This breach of trust can't be overstated. The American government itself is guilty of moral treason. Game theory tells us we can't expect any entity to act but in their rational self-interest, but I am incensed all the same. One must only assume, therefore, that this exposure will not diminish surveillance, but drive it further beyond the sight and reach of the public. I do have faith however that Americans (and not just corporations) will use their freedom to protect their freedom, and strive to invent private means of communication that remain beyond the sight and reach of Big Brother.

Students Protest Debt as Student Loan Debt Collectors Make a Billion http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/03/26... Freedom isn't free..

Kudos to NPR! Last month they released updated journalistic guidelines that state "if the balance of evidence in a matter of controversy weighs heavily on one side, we acknowledge it in our reports." It does not serve the public good for the media simply to be enslaved as an amplifier for voices of manipulation. Any kindergartner is capable of repeating someone else's words. And it's time journalists stopped fearing the worst, most hypocritical offender and manipulator of media markets: Fox News Channel. One giant leap for journalist kind... one small step for American political awareness.

"U.S. soldier in Afghanistan goes on a shooting rampage." If anything is surprising about this, it's that it took so long to happen. We have a culture that glorifies violence, and praises aggression as the American way to solve problems. Our educational system is completely devoid of tolerance and diversity instruction, has failed to equip students with adequate job skills, and completely down-plays the greatest of American traits, a overriding respect for the content of one's character. And then we fill the frontlines of our military, literally the faces of our nation to those countries who are at greatest ideological odds with us, with the most extreme personifications of these problems. We weren't surprised 10 years ago, and we're not surprised today. It's time we re-learned what it means to be American.

Yesterday President Obama lambasted Republican presidential candidates for their vague, amorphous criticisms of weakness in his handling of Iran. While it's reckless, premature, and dangerous for these candidates to imply the need for war, they force the President into a sticky situation. While we support his desire for a diplomatic resolution, we do feel the President must take care to balance his political desire to point out the flaws in the Republicans' rehetoric, with the nation's strategic need to be extremely assertive with Iran. Specifically, he must craft his statements about Republicans not to signal to Iran that military force is completely out of the question. Otherwise, he can embolden Iran and ironically bring us closer to war. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/world/middlee...