Mises Institute, October 23, 2020 Will Democracy’s Myths Doom Liberty? by James Bovard The Supreme Court declared in 1943, “There is no mysticism in the American concept of the State or of the nature or origin of its authority.” In reality, the cardinal doctrines of contemporary democracy are layer upon layer of mystical claptrap. The […]
Tag Archives | Franklin Roosevelt
How Intellectuals Cured ‘Tyrannophobia’
American Conservative, July 24, 2020 How Intellectuals Cured ‘Tyrannophobia’ American presidents have adopted Hobbesian levels of power. by Jim Bovard Almost 400 years ago, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes wrote a book scoffing at tyrannophobia—the “fear of being strongly governed.” This was a peculiar term that Hobbes invented in Leviathan, since civilized nations had feared […]
FDR, Demagogue Champion of Leviathan and War
Libertarian Institute, April 13, 2020 FDR, Demagogue Champion of Leviathan and War by Jim Bovard | Sunday was the 75th anniversary of the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was sainted by the media even before he died in 1945. CNN last week trumpeted FDR as “the wartime president who Trump should learn from.” A 2019 […]
Census Bureau and Facebook Partnering to Censor the Internet
American Conservative, March 3, 2020 The Census and Facebook: Working Hand-in-Glove to Censor the Internet by James Bovard The same agency that once helped the Army round up Japanese Americans has now achieved protected status on social media. America’s social media giants are rallying behind the 2020 Census. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg recently assured […]
Yalta and the Death of the “Good War”
The American Conservative, February 18, 2020 Yalta and the Death of the ‘Good War’ by James Bovard FDR’s complicity in Stalin’s post-WWII bloodletting started a trend of lies and hypocrisy in U.S. foreign policy. Yalta summit in February 1945 with (from left to right) Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. (public domain) *** This […]
FDR’s Worst Perversion of Freedom
Mises Institute, January 17, 2019 FDR’s Worst Perversion of Freedom: The “Four Freedoms” Speech by James Bovard Franklin Roosevelt did more than any other modern president to corrupt Americans’ understanding of freedom. Last week was the 75th anniversary of his 1944 speech calling for a second Bill of Rights to guarantee economic freedom to Americans. […]
George H.W. Bush: First Gulf War to Restore Kuwait’s “Rightful Rulers to Their Place”
The late George H.W. Bush is being lauded as a visionary statesman. We should not forget that he justified the first Gulf War to restore Kuwait’s “rightful rulers to their place.” Why should Americans give a damn which Arab dictators control which patches of sand (and oil)? Here’s a 2008 article I did (derived from […]