Mises Institute “The Austrian” Newsletter, Issue #1, 2015 The Absurdity of “Reform” in DC by James Bovard In the 1930s, peasants who were starving because of the Soviet regime’s brutal farm collectivization policy lamented, “If only Stalin knew!” Nowadays, American social scientists look at floundering federal programs and lament: “If only Congress knew!” And […]
Tag Archives | Democracy
Wash. Times: Obama’s Liberal Spending Panacea
Washington Times, February 16, 2015 Obama’s liberal spending panacea The president ignores the crushing impact of more debt By James Bovard President Obama recently denounced the “mindless austerity” that threatens his dream of spending $4 trillion in the coming year. In lieu of the current sequestration restrictions on federal spending, Mr. Obama promises “smart investments […]
Anarchy, Regicide, & Beer: Another Brian Wilson Podcast
Brian Wilson and I had a rowdy chat on his Libertas Media Podcast this afternoon. After his great opening bit, I didn’t have the heart to tell Brian that Raging Bitch is no longer my favorite beer. After a discussion of Freedom in Chains and a foray into the Shenandoah Valley for “redneck ethnic cleansing,” […]
Counterpunch: Americans’ Fatal Freedom Apathy
COUNTERPUNCH, January 28, 2015 Surrendering Liberty America’s Fatal Freedom Apathy by JAMES BOVARD According to our civic folklore, Americans are more devoted to freedom than any other nationality on earth. But it is increasingly appears that this dogma is a relic of bygone times. A Gallup poll last July asked a thousand Americans: “Are you […]
FFF: Americans’ Fading Love of Freedom
Future of Freedom Foundation, October 2014 issue of Future of Freedom AMERICANS’ FADING LOVE OF FREEDOM by James Bovard Tea Party protesters, some Republicans, and many libertarians perceive the federal government as a vast engine of oppression. But are anti-Obama activists mistaken in presuming that most Americans still care about freedom? A Gallup poll released […]
Freeman: Government as Slaveowner (2000)
UPDATE: Here are some perhaps improved versions of a few lines in the following essay (thanks to Twitter space limits): Government worship tautology: because government has almost boundless power, it is presumably the source of all rights. *A good definition of liberty must provide a barricade that 10,000 federal agents cannot breach. *Tax burdens are […]
Bill of Rights Day Our Anti-Politician Day
Make Bill of Rights Day America’s Anti-Politician Day by James Bovard Today is the 223rd anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights — the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Bill of Rights Day should be the preeminent Anti-Politician Day on the American calendar. Instead, it has become simply another pretext for rulers […]