{"id":10293,"date":"2017-05-03T13:02:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T17:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=10293"},"modified":"2026-04-01T09:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:20:26","slug":"washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington Post, May 3, 2017\"\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

Arresting someone for laughing may sound funny, but it\u2019s no joke<\/a><\/h1>\n

\u00a0I was once kicked out of the Supreme Court for laughing. The charges against Desiree Fairooz are serious business.<\/h4>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

By James Bovard<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

The Justice Department is prosecuting a woman who laughed<\/a> during a Senate hearing to confirm Jeff Sessions as attorney general. I can sympathize with her somewhat absurd plight, because I was once tossed out of the press box in the Supreme Court for laughing at the wrong time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Desiree Fairooz, a librarian in Arlington, Va., and a Code Pink<\/a> activist, guffawed when Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) asserted that Sessions\u2019s record for \u201ctreating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented.\u201d She was speedily arrested by a U.S. Capitol police\u00a0officer. Justice Department lawyers reportedly charged Fairooz with \u201cdisorderly and disruptive conduct\u201d intended to \u201cimpede, disrupt, and disturb the orderly conduct\u201d of congressional proceedings.<\/p>\n

According to the HuffPost, laughter occurred at other times during the hearing \u2014 especially when Sessions made a joke about his marriage.\u00a0But laughing with the nominee did not pose a grave threat to the dignity of congressional proceedings.<\/p>\n

It might seem like a surprise that the Justice Department is prosecuting Fairooz; perhaps the career lawyers in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who are pursuing the case will win the gratitude of their new boss, but it\u2019s an unusual one.\u00a0The case is being heard by the chief judge of the D.C. Superior Court.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time federal cops have attempted to enforce the difference between licit and illicit laughter, though, and unfortunately, it might not be the last. Laughing got me tossed out of the press box at the Supreme Court in March 1995. I was on assignment for Playboy<\/a>, covering arguments in a case involving an Arkansas woman<\/a> who had sold a small amount of illegal drugs to a government informant and was later the target of a no-knock police raid. Then, too, some laughter was okay, and some wasn\u2019t: When then-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist mocked one lawyer\u2019s assertion, everyone in the house responded with a polite chuckle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Clinton administration\u2019s lawyers were asserting that no-knock drug raids were presumptively justified in houses that had flush toilets \u2014 because\u00a0the slightest delay in barging in could allow residents to flush away small amounts of drugs. (That would, of course, mean no-knock raids were preemptively justified in more than 99 percent of households<\/a> in the nation.) Justice Department attorney\u00a0Michael Dreeben conceded that a forced entry would not be justified if police knew \u201cthat all the drugs in question are stored in relatively indestructible crates.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Wesley Hall, the lawyer representing the defendant, retorted that, according to that logic, \u201cthe more drugs you\u2019ve got, the more right you have to an announcement\u201d before a police search.<\/p>\n

I thought that was hilarious. Alas, my boisterous laugh proved to be a solo performance. All the justices \u2014 and almost everybody else in the courtroom \u2014 turned and stared in my direction.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, a Supreme Court police<\/a> officer tapped me on the shoulder and notified me that I would have to move to a rear alcove \u2014 out of sight. As The Washington Post\u2019s Al Kamen reported the next day<\/a>, officials said I had violated an obscure Supreme Court rule that requires reporters sitting in the front of the press section to follow the same dress code as members of the Supreme Court bar do. By wearing a Lord & Taylor dress shirt, but not a coat and tie, I ran afoul of the rules, but it was my illicit laugh that drew the attention of anyone in a position to enforce the provision. (\u201cMaybe he should try Brooks Brothers,\u201d Kamen joked<\/strong> in his column.) In my situation, at least, there were no criminal charges filed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i>While my ejection, and Fairooz\u2019s case, may seem funny, it\u2019s actually a dangerous precedent to permit the Justice Department to prosecute people who laugh during official proceedings. Will applause and raucous cheering be the only legally permitted noises that citizens can make while listening to politician<\/strong>s? Should we imitate repressive governments, such as Thailand\u2019s, and make a criminal offense of lese majeste<\/a> \u2014 insulting the ruler?<\/p>\n

The federal government nowadays is generating so many absurdities that even cynics cannot keep track. We all need to maintain our humor to preserve our sanity \u2014 and our freedom. As H.L. Mencken aptly observed, \u201cOne horselaugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tagline: James Bovard is an investigative journalist and author of 10 books, including “Attention Deficit Democracy<\/a>” and “Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty<\/a>.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington Post, May 3, 2017 Arresting someone for laughing may sound funny, but it\u2019s no joke \u00a0I was once kicked out of the Supreme Court for laughing. The charges against Desiree Fairooz are serious business. By James Bovard The Justice Department is prosecuting a woman who laughed during a Senate hearing to confirm Jeff Sessions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1062,1064,232,9,648,768,1063,24],"class_list":["post-10293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-code-pink","tag-denise-fairooz","tag-laughter","tag-lese-majeste","tag-mencken","tag-senate","tag-sessions","tag-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\nWashington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":794,\"commentCount\":5,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Code Pink\",\"Denise Fairooz\",\"laughter\",\"lese majeste\",\"mencken\",\"Senate\",\"Sessions\",\"Supreme Court\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"description\":\"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg\",\"width\":1250,\"height\":627},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/03\\\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard","description":"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard","og_description":"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1250,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime?","datePublished":"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/"},"wordCount":794,"commentCount":5,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg","keywords":["Code Pink","Denise Fairooz","laughter","lese majeste","mencken","Senate","Sessions","Supreme Court"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/","name":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime? - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg","datePublished":"2017-05-03T17:02:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-01T13:20:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"description":"I went to the Supreme Court to cover a case for Playboy but got thrown out because I laughed at the wrong time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jpb-supreme-court-ejection-combo-with-washington-post-headline-1.jpg","width":1250,"height":627},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/washington-post-should-laughter-be-a-federal-crime\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Washington Post: Should Laughter be a Federal Crime?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10293"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22533,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10293\/revisions\/22533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}