I'm sympathetic to this thread's argument regarding the threat of the death penalty as a coercive tactic.  But I continue to be a death penalty proponent.  While in college I was briefly against the death penalty. My rationale was the potential killing of an innocent.  Then I got over it.  As they say in Hollywood: some people just need killing (Bundy, Gacy, etc).  

Smith V Maryland allows for warrantless recording of a dialed phone number.  The supreme court also says you can't collect gps info on someone without a warrant.  The meta data contains both (and so much more) making the two cases incompatible.  Which one wins?  

Please address: much blather is made about the fact that the government does not "process" the data collected under this general warrant or whatever authority they use.  That's BS because the data is no doubt sorted, indexed and otherwise processed to make future searches easier to execute.  I suspect reports are generated after this initial processing detailing information about the data set.

I'm grateful for the ACLU's law suit and other law suits that have already been filed and others that are sure to be filed.  Most of the few senators briefed on what I think is a violation of the 4th amendment are part of the apparatus that permits the violation.  In a noted attempt at oversight a Dem senator asked Clapper if the gov was collecting records of 100 million americans and Clapper lied.  And, we only know he lied because of Snowden's actions.

I'm also happy that government spying will be one of many issues that can be used to primary clowns like lindsey graham (hopefully)

I wonder where the civil libertarians are in congress.  All well and good in the aftermath of 9-11 to overdo it as 9-11 changed everything.  And, in particular, in the immediate aftermath.  12 years later it's time to reexamine where we are.  I'm concerned about the mass collection of data rather than targeted collection of data.  Targeted collection of evidence  and data against an individual or even a particular phone number signed off by a judge is typically fine by me.  Mass indiscriminate collection of data for traffic or other analysis, signed off by a judge or not, is not.  

History is the articulation of something that happened including when, how and why it happened often woven in context with other histories. 

Polygamy, or other deviations from traditional marriage, is a natural extension of the recent legalization of same sex marriage. These and other actions, like Johnson's war on poverty, Gosnell and his ilk, etc continue the destruction of the family unit.  With apologies to Kevin Williamson: the end is not near and it's not going to be awesome.

Cutter, when pressed, looks unstable and like she's about to explode - maybe it's just me just me but I see it in her eyes and the weird mouth twitch.

Bringing the discussion back to original question #2 - It's an unfair question, but I said "probably not" given what we know now.  However, a third question is required to complete the exercise,  but the answer is as unknown as that which is "known now."  The question is:  where would we be today if we had not invaded?  Tel Aviv nuked perhaps?   And if we knew that was the future  in 2003 would it have then been worth it?

I like the Chick's music a lot. I also like that the Chicks actually got what the left  tried to do to Chick-fil-a.  That being a boycott and a whole lot less money.  I suspect there is something disciplinary about that. While that discipline may not be practiced by Maines, it has had effects elsewhere.

Yes and probably not.  The number of "no"answers  to the first question actually surprises me a  bit.  I wonder if folks are correctly remembering what they felt at the time.  The time was shortly after 9/11 and that changed everything.

Probably not on question two because of our mismanagement and failure to properly execute.  And, the blame for those mistakes casts a very wide web. 

I saw somebody today mention JFK's line: "Victory has many fathers, defeat is an orphan"

Closing music is Lucinda Williams - I knew it was her but I had never heard Bus to Baton Rouge - Thanks for that.

As an Astro fan I'm sure God said nothing about light but instead said "Let there be blight!"

Children playing football do not suffer brain injuries because they don't generate the speed necessary for it.  Of course, other injuries could be suffered.  I suspect that it is not until varsity level football and maybe even  college that the affects of hits begin because of the speed, most importantly,  and the mass behind the collisions.  

Sigh ... and the continued wussification of America continues.

8 million or so people stayed home.  Many of them were '08 BO voters and they, overwhelmingly, decided to sit it out because to them it didn't matter.  That is the fault of the top of the ticket because he is the face/voice of the party. Shoulda-woulda-coulda been a walk in the park

I said the election should have been a walk in the park for the republicans (the party).  The loss was because too many people (likely Obama 2008 voters) figured it did not matter who won and chose to sit it out.  A better candidate at the top and that would not have been the case.