The New York Times published a long article today on secret rulings by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The article describes the FISA court as “almost a parallel Supreme Court” which has cast aside traditional understandings of privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Reading between the lines, it is clear that NYT has the actual decisions…. […]
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Gettysburg Lesson: The Illusion of Invincibility
I was a big Civil War enthusiast as a boy. My sixth grade teacher wrote on my permanent record that I was “overly interested in war.” In this photo (probably snapped at Gettysburg), I’m sitting astride a cannon wearing a pair of flip-flops that definitely would have been out of place a century earlier. […]
Germans Recognize Danger of U.S. Surveillance
Germans instinctively understand the danger of government surveillance far better than do many Americans. (Or at least far better than Obama apologists.) This photograph is from a recent anti-Obama rally in Hanover – one of my favorite German cities. The “V for Vendetta” mask is especially appropriate.
Michael Hastings, R.I.P.
The great journalist Michael Hastings was killed in a car accident today. He was both thoughtful and tough – a rare combination. The following line, from an email slugfest he had with a State Department spokesman covering up Benghazi, deserves to be in Bartlett’s Quotations: “Why don’t you give answers that aren’t bullshit for a […]
AmeriCorps & Bear Awareness: Maybe I was Wrong
In last Thursday’s Wall Street Journal piece, I listed a few peculiar AmeriCorps projects, including this one: “Members of a Nevada AmeriCorps program busy themselves these days by encouraging local residents to drink tap water and watch out for bears (‘bear awareness’).” But, after seeing this great Non Sequitor cartoon by Wiley Miller, maybe I […]
My Wall Street Journal Bouquet for AmeriCorps
Wall Street Journal The Reality of Feel-Good Government After nearly 20 years and billions of taxpayer dollars, AmeriCorps has little to show. By JAMES BOVARD The government-supported service organization AmeriCorps got a boost from President Obama in April, when he announced a new program to “connect more professional scientists and engineers to young students who might […]
My 2006 Book Review on Warrantless Wiretapping Scandal
Here’s my 2006 review of the James Risen book that ignited the first uproar about the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping. I noted: James Risen’s revelations on pervasive National Security Agency warrantless spying on Americans shred the final pretenses to legality of the Bush administration. Now the debate is simply whether, as Bush and his supporters […]
Jim
Thanks for the plug for Tyranny Unmasked.
I wrote
Bjorn Frei
The quote is from, Tyranny Unmasked. A book writt
Sean
Political hell it is, and all aboard! If anybody w