The Humble Libertarian original

The symbolism of today’s House vote is striking. Within a year of ObamaCare’s enactment, the House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to repeal it. That didn’t happen with Social Security. It didn’t happen with Medicare. Social Security and Medicare did not face sustained public opposition from the moment they were introduced in Congress. They did not pass by one vote, in the dead of night. They were not challenged as unconstitutional by half the states in the union.  They were not struck down as unconstitutional by a federal court within a year of enactment. The House vote to repeal ObamaCare is just the latest sign that ObamaCare goes too far, that it creates a more intrusive government than the American people are willing to accept. But the House vote is not mere symbolism, as the Obama administration would have us believe. Read the rest of the article  by Michael F. Cannon at Cato-at-Liberty.org Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute's director of healt...

I'm a pessimist by nature, but when the New Year dawns, I like to step out of character and look for the bright side. So here's this column's little ray of sunshine for 2011. Bask in it while you can -- we'll soon return to our regularly scheduled programming of unrelenting cynicism and negativity. "These are dangerous times," politicians keep telling us. That's the basis for uberhawk John Bolton's bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. The combative former U.N. ambassador reminds us "of what a tough and dangerous world this is," Ari Fleischer told the Politico recently. So dangerous, apparently, that some conservatives think only a man with a serious mustache can face up to it. The thing is, though, these aren't particularly dangerous times. "Today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth," cognitive scientist Steven Pinker notes. Read more of Gene Healy's article at The Wa...

The holiday travel season this year revealed some of the real defects in the Transportation Security Administration’s new policy of subjecting select travelers to the “option” of going through airport strip-search machines or being subjected to an intrusive pat-down more akin to a groping. Anecdotes continue to come forth, including the recent story of a rape victim who was arrested at an airport in Austin, TX after refusing to let a TSA agent feel her breasts. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is working on the “next big thing”: body-scanning everywhere. This “privacy impact assessment” from DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate details a plan to use millimeter wave—a technology in strip-search machines—along with other techniques, to examine people from a distance, not just at the airport but anywhere DHS wants. Read the rest of Jim Harper's post at Cato @ Liberty.org Jim Harper is director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davie...

This post could be entitled, “So many bad decisions, so little time,” but let’s have some fun and turn it into a contest. Which bone-headed decision by a local government best exemplifies mindless bureaucracy, politically correct nonsense, and government waste? Contestant Number One is an officer of the Baltimore County Natural Resources Police , who fined two men $90 each for the vicious, horrible, nasty crime of … (please don’t faint) … rescuing a deer. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. Two hardened criminals used an inflatable raft to free a helpless animal, but they flouted the law by not wearing life jackets. Since I already did a blog post about a man being fined for rescuing a wounded deer , I guess the moral of the story is that bureaucrats don’t like Bambi. Contestant Number Two is ... Read the rest of Dan Mitchell's essay at Cato-At-Liberty.org Daniel J. Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Artic...

More fun for area commuters: Last Thursday, DC Metro officials announced that "anti-terrorism teams" will immediately begin conducting random bag searches. Metro released plans for a similar scheme in October 2008, but never implemented it. That month, in an online chat with Washington Post readers, Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn was woefully short on straight answers. "Can I carry my pocketknife?" an Alexandria resident asked, "and what if I'm returning from the supermarket with lighter fluid for my grill?" Owners of "contraband" will be "subject to prosecution," Taborn replied: "If you are unsure of whether a particular item is contraband, you should seek legal advice." So budget that into your travel time. It's nice that the searches won't be as invasive as an airport porno-scanner or a Transportation Security Administration agent's cold rubber glove. But if ..... Read the Rest of the Gene Healy article...

Since today is Bill of Rights Day, it seems like an appropriate time to pause and consider the condition of the safeguards set forth in our fundamental legal charter. Let’s consider each amendment in turn. The First Amendment says that Congress “shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Government officials, however, insist that they can enact laws concerning television and radio broadcasting, and even pamphlets ! The Second Amendment says the people have the right “to keep and bear arms.” Government officials , however, insist that they can make it a crime to keep and bear arms. The Third Amendment says soldiers may not be quartered in our homes without the consent of the owners. This safeguard is doing well–so we can pause briefly here for a laugh. Read the rest of Tim Lynch's list at C ato-at-liberty.org Tim Lynch is Director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | ...

Today is a good day for liberty. By striking down the unprecedented requirement that Americans buy health insurance — the "individual mandate" — Judge Henry Hudson vindicated the idea that ours is a government of delegated and enumerated, and thus limited, powers. Even if the Supreme Court has broadened the scope of Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause — it can now reach local activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce — never before has it allowed people to face a civil penalty for declining to buy a particular product. Hudson found therefore that the individual mandate "is neither within the letter nor the spirit of the Constitution." Read the rest of the article by Ilya Shapiro at Cato.org Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

Compared to ideal policy, the deal announced last night between congressional Republicans and President Obama is terrible. Compared to what I expected to happen, the deal announced last night is pretty good. In other words, grading this package depends on your benchmark. This is why reaction has been all over the map, featuring dour assessments from people like Pejman Yousefzadeh and cheerful analysis from folks such as Jennifer Rubin . With apologies to Clint Eastwood, let’s review the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read more of Dan Mitchell's article at Cato-at-Liberty.org Dan Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at The Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

I’ve fielded some questions today about the WikiLeaks story, and I’m feeling pretty conflicted. I’m aware of the fact that the leak of classified information could pose a short-term risk to national security, but it is my sense that most of the claims of dire harm are overwrought. There is considerable evidence that much — perhaps most — classified material is improperly classified; governments oftentimes invoke claims of secrecy to shield themselves from embarrassment, not to protect national security. In that sense, some diplomats and government officials might be red in the face today, but I doubt that most Americans are feeling less secure than before the latest revelations from WikiLeaks. Read the rest of the essay by Christopher A. Preble at Cato-at-liberty.org Christopher A. Preble is the director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

President Obama will soon meet with the congressional leadership of both parties to reach some agreement about whether or not several critical tax rates will suddenly increase on Jan. 1. He says his "first priority is to make the middle-class tax cuts permanent." Those words conceal a well-crafted trap for Republicans. The president can't possibly make any tax change permanent, since his term of office ends in two years. The lame-duck Congress can't possibly bind even the next Congress, much less all future ones. Read the rest of the article by Alan Reynolds At Cato.org. Alan Reynolds , a senior fellow with the Cato Institute, is the author of Income and Wealth (Greenwood Press 2006). Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

When I was growing up, my father would occasionally tell me the story around this time of year of how private property rights saved the Pilgrims from starvation. When the Pilgrims first arrived in 1620, as my father told the story, they tried to live communally according to the spirit of the Mayflower Compact. What crops they grew were put in a common storehouse and then apportioned according to each family’s need. The small colony struggled to survive for two or three years until its leaders declared that every family henceforth would be responsible for growing its own food. The new system proved much superior at putting food on the table. Read the rest of the essay by Daniel Griswold At Cato-at-Liberty.org Daniel Griswold is The Director of Trade Policy at The Cato Institute Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

"It’s theoretically possible that congressional leaders will use earmarks to help pass legislation shrinking the burden of government. It’s also possible that I’ll play centerfield next year for the Yankees. But I’m not holding my breath for either of these things to happen." "Earmarks are utterly corrupt. The fact that they are legal does not change the fact that they finance a racket featuring big payoffs to special interests, who give big fees to lobbyists (often former staffers and Members), who give big contributions to politicians. Everyone wins…except taxpayers." Read more of Dan Mitchell's article at Cato-at-liberty.org Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website

We libertarians tend to think of ourselves as a tiny, embattled sect, ignored when we're not reviled. Lately, though — with Hayek's "Road to Serfdom" shooting up the Amazon charts and Tea Partiers with "Don't Tread on Me" flags storming Capitol Hill — there's increasing interest in figuring out how this strange tribe thinks. A team of social psychologists, including the University of Virginia's Jonathan Haidt, provides some of the most detailed answers yet, putting libertarians on the couch in a new study, "Understanding Libertarian Morality." Read the rest of Gene Healy's essay at Cato.org Gene Healy is a vice president at the Cato Institute and the author of The Cult of the Presidency .  Filed by Grant Davies , Regular Columnist, T H L Articles | Author's Page | Website