Quotes from James Bovard

The arrogance of power is the best hope for the survival of freedom.

Citizens should distrust politicians who distrust freedom.

A lie that is accepted by a sufficient number of ignorant voters becomes a political truth.

It is impossible to destroy all alleged enemies of freedom everywhere without also destroying freedom in the United States.

Killing foreigners is no substitute for protecting Americans.

The Patriot Act treats every citizen like a suspected terrorist and every federal agent like a proven angel.

Nothing happened on 9/11 that made the federal government more trustworthy.

The principle of government supremacy is Clinton's clearest legacy.

Clinton exploited and expanded the dictatorial potential of the U.S. presidency.

It is unfortunate that Americans are no longer aware of what the constitution says and what their rights are. Because of that, we are often very passive about what happens when the government violates those rights.

Part of the reason that the government's fear mongering is succeeding is because so many people are so ignorant, that it is easier for government to frighten people in submission.

The vision that the founding fathers had of rule of law and equality before the law and no one above the law, that is a very viable vision, but instead of that, we have quasi mob rule.

It is hard to know how many people do, but given that the people are so docile towards the rulers, nowadays, very few Americans show the passion for freedom that our forefathers had.

It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.

The more expansive government is, the more perils people face in daily lives, be it from IRS agents or from child support services, or from other agencies that often have little or no legal restraints on their power.

It is amazing to think after all that has happened in this country in the last few years, the last few decades, that so many people have this blind faith that government is our friend and therefore, so we don't need protections against it.

However accurate or inaccurate the agency's numbers may be, tax law explicitly presumes that the IRS is always right -- and implicitly presumes that the taxpayer is always wrong -- in any dispute with the government. In many cases, the IRS introduces no evidence whatsoever of its charges; it merely asserts that a taxpayer had a certain amount of unreported income and therefore owes a proportionate amount in taxes, plus interest and penalties.

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

As long as enough people can be frightened, then all people can be ruled. That is how it works in a democratic system and mass fear becomes the ticket to destroy rights across the board.

If so many Americans are looking for the government to save them, then it is hard to have a dignified search for a shepherd in chief.

It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.

It is one of the great tragedies of the US, that most learn most of what they know about the government from the government.

Part of the reason that the government's fear mongering is succeeding is because so many people are so ignorant, that it is easier for government to frighten people in submission.

The more powerful government becomes, the more abuses it commits and the more lies it must tell.