The Government Is Watching You

The National Security Agency’s admitted intercepts of private telephone calls and e-mails is broader than previously acknowledged.

Supporting that conclusion is the account of a former N.S.A. analyst who, in a series of interviews, described being trained in 2005 for a program in which the agency routinely examined large volumes of Americans’ e-mail messages without court warrants. Two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation.

Democrat Rush Holt of New Jersey (r), Chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, says, “Some actions are so flagrant they can’t be accidental.”

The N.S.A. is believed …

Latest Michele Bachmann Insanity: Afraid To Take Part In Census

Expect much right-wing paranoia surrounding the upcoming census.  So fearful is Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann that she is vowing not to complete the survey and give only the number of people in her household. Think Progress has the audio where she accuses ACORN, in advance, of committing fraud in the census-taking which has not yet happened, also saying the  questions have become “very intricate, very personal.”

“I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home,” she said. “We won’t be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution …

On Wednesday’s Radio Show…

• Gay rights activist Wayne Besen joins Alan to discuss President Obama’s decision granting benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

• Alan talks with Rod Blagojevich about the former Illinois governor’s efforts to reinvent his image.

• Think you can survive the cut? It’s Sudden Death Radio!…

We’d All Love To Change The World: Welcome To the Twittolution

Changing the world for the better doesn’t happen at the point of a gun, but it is happening via computer terminals.  The US Department of State asking Twitter to delay an outage so as not to interrupt a revolution is a mind-blowing development.  One can easily mock Twitter. Do I really need to know that a friend of mine just had a cup of coffee or woke up feeling tired?  But what’s being proven now is how much can be accomplished in 140-word sets.

[State Department official Jared] Cohen, a Stanford University graduate who is the youngest member of the …

Anti-Letterman Protestors Blast His Young Son And His Wife

Those who were upset with David Letterman because of what they perceived as attacks on Sarah Palin’s underage daughter, the ones who felt the need to defend Governor Palin and her family, used their protest to attack David Letterman and his family.

The fifteen protesters were outnumbered by the 35 media members.  Videographer Jonah Green talked to some of these fine upholders of family values, who didn’t quite live up to Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world” mantra.  Among their bon mots:

John Ensign, Born Again Promise Keeper

Philandering Nevada Senator John Ensign is a born again Christian who was also a member of the family-oriented “Promise Keeper” group. Among the seven promises of a Promise Keeper:

PROMISE 3

A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.

PROMISE 4

A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

He urged Bill Clinton to resign as a 1998 Senate candidate, saying, “He has no credibility left.” Ensign had a 100% pro-family rating on his voting record from the Christian Coalition, and the same score from …

Good News For Gays In Government

The AP reports that President Obama is set to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. We should hear the official announcement within hours.…

Do Republicans Hate The Troops?

Earlier today, 170 Republicans voted against the war funding bill.

A bill to pay for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and help bolster Pakistan’s ability to fight extremists, has been approved Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives in a 226 to 202 vote. All but five Republicans opposed the $106 billion measure, and 32 Democrats voted against their party.

Remember when Republicans said this about Obama for voting against a war funding bill? How times have changed.…

Republican Senator Announces Affair

And I don’t mean a Bar Mitzvah. Nevada Senator John Ensign held a news conference Tuesday to reveal that he had an affair with a campaign worker.  Ensign says “I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions.” His wife Darlene says their “marriage has become stronger” and “I love my husband.”

Elected in 2000 and reelected in 2006, Ensign has been a leading conservative among Senate Republicans, playing a key role in demanding the resignation of Larry Craig in September 2007. Ensign called Craig a “disgrace” after he was arrested in June 2007 in an airport men’s restroom …

GOP Whining About ABC’s Obama Health Care Coverage

The Republican National Committee is whining about ABC’s upcoming June 24 health care special from the White House East Room, “Prescription for America.”  In a letter to ABC News chief David Westin, RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay complains that they were denied the right to provide someone for the show.

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC’s astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at …

On Tuesday’s Radio Show…

• Sarah Palin accepted David Letterman’s apology, so why are her right-wing friends so unwilling to forgive? Alan discusses the controversy with entertainment reporter Jill Dobson.

• Alan confronts an associate of Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, white separatist John de Nugent, who claims that President Obama is driving “sincere Whites to snap.”

• What happened to transparency? Alan explains why the Obama administration must end the culture of secrecy at the White House.…