Maryland Governor issues stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus

This is a deadly public health crisis.  We are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay home.  We are directing them to do so.  This executive order will become effective at 8 pm today.

~ Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland, "Hogan issues stay-at-home order for Maryland to stop spread of coronavirus," Baltimore Sun, March 30, 2020

Mark Skousen on response to coronavirus: "Government officials are using a sledge hammer to crack a nut"

Today the Wall Street Journal issued its best editorial regarding the current crisis: “No society can safeguard public health for long at the cost of its economic health.”

The WSJ is finally saying what a lot of us have been saying all along — government officials are using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.

What various government officials are doing is over the top, shutting down entire states, closing airports, and threatening to take over private businesses “for our own good.” This will cause a true Depression if it lasts more than a couple more weeks.

~ Mark Skousen, "Using a Sledge Hammer to Crack a Nut," FreedomFest Forum, March 20, 2020

Kevin Duffy on how libertarians should view the Civil War

To a libertarian, the Civil War is a classic case of both sides being wrong.  At the same time I am critical of the Northern invasion of the South, I can be critical of the institution of slavery. Libertarians naturally oppose conscription, which both sides resorted to in 1862.  Some counties in East Tennessee actually tried to secede from the Confederacy, but were checked by martial law, an action that libertarians would also oppose.  Some of the border states tried to remain neutral in the conflict.  According to Wikipedia, “Maryland's legislature voted overwhelmingly (53–13) to stay in the Union, but also rejected hostilities with its southern neighbors, voting to close Maryland's rail lines to prevent them from being used for war.  Lincoln responded by establishing martial law and unilaterally suspending habeas corpus in Maryland, along with sending in militia units from the North.”  Lincoln’s actions were not only anti-libertarian, they were unconstitutional.

~ Kevin Duffy

Civil War Centennial - Gettysburg
1863-1963