I see that New York Times columnist Tom Friedman tells us that Americans should go along with the NSA’s massive data collection programs: “Yes, I worry about potential government abuse of privacy from a program designed to prevent another 9/11… Continue Reading
President Obama is finishing the assembly of his second-term foreign policy team. In February, Chuck Hagel succeeded Leon Panetta as secretary of defense following sometimes contentious Senate confirmation hearings. The same month, after far less controversy, John Kerry replaced Hillary… Continue Reading
It is going to take some time to get to the bottom of recent stories about secret data collection by the National Security Agency (NSA). I will refrain from summing up what we know so far because news continues to… Continue Reading
A recent report from Goldman Sachs highlights what has been clear for some time now: the federal budget deficit is declining rapidly. Our economic recovery – sluggish but steady – is one reason: much of the sharp rise in the… Continue Reading
Well, it seems that the United States has resorted to bribery in Afghanistan. This is not surprising nor, in itself, a bad thing. Paying individuals, institutions or even countries for their support has long been an instrument of foreign policy… Continue Reading
I just caught “The Central Park Five,” a new documentary by Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns. The documentary, released late last year and shown on PBS in mid-April, recounts the story of five black and Latino teenagers convicted… Continue Reading
The topic of this post is that most popular of subjects: sex. Even better, it’s sex and politics, the combination of which is one of the abiding obsessions of the American public. The occasion: the return of two scandal-tainted politicians… Continue Reading