Tag Archives | Congress

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1995: My Mini-Musk Strikeout Fighting Government Waste

1995: When I Testified Before the Train Wreck Known as Congress by James Bovard President Trump hosted Elon Musk for a farewell press conference on Friday. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team savvily exposed federal follies and spurred over $100 billion in canceled federal contracts and cutbacks. It remains to be seen […]

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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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Political Slavery in Our Times

Political Slavery in Our Times by James Bovard 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 general revulsion against the […]

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Trump’s “Always Be Free” Fairy Tale

No, Donald Trump, America Was Not ‘Always Free’ by James Bovard, March 10, 2025 In his State of the Union address last week, President Donald Trump promised that Americans “will always be free.” That throwaway line assured another round of applause from his Republican devotees on Capitol Hill. But will other Americans be as gullible […]

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The Greatest Tariff Speech in Congressional History

The Greatest Tariff Speech in Congressional History by James Bovard, November 19, 2024 Donald Trump is bringing his idolatry of high tariffs back to the White House. Trump proclaims that “tariffs are the greatest!” and that “tariff” is “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” Vast numbers of his Republican supporters will echo any dubious […]

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‘Trump-Washing’ U.S. History Endangers Our Freedom

‘Trump-Washing’ U.S. History Endangers Our Freedom by James Bovard, October 1, 2024 Kamala Harris seeks to capture the White House with a message built on vaporous “positive vibes” and “joy.” The Harris campaign is bolstering that message by portraying Donald Trump as a deadly peril to democracy unprecedented in American history. The former Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), […]

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