torture

Federal Secrecy Protects the Crimes of Every President

Future of Freedom Foundation, January 25, 2021 Federal Censorship Protects Leviathan’s Crimes by James Bovard Ever since the 9/11 attacks, Republicans and Democrats have conspired to keep Americans increasingly ignorant of what the federal government does. The number of secret federal documents skyrocketed, and any information that was classified supposedly cannot be exposed without dooming […]

Why Senators Must Reject Avril Haines for Intelligence

Credit: Columbia World Projects Even before President-Elect Joe Biden sets foot in the White House, the Senate Intelligence Committee may start hearings on his nomination of Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence. Barack Obama’s top lawyer on the National Security Council from 2010 to 2013 followed by CIA Deputy Director from 2013 to 2015, […]

Gerald Ford and the Perversion of Presidential Pardons

American Conservative, December 29, 2020 Gerald Ford and the Perversion of Presidential Pardons by James Bovard In pardoning Nixon, the 38th president opened the floodgates to boundless executive power. In his final weeks in office, President Donald Trump is outraging the media and many critics with deluges of dubious pardons. Last Tuesday was “No Corrupt […]

Biden’s “Will of the People” Malarkey

American Conservative, December 18, 2020 Biden’s ‘Will of the People’ Malarkey Generations of presidents have cited “the will of the people” to legitimize power grabs. The Founding Fathers wouldn’t approve. by James Bovard In his cough-ridden victory speech Monday night, President-elect Joe Biden proclaimed again that “the will of the people prevailed” in the 2020 […]
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Imperfect Releases: Andrew Hastie, War Crimes Reports and Australia in Afghanistan

If one were to get into the head of Australian government MP Andrew Hastie, a security tangle of woe would no doubt await.  Having been a captain with the Special Air Services and having also served in Afghanistan, he has been none too thrilled by the publicity soldiers he served with have received.  The report […]

Extremism as a Ticket to Tyrannize

“Extremism” as a Ticket to Tyrannize by James Bovard “Extremists” are one of the famous bogeymen that American politicians invoke to sanctify their own power. But the definition of “extremism” has forever been in flux. The only consistent element in definitions of extremism is that politicians always win. In the 1770s, people who suggested that […]
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Former CIA Director John Brennan Whitewashes History in Shameless Self-serving Memoir

During the Vietnam War era, peace activists compared American war planners like Robert S. McNamara and Henry Kissinger to Albert Speer, Hitler’s Minister of War Production and Armaments who stood out for his lack of ideological zeal in supporting the Nazi cause. What motivated Speer, rather, was a cold and calculating careerism which was combined […]