Archive for February 2009
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Saturday 28th February 2009
Scenes from CPAC 2009
10:54 pm | Attention Deficit Democracy | Bovard | Uncategorized | Comments: 15
The Conservative Political Action Conference in DC wrapped up today. I tromped down there Friday and got a few photos.
There were heaps of books on Sarah Palin and several organizations touting her political future. Joe the Plumber was there, along with lots of people who retain faith in all the nation’s recent wars and are [...]
Epigrams from Feeling Your Pain (2000)
1:29 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 2
The following lines are from Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years (St. Martin’s/Palgrave, 2000):
Those who forget past boondoggles will be perpetually taxed for new boondoggles.
The issue is not how much a politician cares but how much power he seeks.
Clinton exploited and expanded the dictatorial potential of the [...]
Friday 27th February 2009
Sarah Palin Lifesize Cutout & Frenzied College Republican Guys
10:09 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 0
That was the opening theme of the interview today on the Brian Wilson show.
Podcast is available here.
I don’t know if the Lysol references will register with people below a certain age.
Somebody should do a study of the collateral sanitary benefits of VCRs etc.
LISTEN LIVE - I’m on the Brian Wilson Show today (2/27) @ 5 pm Eastern
12:20 pm | Attention Deficit Democracy | Bovard | Comments: 0
I will be on the Brian Wilson radio show today sometime between 5 and 6 pm. Brian is one of the funniest and most thoughtful talk show hosts in the biz. He will be broadcasting from the Conservative Political Action Conference in DC. Ron Paul will be speaking to the conference at 4 pm today.
I [...]
Thursday 26th February 2009
Socialist Irony at Newsweek
2:33 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 4
This Newsweek cover from a couple weeks ago had an unconscious irony.
Newsweek touted an article “Quitting the Thug Life” at the same time that they proclaimed “We Are All Socialists.”
Perhaps Newsweek’s wizards are not aware that socialism quickly degenerates into nothing more than economic thuggery.
But as long as the New Socialism works out well for [...]
Tuesday 24th February 2009
Bipartisan Destruction of Free Markets
10:10 am | Uncategorized | Comments: 4
The Obama administration proposals to nationalize banks are appalling.
The Bush administration’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” TARP bailout of Wall Street was obscene.
Once the feds started bankrolling the banks and other financial institutions, it was only a question of time until politicians claimed the right to control what they subsidize.
It would have been far better for [...]
Sunday 22nd February 2009
Obama Continuing Bush Coverups?
10:12 pm | Attention Deficit Democracy | Bovard | Obama | Comments: 2
Though Obama thus far does not seem as bellicose as did George W. Bush, there are growing signs that his administration will continue the Washington tradition of covering up the crimes of his predecessors.
The Obama administration is repeating the same arguments used by the Bush White House to justify whitewashing the illegal deletion or coverup [...]
Tuesday 17th February 2009
Epigrams from Attention Deficit Democracy (2006)
3:32 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 2
Epigrams from Attention Deficit Democracy by James Bovard (Palgrave, 2006)
Americans have devoted far more effort to spreading democracy than to understanding it.
Modern democracy is far more effective at unleashing government than at protecting individuals.
When people blindly assume that their leaders are trustworthy, the biggest liars win.
Rather than a democracy, we increasingly have an elective dictatorship. [...]
Sunday 15th February 2009
Epigrams from Freedom in Chains (1999)
12:28 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 6
EPIGRAMS from Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State & the Demise of the Citizen (1999)
+ Comments or criticisms on the individual epigrams are welcome.
**************************************************
There is no way to criminalize our way to utopia.
Government is ourselves - armed with clubs.
Paternalism is a desperate gamble that lying politicians will honestly care for those who fall [...]
Friday 13th February 2009
Bovard Book Title Contest -$100 prize
9:32 am | Uncategorized | Comments: 47
I am finishing up a new book and am seeking suggestions for a snappy book title.
The book’s essays deal with the fraud of idealism, how truth is perverted in Washington, the political sanction for mass killing, why power corrupts, Leviathan-loving intellectuals, the fatal myths of democracy, and other cheery topics. My tentative title is “Principles [...]
Epigrams from The Bush Betrayal (2004)
9:00 am | Uncategorized | Comments: 0
Here’s the second installment for Epigram Month.
These are from The Bush Betrayal (Palgrave, 2004). Some of the Bush-specific epigrams will seem a bit dated, but then so is Bush.
As with the first list I posted - I’d appreciate folks’ thoughts on whether any of the listed epigrams are clunkers and should be dropped. Are there lines [...]
Saturday 7th February 2009
Happy 200th Birthday, Abe the Dictator!
10:34 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 9
Thursday is the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. I would be perplexed by the Lincoln cult if I thought the prime Lincoln idolizers gave a damn about individual liberty. Lincoln is lionized not because he saved self-government, but primarily because he sanctified and vastly extended Leviathan.
Here is a riff I did on Lincoln for a National Review [...]
Friday 6th February 2009
Farm Fiasco - Introduction Chapter (1989)
9:51 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 1
When I was doing the blog entries with the first chapters of my books a few months ago, I apparently left out the intro from my first book, Farm Fiasco (ICS Press, 1989).
So, better late than never, here’s my bouquet for Iowa et al.
FARM FIASCO by James Bovard
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER
Federal farm policy is trampling individual rights, sacrificing [...]
Thursday 5th February 2009
Sarah Palin Attacks ‘Anonymous, Pathetic Bloggers’
12:47 pm | Uncategorized | Comments: 5
Sarah Palin is still furious at “anonymous, pathetic bloggers” who defamed her good name last year.
Damn, this is so upsetting to me that I’m going straight to Brooks Brothers and blow $25,000 on a new wardrobe.
The Associated Press notes that Palin “says sports taught her everything she knows.”
I am reminded of the quips in the 1970s [...]
Monday 2nd February 2009
Epigrams from Terrorism & Tyranny (2003)
11:38 am | Uncategorized | Comments: 9
February is Epigrams Month. I will be posting epigrams from each of my books on this blog throughout this month.
I would appreciate feedback on this list Are there any epigrams here that seem like clunkers and should be dropped?
Are there lines that should be moved closer to the top?
Are there lines not on this list that I should [...]