James Bovard

Rockville, Washington, D.C.

Author of Last Rights: The Death of American Liberty & 10 other books. Articles at @nypost @latimes @wsj @nyt @Usatoday Bd of Contributors https://t.co/xKUTzyxQq1

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Articles

Trump’s Iran Bombing Is the Latest in Presidential Absolutism

2 days ago | jimbovard.com | James Bovard

Trump’s Iran Bombing Is the Latest in Presidential Absolutismby James Bovard, American Conservative June 26, 2025Does President Trump have any legal basis for his foreign policy actions aside from his personal entitlement to absolute power? Presidents have been scorning congressional leashes on their foreign interventions since at least the Korean War. But Trump’s erratic behavior and fevered comments almost make President Richard Nixon look mild-mannered.
Mencken's Forgotten Wisdom on War

3 days ago | libertarianinstitute.org | Jim Bovard |James Bovard

As a stampede of weasels just sought to con America into supporting another Mideast war, it is time remember America’s most underrated critic of bellicose folly. H.L. Mencken is famous for his smackdowns of politicians and ridicule of government and of much of American culture. But he also offered sage advice for citizens judging officialdom itching for carnage.
Trump Bombs Iran: Bovard's First Penalty Flags

5 days ago | libertarianinstitute.org | Jim Bovard |James Bovard

If only the Japanese had issued a “time for peace” statement after bombing Pearl Harbor like Trump did tonight. Shakespeare wrote: “Cry havoc and loose the dogs of war.” Trump had his 4 minute victory lap statement tonight. Will he still be strutting on Independence Day?
The Folly of Attacking Iran (2003)

1 week ago | jimbovard.com | James Bovard

Here’s a piece I wrote in 2003 after the President George W. Bush’s initial victory laps on the Iraq War: “The Folly of Invading Iran.” That piece concluded: “If Bush advisors want to conquer Tehran, let them do it themselves.” Same is true today for Trump and his bellicose bootlickers. by James Bovard October 17, 2003 Future of Freedom FoundationSome Bush administration officials and advisors are hankering for another war.
Will Trump Attack Iran and Destroy his Presidency?

1 week ago | jimbovard.com | James Bovard

Key for Trump & Iran: There is no "due diligence" test in DC for championing mass carnage abroad. Warmongers are automatically absolved for any falsehoods or frauds they use to drag the U.S. into another war. pic.twitter.com/UO21hIpeHf— James Bovard (@JimBovard) June 19, 2025I've been calling for the U.S. to stay out of Middle East conflicts for 38 years. In a 1987 @USATODAY oped: "This is not our war, and there is no profit in U.S. intervention.
Did the Feds Label You a Covid “Violent Extremist?”

3 weeks ago | jimbovard.com | James Bovard

Biden administration policy-makers hated you more than you knew. From the start of the Covid pandemic, I warned that the feds were vilifying anyone who failed to kowtow to the latest commands. In October 2023, I wrote: “Federal bureaucrats heaved together a bunch of letters to contrive an ominous new acronym for the latest peril to domestic tranquility. The result: AGAAVE—’anti-government, anti-authority violent extremism’—which looks like a typo for a sugar substitute.
1995: When I Testified Before the Train Wreck Known as Congress

3 weeks ago | mises.org | James Bovard

President Trump hosted Elon Musk for a farewell press conference on Friday. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team savvily exposed federal follies and spurred over $100 billion in canceled federal contracts and cutbacks. It remains to be seen whether Congress will codify the DOGE spending cuts. Even if that happens, the “savings” will practically vanish in the tsunami of new deficit spending championed by Trump—up to $4 trillion in the next decade.
COVID Doubts Made You a 'Violent Extremist'

3 weeks ago | libertarianinstitute.org | Jim Bovard |James Bovard

Biden administration policymakers hated you more than you knew. Four years ago, I warned at the Libertarian Institute:“Libertarians are in the federal crosshairs…Many libertarians assume they have nothing to fear because they are not engaged in seeking to violently overthrow the government.
The Deadly Perils of Predatory Idealism

4 weeks ago | lewrockwell.com | James Bovard

How would people react if, on the third time their broken-down car was towed to the same repair shop for the same problem, the swaggering mechanic told them: “Sure — the engine doesn’t work today but — follow me on this — next year, you will drive from coast to coast, and get 90 miles to the gallon!”Yet if a politician promises to fix the world, people applaud and follow him regardless of previous crashes. Woodrow Wilson revolutionized the political exploitation of idealism.
Will Idealism Get Us All Killed?

1 month ago | counterpunch.org | James Bovard

Americans are raised to revere idealism, the civic religion of contemporary democracy. If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, idealism may be the first. Permitting presidents to anoint themselves as Idealists-in-Chief has enabled them to drag America into wars and unleash themselves from the Constitution. Woodrow Wilson revolutionized the political exploitation of idealism.