The NSA Has Violated Privacy Rules At Least 2,776 Times
by Scott Shackford. The Washington Post has the latest Edward
Snowden-provided
bombshell: The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or
overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since
Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to
an internal audit and other top-secret documents. ... MORE
DOJ Seeks To Protect Bernanke From Testitmony
Politicians have each other's back. The government is trying to block questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a lawsuit by the former head of American International Group Inc. The Justice Department told a federal appeals court Friday that high-ranking officials should not have to testify except in extraordinary ... MOREBrian Doherty: Rand Paul Rises Above
Scandals likely to prove secondary to policy and ideas. The political world around the Pauls—retired Republican congressman Ron Paul and his son, sitting Kentucky senator Rand Paul—was roiled by mini-scandals last week. Treated as most consequential by national media was, naturally,
the one that touched on the senior Kentucky ... MORE
Brad Reid: An Overview Of Civil Asset Forfeiture
A look at history and recent cases. The forfeiture of assets associated with criminal activity has an ancient history. American colonists, particularly business owners, objected to general "writs of assistance" issued by British authorities that allowed broad searches and the subsequent seizures of discovered property suspected of ... MOREAnthony L. Fisher: Stop And Frisk On Trial In NYC
Race, crime and unconstitutional policing. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge
Shira Schiendlin ruled that the New York City Police
Department's use of "Stop and Frisk," a policing tactic in which
officers detain and search citizens on the street who are guilty of
suspcious behavior, is unconstitutional as currently practiced.
Mayor ... MOREPoliticians See $ Signs With Red-Light Traffic Cameras
Using technology to separate citizens from their money. A hundred more automatic red-light traffic cameras are up around Long Island, 50 in Nassau County. The warning signs that are supposed to encourage drivers to be very careful aren’t up yet. Revenue is up. Laws that try to alter driver behavior are not necessarily a bad thing, ... MOREObama Moves To Levy Cellphone Tax Without Congress
Government of unlimited power flexes its muscles. As we now know from the New York Times, the president hopes to "seize any opportunity I can find to work with Congress to strengthen the middle class, improve their prospects, improve their security. But where Congress is unwilling to act, I will take whatever administrative ... MOREHolder And FBI Admit Lying To Promote Obama Reelection
Thomas Lifson on seemingly fixed nature of politicians. In their efforts to promote the re-election of Barack Obama, our nation's premier law enforcement agencies presented false data to the American public about a "crackdown" on mortgage fraud. Fox News reports: The Justice Department and FBI have quietly acknowledged they ... MOREGene Healy: For Obama, Words Conceal The Indefensible
Using language as a cover for the abuse of power. Let President Obama be clear, will you? He seems to think it's important. "The 'let me be clear' preface" is a recurring rhetorical tic
for Obama, the Washington
Post pointed out in 2010, and it's "become a signal that what
follows will be anything but." On Aug. 9, with his approval ... MORE
Bruce Deltrick Price: What Is Literacy In The 21st Century?
Another excuse for not teaching traditional skills. A new development in education is deciding what "literacy" should be in the 21st century. With a swirl of technological breakthroughs all around us, elite educators are gaga at the plethora of excuses for pooh-poohing subjects routinely taught in the dark age known as the 20th century. ... MORE
Zachary Warbrodt: Congress Starts Looking Into Bitcoin
Politicians worried they can't control digital currency. A Senate committee is pressing federal regulators and law enforcement officials to explain how they plan to oversee Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as the issue gains increasing attention from government officials concerned about the role these new markets will play ... MOREJohn Stossel: Battle Of The Sexes
Different choices make for different rewards. Women make only 77 cents per each dollar made by males. Outrageous! Sex discrimination! So say advocates of government-enforced "equality." But they are wrong. Women today are rarely victims of salary discrimination. If they were, market competition would punish bosses who ... MORE
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