Tag Archives | demagoguery

jpb quote exploiting public fear

On 9/11, Remember Not to Exalt Politicians

On the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Americans must not forget how politicians exploited that day’s carnage to seize far more power.  The only 9/11 lessons that Washington politicians learned was to spend more money, violate more rights, and bomb more nations. The only “9/11 lessons” that Washington politicians learned: spend more money, violate […]

Continue Reading
jpb CROPPED wt obamacare artwork 11202014_b3-bova-jackbox-lie8201_s877x511

FFF: Obamacare Reform and Paternalism’s Pratfalls

Future of Freedom Foundation Obamacare Reform and Paternalism’s Pratfalls by James Bovard One of Donald Trump’s first actions as president was to issue an executive order to reduce the regulatory burden of the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare has been intensely controversial since it was enacted in 2010. The battle over its reform or replacement will […]

Continue Reading
handsx-large-1

FFF: How Food Stamps Subverted Democracy, Part 2

Future of Freedom Foundation How Food Stamps Subverted Democracy, Part 2 by James Bovard Last month we saw how political demagoguery helped make hunger a major issue in American politics beginning in the late 1960s. After Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976, liberals and their media allies largely declared victory over hunger. Carter was […]

Continue Reading
foodstamps1

FFF: How Food Stamps Subverted Democracy, Part 1

Future of Freedom Foundation How Food Stamps Subverted Democracy, Part 1 by James Bovard The federal government is now feeding more than 100 million Americans. The vast increase in dependency fundamentally changes the relationship of Washington to the citizenry. The more Americans rely on handouts, the more difficult it becomes to roll back politicians’ power […]

Continue Reading
obama-disarm-Untitled-1

FFF: Presidential Fear-Mongering versus Freedom

from the Future of Freedom Foundation – PRESIDENTIAL FEAR-MONGERING vs. FREEDOM by James Bovard After the San Bernardino massacre late last year, Barrack Obama made a rare speech from the Oval Office. His most memorable line was his declaration that “freedom is more powerful than fear.” That epigram might have made John F. Kennedy’s speechwriters […]

Continue Reading

My First Piece after 9/11: Dangers of Trusting Government

Last week was the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Reposted below is the first piece I had published after that attack. George Neumayr was the IBD editor who accepted the piece; George is now a contributing editor at American Spectator. (Still can’t understand why the New York Times op-ed page didn’t jump when I […]

Continue Reading
lincoln-gettysburg-address

Gettysburg Address: Still Balderdash After 150 Years

I am mystified by all the whooping on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.  Most of the commentators seem to believe that Lincoln was an honest man touting the highest ideals. Massachusetts abolitionist Lysander Spooner offered the most concise refutation to President Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was fought to preserve a “government […]

Continue Reading