July 4th is my Independence Day, regardless of how depraved the government has become. Forty-two years ago, the New York Times printed a satire I wrote on the failure of the All-Volunteer Congress. Some congressmen wanted to revive the military draft in order to have a higher quality army. I showed that the same argument could […]
American Conservative, March 30, 2020 Rediscovering the Classics Under Quarantine by James Bovard Thanks to coronavirus closings in most states, tens of millions of kids are at home for weeks or even the rest of the school year. This is an ideal opportunity to revive the natural love of reading that many young people have […]
A million years ago during the Carter administration, congressmen were calling for reviving military conscription because of the supposed failures of the All-Volunteer Force (started in 1973). I wrote a satire calling for conscripting random citizens to be members of Congress because many of the existing representatives were dim-witted, mentally unstable liars incapable of performing […]
Here’s the story of how my summer on the payroll of the Virginia Highway Dept. ruined me for life – I’ve had PTSD regarding hard work ever since. At least I learned how not to shovel. The 6 minute spiel concludes with Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole evicting me from her office after I asked too […]
Paul Rosenfeld of Tappan, New York was just arrested for building a 200 pound bomb that he planned to detonate on Election Day on the National Mall. According to news reports, he planned the explosion (and suicide) to bring attention to “sortition” – a system which randomly selects politicians from the citizenry. U.S attorney Geoffrey […]
Thirty-five years ago, the New York Times published this satirical piece inspired by editors who stuck lame-assed nitwit phrases into my articles. Happily, I have had no reason to complain about editors since then. Admittedly, it is difficult to find editors who will tolerate “bedamned” in articles these days. The article was accepted by Robert […]
Today is the 350th anniversary of the greatest English satirist, Jonathan Swift. Folks who only know Gulliver’s Travel have missed a goldmine of glorious prose and devastating wit. If you haven’t read “A Modest Proposal” since school days, trust me – it is even better when not read under duress. His “Argument Against Abolishing Christianity” is […]
