Allen Weinstein, the first chief of the National Endowment for Democracy, died yesterday. The logo to the left illustrates some of the anti-government protest movements that the Endowment helped bankroll (courtesy of the Voltaire Network). But helping topple foreign regimes that refused to kowtow to Washington has done little to advance self-government around the world. Ron […]
Tag Archives | Democracy
King John Butchered Authors of Magna Charta
… or at least he tried to butcher them. On this day 800 years ago, King John was compelled to sign Magna Charta, formally accepting a limit to his prerogative to ravage everything in England. But the ink on his signature was barely dry before he brought in foreign forces and tried to wipe out […]
FFF: Know-Nothing Democracy on Capitol Hill
Future of Freedom, March 2015 (posted 5/22/15) Know-Nothing Democracy on Capitol Hill by James Bovard “You can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think,” quipped Milton Berle in 1950. Last December’s congressional approval of the 1,603-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus bill (known as “Cromnibus,” because it was also a Continuing Resolution) also […]
Counterpunch: Will Vagina Voters Devour Democracy?
COUNTERPUNCH, MAY 12, 2015 Has Hillary Finally Found Her Brand? Will “Vagina Voters” Devour Democracy? by JAMES BOVARD Wear gloves on Election Day! “Fat-O-Sphere” author Kate Harding announced plans to “vote with my vagina” for Hillary Clinton. Harding said her voting was guided in part by her difficult menstrual cycles. I wonder who she would vote […]
Will Vagina Voters Devour Democracy?
Wear gloves on Election Day! “Fat-O-Sphere” author Kate Harding announced plans to “vote with my vagina” for Hillary Clinton. Harding said her voting was guided in part by her difficult menstrual cycles. I wonder who she would vote for if she was suffering from hemorrhoids. (Coincidentally, Mike Huckabee entered the presidential race this week.) According to […]
USA Today: My Devil’s Dictionary
USA TODAY April 13, 2015 Tax-time devil’s dictionary of DC lingo by James Bovard Having trouble with the ‘Washingtonese’ around April 15? Look no further for a translation. April 15 is the day each year when Americans are most likely to slander Washington. Unfortunately, the city’s nebulous nomenclature deters citizens from recognizing exactly how well […]
Freedom in Chains Epigrams
EPIGRAMS from Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State & the Demise of the Citizen (1999) There is no trigger guard on political ambition. Each law enacted in a momentary panic is a permanent conquest for the State. The surest effect of exalting government is to make it easier for some people to drag others […]