Feathers Fall

Tipsy
He has revealed to a German newsmagazine that the NSA has been using data from Internet hubs in south and west Germany to monitor Internet traffic to Syria and Mali — two hotbeds of al-Qaeda activity — tipping off our enemies to these vital U.S. intelligence operations.

Of course, this is all in addition to broader leaks about details of two NSA spying programs — revelations that, according to the Associated Press, have U.S. intelligence agencies “scrambling to salvage their surveillance of al-Qaida and other terrorists who are working frantically to change how they communicate.” (Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post, 7/1/2013)

So for all the free speech - open government - no secrets crowd, how do you score this one? 

Aiding al Qaeda. 

We call it treason (as does Thiessen). Perhaps when homeless person Snowden gets back on U.S. soil we can get him a room. Right next to Bradley Manning. 


Full Disclosure
The Obama administration announced on Tuesday it would delay for a year, until 2015, the Affordable Care Act mandate that employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties, responding to business complaints and postponing the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections. “We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark J. Mazur, an assistant Treasury secretary, wrote on the department’s Web site in disclosing the delay. (NYT, 7/2/2013)

So the Obama administration - which did not listen to at least 50% of the country and steamrolled Obamacare - is now apparently in listening mode.

Don't be fooled. The key words above are "beyond next year's midterm elections." There is a healthcare crisis coming all right and Dems are petrified of what it will mean for the elections.