hypocrisy

The American Democracy Pitch

"The neocon brothers-in-arms, Senators John McCain & Lindsey Graham, put out a joint Op-Ed in WaPo this morning. They attempt to pitch 'Democracy' to the Egyptian people, who ironically just witnessed their first democratically elected President overthrown in a military coup. I have a different proposal for the Egyptian people, and it's called Liberty. Now, I realize that the prospects of Liberty breaking out in Egypt are close to zero (after all, we're struggling immensely with the idea catching on here, in the so-called 'Land of The Free'). But speaking about Liberty can only help." Continue reading →

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Obama Thinks Americans Don’t Need to Know

"The day after his first inauguration, Obama proclaimed 'a new era of openness in our country.' Yet, in office, he’s driven state secrecy to new levels of absurdity. You may think that Americans have a right to know who we’re at war with, when the government thinks it can kill them, and whether the executive branch considers the personal data of all Americans “relevant” to terrorism investigations — but this administration begs to differ. As far as it’s concerned, you can’t handle the truth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Thinks Americans Don’t Need to Know

HBO says Game of Thrones ‘piracy’ is better than an Emmy

"According to Time Warner CEO Alan Bewkes the 'piracy' buzz around Game of Thrones is a good thing, so good that it's better than an entertainment industry award. The firm was talking about its latest financial results when it was asked about the so-called 'piracy' problem. 'I have to admit it, I think you're right. The much discussed fantasy series is HBO's most popular TV show, and if you go to people who are watching it without subs, it's a tremendous word of mouth thing,' he said, according to the Game of Thrones website White Harbour. In April, HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo said that 'piracy' should be taken as a compliment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHBO says Game of Thrones ‘piracy’ is better than an Emmy

Do We Really Want a Cold War II?

"In three years, the USSR gave up an empire, a third of its territory, and half its people. And it extended to us a hand of friendship. How did we respond? We pushed NATO right up to Russia's borders, bringing in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, even former Soviet republics Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. To cut Moscow out of the Caspian Sea oil, we helped build a pipeline through two former Soviet republics. In the Boris Yeltsin decade, the 1990s, U.S. hustlers colluded with local oligarchs in looting Russia of her natural resources. When columnist Tony Blankley visited Russia, he was astounded at the hostility he encountered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDo We Really Want a Cold War II?

‘Slipping Back Into Cold War Thinking’

"Russia's loss is Sweden's gain: On Wednesday, the White House revealed that US President Obama will visit Stockholm on September 4-5, on his way to the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. 'Sweden is a close friend and partner to the United States,' said the press secretary in a statement. And right now, Russia isn't. Obama was originally planning to be in Moscow on these dates for talks with President Vladimir Putin -- but the Russian leader has been given the brush-off. It seems the Kremlin's decision to grant asylum to fugitive US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was the final straw." Continue reading →

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Andrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

"How is it that the government can charge Edward Snowden with espionage for telling a journalist that the feds have been spying on all Americans and many of our allies, but the NSA itself can reveal secrets and do so with impunity? All of this happened in the dark, with the permission of President Obama, with the knowledge and consent of fewer than 20 members of Congress who were forbidden from doing anything about it by the laws they themselves had written, and based on secret legal arguments accepted by a secret court that keeps its records secret even from the judges who sit on the court." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAndrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

7 surveillance reforms Obama supported before he became president

"As a senator, Obama wanted 1. to limit bulk records collection; 2. to require government analysts to get court approval before accessing incidentally collected American data. 3. the executive branch to report to Congress how many American communications had been swept up during surveillance; 4. to restrict the use of gag orders related to surveillance court orders; 5. to give the accused a chance to challenge government surveillance; 6. the attorney general to submit a public report giving aggregate data about how many people had been targeted for searches; 7. the government to declassify significant surveillance court opinions." Continue reading →

Continue Reading7 surveillance reforms Obama supported before he became president

Army won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

"The U.S. Army is refusing to suspend contracts with dozens of companies and individuals tied to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups out of concern for their 'due process rights,' despite repeated pleas from the chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction. In a scathing passage of his latest report to Congress, Special Inspector General John Sopko said his office has urged the Army to suspend or debar 43 contractors over concerns about ties to the Afghanistan insurgency, 'including supporters of the Taliban, the Haqqani network and al Qaeda.' Sopko wrote that the Army 'rejected' every single case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

Obama’s abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

"President Obama has been unprecedented in his use of the Espionage Act to prosecute those whose whistleblowing he wants to curtail. The purpose of an Espionage Act prosecution, however, is not to punish a person for spying for the enemy, selling secrets for personal gain, or trying to undermine our way of life. It is to ruin the whistleblower personally, professionally and financially. It is meant to send a message to anybody else considering speaking truth to power: challenge us and we will destroy you. Only ten people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them under Barack Obama." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

Obama: Persecution of LGBT people violates basic morality

"President Barack Obama on Tuesday night condemned Russia and some African countries for persecuting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals. 'I’ve been very clear that when it comes to universal rights, when it comes to people’s basic freedoms, that whether you are discriminating on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, you are violating the basic morality that I think should transcend every country,' he said on NBC’s The Tonight Show with host Jay Leno. 'And I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama: Persecution of LGBT people violates basic morality