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, in a public relations campaign intended to win support for its lawlessness, can...

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Throw the Bums Out

As I have become accustomed to nearly every type of outrage here in the land of the BushObamas, it takes quite a bit to either surprise or shock me. But last week was a twofer and I’ll start with the shock. On Thursday morning I was reading my way through a rather...

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America’s Emerging Police State: A Brief History

As Congress and the American people grapple with the fallout from Edward Snowden's stunning revelations – which continue to come in, thanks to Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian – we are hearing a kind of defense coming from the authoritarians in our midst: none of this...

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The Crime of the Century

Hey, let’s talk spying! In Surveillance America, this land of spookery we all now inhabit, what else is there to talk about? Was there anyone growing up like me in the 1950s who didn’t know Revolutionary War hero and spy Nathan Hale’s last words...

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Dangerous US Policy in East Asia

The United States, which has dominated East Asia since World War II, is now "pivoting" towards that region to stem the rise of a new regional power – China. The instinct of most status quo powers is to foil the ascent of a rival for domination. This approach...

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Al-Qaeda in Perspective

Apparently, the threat is both serious and specific. The United States ordered 22 diplomatic missions closed and issued a worldwide travel alert for U.S. citizens. The threat comes from Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, the most lethal branch of the terrorist...

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