The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
This category is a main category for post dealing with political issues and politicians at any level of government.
Bush’s defense of his illegal domestic spying program in the State of the Union was almost entirely disputed yesterday by legal specialists across the ideological spectrum. “Bush’s assertion that his program was legal prompted a group of 14 prominent law professors, including both liberals and conservatives, to pen a joint letter objecting to his arguments.” Legal scholars disputed three false claims made by Bush.
Read moreIn 2002, the National Security Agency (NSA) hired Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) “to help it build a state-of-the-art tool for plucking key threats to the nation from a worldwide sea of digital communication,” in a project code-named “Trailblazer.” More than three years later, the project has yet to get off the ground, but has cost taxpayers $1.2 billion.
Read moreHouse Republicans are taking a mulligan on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting. They can’t even conduct their own elections without cheating.
Read moreSection 605 of the House version of the Patriot Act renewal legislation. It calls for the creation of a Federal Police Force. Your imperial presidency at work.
Read moreKarl Rove says that this year’s midterm elections will be about security. Were but that true.
Read moreJust over a week ago, the White House promised to provide the legal, constitutional and moral justifications for the sort of warrantless spying on Americans that has been illegal for nearly 30 years. Instead, we got the familiar mix of political spin, clumsy historical misinformation, contemptuous dismissals of civil liberties concerns, cynical attempts to paint dissents as anti-American and pro-terrorist, and a couple of big, dangerous lies.
Read moreThe White House “flexed its judicial muscles yesterday,” renominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit even as the Senate nears a vote on its divisive Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito. Kavanaugh, the White House staff secretary, was first nominated in July 2003, but his nomination failed as part of a deal struck by the “Gang of 14” moderate senators.
Read moreHistorically-low job growth, declining wages, rising poverty, record deficits, and the worst deterioration of America’s fiscal situation in history characterize the current state of the U.S. economy. President Bush continues to tout tax cuts as the central part of his economic plan, which he claims will “help the economy create new jobs today while permanently raising the wages and living standards of American workers now and in the future.” But the tax cuts have failed to deliver, leaving more people worse off. The typical middle class family is doing no better today than it was 25 years ago, facing stagnant incomes and staggering costs. Next Tuesday, you’ll hear a lot of happy talk about the economy. American Progress has the facts.
Read moreThe American health care system is broken. Skyrocketing costs have placed enormous burdens on families and small businesses. The United States spends approximately $1.7 trillion — over 15 percent of the nation’s economy — on health care, yet the nation still falls behind on basic health care measures. “Health care costs are seen as the primary threat facing our country’s economy,” and the Bush administration has only made the situation worse. During President Bush’s term, “the number of Americans without health insurance has increased by 6.2 million,” now totaling nearly 46 million.
Read moreThe confirmation of Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court is all but completed. The addition of the Big-Brother-government-and-corporate-friendly Alito to replace a relatively moderate O’Connor is going to result in a more authoritarian society in which a few dictate to the majority what the rules will be. The American Republic is in its final days. Bin Laden won…or was it just the Bush Cabal taking over for good?
Read moreThe Bush Administration opposed legislation that would have given them the very power they now claim they needed, power they now claim they didn’t have under FISA. It’s because they didn’t have this power, they now claim, that they had to break the law and spy without a warrant. But this law would have given them much of the legal power they wanted. Yet they said they didn’t need it, and worse yet, that the proposed legislation was likely unconstitutional.
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