Trump’s Iran Bombing Is the Latest in Presidential Absolutism by James Bovard, American Conservative June 26, 2025 Does President Trump have any legal basis for his foreign policy actions aside from his personal entitlement to absolute power? Presidents have been scorning congressional leashes on their foreign interventions since at least the Korean War. But […]
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The Deadly Perils of Predatory Idealism
The Deadly Perils of Predatory Idealism by James Bovard How would people react if, on the third time their broken-down car was towed to the same repair shop for the same problem, the swaggering mechanic told them: “Sure — the engine doesn’t work today but — follow me on this — next year, you will […]
Will Trump Follow Nixon’s IRS Road to Ruin?
Will Trump Follow Nixon’s IRS Road to Ruin? by James Bovard, May 8, 2025 On Friday morning, President Trump proclaimed on his Truth Social: “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” Trump is being hailed as a hero for demanding that the IRS bring Harvard University to […]
Political Slavery in Our Times
Political Slavery in Our Times by James Bovard In 1977, East Germany ransomed hundreds of its leading intellectuals and artists to West Germany, partly because it did not wish to endure public criticism by its own citizens during an International Rights Conference. In spite of the human sale, there was no general revulsion against the […]
First They Came for the Op-Ed Writers
First They Came for the Op-Ed Writers by James Bovard, March 31, 2025, Mises Institute On March 25, six masked federal agents seized a Turkish graduate student on the streets of Somerville, Massachusetts. Rumeysa Ozturk—who was wearing a hajib—is a Fulbright scholar working on a doctorate at Tufts University. She was abducted and vanished into […]
Will Playing with Legal Nitroglycerine Destroy the Trump Administration?
The Civil Service War: Can Trump Succeed Where Other Presidents Failed? James Bovard, AIER •March 24, 2025 Writing eight years ago in USA Today, I cheered: “President Trump’s proposed budget takes a big step towards draining the swamp in Washington. This is the first time since the Reagan era that a president has sought […]
Forty Years Sniping at Leviathan
Forty Years Sniping at Leviathan by James Bovard | Dec 19, 2024 I have spent decades trying to turn political dirt into philosophic gold. I have yet to discover the alchemist’s trick, but I still have fun with the dirt. I was born in Iowa and raised in the mountains of Virginia. Wheeling and dealing […]
