ObamaCare SCOTUS Reaction: Why Not Find a Way to Make the Benefits Worth the Price?
I was going to let bmaz handle the ObamaCare debate. But then I read this Jonathan Cohn piece--which asks whether SCOTUS' likely decision to strike down the mandate will delegitimize the court. And I had to respond.
Cohn started his discussion…
Obama Puts More American Targets in Yemen
I want to unpack this dense LAT article on drones--titled "In Yemen, lines blur as U.S. steps up airstrikes." Maybe it's intentional but both at LAT's level and that of its Administration sources, the depiction of our efforts in Yemen is a big…
Big Brother Works Both Sides of the Atlantic
I was rather surprised that there seemed to be more outrage Sunday about the UK's announced plan to roll out the same ability to monitor everyone's online activity that the US set up after 9/11 then over Eric Lichtblau's report--based on the…
The Intelligence Community Has Cleaned Up Its Attribution Problem ... Has the Press?
James Risen has another article on the evolution of intelligence analysis, this time describing how screwing up the Iraq intelligence so badly now weighs on Iran analysts (for the better, IMO).
I was struck by the description of one way the…
Requiem For ACA at SCOTUS & Legitimacy Of Court and Case
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise popularly known as “Obamacare” had a bit of a rough go of it this week at the Supreme Court. Jeff Toobin called it a train wreck (later upgraded to plane wreck). Kevin Drum…
Panjwai: Was There One Killer at Alkozai But Multiple at Najiban?
I'm working on a theory about the Panwjai killings: that there was just one gunman at the village of Alkozai, but multiple solders were present at Najiban. At this point, it's just a wildarsed guess, but it is consistent with what at least some…
America, the Dystopian Reality Show: Pink Slime Edition
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When The Decline and Fall of the American Empire is written, I hope the historian writing it is astute enough to notice…
Arizona Has A New Democratic Senate Candidate!
Well, okay, Richard Carmona has been formally announced for the race since early November of 2011, but with yesterday's dropout by the only other major Democratic contender, former state Democratic Party Chair Don Bivens, the field is effectively…
Richard Clarke Also Suggests Hacking Has Made F-35 Ineffective
A number of people have pointed to this interview for Richard Clarke's suggestion that the US, not Israel, bears most of the responsibility for the StuxNet attack.
But I'm just as interested in his assessment that hacking threatens to undercut…
White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler Vows Not to Let the White House Be Defeated by Actual Citizens
In an article describing how--in the guise of "flexibility"--the White House has continued the seeming relentless grab for unchecked executive power, White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler offers a terribly cynical explanation for the Administration's…
US Announces "Guardian Angel" Program to Protect Sleeping Troops Day Before Sleeping Afghans Killed
It was announced on Thursday that among a number changes General John Allen, Commander of US troops in Afghanistan, put into place is a program to provide additional security over US troops as they sleep. Remarkably, on the very next day, nine…
The US Still Doesn't Want to Admit to the 44 Dead Yemenis
In a timely report, the Bureau of Independent Journalism yesterday released a report on the increased number of US drone strikes in Yemen in the last year, since Arab Spring uprisings challenged Ali Abdullah Saleh's power and insurgents made…
Another Attempt to Understand the Panjwai Victim Discrepancies
As I laid out here and here, there seems like there's a discrepancy between the numbers and sexes of victims listed in Robert Bales' charge sheet and those listed in public accounts. Whereas accounts like WSJ one report there were 8 male and…
US Source Contradicts CNN's Reporting in Anonymous Leaks to CNN
Yesterday, CNN released detailed onsite reporting from Yalda Hakim from the massacre site in Panjwai. (h/t SH) Today, CNN posted a follow-up interview--accompanied by a story based largely on comments from an anonymous US official. It's…
CNN: "No US Access to Sites of Afghan Killings", But Did US Ask for Access?
A story just posted at CNN.com addresses two crucial questions that have been raised at Emptywheel regarding the Panjwai massacre. Late last night, MadDog repeated a speculation he has raised several times regarding how Bales could have been…
SCOTUS Limits Privacy Act Just as NCTC Expands Access to US Person Data
Well, this is rather inauspicious timing.
The conservatives on SCOTUS have sharply limited the teeth of the Privacy Act--limiting damages to out-of-pocket damages.
The Supreme Court has dealt privacy advocates a huge setback. By a 5-3 majority,…
Anonymous DOJ Statement: "Trust Us"
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today to review the results of the Schuelke report on the prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case and to entertain the Lisa Murkowski bill requiring disclosure. In response, DOJ submitted…
DOD: No Military Operations in Panjwai Villages During Night of Attack
Yesterday, I tried to puzzle through seeming discrepancies between the victims described by Afghans and those named in Robert Bales' charge sheet. In addition to the difference in total number (16 or 17 victims), there appears to be a difference…
What Went Into the FBI Intelligence That Will Be in NCTC's Database for Five Years?
Last year, after Spencer Ackerman exposed some of the Islamophobic materials the FBI was using to train its counterterrorism agents, the FBI conducted a review of its training materials to weed out such counterproductive materials.
Unsurprisingly,…
Rohrabacher, Gohmert and King Invade National Press Club
Map from Wikimedia Commons
Lacking both the authority and the means to carry out their own invasion of Pakistan to secure the independence of Balochistan, Republican Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (CA), Louie Gohmert (TX) and Steve King (IA)…
