The Deadly Toll of Warrior Policing on Steroids by John W. Whitehead February 3, 2023 “This is warrior policing on steroids.”—Paul Butler, law professor That the police officers charged with the beating death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols are Black is a distraction. Don’t be distracted. This latest instance of police brutality is not about racism in policing or black-on-black violence. The entire institution is corrupt. The old guard—made up of fine, decent, lawful police officers who took seriously their oath of office to serve and protect their fellow citizens, uphold the Constitution, and maintain the peace—has given way to a new guard hyped up on their own authority and the power of the badge who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat, what constitutes resistance, and how harshly they can deal with the citizens they were appointed to “serve and protect.” Memphis’ now-disbanded Scorpion unit provides a glimpse into the looming crisis in policing that has gone beyond mere militarization. Unfortunately, while much has been said about the
What Does “Unprovoked” Mean? by Jacob G. Hornberger February 3, 2023 Note the following sentence in a New York Times news story yesterday by Michael Schwirtz and Anton Troianovski about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Mr. Putin’s attempt to put a veneer of nobility on an unprovoked invasion that has killed thousands of civilians and turned millions more into refugees was made in the Russian city once known as Stalingrad, on the 80th anniversary of a victory there against Nazi Germany that changed the course of World War II.” (Italics added.) The operative word is “unprovoked.” First of all, it’s a strange word for news reporters to be using because it’s more in the nature of a commentary or editorial. News reporters are supposed to report the news, and the editorial department of a newspaper is supposed to render opinions and commentary on the news. Schwirtz and Troianovski do both in their news article. Second, and more important, for the life of me, I cannot understand how Schwirtz ...
The Alien Invasion of America by Jacob G. Hornberger February 13, 2023 The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming! No, I’m not talking about illegal aliens -- that is, those immigrants who are trying to enter the United States without official permission. I’m talking about real aliens — the scary types from outer space. You know, the ones that look like ET. What other reasonable explanation could there be for those unidentified flying objects that the U.S. military has been shooting out of the skies over the northern United States? The Chinese? Nah, they’ve already lost one balloon to the U.S. military. They wouldn’t be dumb enough to send more balloons, at least not so soon. The Russians? Nah, they’re still too bogged down trying to conquer a portion of Ukraine. They don’t have the time or the resources to send any balloons our way. The North Koreans? Nah, they don’t even have the money to buy a balloon. The Cubans? Well, that’s a possibility. Remember: ...
Don’t Bow Down to a Dictatorial Government by John W. Whitehead February 17, 2023 “If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They'll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government.”— President Dwight D. Eisenhower The government ...
RATO and NATO by Jacob G. Hornberger February 27, 2023 Let’s engage in some imagining. Let’s imagine that Russia and China form a new organization, called the Russia Asia Treaty Organization, or RATO. One day they invite Nicaragua, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, and Mexico to become members. All of them agree. The U.S. government objects. “What is the purpose of extending RATO to our part of the ...
Immigration Controls Come with Death by Jacob G. Hornberger March 2, 2023 Not surprisingly, immigration-control advocates are coming fiercely to the defense of George Allan Kelly, the 74-year-old Arizona man who is charged with murdering a Mexican citizen who illegally crossed the border into the United States and trespassed on Kelly’s ranch. Kelly and his wife live in a home on the ranch. I wrote about the Kelly case ...
Biden Weaponizes Hate to Win Votes by James Bovard February 1, 2023 Historian Henry Adams observed a century ago that politics “has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” President Biden confirmed this axiom in his raging speeches prior to the mid-term congressional elections. Throughout his career, Biden has relied on a two-step routine —first appealing to “our better angels” before demagogically vilifying his opponents. In December 2020, after the Electoral College ...
Three More Drug-War Deaths in Matamoros by Jacob G. Hornberger March 8, 2023 Proponents of the war on drugs have three more deaths to add to their drug-war ledger. A few days ago, two Americans, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were killed by members of a drug cartel while visiting Matamoros, Mexico. According to CNN.com, “Investigators believe the Americans were targeted by a Mexican cartel that likely mistook them for Haitian ...
Drug-War Blindness Among Drug-War Proponents by Jacob G. Hornberger March 9, 2023 Yesterday, I wrote about two American tourists who were kidnapped and killed by a drug cartel in Matamoros, Mexico. I pointed out that if it hadn’t been for the drug war, those two people would be alive today. That’s because drug prohibition gives rise to violent drug cartels. No drug war would mean no drug cartels, ...
A Positive and Hopeful Sign in the Banking Crisis by Jacob G. Hornberger March 27, 2023 Throughout the time during which Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were going under, U.S. officials were steadfastly assuring the American people that the U.S. banking system “remains sound and resilient.” The purpose of the assurances was to discourage people from withdrawing or transferring their deposits from smaller, regional banks. An article at CNN Business this ...
The Roots of American Dysfunctionality, Part 1 by Jacob G. Hornberger February 1, 2023 Part 1 | Part 2 Among the best examples of the dysfunctional nature of American society are the mass killings that take place on a regular basis. As everyone knows, many of them occur without any rational motive. Someone just decides that he is going to go out and kill a bunch of people. Whenever one of these mass killings ...
The Roots of American Dysfunctionality, Part 2 by Jacob G. Hornberger March 1, 2023 Part 1 | Part 2 The United States once had the finest health-care system in history. When I was growing up in the 1950s — before Medicare and Medicaid came into existence — medical costs were low and stable. Hardly anyone had major-medical insurance. That’s because they didn’t need it. Going to the doctor was like going to the ...
