Why Trump Won’t Back Down on Shutdown
During his entire life, Donald Trump has stiffed government whenever he could. So why should a government shutdown bother him now?
Tragically Funny Quotes on Democracy
Devastatingly accurate comments on democracy.
Why the New Boss Is Just like the Old Boss
Who actually runs the country? If you said our elected officials, think again. Despite what candidates promise while running for office, the national security policy of each successive president and administration tends to look very similar, irrespective of party or stated philosophy. In this podcast interview, Michael J. Glennon, Professor of International Law at Tufts Fletcher School, lays bare the truth few are willing to acknowledge: “We have a structure of double government in which even the president now exercises little substantive control over the overall direction of US national security policy.”
Hastings’ Lessons From the Grave—Have We Learned Anything?
The Cold Case of the death of a hot reporter. Was there more to it than a tragic accident? And why did the media not look into this affair, given the kinds of things Hastings was investigating, and the unusual details of his final seconds.
No Love For Snowden
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs recently praised whistleblowers, though he has been an outspoken opponent of Edward Snowden. Why the double standard when it comes to Snowden?
RadioWhoWhatWhy: The Future of Outsourced Warfare
Blackwater may have become a symbol of all that can go wrong when government contractors outnumber trained military personnel, but what really happened in the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan? WhoWhatWhy’s Jeff Schechtman sits down with Blackwater founder Erik Prince to discuss the history and future of “outsourced” warfare.
Boston Bombing Core Mystery: Why are Feds Not Interested in this Man?
Viskhan Vakhabov received a phone call from the Tsarnaev brothers—one of whom is now dead, the other just sentenced to death—in a crucial moment in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings. Why did the government fail to speak with him about his involvement?
Classic WhoWhatWhy: Police State Gears Up
On May 18, 2015, President Obama made a surprising announcement: he ordered the federal government to reverse its standing practice of providing American police departments with surplus weapons and vehicles from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. Given declining confidence in police after a seemingly constant recent stream of fatalities involving black suspects, this newfound caution with heavy provisioning is understandable. But questions about the wisdom of militarizing police are not new. WhoWhatWhy first wrote about the issue in February, 2014.
Is US-Russian Spy Intrigue Behind Boston Bombing?
Even after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s conviction, the story behind the Boston Marathon Bombing has never really been clear. But cumulative evidence points to some kind of complex intrigue on the parts of security apparatuses in both the US and Russia.
Out-of-Control FBI to Former Head of 9/11 Investigation: Butt out!
The FBI doesn’t want anyone looking into new evidence of Saudi-9/11 ties. Why? And why would it have the temerity to tell a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee to butt out? If you don’t find this alarming, check your pulse.
The Lincoln Assassination and Cover-Up: Part of an On-Going Story
April 14, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Even a century and a half later, there are questionable aspects of his death that mirror unresolved questions in much more modern assassinations. What is the government hiding?
Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev an FBI Informant? Odds Say it’s Possible
Given the evidence presented in the Tsarnaev trial, it’s possible that Dzhokhar’s older brother, Tamerlan—who was killed by police in the immediate hours after the bombing—was an FBI informant.
Why Obama Cannot Undo the Surveillance Society—But We Can
When a country is truly run by a handful, how can they ever let up on surveillance? They can’t, and won’t. But we can make them do it. However, not if we wait for instructions from the establishment.
Why the ‘All Government Is Bad’ Movement….is Bad
Some of our best friends believe that government is always, or almost always bad. If you believe that, perhaps you’d prefer your lunch with a little extra helping of Salmonella.