James Bovard
James Bovard
James Bovardis a libertarian author and lecturer whose political commentary targets examples of waste, failures, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power in government. He is the author of Attention Deficit Democracy, and eight other books. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Reader's Digest, The American Conservative, and many other publications. His books have been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Korean...
ProfessionAuthor
government political liberty
Liberty is a political firewall that limits the damage government can do to the individual.
political vote politician
Dependency is the highest political good - at least for politicians. Since the 1930s, politicians have striven to leave no vote unbought.
government people political
It is absurd to expect governments to descend gradually, step-by-step into barbarism - as if there was a train schedule to political hell and people could get off at any stop along the way.
government imagination political
Governments and citizens blend together only in the imaginations of political theorists. Government is, and always will be, an alien power over private citizens. There is no magic in a ballot box that makes government any less coercive.
responsibility political safe
There is no safe political refuge for those afraid to take responsibility for their own lives.
political liberty fundamentals
The first step in saving our liberty is to realize how much we have already lost, how we lost it, and how we will continue to lose it unless fundamental political changes occur.
avoid bush evidence example fought locked produce somebody stuff torture
This stuff on enemy combatants, the Bush Administration has fought like a tiger to avoid having to produce any evidence to a judge to show why somebody is locked up in perpetuity. Another example of that is the torture scandal.
attention death deficit entire fear government lying mass people putting system trying wake
With attention deficit democracy, I am trying to wake up people to how the combination of mass ignorance, fear mongering by the government, and lying politicians is putting our entire system of government to a death spiral.
government importance leash people
Trumpeting the importance of voting deludes people into thinking that they have a leash on the government.
benefits far government system type
There are a lot of benefits representative of government and it is far better than any type of dictatorial system and it is far better than a one-man rule situation.
against clinton easy gun rights surprised
I was also surprised at how easy it was for the Clinton Administration to demagogue against the rights of gun owners, for instance.
government obliged
It is like we are obliged to assume that the government is only doing what it says it is doing.
government thieves aids
Foreign aid breeds kleptocracies, or governments of thieves.
government numbers people
Government aid programs have been endlessly expanded, and the government has sought to maximize the number of people willing to accept handouts..... Roughly half of all Americans are dependent on the government, either for handouts, pensions, or paychecks.