Hornberger's Blog

Wayne LaPierre’s Contradictory Defense of Freedom

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 30, 2009

In an article on CNN.com, Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, reminds us of how conservatives and liberals share a common philosophical framework with respect to the role of government in our lives, a framework that poses a grave threat to our freedom. In his article, LaPierre takes Secretary of State Hillary ...

More Drug-War Inanities

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 27, 2009

The mainstream press is adding its two cents worth of drug-war inanities to those being issued by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her trip to Mexico. Both the Los Angeles Times and New York Times are praising Clinton for having the courage to acknowledge the role that the U.S. plays in the drug ...

Hillary Clinton’s Drug-War Inanities

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 26, 2009

Hillary Clinton’s comments on the violence along the U.S.-Mexico border are so inane that I feel compelled to write about two government programs: the war on drugs and public (i.e., government) schooling. On her way to Mexico to discuss the ever-increasing drug-war violence along the U.S. Mexico-border, guess whom Clinton blamed the violence on: America’s ...

A Lawless Regime

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 25, 2009

As we were pulling together today’s FFF Email Update, two points from two different articles struck me for their truthfulness and insightfulness. Simon Jenkins writes: “This war remains what it was from the start, aggression against a foreign state intended to punish it for refusing to hand over the perpetrators of 9/11. It was ...

Why Not Abolish the Postal Monopoly?

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 24, 2009

The U.S. Postal Service has announced that another in its endless series of rate increases will take effect in May. The announcement raises a question that unfortunately too few Americans ever ask themselves: Why not simply abolish the Postal Service or at least repeal its monopoly on first-class mail delivery? The U.S. Postal Service ...

Why Wasn’t Oswald Treated Like Lindh and Padilla?

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 23, 2009

Over the weekend, I finished reading a really interesting book on the JFK assassination, JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass, a Catholic theologian. Its theme is that there was a high-level conspiracy involving the CIA, military-industrial complex, and FBI in Kennedy’s assassination. Even if one is ...

A Great Debate on Afghanistan

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 19, 2009

Last night I participated in a great debate on Afghanistan sponsored by the Donald and Paula Smith Family Foundation in New York City. There were about 150-200 people in the auditorium. I assume that the video of the debate will be posted soon on the Internet and when it is, I’ll let you know. ...

Misplaced Anger

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 18, 2009

It’s nice that people are angry and upset over those bonuses paid by taxpayer-bailout beneficiary AIG, but what fascinates me is the lack of anger and outrage over the really horrific things the federal government has done for the past 8 years, including the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the out-of-control federal spending, the ...

Private Property Rights Are the Bedrock of Liberty

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 17, 2009

The state of Virginia has just enacted a smoking ban for restaurants and bars. At the same time, Virginia’s governor, Timothy Kaine, plans to veto a bill authorizing people with concealed-carry permits to carry weapons into bars and restaurants. The state of Arkansas failed to enact a law repealing a ban on handguns in churches. ...

China’s Shot Across the Bow

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 16, 2009

The U.S. government is sending heavily armed destroyers to the South China Sea after a standoff between five Chinese boats and a U.S. spy ship operating in the area. Before the destroyers have even arrived, however, the Chinese communist government has sent a shot across their bow, in the form of a not-so-subtle reminder ...

Immigrants, Terrorists, and Omnipotent Government

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 13, 2009

Among the various justifications that border-control advocates use to justify their support of regulated or sealed borders is that border control, they say, is necessary to protect us from terrorists. The problem with this position is twofold. One, it doesn’t get to the root of the problem. Two, the solution it proposes inexorably reinforces the ...

The Cause of Poverty

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 12, 2009

Liberals are saying that President Obama isn’t really a socialist because he doesn’t favor complete government ownership and control of everything, which is the strict definition of socialism. Since he “only” favors massive government involvement in some things, such as education, healthcare, mail delivery, transportation, retirement, employment, airports, money, bailouts, subsidies, grants, banks, ...