Congress rubberstamped martial law. The American Conservative posted online my article on how Congress rolled out the red carpet for martial law. This piece vivifies how neither party in Washington gives a darn about the risks of dictatorship in America. American Conservative April 23, 2007 Working for the Clampdown What might the president do with his new […]
Author Archive | Jim
Waco, R.I.P.
Today is the 14th anniversary of the FBI’s finale at Waco. This was the day that 80 civilians died as a result of a tank-and-toxic gas assault. I thought Waco might be the most important public education lesson of the 1990s, but it seems to have had scant impact. Most Americans forgot or never undertstood Waco, paving […]
A Playful Flashback on Shafting Taxpayers
Tax Day has always been special for me. The following is a piece I wrote back in the waning days fo the Reagan administration to spur positive thinking on the IRS and Uncle Sam. The New York Times April 13, 1988 HEADLINE: Your Tax Dollars At Work And Play BYLINE: By James Bovard DATELINE: WASHINGTON Congratulations. You probably […]
Condolences to everyone at Virginia Tech & their families
The shooting today at Virginia Tech is dreadful news. I have fond memories of the time I spent at Tech and of the fine folks there. Blacksburg is (was?) one of the most idyllic college towns in the nation. . I want to extend my condolences to the families and friends of the people shot today. I […]
Government Lies vs. Self-Government
Responding to implacable demands from central Europe, the Future of Freedom Foundation today finally posted online the full text of my piece on Hungarian Lies and American Lessons. Hungarians are still steaming about the government’s lies in last year’s elections, but most Americans appear to have forgotten Bush’s verbal frauds from the campaign trail last October. […]
Ernie Hancock Radio Interview Now Online
Ernie Hancock, the mastermind of FreedomsPhoenix, now has an MP3 online of the interview we did on Sunday night. The link to the audio clip is at the bottom of this page. It is a long file (16 megs), so folks with dial-up be warned. The first part of the show is Ernie’s interview with Jim Lesczynski, […]
Libertarian Paternalism Hokum
A New York Times book review yesterday snidely commented that libertarianism was past its time – and that “libertarian paternalism” is the wave of the future. Cass Sunstein was one of the proponents of “libertarian paternalism” invoked by the reviewer. The notion of “libertarian paternalism” evokes sentiments not fit for a family-friendly blog like this one. […]
Jim Bovard
Thanks very much, Ron! Ping pong balls can provi
Ron Redrift
'[T]he American Federation of Government Empl