Peter Van Buren has exposed another authoritarian assault by the Administration on our freedom of expression. This time the victims are not adult whistleblowers who have been sent to prison more than all previous presidencies combined, but our children. Peter has found that they are now trying to enlist teachers in identifying speech by their…
W.J. Astore A revealing question and answer came in this week’s presidential debate among the Democratic candidates. They were asked if Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed illegal spying by the NSA and the U.S. government, should be considered a hero or traitor. Hillary Clinton’s answer was revealing of who she is and what she…
W.J. Astore Two news items this morning caught my eye. The first involves Edward Snowden, the security contractor who revealed massive (and ongoing) spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), much of it illegal. Snowden says he will consider returning to the United States if he is given a fair trial (he is currently in…
Glenn Greenwald. Introduction by William Astore. What is a patriot? To my mind, someone who stands up for the best of America. Someone who remembers that the government serves the people and not vice-versa. Someone who knows that democracy and freedom are based on transparency and honesty. And someone who is willing to sacrifice, even…
b. traven Funny how politicians start looking for Jesus when the Devil is attacking them personally. Sen. Feinstein, Head of the Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) didn’t need Jesus when she supinely supported the CIA and NSA’s illegal spying on American tax paying citizens, you and me. When John Brennan, already notorious for his role in…
W.J. Astore At TomDispatch.com, Tom Engelhardt has an especially fine exposé of the National Security State as a religion with its own priesthood, holy books, dogma, and true believers/followers. I recommend reading the entire article, but I do want to highlight some implications of his argument. Like the Catholic Church (and I’m Catholic), the National…
b. traven Mort Sahl, a stand-up comedian before the day that being a stand-up comedian meant telling sexist and toilet jokes, was an outspoken and very funny satirist of all that was holy to the powers that be during the Cold War. In those days it was an act of political bravery just to be…
A recent article by John Pilger in the British Guardian speaks of a silent military coup that has effectively gained control of American policymaking. It features the following alarmist passage: In 2008, while his liberal devotees dried their eyes, Obama accepted the entire Pentagon of his predecessor, George Bush: its wars and war crimes. As the constitution is replaced…
b. traven For those Democratic voters who still, after five years of bitter experience, retain the forlorn hope that a real liberal or progressive heart beats in Obama’s chest, the recent revelation in The Washington Post that it was Obama who, in 2011, empowered the National Security Agency to go after Americans’ private communications should finally end…
b. traven Even Dubya couldn’t get it right. Remember when George W. Bush was fooling us every few weeks with his color-coded “Red” and “Orange” security alerts? They didn’t scare the terrorists, but they did frighten most Americans into accepting another of his assaults against our constitutional rights. Now we see Obama trying the same…
The Contrary Perspective 