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Will Idealism Get Us All Killed?

Will Idealism Get Us All Killed? James Bovard, Counterpunch  May 29, 2025 Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR Americans are raised to revere idealism, the civic religion of contemporary democracy. If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, idealism may be the first. Permitting presidents to anoint themselves as Idealists-in-Chief has enabled them to […]

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The Deadly Perils of Predatory Idealism

The Deadly Perils of Predatory Idealism by James Bovard How would people react if, on the third time their broken-down car was towed to the same repair shop for the same problem, the swaggering mechanic told them: “Sure — the engine doesn’t work today but — follow me on this — next year, you will […]

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We Never Got to Torture Congress

We Never Got to Torture Congress by James Bovard, May 26, 2025 Folks who believe the current political atmosphere is uniquely hateful have forgotten the boundless vitriol prevailing a few decades ago. During the George W. Bush administration, Republicans relied on push-button rage to suppress all criticism of the war on terror. After I appeared […]

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Doug Bell, R.I.P.

My best friend from Blacksburg High School passed away on Friday after a brief but brutal  fight with cancer.  I met Doug Bell when my family moved to Blacksburg just before the start of my senior year in high school (Doug was also a senior). Doug and I were both discus throwers on the track […]

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No Vaccination against Unlimited Political Power

No Vaccination against Unlimited Political Power by James Bovard, May 18, 2025 Late in the last century, theater goers were jolted when a character in the X-Files movie declared that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can allow “the White House to suspend constitutional government upon declaration of a national emergency.” If the same line was […]

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Political Slavery in the COVID Era

Political Slavery in the COVID Era by James Bovard, May 12, 2025 In 1977, East Germany ransomed hundreds of its leading intellectuals and artists to West Germany, partly because it did not wish to endure public criticism by its own citizens during an International Rights Conference. In spite of the human sale, there was no […]

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