- Congress nearly shuts down NSA phone dragnet, in sudden 205-217 vote—Check out how they voted, especially how many Democrats want to the spying to continue.
- Most think NSA is violating privacy rights but want Snowden charged with a crime
- The Secret FISA Court Must Go—"We are assured the secret FISA court is keeping a close eye on government surveillance, but the truth of what it has done and justified is terrifying."
- Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys—"Whether the FBI and NSA have the legal authority to obtain the master keys that companies use for Web encryption remains an open question, but it hasn't stopped the U.S. government from trying."
- Snowden said to be preparing for a life in Russia. Maybe permanently?
- U.S. Wants Snowden Returned, Not Extradited, Ambassador Says—Word-mincing, an act of desperation.
- Putin Comes Out Ahead in Snowden Affair
- The Age of Authoritarianism: Government of the Politicians, by the Military, for the Corporations
- Chris Hedges: The Liberal Elite has Betrayed the People They Claim to Defend—'We have shifted, I think, from a democratic state to a species of corporate totalitarianism."
- Opinion: Jimmy Carter May Actually Be Right This Time
- Congress Sets a New Record for Being Hated—Even at an 83% disapproval rate, these clowns will stick around unless thye're voted out.
- In U.S., Bush Still Bears Brunt of Blame for Economic Woes—"While half say Obama at least moderately to blame, two-thirds say Bush is."
- Dems Who Dislike Obamacare, and Other Poll Tidbits WSJ
- Americans Under 30 the Most Cynical Bunch Ever. Good for Them. And Us.
- 43% Believe that US Health Care is Corrupt, 64% that Government is Run by a Few Big Interests, Media Shrug
- Republican Who Tossed Voter Registration Forms Let Off The Hook—"The young Republican who grabbed national headlines after being arrested for throwing voter registration forms into a dumpster before the 2012 election won't be facing any legal consequences."
- Cincinnati poll worker sentenced to 5 years for voter fraud in presidential elections
- Top Pennsylvania Republican Admits Voter ID Helped Suppress Obama Voters
- Federal Judge Rules Against Ohio Secretary Of State's Voter Suppression Rule
- North Carolina Republicans Unveil Even More Restrictive Voter ID Bill
- Has the G.O.P. Gone Off the Deep End?—"Disaffected conservatives are increasingly anxious about the ideological intransigence of Republican legislators." Salon
- Senate Republicans Splinter As Moderates Rise Up
- McCain to Republicans: Forget about any more crazy debt ceiling hostage taking
- A Governing Coalition In The Senate Spells Doom For House Conservatives
- Republicans Don't Like the Republican Party
- Democratic Pollster Sees Republican 2016 Weakness as Brand Lags
- Former High-School Teacher Congressman Irks GOP By Marking Their Memos With A Red Pen
- Tables turn on IRS scandal—"Treasury's inspector general gets grilled by Democrats, and crumbles under the pressure." Salon
- Watchdog 'Disturbed' IRS Withheld New Documents Showing Progressive Groups May Have Been Targeted Too—Easy to see why Obama dismisses scandals as 'phony.'
- Darrell Issa's Witch Hunt—"Darrell Issa has brought more national political shame to San Diego than even 'Enron by the Sea.'"
- Bill Moyers: Weapons of Mass Distraction—Why the Media Most Americans Consume Is Harmful to the Public Health—"Marty Kaplan unravels distractions that prevent national outcry over unemployment, hunger, crumbling infrastructure and out of whack systems."
- Nate Silver Went Against the Grain for Some at The Times—"His entire probability-based way of looking at politics ran against the kind of political journalism that The Times specializes in: polling, the horse race, campaign coverage, analysis based on campaign-trail observation, and opinion writing, or 'punditry,' as he put it, famously describing it as 'fundamentally useless.'" NYT
- xkcd: Social Media
- Congress Passes Restrictions On Military Funeral Protests, Delivers Blow To Westboro Baptist Church—Definitely has first amendment implications.
- Newspaper Censorship in America: Is this Celebrated Advice Columnist a Criminal?—"John Rosemond—America's longest running newspaper columnist—received an astonishing order from the Kentucky attorney general: Stop publishing your advice column in the Bluegrass State or face fines and jail."
- Mitch Daniels: I Just Wanted To Keep Kids From Reading Howard Zinn
- Tax writers promise 50 years of secrecy for senators' suggestions
- No more mailman at the door under U.S. Postal Service plan
- Broke in the 'burbs—"Americans tend to think of poverty as urban or rural—housing estates or shacks in the woods. [...] But the suburbs are where you will find America’s biggest and fastest-growing poor population...."
- Three Out Of Four Americans Think Political Parties Are Corrupt
- Indiana misplaced $526 million in tax dollars—"How Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration misplaced $526 million in tax money over the course of five years."
- Georgia: Audit shows $200M missing from East Point
- 17 double-dipping NJ lawmakers block pension reform—Democrats and Republicans alike
- David Petraeus' shady coverup—"It's bad enough that he was getting big bucks for doing nothing. But now the story's gotten fishier." Salon
- Bachmann campaign allegations sent to House Ethics panel
- Gallup Settles With U.S. Over Inflated Contracts
- Virginia Is Corrupt
- US diplomats cry foul as Obama donors take over top embassy jobs—Not really a new thing, but having inexperienced ambassadors isn't a good idea.
- Bob McDonnell's corporation, wife benefited from $120,000 more from donor, sources say—He's in damage control mode.
- Florida Supreme Court: Law protecting builder went too far—"Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature went too far when they created a law on behalf of a developer in an effort to stop a lawsuit filed by a homeowners association, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday."
- Jimmy Carter: Unchecked Political Contributions Are 'Legal Bribery'
- State Law Enforcement to Test Saliva for Drugs—A police lieutenant "believes in the saliva test kits so much, he has become a distributor of the product." Conflict of interest much?
- Opinion: Detroit got what it deserved
- Detroit Bankruptcy Filing Unconstitutional, Must Be Withdrawn, Judge Orders
- Leaked Emails Reveal Conspiracy to Throw Detroit into Bankruptcy
- How Detroit was laid low—"Inept leadership and a history of neglect born of racial tension lie behind the city's bankruptcy."
- Video: Visit Cleveland!
