What do we do about NSA?

They have been around for a long time.  NSA is descended from the World War II codebreakers who contributed so mightily to victory in that war.  Back in the 1940's they merely tuned in enemy radio messages and then decrypted them.  Back then we civilians were happy if the government didn't read our mail and got a warrent to tap our telephone.
   Times move on.  NSA is now obtaining and storing all the telephone bills in the land.  "metadata" they call it, but it is just the information on your telephone bill, each number you called and how long you stayed on the line. NSA has direct taps into the phone company computers to suck off the "metadata" and store it, forever. 
  Question.  Should we allow this?  On the security side, when they finger one terrorist, they go into the "metadata" and find everyone he ever telephoned.  Very handy, no doubt about it.  Tidier than interrogation or waterboarding the suspect, and they can do it even if they haven't caught 'em yet.
   On the defense lawyer side,  all they have to do is find just once, that my client telephoned some  unsavory character, and he is convicted.  If they want to hang my client for income tax (like happened to Al Capone), insider trading (Martha Stewart), campaign finance offenses,  or walking on the grass,  talk to every one on his phone list and you are bound to find some dirt to bring to court.  Scary.

  NSA claims that they only look at  their store of "metadata" to solve terrorist cases.  Even if this is true, today, pretty soon cops will want to use it on other "worthy" causes.  Like kidnapping cases, or school shooter cases, or drug cases.  Pretty soon they will be using it in child support cases. Or divorce cases.
   After thinking about it for some time, I think the dangers of innocent citizens getting railroaded out weigh the chances of catching terrorists.  
   We ought to pass a law forbidding NSA to access, read, copy or store "metadata" of any kind.  Companies should be forbidden to allow snoopers to see customer data without a court order.  Court orders to be limited to ONE suspect at a time, no court orders for "all single black men 18 to 24 years old" stuff.
   NSA is also snooping email.  Scanning it by computer, and reading it if it is from someone on the watch list or the scanner picks up on some suspicious keywords.  We  ought to forbid that too.  And  pass a law requiring Gmail and the internet service providers to keep customer email secret.  
 
   
  

Juan Williams finally makes some sense

Juan Williams, a liberal commentator who was driven from NPR to Fox News a few years ago, was on the 6 PM Fox news roundtable.  They were discussing Egypt and what should be done.  Juan said that of the two sides in the Egyptian "disturbances" we ought to be backing the Egyptian Army against the Muslim Brotherhood.  Juan got that 100 % right.
  The Army may be a little heavy handed, but the Muslim Brotherhood are Islamist crazies.  The Army has majority support of the Egyptian people in turning out Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood government.
  All we can do in Egypt is pick a side.  The Army, which we have been training and paying for 20 years, is much more sympathetic to our point of view than the Brotherhood, who assassinated Anwat Sadat.  

Practice or Process?

Attorney General Eric Holder announced that US attorneys had be instructed to sidestep the mandatory minimum sentencing rules in regard to "low level drug offenders".  Not a bad idea,  Users and guys who deal just enough to support their own habits aren't that dangerous.  But I don't like the process Holder used. 
   Those mandatory minimum laws were passed by Congress.  The right way to change 'em  is to go to Congress and get Congress to change the law.  Doing it on just Eric's say-so ain't democratic, that's what dictators do. 

Al Quada will never win at the ballot box

Thus spake US senator Lindsey Graham on Face the Nation this morning.   Well I got news for the senator.  The Muslim Brotherhood, parent organization to Al Quada, did in fact win control of Egypt at the ballot box only a year or two ago.  If the Muslim Brotherhood can win elections in Eqypt, Al Quada, a spin off terrorist organization, can win just about anywhere. 
   Too bad Senator Graham appears to be influential inside the brain damaged US Senate. 
  

How to prevent a Government Shutdown

Simple.  Pass some appropriation bills.  They way it ought to be, and the way it used to be, Congress would pass bills appropriating money for each department of the executive, State, Defense, Treasury, NASA, Energy, Commerce, and so on.  If  appropriations for one department failed to pass, the rest of the government could keep on running.
   In the last 10-15 years Congress has been unable to pass appropriation bills.  At the 11th hour Congress will pass one single humungous bill that funds everything.  This trick neuters Congressional power of the purse.  You can't refuse to fund objectionable programs because the only way to do it is shut the entire government down, which is perilous.  Last time Newt Gengrich tried it, he was blamed for intransigence and driven from the speakership and from the House.  We don't have anyone in Congress anymore with the kind of stones Newt Gengrich had.  Newt was something of a loose cannon, but he had guts.  Congress won't do a government shutdown over Obama Care this time.  No guts.
    What they ought to do is pass appropriation bills for every department EXCEPT Obama care.  The house has the votes.  The Senate could be wooed into passing reasonable appropriation bills, especially if they were skillfully larded with pork.  If Obama vetoes them, then he looks intransigent.   Then we could keep the government alive, and Obamacare unfunded.
 

We don't want a democracy in Eygpt

In stead we want a stable, decent, humane government that will restore order so that the tourists will come back, protect minorities like Christians, Jews, Shia, and who ever else there might be, from prosecution by the Sunni majority, and have enough support to stay in power.  If such a government is less than democratic, so be it.
   And we don't really get our choice in the matter.   Egypt will be governed by who ever can gain the backing of the Egyptian people, the Egyptian establishment, the Army, and what ever other important power blocks there might be. Or if not backing, at least acquiescence.  The best we can do is pick sides and give the side we like what support we can.  If we pick the losing side, the penalty is lasting enmity from the winners.   
   There are two sides in Egypt.  One is the Muslim Brotherhood.  The other is the Army.  Both sides are powerful.  The Army side was able to stage massive street demonstrations that brought down the Muslim Brotherhood president, Morsi.  The Muslim Brotherhood is staging massive demonstrations today to reinstate Morsi.  Both sides are two big to ignore.  Nobody knows which side is stronger. 
   One thing we do know.  We don't want the Muslim Brotherhood to win.
  The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in the 1920's as an anti British underground.  The were outlawed by every Egyptian government from that day to last year.  The British, Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak each outlawed the Brotherhood and jailed it's members.  The Brotherhood assassinated Anwar Sadat.  They stand for imposing Sharia law, forcing women into burkas,  cutting women's genitals, and killing all non Muslims.  They want to drive the Israelis into the sea. Al Quada, Abu Nudal, Hezballah, Osama Bin Laden, and a bunch of other nasties learned the terrorist business in the Brotherhood. 
   Obama seems to like the Brotherhood. 

First Amendment for Rodeo Clowns

Just so long as they don't mock Obama that is.  I'm of mixed minds on this one.  First amendment was put in to allow political opposition, which from that day to this includes mockery. 
  On the other hand, the president represents MY country (even a president I didn't vote for) and mocking the President is about the same thing as mocking my country, which makes me uncomfortable.  But not so uncomfortable as to forbid it.