Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman

“The traditional libertarian position, the position I argued for in my first book (Chapter 14), is support for open borders. That was also the traditional American policy. For the first century of the country’s history anyone who could get here was welcome to come. Limits on Chinese immigration and on immigrants carrying contagious diseases were imposed in the late nineteenth century but broader restrictions only came in in the nineteen-twenties and did not, at the time, apply to immigrants from other parts of the New World. Murray Rothbard switched his position from opposing restrictions on immigration to supporting them as part of his adoption of a paleolibertarian [sic] strategy of alliance with the right, joined by Hans Hoppe and others.” [editor’s note: Paleoconservatism is not libertarian, “paleo” or otherwise. When you abandon the principle, you’re not longer entitled to the term – TLK] (04/14/24)

https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/immigration

Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger

“Throughout history, people have ingested mind-altering substances. But simply because there is a social problem with drug addiction doesn’t mean that the government should be addressing it. Shouldn’t we have learned that with alcohol Prohibition? In the 1950s, countless housewives were addicted to barbiturates. Does that mean that they should have been prosecuted and jailed? Of course not. The problem of drug addiction belongs in private rehabilitation centers, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, not in the state’s criminal-justice system.” (04/15/24)

https://www.fff.org/2024/04/15/end-the-drug-war-in-oregon-both-state-and-federal/

Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson

“To get a feel for what a 4 percent wealth tax would mean, consider that the real (meaning inflation-adjusted) long-term return on the U.S. stock market is around 7.5 percent. Taking that as a useful approximation, a 4 percent wealth tax would reduce the return on capital invested in the most common way by more than half. Those with $50 million or more in assets didn’t get that way by being bad with money (except maybe Donald Trump), and you can be sure that their investing behavior would change in response to such a tax. … There are businesses with $100 million in assets that do not make $2 million a year at all, much less $2 million to spare. Never mind that the income produced by those assets is already taxed …” (04/15/24)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-wealth-tax-madness-130300540.html

Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison

“Unconditional U.S. backing for an atrocious Israeli military campaign in Gaza encouraged Netanyahu to engage in more lawless and dangerous behavior, and repeated Israeli attacks on Iranian targets finally provoked a significant response when they crossed the line with an illegal attack on a consulate. Netanyahu and his coalition are chiefly responsible for all this, but they would not have been able to create so much wreckage and devastation without lockstep U.S. support.” (04/15/24)

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/lockstep-us-support-fuels-conflict

Source: Racket News
by Matt Taibbi

“Call it the ‘propaganda two-step.’ A corporate or political actor makes dubious claim X, which quickly appears as stronger claim X +1 in headlines. Insinuation married to exaggeration creates deception. With the two-step, neither party is fully responsible for the end claim. In May of last year, an observational study concluded Pfizer’s ubiquitous Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid was ‘associated with a decreased risk’ of hospitalization or death. A short time later, in the January 4th New York Times story, ‘Paxlovid Cuts Covid Death Risk. But Those Who Need It Are Not Taking It,’ the same study was cited to make the claim that Paxlovid is ‘stunningly effective in preventing severe illness and death.’ It was a classic example of two-stage exaggeration. Matt Bivens is in a unique position to see both ends of the construction of medical misconceptions. He entered the workforce as a journalist.” (04/15/24)

https://www.racket.news/p/q-and-a-dissecting-paxlovids-lifesaving