Venezuelan Sheep and the Magic Word by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2007 Whatever else might be said about Venezuela’s president Hugh Chavez, no one can deny that he is an astute politician. For example, at election time he hands out federal grants to the voters, knowing that this will purchase their votes, just as President Bush and other American politicians do with American voters here in the ...
Hornberger’s Blog, December 2007 by Jacob G. Hornberger December 1, 2007 Monday, December 31, 2007 Bhutto, JFK, and Conspiracies by Jacob G. Hornberger It’s interesting to compare the attitude of the U.S. mainstream press toward the assassination of Benazir Bhutto with its attitude toward the assassination of President John Kennedy. The immediate reaction of the American press (and U.S. government officials) to the Bhutto killing has been a presumption of a conspiracy. Equally ...
Drug War Idiocy by Jacob G. Hornberger November 30, 2007 Mexican officials are all aglow over the seizure of a record 23 tons of cocaine, which they promptly burned in the hope of receiving $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer monies from U.S. officials. When will the American people finally demand a stop to this drug-war idiocy? Some 30 years ago, when I was a young lawyer in ...
Musharraf’s and Bush’s Enemy-Combatant Power by Jacob G. Hornberger November 29, 2007 It is important that we keep in mind that military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s round-ups of lawyers, judges, and protestors in Pakistan are a logical consequence of President Bush’s “war on terrorism.” After all, don’t forget that under Bush’s “war on terrorism,” the head of a country wields the omnipotent power to round up citizens who are ...
The Feds, Not Wyatt, Should Be Going to Jail by Jacob G. Hornberger November 28, 2007 Federal prosecutors are undoubtedly celebrating the one-year sentence doled out to 83-year-old Houston oilman Oscar Wyatt by a federal district judge. Wyatt committed the heinous federal “crime” of violating the federal government’s infamous “oil-for-food” program by paying a $200,000 bribe to Saddam Hussein’s regime in exchange for the purchase of Iraqi oil under the program. Never mind that the ...
The Empire’s Dollar Debacle by Jacob G. Hornberger November 27, 2007 Neo-cons often complain that the American people haven’t made any sacrifices as part of President Bush’s much-vaunted “war on terrorism.” For his part, President Bush likes to say that he opposes tax increases to fund his military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq and the ever-growing expenditures of the military-industrial complex. Both the neo-cons and President Bush ...
Bush’s Support of Dictators by Jacob G. Hornberger November 26, 2007 According to the Washington Post, “President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general ‘hasn't crossed the line’ and ‘truly is somebody who believes in democracy.’ If that doesn’t encapsulate U.S. foreign policy, I don’t know what does. Here is a brutal unelected dictator — and a military one ...
Thanksgiving and Economic Liberty by Jacob G. Hornberger November 23, 2007 I would venture to say that most Americans have no idea of the economic roots of Thanksgiving. When the colonists landed at Plymouth Bay, they established a socialist system. Being highly religious, they believed that a moral system would be one in which everyone was forced to share the fruits of their earnings with everyone ...
The Second Amendment: American’s Guarantee of Freedom by Jacob G. Hornberger November 21, 2007 The Supreme Court has agreed to decide the gun-control case arising out of Washington, D.C.’s, ban on handguns. You know — the city in which there are no murders with handguns because criminals obey gun-control laws. (Sarcasm!) The major issue in the case is whether the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right ...
Shame and Hypocrisy from the Right by Jacob G. Hornberger November 20, 2007 As the presidential campaign heats up, be prepared for the standard neo-con attacks against libertarians for being “unpatriotic.” The attacks will come not only from statist candidates in both major parties but also from the likes of such radio and television commentators as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly. These people know no ...
Chavez’s Lessons on Democracy and Dictatorship by Jacob G. Hornberger November 19, 2007 What is happening in Venezuela provides a textbook example of how askew President Bush’s thinking is regarding democracy and dictatorship. For Bush, as well as his neo-con supporters, democracy is everything. In their minds, democracy equals freedom, which is why they say that the Iraqi people are now “free.” Thus, it is not surprising to see Bush ...
Bush, Musharraf and Enemy Combatants by Jacob G. Hornberger November 16, 2007 We mustn’t forget one of the most important aspects of the Musharraf crackdown in Pakistan — that the post-9/11 “enemy combatant” doctrine assumed by President Bush and the Pentagon empower the feds to conduct the same types of “emergency” round-ups and incarcerations here in the United States that Musharraf is conducting in his country. Plus ...