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James Bovard is the author of ten books, including Public Policy Hooligan (2012), Attention Deficit Democracy (2006), The Bush Betrayal (2004), and Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994). He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean. He is a contributing editor for American Conservative magazine and The Freeman and a regular contributor to the Future of Freedom magazine. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard "the roving inspector general of the modern state," the New York Times tagged him "an anti-czar Czar," and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a "one-man truth squad." His 1994 book Lost Rights received the Free Press Association's Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism and Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner Award for the Best Book on Liberty in 2003. 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. His writings have been publicly denounced by the chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the chief of the Transportation Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor, 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 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Washington Post.
If I was expecting mental stimulation in Washington, I came to the wrong place. "Political thought" consists of making accusations or making excuses, and not much more. DC's "mental currents" usually let only the froth rise to the top
The House of Representatives voted 354 to 60 on Oct. 16 to condemn President Donald Trump's pullback of U.S. troops from eastern Syria as "beneficial to adversaries of the United States government."
Vox is whooping up the wacky notion that "sex was better under socialism." Tell that to Romanian women forced to undergo monthly gyno exams to outlaw abortions because the government proclaimed in 1985 that "the fetus is the socialist property
Nine minutes of heresy: After former President George H.W. Bush died recently, many politicians and pundits sought to put a halo over his head and career, comparing Bush to Jesus and George Washington. But America still suffers from his debacles at
Millennials like Communism?!? I was vaccinated against it when I traveled to Romania, dodging secret agent hookers, surly clerks, and gullible guards with machine guns. I avoided arrest and whacked hell out of the regime in the New York Times after
OK, so I screwed up in one of my illegal jaunts behind the Iron Curtain. But at least there's a funny story about how I was able to eventually bluster my way out of a long interrogation at the Czechoslovakian - East German border in the Erzgeb
The vast regime of torture created by the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks continues to haunt America. The political class and most of the media have never dealt honestly with the profound constitutional corruption that such practices infli
Lying and piety go together in Washington like ham and eggs. After 9/11, a profusion of government falsehoods on Iraq and other topics ravaged official credibility. The political class responded with an endless profusion of promises to "speak truth
One summer on the government payroll destroyed my work ethic for life. Plus, the inside scoop on why former Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole still hates me.
I filed a formal request for a video of that patdown six months ago. But TSA treats the Freedom of Information Act like the F**k Off Information Act and they are ignoring their legal duty to disclose.
The owner of the limousine company that killed 20 people in New York last weekend was an FBI informant who helped carry out two big entrapment operations against Muslims after 9/11. Prior to being recruited by the FBI, he was caught helping people ch
Do members of Congress care about any sexual assault that does not permit them to politically grandstand? Hold TSA agents responsible for assaults.
John McCain has been lauded for his service, but his military crusades were rooted more in rhetoric than realism. They have failed to spread democracy.
Perhaps the biggest whopper in Washington nowadays is the assumption that the government and the political class will automatically be trustworthy once the Trump era ends.
Excessive yawning, strong body odor -- these are two ways you could become a target in TSA's new secret program, which treats ordinary people like terrorists.
On July 4 twenty-two years ago, I riled up folks at the Libertarian National Convention. I talked about the EEOC's war on Hooters, House Speaker Newt Gingrich's pig paranoia, zoning idiocy, and other boondoggles. Commenting on a recent idiotic a
The 937th report on the crisis of democracy in the Trump era was released Tuesday. Half of Americans polled believe that the U.S. is in "real danger of becoming a nondemocratic, authoritarian country" and two-thirds believe democracy is "gettin
Donald Trump was hailed by the media last August when he announced he was sending more U.S. troops to fight in Afghanistan. A Washington Post editorial praised his "principled realism" and saluted "a rare but welcome story of self-correction"
The Trump administration is pushing radical changes in the food stamp program as part of the farm bill. Reform efforts may be derailed by activists who vastly exaggerate hunger and portray food handouts as the epitome of social justice. But federal f
A new report claims college students are 'food insecure' and starving. But better research shows they're overweight and lazy.
President Trump has said and done many things to appall the friends of freedom. From Trump's pro-torture comments to his praise of police brutality to his cruise-missile barrage against Syria to his threat to annihilate North Korea, there are ample
The New York Times is running a series of "Red Century" articles extolling some of the virtues of communism on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Last August, the Times showcased a Yale University lecturer rhapsodizing about the Sov
One of the Obama administration's most aggressive social justice engineering schemes was busted earlier this month in federal court in Texas. In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission effectively made it a federal crime for businesses to
As of this week, the Berlin Wall has been shattered for longer than it stood as a lethal divide in the center of Europe. I crossed checkpoints at the Berlin Wall a half dozen times in the 1980s when I was writing articles for the New York Times, Read
Should the feds be permitted to treat anyone who is not a choirboy like a criminal suspect? Unfortunately, local, state, and federal agencies have a long history of targeting, harassing, and entrapping fans of untraditional music. Because so many inn
"Democracy Dies in the Darkness" is the proud motto of the Washington Post. But, considering the past week's frenzy, the new motto for much of the media and many Democrats is, "Disclosure is the Death of Democracy." Unfortunately, the uproa
I am almost ready to abandon all hope of writing articles that are universally loved in Washington. My oped in The Hill, "Golden Boy Robert Mueller's Forgotten Surveillance Crime Waves," has spurred more outrage than any piece in a long time.
Bad precedents can be far more deadly than bad ideas. If the government is entitled to effectively label certain individuals or groups or notions as public enemies, it is naive to expect due process and fair play to follow. Ruby Ridge illustrates the
The Future of Freedom Foundation just released a new Amazon Kindle collection of my articles. Freedom Frauds: Hard Lessons in American Liberty is available for only $2.99 - less than the price of a good cigar (so I am told - I wouldn't know).
My oped in yesterday's Hill, "Yes, the FBI is America's Secret Police," spurred accolades including kook, lunatic, Russian agent, sick, delusional, shill, complete idiot, propagandist, and "lonely in his bunker" with his Unabomber beard
Politifact delivered a "pants on fire" slam to Fox News on Friday because one of its commentators asserted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation "has become America's secret police." The FBI has legions of new champions nowadays among libe
Federal groping-on-steroids is not making flying safer. TSA is a farce and a menace, and should be privatized.
Last week's anniversary of Trump's election sparked widespread teeth-gnashing by the nation's pundits. Trump is supposedly the gravest threat to American democracy since the secession of the Confederacy. His presidency, probably, continues to
Why does the federal government squander hundreds of billions of tax dollars year after year? Seeking to understand politicians and bureaucrats on the basis of private-sector decision-making models are doomed to failure. Efforts to "fix" governme
International Trade Under the Soviets: A Comedy of Errors
The Declaration of Independence was clear that Americans rights pre-existed the creation of government. But today's Statists see government as the fount of all rights. What the government gives, it has the right to revoke. And that can be a prob
The 'flood-build-repeat' model, so popular among re-election-seeking members of Congress, must come to an end.
When the government tries to squash anti-American ideas it doesn't like, the results are often destructive of American ideals.
President Trump telling Boy Scouts that Washington is a "sewer" could actually be an antidote to much of what they are taught on following authority.
Food stamps foolishly fuel diabetes and obesity
Stoking public fear is a bipartisan White House tradition to boost presidential power.
There have been some screaming matches on Washington-bound flights between people coming for Trump's inauguration versus the Women's March the following day. A dozen years ago, I saw - well, maybe sparked - similar fracases on a flight from
Here are pics I took of some of the edgier signs from today's Women's March, which had a much larger turnout than expected. Some of the protestors seemed a bit testy. Others are belatedly recognizing that the presidency has too much power.
Opening the books on the outgoing administration would be a booster shot for democracy.
There's a new video on the perils of foreign travel out from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (which oversees the CIA, NSA, etc.) "Know the Risk - Raise Your Shield" recommends getting a throwaway cell phone and a new/tempo
I'm scheduled to be on C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Wednesday, May 25, starting around 9:15 a.m. to roughly 10 a.m. (EDT). I will be discussing the Reason article on our farcical $4 trillion War on Terror.
Our Democratic president continues to fund global corruption just like the Republican before him. It looks like Hillary Clinton will too.
Presidential front-runner Donald Trump vows that he will "never eat another Oreo again" to protest the transfer of 600 cookie-making jobs from Chicago to Mexico. And Trump is 100% correct when he condemns the factory's exodus: "It's unfair to us.
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?
OK, so sue me for using a misleading blog headline. What the hell - at least I don't need to watch any more debates this month. My live tweets as the show went on… and on….
Saving seats for the dead would require a lot more room for victims of Obama's policies.
Thanks for posting my articles, etc. on Freedom's Phoenix...
Local police officers should not be able to claim 'federal' immunity from prosecution.
The Founding Fathers expected the entire Congress to be a "freedom foyer" that jealously guarded the people's rights and liberties against oppression by the executive branch -- the same way that Parliament had defended the English people again
This is the 30th anniversary of my first attack on the World Bank in the national media. Reposted below are some of my attacks on the Bank from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
The Patriot Act treats every citizen like a suspected terrorist and every federal agent like a proven angel.
Shakespeare without puns is like French cooking without butter.
Intellectuals have long been glorified as champions of truth and defenders of society's highest values. But in Washington, they serve as Leviathan's Praetorian Guard. Intellectuals are thriving in DC thanks in large part to the ruinous policy adv
FDA cigar ban proposal a government regulation too far
Has Hillary Finally Found Her Brand?
Having trouble with the 'Washingtonese' around April 15? Look no further for a translation.
President Obama recently suggested that mandatory voting could cure some of the ills of American democracy. Mr. Obama observed that compelling everyone to vote is one way to "encourage more participation" -- perhaps the same way that the specter
Justices fret over coercing states while endlessly menacing individuals
One of the heroes of the Waco fights of the 1990s has passed away. Mike McNulty did more than any other single person to doggedly pursue the truth about Waco. And he produced or co-produced a number of superb films that vividly and compelling expla
More than 50 years after President John F. Kennedy secretly purchased 1,200 Cuban cigars prior to imposing a trade embargo on Fidel Castro's regime, President Barack Obama said on Dec. 17 that he is reopening diplomatic relations with Cuba and hope
A paltry record and statistical illusions cannot be ignored
Promoting hunger scam is how federal bean counters keep their jobs
There are no Ferguson-style probes when black police shoot blacks
When the attorney general had the chance to be tough on police shootings, he did next to nothing.
Travelers pay up to avoid the line where embarrassing TSA groping occurs
Eric Holder's decision to be more lenient on minor drug crimes is a smart move.
The Wall Street Journal had a piece on Friday about how Alice Cooper and his band rented a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut in the early 1970s. Greenwich was known as one of the richest, most exclusive cities in the nation at that time. Cooper and h
Paying youths to push big government makes a mockery of volunteerism
Satisfied to cast ballots, Americans stand idle while other freedoms are ravished
Passengers aren’t feeling it for TSA’s invasive scanners
After nearly 20 years and billions of taxpayer dollars, AmeriCorps has little to show.
Is it time to give up hope for any rollback of Leviathan? Not according to James Antle, a contributing editor for The American Conservative and a very talented writer who has done fine work for the American Spectator, Wall Street Journal, and other p
One survey found that 75% of IRS respondents felt entitled to deceive or lie to Congress.
Why the Post Office can’t deliver the mail
Congratulations – your tax payment is probably your biggest purchase of the year. The federal tax burden now amounts to more than $20,000 per household, according to Internal Revenue Service data. Your contribution to the Treasury coffers will...
Discrimination fear cows Uncle Sam into endless payouts
In their March 27 response to my "Rotten Tomatoes for a Billion-Dollar Farm Payout," Philip Fraas and David Frantz, the lead counsel for the Pigford case, disparage the notion that many black claimants merely "attempted to farm."
Calling all women and Hispanics who once thought about applying for a loan.
Boston children were sacrificed on the altar of equality
Got milk? Enjoy the price you paid, because federal policy, reaching its sell-by date, will have dire results.
