The rise of a populist demagogue, to use modern terms, confirmed his blackest fears about the tyrannous possibilities of democracy.

ECONOMIST: Liberty and democracy

Empires are always tyrannous, but not always despotic.

ECONOMIST: Immigration: No entry | The

There are also those who think background checks might expose us to tyrannous attack from our own government or perhaps even a foreign government that the U.S. military can't defeat but armed citizens could fend off.

CNN: Why the NRA fights background checks