Kindness Before Devotion

Liberal Definitions
Close-minded: What Liberals call you when you do not agree with them.


Proof Positive
Representative Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on Monday that among those in Congress who are most informed, the consensus was strong and bipartisan. “Those who have been fully briefed are comfortable with the capabilities used, the way they have been used and the due diligence exercised in making sure the agency responsible for carrying out and using the tools has been doing so within confines of the law,” he said. “There is nothing nefarious going on here.” (NYT, 6/10/2013)

The Patriot Act provision that allowed the National Security Agency to collect phone records has helped thwart "dozens" of terror events, Gen. Keith Alexander said Wednesday at a congressional hearing on cybersecurity. (Washington Post, 6/12/2013)

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed last week by a former National Security Agency contractor — is illegal and asking a judge to stop it and order the records purged. (NYT, 6/11/2013)

The strongest proof that the NSA intelligence gathering is necessary and correct:

-- A Democrat President reviews a program put in place by a Republican President and continues it.

-- The program saves American lives.

-- The ACLU objects.


Knots
With the recreational use of marijuana now legal in Colorado, officers who patrol the state’s roads face a new set of challenges. Though smoking or possessing small amounts of cannabis is no longer breaking the law, anyone who drives while impaired is still subject to arrest.

Which raises a knotty question: How many tokes can a driver take before the ability to control a vehicle is compromised to the point of being a danger on the road? (NYT, 6/7/2013)

Ooops! A minor overlooked issue in the rush to legalize dope.