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by Mark Finkelstein January 3, 2006 - 07:58 Katie Couric's just-completed interview with NY Times Reporter James Risen, who broke the NSA surveillance story and is now publishing his book on the matter, 'State of War,' offered a treasure-trove of insights into the matter. And give Katie a gentlelady's 'C' for her questioning. Couric earned the bulk of her credit by posing this seminal line of questioning: "Did [the leakers] have any sympathy or understanding about this new climate this country finds itself in and the criticism the Bush administration took prior to 9/11 for not putting the pieces together...

VIDEO Yes, he is much too important in his own mind to stoop to running for a mere U.S. Senate seat from Texas. So declared former failed U.S. Senate candidate and current failing presidential candidate during his reboot speech in El Paso. Of course, if/WHEN his presidential campaign flops as it appears to be doing, don't be surprised if Beto has a sudden change of heart and decides that the U.S. Senate is good enough for him.

Scott Fritzsche is a co-blogger at Unsettled Christianity who regularly attends and is active in Trinity United Methodist Church in Grove City, Ohio. He passionately believes in the voice and the responsibility of the laity to speak up and be as educated as possible on religious matters to empower ministry. UM Voices is a forum for different voices within the United Methodist Church on pressing issues of denominational concern. UM Voices contributors represent only themselves and not IRD/UMAction. This post originally appeared on Unsettled Christianity. Republished with permission. William H. Willimon is a retired UMC bishop and current teacher at...

Former President Obama on Monday urged a crowd in Las Vegas to "remember who started" the current economic boom, reminding them that the country recovered from the Great Recession during his presidency. Obama echoed language from President Trump, who in July claimed his administration unleashed an "economic miracle" with tax cuts legislation. "When I walked into office ten years ago, we were in the middle of the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes," Obama said at a rally for Nevada Democrats. "By the time I left office, wages were rising, uninsurance rate was falling, poverty was falling, and that’s what...

And I say this with the deepest of sincerity – and I don’t want calls on this, by the way: Am I the only person in America who thinks the passing of McCain and the news coverage has gone on a little too long and it’s a little too much? Really, you can honor somebody, but this is going on day after day after day after day after day. And I don’t say this out of any animus whatsoever, period. Why do some public officials get this kind of treatment – Kennedy, McCain, so forth – and others get no...

Trump 'Committed' to Iran Regime Change, Giuliani Says Days Before Nuclear Deadline President's lawyer and confidant calls regime change 'only way to achieve Mideast peace and 'more important than an Israeli-Palestinian deal' ■ Rohani warns of 'historic' mistake Amir Tibon (Washington) May 06, 2018 8:31 AM WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump is "committed" to regime change in Iran, Trump's lawyer and confidant Rudy Giuliani said on Saturday. The unusual statement comes just days before Trump will have to make a dramatic decision on the fate of the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. Giuliani, the former New York City...

Beneath Yellowstone National Park is a giant volcano. The heat from this volcano powers all of the park's famous geysers and hot springs, so most tourists probably don't worry about having tons of hot magma under their feet. But perhaps they should: The Yellowstone supervolcano is a disaster waiting to happen. The supervolcano erupts about every 600,000 years, and it's been about that long since the last eruption. That means the volcano could erupt any day now, and if it does it'll send enough dust and ash into the sky to blot out the sun for years, along with blowing...

The Supreme Court has given President Trump a major victory by reviving his disputed ban on foreign travelers from six Muslim-majority nations. The justices rejected a series of lower-court orders that had blocked Trump’s policy from taking effect. The court’s conservative justices agreed with Trump and his lawyers, who argued that the Constitution and federal immigration laws give the chief executive broad power to restrict or “suspend” the entry of foreign individuals or groups into this country. Despite the earlier defeats, Trump had voiced confidence he would prevail once the travel ban reached the Supreme Court. His confidence was bolstered...

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on President Donald Trump’s ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries. The case will be argued in October. Within two weeks of taking office, Trump issued an executive order restricting visits from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months and suspending America’s refugee resettlement program, arguing that federal officials needed to review the vetting process in the interest of national security. The order fulfilled one of the new president’s most controversial campaign promises. But the chaotic weekend that ensued ― dozens of people detained at airports and protests nationwide ― also played...

Wednesday night on the “Mark Levin Show,” Conservative Review’s Editor-in-Chief addressed the historic election that swept Republicans into power and placed Donald Trump in the White House. Levin offered his congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump, but he reminded his audience that it was not Trump who defeated Hillary Clinton. Rather, the constitutional conservatives who went forth and voted for him are the real victors.

A stony silence turned to sheer horror early Wednesday for Hillary Clinton's supporters at what was meant to be her presidential victory party as it became painfully clear she would not close the gap with Donald Trump. One by one, states turned Republican red on the interactive map of the country. One by one, dejected Clinton fans left in tears without even seeing their beloved candidate. "It's a nightmare," said Jeannette Barbasch, a 50-something Clinton backer leaving the cavernous Javits Center on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, which had been decked out in American flags for Clinton's expected win....

Hillary Clinton is so far ahead of Donald Trump in the race for the presidency that she no longer even feels the need to pay attention to the Republican nominee. Buoyed by a double-digit lead in some national polls, Mrs. Clinton has said she is now looking past Mr. Trump entirely, and will no longer counter allegations made by her rival. “I don’t even think about responding to him anymore,” Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Trump’s charge that American media outlets are in cahoots with her presidential campaign. …

Hillary Clinton gave voice Wednesday to a question on the minds of many of her fiercest advocates in her race against the controversy-prone Donald Trump: Why isn’t she way, way ahead? The Democratic nominee raised the issue here during an address via video conference to a gathering in Las Vegas of the Laborers' International Union of North America. The former secretary of state ticked off her pro-union positions... ...“Having said all this, ‘Why aren’t I 50 points ahead?’ you might ask?” Clinton said. “Well, the choice for working families has never been clearer. I need your help to get Donald...

Jeff Kyle, the brother of slain former Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle, posted to his Facebook that Chris’ wife, Taya, had directed lawyers to send a “cease & desist” order to an organization the Kyle family is working with, because they are raising funds for wounded veterans. Two organizations have teamed up to raise funds for veterans, and are using the Kyle name, with permission of the Kyle family. One organization, a Texas based extreme obstacle race team called Lone Star Spartans, has been holding annual race events in memory of Chris Kyle, and to raise money for vets. Jeff Kyle...

Previously we've discussed 20 specific signs that were foretold in the Bible indicating that Christ's coming is now imminent.  This new list is a little different - these are ten indicators that we have reached the upper limits of when Christ can return.  God is sovereign and we can merely speculate, but I believe there is sound reasoning behind each of these: 1. The culmination of signs From the return of the Jews to their God-given land beginning in the late 1800s, to the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and the recapturing of Jerusalem in 1967, the signs foretold in...

There are limits on what the Fed can do when this bubble bursts, as it inevitably will, as surely as night follows day. It's no secret that virtually every pension fund is dead man walking, doomed by central banks' imposition of low yields on safe investments, i.e. Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP). Given that both The Economist and The Wall Street Journal have covered the impossibility of pension funds achieving their expected returns, this reality cannot be a surprise to anyone in a leadership role. [link]Many unhappy returns: Pension funds and endowments are too optimistic [link]Public Pension Funds Roll Back...

Via Politico, skip to 12:00 of the clip below for the key bit. Oh, it’s on. Or is it? Normally, a candidate for president claiming that he’s going to peel away his opponents’ supporters and win the nomination would be so banal that it wouldn’t qualify as news. It’s the ultimate “dog bites man” story. Of course Cruz believes this. If he didn’t, why would he be running? But these aren’t normal circumstances. Cruz is the only Republican in the field who has yet to utter a critical or discouraging syllable about Trump, part of his talk-radio-ish strategy not...

Been a tough ride on FR at times. I appreciate all the posters here. Their respect for the political process, good humor, and willingness to fight is extraordinary. Great win tonight. Let's move on to South Carolina and keep the momentum rolling. It's a fight for freedom against the communism of the Democrats. We can't continue to slide into 3rd world oblivion. We have fought wars in other countries. It's time to fight the political war here. Let the WINNING begin! TRUMP 2016!!!!

One schoolteacher who gets paid $87,349 annually, and another who gets $80,472, were highlighted in a recent Oakland Press article complaining that teachers had to get second jobs “to make ends meet.” The article was written by a third teacher, Julia Satterthwaite, who works at the Rochester Community Schools district and is described as a "summer intern” for the newspaper. The article featured one of the author’s colleagues, Karen Malsbury, who has been teaching for 14 years. Malsbury was quoted as saying, “There is little or no room for professional growth, little opportunity to increase your personal income, no step...

Hubris Definition Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall. Hubris is a typical flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position; as a result of which, he overestimates his capabilities to such an extent that he loses contact with reality. A character suffering from Hubris tries to cross normal human limits and violates moral codes. Examples of Hubris are found in major characters of tragic plays. Definition of Hubris by Aristotle Aristotle mentions Hubris in his book “Rhetoric”: “Hubris consists in doing and saying things that cause...