Ten Years after 9/11, Inherent Authority Dies a Small Legal Death
Al-Haramain has submitted its brief for the appellate review on a number of issues related to the government's illegal wiretapping of the charity. The questions at issue are:
1. Does FISA waive federal sovereign immunity?
2. Does FISA preempt…
Government Contracting: Lower Wages, But Higher Cost
POGO has a must-read report showing what actually happens when the Federal government outsources jobs: while the actual workers doing the jobs may make less than government (unionized) workers, the work costs more overall.
POGO’s study analyzed…
Another Secret Self-Investigation of Counter-Terrorism Abuses
At a hearing on the 9/11 anniversary yesterday, David Petraeus revealed that the CIA's Inspector General had launched an investigation into its role in the NYPD's spy program.
During his first Congressional testimony as the C.I.A. director,…
The Narratology of Leaks, Part Two: Schooling William Welch
Let me just say I do not relish seeing William Welch making precisely the point I have made in one of his filings. When you read this,
That Mr. Feldstein’s opinions are unreliable and based on no method at all is underscored by their internal…
We're Getting Poorer
The headline news from the Census bureau's poverty numbers today is that median income continues to fall, a pretty significant 2.3% last year.
Real median household income in the United States in 2010 was $49,445, a 2.3 percent decline from…
The World Should Have Revolted Over America's Illegal War on Iraq
You may have seen discussions about this project around the Toobz. In it, scholars use supercomputers to analyze the tone of news coverage. Their results from Egypt and Tunisia--showing low sentiment right before this year's revolutions--suggest…
Turki al-Faisal Picked the Wrong Day to Make Veto Threats
From everything I know, Saudi Prince and former Intelligence Chief Turki al-Faisal is incredibly shrewd. And I believe Saudi Arabia has already started to make the kind of strategic realignments he threatens in his op-ed threatening consequences…
Jamie Dimon: The Face of America's Free Market Politburo
Sorry for the Jamie Dimon obsession today, but the extended article from his interview with the Financial Time is just as infuriating as his whining about "anti-American" banking rules. In this one, this so-called capitalist lays out his solution…
After Trading with the Enemy, JP Morgan Chase Whines for Regulators to Fight "Anti-American" Regulations
Two and a half weeks ago, JP Morgan Chase signed an $88.3 million settlement with the government. JPMC traded with Iran, Sudan, Liberia, and Cuba, all in violation of Treasury's various trade restrictions. When subpoenaed on the Sudan transfer,…
Nine Years after Aluminum Tube Fear-Mongering, Judy Miller Is Back at It
Murdoch's empire has a funny approach to its own mantra, "never forget." On what is effectively the ninth anniversary of Judy Miller's aluminum tube extravaganza, she's back at work fear-mongering in the WSJ.
This time, she's serving as NYPD…
Italian Grand Prix 1961-2011: Monza, Death of von Trips & A Yankee Champion
When we started the 2011 Formula One season back in March, I noted that 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the magical 1961 F1 season in which Phil Hill, driving for Ferrari, became the first, and other than Mario Andretti in 1978, only American…
Mark Warner's SuperDuperCongress
I find it amusing that two guys who are on the Senate Intelligence Committee--Mark Warner and Saxby Chambliss--hosted a "secret meeting" that got reported just two days later.
The private gathering this week, held Wednesday in a Capitol meeting…
John Rizzo: We Should Have Been Prouder of Our Cover-Up
John Rizzo's second regret is that after the CIA destroyed torture tapes in 2005, they should have briefed Congress and the Courts on their attempt to cover-up their own torture.
Mind you, that's not exactly what he says. Here's his version:
We…
Obama's Infrastructure Request Is 1/40 1/25th of What We Need
Here's what the White House fact sheet says about his call for infrastructure spending as part of his jobs bill.
Making an Immediate Investment in Our Roads, Rails and Airports: The President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments…
Trash Talk: The NFL Season Begins Packers & Saints
It's Here!! It seemed like it may never happen the way things looked in the spring and early summer but, unlike those mopes in Washington DC, the NFL and the players figured out what needed to be done for the long term, and got it done. Not…
Rizzo's Brief with Nancy Pelosi: Bush Didn't Include Torture in the Finding Authorizing Torture
I'm going to deal with John Rizzo's purported "mea culpa" in three posts, one each for each of his regrets.
Rizzo's first regret is that the CIA did not push the White House to allow it to brief the entire intelligence committees so they…
CNN: Only Brown People Can Be Lone Wolves
Just in time for the 9/11 fearmongering season, CNN comes out with this ridiculous article on lone wolf terrorists.
It starts by correctly identifying Khalid Aldawsari as a lone wolf (at least as far as is publicly known thus far). Piggybacking…
Brian Williams, Meet Cameron Todd Willingham
Pretty much everyone seems to have waken up this morning still aghast at the wild applause Rick Perry got last night for his boast about the number of people he has executed.
It is disgusting.
But Brian Williams, who otherwise did…
Obama Rejects Senate Advice and Consent Over the Guy Who Data Mines Our Communications
The Administration has released a veto threat of the Intelligence Authorization that I'm going to deal with in reverse order.
The last objection argues that we can't require the head of the NSA--the agency that gets to collect and data mine…
Links, 9/7/11
A chain of Mormon boarding schools has been accused of torturing hundreds of the teenagers who attended the schools. That's horrible on its face. But remember, too, that key architects of the country's torture program--Bruce Jessen and James…