Tag Archives | Freedom

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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 […]

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Wash. Times: No Halo for Holder on Forfeiture Reform

Washington Times, January 20, 2015 No halo for Holder on forfeiture fix The top lawman who condemns seizures previously championed them By James Bovard Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Friday that the Justice Department would cease sharing confiscated private property with state and local police agencies under its Equitable Sharing program. Asset […]

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Counterpunch: Obama’s Sordid Record on Censorship and Secrecy

Counterpunch, January 14, 2015 Blindfolding the Republic Obama’s Sordid Record on Censorship and Secrecy by JAMES BOVARD Republicans are condemning President Obama’s failure to attend the Charlie Hebdo march in Paris as if his omission was the equivalent of a hate crime. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Tx) took the cake with a bizarre tweet complaining that […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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USA Today: Govt. by Cromnibus – blind, deaf, & dumb

USA TODAY, December 12, 2014 Government by Cromnibus – blind, deaf and dumb: Column by James Bovard The Know-Nothing Party Rules Us All “You can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think,” quipped Milton Berle in 1950. Last night’s House of Representatives’ approval of the 1,603 page, $1 trillion Cromnibus bill […]

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Torture Deja Vu: Congress Covered up Torture 8 Years Ago

It is good that Americans are finally learning some of the details of the CIA torture regime thanks to the Senate Intelligence Committee report.  But were the most shocking details redacted? Will we ever know?  Following is a piece I wrote 8 years ago after Congress enacted the Military Commissions Act which effectively retroactively legalized […]

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