American Atrocity: Remembering the Shenandoah Burning by James Bovard, September 30, 2024 George Orwell wrote in 1945 that “the nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” This week is the 160th anniversary of one of the worst […]
Tag Archives | Civil War
Biden’s Blather and American Democracy Gone Awry
Biden’s Blather and American Democracy Gone Awry by James Bovard, July 23, 2024 Since late 2020, President Joe Biden has invoked “the will of the people” dozens of times to sanctify his power, including arbitrary decrees that were illegal or unconstitutional. Biden’s invocations did not prevent his re-election campaign from being terminated behind closed doors […]
Nikki Haley, Authoritarian-in-Waiting
American Conservative, January 31, 2024 Nikki Haley, Authoritarian-in-Waiting by James Bovard New advertisements from the Nikki Haley presidential campaign are touting the former South Carolina governor as the “better choice” for America. In a season in which the Biden re-election campaign is openly comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, Haley is increasingly portrayed as someone […]
Ambrose Bierce’s Pro-Freedom Cynicism
Ambrose Bierce’s Pro-Freedom Cynicism by James Bovard The friends of freedom must recognize the verbal charades that sway people to surrender their rights and liberties. The political establishment and its media allies are continually abusing the English language to lull people into submission. From pupils being required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the […]
Will Treason Mania Destroy America?
Will Treason Mania Destroy America? by James Bovard At the start of the Biden era, America is being torn apart by more allegations of treason than at any time since the Civil War. Historian Henry Adams observed a century ago that politics “has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” And few things spur hatred […]
200th Anniversary of a Great American Demolition of Tyranny
Here’s my tribute to one of the best and least appreciated classics of American political thought. Here is a link to a free version of the original printing from 1822. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tyranny_Unmasked/HhHVAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover 200th Anniversary of a Great American Demolition of Tyranny by James Bovard This is the 200th anniversary of the publication of one of the […]
A Halo for the Civil War is Hogwash
Libertarian Institute, July 16, 2020 A Halo for the Civil War is Hogwash by James Bovard “If the people who started wars didn’t make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight?” said Rhett Butler, the savvy anti-hero in Gone with the Wind. Politicians, activist historians, and social justice warriors have awarded the American […]