The Edward Snowden interview has been put on You Tube so if you haven’t seen it yet it’s worth watching: What to think of this individual? Some of what he’s saying about the “architecture of oppression” really should concern us
by John Sexton11 Jun 2013, 8:58 AM PST0

Yesterday afternoon I visited the Producer’s Guild conference which was held on the Fox Studio lot in Los Angeles. While waiting on line for an event featuring Jerry Bruckheimer I overheard that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson would be appearing at
by John Sexton10 Jun 2013, 1:59 PM PST0

A “Dear Colleague” letter signed by then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in 2005 urged an end to “government fishing expeditions” under Section 215 of the Patriot Act to gather records on American citizens indiscriminately. The letter was also signed by eight
by John Sexton10 Jun 2013, 11:00 AM PST0
Geert Wilders opened the conference with a key note speech in which he suggested Europe was primed for a “European spring.” Wilders comment was an obvious reference to the so-called Arab spring in which numerous countries had mass protests pushing
by John Sexton9 Jun 2013, 9:02 PM PST0
Yesterday both the NY Times and Reuters claimed the Zazi terror plot against New York subways was foiled by an NSA email collection program called PRISM. That was not the case. The key to stopping the Zazi plot was an
by John Sexton8 Jun 2013, 1:09 PM PST0
ABC affiliate 10 News has revealed that employees at San Onofre nuclear power plant in Orange County, California created a Star Trek spoof inside the plant’s control room simulator. Revelation of the spoof, which was filmed in 2010 for just
by John Sexton7 Jun 2013, 4:57 PM PST0
One day after the story broke about the NSA’s PRISM program, Reuters reveals the NSA email gathering effort helped foil a 2009 terror plot. This new leak of information from unnamed administration sources seems designed to defend the efficacy of
by John Sexton7 Jun 2013, 3:23 PM PST0

Unpublished files of a notorious Hollywood PI reveal he overheard John F. Kennedy having sex with Marilyn Monroe. The files also indicate that Marilyn, JFK and Robert Kennedy had a loud fight the day she died. Fred Otash was a
by John Sexton7 Jun 2013, 2:09 PM PST0

In a piece published Thursday a former general counsel for the National Security Agency argues that collection of call metadata is necessary to fight terrorism. But his hypothetical case fails to explain why the NSA needs data on local calls
by John Sexton7 Jun 2013, 11:55 AM PST0
During the promotional roll out of the film Eagle Eye, Shia LaBeouf told Jay Leno that an FBI consultant on the film had played him a recording of a private conversation with a girlfriend, one which took place two years
by John Sexton6 Jun 2013, 4:16 PM PST0
In response to So Totally Unlike Watergate You Guys: Senator Kirk Asks Holder if the Executive Spied on the Coequal Branch of Congress: One of the most interesting moments of the hearing came a few minutes later when Sen. Kirk
by John Sexton6 Jun 2013, 2:52 PM PST0
In August 2007 Senator Obama gave a foreign policy speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in which he mapped out a five point plan for a new approach to foreign policy. Part of that approach was a promise to reign
by John Sexton6 Jun 2013, 1:55 PM PST0
Last year James Bamford wrote a lengthy story for Wired on the NSA’s new data-mining operation being built in Utah. The report contained a number of eye-opening revelations but none more so than the conclusion of one former system designer
by John Sexton6 Jun 2013, 11:17 AM PST0
Apparently Gawker had stores of Mormon bashing that didn’t get used up during the last election. The site has been running a series about the states, sort of conventional wisdom for 20-something hipsters on which parts of the US to
by John Sexton6 Jun 2013, 10:48 AM PST0

Kevin Kookogey, a witness in Monday’s Congressional hearing on the ongoing IRS scandal, is outraged by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) insinuating he might not have told the truth in his testimony. During testimony before the House Ways and Means Committe,
by John Sexton5 Jun 2013, 7:10 PM PST0
Susan Rice has been appointed National Security Adviser to the President in a move that is seen as a thumb in the eye of Republicans. Rice’s previous job, Ambassador to the United Nations, will be filled by Samantha Power. Back
by John Sexton5 Jun 2013, 1:55 PM PST0
A 12 foot long, 1,323 lb. Mako shark was caught off the coast of Huntington Beach in deep water this week. It is believed to be a world record for this type of shark: The catch was filmed for a
by John Sexton5 Jun 2013, 11:11 AM PST0
During Tuesday’s congressional hearing on groups targeted by the IRS, Rep. Aaron Schock demolished the arguments being made Democrats in two bold strokes. Democrats in the hearing argued that scrutiny is appropriate for any group engaged in political activity and
by John Sexton4 Jun 2013, 11:09 AM PST0
Fitch’s ratings agency has downgraded Illinois’s general obligation bonds over the state’s failure to address pension reform. Illinois already has the worst debt rating in the United States. Fitch downgraded the state’s bonds from an ‘A’ rating to ‘A-‘ and
by John Sexton4 Jun 2013, 9:40 AM PST0
The Democrats word of the week may be overreach but the IRS scandal is not going to end until we know who is responsible for it. As today’s hearings reinforced, we still do not have an answer to that basic
by John Sexton3 Jun 2013, 4:22 PM PST0
Did news coverage of a Tea Party group launching a 501(c)(4) in February 2010–including a story at NPR– launch the two year scrutiny of Tea Party groups? It’s impossible to tell for certain but the IG report does offer some
by John Sexton3 Jun 2013, 11:18 AM PST0
Curtis Morrison in the individual who secretly recorded a strategy conversation that took place in Mitch McConnell’s campaign office in February. Audio of the conversation was later published by David Corn at Mother Jones. Today Morrison wrote a piece at
by John Sexton31 May 2013, 4:08 PM PST0
With MSNBC’s ratings in the dumps, various explanations are being offered as to why this is happening to a network that, just last fall, was challenging Fox. Let’s consider the three most popular explanations. One possible explanation is that progressives
by John Sexton31 May 2013, 1:52 PM PST0

Pennsylvania State Representative Jesse White, an opponent of fracking, has been accused of using Internet sock-puppet accounts to attack fracking proponents under false names. A report by KDKA, a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, found that the sock-puppet accounts have the
by John Sexton30 May 2013, 5:55 PM PST0
One of the most overlooked bits of Obama’s drone speech last week was the claim that capturing terrorists is always our first option before using drone strikes. Obama claimed “America does not take strikes when we have the ability to
by John Sexton30 May 2013, 4:27 PM PST0