Tag Archives | Homeland Security

jpb podcast black & white photo

Podcast: Are We All Terrorist Suspects Now?

Here’s my first solo podcast, produced for the Future of Freedom Foundation.  Thanks to Bart Frazier for hammering out some of the kinks in the video file. The definitions of terrorist suspects have multiplied like rabbits since the 9/11 attacks 17 years ago today.   Here’s a 7 minute rundown of some bizarre standards the government […]

Continue Reading
tsa-DannyB2-31-minutes

Los Angeles Times: TSA Secret Watchlist Targets Troublesome Travelers

Los Angeles Times, May 28, 2018 After pointlessly groping countless Americans, the TSA is keeping a secret watchlist of those who fight back by James Bovard “I need a witness!” exclaimed the security screener at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Because I had forgotten to remove my belt before going through a scanner, he explained, I […]

Continue Reading
Juggalo-Marine-Veteran-DSC_0443

FFF: Guilt by Musical Association

Future of Freedom Foundation Guilt by Musical Association by James Bovard February 9, 2018 Should the feds be permitted to treat anyone who is not a choirboy like a criminal suspect? Unfortunately, local, state, and federal agencies have a long history of targeting, harassing, and entrapping fans of untraditional music. Because so many innocuous activities […]

Continue Reading
dumpster-fire-from-flickr

FFF: Homeland Security Multibillion Dollar Comedy Show

 Future of Freedom Foundation Homeland Security’s Multibillion-Dollar Comedy Show by James Bovard After the 9/11 attacks, Congress and the Bush administration pretended that unlimited federal spending was one of the best ways to thwart terrorist threats. In 2002, Congress created the Homeland Security Department (DHS), sweeping some of the most inept federal agencies, such as […]

Continue Reading

Counterpunch: Trump’s Fearmongering is Tawdry Presidential Tradition

Counterpunch, February 13, 2017 Trump’s Fearmongering is a Tawdry Presidential Tradition by James Bovard President Donald Trump is being reviled for wildly exaggerating the peril of Muslim refugees. Some commentators fret that his rhetoric signals a new fascist era descending on America. A recent Washington Post news analysis derided Trump’s fearmongering: “Playing upon the nation’s […]

Continue Reading
drone surveillance from Snowden rally

FFF: Billion Dollars of Federally Funded Paranoia

A Billion Dollars of Federally Funded Paranoia by James Bovard When it comes to mindless excess in the war on terror, it is difficult to compete with the 70+ fusion centers bankrolled by the Department of Homeland Security. They began to be set up around the nation shortly after 9/11 as federal-state-local partnerships to better […]

Continue Reading
TSA Endless Lines May 2016

TSA #iHateTheWait Video from Washington Post

Frustrated travelers caught in endless TSA lines are lashing the TSA with an #iHateToWait Twitter tag. The Washington Post created this excellent video on the backlash. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says his agency is “asking the public to have appropriate expectations when they arrive at the airport.” Ya, expect to miss your flight, Chump! […]

Continue Reading