New York Post, December 24, 2021 Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa by James Bovard In the fall of 1977, I moved to Boston seeking literary triumphs and intellectual stimulation. As a 21-year-old college dropout from the mountains of Virginia who had just sold his first article, I assumed I could easily rack up […]
Is College Worthwhile? A Two-Time Dropout’s Take by James Bovard President Biden is tub-thumping for Congress to create new federal handouts to make college free for the vast majority of students. But as Ryan McMaken and other commentators on mises.org have pointed out, college is vastly overpriced and overrated nowadays. My view on college stems […]
Counterpunch, July 22, 2020 Losing Thoreau in Boston by James Bovard Henry David Thoreau has inspired generation of Americans to live fuller, freer lives. From his story of spending a night in jail as a tax protestor in “Civil Disobedience” to his chronicle of solitary living in Walden, Thoreau reached higher ground by going against […]
Mises Institute, July 11, 2020 You Don’t Have to “Cultivate Poverty” to Pursue Truth, Contrary to Thoreau by James Bovard Henry David Thoreau has inspired generation of Americans to live fuller, freer lives. From his story of spending a night in jail as a tax protestor in “Civil Disobedience” to his chronicle of solitary living […]
American Renewal Fear And Loathing In A Mall Santa Uniform Spooky Laughs, Lusty Moms, and the Real Meaning of Christmas by James Bovard When I moved from the mountains of Virginia to Boston in 1977, it was just like the Beverly Hillbillies going to California except I didn’t have $80 million. I had dropped […]
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Festivus to everyone! When I worked as a Santa Claus in Boston in 1977, I met a lot of zany characters including a Boss from Hell who would tell me “go out there & look jolly DAMMIT!” But the most vivid memory is of a mother and daughter who […]
In my wayward youth, I worked one season as a Santa Claus at a Filene’s Department Store in Boston. I wrote up that escapade for the Wall Street Journal in 2011. This piece is an outtake from Public Policy Hooligan – which includes some other details of that gig not fit for a family newspaper. The […]
