Author Archive | Jim

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FFF: Freedom vs. Medals of Freedom

From the Future of Freedom Foundation’s monthly journal – Freedom vs. Medals of Freedom by James Bovard Though proximity to power is its own reward, rulers have long recognized the benefit of distributing trinkets to potential sycophants. From medieval times onwards, the English king was seen as the “fount of all honors.” The British government […]

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USA Today: An FDA War on Cheap Cigars?

  USA Today     June 22, 2014 Cigar smokers, watch out: Column by James Bovard Does FDA really believe that only those who can afford ‘premiums’ should be exempt? During Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, Vice President Thomas Marshall declared, “What this country needs is a good 5 cent cigar.” The Obama administration is striving to update that […]

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My Wash. Times Op-Ed: Obama’s Democracy Flim-Flam

WASHINGTON TIMES   June 20, 2014 How Obama whoops up democracy The president blunders by thinking voting alone will keep people safe by James Bovard As his foreign policy becomes more bollixed by the week, President Obama is taking refuge by whooping up democracy. In Warsaw, Poland, earlier this month, Mr. Obama proclaimed, “Wherever people are […]

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“Debts Make Free Men Slaves” – My Two Cents on National Debt

I was interviewed yesterday by Press TV on the record setting national debt.   The old Roman saying in the headline for this blog occurred me to after the interview finished but oh bother.   You can hear the early morning monologue by clicking here. And here are some outtakes from the interview: “The debt load is far […]

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Iraq War Flashback: 2003 Epigrams

As the Obama administration appears to be stumbling back towards warring in Iraq, many folks are recalling the follies of the Bush administration’s 2003 war.   This excellent Tom Toles’ cartoon from the Washington Post captures W.’s legacy. As the Bush administration was rattling its sabers towards Iraq from mid-2002 onwards, I hustled numerous pieces to […]

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My Rollicking Interview with Mises Institute President Jeff Deist

I had a lively chat yesterday with Mises Institute President Jeff Deist regarding Hayek, Mencken, Washington venality, the Great Books, that bastard Nixon,  and some of my muckraking over the past decades.  I was not aware that folks had considered me a unicorn – I’m more accustomed to being compared to weasels or guttersnipes.  Their interview description refers […]

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Virginians Evict Eric Cantor, Champion of NSA and Torture, from Congress

The Washington political establishment took a whupping last night when Virginian voters staunchly defeated Eric Cantor in the Republican congressional primary.   Cantor’s defeat is one of the biggest upsets in congressional races in a generation. The obituaries on the Tea Party were premature. Washington pundits will have to stop touting Cantor as the future Speaker of the House […]

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