The Slaughterhouse Cases by Jacob G. Hornberger February 19, 2013 At my informal law and economics seminar last evening, we discussed the Slaughterhouse Cases, which were decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1873. The seminar is conducted in conjunction with the George Mason University Economics Society, a great student-run libertarian group that is interested in free-market, Austrian economics. The Slaughterhouse Cases planted the seeds of economic liberty and ...
The Students for Liberty Conference by Jacob G. Hornberger February 18, 2013 We had an absolutely awesome time at the Students for Liberty (SFL) conference this past weekend. There were about 1500-2000 undergraduate students attending, all of whom reflected a deep and passionate interest in libertarianism. There were also numerous libertarian foundations and think tanks participating in the conference, including The Future of Freedom Foundation, with booths and exhibits and lots ...
Free Trade Is Not Government-Controlled Trade by Jacob G. Hornberger February 15, 2013 I can’t help but laugh when I read about President Obama’s plan to negotiate a “free-trade” agreement with the European Union. What part of “free” does he not understand? First of all, let’s be honest about why Obama is suddenly doing this. He, along with many other U.S. officials, has witnessed the success that China has had making friends with ...
Italy Rejects the Supremacy of the U.S. National-Security State by Jacob G. Hornberger February 14, 2013 An appeals court in Italy has just sentenced two former Italian officials, Nicolo Pollari and Marco Mancini, to 10 years and 9 years in jail. Pollari served as head of Italian military intelligence and Mancini was head of counterintelligence. Their crime? They conspired with the CIA to kidnap a man named Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr off the streets of ...
The National-Security State and the Dark Side by Jacob G. Hornberger February 13, 2013 It seems to me that the most ardent proponents of such things as assassination, indefinite detention, torture, and assassination would concede that all these things reflect a dark side to which our nation has been led since 9/11. They would tell us, however, that such things are just necessary to protect our nation in the “war on terrorism” and ...
The Omnipotent Power to Assassinate Any of Us by Jacob G. Hornberger February 12, 2013 Suppose an American citizen who is openly critical of governmental policy decides to take a trip overseas, say to Yemen. Suppose that President Obama orders the military and the CIA to assassinate him while he is traveling within Yemen. Suppose the order is carried out and that that American is, in fact, assassinated. Most Americans would consider such an assassination ...
Put the Postal Service Out Of Its Misery by Jacob G. Hornberger February 11, 2013 In the latest episode in its periodic throes of pain and misery, the Postal Service has announced that it intends to cancel Saturday delivery of mail in order to save money. I’ve got a better idea: Get the government totally out of the business of delivering mail, by closing down the Postal Service and repealing the government’s legal monopoly ...
What Were the Standards for Executing Charles Horman? by Jacob G. Hornberger February 8, 2013 While Americans are seeking to determine the standards, if any, for President Obama’s assassination of American citizens, would it be too much to ask about the standards that were applied in the U.S. national-security state’s execution of American citizen Charles Horman? After all, in principle is a state-sponsored extra-judicial execution any different from a state-sponsored assassination? Why shouldn’t Americans ...
Coming to a City Near You? Assassination and Sanction Blowback by Jacob G. Hornberger February 7, 2013 The most persuasive argument against the U.S. government’s drone assassination program and its sanctions program on Iran is that they simply wrong in a moral sense. It’s morally wrong to murder people through assassination, and it’s wrong to inflict economic devastation on the citizenry of another country through sanctions. Another persuasive argument is that such programs are not authorized by ...
Facing the True Cause of Our Economic Problems by Jacob G. Hornberger February 6, 2013 Last Sunday’s New York Times had a front-page story about how Americans of all ages have suffered from the difficult economic conditions. The article pointed out that young people are in debt, unemployed, and living with their parents. People in their 30s and 40s can’t afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning virtually nothing on ...
Guilt, Not PTSD, Is What Afflicts Iraq War Veterans by Jacob G. Hornberger February 5, 2013 Ex-military sniper Chris Kyle was killed last Saturday at the hands of another Iraq War veteran, Eddie Ray Routh. Routh is one of the many Iraq veterans suffering severe mental problems, and Kyle was helping him cope. Kyle figured a good way to help Routh with his struggles was to take him to a gun range. It turned out ...
One More Life Ruined by the Drug War by Jacob G. Hornberger February 4, 2013 The drug war has just taken another victim. This time the feds have ruined the life of Marc Gerson, a star law student at Georgetown University, who, according to the Washington Post, “was Phi Beta Kappa at Georgetown, a top economics student and an award-winning debater.” Washington, D.C., federal judge Reggie B. Walton has just sentenced Gerson to ...
