Rand Paul announced that he is suspending his presidential campaign this morning. How much of the demise of the Rand Paul’s effort was due to poor campaign tactics vs. voters not giving a damn about freedom? In Iowa, Rand’s campaign targeted student voters. But as David Weigel of the Washington Post noted, that tactic fizzled […]
Tag Archives | Surveillance
Democratic Debate Hoots & Huckstering
Tonight’s Democratic candidate debate was everything a cynic could have wished for. Government retained its power to perform miracles, though no one explicitly promised that it could raise the dead. It is amazing to see how far & easily both Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley ran from their records in office. Following are some of […]
GOP Slugfest – Saudis, Cigars, Treason, & Tweets
Damned unfortunate that Fox Business News blocked Rand Paul from the debate tonight in South Carolina. Here are Twitter messages as the candidates wrangled [ok, so the photo is a few months old – Carly didn’t make it to the main stage tonight but every other photo I considered was painfully dull] #GOPDebate Kasich: […]
USA TODAY: Budget Bill Leaves No Boondoggle Behind
USA TODAY, December 17, 2015 BUDGET BILL LEAVES NO BOONDOGGLE BEHIND by James Bovard Republican congressional leaders are like a football coach who believes the secret to winning is to punt early and often. House Speaker Paul Ryan and others are claiming victory over the 2,000-plus page appropriations bill, but this is a “no boondoggle left […]
Wash. Times: Obama’s Freedom & Fear Farce
Washington Times, December 10, 2015 Talking freedom but practicing fear by James Bovard The president employs scare tactics to diminish liberties The most memorable line in President Obama’s Oval Office Sunday speech was his declaration that “freedom is more powerful than fear.” That epigram might have made John F. Kennedy’s speechwriters beam. But it is […]
USA TODAY: Trump Card for Another Census Roundup
USA TODAY, November 24, 2015 The Trump card for another Census roundup by James Bovard The Census Bureau is sending its hefty American Community Survey to more than 3 million households a year. That’s good news for a would-be president Donald Trump, who will find just the information he needs for some of his kookier ideas. I […]
Assassin Nation Redux
Congratulations to Jeremy Scahill and The Intercept for “The Assassination Complex” – their great expose on Obama’s drone killing program. They provide smoking guns from official sources to prove that the program has been slaughtering innocents for years. I have taken a few swings at this program over the years. After I bashed drone killings in […]