Category Archives: Politics
On Ending The Surveillance State
Some fresh musings on Medium.
Will The Real Eric Holder Please Stand Up
From the AP on May 14: The Justice Department says Attorney General Eric Holder removed himself from a decision to subpoena phone records of The Associated Press. A Justice Department statement Tuesday says that Holder stepped aside — a procedure … Continue reading
“An Almost Mystical Reverence”
Former Republican Budget Committee staffer Mike Lofgren, commenting on what I call “The Cult Of The National Security State” in HuffPo today: Based on my almost three decades on Capitol Hill, most of them involved in defense budgeting, I can … Continue reading
Ignored And Irrelevant
The NYT today, describing the state of Congress and foreign policy making: In the Obama administration, however, foreign policy has been set mainly in the White House, which shows little interest in congressional prerogatives; transparency has been less than promised … Continue reading
Sequestration: A National Security Nightmare
Cross posted from Annandale Patch.
Liberals, Obama And The Lessons Of History
Former Bush and Obama aide Douglas Ollivant has a reminder in today’s NYT on what really matters in the executive powers debate over drones, etc.: For four years, Mr. Obama has benefited at least in part from the reluctance of … Continue reading
Assassination-By-Drone: Symptom Of A Disease
Although I’ve been pleased by all of the recent drone-related media coverage driven by the leaked DoJ memo and the CIA director confirmation hearing for John Brennan, I’ve also been concerned that the larger issue has been absent from the … Continue reading
The Martin Luther King You Won’t Hear About Tomorrow
There will be many tomorrow–politicians, academics, pundits, clergy–who will reference King’s “Dream” speech. Far fewer will likely cite passages from his April 1967 address at Riverside Baptist Church, but it’s the speech every person of conscience should reference, particularly in … Continue reading
Will These Lines Sink Hagel’s Nomination?
From today’s NYT: “The United States should open a new strategic direction in U.S.-Iran relations by seeking direct, comprehensive and unconditional talks with the government of Iran, including opening a U.S. Interest Section in Tehran,” he said at the Brookings … Continue reading
Guns and the IOM
From the NYT, on this week’s Institute of Medicine report on how American’s under 50 die more often and younger than their counterparts in the rest of the industrialized world: The rate of firearm homicides was 20 times higher in … Continue reading
Long Strange Journey 