatives, liberals, and, yes, Tea Party types, still operate within the box of statism. The controversy involves whether public schools should be teaching creationism or evolution. Coons says that they should be teaching evolution because it is a scientific fact and should not be teaching creationism because ...
Conservatives and Health-Care Socialism by Jacob G. Hornberger October 19, 2010 For a good example of what a disaster conservatives are — and why they are just as responsible as liberals for America’s healthcare (and economic) woes — just look at an article that was published this week in the Washington Times by Thomas R. Saving and John C. Goodman. Saving is director of the Private Enterprise Research Center and Goodman is ...
The Freedom Oasis by Jacob G. Hornberger October 18, 2010 We have exciting news here at The Future of Freedom Foundation. Beginning on Saturday, November 6, from 7-8 pm ET, I will have my very own weekly Internet radio program, entitled “The Freedom Oasis.” You can listen to (and watch!) the program live on the Internet by accessing the following website: https://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-future-of-freedom-foundation And it will be available later by podcast. This ...
Interventionist Blind Spots by Jacob G. Hornberger October 15, 2010 Washington Post columnist David Ignatius is saying that interventionism just isn’t getting the credit that it’s due. He’s pointing to the “successful” government bailouts of the automobile and banking industries. Thanks to the bailouts, he says, the banks and the auto companies are getting back on their feet and might even repay most of the taxpayer money that was provided ...
Time to Admit It: It Was Wrong to Invade Afghanistan by Jacob G. Hornberger October 14, 2010 As the killing and destruction in Afghanistan have mounted over the past 10 years, and as they have expanded into Pakistan during the Obama administration, interventionists have tried to justify the massive death and destruction by claiming that the reason the U.S. government went to war against the Taliban was because the Taliban had supposedly been complicit in the ...
