"They Were Suspending My Credit Line"
[youtube]pf7Cxj5BZw8[/youtube]
So Mitt is still trying to dig himself out of the hole he created when he declared, "Let Detroit go bankrupt"?
I suspect most of the commentary on this ad will focus on the irony that, had Mitt had his way,…
Using Pensions to "Punish" "Leaks" Will Subject Clearance Holders to Arbitrary Power
The Senate Intelligence Committee's new anti-leak laws are the part of the Intelligence Authorization that will generate the most attention. Greg Miller already got Dianne Feinstein to admit there's no reason to think one of the new provisions--permitting…
ABC, Reuters Parrot Deceptive State Department Spin on Terrorism Data
Yesterday, the State Department released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism and held a briefing regarding the findings. Both ABC and Reuters covered the report and crafted their stories around a single finding from it: world-wide terror…
The Administration Has Not Responded to Over 10 Congressional Requests for Targeted Killing Memo
Back in September 2010, when the Administration successfully argued that whether or not the government had the authority to kill Anwar al-Awlaki was a matter for the Executive and Congressional Branches to decide, it claimed Congress served…
Congress Can't Legislate Oversight for Fear of Legal Challenges That'd Accomplish Oversight Congress Can't Legislate
Julian Sanchez has his own rebuttal to former DOJ official Carrie Cordero's claims that FISA has plenty of oversight (see mine here). You should definitely read it, which is wonky and interesting. But I wanted to add my non-wonky answer to a…
Senate Moves to Hide Our Secret Government
A few weeks ago, the fact that there are now 4.8 million people in the US with security clearances got a fair amount of attention. 1.5% of our country has access to at least information classified as secret. The job security of most of those…
More Evidence US Views Drone Strikes as Political Retaliation Tool
On the same day that the US and Pakistan formally signed the agreement reopening the NATO supply routes through Pakistan, a piece profiling the US-Pakistan relationship in the New York Times provides further evidence supporting the idea that…
Dianne Feinstein Undermines John Cornyn's Effort to Get Transparency on Targeted Killing
As I noted a few weeks ago, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to prevent John Cornyn from adding an amendment to the FISA Amendments Act Extension. I will have to hunt down the language of his amendment tomorrow, but it would…
Bolshevik Wins Gold for US
Here's how WSJ described Missy Franklin, who just won a gold in the 100-meter backstroke only 11 minutes after swimming a qualifier for the 200-meter freestyle, this morning.
Missy Franklin, Olympic Radical
[snip]
She's the latest incarnation…
Has Mitt Been Reading "Why Nations Fail"?
Mitt Romney's latest overseas outrage is asserting that Palestinians are so much poorer than Israelis because of their culture.
"As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare…
US Wasting Money on Afghanistan Infrastructure While US Infrastructure Continues Decline
Joshua Foust tweeted a link to a story in today's Washington Post about the most recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Foust's tweet succinctly summed up the situation: "#SIGAR body slams the war in…
If Everything NSA Does is "Auditable," Why Can't NSA Tell Us How Many Americans They've Spied On?
NSA Director Keith Alexander just said this to the hackers at DefCon (while wearing an absolutely ridiculous hacker costume):
“We get oversight by Congress, both intel committees and their congressional members and their staffs,” he continued,…
As Mitt Heads to Sheldon Adelson's Country, CIA Exposes Israel's Treachery
After visiting his bankster donors in London, Mitt is on his way to visit megadonor Sheldon Adelson's other country, Israel. Perhaps in a bid to butter up Adelson, Mitt's staffers put up an Israeli flag on the plane before they remembered he's…
Fear & Loathing Mix With Beauty & Greed In the Olympic Cauldron
The Summer Olympics are here! Yay! The Olympics, especially the summer ones, have become so commercialized, politicized and oversold, on so many levels, that it is hard in some respects to get too excited about them. That said, there is still…
These Teachers Don't SEEM "Greedy"
By odd stroke of timing, the American Federation of Teachers is meeting this weekend in Detroit--just as the city's Emergency Manager insists that the solution to Detroit's budget woes is to teach the next generation in classrooms of 61 students.…
Pakistan Press Reporting UK Lawmakers Wrote Letter Urging Obama to Stop Drone Strikes in Pakistan
Virtually every press outlet I scan in Pakistan is reporting today that a group of at least twelve member of the House of Lords and House of Commons have written a letter variously reported as addressed to Barack Obama, the United States and…
Is Obama Worried that Fat Al Gore's Drought Will Threaten His Reelection?
I'm beginning to wonder whether Obama is worried the drought--particularly in the Midwest--could imperil his reelection campaign. I say that because he seems to be avoiding addressing it on the campaign trail. (Compare that to the way he…
Conflation of Military and Sports to Give Us Basketball Game on Ship Used for Rendition, Torture
The sickness in American culture today that praises violence has seeped into college athletics in a manner that leaves me cold. I am appalled when college football or baseball teams "honor" the military by incorporating camouflage motifs…
Why Are FAA Boosters Satisfied with Inadequate Oversight?
Julian Sanchez hosted a Cato event yesterday that examined surveillance generally and the FISA Amendments Act specifically. At it, Ron Wyden presented his concerns about the FISA Amendments Act and other surveillance, and then ACLU's Michelle…
What Was the Evidence Supporting the First Strike on Anwar al-Awlaki?
According to the William Webster report, the FBI's understanding about Anwar al-Awlaki's operational role developed only after the UndieBomb attack.
As of January 7 and June 16, 2009, the FBI knew anwar al-Aulaqi was an anti-American, radical…
