This is the 49th anniversary of Congress’s passage of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, by which the Lyndon Johnson administration lied the nation into the Vietnam War. The resolution was spurred by false assertions of multiple North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. ships. At a National Security Council meeting on the evening that the first report came […]
Tag Archives | Surveillance
Me? Nihilist? Another NSA Slander
Former National Security Agency boss Michael Hayden denounced defenders of Edward Snowden as “nihilists, anarchists, activists, Lulzsec, Anonymous, twentysomethings who haven’t talked to the opposite sex in five or six years.” Hey, I’m no nihilist! And, though I am still a shy country boy, it’s been a long time since I was accused of being […]
Best Thumbnail Explanation of NSA Spying Scandal
The Onion has the best explanation I have yet seen on how the National Security Agency surveils average Americans. But to be honest, I’m not sure if “Step 9” is accurate. From The Onion: Step 1: NSA goes to Gmail, guesses “puppy64” as the password for all usernames, and successfully gains access to over 5 […]
New Terrorist Suspect Definition: “Someone searching the web for suspicious stuff”
The Guardian’s scoop today on the National Security Agency’s XKeyscore included documents that showed the “standards” that NSA employees can use to target Americans and others to vacuum up their email and all their Internet-related information. Page 14 of the documents reveals one of the new definitions of terrorist suspect: “someone searching the web for […]
Bravo Rand Paul – the only ‘No’ vote for new FBI Chief
Sen. Rand Paul was the only senator to vote against confirming James Comey as the new FBI director. The final vote was 93 to 1 – so nobody was crowding Rand on the high ground. As the ACLU noted last month, “While Comey deserves credit for stopping an illegal spying program in dramatic fashion, he […]
Podcast of My Interview with Brian Wilson on Mark Twain, Julius Caesar, and Obama
The podcast is now online from the Libertas Media interview today. Brian Wilson and I had a rattlin’ good exchange about Obama, Mark Twain, Julius Caesar – with a triple heaping on the National Security Agency and Edward Snowden. You can download or listen to the @40 minute podcast by clicking here.
Three Cheers for Justin Amash and the Anti-Spying Coalition
Three cheers for Rep. Justin Amash and colleagues who came within a whisker of reining in the NSA’s illegal surveillance tonight in Congress! (Final vote on his amendment was 217 to 205). This is a huge moral victory – and the sign of civil liberty victories to come. And the floor debate helped reveal […]
Ricardo2000
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956):
“Nobody ever went
R R Schoettker
The utter impotent uselessness of the US congress
Texas Dan
If Waco didn't wake you up, nothing would/wil