Debate over Public Gun Information Undermines Excuse for Guns
I'm agnostic about but very interested in the uproar over the publication of people in the NY suburbs who have permits to own handguns. It does infringe on the privacy of people who are engaging in a protected activity. But at the same time,…
Ron Wyden: Liar, Liar, Alexander Pants on Fire
Ron Wyden, Dianne Feinstein, and a few other Senators are conducting what constitutes "a debate" on the FISA Amendments Act extension.
The highlight of the debate, thus far, came when DiFi promised to wave a classified letter answering some…
Washington Post Lifts Veil Further on CIA's Global Response Staff, Raymond Davis
Greg Miller and Julie Tate provide some fascinating reading in today's Washington Post, where they provide many new details on the CIA's Global Response Staff and reveal that its most famous (probably now former) member is Raymond Davis.
One…
Dear FBI: Show Your Work
While we've been celebrating with our families, the Partnership for Civil Justice and the NYT have been reading through a set of documents showing the nationwide surveillance of Occupy Wall Street.
The documents and the FBI's defense of them…
Christmas at Emptywheel: Friends Current and Past
And so we reach another Christmas Eve together here at the Emptywheel Blog. And I mean together, because this is a community, from Marcy, Jim White and me, to all of you who participate here with us. You are not just names on a computer screen,…
Holiday Trash Talk: Football, Fun and Frivolity
Ah, here comes the holiday weekend. With Monday being Christmas Eve, many of us are already on a giant holiday roll. Whether you are or not, it is time to engage in some holiday trashing.
Last night was some gawdawfully named thing called…
Scott Bloch and Roll: DOJ Takes a Holiday Friday News Dump
The event we have all been waiting for is here in time for the Christmas Holidays! Yes, it is the long awaited news on the DOJ "prosecution" of the former Office of Special Counsel head under the Bush/Cheney regime, Scott Bloch.
As you may…
Wayne LaPierre Demands $5 Billion Subsidy for His NGO
The central thrust of Wayne LaPierre's press conference offering "solutions" in the wake of the Newtown massacre is to put armed security in every school.
There were 98,706 public schools in 2008-9 (plus 33,740 private schools, which I'll…
Court Dismisses Suit on Constitutionality of Filibuster
Among the hottest issues looking forward to the beginning of the 113th Congress is the status of the filibuster. Will it remain in the status quo of recent decades, the 60 vote Senate roadblock, or will there be movement to return, or at least…
If Gun Buyers Were Mexican
The NYT has a follow-up on Charlie Savage's earlier article about all the gun safety provisions lying dormant at DOJ. It describes the gaps in the background check system due to states not sharing their data with the federal government.
Nearly…
Barney Frank: "As Well as To Financial Regulators"
When I first read about this letter from retiring Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Barney Frank to Eric Holder, I thought it akin to what retiring Homeland Security Chair Joe Lieberman did on the Sunday shows when he aggressively…
Trailing Crist Badly in Popularity, Scott Does Sudden Reversal on Early Voting in Florida
Yesterday, just a few hours before Charlie Crist was set to deliver what would be damning testimony in a US Senate hearing on the 2012 voting debacle in Florida, Rick Scott appeared on CNN and suddenly reversed himself on the issue of early…
Dangerous Gun Lobby Seizes Platform from President
Yesterday, the President rolled out his answer to the Newtown massacre. He's putting the guy who was put in charge of the Middle Class Task Force during a different crisis in charge of a similar commission to solve gun violence.
If you're…
Government Teat-Sucking Bankster, Steven Rattner, Calls Auto Bailout "Un-American"
I'm sure someone thought it was a good idea to trot out Steven Rattner to spin the government's announced plan to sell its GM stake.
But I don't know how anyone thought a bankster--and particularly this bankster--could say this and still…
As Death Toll Reaches Eight Polio Workers, Taliban Deny Responsibility for Attacks They Fomented
At least two more polio workers have been killed today in Pakistan, raising the death toll to eight since the latest three day immunization drive started this week. Reuters brings details from today's attacks
Wednesday saw four separate…
Petraeus: Sex Under the Desk with Broadwell Less Dangerous than Intercourse with the Kagans
Rajiv Chandrasekaran has a fascinating story about how the NeoCons--in the form of Fred and Kim Kagan--kept control of the strings on our Generals in (Chandrasekaran's story is limited to) Afghanistan. The Kagans effectively moved to Afghanistan…
DiFi and the Silly Season of Senate Committee Music Chairs
A little over an hour ago, there was some rather notable news tweeted out by CNN:
Intel cte's @SenFeinstein will give up the chair and move to Judiciary, source tells @CapitolHillCNN. @SenatorReid to announce today
I have talked to both…
Rick Snyder: One Unpopular Nerd
Public Policy Polling decided to see what Michiganders thought of the radical measures the ALEC Ducks passed last week.
They're none too happy with it.
In addition to supporting unions 52-33 and opposing the so-called Right to Work law…
Five Polio Workers in Pakistan Killed in Further Fallout From Panetta's Leak
Providing more evidence that perhaps the best move President Obama can make for world affairs is to quickly appoint a new Secretary of Defense so that Leon Panetta can retire to a soundproof booth, five more polio workers in Pakistan paid with…
High Profile Republican Firm, Cerberus, to Sell Freedom
It has come to this. Cerberus--the private equity firm full of well-connected Republicans like John Snow and Dan Quayle--has decided it can no longer continue to invest in Freedom Group, the maker of the Bushmaster assault rifle used in Friday's…