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Privacy Malpractice
The online Internet exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act are up and running. OK, they’re up. Uhh, OK, some of them are sort …
Mobile Gun-Free Zones Are Coming to America
From the Tongue-in-Cheek Department of Spy Briefing Books… Washington, D.C. — The complex negotiations aimed at bringing a long-term solution to the federal government’s …
Obamacare’s Website Is Crashing Because It Doesn’t Want You to Know
A growing consensus of IT experts, outside and inside the government, have figured out a principal reason why the website for Obamacare’s federally sponsored …
Our World Through Thomas Paine’s Eyes
I’ve just spent a harrowing weekend reflecting on Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the pamphlet that came out in January 1776 and turned the public …
Yellen, the Most Qualified Since Arthur Burns
There’s plenty of gushing about the Janet Yellen appointment as Federal Reserve Chairman. Yale economist Robert Shiller says she’s “a real mensch.” Greg Mankiw …
Why Debt Dynamics Could Get Ugly
2013 represents another turning point in the demise of the American Empire. If you view it in economic (rather than ethical or moral) terms, …
Put Them on Permanent Furlough
Friday was day four of the U.S. government shutdown. And what does a former government insider have to say about that? Plenty. In fact, …
The Half-Full (or Half-Empty) Faith and Credit of the United States
From the Tongue-in-Cheek Department of Spy Briefing Books… Washington, D.C. –– A tragedy is brewing in the United States. Within a decade, the country …
The End of the Deep Web? Nope.
It was a wild ride last week in the world of the Deep Web, that section of the Internet that requires special tools to …
More Drugs… More Drones… More Credit-Pushing Drivel
“Dad, I’ve got to do something,” begins a panicky letter from one of the children. “When I changed my job status, I lost my …
Look to England for America’s Future
Want to know just how invasive the state is going to get in the United States? Well, take a look across the pond. In …
Why Do Conservatives Support Medicare and Medicaid?
For the life of me, I just don’t get conservatives. They profess to love free enterprise and free markets and they say they hate …
Young Adults and Obamacare
“This only works if young people show up,” said Bill Clinton the other day. He was explaining Obamacare. On the surface, that’s an odd …
Government Shutdown Wreaks Havoc
A tense drama unfolded this week with the virtual shutdown of vital government agencies: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, …
How Much Surveillance Can We Accept?
Three months after Edward Snowden’s leaks began to reveal the extent of the U.S.’ mass surveillance program, “serious people” are beginning to make the …
Is Wall Street Really the Heart of Capitalism? Blaming the Wrong People for 2008
The other night, I tuned into The Flaw, a 2011 documentary about the 2008 financial crash. While telling the crash story, the movie flashes …
Taxes: Man’s Inhumanity to Man
My community in the Deep South prides itself on friendship, community feeling, and an overall happy spirit. So it was a bit strange for …
More Shutdowns, Please: The Pro-Democracy Case for an Obamacare Crisis
In all likelihood, Republican efforts to defund Obamacare are toast — and sooner rather than later. It appears to be a fantasy that a …
How to “Fed Proof” Your Wealth
Stocks settled down recently. The Dow dropped 40 points. Either the market had already priced in “QE forever”… or investors are starting to wonder. …
6th-Grader Suspended for Government Drawing
A sixth-grader has been suspended for drawing an inappropriate picture. The drawing did not include any gun, but showed a checkpoint backed up by …
Corporate America Goes Off the Grid
As much as I love technology, part of me hates being so dependent on a live wall plug wherever I go. You find yourself …
Spend ’til it Hurts
Every year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) adds to its short-term budget forecasts (10 years and 25 years) a long-term (75-year) outlook.The 2013 Long-term …
America: Freer Than France for Over 200 Years
It has now been nearly two centuries since French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville visited America and compared American democracy to the French variety. …
Pulling a Mob Job on America
Mobsters shake down, say, a restaurant owner. They drink all the booze and eat all they want and pay nothing. They rob the cash …