from the March issue of Freedom Daily…. Bush, Torture, and the Rule of Law by James Bovard Last November, George W. Bush’s memoir, Decision Points, hit the streets. And Americans could see firsthand the former president bragging about ordering torture. Bush wrote that when he was requested to approve the CIA’s waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh […]
Tag Archives | Attention Deficit Democracy
Barron’s: The Anti-Corruption Charade (full text)
Barron’s, June 6, 2011 The Anti-Corruption Charade by James Bovard In much of the world, governing is a synonym for looting. Unfortunately, American and European foreign aid has a long history of accelerating the looting. Foreign aid created a generation of kleptocracies—governments of thieves—in Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. Mercedes-Benz automobiles became so popular […]
Supreme Court Again Absolves Nation’s Most Dangerous Criminal Class
The Supreme Court ruled today that John Ashcroft cannot be personally sued regardless of the crimes committed against American citizens thanks to his policies as Attorney General. What a crock. On the same theme, Tom Engelhardt has an excellent essay today on “Post-Legal America.”
Three Cheers for Rand Paul on the Patriot Act
Sen. Rand Paul is doing heroic work on the Patriot Act. The fact that tomorrow’s New York Times has an article fretting that the FBI might have a perilous temporary loss of surveillance powers shows how desperate the establishment has become. Paul has done a superb job thus far of slowing the bipartisan juggernaut to […]
Obama’s Unlimited Right to Kill?
from today’s Christian Science Monitor – The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com Assasination nation: Are there any limits on President Obama’s license to kill? As part of its war against violent extremism, the Obama administration now claims a right to kill Americans without a trial, without notice, and without any chance for targets to legally […]
Latest Pro-War Power Grab
I was interviewed this morning (pre-coffee, unfortunately) by Press TV on a provision in a House bill that could make it even easier for presidents to start new war. Here’s their summary of the interview: ++++ The House Armed Services Committee has expanded the Bush-era “war on terror” bill, with amendments that would allow any […]
King of Weasels Enters Prez Race
No matter what I could write about Newt Gingrich, it would not be snarky enough. The Washington Post notes today: “Gingrich is an idea-spewing machine, unlike anyone else in the Republican Party. But does America want a one-man think tank , particularly one with his history, as its president?” The Post was right about the […]