Archive | April, 2026

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Consenting to Endless Coercion

Consenting to Endless Coercion by James Bovard Presidents perennially claim that they possess their power thanks to “the consent of the governed.” This phrase, a signature line of the Declaration of Independence, has echoed in official declarations ever since Jefferson’s time. President Harry Truman assured Congress in 1952, “No government can be invested with a […]

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The Growing IRS Dictatorship – Wall Street Journal 1994

On Tax Day 2026, remember that the IRS was unleashed long ago.   Here’s a piece of mine published on April 14, 1994 – Wall Street Journal  -The Growing IRS Dictatorship By James Bovard A Gallup Poll released last week found that two-thirds of Americans believe that the Internal Revenue Service abuses its power. Yet few […]

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Playboy: IRS – Stand and Deliver (1996)

As long as people are getting screwed on Income Tax Day, here’s a flashback to one of my favorite Playboy articles from 30 years ago.  (Article text below images) Playboy, April, 1996 HEADLINE: Stand and deliver: the Internal Revenue Service has its own ideas on how to deal with critics.The Playboy Forum BYLINE: Bovard, James You […]

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My 1990 Speech in Santiago, Chile Bashing the World Bank

In 1990, I gave a speech denouncing foreign aid & the World Bank at a Santiago, Chile conference. Sifting chaos today & saw a packet of photos maybe for the first time. The organizers offered to pay me extra if I promised not to punish the audience by trying to speak Spanish. Here’s links to […]

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Trump and the Iran War

Trump and the Iranian government reportedly agreed to a temporary cease fire. Hopefully more carnage can be averted. Here’s my takes on the conflict over the past month.

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Trump Goes Full Moon on Easter Morning

Trump’s F-word Easter morning outburst is like a church service interrupted by a crazed homeless guy in the front pew who starts screaming profanities & threatening to kill anyone who doesn’t submit to his commands Trump's F-word Easter morning outburst is like a church service interrupted by a crazed homeless guy in the front pew […]

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Dilbert vs. Leviathan: Scott Adams’s Greatest Hits

Scott Adams, the cartoonist who gave Dilbert to the world, passed away in January after a hard fight against cancer. His glorious BS radar deserves to be prominently displayed in the Smithsonian Institute. No one had a sharper ear than Adams for contemporary American bloviating.  

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