Tuesday Morning: I Don't Want It Good
I don't want it good. I want it Tuesday.
-- Jack Warner
Pretty sure Mr. Warner would get it just the way he wanted it today.
Surprise: Saudis and Russia agree mutual economic destruction = bad
Expect a rocky market today after…
The Latest 60 Minutes Propaganda: We Need a Crypto Back Door because ISIS Is "Coming Here" with WMD
It has been clear for several years now that 60 Minutes has become a propaganda vehicle for the intelligence community (post, post, post). So it was unsurprising that John Brennan was given an opportunity to fearmonger last night without pesky…
The Play on the Scalia Replacement: Remember the Lame Duck
Within minutes after the public announcement of Antonin Scalia's death, Senator Mike Lee's flack Conn Carroll started predicting Obama would have zero chance of successfully naming a successor. After Carroll, one after another actual Senator…
Monday Morning: Fair of Face
Eh. Not so much. I can't think of many working folks who greet Monday morning with joy, finding it a beautiful thing. But according to old English folk tales, a Monday birthday was supposed to bring better luck.
What good luck will today…
Reagan's Republican Revolution and the Death of the American Dream
On August 3, 1980, Ronald Reagan delivered a watershed speech (pdf) as the presidential campaign entered its final three months. The most often-quoted passage of the speech is his siren call to states' rights:
I believe in state's rights; I…
El Nino Scalia
Antonin Scalia is dead. Say what you will, there is no rejoicing from me. Was Nino a malefactor in Supreme Court jurisprudence over the decades since his confirmation on September 26, 1986? Yes, and an irascible one as well. Once Bork got Borked,…
Hillary's Admission Diplomacy Couldn't Get Pakistan To Hand Over Bin Laden
There was a really weird moment during the foreign policy section of last night's debate.
Bernie, to respond to Hillary's explanation of what we need to do to win wars against terrorism, said he doesn't support regime change. To counter…
Flint: The Legionnaires Will Be What Brings Criminal Charges
In my discussions about Flint's water crisis, I keep pointing out that Rick Snyder was largely just making a show of responding until the US Attorney revealed it had started an investigation on January 5.
The Detroit News has an utterly damning…
Friday Morning: It's Five Somewhere
This week has been really long. Painfully dragged out. Mid-week snowstorm probably didn't help. But here we are, survivors with another week and yet another Presidential campaign debate under our belts.
I'll keep it short and snappy given…
Biased Pluralism and the Defense of "Reality" in the Democratic Primary
Last week, I pointed to a problem with Jonathan Chait's defense of Hillary Clinton's "pluralistic" approach to governance, noting that in an era of weak labor organization, such an approach leaves out the views of the great majority of working…
[Work in Progress] Timeline: Flint's Water Crisis
This is a work in progress. Not all dates and events between the end of 2015 and current date have been added as of publication. This timeline will be updated periodically, as events unfold and as key information is revealed about Flint's ongoing…
Thursday: Thunder Much
It's Thor's Day, the Norse god of thunder's day. This dude has a really poor selection of images available until the 20th century, and most are commercial. Doesn't say much about his powers, does it.
Speaking of powers, mine are tapped out.…
District Attorneys Use Spying as Cover To Demand a Law Enforcement Back Door
In response to a question Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr posed during his committee's Global Threat hearing yesterday, Jim Comey admitted that "going dark" is "overwhelmingly ... a problem that local law enforcement sees"…
More Evidence Secret "Tweaks" To Section 702 Coming
Way at the end of yesterday's Senate Intelligence Committee Global Threats hearing, Tom Cotton asked his second leading question permitting an intelligence agency head to ask for surveillance, this time asking Admiral Mike Rogers whether he…
Wednesday Morning: Ashes to Ashes
It's your second morning-after this week, this one launching the countdown on Christian calendars to Easter. I'm a lapsed Catholic, but we do observe Lent in my household. My agnostic son resists, but I've explained this is an opportunity to…
The Unnamed Network Provider Exposing our Infrastructure
Today was Global Threat day, when James Clapper testifies before various committees in Congress and Ron Wyden asks uncomfortable questions (today, directed exclusively at John Brennan). I'll have a few posts about the hearings (in Senate Armed…
Tuesday Morning: The Fat One You've Awaited
Mardi Gras. The day before Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday. In Brazil, it's Carnival -- plenty of parades with costumed dancers and samba. In New Orleans, it means king cake, beads, and more parades, but here in Michigan, it means pączki. No parades…
NSA's Funny Description of the Job that Required a Controversial Reorganization
The NSA just released its announcement describing the logic behind its new reorganization (I covered the reorg here, here's a more comprehensive article on it).
A lot of the language sounds like the same kind of McKinsey claptrap we saw in…
Monday Morning: Taking out the Garbage
Most of the time, I'm here in Michigan and I'm taking out the garbage every Monday. -- Bob Seger
Morning-after blues now set in, feeling the weight of too much beer and cheese, doing the Walk of Shame, reeking of regret. Gotta' love American…
Superb Owl: Keeping Eye on Fans and More?
If humans could see the full spectrum of radiation, the San Francisco Bay Area shines bright like the sun this evening -- not from lighting, but from communications. The Super Bowl concentrates more than 100,000 people, most of whom will have…