Congress is finally paying attention to the choking profusion of federal criminal laws. The House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force of 2013 will be launched this week, seeking to pare back the federal criminal code. The Wall Street Journal, which has had an excellent series of reports on this problem in recent years, notes, […]
Tag Archives | Democracy
Italian Freedom Champion Bruno Leoni’s Centenary
This month is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bruno Leoni, one of the most penetrating political thinkers of the post-World War Two era. His 1961 book, Freedom and the Law, helped me get a handle on the perils of majority rule. (E-text versions of that book are available free from the Liberty Fund […]
More Bush-Inspired Epigrams for his Library Day
In honor of Bush’s library dedication today, here are some more epigrams he inspired from Terrorism & Tyranny (Palgrave, 2003) Killing foreigners is no substitute for protecting Americans. Habeas corpus is an insurance policy to prevent governments from going berserk. Perpetual war inevitably begets perpetual repression. It is impossible to destroy all alleged enemies of […]
Bush Betrayal Epigrams – in honor of Library Day
Down in Texas, the George W. Bush Library will be officially opened today. In honor of the occasion, here’s a few epigrams from my 2004 book, The Bush Betrayal: Truth is a lagging indicator in politics. The arrogance of power is the best hope for the survival of freedom. The only way to reconcile the […]
Wash. Times: The ‘You Are the Government’ Canard
Washington Times, April 15, 2013 BOVARD: The ‘you are the government’ canard Obama joins predecessors in blaming his overreach on us by James Bovard In his continuing campaign to subvert the Second Amendment, President Obama recently unveiled one of the oldest tricks in the demagogue playbook. Speaking in Colorado, he declared that since America is […]
Your Tax Dollars at Work and Play
I’m sitting here filling out my IRS Form 1040 and just realized that I’m suffering from a severe deficit of idealism. To rectify that defect, I re-read this op-ed I wrote in 2011…. Washington Times, April 14, 2011 Uncle Sam’s big plans for your hard-earned tax dollars by James Bovard Congratulations – your tax payment […]
Ripping the Raisin Regime in USA Today
USA Today April 5, 2013 (also syndicated nationwide via Gannett) Fight for the Right to Grow Raisins by James Bovard If the Supreme Court cannot smack down the raisin racket, then it should forfeit any pretense of safeguarding Americans’ rights and liberties. The Supreme Court could soon end one of the federal government’s most archaic […]