Gallup recently released polling data that suggests Americans are becoming more concerned with government’s power. The figure above shows the steady increase in the percent of respondents who see a problem and a similar decline in those who see government as having just the right amount of power. Notice, also, the relatively unchanged number of […]
Archives
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Changing Perceptions of Government’s Power?
24 Sep 2013
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Study War No More? No, More.
19 Sep 2013
Washington, DC, aside from its various political denizens, is always full of opportunities to hear interesting lectures, speeches and debates on myriads of topics. Last night my daughter and I attended a debate at the Library of Congress entitled “Freedom, Security and America’s Role in the World.” It was sponsored by the Koch Institute and […]
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Random Thoughts
07 Sep 2013
Actually I have two topics, one more important and the other just an illustration of how bureaucractic organizations can become pathological or dysfunctional. So let’s begin with Syria. My colleague Mark Smith enumerated well the various issues and positions on the question of whether we should use force against Assad’s ruling regime. It is indeed […]
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NSA Audit Reveals Thousands of Privacy Invasions
16 Aug 2013
The Washington Post has revealed, via Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency has violated existing privacy restrictions thousands of times during the past five years. Barton Gellman’s work uncovers not only the number, but the types, of incursions. Unsurprisingly, a significant number have been accidental. Given the raw number of searches going on, it is […]
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Kevin Williamson Nails the NSA Problems
18 Jun 2013
Kevin Williamson, roving correspondent for National Review, has written an important column on the relationship between the federal government and its citizens. Essentially, he argues, that the NSA’s actions have eroded trust. Essentially, a limited government has a deeper reservoir of trust and should be able to target resources more efficiently into activities like spying […]
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Edward Snowden: Hero? Traitor? Both?
11 Jun 2013
Edward Snowden, the man behind the PRISM leak that has turned elite America upside down, discussed his reasons for the leak here. How do we deal with Snowden if we examine him from a biblical perspective? Let’s be clear that my sympathies lie with Snowden. I agree with his basic position regarding the impropriety of […]
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Freedom vs. Security–the Debate Continues
10 Jun 2013
We are, I hope, at the beginning stages of a thorough and conscious debate about the nature of government intelligence gathering. There is, and there has always been, a tradeoff between our freedoms and the amount of security we demand. Rarely has the discussion been this open, and as events unfold, it is difficult to […]
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DOJ Targets Fox Journalist–Shocked?
21 May 2013
The scandals continue to evolve. We now know the Department of Justice targeted James Rosen, Fox News’ chief Washington, D.C. correspondent, for his possible role in releasing sensitive, leaked information. After Rosen published a report on North Korea’s possible response to international sanctions, he was suspected of meeting with Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Dept. […]
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Benghazi as Watergate?
08 May 2013
Congress is set to begin hearings on the Benghazi attack, in which four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christoper Stevens, were killed. The 9/11/12 assault, which was initially blamed on a YouTube video that defamed Mohammed, is now seen as a full-scale act of terror on a relatively soft target, the U.S. Consulate. The primary controversy […]
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Boston & Civil Liberties–VIDEO
23 Apr 2013
There are forthcoming stories, and now video, surrounding the house-to-house search for Tsarnaev in Watertown, MA. The video is interesting for several reasons. First, notice the harshness of the interactions. Citizens are yelled at and berated as soon as they are visible to the law enforcement agents. Second, the use of force is implicit. Everyone […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach