Along the way, political writer James Bovard documented the vile developments. Speaking Tuesday at the Future of Freedom Foundation's Restoring Our Civil Liberties webinar, Bovard provided a biting, and at times funny, introduction to destructive and absurd actions the US government has pursued since the September 11 attacks.

Starting off, Bovard notes that while in the 1990s he had much criticized out-of-control government, including in his book Lost Rights, it has turned out that "the 1990s were practically a golden age for freedom compared to what's happened after 9/11." From there, Bovard, in his speech, addresses some of the new government powers and agencies that have come into being over the last 20 years.