Post 9/11, NSA spying 'virtually unchecked' (via AFP) Revelations of America's industrial-scale surveillance have painted an alarming picture of the National Security Agency as a spy service operating virtually without limits since the 9/11 attacks, experts say. Disclosures from intelligence leaker Edward… … [Read more...] about Post 9/11, NSA spying ‘virtually unchecked’
Did We Need More Proof of the Irrationality of Obama Hatred?
Another one of those "Only Obama would do something this bad." stories has been sweeping across the intertubes lately. This one has to do with a redesign of Marine Corps dress uniform. Apparently that military-hating wimpy excuse for a president has decided to emasculate the good men of the Corps by making them wear a "girly cover". The problem is, of course, that it isn't … [Read more...] about Did We Need More Proof of the Irrationality of Obama Hatred?
Don’t Surrender and Don’t Call Them Entitlements
According to Joshua Green at BusinessWeek, Gene Sperling is strongly hinting that Democrats are just going to have to swallow "entitlement" cuts. My problem with statements like that is simply that it distills the penalties for the human beings who need those services to some kind of political calculus. Even using the word entitlements in place of social programs is a surrender … [Read more...] about Don’t Surrender and Don’t Call Them Entitlements
Dreher on GOP Civil War
Rod Dreher on the threat of primary challenges against GOP Congressmen voting to end the shutdown in The American Conservative. RINO hunt! This is astonishing, and can only be driven by an ideological mindset so impervious to reality that it would rather destroy political conservatism’s chances of actually running the country than succumb to the least impurity in the ranks. … [Read more...] about Dreher on GOP Civil War
The Red Queen VS Energy Independence
It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place ~The Red Queen - Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Tight/shale oil is thought by many to be the path to U.S. energy independence. But is it? Probably not. Conventional wells deplete over time but fracked tight shale oil wells deplete very rapidly, often in excess of 50% a year. In addition the … [Read more...] about The Red Queen VS Energy Independence
Allies or Enemies? American Intelligence Has Lost the Plot (Polityka, Poland)
Have the American intelligence services lost all sense of proportion? Have they forgotten the difference between allies and adversaries? For Poland's Polityka, columnist Marek Ostrowski suggests that in the United States, technology has superseded policy, making America appear unconcerned about democracy and the rule of law. For Polityka, Marek Ostrowski starts off this … [Read more...] about Allies or Enemies? American Intelligence Has Lost the Plot (Polityka, Poland)
U.S. Spying? Don’t Put Your Open Data in the Town Square! (Trouw, The Netherlands)
With much of the world in a state of outrage and/or panic over NSA spying, Dutch privacy and security researcher Guido Van 't Noordende has a handy solution. For Trouw of the Netherlands, Van 't Noordende wonders why anyone would expect security, when data, in cyber terms, is just sitting in plain sight. He suggests not using the 'cloud' to store unencrypted data, ever, … [Read more...] about U.S. Spying? Don’t Put Your Open Data in the Town Square! (Trouw, The Netherlands)
The Private Mission To Save Planet Earth (From Asteroids)
The Private Mission To Save Planet Earth (From Asteroids) (via Planetsave) Our Solar system is a potentially world-altering place when it comes to asteroid impacts; planetary scientists continue to find plentiful evidence of multiple and massive asteroid impacts on other planets and the various moons that orbit them…And,… … [Read more...] about The Private Mission To Save Planet Earth (From Asteroids)
Decoding the Obamacare Tower of Babble
As TV talking heads explain in cyberspeak the superglitches of the ACA rollout, the mind reels. We are back in a Biblical confusion of tongues, an inability to comprehend language that was visited on the builders of the Tower of Babel. Republican true believers, of course, see this as just retribution for the blasphemy of Obamacare, but the less pious can only wonder at how … [Read more...] about Decoding the Obamacare Tower of Babble
Putting the pieces back together
Why national and international disasters of yesteryear need to get our attention again Take a moment to think of when Katrina first hit. Now recall the Haitian quake. Next, the tsunami in Japan. Regardless of class, economic status or nationality, you’ve most likely felt the impact of one or more of these world-shaking events in the past decade. For a … [Read more...] about Putting the pieces back together
The implosion of the GOP brand, in one chart
How bad a hit has the Republican brand in recent years as the talk radio political culture and the new media pundits that cheer it on and the Tea Party have steadily replaced the previous image of the Republican Party? It has been a huge hit -- and The Washington Post's Greg Sargent documents it. Here's part of his post: Republicans successfully converted the 2010 … [Read more...] about The implosion of the GOP brand, in one chart
Tail Gunner Ted (Cartoon)
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Tail Gunner Ted (Cartoon)
US spying in Europe: Will it backfire on Google and Facebook?
US spying in Europe: Will it backfire on Google and Facebook? (via The Christian Science Monitor) German Chancellor Angela Merkel (r.) and French President François Hollande attend a European Union leaders summit in Brussels Thursday. German and French accusations that the United States has run spying operations in their countries are likely to… … [Read more...] about US spying in Europe: Will it backfire on Google and Facebook?
The Bad Grand Old Party (Guest Cartoon)
The Bad Grand Old Party by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: --How Republicans blew a massive political opportunity on Obamacare --GOP's Oddest Obamacare Objection --Wonkbook: The GOP’s Obamacare chutzpah --On Failed Obamacare Rollout & GOP Unpopularity --Republicans’ embarrassing Obamacare overreach backfires Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation's most … [Read more...] about The Bad Grand Old Party (Guest Cartoon)
Hillary Clinton blasts ideological lawmakers who send US “careening from crisis to crisis”
Whether she's running for President or not -- and it increasingly appears as if she is -- former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is articulating the views of many independents, centrists in moderates when she says things like this: Hillary Clinton on Thursday night blamed lawmakers who govern by ideology for sending the country careening from crisis to … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton blasts ideological lawmakers who send US “careening from crisis to crisis”
The “lazy black people” Daily Show interview that cost a North Carolina GOPer his party job (Video)
Yes, we're most assuredly in an era when "The Daily Show" an reveal more truths about politicians than the news -- by just giving someone a chance to talk and, seemingly oblivious, reveal their true selves. In an interview that will be shown for many years, a North Carolina Republican Party precinct chairman virtually admitted that the state's draconian voter ID laws are aimed … [Read more...] about The “lazy black people” Daily Show interview that cost a North Carolina GOPer his party job (Video)
Booker Didn’t Underperform. NJ’s Voters Underperformed
In case anyone missed it amid the hoopla of the government shutdown, New Jersey hosted a U.S. Senate race last week. An election was necessitated in the "Garden State" by the summer death of senior Senator Frank Lautenberg and, as expected, Newark Mayor Cory Booker defeated ex-Bogota Mayor and Gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan to fill the final year of Lautenberg's term. … [Read more...] about Booker Didn’t Underperform. NJ’s Voters Underperformed
Lawmakers step up assault over ‘Obamacare’ woes
US lawmakers step up assault over 'Obamacare' woes (via AFP) US lawmakers grilled the contractors behind the troubled Obamacare website Thursday as Republicans attacked what they dubbed "one of the biggest IT disasters in government history." President Barack Obama's Republican opponents have long opposed his… … [Read more...] about Lawmakers step up assault over ‘Obamacare’ woes
Economic Austerity Has It’s Own Price
When the upcoming budget negotiations take place I hope that enough of the public and the politicians have paid attention to how unsuccessful austerity policies have been in Europe. It certainly hasn't been a raging success in Ireland, actually causing another exodus of Irish nationals. … [Read more...] about Economic Austerity Has It’s Own Price
Sen. Ted Cruz Covered Under Wife’s Health Insurance Plan at Goldman Sachs
HYPOCRITE: The hypocrisy of Sen. Ted Cruz is particularly glaring when you add his wife Heidi Nelson Cruz, a director at blue-chip company Goldman Sachs, to the mix. You see, Mrs. Cruz's place of employment "helped set off the populist rage that ushered Mr. Cruz into the Senate in 2012," the New York Times reports. What's even more hypocritical is that while he forced a … [Read more...] about Sen. Ted Cruz Covered Under Wife’s Health Insurance Plan at Goldman Sachs