News & Commentary

Members of Congress and donors in cahoots to deceive not only the American voting public but the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) as well? 

If you believe that two men in a committed, monogamous relationship – where neither partner is living with HIV – face the same risks as an individual who has heterosexual sex with a commercial sex worker or someone who they know is living with HIV then the recommendation on Thursday from an advisory committee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will make sense.  Otherwise, you might find yourself scratching your head.

Wearing a cowboy costume and a purple bandana, Scott Panetti defended himself at his capital trial in Texas without counsel, where he tried to call the Pope, J.F.K, and Jesus Christ to the witness stand. In Tennessee, Richard Taylor represented himself in his capital trial wearing sunglasses to keep out the police voices and sat completely silent through his trial. Guy LeGrande served as his own lawyer at his capital trial in North Carolina, wearing a Superman shirt and telling the jury to kiss his “natural black ass” in closing argument.

Pew has a new poll out on Americans’ attitudes toward privacy, and it is full of interesting findings. A New York Times blog piece on the poll focused on the so-called “privacy paradox”—people’s seeming willingness to share personal information despite their professed concern over privacy (more on that below). But for me the most striking finding is that Americans’ confidence in the privacy and security of electronic communications is very low, with over half thinking that email, text messages, chat, and social media are “not at all” or “not very secure.” In too many ways, these beliefs are well-founded, and yet these are the mediums that Americans are using more and more to communicate in their everyday lives.

This piece originally ran on Slate.com on November 12, 2014.

NSA reform could be the thorn in the side of the Republican Party next year.

All my life, I've dreamed of serving my country.

Today, on Veterans Day, on the 11th day of the 11th month, an aircraft began circling the Statue of Liberty trailing a banner that read “THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT.”

The chilling effect of surveillance may be spreading across the Atlantic.