Jim Bovard | The Libertarian Institute

The Justice Department Pressured USA Today to Stop Publishing Me

by Jim Bovard | Jun 28, 2022 | Featured Articles

In 2015, Justice Department press chief Brian Fallon bitterly complained to USA Today editors about my articles walloping Attorney General Eric Holder, including"Eric Holder's Lawless Legacy," [Feb. 3, 2015] and "Eric Holder's Police Shooting Record? Dismal," [Aug. 20, 2014]. Fallon (who later became presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's press secretary) protested to USA Today commentary editor David Mastio and another USA Today editor, Brian Gallagher, about my "consistently nasty words about Mr. Holder" and said that Bovard "has never had a kind thing to say about Holder." (Actually, I...

Supreme Court Upholds ‘State Secrets’ Privilege to Protect CIA Torture Program

by Jim Bovard | Jun 13, 2022 | Featured Articles

The Supreme Court ruled in March that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The case symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. And it is another grim reminder that Americans cannot rely on politically approved lawyers wearing bat suits to save their freedoms. In 2002, the CIA captured Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian radical, in Pakistan and falsely believed he was a kingpin with al Qaeda. The CIA tortured him for years in Thailand and Poland. As...

It’s Time for Joe Biden to Exit the Ring

by Jim Bovard | Jun 9, 2022 | Featured Articles, Politics

President Biden often looks like a punch-drunk old fighter sent into the ring once too often. At this point, the only thing lower than Biden’s approval numbers is his energy level. Is Uncle Joe too old to rebound? At this point, Biden is running on little more than fumes and righteousness. In his televised antigun speech Thursday night, Biden proclaimed that he expected most people “to turn your outrage into making this issue [assault weapons] central to your vote.” Biden’s histrionic spiel was far more likely to turbo-charge gun owners than gun banners and could be another coffin nail for...

‘Assault Weapons’ Ban: First Step on the Road to Tyranny

by Jim Bovard | Jun 6, 2022 | Featured Articles

President Joe Biden is seeking to revive his presidency by demolishing the Second Amendment. In a televised address last Thursday, Biden called for a ban on assault weapons, which he portrayed as the epitome of evil. Vice President Kamala Harris caterwauled that assault weapons are a “weapon of war” with “no place in civil society.” Assault weapons are a “flag of convenience” for the Democrats’ circus shell game with Americans’ constitutional rights. Biden talks as if assault weapons are solely a moral issue. But once that premise is accepted, then he can move to ban vast numbers of firearms...

Against Public Interest, Supreme Court Protects Torture Cover-Up

by Jim Bovard | Mar 15, 2022 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

The Supreme Court declared last week that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The verdict symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than a form of legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. Why should anyone expect justice from a Supreme Court that covers up torture? In 2002, the CIA captured Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian radical, in Pakistan, mistakenly believing he was a kingpin with al-Qaeda. The CIA tortured him for years in Thailand and Poland. As dissenting Justice Neil Gorsuch noted,...

DC ‘Experts’ Could Kill Us All

by Jim Bovard | Mar 10, 2022 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

The Biden administration appears to be blundering ever close to a war with Russia. People can condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the killing of civilians without fantasizing that the U.S. military has a magic wand to stop that war. Unfortunately, the American media and a herd of pundits is pushing for military intervention such as No-Fly Zones—as if shooting down Russian planes would not quickly spur World War III. American newspapers and television networks are broadcasting brazen propaganda that they sometimes recognize is deceptive. When did swallowing and re-tweeting bogus...

What Does a Capitol Fence Say to the World?

by Jim Bovard | Mar 7, 2022 | Featured Articles, Politics

Spooked by the threat of anti-Biden trucker convoys heading to Washington, high fences will reportedly return around the US Capitol in the coming days. When President Biden gives his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, he will have no fears of hearing any caterwauling from average Americans who are being impoverished and injected thanks to his policies. Hundreds of National Guard troops will also be deployed on the streets of Washington, perhaps finally vanquishing the local epidemic of double-parking and jaywalking. Any fence that is erected around the Capitol will be designed to protect...

Free Crack Pipes? Time to Pardon Tommy Chong

by Jim Bovard | Feb 14, 2022 | Criminal Justice, Featured Articles

Conservative publications have accused the Biden administration of planning to distribute $30 million worth of free crack pipes and other paraphernalia as part of its effort to achieve “racial equity” among “underserved communities.” The original notice for federal grants included provisions to pay for “safe smoking kits/supplies” but the Biden administration insists that no federal funds will be specifically used to purchase crack pipes. But taxpayers will get screwed anyway thanks to federal distribution of free condoms under the same program. While “harm reduction” is the stated goal of ...