Month December 2005

Not new

The US government has been spying on the public for decades. None of this is new. What is new is that the Bushies have gone so far over the top that they’ve blunderingly exposed this ugly ‘national security apparatus’ to…

Abramoff seeking a plea deal

Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist who may be facing an array of fraud and corruption charges, has been talking with prosecutors about a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testifying against former political and business…

Making sense of the Abramoff scandal

Abramoff figures in at least four separate, interrelated scandals: He and partner Adam Kidan have been indicted on wire fraud and conspiracy charges involving the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos, a Florida gambling boat venture; He funneled money into the…

War Dance, by Robert Griffing

My cousin Dan participates in historical re-enactments for both the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War. He also sells related items on his website (which I created for him.) I knew nothing about these re-enactments, however it’s clear…

NSA and Bush’s illegal eavesdropping

From Schneier on Security Illegal wiretapping of Americans is nothing new. In the 1950s and ’60s, in a program called "Project Shamrock," the NSA intercepted every single telegram coming into or going out of the United States. It conducted eavesdropping…