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
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.
government political liberty
Liberty is a political firewall that limits the damage government can do to the individual.
government people evil
The government's appearing to be a necessary evil does not oblige people to trust it. We face a choice of trusting government or trusting freedom-trusting overlords who have lied and abused their power or trusting individuals to make the most of their own lives.
government order numbers
The sheer number of government employees and welfare recipients effectively transforms the purpose of government from maintaining order to confiscating as much as possible from vulnerable taxpayers.
issues asking should
We are asking the wrong question. The issue is not who should be trusted with all the power of the Presidency. Instead, we must ask how much power any candidate can be trusted with.
political vote politician
Dependency is the highest political good - at least for politicians. Since the 1930s, politicians have striven to leave no vote unbought.
people achievement politician
Throughout history, politicians have used other people's property to buy themselves power. That is the primary achievement of the welfare state.